Author's Note: This story idea came about when I was on YouTube and saw a video fic trailer made by user hptrio. I suggested that I write a story for it, and she agreed! So here it begins. Make sure you all know, the idea and premise for this fic came from hptrio of YouTube. I didn't concieve the idea myself, and all rights to the characters belongs to JK Rowling and Warner Bros.
Chapter 1
"They say that when someone you love dies, a part of you dies with them."
Sadness filled the great hall as Headmaster Dumbledore stood from his place at the teachers table. His hands rose to his face momentarily, and then he began to speak, with much difficulty. "Today, we recognize the loss of a dear friend…" The sound of his voice trailed off to Hermione Granger. She refused to hear a thing he said. Every time she closed her eyes to the light, darkness overcame her as she was sucked back into the terrible events that occurred just a few days ago.
"Get out of here!" Harry yelled at his two best friends. "This isn't your fight!" Ron grabbed Harry's arm, keeping him from running away. "No! We're here until the end!" Hermione held her wand tightly. "Harry, you don't have to do this alone. We're not leaving!" Harry cast a frightened look between his two best friends. "But I don't want anything to happen to you!" Hermione held her wand tightly. "We're not leaving." She said firmly, Ron nodding in agreement. Harry started to argue again, but Hermione stopped him. "At least let me signal the DA. They'll know something is wrong, and they'll go for help while we search for… him." Harry consented, and Hermione charmed a small coin that she pulled out of her pocket. A golden glow immersed it. "It's done." She said. They all clasped hands once again, and moved forward into the night.
Ron Weasley knew neither his surviving best friend or his little sister were doing so well. He allowed one of his hands to discreetly slip into one of Ginny's, and he felt her grasp it tightly. Ron then wrapped his other arm around Hermione's waste, gently pulling her close to his side. She let her head fall on his shoulder and she began sobbing out loud. He couldn't help letting hot tears seep from his eyes as well. "Just three days ago, the world lost one of it's greatest heroes…" Dumbledore went on. Ron tried hard to be strong for Hermione and Ginny, but underneath the surface he was falling apart. He too couldn't wipe the horrible memory of what happened from his mind.
Venturing into the night, the three companions treaded quietly through the Hogwarts grounds. Something evil had broken the perimeter of the school's magic safety spells, and Harry had a bad feeling it was the one person he knew he had to fight. He wasn't about to allow Voldemort the opportunity to approach the unsuspecting students of the school, and with Dumbledore absent, he had no way of contacting the Order.
Harry felt a tug on his right hand, causing him to stop. Hermione's voice filled the darkness. "Harry, we should go back. It's too dangerous to be out here alone." She pleaded. "Yeah." Ron chimed in. "What if it's a trap?" Harry sighed heavily and faced his friends. "Even if it is, I have no choice but to step into it. I can't just let him massacre the school." Without waiting for his friends' approval, he kept going, and they followed closely behind him.
Suddenly, a whispering voice threw a bright red light through the darkness, and Ron was swept away from Harry and Hermione. "RON!" Hermione screamed, and darted blindly into the night to find him. "So at last, we meet again…" An evil voice sent chills down Harry's spine. He turned, and was face to face with the most wicked presence imaginable.
Ron tried to get up, but the blow to his body had left him too weak. He felt around for his wand but couldn't find it. Even in the dim moonlight, he could see everything. There was Harry facing a tall man, clothed in dingy black robs and a snake like face shining with disdain. Fear gripped him, and he couldn't speak.
Hermione finally spotted Ron and started running toward him. He was lying close the whomping willow, and she dodged and jumped her way around the thrashing limbs. Ron finally found his voice. "Hermione, STOP!" The alarm in his voice made her spin around, looking back at Harry. Then, she too saw Voldemort. It was then that she hesitated. She threw a last glance back at Ron, then begun to sprint back to Harry's side.
Harry gripped his wand tightly as Voldemort menacingly approached him. "All alone now, I see. Your precious Dumbledore isn't here to protect you now, is he?" Voldemort hissed. He turned to Hermione's shouting cries, and in an instant, a flash of green light burst from his wand.
Hermione was quick with her wand. "Expelliarmus!" She yelled, and the killing curse bounced off the shield her wand had created. The force from the clashing spells threw her backward hard, her wand flying from her hands. She struggled to get up, and Ron's voice startled her from behind. "Hermione, LOOK OUT!" She turned in time to see one of the whomping willow's furious branches come hurtling toward her, and before she could react, she was clinging to it for dear life as it thrashed about the air.
Hagrid could be seen behind the teacher's table, sitting as still as a statue. His pudgy face and red eyes were plainly obvious and he tried hard to hide his grief. "If only I'd gotten there sooner." He reasoned with himself. "Maybe I could have protected him." Hagrid hung his head in his hands, guilt washing over him.
Frantic pounding at his hut door made Hagrid jump for a moment. He leapt up from his chair by the fireplace, and swung the door open to see Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood. "What are 'ou kids doing on the grounds this late at night?" He scolded. Ginny shoved her DA coin in Hagrid's palm. "We got a distress signal! Only Hermione Granger can enchant these things, so it must mean Harry and them are in trouble!" Hagrid stared down at the glowing coin in his hand. "Are 'ou sure?" The kids all nodded furiously. "Alright then." Hagrid quickly grabbed his coat and umbrella. "Let's find them." As they hurried across the grounds, screams erupted. "This way!" Luna shouted, and the group followed her.
Approaching the hill where the whomping willow rested, the ruckus became louder. Breaking into a run, they started shouting. "HEY! OVER HERE!!" Neville shouted, waving his arms frantically. Voldemort didn't bother paying attention to their attempts of misdirection. He kept his wand raised at Harry. "Stupefy!" Harry shouted, trying to disarm Voldemort. He simply muttered a counter spell, knocking Harry's wand from his hands. "Foolish boy!" He sneered. "Do you really think you can catch me with some simple child's spell?"
Hermione had no idea what was happening. She struggled to hold onto the tree branch, but the force became too much. Her gripped forcefully released, and she was pelted like a rag doll through the air.
Before Hagrid even realized what was going on, Luna yelled from behind him. "Look out!" Hagrid followed Luna's frantic pointing. Just as he saw her, Hermione came hurtling down, knocking Hagrid and the others to the ground. They moaned in pain as they struggled to get back up.
Ginny sat beside her brothers Ron, George, and Fred. The twins had been trying to cheer her up, but it did no good. The love of her life was gone, without a single trace but his round-rimmed glasses. She too could barely listen to Dumbledore's speech. Letting her mind wonder, she tried to reason what really happened that night.
Ginny was the first to regain her composure. She hunted quickly to locate her wand. Finding it, she tugged Hermione off the ground, and they went running to Harry's aid.
Voldemort decided he'd had enough waiting. "I reckon it's time to say goodbye now, Harry." He flicked his wand, sending a ring of fire around them. He raised his wand to Harry again. "Almost seems anti-climactic, doesn't it?"
Hermione and Ginny crashed into each other, trying to find a way around fire. Hermione still hadn't retrieved her wand, so Ginny tried. "Augamenti!" Ginny commanded, and a stream of water shot out the end of her wand. It did nothing but clear a little view into the circle.
Harry felt completely helpless. Without his wand, he had no way of defending himself. "Crucio!" Harry crumpled to the ground, screaming. A disgusting sort of grin sprung up on the dark lord's face as he laughed. Ginny dropped her wand. "OH MY GOD!" She kept yelling. Voldemort released Harry and knelt close to him. "After I take care of you, I'm going to kill all of the ones you still love. Each of them will die so slowly." Voldemort licked his lips, savoring the horrified glare on Harry's face. "I'll tear their limbs from their bodies while they all scream out your name. As you die, you'll know that you failed all those that you care for." He stood up again, pointing his wand at Harry.
Hermione grabbed Ginny's wand and sent the only spell she could think of out. "Accio Harry!" She screamed, just as Voldemort shouted, "Avada Kedrava!" A flash of green light exploded, knocking everyone off their feet. Hermione sprung up, glancing around the scene. "HARRY!" She yelled out frantically. The fire was gone, and everything was quiet. Hagrid, Neville, and Luna finally caught up with Hermione. Neville kept going to find Ron. "What happened?" Hagrid asked. Ginny stood up slowly. "Look." She said, barely above a whisper and gesturing to Hermione. They followed her gaze, and Hermione held out her wand hand. All the spell had brought to her was their beloved friend's round rimmed spectacles. The rest of him, and the dark lord, had vanished.
No one knew what had happened to either party. Once Headmaster Dumbledore had returned, he summoned the Order to search the grounds and all surrounding it. Not a single trace of the boy wizard had been found. Even the death eaters were in disarray, for they too couldn't locate their master. Dumbledore tried everything in his power to figure out what had happened, but it was no use. The only conclusion he could come to was that Harry Potter was indeed dead.
Though the outside world was rejoicing at the apparent vanquish of Lord Voldemort, the inside of Hogwarts was another story. Dumbledore felt it necessary to keep the students there as a precaution, to protect them from any possible attacks from Voldemort's followers. He kept classes going on in attempt to reestablish a sense of normality, but for those who were close to Harry, it helped very little. Hermione was taking it the worst. Nothing anyone said or did could make her accept the fact that she had failed to protect him. Ron tried day and night to comfort her, but it did no use. Hermione Granger was beyond consolation.
Ron, on the other hand, was trying his hardest to keep sane. In all that had happened, he couldn't do one thing to help the others. He was the first one attacked, disabling him from aiding anyone. He tried not to think of it. He tried to be a strong man for Hermione, and even though he was able to keep his mourning at bay to everyone, inside he felt himself crumble a little more everyday.
Hermione would sit outside late at night, over by the lake behind Hagrid's hut. Holding her knees to her chest, she'd try to recall happier days, days when the three of them would laugh and play. Those days were innocent. She'd give anything to have them back. Some of those times she spent out there, Ron would join her and neither would speak. They just took in the night, hoping that by some miracle, their best friend was still out there somewhere.
Three months had already passed, and most there at Hogwarts had begun to move on. Ron and Hermione began to open back up to those around them, but time had taken a serious toll on their friendship. Daily arguing could be heard all the time, leaving both teenagers angry and bitter. Of course, Fred and George tried their usual tricks and gags to pull them out of their slump, and half of the time it worked. But the other half just pissed them off more. Ginny made no effort to help them. She was moving on herself, finally seeing the light in her days again.
One chilly day, Hermione and Ron where heading down past Hagrid's hut, arguing as usual. "Who cares about some bloody house elves!?" Ron hissed at Hermione. "I do! And their not just bloody house elves! they've got feelings too, and they don't deserve to be forced to work like they do!" "But that's their job!" Ron tried to reason. "They LIKE serving others!" From the edge of the lake, someone watched the two bicker. Sadness, fear, joy, and excitement crowded his feelings, and as the two got closer, he finally stepped out from his hiding place.
Hermione stopped and spun around at Ron. "You're such an evil little bas…." Her voice trailed off when she noticed the shocked look on his face, staring past her. "What?" She demanded angrily, and when she followed his stare, her mouth also dropped in surprise. Unconsciously, she grabbed Ron's arm, and the two of them apprehensively approached the young man before them. "Harry?"