In 22 days, the Harry Potter films will come to an end.
Harry Potter's been a huge part of my life for the past 10 years, and I was listing to There By My Side by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls and this popped into my mind. It's just a little something about after the war, when it's finally sunk it that everything they'd been fighting for had been saved, but so many people have died in the process. It's when Harry fianlly understands he's had a family all a long.
Harry walked up the three stone steps, feeling the eyes of hundreds of wizards looking at him on his back. Wizards from all over the country had gathered at Hogwarts three weeks after the final battle. Funerals had been held for most of the dead, and repairs on the castle were well underway, but no one could be truly happy. So many people had died.
A stone slab had been placed near the lake, just left of the tree, engraved upon it was the names of every person who had died while fighting Voldemort, first war and second. Harry's hand traced the words along the bottom.
'Gone but never forgotten. At peace but always around.'
Harry felt a hand touch his back gently, he looked over to see Hermione kneeing next to him. She gave him a small smile and said quietly, so only he could hear,
"It's time."
Harry looked back at the stone in front of him; his fingers gingerly traced the names of his parents the felling of cold rough stone mixing with the smoothness of the rest of it. He stood up slowly taking his eyes away from the names, the names of all the people who had died. For him. He faced the crowd of wizards who had gathered by the lake. His eye's scanned the crowd recognising a few people. He took a deep breath and started speaking,
"So many people died on the 2nd of May, and they all died in hopes that I could kill Voldemort. All these years' people have been telling me I am the chosen one; I'm not the chosen one. No one would tell me until two years ago that to kill him I might have to die as well. But I killed him. I did it for my parents and for every single person who lost someone because of him. He tore apart families and ruined people's lives. But now he's dead, and if it wasn't for all of you, everyone who fought here that night, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I-I don't really know what I'm meant to say, I know there's nothing I can say to change what happened and stop so many from dying. But they didn't die in vain; they died so that everyone here could live everyday without fear. That future generation won't have to live with the fear we did. They died to make this world a better place to live. They may be gone, but they will never be forgotten, not by me, not by anyone. "
Harry finished speaking and looked around at the crowd again. He saw Mr and Mrs Weasly sat with George on the front row, both were crying but looking up at him with, what was it? Pride? Gratitude? No love, he thought. George managed a faint smile, nothing but a glimpse at what it used to be.
Moving further back he saw McGonagall and Slughorn who both appeared to be trying not to cry and failing. Hagrid was sat at the very back with fang and Gawp, his tablecloth of a hankie out and being used, yet Harry saw a glimmer of hope and pride in his eyes.
Sat on a row midway was the DA. Luna and Neville sat together, comforting one another, Luna with her head on Neville's shoulder her tears dampening his jumper, while Neville shock silently with sobs as he thought about his parents in St. Mungo's, never being able to tell them what he did how he fought the Death Eaters, for them.
Ginny sat on her own looking up at Harry, her eyes shining with tears waiting to overflow and dried tracks from tears that already had. Tears for her lost brother, a person she had looked up to, tears for her brother who was now lost and more broken then anyone could ever imagine. But a faint smile was toying on her lips, knowing that things would be better.
The last people Harry's eyes rested on were Ron and Hermione. They were sat a row in front of the DA and a row behind the front. Hermione was silently crying Ron's shoulder. From pain, grief, shock and anger. Everything she had been through came crashing down on to her, and Ron held her. His eyes were red and tear tracks raced down his face. His brother was dead; he'd seen his brother's eye's growing dim. An image that would never leave him mind. But here he was alive. With the girl he'd loved for years in his arms, a silent plea for protection.
Suddenly it hit Harry that all these people were still alive. All the people he'd grown to love. They were the reason he'd kept on going all the times he wanted to run and hide. Thoughts of Sirius and Remus telling him Lily and James would be proud of him floated into his mind. Dumbledore saying he trusted him. Fred's warm smile, loud laugh and bright eyes. Cedric telling him how to listen to the clue in the egg. Moody yelling 'Constant Vigilance!' Tonks falling in love with Remus despite everything. Ron and Hermione trusting him all these years, believing in him when no one else did, when even he didn't.
At that moment Harry finally realised, he did have a family. He'd had one from the minuet he was sat in a compartment with Ron. He'd found his home at Hogwarts, the Burrow and Grimmauld Place. He'd found his family a long time ago, and he'd only just realised.
Many lives were lost fighting at the Battle of Hogwarts. Many families were torn apart. But as long as those who stay behind remember them they will forever live on, in you and the walls that they died. They will be remembered, they will never be forgotten.
So please let me know what you think. I appreciate all reviews, criticismand praise. I'm kinda proud of this though, so yeah. Anyway hope you liked it.
