In The End
Summary: "So I guess this is it then." Ron said hushed. "Time to say goodbye…" Alternative ending to the battle in DH right before the epilogue. A lot of fluff. H/Hr/R friendship
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything involved.
Ron wanted to get out of the Great Hall. Not only to get away from Lupin, Tonks and Fred but to also convince Harry that their deaths weren't his fault because he knew that Harry blamed himself.
At the doors, he hesitated and looked over his shoulder to Hermione, who was comforting Ginny. Looking at her felt different now. He realized that he should've kissed her a long time ago but at least she knew how he felt about her now in case something happened. He knew she would be safer if she stayed here so he looked at her one last time and walked on.
At the main entrance he ran into Neville. "Hey Neville, have you seen Harry by any chance?"
"I did actually, I just talked to him but he headed outside." Neville told him. "Is everything okay?"
"As good as can be at this time. Why?"
"Well, Harry asked me to kill Voldemort's snake in case you and Hermione couldn't."
"What? -- But what about him? Why wouldn't he be able to do it himself, he knows –" Ron stopped mid-sentence when it sunk in what Harry was probably going to do.
"What's wrong, Ron?" Neville asked when he saw Ron's face.
"I have to go find Harry. Listen, if you see Hermione, tell her to not come looking for me, okay?"
"Sure but you know she's not going to listen to that."
"I know." Ron said, grinning slightly. "But you have to try." Neville nodded in response but frowned concerned. "I'll see you later." He added and he quickly walked on to the grounds.
He looked around and even though it was dark he saw Harry immediately. As Ron had feared, he was heading to the Dark Forest like Voldemort had ordered him to. He started to run until Harry was only a couple of metres in front of him and he slowed down.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Ron asked loud when he'd caught up with Harry, who quickly turned around.
"Ron!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing! Please don't tell me you're giving up." Harry opened his mouth to say something but didn't and instead looked down.
"I can't believe this." Ron reacted, beaten and disappointed. "Look Harry, Lupin, Tonks and Fred – That wasn't your fault –"
"Not my fault?! Of course it's my fault. If it wasn't for me, there wouldn't even be a battle going on! I'm the reason that Teddy has to grow up without his parents." Harry shot back.
"He'll still have his godfather, at least if you don't go through with this, that is. Besides, they didn't just die so you could simply surrender an hour later!"
"Ron. It's not like that at all." Harry said soft. "I don't have a choice."
"You know what, that's bull! You fought for almost 7 years to stay alive but now you're just going to let yourself get killed without even saying goodbye to anyone?" Ron said loud, getting angry.
"I'm talking to you now, aren't I?" He countered. "Look, I don't have time for this, I have to go." He added, turning around and starting to walk away.
"So that's it, huh? You're just going to leave like this?"
Harry sighed and turned around again. "Nothing I say is going to make this easier, Ron. You've been my best friend for 7 years." There was a short silence where Harry wished he could just follow Ron back to the castle but he couldn't. "I'm sorry." He ended and walked away again.
"And what about Hermione, Harry? Doesn't she deserve a chance to say goodbye?" Ron asked, using up his final arguments as he stepped closer.
"She does. Of all people, especially Hermione does but if I see her now, I know it'll be so much harder to leave."
"What's going on?" Hermione suddenly asked, coming up next to Ron as if on cue. She looked from Harry to Ron, frowning but neither saying a word. "Ginny and I have been looking all over for you, Ron. What are you two doing here?" When she saw the way Ron looked at Harry she immediately realized why they were at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
She turned to Harry with a look of disbelief on her face. "You can't – you can't surrender. Why would you even consider it?" She asked.
"Because it's the only way to destroy Voldemort, Hermione!"
"And what about the other way – our way? The one we've been doing for the past year? We only have 2 more Horcruxes to destroy: the snake and –"
"Me." Harry finished and Ron and Hermione looked at him with even more disbelief and frowns on their face.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"I'm the last Horcrux." Harry explained. Ron and Hermione looked at each other like they thought that all the pressure had made Harry crazy. "I don't have the time to explain it but it's true."
"But Harry, you can't be. That would mean…" Hermione replied, the end of her sentence trailing off as she figured it out.
"You understand it, don't you? I have to die and then Voldemort will die too and that's what our goal was, right?"
Hermione shook her head and stepped closer. "Your destiny is to die? That can't be right!"
"I don't have any other choice." Harry said soft. "And I have to do this now, while I still have the courage to."
"But what are we going to do without you, mate?" Ron asked, feeling incredibly helpless.
"You two are going to finish what we started so you can have the life you were supposed to have." Harry answered, like it was logical.
"And the one you deserved." Hermione said and Harry sighed.
"Hermione don't." Ron suddenly said. "Harry's right. He's the only one who can stop all this."
"What?!" Hermione turned to look at him, getting angry. "Basically, what you're saying is that it's okay for our best friend to die."
"No! How can you even say that? I'm just being supportive!"
"Oh, you want to talk supportive? Leaving me and Harry to figure everything out alone was very supportive, Ron." She shot back.
"Don't even start, Hermione –"
"You know I'm going to miss you guys fighting all the time." Harry smiled but Ron and Hermione didn't.
"Are you really sure about this, Harry?" Ron asked him and Harry nodded. "I wish I didn't have to but I do. And I have to go now too, there's not much time left before he'll attack again, remember?"
Ron and Hermione looked at Harry like they had been punched in the stomach. They couldn't believe this. Harry couldn't stand the silence but chose not to say anything for a second. He just looked at his best friends and felt the reasons why he had to do this slowly fade in his mind. How was he supposed to leave them after all they'd done for him?
"I guess this is it then." Ron finally said. "Time to say goodbye, right?"
Hermione just closed her eyes for a second, like she didn't want to hear it and looked away.
"Yeah…" Harry replied. "Thanks for sticking with me all these years guys." He said and he hugged Ron.
"Thanks for being my best friend. I'll miss you, Harry, more than you know." Ron told him and Harry nodded as he let go of him. "You too." He smiled lightly.
"Hermione…" She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. "Without you, we wouldn't even have made it through first year, let alone 7. I have so much to thank you for."
She nodded in response, not being able to see anything, but burst out in tears and hugged him. "I don't want to lose you, Harry. Why did they have to put us through so much just to let it end like this?" She said, sobbing.
"I don't know." Harry answered, still holding her. "But would you do me one favor?"
Hermione let go of him just enough to look at him, even though she was still crying.
"Please name one of your kids after me." He said, smiling lightly and Hermione chuckled through her tears. "Sure." She said and she looked in his eyes for a moment. Before she knew it, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"What was that for?" Harry asked surprised, thinking she'd gone crazy.
"Because you're my best friend and I love you." She replied as she let go of him.
He nodded in response and suddenly Voldemort's voice echoed over the grounds. "Harry Potter, this is your last chance. If you don't turn yourself in within the next 10 minutes, the battle will continue and more lives will be lost. Tick-tock, Harry, tick-tock."
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and sighed. "Look, maybe we should go with you. You know, for back-up." Ron suggested but Harry shook his head. "No, this is something I have to do alone. I just hope you have a great life together."
Ron nodded thankfully but Hermione had tears rolling down her cheeks again. He wrapped an arm around her to try and comfort her.
"Will you tell Ginny I love her?" Harry asked him.
"I will." Ron assured him and Hermione quietly said: "Good luck."
"Bye." Harry quickly said and he turned around and started to walk into the Forest. If he hadn't left that moment, he would've lost the courage to, even when he knew that they didn't deserve such a lousy goodbye. He ordered himself to not look back when he heard Hermione sob again but he saw light in the distance and suddenly he'd never been more sure that he had to do this.
At the same time, Ron was trying to comfort Hermione a bit. He held her tight as she silently cried on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay." He assured her, rubbing her back but she pulled back abruptly. "How is it going to be okay? We're about to lose our best friend."
"You know that's not what I meant. He did it to give us a – life… together."
"I know." She smiled sadly and she kissed him. "But at what cost?" She looked up at Ron and he nodded in understanding as he wiped the tears off her cheeks.
"Come on, we should head back to the castle." He suggested and Hermione took his hand as they walked back. In one of the corridors, they found Ginny sitting next to Neville. They both looked tired but weren't really hurt.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ginny asked when she saw her red and puffy eyes.
"Did you cry?" Neville noticed too but Hermione smiled faintly at them. "It's nothing, I'm fine." She assured them but they both looked at her suspiciously.
"You two okay?" Ron asked them when Neville helped Ginny to get up, she had trouble to stand on her left ankle.
"It's nothing, I'm fine." She replied, shooting a meaningful glance a Hermione, who turned a bit red.
Suddenly, they heard a loud cry that startled them since it had been rather quiet the whole time. They quickly ran to where it came from and pretty soon they realized that it was Professor McGonagall who had yelled something. The reason why made Hermione stop breathing: Harry was lying on the ground, not moving at all, but even worse, Voldemort was standing next to him… alive.
"No!" She and Ron yelled in unison and Ginny gasped for breath. "Harry?!"
They didn't even hear all the things that Voldemort was saying. A sobbing Ginny held onto Ron and Hermione got tears in her eyes as she stared at Harry, feeling paralyzed. She heard Neville say something and suddenly everything happened fast. With one swing of Gryffindor's sword, Neville killed the snake and everyone started to fight or run again.
"Hermione!" Ron yelled and he pulled her along by her hand.
"Ron... Harry -- Something must've gone wrong." She yelled back, to get over the noise when they got back to the Great Hall.
"Look out!" Someone shouted and Ron ducked a curse just in time.
"Luna." He said surprised as he helped her to get up too. "Thanks!"
When Hermione turned around, she heard a laugh that gave her chills. "You!" Hermione shot at Bellatrix Lestrange, who just smirked evilly. "It's about time someone finished you off and it would be my pleasure to do it."
"You?" Bellatrix scowled. "By yourself or is your boyfriend going to have to help?" Hermione looked around and saw Ron battling another Deatheater with Neville and Dean. She carefully took out her wand as she glared at Bellatrix.
"Poor Harry Potter, he won't even get to be best man at his best friends' wedding." Bellatrix sneered and that crossed a line.
"Stupefy!" Hermione yelled in response, which threw Bellatrix against a wall but she immediately got back up again. "How dare you? Avada Kedavra!"
"Ginny, duck!" Hermione called out when she walked in the way of the spell. "Protego!"
The spell deflected and ended up killing Bellatrix. Voldemort saw it immediately and was furious about the loss of his most devoted follower so he pointed his wand at Hermione. "Now you certainly deserve to die, Mudblood. Avada Kedavra!"
Hermione turned around to where it came from but she didn't have the time to react anymore.
"PROTEGO!" Someone suddenly shouted just in time and Hermione sighed in relief. As she looked around to see who had saved her, she couldn't believe her eyes when Harry suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Harry?!"
"Leave her alone, this is between you and me." He told Voldemort and they began to walk in a circle, challenging each other back and forth. Ron grabbed a hold of Hermione's hand and pulled her close. Everyone seemed to hold their breath until it was suddenly all over. For a few seconds, everyone tried to take in the fact that Voldemort was dead but then the cheers broke loose. Hermione and Ron ran over to Harry and hugged him, Hermione chuckling in happiness.
"Wanna get out of here?" Harry asked. When they nodded, he threw the Invisibility Cloak over them and they headed to one of the corridors.
"I knew that thing would come in handy one day." Ron joked as Harry put the cloak away. "Hey, not that I'm not happy to see you and all but how are you still alive?"
Harry grinned at Ron's question. "Cliffs Notes? Killing me only destroyed the Horcux in me and by pretending I was dead, I could get back to the castle again. When Neville killed the snake, I put my cloak on and followed Voldemort to the Great Hall. With all of the Horcruxes gone, he was nothing more than a regular Deatheater who could be killed by his own curse. In a way I proved Lupin wrong, the spell I use the most, saved me in the end when he said that it wouldn't." Harry explained and he smiled sadly. "I still can't believe he's gone."
"He would've been proud of you." Hermione said and he nodded thankfully. "So it's really all over, isn't it?"
"I guess so, yeah."
"Congratulations man, you did it. Guess you really were the Chosen One." Ron smiled as he quickly hugged Harry, patting him on the back.
"Thanks." Harry laughed and he turned to Hermione. "I'm sorry I put you through so much pain tonight. I know how much you were hurting."
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" She smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"And you gave Bellatrix what she deserved for killing Sirius so thank you."
"I just wanted to protect myself, honestly." She admitted, even more embarrassed.
"Okay but still... Come here." Harry said and he hugged her tight. "Thank God I was in time to protect you from that spell. I would've never forgiven myself if you – "
"But I didn't thanks to you. I feel like you're always saving me."
"I think you have that backwards." He laughed as he let go of her. "Hey, are you crying?"
"Oh no, these are just happy tears." Hermione smiled as she wiped a couple of tears off her cheeks. "God, I'm such a crybaby. It's just – I'm so glad we actually made it." She chuckled and she pulled both Ron and Harry in a hug.
"I bet Mom's just going ballistic because she can't find me. And thanks for saving Ginny, Hermione." Ron said when she let go of him again and Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, from me too."
"Oh yeah, you probably want to go find her."
"No, it's okay. I'll have years, maybe even a whole life to spend with her. You guys are just a little more important right now." Harry said and Ron and Hermione both smiled thankfully at him. Harry pulled Hermione in a one-armed hug and kissed the top of her head.
"Please don't feel left out, Ron, but I can't exactly do this with you." Harry told him and Ron laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about it but I'd like my girlfriend back now."
"Oh, is that what I am?" Hermione teased and they gave each other a long and tender kiss.
"Hello. Man with feelings over here." Harry joked, pointing at himself. So they broke apart and Ron wrapped his arm around Hermione. They were both blushing but Hermione smiled shyly while Ron grinned.
"Come on, let's go." Harry proposed.
"Go where?" Ron asked.
"Well, anywhere. How about the tree at the lake?"
"Sure, sounds normal." Hermione smiled and they headed outside.
"So, about this best man thing…" Harry said and they all laughed as they walked out the corridor.
A/N – Pretty long one shot but anyway, hope you liked it.
Jana.