This idea popped into my head late last night and wouldn't leave me alone. I have no idea how to tag it, even now.
Disclaimer: Don't own this, never will, just borrowing characters and events.
Warning: one-sided femslashy feelings, AUness
A cheer rose up from the survivors a few moments after Voldemort's body hit the ground. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, turning and nearly being bowled over by Ginny's hug.
"You did it!" she squealed, her embrace so tight Harry could hardly breathe.
Harry nodded, knowing he couldn't be heard over the crowd. He also wasn't sure he could trust his voice, knowing the cost of the victory.
Ginny kissed him, beaming at the dark-haired boy before glancing around at the crowd. "Look how happy they all are, Harry! I don't know how you managed it, but you've saved us all!" She shot him a proud smile. "The fake body was the perfect distraction; you had us all going!"
Harry didn't respond, knowing Ginny could see the flicker of emotion in his eyes.
The redhead's brow furrowed concernedly. "What's going on, Harry?" Her voice was softer, and she released him, stepping back and surveying the expression on his face.
Harry's eyes gave him away, and Ginny turned to survey the crowd.
"Hang on," she choked out, glancing at him after taking note of all the celebratory faces and noticing who was missing. "Where's Hermione?"
...
"Hermione, no!"
"Harry, there's no other way!" The brunette's voice was desperate. "He'll slaughter everyone if he thinks you're not coming!"
Harry shook his head fiercely. "Hermione, I can't! There is no way in hell I'll ever agree to this!"
"She loves you," Hermione whispered, sounding slightly broken. "She'll die if you do."
Harry scoffed, hating that he knew she was right. "She'll get over it. I've hurt her enough times already."
Hermione grabbed her friend's arm, looking at him seriously. "She loves you, Harry," she repeated. "Losing you will break her." The brunette drew a shaky breath. "And you know I love her too much to let that happen."
The truth of the statement hung in the air between them. They both loved the youngest Weasely, and they both knew they would do anything to protect her, even if it meant certain death.
Harry didn't know what to say. He felt like something inside him was breaking. "Ginny cares about you, too, you know," he reminded her.
Hermione smiled sadly and shook her head. "But not like I want her to. She never will. She's in love with you, Harry. And that's..." Her voice caught and Harry glimpsed tears in her eyes. "That's okay. You'll take care of her, I know you will."
"Hermione..." Harry could hear the pleading in his own voice.
Hermione only smiled at him, pain evident on her face. "You can do this, Harry. We've got all the Horcruxes. It's just you and him. And if you have the element of surprise, you've won." She suddenly looked far older than her eighteen years. "This will work. It's the only way to spare everyone else, and you know it."
Harry had a protest ready, but Hermione raised a hand and he fell silent.
"If we lose you, we lose everything. If we lose a decoy, me, we win. No one will have remembered me in five years, anyway, so the world won't lose much," she tried to reassure him, but her voice fell flat. "It's really quite simple, Harry. And it makes sense. Let me do this, and everything can be finished within the hour." She saw the hesitation on her friend's face and offered him a weak smile. "Don't make me Confund you, Potter."
Harry had no decent response. His eyes roamed over his best friend's face as he racked his brain to think of a way to talk her out of this. The dark-haired boy wanted to slap some sense into her, but everything in him knew that she was right. "You can't-"
"No," Hermione interrupted, shifting impatiently. "You can't. The fate of the Wizarding world is resting on your shoulders. You have to be the one to save them. It's how it was always meant to be." She gave him a strange, almost proud look. "Now let me do this. We're wasting time."
Everything in Harry was screaming at him to refuse, but he just wrapped her up in a tight hug, knowing arguing was futile. Deep inside, he knew she was right, as she always had been; this would be the only way to guarantee victory, and, ultimately, peace. "I'll miss you."
Hermione returned the hug silently, then broke away, holding out her open palm.
Harry yanked a few strands of his hair out, dropping them into Hermione's hand.
She nodded once, pulling a flask from her bag and dropping the hairs into it. The familiar scent of Polyjuice potion filled the air as the hair was absorbed into it, and Hermione gave Harry a trusting look. "Take care of her, Harry."
He nodded wordlessly, wondering how he was able to stand by and let his best friend sacrifice herself for him, despite knowing that it would save hundreds of other lives, including that of the girl they both loved so much.
Hermione gave him a smile and drank the potion, looking only slightly ill at the taste before her appearance changed to match Harry's. She waved her wand and transfigured her clothes to match his before giving him a final nod and leaving.
Harry watched her go numbly, and was still standing there when Voldemort's voice announced that the battle was over, because Harry Potter was dead.
...
Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat, feeling like anything but a hero. His eyes flicked over to the decoy body that so perfectly matched his own.
Ginny followed his gaze, her eyes landing on the corpse just as the Polyjuice potion wore off. The body transformed back into Hermione, now very much dead.
Ginny let out a little gasp, looking at Harry for confirmation that what she saw was real.
Harry couldn't meet her gaze, reaching out to stop her when she tried to run to her best friend's side. He held her to him, rocking her as she started crying. As much as he was hurting, he knew he'd take care of Ginny, just as he'd promised. He owed it, and so much more, to his late friend, the true hero of the Battle of Hogwarts.