"So here I am. It's not like I want to be here, but then again who ever asked my opinion? I know I deserve it, though. After all, what I did was unforgivable. The law doesn't care about the ends justifying the means. But don't you see? I had to! No one was taking action, and something had to be done, or else a whole lot more people would be dead right now. I was taking one for the team, as it were."
"But... why did you do it?" the visitor asked.
The woman smiled sadly.
"Harry was my friend. I loved him like a brother, and we had hopes for a long future together. But after Voldemort was gone, he finally had time to grieve Ron's death. And everyone else's for that matter. And after the war, everything was different. I don't think he could take it, not having a purpose. He needed something to fight, it was in his blood. It was all he had ever known.
"So naturally he lashed out at everyone who had been even slightly involved with the 'other side', even if they had never been loyal to the Dark Lord. Even his former teacher, Professor Slughorn, who had just been appointed Minister of Magic. And when we all found out the Minister had been killed, it didn't even cross my mind that it was Harry. In fact, no one suspected a thing, for a long time. The killings went on, including Slytherins who had been underage during the war. It was madness.
"But when Ginny and I came upon Harry burying the body of a young wizard in the forest, we both knew.
"You remember how Ginny was. Harry was her world. And when her angelic view of him was shattered, so was her world. We found her body next to the suicide note the next morning. She said that her Harry was dead, so she should be too. It was quite a blow to all of us, especially me. We had become very close over those years, you see.
"The thing is though, that Harry was devastated. You would think that after that time he would be accustomed to death, but no. In his mind he was still defending his loved ones, and with Ginny's death it was just a reminder of his failure. That was when he really snapped.
"I don't know how many hours it took him to do it, but by morning there were four more dead: all Slytherins from our year. Zabini, Parkinson, Goyle, and Nott. Ironically, this was the worst crime-spree since the war. Harry ended up doing what he feared to most: becoming Voldemort.
"It was the morning of April twenty-second. I remember it clearly: I had guessed that the next murder would hit Malfoy Manor, and I was right. After staking it out for twenty minutes at the most, I saw him coming up the road. He didn't even try to hide himself, but just blasted through the barriers and went inside. Well, of course I followed. But by the time I ran into the house, the two rivals were having a stare-down. The air crackled with the tension and unbridled magic, and I knew that this would be the end: someone was going to die today.
"All of a sudden, Harry shouted a spell, and the two were off. Red and green light bounced back and forth before I made my presence known. I cast a protective spell on Malfoy, you see. Both of the boys looked at me in surprise, I can still remember the looks on their faces. I also clearly remember the conversation that followed.
'Don't do this Harry, you know this isn't right!'
'Get out of my way, he's a Slytherin! He's one of them!
'No. I won't let you do it. You're my friend, Harry, but I can't let you do this.'
"Malfoy was just watching watching us silently. He must have been confused to see such good friends fight.
'Getoutofmyway,Mudblood!'
"Harry's words snapped my heart in two. I don't remember how I reacted, but I do remember Harry walking towards Draco, wand extended. I do remember the cry of 'AvadaKedavra' ringing through the hall. I do remember Harry falling, lifeless, to the floor while I sank to my knees and just sobbed. I don't remember exactly what happened after that, but I know that I was ashamed. I still regret that I was forced to kill my best friend.
"I never heard from the Malfoys again, and haven't spoke to any of my friends until today. They all believe me to be the murder, I reckon. And after all, it is true. But now I sit here, day after day, waiting for my hour. I wait for the hour when I will finally die and be put at rest."
The old woman was finally silent. Her visitors looked at each other.
"I believe you," a dreamy voice floated out of the other woman's mouth. She wore an orange dress and daisies in her hair. If the first old woman could have seen, she would have known that this visitor was beautiful.
The first old woman smiled, her blind eyes creasing the wrinkles on her face, her bushy gray hair framing her features and giving her a crazed look.
The man spoke again. "I see why you did it now. Thank you for telling us." He patted his potbelly and stood. "I am sorry I thought ill of you all these years. I truly am."
"Thanks Nev," the bushy-haired woman whispered, finally tired after her story.
The two visitors left without another word.
Returning to her customary spot under the slit of a window, the woman settled herself in the hard wooden chair that sat there. It let in the ocean air and she breathed in the salty spray. After a time had passed- she didn't know how long, she never could tell- the frigid air intensified and there was raspy breathing outside of her cell. She knew she had another visitor.
Turning her blind eyes to the source of this excitement, it crossed her mind that today was the first time in almost sixty years that she had everhad a visitor.
She sniffed the air and a faint but particularly memorable scent filled her nostrils: a scent that reminded her of thatday.
"Granger." His voice flowed into the room, pouring confidence into the frail woman. She nodded, a small smile touching her wrinkles.
"So. You've come at last."
"Yes. And I brought someone with me." There was what sounded like a pat and a quiet "Go ahead," and a tiny whimper from about two feet below where the man's voice was.
Hermione reached out, questioning, and came into contact with a thin shoulder. Long, thin hair covered ears and forehead. She realized who this was. "What is your name?" she asked gently.
The child took a deep breath. "Leviticus Malfoy. You saved my grandfather's life." It was a simple statement that begged no response. The woman nodded.
Speaking again, the man agreed. "I realize that I never properly thanked you for what you did that day. You were... brave. More brave than I have ever been. And I want you to know that I have never forgotten. My children and their children grew up with stories of a Muggleborn who saved my life by sacrificing hers." He chuckled a humorless laugh. "I reckon they'd rather have been born half-blood instead."
The woman smiled, for real this time. The cold air sucked on her emotions, but happiness poured out of her enough to replace what was being stolen. "Thank you," she whispered. After a moment, she couldn't resist. "May I...?" She reached out her hand towards his voice. He stepped closer and her palm came into contact with a soft, clean-shaven face. He was still a respectable man, without a trace of stubble. Her hand traced up towards his hair, which was cropped short, like she remembered. Finally she made her way down, gently, to touch around his eyes and feel the wrinkles that were etched there: laugh-lines of a life much happier than when it had first started.
The woman's hand fell and she smiled again. "I see."
The man nodded and she heard two pairs of feet walking towards the cell's door.
There was a pause and then, "Thank you... Hermione." And the doors clanged shut.
The woman stood up and slowly made her way over to her bed where she eased herself down. She gave a sigh and closed her sightless eyes. And though the cold sucked at her emotions, she could still smile. When in the morning the dementors came to check on her, they would not find any emotions in the room. The old woman was sleeping, and would forever be at rest.
OOOOOOO
A/N: Thanks for reading, guys! PLEASE let me know what you think, this one took me forever to write and I almost abandoned it but decided to just go for it, so I'd really like some feedback. Can you tell who the characters are, and their relationships to each other? I wanted it to be ambiguous, and originally I wasn't going to use any names at all, but decided against it. So press that little button right there, you know you want to. ;)