Easier to Run, a harry potter fanfic

A/N: Well, It's finally here. Order of the Phoenix is out today! *squeals* We've been waiting all this time for the book and now it's here! Well, in honor of the book, I would like to present my song fic that was a chalenge by one of my author friends, K.C. Hunter. Well, oh with the story. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: No own Harry Potter and Co. Don't even own the song, Easier to Run by Linkin Park.

A/N2: Just a suggestion, it would be a good idea to listen to the song as you read the fic. I found that the lyrics work better if you just read the story as the song progresses.

Easier to Run

Harry Potter sat in the Gryffindor common room on a scarlet couch near the fire, wallowing in his thoughts. His scarred head was being supported by his pale hands, tears streaming from his emerald eyes. Things were so much more different than what he would've liked; so much had changed in the last few months. Memories. Damn them! Plaguing him at all hours of the day - memories of that dreaded day of the Triwizard Tournament when Cedric Diggory had been killed by Voldemort. The sounds; the smells; the same pictures over and over again, playing in his head; the pain. Merlin, how it hurt him. A small, almost inaudible whimper escaped his parted lips.

A sudden voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Harry?" the voice asked. "You alright?"

Harry turned to face the kind voice that belonged to Hermione Granger, one of his best friends. Behind her stood Ron Weasley, his other best friend. Both sat down on either side of him. Hermione took his hands from his tear stained face and wrapped them with her own. Ron looked a bit awkward at the situation but concern was still evident in his blue eyes.

"Do you want me to owl Sirius, Harry?" he asked quietly.

Harry shook his head. "He knows about this already. There's no need to tell him something that doesn't concern him."

Hermione gave Ron a withering glance which Ron accepted and took the opportunity to exit to room. Hermione then got off the couch to kneel in front of the Boy-Who-Lived, his hands still in hers. Brown eyes stared into tear-filled green ones, causing the green ones to avert their gaze.

"Harry? What's wrong? You know that you can tell me, right?"

Harry shook his head. "No one can help me." He quickly stood up, ripping his hands from Hermione's and causing her to lose her balance. "No one can help me any more! No one understands how I had to watch the re-birth of Voldemort. How I had my blood forcibly taken so that he would be able to touch me once again. You wouldn't understand that, Hermione. No one can."

Harry took one last look around the room before bolting through the portrait, almost knocking down the mischievous Weasley twins, Fred and George. Both took one look at Hermione, who was still on the ground, and wondered what had just happened. She shook her head, refusing to answer their unspoken questions. Hermione went strait to the window where she saw Harry running into the Forbidden Forest. She shook her head once more before turning to get her cloak and her wand.

****************************************************************

Harry ran deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Forest, occasionally tripping over upturned roots and fallen trees in the darkened state of the forest. Finally after running for what seemed to be hours, Harry fell to the mossy ground. Pulling himself up, Harry heaved his battered body to the nearest tree. Dragging his knees to his chest, Harry began to cry again.

It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone

"No one understands," Harry sobbed. "They can't understand how it feels to hear those voices screaming for help, and not being able to do anything about it."

Something has been taken from deep inside of me
The secret I've kept locked away no one can ever see
Wounds so deep they never show they never go away
Like moving pictures in my head for years and years they've played

"Make them stop!" he shouted into his knees. "Why? Why me? Why did I deserve this happening to me? I didn't ask for my parents to die. I didn't ask for that git to be after me."

(If I could change I would take back the pain I would)
(Retrace every wrong move that I made I would)
(If I could stand up and take the blame I would)
(If I could take all the shame to the grave I would)

Harry continued to sob through the long hours of the night, whimpering of the losses of his very short life. "It should've been me instead of Cedric. I should've jumped in front of the curse and let him live. The world would've been better off without me." A dry sob escaped his lips.

(If I could change I would take back the pain I would)
(Retrace every wrong move that I made I would)
(If I could stand up and take the blame I would)
(I would take all my shame to the grave)

Dry sobs continued to fill the air around him. The forest noises had seemed to stop all together and it was almost as if Harry was the only person in existence. "I just wanna die...." he mumbled as sleep began to creep on the corners of his mind.

It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone

Hermione quickly followed Harry into the Forest. Her black cloak whipped behind her in the high evening wind as the forest slowly enveloped her, allowing her to become one of the more friendly shadows that roamed the forest at night.

"Lumos," she muttered.

The ground was suddenly alive to her within her small sphere of light. Roots were exposed and little animals scurried to get out of her way. She ran quickly onwards, deeper into the forest that had become a sanctuary to Harry. The darkness was almost a welcome to him, she knew that very early on. Since the start of their fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry had been more of a loner.

Sometimes I remember the darkness of my past
Bringing back these memories I wish I didn't have
Sometimes I think of letting go and never looking back
And never moving forward so there'd never be a path

He retreated to the dark recesses of the room after meals and classes, only to leave when there was no one left in the room. Hermione knew all this. Why? Because she was worried for her friend. The tournament had been hard on his stability and now his world that he had grown to love was in turmoil.

Hermione soon found Harry, semi-asleep at the base of a large tree, knees drawn up as close as he could to his chest. She walked quietly to the boy and sat down next to him.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up at her, tears glistening in the wandlight. "I want everything to be right again," he whispered. Hermione pulled him into an embrace. "I want the pain to stop."

"Oh, Harry,"Hermione muttered into his ebony hair. "You know that it's not your fault. C'mon. Let's go back."

Harry shook his head. "Not now." He turned to face Hermione, who had just extinguished the wandlight. "Do you know why I come here?" He could feel her hair lightly hit his face as she shook her head. "I come here because this is the only place I feel alive, whole. The forest doesn't judge me because I'm Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. It doesn't judge me of what I've done."

(If I could change I would take back the pain I would)
(Retrace every wrong move that I made I would)
(If I could stand up and take the blame I would)
(I would take all my shame to the grave)

Hermione didn't know what to say. Harry stood up and pulled out his wand. He muttered something under his breath and suddenly his Firebolt was at his side. "C'mon. Lemme show you something."

Harry pulled Hermione to his side and helped her on. He slid on behind her and kicked off slowly. They rose through the trees and landed on a branch high up in the boughs. Unobscured by other branches, the two Gryffindors watched as the blood red sun rose from its bed.

Just watching in the sun
All of my helplessness inside
Pretending I don't feel misplaced
It's so much simpler to change

The sun slowly made its way into the sky, exchanging its blood red color for orange and then for a nice, pleasant yellow.

"It's beautiful," Hermione breathed. "You come here often? Alone, I mean."

Harry nodded. "I'm here most nights." Harry looked out of the corner of his eye at Hermione. "I'm glad that you followed me. It's been really hard on me lately with all the dreams and things going on now."

It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone

Hermione nodded. "I'm glad to share this with you. You never have far to go when you need to talk. I'll always be here for you."

Harry smiled at his friend's compassion - the first real smile he'd shown in months. Leaning closer in, Harry gently placed his lips and Hermione's. He could feel her tense up under his lips then finally relax. Her arms snaked up around his neck as they made the kiss more passionate. Harry finally pulled away and smiled again. "Thanks. Thanks for everything."

It's easier to run
(If I could change I would take back the pain I would)
(Retrace every wrong move that I made)

Hermione smiled back. "No problem, Harry."

The two flew slowly in silence to Gryffindor tower where they entered through the Common Room window. Turning to the Boys' dormitories, Harry said, "I'll be down a bit later. I wanna catch up on some sleep."

Hermione nodded knowingly. "Sure, Harry. See you later."

He climbed the stone stairs slowly, enjoying the solitude once more. His footsteps echoed on the surrounding walls, adding more comfort to the Tower. Pushing the wooden door or his room open, Harry went strait for his trunk where he opened it. He flipped the top, so that it rested on the edge of his bed, giving him full access to the secret compartment there. Triggering the box, he let it spring open, letting a small knife fall into his open palm.

It's easier to go
(If I could change I would take back the pain I would)
(Retrace every wrong move that I made I would)

Harry walked to his bed and sat down, allowing the new sunlight to cast its warmth onto the blade. Putting the blade to his finger, Harry tested its sharpness. Bright red blood trickled from the cut. Perfect, he thought.

Standing up, Harry turned to face the windows of his rom for the last time.

"I don't deserve to live anymore. 'Mione. I'm sorry. But I can't go on with this pain. I won't have to suffer anymore. I'm sorry."

With those last words, Harry drew the knife across both of his wrists. Blood. Blood gushed from the open wounds and down onto the carpet where it stained it a darker red. Harry fell to the floor, where a wave a dizziness overtook him. Slowly, the world that Harry Potter had once known and loved turned now to just an empty slate of black.

(If I could stand up and take the blame I would)

A few hours later, Hermione looked up to the boys' dormitory door. Harry had been up there too long for her liking. Putting her book aside, Hermione walked up those same stone steps that Harry had walked just a few hours before.

"Harry?" she said, knocking on the door.

No answer. The silence began to unnerve her. Muttering the unlocking charm, Hermione pushed her way into the room. The sunlight made the room cheery, except for what lay on the floor next to one of the beds. Harry lay leaning against his bedframe, a pool of blood surrounding him, staining the carpet a deep burgundy.

"No! Harry!" Hermione shouted, running to the boy. She looked, horrified at his wrists, which were still oozing blood.

Bringing Harry's body to her's, Hermione held him close for the last time. She noted that there was a peaceful air around the dead teen, a small smile playing on his cold lips. "My poor Harry," she mumbled into his messy hair. "Sleep well, my hero. Sleep well."

With those last words, Hermione stood and left the Boy-Who-Lived, resting in his eternal slumber, never to be woken again. No more will he have to feel the pain of someone dying, the pain from that curse. For as the great Albus Dumbledore once said, "To some, Death is but the next great adventure." And for Harry Potter, well, he's ready for that adventure.

(I would take all my shame to the grave)