The snake is dead... I did what I thought I had to do. If I hadn't have killed Nagini, it would have killed Ron and Hermione, then probably went after Harry too.

They say I'm a hero, now... That I should be brought great honor for what I did, defending the school that I love.

What they don't know... is that I already have been brought great honor.

After I killed Nagini, after Voldemort had been defeated by Harry, after his body had been destroyed like so many other lives had because of him, I looked out over the carnage that had been created by Voldemort and the Death Eaters at the school. Rubble everywhere... Lives shattered and taken... Cries of pain and anguish rang out everywhere...

It was more than I felt I could bear, so I just sat down. I stared at the sword of Godric Gryffindor, still in my hands. I could not believe I had used that sword- the same sword that had been used, I assume, by countless great wizards in the past- to kill. Not just to maim... to kill.

I had to, though, and I knew it. Regardless, I did not like doing it. Death does not need to exist, though it does. Even though death is all around me, I have a choice every day: cause death, or do not cause death. Most of the time, I choose the latter.

Today, I had to choose to kill.

As I stared at the sword, the reflection in the blade showed me many things: people, wandering around aimlessly, still lost in the shock of it all. I could hear Ginny crying uncontrollably, slumped down over the lifeless form of her older brother.

And then... the reflection of an angel.

It was momentary at best, but I knew that face anywhere. It was someone I had always loved, and always would... No matter what.

But she walked by me, and then her reflection was gone. I sighed, wondering if I should be feeling the way I did...

That one brief moment, of seeing her lovely face, almost seemed to make up for everything that had happened to everyone that day. It was a horrible thing to think, I know, but that was just simply how I felt.

I braced myself to stand up, wincing slightly at the pain throbbing through my head. I would have to get that checked out by whoever was on duty at the medical office.

Something extraordinary happened then, though, and I completely forgot about standing up... She sat down beside me.

At first, I thought I had lost a bit too much blood, and I was imagining things. But then I looked up, and there she was... My angel.

She looked about as bad-off as the rest of us were... Dirty, a bit scratched up... But what I thought was the most amazing part of all...?

I didn't seem to care. All I saw was her radiant beauty, and how she meant everything in the world to me... That was all I could see.

I looked into her beautiful eyes, and saw compassion radiating from them. That was what had started me on this path to heaven, was recognizing just how much I loved her compassion for others. Everything else had fallen into place soon enough.

I opened my mouth to say something to her, but no words came out. I knew everything I wanted to tell her: I love you. I always have. I want us to be together forever.

And yet none of that came out. It was just silence coming from my end.

I looked away angrily, furious at myself. This was my moment, and I was ruining it. How dare I think she would ever-

And then, she did the most extraordinarily simple of gestures: she laid her hand on mine. It was the first time I had ever felt the touch of her skin. It was soft and light, like a feather from an angel's wings...

I looked at her once more, slowly, and what I saw in her eyes then was glorious, indeed.

I saw that she loved me too, that she could tell everything I was going to say to her, without my even having to say the first word.

She smiled, that beautiful radiant smile. I couldn't help but smile back... I knew that everything had turned out the way it should.

We didn't need words. We had eternity.