1.
I would not wish
Any companion in the world but you,
Nor can imagination form a shape,
Besides yourself, to like of.
William Shakespeare. The Tempest.
Sunday, May 2, 1999, 8:47pm
A great sphere was charmed high above them with the blinding whiteness of pure starlight that chased shadows away from the ostentatiously decorated hall. They lingered in her heart though, scattered to the furthest corners. These days keeping busy helped, as well as thinking of possible ways to dissolve the overwhelming black hole of persisting sense of uselessness. Imagining to be engaged in fruitful activity never failed to bring a faint smile to her lips.
'Judging by the glaze over those eyes and the smirk, there is a rather naughty fantasy playing out in your devious mind at the moment.'
A mischievous voice startled her out of the daydream of an energetic revision for the upcoming N.E.W.T.s in the library. George Weasley stood to the right, left brow raised and amusement clear in his eyes. Hermione smiled, shaking head in an attempt to gather her thoughts.
'My devious mind did not consider excuses I could have come up with to escape the morbid fate of attending this sorry excuse of a party.'
She let the bitterness seep into her tone. George looked away gulping from the drink in his hand, which she suspected was infused with firewhisky.
'Yeah, hypocrites the lot of them,' he mused. 'So few fought along with us.'
She chose to remain silent. Hermione did not approve of the show the ministry put on organizing A Victory Day and its grand celebration. The all-around invitation to the legendary Spavin Hall, graciously opened to guests by Hadar Spavin, the descendant of the longest-serving minister, felt like a slap to the face in the wake of the continuous unsuccessful pursuit of remaining Death Eaters. Moreover, the memories of war and those who lost their lives were all too fresh and painful for her.
'At least brother found ways to amuse himself.'
Hermione followed his gaze towards the banquet tables where a group of young witches and wizards gathered around Ron who was engaged in some sort of drinking game with Dean Thomas. Punch in their cups, which were more like small buckets by size, was most certainly not non-alcoholic beverage the ministry provided them with.
Besides, who in their right mind would choose to stay behind without any alcohol? She rolled her eyes. And then rolled them again remembering how she had not had any drink and yet still was at the party.
Hermione signed.
She could easily spot Harry cheering Ron, and Ginny next to him with a bucket of her own loudly singing: 'Weasley is our King!' Neville was energetically gesticulating something to starry-eyed Hannah Abbott. The Patil twins were whispering to each other while casting glances at Seamus Finnigan, who laughed loudly as Dean finished his bucket and let out a loud belch. Luna appeared impressed at the noise and said something to Ernie Macmillan which caused him to spray his drink through the nose to the delight of the group. Hermione could see Alicia Spinnet pointing to Angelina Jonson at Lee Jordan and Katie Bell laughing boisterously some distance away from the group. Angelina seemed amused, and somehow indignant at the same time while sending unsuccessfully covert glances towards her and George.
'He's going to propose tonight.'
Once more the mischievous voice disturbed her thoughts.
'Huh?'
At the flabbergasted response, George heaved a great sigh.
'A certain brother of mine decided to make his intentions clear and could not choose the occasion more suitable. That is why he is drinking himself into a bucket,' He suddenly grinned. 'Literally.'
Again they watched the group of young men and women who once were part of Dumbledore's Army. Ron was now singing at the top of his lungs 'God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs' of all songs. Hermione cringed.
'Harry has got a sobering potion. We even offered to get some felix felicis,' George kept talking. 'I mean, if you'd rather we got him home before he embarrasses himself-'
'I'm going to say yes.'
Her response to the unasked question rang clear and promptly made him stop mid-speech. George grinned, but the happiness he was trying to project did not quite reach his eyes.
'Just looking after my brother, you understand,' he said unapologetically and after giving her another smirk stalked off to join Ron and Harry who were now having a singing contest.
Deciding to finally find Andromeda and Teddy which she planned to do before her thoughts drifted to impending exams, Hermione went in the opposite direction. It was easy to spot a child's head of turquoise close to one of the massive columns circling the centre part of the grand ballroom. Andromeda held her grandson tightly while telling him a story that had Teddy hanging on every word. As she came closer, to the left Hermione glimpsed two wizards furiously arguing and snarling at each other. Brows furrowed she tried to place gestures of one of them, but somehow, for all he seemed familiar she was certain to have had never met him before.
'Hermione!'
Andromeda nodded her over and she went with one more glance at the men. They now stood calm and leering in her direction. Teddy's hair curled and darkened to an exact shade of brown her own locks were and he wiggled in the arms of his grandmother reaching for Hermione. With a laugh, she hugged him close to her heart.
'Who is this lovely boy I found?' she cooed bouncing the child in her embrace. Teddy happily squeaked.
Andromeda laughed, 'Just the other day he managed to sneak away in the apothecary and was returned to me with the very same words.'
Hermione joined in her mirth gazing fondly at the older woman.
'I'd like to visit you once I am done with the exams. We could go somewhere together or I could relieve you of this little beast for a while,' she tickled Teddy slightly which caused him to erupt into another set of squeaks and giggles.
Andromeda lovingly caressed her curls, 'You are always welcome with us.'
Fighting in the war brought most of them close together. Nevertheless, at first, Hermione was hesitant to follow Harry on his visits to Teddy. Her friend insisted because he just could not relax around Andromeda, who only at first glance resembled Bellatrix and was as different from her sister in temperament as water and oil. Stiff as he was with Tonks's mother, Harry doted on his godson. He was determined to give Teddy love for both Nymphadora and Remus.
Hermione, however, soon enough found a great companion in the older woman. Andromeda's calm way of speaking and even the occasional haughtiness were similar to her mother's prior to the trip of the Wilkins to Australia. The Grangers were returned back to Britain with their identities intact before Hermione even considered finishing her seventh year. However, the one-sided decision to place the charm on her family caused a rift in their relationship that resulted in an abundance of distrustful and disapproving looks and words. After apologies were uttered and embraces were shared the split was still ever so present like an open cut which seemed incurable.
Andromeda offered a piece of advice one day when Hermione had a particularly nasty exchange at home about her prospects. As usual, it ended in bitter accusations from her mother and angry silence from her father. They wished for Hermione to attend university and consider life outside of magical Britain. The Grangers did not want to hear blatant refusals, yet did not have much patience for her arguments either. So, she followed Harry in attempt to escape from home and had an outwardly random conversation with Andromeda about Remus and his poor ability to follow his heart under the strain of expectations and limitations he once caged himself by. Hermione found herself inspired and managed to reach the compromise with her parents. She decided to graduate from Hogwarts and then consider a part-time course at university which would allow her to work. After the success of that clandestine counselling, Hermione could not help coming back for more until she visited Andromeda and Teddy at least once a week on her own.
'Bah!' little Lupin shouted squirming in her embrace. An unpleasant odour spread and Hermione wrinkled her nose. Andromeda was already gently extracting him from her arms.
'This mess is ought to be cleaned,' She said. 'Why don't you join your beau? He keeps glancing over.'
As if on cue Ron grinned at her from the other side of the hall, raking hands through his hair. She smiled back waving.
'I might as well.'
Andromeda and Teddy were already a few paces ahead as she carried him towards bathrooms.
Hermione had not even made half a step when there was a massive blast right behind her. Her body rose in the air as if weightless and was propelled hard into Andromeda. They crashed to the stone floor, Teddy crying out in fright. Over the screams of guests and ringing in her ears from seemingly all directions at once Hermione heard several more explosions. Immediately dust filled the hall.
Blood hot and sticky trickled down her neck and spine as she gasped trying to stay conscious. Pain angrily pulsed all along her back and deep inside the skull but Hermione managed to lift herself a little from the crumpled form of Andromeda. The older woman was dazed but did not appear to be injured and Teddy was safe if scared as he wailed clutching at his grandmother.
Ahead, colourful flashes of curses illuminated thick of the dust as a duel broke out on the other side of the hall.
Harry!
Ron!
Hermione tried to move over Andromeda and sit up. Her body refused to comply. With sluggish movements, she reached for the wand stashed in the side pocket of her dress robes.
It was not there.
Behind, a man shouted a killing curse and its foul aura settled on her skin, making the fine hairs at the back of her neck rise. Someone was just murdered while she lay there injured and defenceless.
'Andromeda,' she whispered urgently at the dazed woman under her, 'where is your wand?'
There was no other reply but Teddy's cries.
Hermione chanced a backward glance. One of the men she saw arguing next to the pillar was firing curses left and right without much care for his aim.
Her mind was frantic even as her body remained unresponsive.
He is bombarding the walls. He wants everything to collapse!
Wizard's features babbled and there stood Rodolphus Lestrange looking determined and completely unhinged as he methodically blasted the walls and columns. Before she could decide on any plan of action he glanced up and sent the curse at the ceiling.
The time seemed to slow like in the new moving picture she was planning to see with Ron that summer. Hermione watched a great chunk of stone falling straight at them slashing the dusty air like knife cut butter and she thought briefly how Harry might have liked the movie: the main character was also The Chosen One. She threw herself back over disoriented Andromeda and hysterical Teddy embracing them with all her might, covering them as well as she could.
'I love you,' Hermione whispered feeling tears sliding down her cheeks, 'I love you,' willing all of her magic to seep through her fingers, skin, the very pores and protect them from any harm. 'I love you.'
•• — •• — •• — • —
Several minutes later the last of the few fighting Death Eaters were stunned, bound and escorted from the hall. Their terrorist group had only six people, all came out of bombarding alive though wounded, with Lestrange brothers unconscious and Mulciber foaming at the mouth at being taken to Azkaban.
Aurors vanished the dust and were levitating fallen parts of the columns, walls, and ceiling to the sides of the hall. The majority of guests, especially those who were situated close to members of the former Dumbledore's Army were unharmed. Called-in healers quickly dispersed the crowd by issuing calming draughts in large quantities and sending people home.
However, many other guests were buried under the rubble.
Harry was going through the wreckage in a frenzy searching for familiar faces, terror churning deep in his gut. Minerva McGonagall was among the casualties lying unconscious with bleeding head wound. As healers were attending to the Headmistress, in distance Harry spotted Bill clutching at still body of Fleur, head bowed low to her neck, as she gazed up with eyes open but unseeing. Molly and Arthur both ghostly pale and holding each other tightly were standing like statues right behind them silently crying. To their right, Draco Malfoy was sitting on the floor next to the bodies of his mother and fiancé. He stared right through Harry, blank face dirty and tearstained. Clenching fists until they hurt Harry managed to move on.
A child was crying faintly somewhere ahead.
He saw Ron next to the entrance doors closing in a circle from the other side as they agreed. It seemed, his friend was stuck though, trying to calm a hysterical witch rather unsuccessfully with the most helpless expression on his face. The scene would have made him smile any other time. Now the desire to wildly scream Hermione's name was growing exponentially with every passing second.
Ahead two aurors struggled with the levitation and Harry rushed to their aid. Under the heavy stones, Katie Bell and Lee Jordan were lying unmoving hand in hand - Harry had to gulp a breath of air because his vision abruptly went black and another pair lay dead on the cold floors of Hogwarts, their infant son left an orphan.
Anguished shout close by brought him back to the present.
Ron was bawling over someone, which briefly made him wish for unconsciousness. Stomach in knots and dread consuming every thought, Harry caught himself signing in relief once he spotted short red hair of the person Ron was holding. Horrified by this bout of callousness he hastened over but froze mid-step, stumbled badly and almost crushed to the floor upon looking to the right.
As the part of the collapsed ceiling was being gently lifted, a bloodied body came into view. Someone under it was having a bad coughing fit while crying pitifully but Harry stood rigidly, brain pulsing with one name – Hermione, Hermione, Hermione.
Aurors levitated her aside: his eyes followed every movement without even a glance towards Andromeda and wailing Teddy who were being checked over by the healer. His limbs seemingly made of lead were robotically moving towards Hermione. Detached, he gazed over her broken features: red delicate hands, pale face and matted mane of curly hair. With eyes burning, throat dry, unable to swallow or take a breath Harry tripped and fell heavily. It brought him closer to her still form and he scrambled forward fisting hands in beautiful dress robes he and Ginny bought for her birthday, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, shaking her awake.
From far away Harry could hear unbearable keening, that broke his heart.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Harry came to himself slowly, the terrible wailing sound still distant but getting louder. He was clinging to Hermione with all his might, her bloodied body pliant but cold. Her head was lolled to the side on his shoulder, glassy eyes boring into his own. He was out of breath and coughing, tears clogged his throat. With heart wildly beating Harry gulped air greedily until he grew dizzy and heard the keening again.
It was coming from him.
Harry coughed wheezing, clutching her body closer.
'Wake up,' he whispered urgently, 'wake up, Hermione.'
Her name was swallowed by sobs.
'Please, stay with me, Hermione,' he kept on begging. 'Please, I need you to care for me,' his voice was rising. 'You can't leave me like mum, and dad, and Sirius.'
'You can't leave me!' Harry was now shouting. 'I beg you!'
He wept inconsolably wishing for her to wake up, to stay with him, to always look after him. He wept and begged desperately, not caring about shaken Ron standing rigidly over them; or Ginny who was gently trying to coax him to let go; or about Teddy loudly crying in arms of Andromeda, not a scratch on both of them; or about the coldness of Hermione's broken body in his embrace. Harry kept sending prayers for her to love him, selfishly besought her to care for him again and above all wished and wished and wished for her to be granted with life once more.
Hermione remained limp and cold as Harry continued the lament now joined by Ron, Ginny and many others who survived. Andromeda watched on stoically thinking that if her sisters ever were at least a bit like Hermione, mayhap, her life would not have been so full of loss. For a heartbeat, she wished to have had one more sister to care for, who could have been just the grain which tipped the scales in their favour during the war.
Sky peeking through the gashes of the collapsed ceiling was dark and cloudless, with stars flickering in great distance, cold and unsympathetic. Centaurus's Agena was dazzling in the night, while the Girdle of Andromeda pulsed brighter and brighter as if the chained woman was gently swaying to a sound of a lullaby.