A Parting to Die For
It was Monday night, and Harry and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione curled up in his lap.
" Oh, Harry, are you absolutely sure this will work? I mean, we've never done it before and..." Hermione trailed off, biting the inside of her bottom lip -- a habit she'd formed unknowingly over the past year, since she had got word that Harry had nearly been killed by Death Eaters at the zoo with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley Dursley. Of course, he had gotten away nearly unscathed -- just a few ouches that could be mended in a few minutes..but his family, the only family he'd ever known, had been murdered by Voldemort's minions.
"'Mione, it will work, or my name's not Harry James Potter." He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "And my name is Harry James Potter." He smiled at her crookedly, kissing the tip of her nose.
" Alright..but I want you to be extra-careful." She said softly, snuggling closer to him. "Voldemort's not the weakest of enemies, you know." Her eyes flashed as she looked into the green ones behind the wire-rimmed glasses that she loved so much. "But why do you have to face him? Why can't we leave that to the Aurors that are coming to relieve the Professors on Wednesday?"
" Because, Hermione. I'm his weakness. I'm the one that defeated him once. And maybe..." He sighed and gulped. "Maybe I can do it again. Hopefully." He added as an afterthought, not liking the 'maybe's.
There were too many maybes in that phrase...Hermione thought uncomfortably, but rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I love you. Don't forget that, Harry, I love you." She murmured.
" I love you too."
***
"Oh, God, help us all..." Ron whispered, looking out the common room window the next morning. The Forbidden Forest was on fire, the centaurs and unicorns and werewolves and all the other beasties running from it...conveniently enough through the Hogwarts grounds.
"Voldemort's doing, no doubt." Harry said sourly, looking worse for the wear. His cheeks had gone a deathly pale shade under the tan he had acquired over the past week, which made him have a very ruddy complexion, indeed.
"I've got a plan." Hermione's voice cut through the heavy air of the Gryffindor Common Room, and the two went over to her quickly, looking at her.
"What's the plan, love?" Harry said, sitting down next to her.
" Yeah, tell us, 'Mione." Ron cajoled, though it wasn't a very wonderful time for cajoling.
" Well.... nothing extremely dangerous, but it's fair-to-middling in the danger zone. Here's the plan.." And she went off to explain what they would do: They would sneak out the front doors under Harry's invisibility cloak, and to the Whomping Willow, nudging it with a branch and going to the Shrieking Shack. One of them would blast the front door open with their wand and they would sneak down the lawn to Hogsmeade, where Voldemort's forces had holed up for the past three months. "And then we'll sp--" BOOM! Something shook the whole castle, eliciting shrieks and screams from all over Hogwarts.
" What the fuck was that?" Ron said wildly, looking around the common room, and to the staircase where people were descending to look around the room. A whooshing sound flew by all the windows, shattering them all and leaving them without the Anti-Apparition charms. Someone had broke through the forces and disabled them.
" Agh!" Harry doubled over in pain, clutching his forehead madly and howling in pain. "Oh, damnit!"
" The Anti-Apparition spells. They're gone." Hermione gulped. "We're sitting ducks now."
***
Whoosh! The sound shrieked in their ears as they scrambled from the common room, to find themselves in complete darkness, save for the windows that were pouring in the cheery sunlight, which was very ironic, considering their day wasn't going so well.
" They're here..." Harry muttered, and the three whipped out their wands. But who was standing at the lead of the Death Eaters startled them the most...but they weren't surprised.
" Malfoy!" The three hissed together.
" Yes, very well. I knew you three would be here to meet us." Draco Malfoy drawled poisonously, eyes narrowed, a smirk perched on his lips as he walked towards them all. "You see...Voldemort and I are very good friends now...since I helped him take over Hogwarts and kill our loving Headmaster." His voice was filled with sarcasm at the last bit.
" You WHAT?" Harry screamed. "YOU KILLED DUMBLEDORE?!"
"Right you are, Potter." He said. "Now, stand aside, you simpering fools, while--"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Ron screamed, giving Harry his wand and jumping at Malfoy, strangling him. They didn't hold him back this time.
" Ron, no, if you kill him you'll be put in Azkaban!" Hermione said, panicking.
" I don't bloody care! He fucking killed Dumbledore, Hermione!" Ron yelled between punches. Draco was trying to hold him back, without success.
The fight that ensued left them all breathless at the end. After a million 'Expelliarmus'es and 'Stupefy's, the Death Eaters that could still move Apparated out, Ron falling to the floor where Draco lay.
"The filthy, dirty bastard, I'll kill him the next time I see him..." Ron muttered darkly, holding his jaw where Draco had gotten in a punch.
" Voldemort's in the castle." Harry whispered, blanching as he doubled over in pain once more, clutching his forehead.
"Harry!"
" Harry!"
Ron and Hermione exclaimed at once, running to their friend, and, in Hermione's case, fiancé.
"I'm fine. We need to find him." Harry muttered through clenched teeth, running down the stairs, Hermione and Ron close on his tail.
***
Bursting through the doors to the Entrance Hall, there was another ear splitting BOOM! that knocked them off their feet that time. A rather un- nerving crumble came from the ceiling above them, and a few chunks of rock fell on the staircase.
"Oh dear. He wants to bring the castle down on our heads." Hermione mumbled and blanched, looking at her best friends.
" We can't let him. We can't. This place is my home. More of a home than the Dursley's house was. I won't let him!" Harry said stubbornly, slamming his fist against the wall for emphasis. "Ow..." He snapped his wrist back involuntarily, holding his knuckles.
Despite what was going on around them, they burst into laughter at Harry. "You're smart." Ron said, snickering.
BOOM! Another castle-shake, and all was lost as the ceiling fell around them.
***
Harry came to, his body literally covered with rocks. Pushing them off him, he called out, his voice a bit strangled. "Hermione! Ron!"
"Harry! I'm over here!" Ron called back, sounding faint. A strange music filled their ears as the doors going away from the entrance hall filled their ears.
" Fawkes..." Harry and Ron said at the same time, looking up at the scarlet and gold-plumed birds, eyes widening.
Harry's mind remembered why a phoenix would be there: someone was dying. "HERMIONE!!!" He screamed, pain strangling his voice as he stood up, the rocks literally flying from him as he scrambled around, looking for Hermione. "HERMIONE, WHERE ARE YOU?!" His eyes rebelled, filling with tears as he flung rocks all over the place, -- but not over Ron -- looking for his fiancée. "Hermione, where are you?" He said softer, and his heart plunged when he saw a puddle of blood seeping out from under a boulder. "NOOOO!" With all the strength he could muster, he pushed the rock off of Hermione, seeing that she had a large gash in her stomach and she was whimpering, looking up at him with tears in her eyes.
" Harry, I love you with all my heart..." Hermione whispered.
" Hermione, you're not going to die. Don't die on me, damnit! Don't. Die. Fawkes is here! He'll heal you. I promise. Just don't die." He had tears falling down his cheeks -- it was obvious that he loved her very much.
Fawkes flew over and landed beside Hermione, his eyes filling with silvery tears that fell down onto Hermione's stomach.
It was too gory for Harry. His stomach rebelled, and he went off to the side, vomiting up the water he had drunk earlier. Wiping his mouth -- and cheeks unnoticeably -- he walked back over to Hermione and Fawkes. Fawkes had silver tears falling down his beak and onto Hermione's stomach, which was healing rapidly.
" Harry. Find Ron. Make sure he's alright, please." Hermione's voice was a considerable amount stronger.
" Alright." He went over to the spot where Ron was, and lifted some rocks off of him. "Alright there, mate?" He was stronger than you could realize; for all that he was skinny and lithe, a full six feet in height. Ron was about six feet, five inches, and had a considerable amount of muscles from weight training over the past few summers.
" Yeah. Just a scratch." He pointed at his leg, which was torn and bloody, and even for his brave façade, he was in pain.
Harry hadn't noticed that his right arm was torn and bleeding as well, and the pain hit him full force as Fawkes's music filled the air again, going over to Ron first and then Harry. Pretty soon, Hermione was standing up, and all was right as they were healed by trusty Fawkes. "Thanks, Fawkes. You served your master well." His eyes got blurry at his mentioning of Dumbledore, and blinked his tears away, looking at Hermione and Ron. "I'm going after him. It's my choice, you too, so don't try and stop me. I'll be back, I promise. Don't worry." He pulled Hermione to him and kissed her passionately, which she returned, tears falling down her cheeks. He turned to Ron and gave him a manly hug, patting his back and pulling away. "I'll be fine, mate."
" We'll just have to take your word on it, won't we.." Hermione whispered, not loud enough for the two of them to hear.
" If...if I don't come back.." Harry gulped. "Ron..I want you to have my cloak if I don't come back..but you two have to share it. And Hermione..." He pulled her over to the side, whispering in her ear. "I want you and my child to know that I love you both very, very much, and I want you to give Sirius the photo album in the top drawer of my nightstand." They had known Hermione was pregnant for two months now, and hopefully the rock that had fallen on her hadn't killed their child.
"Well. I guess...I'll see you later..." Harry gulped and maneuvered his way towards the Great Hall, where Voldemort and his fate awaited him.
***
It had been a year now. A year since Harry had went into the Great Hall and never come back. Hermione recalled running into the Great Hall after a large burst of green light and another one of gold streamed out from the cracks in the doors, before bursting them open. She had seen two bodies lying on the floor. One she was pleased to see dead (Voldemort) and the other which made her scream with pain, a wail following.
" Harry, nooo, you've got to wake up, please, I need you here now! Our baby needs you! Wake up!" She pounded on his chest furiously, trying to beat the life back into him. "Wake up..." She started sobbing and leaned against his dead form, crying into his rock-dusted robes. "Nooo...."
She had eventually got over it, but she could never return to Hogwarts without her eyes filling up. After the funerals of Harry and Dumbledore, the house elves had scrambled around, miraculously rebuilding the Entrance Hall better than it was before.
She had ended up falling in love with Ron when she was in her ninth month, and got married two months later, three months before the anniversary of Harry's death.
But that day, it was hard on her. She started crying, without any pre- notion of crying at all, and Ron had came over to her with a few strides, holding her and rocking her, stroking her hair and telling her that Harry was happy for them, because he would have wanted her to move on with her life.
A cry startled them out of their reverie, and they immediately stood up, walking over to the crib, where a baby with Harry's green eyes and strawberry-brown hair looked up at them, her eyes full of tears.
" Oh, Lily, it's alright, don't cry." Hermione cooed, picking her daughter out of the crib.
It was Monday night, and Harry and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione curled up in his lap.
" Oh, Harry, are you absolutely sure this will work? I mean, we've never done it before and..." Hermione trailed off, biting the inside of her bottom lip -- a habit she'd formed unknowingly over the past year, since she had got word that Harry had nearly been killed by Death Eaters at the zoo with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley Dursley. Of course, he had gotten away nearly unscathed -- just a few ouches that could be mended in a few minutes..but his family, the only family he'd ever known, had been murdered by Voldemort's minions.
"'Mione, it will work, or my name's not Harry James Potter." He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "And my name is Harry James Potter." He smiled at her crookedly, kissing the tip of her nose.
" Alright..but I want you to be extra-careful." She said softly, snuggling closer to him. "Voldemort's not the weakest of enemies, you know." Her eyes flashed as she looked into the green ones behind the wire-rimmed glasses that she loved so much. "But why do you have to face him? Why can't we leave that to the Aurors that are coming to relieve the Professors on Wednesday?"
" Because, Hermione. I'm his weakness. I'm the one that defeated him once. And maybe..." He sighed and gulped. "Maybe I can do it again. Hopefully." He added as an afterthought, not liking the 'maybe's.
There were too many maybes in that phrase...Hermione thought uncomfortably, but rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I love you. Don't forget that, Harry, I love you." She murmured.
" I love you too."
***
"Oh, God, help us all..." Ron whispered, looking out the common room window the next morning. The Forbidden Forest was on fire, the centaurs and unicorns and werewolves and all the other beasties running from it...conveniently enough through the Hogwarts grounds.
"Voldemort's doing, no doubt." Harry said sourly, looking worse for the wear. His cheeks had gone a deathly pale shade under the tan he had acquired over the past week, which made him have a very ruddy complexion, indeed.
"I've got a plan." Hermione's voice cut through the heavy air of the Gryffindor Common Room, and the two went over to her quickly, looking at her.
"What's the plan, love?" Harry said, sitting down next to her.
" Yeah, tell us, 'Mione." Ron cajoled, though it wasn't a very wonderful time for cajoling.
" Well.... nothing extremely dangerous, but it's fair-to-middling in the danger zone. Here's the plan.." And she went off to explain what they would do: They would sneak out the front doors under Harry's invisibility cloak, and to the Whomping Willow, nudging it with a branch and going to the Shrieking Shack. One of them would blast the front door open with their wand and they would sneak down the lawn to Hogsmeade, where Voldemort's forces had holed up for the past three months. "And then we'll sp--" BOOM! Something shook the whole castle, eliciting shrieks and screams from all over Hogwarts.
" What the fuck was that?" Ron said wildly, looking around the common room, and to the staircase where people were descending to look around the room. A whooshing sound flew by all the windows, shattering them all and leaving them without the Anti-Apparition charms. Someone had broke through the forces and disabled them.
" Agh!" Harry doubled over in pain, clutching his forehead madly and howling in pain. "Oh, damnit!"
" The Anti-Apparition spells. They're gone." Hermione gulped. "We're sitting ducks now."
***
Whoosh! The sound shrieked in their ears as they scrambled from the common room, to find themselves in complete darkness, save for the windows that were pouring in the cheery sunlight, which was very ironic, considering their day wasn't going so well.
" They're here..." Harry muttered, and the three whipped out their wands. But who was standing at the lead of the Death Eaters startled them the most...but they weren't surprised.
" Malfoy!" The three hissed together.
" Yes, very well. I knew you three would be here to meet us." Draco Malfoy drawled poisonously, eyes narrowed, a smirk perched on his lips as he walked towards them all. "You see...Voldemort and I are very good friends now...since I helped him take over Hogwarts and kill our loving Headmaster." His voice was filled with sarcasm at the last bit.
" You WHAT?" Harry screamed. "YOU KILLED DUMBLEDORE?!"
"Right you are, Potter." He said. "Now, stand aside, you simpering fools, while--"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Ron screamed, giving Harry his wand and jumping at Malfoy, strangling him. They didn't hold him back this time.
" Ron, no, if you kill him you'll be put in Azkaban!" Hermione said, panicking.
" I don't bloody care! He fucking killed Dumbledore, Hermione!" Ron yelled between punches. Draco was trying to hold him back, without success.
The fight that ensued left them all breathless at the end. After a million 'Expelliarmus'es and 'Stupefy's, the Death Eaters that could still move Apparated out, Ron falling to the floor where Draco lay.
"The filthy, dirty bastard, I'll kill him the next time I see him..." Ron muttered darkly, holding his jaw where Draco had gotten in a punch.
" Voldemort's in the castle." Harry whispered, blanching as he doubled over in pain once more, clutching his forehead.
"Harry!"
" Harry!"
Ron and Hermione exclaimed at once, running to their friend, and, in Hermione's case, fiancé.
"I'm fine. We need to find him." Harry muttered through clenched teeth, running down the stairs, Hermione and Ron close on his tail.
***
Bursting through the doors to the Entrance Hall, there was another ear splitting BOOM! that knocked them off their feet that time. A rather un- nerving crumble came from the ceiling above them, and a few chunks of rock fell on the staircase.
"Oh dear. He wants to bring the castle down on our heads." Hermione mumbled and blanched, looking at her best friends.
" We can't let him. We can't. This place is my home. More of a home than the Dursley's house was. I won't let him!" Harry said stubbornly, slamming his fist against the wall for emphasis. "Ow..." He snapped his wrist back involuntarily, holding his knuckles.
Despite what was going on around them, they burst into laughter at Harry. "You're smart." Ron said, snickering.
BOOM! Another castle-shake, and all was lost as the ceiling fell around them.
***
Harry came to, his body literally covered with rocks. Pushing them off him, he called out, his voice a bit strangled. "Hermione! Ron!"
"Harry! I'm over here!" Ron called back, sounding faint. A strange music filled their ears as the doors going away from the entrance hall filled their ears.
" Fawkes..." Harry and Ron said at the same time, looking up at the scarlet and gold-plumed birds, eyes widening.
Harry's mind remembered why a phoenix would be there: someone was dying. "HERMIONE!!!" He screamed, pain strangling his voice as he stood up, the rocks literally flying from him as he scrambled around, looking for Hermione. "HERMIONE, WHERE ARE YOU?!" His eyes rebelled, filling with tears as he flung rocks all over the place, -- but not over Ron -- looking for his fiancée. "Hermione, where are you?" He said softer, and his heart plunged when he saw a puddle of blood seeping out from under a boulder. "NOOOO!" With all the strength he could muster, he pushed the rock off of Hermione, seeing that she had a large gash in her stomach and she was whimpering, looking up at him with tears in her eyes.
" Harry, I love you with all my heart..." Hermione whispered.
" Hermione, you're not going to die. Don't die on me, damnit! Don't. Die. Fawkes is here! He'll heal you. I promise. Just don't die." He had tears falling down his cheeks -- it was obvious that he loved her very much.
Fawkes flew over and landed beside Hermione, his eyes filling with silvery tears that fell down onto Hermione's stomach.
It was too gory for Harry. His stomach rebelled, and he went off to the side, vomiting up the water he had drunk earlier. Wiping his mouth -- and cheeks unnoticeably -- he walked back over to Hermione and Fawkes. Fawkes had silver tears falling down his beak and onto Hermione's stomach, which was healing rapidly.
" Harry. Find Ron. Make sure he's alright, please." Hermione's voice was a considerable amount stronger.
" Alright." He went over to the spot where Ron was, and lifted some rocks off of him. "Alright there, mate?" He was stronger than you could realize; for all that he was skinny and lithe, a full six feet in height. Ron was about six feet, five inches, and had a considerable amount of muscles from weight training over the past few summers.
" Yeah. Just a scratch." He pointed at his leg, which was torn and bloody, and even for his brave façade, he was in pain.
Harry hadn't noticed that his right arm was torn and bleeding as well, and the pain hit him full force as Fawkes's music filled the air again, going over to Ron first and then Harry. Pretty soon, Hermione was standing up, and all was right as they were healed by trusty Fawkes. "Thanks, Fawkes. You served your master well." His eyes got blurry at his mentioning of Dumbledore, and blinked his tears away, looking at Hermione and Ron. "I'm going after him. It's my choice, you too, so don't try and stop me. I'll be back, I promise. Don't worry." He pulled Hermione to him and kissed her passionately, which she returned, tears falling down her cheeks. He turned to Ron and gave him a manly hug, patting his back and pulling away. "I'll be fine, mate."
" We'll just have to take your word on it, won't we.." Hermione whispered, not loud enough for the two of them to hear.
" If...if I don't come back.." Harry gulped. "Ron..I want you to have my cloak if I don't come back..but you two have to share it. And Hermione..." He pulled her over to the side, whispering in her ear. "I want you and my child to know that I love you both very, very much, and I want you to give Sirius the photo album in the top drawer of my nightstand." They had known Hermione was pregnant for two months now, and hopefully the rock that had fallen on her hadn't killed their child.
"Well. I guess...I'll see you later..." Harry gulped and maneuvered his way towards the Great Hall, where Voldemort and his fate awaited him.
***
It had been a year now. A year since Harry had went into the Great Hall and never come back. Hermione recalled running into the Great Hall after a large burst of green light and another one of gold streamed out from the cracks in the doors, before bursting them open. She had seen two bodies lying on the floor. One she was pleased to see dead (Voldemort) and the other which made her scream with pain, a wail following.
" Harry, nooo, you've got to wake up, please, I need you here now! Our baby needs you! Wake up!" She pounded on his chest furiously, trying to beat the life back into him. "Wake up..." She started sobbing and leaned against his dead form, crying into his rock-dusted robes. "Nooo...."
She had eventually got over it, but she could never return to Hogwarts without her eyes filling up. After the funerals of Harry and Dumbledore, the house elves had scrambled around, miraculously rebuilding the Entrance Hall better than it was before.
She had ended up falling in love with Ron when she was in her ninth month, and got married two months later, three months before the anniversary of Harry's death.
But that day, it was hard on her. She started crying, without any pre- notion of crying at all, and Ron had came over to her with a few strides, holding her and rocking her, stroking her hair and telling her that Harry was happy for them, because he would have wanted her to move on with her life.
A cry startled them out of their reverie, and they immediately stood up, walking over to the crib, where a baby with Harry's green eyes and strawberry-brown hair looked up at them, her eyes full of tears.
" Oh, Lily, it's alright, don't cry." Hermione cooed, picking her daughter out of the crib.