Title: When the magic died…
Rating: T
Summary: What the wizarding world had failed to realise all these years was that sometimes things cannot be saved. When Harry Potter sacrifices himself to kill Voldemort, he did not die. However, something happened that wasn't supposed to. All the magic disappeared. But when one magic fades away, another is born. However, this magic was not what anyone could have expected…
Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood.
Prologue – Life without magic.
Harry held Ginny close to him as they embraced. Ron looked up and smiled at the two of them on the sofa. Ron couldn't explain how happy he was to see them like that. Harry was still ill, he didn't eat much, and he denied the help people offered him. Harry wanted things quiet, so he could heal without people frantically fussing over him, and that was why Hermione had taken them here. Here was in fact Hermione's favourite place on earth. She had spent the best years of her life here, the best summers, the best everything, and anything that she had known. But for her it also held disaster and the one thing in her life she couldn't get rid of.
The death of Grace, her sister.
Hermione was currently not in the house, she was in the garden. With Malfoy. She didn't like him or anything, but he wasn't right. Right in his emotions that is. Hermione was the only one who would talk to him. Ginny and Ron couldn't forget his past long enough to thing of the present. Harry didn't wish to hurt Ginny and Luna just simply wasn't the right person to talk to Malfoy, she was still slightly intimidated.
Malfoy looked worse than Harry did. Maybe it was because they were all so used to seeing the prim and proper Malfoy. There were sitting on a bench at the end of the garden, behind some trees, where it was peaceful. The only sounds they could hear were the sounds of seagulls and waves crashing onto the shore. The house was very near the sea, only five minutes out the back gate to the pebble stone shores.
"You need to eat, Malfoy, you've skipped the past four meals…" Hermione sighed, looking up from her book.
Malfoy didn't speak much; instead he kept quiet, only shaking his head. Hermione sighed, putting her book done so she could try to talk to him.
"You need to tell someone what's wrong… we… I can't help you unless you communicate!" Hermione sighed again, leaning back into the back of the bench, watching him run his hands through his floppy, unkempt hair. He was sitting as he usually did, back bent forward, his elbows resting on his knees, head in hands. He looked up at her and she shivered slightly as his steel shot into her chocolate brown ones.
"I…" he began to say coarsely, as though he had forgotten how to talk, "don't want to stay here…"
Hermione was shocked and took a moment to talk, asking why. She could not imagine what she had done wrong, or anyone else for that matter, apart from a few days after they arrived, when Ron had attacked Malfoy, and Ginny had shouted, screamed, swore, leaving Malfoy with a black eye, ripped lip and nosebleed. However, that had been months ago, nothing had happened since.
"You…" he began to say, then stopped talking, closing his eyes.
"What about me?" Hermione said, trying to make her voice sound softer. However, Malfoy did not respond, he kept his eyes closed, and Hermione soon gave up, commencing to read her book.
Luna came into the study and gasped, shocked to see the red-headed young man in there. Ron looked round and laughed slightly and Luna proceeded in, smiling, a little relieved that he was not annoyed at her walking in and interrupting something important. Ron realised that the dreamy look in Luna's eyes had been replaced with a slightly stressed glint.
"This may sound rude, like I'm prying, but are you okay, Luna?" Ron enquired, sitting on one of the big armchairs.
"I don't know how muggles handle it… I feel like there's something missing from my heart… as if there is a big hole in it!" she sighed, sitting in the armchair next to him.
"Yes, I know how you feel… but I suppose we deserve it…"
"DESERVE IT?" Luna exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.
"We were selfish… wizards and witches used the magic to help themselves solely, they did nothing to help others. We weren't considerate enough!" Ron said, and Luna apologised for her outbreak, sitting down again.
"You're right, Ron…" she smiled, rubbing her head.
"Do you want a drink? A cup of tea maybe?" Ron asked gently, taking Luna's nod as his answer and getting up.
The evening meal was tense. Malfoy was there, he had been unfortunate to stumble across Hermione as she had laid the table, and she had forced him to sit down. Ron looked angry, and he stared at his plate, his fists clenched as Hermione served the food. Luna stayed quiet, looking at the ceiling with far too much interest. Ginny was fussing over Harry, who was trying to push her away, his face getting red with frustration. Hermione sat down slowly, having served the rice and chicken.
"I'm going into the town tomorrow…" Hermione said and Ginny looked up, about to invite herself, "and I'm taking Malfoy…" This time Malfoy looked up, a questioning tilt to his eyebrows.
Harry nodded, slowly eating his food, which had already been cut up for him. Luna was carefully cutting hers and it seemed as though she was counting how many pieces of rice she was putting onto the fork, sometimes knocking some off, and sometimes putting more on. Malfoy wasn't eating at all, Ginny was eating when she had made sure Harry had and Ron was doing nothing but eat.
"Harry, I believe that some Healers from St Mungo's will be here tomorrow to see how you are doing…" said Luna, looking up.
"What? But I thought…" Malfoy dared to say.
"You idiot! They still know what to do! They still have some medicine they can use!" Ron exclaimed, standing up and slamming his cutlery down, bits of food flicking off them onto Luna, who brushed it off as though nothing had happened.
"Ron, please sit down," Hermione grumbled, her eyes watering with tears.
"NO! WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE HERE? WHY?" Ron screamed.
"Because it's the best thing for him!" Hermione croaked back, a few tears escaping her.
"NO! BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO DEFY YOUR PRECIOUS PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL'S WISHES!" Ron screamed, his face reddening. By this point Luna had run from the room crying and Harry was pulling a tearful Ginny into his bony chest.
"NO! BECAUSE I WANTED HIM HERE! THE PROFESSOR HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!" Hermione screamed back, wiping her tears away. She grabbed Malfoy's wrist and turned on her heel, pulling Ron into the garden with her. Ron slumped to the chair, carrying on eating messily, his face purple with rage.
Hermione stopped at the garden gate, still holding Malfoy's wrist. She sobbed, rubbing at her eyes frantically to get rid of the tears. Malfoy grabbed her hand in his to stop her. She looked up, tears flowing down her face.
"Sometime I feel it's… it's easier to cry," he forced out the words.
"It… is?" she questioned and he nodded, then opened the gate and pulled her out of it, walking down the passage hand in hand, before coming onto the beach. He took her to half way to the waves and sat down with her next to him. She sat cross-legged, looking down and he pulling his knees to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, chin resting on his knees as he looked out to the horizon.
"Is this where you go?" she asked, still looking down.
"Sometimes… sometimes I go to the attic… and sometimes I just curl up under my bed. And I always cry…" he mumbled.
"You always cry?" she questioned, a little taken back by this.
Harry tucked Ginny into bed, kissing her forehead, and then he sat at his desk, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen so he could write a letter to Mr and Mrs Weasley. Ginny worried too much about him to bother, Ron wouldn't know what to say, Luna wasn't familiar enough with the Weasley family and for all Harry knew Hermione may be writing.
Dear Mr and Mrs Weasley,
I hope all is well and that Bill is recovering well. Is George dealing with Fred's slow recovery well still? I heard that George would not leave Fred's side and that this was causing trouble. I guess you want to hear about Ron and Ginny, but first I wish to talk about the others.
Ron exploded again this evening, he got angry at Malfoy and took it out on Hermione. Luna couldn't handle it and ran from the room and she won't speak to anyone. Although, Hermione did admit to us that she was the one who wanted Malfoy here. I am very shocked at this, as you can imagine. And I can only assume you both are too. Hermione is spending far too much time with Malfoy, she even announced she was going with Malfoy into town tomorrow. He's not improved much, still doesn't talk much, however I think he may be starting to talk to Hermione and he addresses everything at her. I think Hermione is taking this the best. She isn't the least bit bothered when Ron breaks something or when Ginny throws something out, she simply just cleans it up, or corrects it, or she goes into the garden with Malfoy with a book. I know they don't talk, you can see behind the trees to the benches they sit on from my room. Hermione reads and Malfoy just sits there, staring and sometimes crying.
I'm alright I suppose, although Ginny fusses far too much. I think she cares too much to see it frustrates me and that I am actually rather infuriated by it. However I do not tell her to stop as she means it with the best intentions, and I love her all the more for it. I wish to marry her and I want you both to give me your blessing. I won't rush into it; I will ask her once I have healed enough to take that burden on as well. Please don't tell anyone of this plan of mine, I only tell you to ask for your blessing.
Ron would be doing awfully if it weren't for the fact he spends a lot of time in much the same way Hermione and Malfoy do, but with Luna, they sit and talk and help each other, although I know there is little more to it. Ron brightens up when Malfoy is not there to quite an alarming degree that I sometimes want to punch him. Sorry Mrs Weasley. He's being selfish about it in some ways, but its all stress. The stress of having to live like a muggle. I think that all will get better in time.
That is all I have to say no, I wish you both to get well, send my love to the family. We do want to come, but you know how it is.
Love
Harry
xxx
Harry put down the pen and put the paper into an envelope and then he got into the bed, next to Ginny, wrapping his arm around her, pulling her back into his chest, kissing her neck and back gently, before closing his eyes to sleep.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think, the plot will become clear within the next two chapters.
As-blood-as-it-comes
