Okay, so here is my first story. Without much ado, I'll get at it. Please drop me a review, I would appreciate it.
And of course, the usual: I don't own anything, it's all J.K. (especially the first part ;) )
"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does...I am the true master of the Elder Wand."
A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort's was suddenly a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco's wand:
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided.
Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last.
And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike face vacant and unknowing.
Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy's shell. One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke around Harry as the screams and the cheers and the roars of the watchers rent the air.
Harry looked up, and seeing the crowd move towards him, he decided quickly. He raised the caught Elder Wand:
"Protego Totalum!"
The crowd stopped in their tracks, being held at bay by the large and powerful shield charm. Everybody looked at Harry in confusion, who turned away from them.
"Kreacher?" He asked into the air, hopeful.
CRACK! "The master has called Kreacher?" The old house elf said after apparating right in front of Harry.
"Yes I have Kreacher, I need to get out of here..." Harry said. "bring me to the Headmaster office." He continued in a whisper.
"Of course Maser, hold on to Kreacher's arm please." The elf said, holding out his little arm.
Harry grabbed Kreacher's arm and suddenly had that brief feeling of being sucked through a rubber tube as they disapparated into the Headmaster's office, which was deserted.
"Harry! My dear boy!" Harry heard a painfully familiar voice behind him and turned around, seeing the picture of Albus Dumbledore, beaming at him.
"Hello Professor!" Harry said, grinning.
"I cannot put into words, how proud I am of you. And as you know, me being out of words is a rare occurrence." Dumbledore said, followed by his hallmark chortling.
"I couldn't have done it without all your help Sir." Harry said honestly.
"Once again, you're being too modest for your own good Harry. But anyways, may I ask what happened down in the great hall only minutes ago? One hears rumors, but a firsthand account is always the best thing, don't you agree?" Dumbledore said.
"I will tell you Sir, but I just had a thought, give me a moment." Harry said. "KREACHER!"
CRACK! "Yes, Master?" The elf said after appearing out of thin air again.
"I need you to do some things for me. First and foremost, I need you to go to Ron and Hermione, tell them I am okay, but not where I am. The more important thing tho, is to tell them, that they can't tell anyone anything! They will know what you mean. Hurry Kreacher!" Harry said urgently.
CRACK! The elf vanished.
Harry waited not even a minute until.
CRACK! Kreacher was back.
"Kreacher has delivered the Master's message. The Master's friends said they didn't tell anyone Sir." The elf said with bow. Harry audibly exhaled.
"Thank you Kreacher. There is more tho, find Professor McGonnagall and bring her up here." Harry said, followed by a bow from Kreacher and another loud CRACK.
"I'm sorry Professor, but I suppose you will have to wait a bit for the explanation, cause I don't feel like telling the entire tale a hundred times." Harry said, turning back to the portrait of the late Headmaster.
"Perfectly understandable and a very wise choice Harry, I've been wondering for a while how you would deal with the aftermath." Dumbledore said.
"A while? It only just ended minutes ago." Harry said, rather perplexed.
"Oh I had no doubt that you would succeed Harry, none at all." Dumbledore said, shortly before there was another loud crack and Kreacher stood in the room with Professor McGonnagall in tow.
"Merlin's beard. Potter, have you lost your mind?" She asked Harry once she saw him.
"I wish the explanation would be that easy Professor. I need your help with something." Harry said.
"And you couldn't have asked me downstairs? People want to see you, they want to hear your story!" His old teacher said.
"Exactly. That's what I need your help with. I need an audience." Harry said.
"Excuse me?"
"Fill the great hall….students, teachers, ministry officials, Order of the Phoenix, press. Everyone you can get. I want to tell my story, but I want to do it once, not a thousand times whenever I get asked." Harry said quickly.
McGonnagall looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Of course Harry, that is understandable. I will see what I can do. What will you do in the meantime?" She asked.
"I don't really know yet. Probably stay in a hotel somewhere, away from the magical world for a bit, let it all sink in." Harry said. "I'll tell Kreacher to respond to your call, you can tell him when and where it is happening."
"Very well, I shall arrange everything." McGonnagall didn't say more, she just turned around and left the office
"Okay Kreacher, you heard it. If Professor McGonnagall calls you, please respond so you can relay the time and place to me. Other than that, I do not wish to see you until the actual event. I want to spend some time alone." Harry said to Kreacher.
"Very well master, Kreacher shall help the house elves of Hogwarts." Kreacher bowed and left with another crack.
Harry let out a sigh, leaning back against the large desk in the office, he rubbed his temples, the exhaustion forcing it's way to the surface. He pushed himself away from the table, determined to get some more things done. "There's time to sleep later." He told himself. In reality, he wanted to postpone sleep as long as possible to avoid the inevitable nightmares of the battle and the dead that would surely come.
He opened the moleskin pouch he was still carrying and took out his broken wand. He carefully placed it on top of the desk and pointed the elder wand at it. He took a deep breath of hope before he cast the spell.
"Reparo!"
The broken wand was mended, and as red sparks shot from the tip, Harry knew that he was successful.
"Perfect." He mumbled as he put the elder wand into one of his jeans pockets and picked up the phoenix wand, feeling the familiar, welcome warmth radiating in his hand.
"That takes care of that. Now to get out of here…" Harry whispered and walked out of the office, making his way down the stairs and past the gargoyle. He moved quickly through the corridors, towards the entrance hall, hoping he wouldn't run into anyone.
He was very lucky, it felt like he took a big gulp of Felix Felicis, he didn't meet a single person, not even a ghost. He walked out of the destroyed front door and across the grounds that were riddled with signs of battle.
He stepped through the gate, stopping for a moment outside the grounds. He decided not to look back, so he wouldn't change his mind. He focused on Grimmauld Place 12 and just as he turned on the spot to apparate, he felt a pair of hands on his arm.
As he appeared on the stairs outside the house at Grimmauld Place 12 he quickly turned around with his wand at the ready. He didn't see anyone but made a split-second decision.
"Stupefy!" He yelled. He heard a high-pitched shriek and a thud as his unwanted guest dropped to the ground in front of him.
He looked down in confusion and groped around in what appeared to be thin air till he found a piece of fabric and pulled it up. He was now holding his own invisibility cloak and on the ground before him, was Hermione, stunned.
"Oh Merlin…" he muttered and pointed his wand at her "Rennervate!"
Hermione's eyes opened and she shot up into a sitting position. "What the hell is wrong with you Harry? Are you trying to kill me?" She muttered.
"I used a stunner as you can see. Besides, you know better than to grab someone during apparition, invisible, nonetheless." Harry said, offering her a hand and pulling her up.
Hermione blushed. "Yeah well, it was the only way." She said as she stood up.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, opening the door and walking in, followed by Hermione.
"You know what I mean. You would've never let me come along willingly." Hermione said.
"True. And what about Ron, anyway? I thought you'd be busy right now….you know…." Harry said, hanging up the invisibility cloak and his torn and dirty jacket.
"Oh…that…well…" Hermione said, nervously kneading her hands.
"What's going on Hermione? Is Ron alright?" Harry asked, voice filled with anxiety.
"Oh he's fine Harry. It's just…I better don't go near him for a while, and you neither Harry." Hermione said uneasily.
"Why? It seemed like you couldn't be close enough just a few hours ago. And what do I have to do with it." Harry said with an amused tone.
"I realized some things since then. And I told Ron about those realizations." Hermione said, tired of waiting for Harry to actually invite her in, she moved up the stairs towards the sitting room, Harry following.
"What realizations? Hermione you're not making any sense right now." He said, sitting down next to Hermione on the couch.
Hermione took a deep breath. "I told Ron that I don't love him." She said quickly, chewing her lip.
"You did what? But I thought you…." Harry started, his heart strangely skipping a few beats, forgetting all about asking why he shouldn't go near Ron.
"I thought so too, but something happened." Hermione said carefully.
"What happened?"
"You happened, Harry. When I saw you in Hagrid's arms, apparently dead, something snapped. I realized that it wasn't you I loved like a brother all this years, but that that was Ron. And you, I love you like…well, I just love you Harry." Hermione said at lightning speed.
Harry's eyes widened. "What's that?" he asked, dumbfounded, unable to move or even blink as Hermione got closer to him, tears glistening in her eyes.
"I love you Harry. Always have. Always will. Please, give me just this one." She said softly, inches away from his face.
Harry felt very hot, and it didn't have anything to do with the temperature in the room, which was just fine by his standards. "This one…what, Hermione?" He asked croakily.
He didn't get an answer, all he got was a kiss as Hermione closed the distance and pressed her lips against his with a forcefulness and passion Harry would never have expected. It took him a few seconds to snap out of his daze and actually replay, kissing back with the same passion he received. He felt and heard her sigh softly as he did.
They stayed locked for a while until they finally broke apart, both breathing a lot heavier than usual. Hermione blushes as they looked at each other.
"I-I'm sorry Harry." She whispered.
"For what?" He asked, confused, finding nothing she should be sorry for.
"This…I don't know what came over me…I mean…Ginny…" Hermione mumbled. Harry just smiled and pulled her against him, taking her into his arms.
"What about Ginny? We broke up, remember?" Harry said softly.
"But I thought you…and her…"
"Yeah, I thought so too Hermione, but things changed, my feelings changed." Harry said, then frowned. "I mistook envy and neediness for love."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, sensing the change of tone in his voice.
"What does Ginny have that I don't have, Hermione?"
"Well she's got brothers and….oh…." Hermione said, biting her lip.
"Exactly. The Weasleys are a parade example of an intact family. And I want nothing more in my life than just that, a family."
"But what happened? What changed, Harry?"
"You happened. I finally came to my senses about my feelings towards you, I managed to suppress them for so long cause I saw that you wanted Ron. But when we were alone in the tent….you have no idea how much self-control it needed to not lay down next to you and hold you when you cried. I was heartbroken to see you heartbroken, so to speak."
"But don't you still want a family? Wasn't that why you fell in love with Ginny?"
"Well first of all, if I have you, then that's the perfect start for a family. But don't you get it? I never loved Ginny, I envied her, I was jealous, and I wanted what she had. I was a selfish bastard, you coming along was a blessing for her." Harry said with a chuckle.
"Wow….I don't know what to say. It seemed so obvious, so clear. She's so much like your mother, I thought it's natural that you fall for her." Hermione responded.
"Really, Hermione? How is Ginny like my mother? In looks maybe, red hair and all, but do you think I'm that shallow? Other than that….my mother hated Quidditch, at least that's what I got from what people told me. Actually, you are way more like my mother Hermione. You're both muggle-born, incredibly beautiful, selfless, loving and not to mention smart."
Hermione blushed deeply, not answering for a few moments.
"What happens now, Harry?" She finally said.
"Good question. I think I will go back to Hogwarts for my last year if I can. And I'm pretty sure you'll do the same, so we can enjoy our first school year in peace, together." Harry said, causing Hermione to smile.
"I would like that. But what about Ron and Ginny?"
"They'll get over it, you know the Weasleys, their fuses are short but they don't have too much powder to explode. I'm guessing Ron will throw a tantrum when he finds out and Ginny'll ignore us for a little while, after that everything will be back to normal. In every case, we shouldn't meet with them yet, at least for a couple of days. Let them grief over Fred without interruptions from us. We can sort all that out after the event."
"Ah yes, I been meaning to ask about that. What kind of event Harry? McGonnagall mentioned something."
"I told her to invite as many people as she can, so we have an audience to tell our entire story. Cause I have absolutely no intention of telling it everytime someone asks me, tho I don't know about you." Harry said, looking down at her.
"That's actually a really good idea. Know a date?"
"Nope, not yet. She's gonna let me know. In the meantime I'll try finding someone to fix the house in Godric's Hollow." Harry said.
"Why's that? You got this house." Hermione said.
"I know. But I wanna live in Godric's Hollow. I just think it's where I belong. Plus the house and the surroundings are much nicer than here." Harry answered, trying to suppress a yawn, but failing miserably.
"Alright, that's it, we need to sleep Harry, it's been too long. Since we had a decent rest." Hermione said, standing up and pulling him up with her.
"Okay, you take the decent bedroom upstairs, I'll stay on the couch." Harry said, pointing at the ceiling.
"I have a better idea, why don't we just share the bedroom?" Hermione said with a sultry grin, holding his hands, pulling him behind her.
"No complaints there…." Harry said dumbly, following on her heels.
They made their way up into the bedroom, noticing Kreacher kept everything in order in their absence. The bed was made perfectly. When Harry looked away from the bed towards Hermione, she was already in the process of undressing and he couldn't help but stare at her as she stood there without a shirt, in the middle of sliding off her pants.
"Close your mouth Harry, you're not thirteen anymore. We're just sleeping in the same bed this time, you won't see more than this." Hermione said, grinning and dropping on the bed in her underwear with a loud sigh. "God I need sleep!"
Harry shook his head to clear his mind and took of his own clothes down to his boxers. He carefully laid down on the other side of the king sized four-poster bed.
"Oh come on Harry, you said you wanted to hold me, now do so, please. I think we'll both sleep better." Hermione said, cuddling her back into him.
Harry wrapped his arms around her, causing her to sigh. They cuddled up and started drifting off to sleep.
"I love you Hermione."
"I love you too Harry."
Okay so here we are at the end of this chapter. Now, I tried to write it so it's presentable as a oneshot as well as real story. Please let me know what you think, should i keep going or just leave it at that?