Golden flashes of light winked up at him in his designated place of honor on the tall stage. An ocean of awestruck faces stared up at him, their reverence clearly expressed above their small tokens of more mundane admiration. The near-constant shifting of the small lightning-bolt pins distracted him from the well-rehearsed, impassioned speech the Minister was giving on his behalf.

"-to the ends of the earth, you have our gratitude." Minister Shacklebolt gestured grandly over to Harry as he finished his speech, prompting loud and significant applause. From beneath his podium, he produced a dark wooden box and stepped over to where Harry stood alone in the middle of the much-too-large stage. He stopped in front of him, a private, commiserative smile lifting his cheeks. "Nearly there," he said, his reassurance covered by the fading cheers from behind him. He turned to address the crowd once more, lifting his free hand for silence. "I, the Minister for Magic, do hereby present you with the highest honor we may give. For your significant and unmistakable contribution to the defeat of Voldemort, I hereby award you the Order of Merlin, First Class."

An explosion of cheers accompanied the medal the minister placed over Harry's bowed head. The bright green ribbon dug into the back of his neck as the Minister let go, letting the full significant weight of the large gold medallion rest on Harry's shoulders. Harry dutifully waved back to the cheering crowd in front of him before doing his absolute best to look like he wasn't fleeing the stage.

A heavy hand dropped onto his shoulder after he'd descended the stairs, still safely behind the limited protection of the temporary walls of the 'verified persons only' section to the side of the stage.

"That wasn't quite as bad as you thought it would be, was it?" the Minister asked, patting Harry once more on the shoulder before removing his hand.

"It was a bit worse, but I was glad to hear you left his name in," Harry said.

Kingsley chuckled and shrugged. "You can't exactly ignore a request like that from someone like you. Especially when I'm still trying to convince you to take my offer for a position in the Ministry."

Wholly unable to suppress his shudder, Harry shook his head. "You and I both know the only thing I'd be suited for is to be an Auror, and I still have to take my NEWTs for that."

"I'm sure I can convince the board to make some sort of exception. I'll let you know what I find out!" Without waiting for a reply he stepped around the walls, his more confident Minister's persona squarely in place.

Harry looked up to the high ceiling of the atrium, desperately wishing he were anywhere other than standing in the middle of the Ministry of Magic. During the short rehearsal the day before, the Minister had told him the ceremony was usually a much smaller affair. However, considering the sheer amount of awards to be given out that day, and the public relations boost the Ministry still desperately needed, they'd gone all-out to accommodate as much of the general public as possible. He savored the moments of mock solitude, doing his best to pretend his 'adoring fans' weren't just around the temporary wall, waiting for their hero to emerge. It was not insignificant comfort that his friends and most of his classmates were all a part of the massive crowd. To a person, each one that had participated in the gruesome Battle of Hogwarts had been awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class.

A mop of red hair popped around the edge of the wall, Ron's freckled face appearing as he peered around the corner. He caught sight of Harry and vanished, reappearing a moment later with Hermione. They joined him in the relative silence of the sectioned off space. They were both dressed in the 'fancy' dress robes they'd all had to purchase for the event, though Harry couldn't tell the difference between them and his normal robes, except for the price. Hermione's wild hair was slightly tamed into a ponytail that looked ready to burst free of its prison of clips and hair-ties. Ron towered over them both, a full head taller than Harry, and half again than Hermione. He'd complained at length to the unfairness that his robes cost more just because of something he couldn't control. The red band of their awards dangling from their necks was the only glint of color to their outfit, next to the golden lightning-bolt pin stuck to the front of their robes.

"You didn't," he groaned, pointing to the shifting pins. On cue, they moved in quick jagged motions, giving the illusion of forked lightning striking the ground.

"You got one, mate," Ron said, gesturing to Harry's own hypocritical pin. "Why shouldn't we? It's to 'commemorate the occasion.'"

"I got one because the vendor looked like he might die on the spot if I refused," Harry said. "Besides, isn't your medal enough to remember this by?"

Ron lifted the medal reverentially to stare at it for a moment, before placing it against his chest. "Sure," he said with a nod. "But I won't be able to whip out the medal a couple of years from now as a joke to make you groan." He tapped the golden pin which shifted in response. "It's an investment."

"I thought it'd be a nice memory," Hermione said, "and I was curious to see how long they got the animation charm to last."

Ron rolled his eyes and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Cedric is going spare out there. I was sent to fetch you so you can 'make your rounds and begin to cultivate those connections.'"

"I'm not sure about all that," Harry said. "But we'd better get it over with."

He took in a deep breath and allowed his friends to lead him out into the throng of people waiting to meet their hero.

"Thank you Mr. Potter-"

"-you sign my hat?"

"-my firstborn after you!"

"Can I get a photograph?"

Ron had assumed the role of bodyguard, maneuvering Harry through the crowd as best he could without outright threatening anyone. For his part, Harry greeted those he could; shook hands and signed everything from pamphlets to arms, and on one notable occasion, a rather forward witch's chest. Ears burning at the calls for similar attention, he followed close behind Ron to where they joined a small clump of people on the outskirts of the crowd. Hermione brought up the rear, shooing away a few of the more persistent witches with requests for privacy and assurances that Harry wasn't leaving just yet. Once they'd arrived, she split off to join up with Ginny and Luna, who stood near the center of the mass of students.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he joined the familiar group. Almost every person around him wore an Order of Merlin medal, each one with the red ribbon of second class for their participation in the Battle of Hogwarts, many of them despite the age restriction. Their ceremony had been short and sweet, something Harry had grown jealous of as his portion of the ceremony had begun to drag on. A flash of green caught his eye, and he saw Headmistress McGonagall standing at the edge of the small group, a First Class medal of her own hanging around her neck. The displeased set to her features faded as he approached, replaced by what had to be the largest smile he'd ever seen his old Head of House give.

"Well done, Mr. Potter," she said. "I daresay you managed to successfully trick people into thinking you didn't mind being on that stage."

"It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been alone, Professor," he said, pointing to her medal. "Why weren't you up there with me?"

"I requested a small private affair. I'm not one for the spotlight."

"I wish someone had told me that was an option."

"For you, it's not," she said, her smile fading into a much more familiar look of general concern. "The people need to see their hero. Especially with those raids still going on." She crossed her arms in front of her, her mouth returning to its customary thin steely line. "Are you sure you want to come back to Hogwarts so soon? I would be happy to allow you three to join the class behind you next year."

He shook his head. "We want to graduate with our friends. I know we were gone most of sixth year because of the war, but that's part of the reason we want to come back. It'll be nice to go back to normal."

"Be that as it may, I implore you to consider taking some time off. Hogwarts isn't going anywhere. You have a couple of weeks if you want to change your mind."

"I'll think about it, Professor," he said, turning as a hand clapped him on the back.

"Sorry to interrupt, Professor," Cedric said, an apologetic smile on his face. "But we've got a little shop to discuss."

"I do wish you'd leave it to the Aurors, Diggory," she said. "It is their job after all."

"I know, but right now they need all the help they can get, and the Order can do that. I've been told they've got some new recruits transferring in from some of the other Ministries around Europe, but they still need training."

"Indeed. I hope you both enjoy the rest of the event. I have to return to Hogwarts to help finish up the restoration. A few of the wards still need to be re-keyed." She turned to Harry, her lips curving in another small smile. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter."

"You too, Professor."

He allowed Cedric to lead him away from the group and over to an empty alcove nearby. With practiced ease, Cedric produced his wand and cast a quick succession of anti-eavesdropping and privacy charms.

"Cedric, you know I don't want to be a part of the-"

"They attacked Godric's Hollow," Cedric cut in, his previous joviality vanished.

Harry froze in his protests, a frown creasing his brow. "Did anyone get hurt?"

Cedric shook his head. "Seems like most of the residents were gone for the summer hols. I got word from Alicia that the Death Eaters were extra jumpy this time. Seems like they were expecting you to show, and when the Order members arrived, they thought it was you and fled."

"I'm glad no-one was injured," Harry said. "What'd they want from Godric's Hollow anyway?"

"It's just a guess right now, but we think they were looking into ways to bring Voldemort back again."

"Ah. I see why you needed to talk to me."

"You are one of the three people that knows," Cedric said with a sigh. "It's tough to ask people to do things without being able to tell them why. I don't know how Dumbledore did it for so long."

Harry shrugged. "Better you than me. Do you think they know what they were looking for?"

"I don't. It seems like they were trying to get some information from where he died…er…the first time. They were sifting through what was left of…well, of your old house."

"Right."

Cedric ran a hand through his short brown hair and winced apologetically. "I'm sorry to bring this to you, but as I said, there aren't many people I can have keeping an ear out for stuff like this. I know you don't want to deal with Order stuff anymore."

Harry nodded, gesturing out to the crowd with his chin. "Dealing with all that is pretty much a full-time job. I can help if you all really need it, but for now, I'd like to be able to have as much of a normal year as I can."

"I completely understand." Cedric waved his wand, dispelling the charms around their small alcove. "You don't want to keep your adoring public waiting," he added with a laugh.

Cedric split off to find the Minister, while Harry rejoined the group of students to yet more congratulatory greetings. As he finished taking a photo with Dennis Creevey, he saw Ron making a beeline over to him, a plate held in one hand. "Here you go, mate. I doubt you'd be able to make it over to the food before it's all gone."

"I didn't even know there was food," he said, gratefully accepting the plate. He tried not to inhale the small meal after his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since the evening before thanks to his significant nerves upon waking up that morning.

"I ran into Tonks," Ron said conversationally. "She said once the Auror transfers are in, she and Lupin are gonna finally take a proper honeymoon."

"Good for them," Harry said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "They deserve it."

Ron scanned the nearby crowd while Harry ate, occasionally running interference when a member of the public wandered up for an autograph or to offer their congratulations. Once he'd finished, Ron elbowed him gently in the side. "Incoming."

Harry followed Ron's gaze to see two of their classmates approaching. The one with shoulder-length brown hair was waving to them as she approached, a wide friendly grin on her face. The other followed slightly behind, her long blond hair strung over one shoulder.

"Those robes don't do them justice," Ron said under his breath. He put his hands up protectively at Harry's answering glance. "What? It's been almost a year since Lavender dumped me. No reason not to at least consider the option. 'Get back in the game' as it were."

"I didn't say anything," Harry whispered back. Though he might not have put it quite so bluntly, the way the blonde's robes shifted as she moved silhouetted a form that made Ron a liar for understatement alone. He absently straightened his robes as they approached.

"Weasley, Potter. Fancy running into you here." Tracey's greeting was punctuated by a friendly wave.

"Davis, Greengrass," Ron answered similarly. He pointed to the Second Class medals hanging around their necks. "I didn't know you two stuck around for the battle."

"We weren't at the epicenter, like you lot," Tracey said. "We fought our way out of the dungeons to get the baby Slytherins out." She shrugged. "It's no Dark Lord, but it would seem like it was worth a medal." She appraised Harry and Ron as she spoke, her gaze lingering somewhere on Ron's chest before she looked back up at him. "Didn't see you two around much last year. Wherever you were, it seemed to have filled you out. I remember you being a lot lankier, Weasley."

Ron colored, his ears burning a dark red as he laughed nervously. "Rough livin' for nearly a year will do that to a-oof."

Harry removed his elbow from Ron's side, doing his best to emulate Hermione's 'You're saying too much' look she was so practiced at giving them. They'd agreed, with Cedric's input, not to tell a soul about their quest during their sixth-year to find Voldemort's Horcruxes, lest they begin a vague trail to the forbidden knowledge. They'd even gone so far as to steal the book from the library that had mentioned Horcruxes in passing. Hermione had not been well pleased to destroy such a rare book.

"Well, whatever it was, you look good," Tracey said with a smile. She turned to Harry and gestured to him with her chin. "I've got to admit, I'm surprised to see you wearing one of those. Your medal is stuck on it, by the way." She grinned. "You might want to take better care of a First Class Order of Merlin. They aren't exactly a sickle a piece."

Harry looked down to find the shifting lightning-bolt had snagged the green ribbon of his medal. He pulled it free, but the motion snapped the small pin, sending it skittering across the floor to bump against the hem of Daphne's robes. She bent to pick it up and held it out to Harry.

"That might be worth some money someday, Daph," Tracey said as Harry took the lightning-bolt and slid it into a pocket in his robes. "A pin from Harry Potter's Order of Merlin ceremony that belonged to the man himself. Shame to just hand it back like that."

Daphne rolled her eyes, letting her hand drop back to her side. "I assure you that if I am ever so destitute as to turn to celebrity paraphernalia to survive, you will find my dead body shortly after."

Tracey let out a short laugh and turned back to Ron and Harry. "We've been making the rounds. You should hear the way people here are talking about you. They all expect you to start collecting medals like you're the next coming of Merlin himself. Which if what we heard about your duel with big bad himself was true, they might be onto something. Seems like all that rumored training with Dumbledore over the years finally paid off."

"They'll get over it soon enough," Daphne said, shaking her head. "Until then, we should go. There's no good networking to be had here today, and we've done what we needed to do."

It was Tracey's turn to roll her eyes at her departing friend, and she offered Harry and Ron an apologetic smile. "I guess a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and the inheritor of House Black is 'bad networking.'" She gave Daphne's retreating form a quick glance, then turned to Harry. "She's not nearly as bad once you get to know her. She's got a project she's stuck on, and I think you're just the person she needs. I'll work on her a bit before school starts if you'll give her another chance."

Harry could only nod, his gaze sliding back to Daphne, who had stopped, arms crossed as she waited for Tracey to join her.

Tracey smiled and winked at Ron. "See you both at school!"

Harry and Ron stared after the retreating girls until they vanished into the crowd. Ron let out a soft grunt and scratched at his chin. "I have no idea what that was all about."

Harry let out a grunt of laughter. "Whatever 'game' it is you're trying to get into, it looks like Tracey's the one on the offensive. Good luck with that."

Ron nodded appreciatively, darting one final glance towards where Daphne and Tracey had vanished into the milling crowd. "It's a nice change of pace." He grinned. "Doesn't hurt that she's a bit of a looker too. I'd go ahead and give Greengrass that second chance if I were you."

Harry nodded slowly, rubbing the fingers of his right hand against his palm. Her fingertips had been far warmer than her demeanor, but he couldn't really blame someone for being on edge at such a major event. Besides, Dumbledore had always said that everyone deserved a second chance.

~~XxX~~

AN: And here we are at the beginning of a brand new fic. I needed a break from my other fic to sorta get my head on straight about it, and had been kicking the idea for this one around for a few months. I worked like crazy on this. No joke. There's also 8 full chapters of a terrible version 1 that no-one else will ever see that I scrapped because it was just not good. Best decision ever.

Big ol' shoutouts to those that helped me with this. Blazor, for helping this entire thing take its proper shape, but most of all inciting the scrapping of those first 8 chapters so this can be a good story. The hamster/house-elf hybrid for sick beta skills. And Rishi for having a dang laser focus on the tiny details, words, and grammar that I mess up.

This story is complete. I tried a lot of things with this one that are out of the norm for me, and a lot of them were really effective. Chapters will be posted pretty quickly, so if you like it, you won't be waiting long! Most likely every-other-day.