A/N: Hey guys! It's been about a million years and I am soooo sorry! Senior year was crazy and I didn't have time to sleep let alone write! But I'm back now since it's summer and I'm raring to write. Again, I don't know how much I'll be updating since I leave for college at the end of August but as always reviews = faster updates! I'm going back over this and making everything longer and revising other things which should make everyone happy so the first few chapters will come out pretty quickly. This is just the beginning preview. All the other chapters should (hopefully!) be longer.
Disclaimer: None of it's mine unfortunately. I wish I were one of the richest women in the world.
The ghost of Albus Dumbledore walked across the desolate field that had once held the greatest school of magic ever known. Hogwarts, virtually impervious to any attack, had been leveled by, of all things, love. After surviving attacks from angry villagers in the days of the Founders, Grindewald's attack nearly 60 years earlier and Voldemort's last stand, Hogwarts had fallen… because of love. The specter shook his head at the irony. Love: the very weapon that Albus had tried so desperately to cultivate in Harry, the only truly effective weapon against the Dark Lord.
He had worried when he left the boy at the Dursley's, knowing that his mother's relatives would show him little affection. However, Harry's childhood was a necessary sacrifice to protect him from the evils of the world as long as possible. In the end, everything has worked itself out better than Albus had planned. Coming into Hogwarts, Harry was a boy starved for love yet willing to share his heart with many. Yes, despite all of Minerva's protestations, leaving Harry at number 4 Privet Drive was the best thing for the greater good.
The ghost smiled sadly in remembrance of the boy. So eager and willing to love and be loved in return, Harry had become all that Albus could have ever hoped for. Voldemort had been no match for Harry's capacity to love. He had stood before Voldemort with those he loved most at his back: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasley's. With that much love behind him, well, how could he fail? And so Lord Voldemort had been defeated, once and for all. Dumbledore had thought that now, finally, Harry would have the normal life he had always wanted, without the threat of Voldemort hanging ominously over his head.
But it wouldn't do to think of Harry now. No, that would only make the old ghost sink deeper into depression. Even Harry could not have stopped this devastation. After all, it was something no one had ever expected. It was over before they had realized something had begun and the world was forever changed.
No, there was nothing anyone could have done…
"Well," Albus thought, "there was a way. But I cannot blame him for not taking it. I would not have expected him to. It would have compromised him in every way possible."
Again, Albus gazed across the forsaken plain. He sighed heavily. The scene before him was the polar opposite of what Hogwarts had once been. The grass was browning, close to dead, the trees devoid of any leaves. The Forbidden Forest was not nearly as frightening now, its depths laid bare for anyone to see. The majority of animals were either long gone or had been killed at the beginning. The centaurs' stargazing had not warned them of their impending massacre. Such powerful allies could have tipped the scale. The few unicorns that had lived in the forest before had been the first to flee, sensing the darkness gathering in the castle. Hagrid's old pet Aragog's brood had stayed and thrived. The entire forest was now considered Acromantula territory. The thestrals had also remained. It only seemed fitting that those who only appeared once one had seen death would linger in these dark days.
Albus turned to glance behind him, where the majestic fortress that was Hogwarts had once stood. The castle was now only partially intact. All but one tower had been toppled, every secret passageway permanently sealed. The heart of the castle now served as her headquarters. The remaining bits of the castle were not all even used. The dungeons held their prisoners but the lower levels housed surprisingly few. Dozens of classrooms sat empty, merely waiting for the students and professors that would never come. House elves still cleaned with their usual vigor but it was done in vain as there was little hope the facilities would ever again be used.
The one thing that stuck out the most though was…the silence. No birds were flying overhead, no students shrieking merrily as they enjoyed the grounds. No Quidditch practice, no young lovers walking around the lake. It was purely silent. Lifeless.
Albus turned away from the barren wasteland where Hogwarts had once proudly stood, a haven for so many over the centuries and slowly walked down to the lake where a lone figure stood, facing the breeze, hair whipping in the wind. Again he sighed as he looked upon the fiercely determined young woman responsible for the catastrophe that had essentially brought down the Wizarding World.
"Oh, Hermione… It didn't have to be this way."
A/N: So what'd you think? I know I hate when authors beg for reviews but please do review! They give me a sense of what everyone is feeling and if you have any ideas you think would be great send them right over! I love to hear what people think and I'll try to respond and go read your own stories as well.