Sacrifices
Rating: T
Summary: Nagini, the last of the Horcruxes has been destroyed. Now twenty years to the day that Voldermort killed James and Lily Potter, transforming one-year-old Harry Potter forever into "The Boy Who Lived," all that remains to be dealt with is the Dark Lord himself. Hermoine and Ron have been there through it all, becoming Harry's strength and his salvation, giving him the reason to keep on fighting even when all hope seems lost. Lured into a trap by Lucius Malfoy the Trio fight to the finish.
3/22/07-Edit: This new shiny verison has been BETA READ by thetriomakesmehot, over on TQP archive. Thank you for making my story read even better:)
Warnings: There is a Major Character Death. There is lots of angst here so you might want to break out the tissues.
Disclaimer: The only things I own regarding Harry Potter is a copy of the first six books and the first four movies. Everything else belongs to the people who created them.
Authors Note: I had a real honest to God dream about this, and I had a mental image so strong that I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Since I am in no way a visual artist and my rough sketch just wasn't doing it for me, this fic came to be since it is the only way I could get it out of my head. This is my first piece of Harry Potter Fan Fiction that I've ever written so please Review and let me know what you think.
Additional Note: The lines from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are a combination of quotations from the book and the movie glued together with a small amount of my paraphrasing.
October 31, 2001
As hexes fly in an array of colors over the soggy, muddy battlefield, Harry mentally berates himself once more for leading Ron and Hermione straight into another trap set by Lucius Malfoy. He was so certain that Voldermort would be here and he thought after all these years of painful visions he should be able to pick out the real ones from the misleading ones that Voldermort has planted in his head. He was wrong.
Fighting in their usual protective formation, Ron is off to Harry's left side, a couple of feet in front of him, while Hermione remains a couple of paces behind Harry. A quick movement allows him to dodge yet another 'Crucio' aimed in his direction as he, Ron, and Hermione fight their way backward toward the lone dead tree, the only source of cover available to them in this exasperatingly open space.
"Expelliarmus!!!" they all shout in unison, causing three of the approaching Death Eaters to lose their wands.
A loud, "Morsmordre," is heard from across the field, and the eerie green light of the Dark Mark bursts out illuminating the dark sky. Harry turns toward the caster, he finds himself facing Draco Malfoy, who amazingly, he hasn't seen since that fateful night in the Tower four years ago. Draco advances and the two rivals stare each other down, wands at the ready, but neither one of them moves to make a strike.
Ron sees as Lucius, taking advantage of Harry's preoccupation with his son, silently sends out the green light of the killing curse at Harry. Reacting instinctively, Ron calls out in a desperate warning, "Harry look out!" before diving directly into the path of the curse.
Hermione screams, "Ron!" and Harry turns just in time to see his best friend engulfed by the green light that was meant for him. Harry and Hermione can do nothing but look on in horror as Ron's limp, lifeless body crashes face first into a shallow pool of stagnant, muddy water.
Losing control of his emotions and his magic, Harry's wand slips from his fingers and he lets out a horrifying scream as a shock wave of intense, wild, and wandless magic erupts over the entire battlefield. The force abruptly knocks Hermione, Draco, Lucius, and the other Death Eaters off of their feet, and causes them to fly several feet backwards from where they were previously standing. Terrified by this display of awesome power, all of the Death Eaters immediately turn tail and flee, Apparating away from the barren, muddy scene.
Rushing to the side of his fallen friend and blinded by tears, Harry slips and falls in the slimy mud, losing his glasses, and crashes heavily to his knees alongside Ron's body. Wailing hysterically as he faces his worst nightmare made flesh; he frantically tries to lift Ron's face out of the water. Slipping and sliding he loses his grip, several times sending Ron splashing back into the water. Finally, desperately calling on some last reserves of strength, he manages to turn Ron over, half pulling him into his lap.
Time grinds to a halt for Harry as he hugs his best friend to his chest and grieves. In this moment, he mourns all the people this senseless war has stolen from him: his parents, Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, but most of all for Ron.
Hermione slowly staggers to her feet, her wand in hand, but arms dangling uselessly at her sides. Silent tears stream down her cheeks as she freezes in shock at the sight of Harry, crying with complete and utter abandon as he cradles Ron's head gently in his arms.
Lost in their grief, neither Harry nor Hermione notice as a lone figure Apparates to their location. Lurking in the shadows the stranger sits in wait for Harry's wild sobs to subside. Perhaps they all stood there an eternity, maybe it was the stretch of mere minutes, no one present could ever say. Eventually, Harry's tears diminish to mere trickles and he looks up sharply, suddenly sensing the presence of the intruder.
Realizing he's been caught the stranger rapidly casts an extremely powerful freezing charm on both Harry and Hermione. Trapped and unable to do anything but watch and listen, Harry and Hermione are stunned when they hear a familiar voice call out, "Accio Potter's glasses."
The summoned glasses fly from where they lay in the muddy ground, smoothly into the hands of Severus Snape. "Scourgify," Snape casts before stunning his captives by placing them gently back onto Harry's frozen face. Snape looms over them with the commanding presence remembered so well from their years at Hogwarts.
"I have no intention of harming either one of you," he begins with a trademark glare. "I do not expect you to trust me, nor do I expect you understand me or my motives for doing the things that I do. What I do expect is that you listen to what I have to say."
Shockingly at this, Snape drops uncharacteristically to his knees to bring his imposing height to Harry's level and looks directly into Harry's turmoil filled eyes.
"The Dark Lord is vulnerable Potter. His powers have become considerably weaker, and his mind is growing increasingly unstable." Snape pauses and raises a knowing eyebrow before continuing. "I suspect you know why. This is the reason he set this trap for you tonight, rather than to risk facing you himself once more. You will find him alone at the edge of Godric's Hallow, as is his custom on this night. No Death Eater in their right mind would dare disturb him tonight unless directly summoned." He pauses and then Snape's voice takes on a tone of serious urgency. "Now is the time to strike Potter."
Snape's eyes trail downward to rest briefly on Ron's face before returning his gaze to Harry's. "Mr. Weasley's death is most unfortunate," he says softly, "I trust you won't let his sacrifice be in vain." After lingering a moment, Severus Snape rises to his feet in a sweeping move and Disapparates.
Blinking his eyes and once again finding himself able to move, Harry looks down once more at Ron and takes in the image of his friend. Ron's eyes are closed, and his face and bright red hair are streaked with mud. Despite all this he looks serene and content, as if he was merely sleeping. Renewed with a sense of purpose, Harry lovingly smoothes the saturated strands away from Ron's face before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cold forehead in a silent promise.
Seeing this, Hermione staggers forward and abruptly drops to her knees beside them. Wrapping one arm around Harry and the other around Ron, she unites the trio one final time as she leans her head into Harry's shoulder and cries. Harry sits there and holds his two friends tightly until Hermione's tears ebb. Finally regaining her voice, Hermione lifts her head. "Harry?"
Meeting her tear filled eyes, Harry answers, "Hermione, I need you to take care of Ron. I'm going to finish this."
"No, Harry," Hermione pleads, "You know it's likely another trap. I can't let you do this alone!"
Crushing Hermione to him in a fierce one-armed hug, his voice raw with barely suppressed emotion, Harry begs, "Please do this for me, Hermione. I need to go on. I need to finish this for you, for me, for Ron!" He tears away from the embrace, gripping her tightly and holding her at arms length. Tears threaten to fall once more, but Harry doesn't let them beyond the confines of his eyes. "Please Hermione..." he begs; his voice cracking, "I can't bear to lose you too!"
She stares into Harry's eyes and sees the fierce determination in them. Knowing deep down in her soul that this is a battle she cannot win, Hermione reluctantly nods her ascent. Tightly embracing him once more she whispers, "Harry, be careful and come back to me."
Harry nods, and gently transfers Ron into her arms. Rising to his feet he summons his wand wordlessly, letting it soar gently into his palm. Turning away, he hears the words Ron spoke to him moments before his first confrontation with Voldermort echo clearly in his mind.
"It's the only way..." Ron said softly, "I've got to be taken."
"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted.
"You have to make some sacrifices!" Ron snapped with fierce determination before softening his tone.
"Harry, it's you that has to go on, I know it. Not me. Not Hermione. You!"
Looking up toward the heavens where the Dark Mark still glows sickly and green, he vows, "I'm going on Ron, and this time I am going to end it."
Turning around for one last look at his two best friends, Harry Potter, filled to the brim with love, the power the Dark Lord knows not, marches off to his final battle.