Impunity, Revenge, and Grief
By Traci Duncan
Harry Potter kneeled down beside the two beds, tears streaming
unchecked down his cheeks. Madame Pomfrey had been kind enough to leave
the hospital wing while he grieved for his friends.
He couldn't believe it, his two best friends were dead, and never
coming back. I should have saved them, he thought. Dumbledore had told
him that he knew that he couldn't have saved them, even if he had tried. But
Harry didn't want to accept that, refused to accept that. It was his fault;
he as good as killed his best friends. He was just as bad as Wormtail.
He looked at Hermione's face. Any second now, her eyes would open
and she would smile at him, and he would hear her ask him why he was crying.
Any second now, any second……… but Harry knew he was being stupid. That
second would never come, he was all alone.
Harry turned away, he couldn't stand to see her oblivious, smiling face
anymore. Instead, he turned to Ron's bed.
Ron lay there with the exact same smile Hermione wore. Ron, the
first friend Harry had ever had, was dead. Harry looked at Ron's face and
knew, he knew he'd never escape the smile of Death.
He stood up and looked at the peaceful faces of Hermione and Ron,
both slightly smiling. But the calm smiles did nothing to help his feelings; in
fact it made them worse. For it was almost as if the smiles were mocking
him.
"You didn't save us, Harry. If not for you, we would still be living. All
your fault… ALL your fault…"
"Ron and Hermione would never say that," Harry told himself, not even
knowing he spoke aloud, "That's not them. Not them."
"What are you doing, Potter?" said a cold voice behind him, "Begun to
talk to yourself now, have you?"
Harry whirled around in anger. Snape's sudden appearance didn't help
him much right now. Snape was standing just inside the door wearing his
usual black robes.
"I asked you a question, Potter," said Snape, softly.
Anger within Harry at Snape rushed to combine with the self-anger
for not being able to save his only true friends and came boiling forth with
such a ferocity that Snape totally forgot that he was a professor talking to
a soon to graduate seventh year.
"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'?!?!" Harry shouted at him,
"I am here for good reason, unlike you Snape! You are pathetic! You
probably think you're really witty coming to brag that my two best friends
are dead because you had a Damnable grudge against my father who's ALSO
dead!!!" Harry took a few steps forward, but some part of reason told him
it wouldn't be a good idea to strangle Snape.
Snape who had been caught off guard by the first harangue but had
recovered his wits enough to spit out, "Are you ASKing for a detention,
Potter?"
But Harry wasn't to be trifled with, he knew what Snape was trying to
do. Not about to give up, and still angry, he shouted, "Another thing!! You
are contemptible! You always LOVE to push your advantage so you can give
your rival's SON a hard time!! I never did anything to you! Why not forget
the whole thing and just leave me alone!? I mean, NOW! Just leave, Snape!"
Harry turned his back to Snape and kneeled down between the beds
of his dead friends. He didn't care what Snape did.
Snape just stood there as if frozen by the tirade Harry had just
thrown at him. He took a deep breath, as if he hadn't been affected by
what Harry had said, and started for the door. Before he reached it, he
said, in a voice that was not at all like any voice Harry had heard him use
before and made his look back at him, "I'm sorry for your loss, Potter." And
then he strode out the door.
"Professor?" Harry said tentatively. Snape's brooding form
reappeared in the doorway.
"What do you want, Potter?"
Harry took what seemed to be the longest breath of his life and said,
"Uh… Thanks."
Snape paused, and then he said, "You'd better hurry, unless you want
to be late for graduation, Potter."
And he was gone.
~Finis~
Disclaimer:: JK Rowling owns the characters, I own nothing. Not even
the word harangue; since it is a real word.
A/N:: Ok, weird I know. I had always wanted to do a fic where the
confrontation with Volde was over, but Harry had to deal with the loss of his
friends. So I added a bit of Snape, 1 cup of Harry going off on him, baked
at 350* then let cool, and came out with this very strange fic. Ah, what
staying up on a school night can do to you. Yawn… I'm going back to bed……
By Traci Duncan
Harry Potter kneeled down beside the two beds, tears streaming
unchecked down his cheeks. Madame Pomfrey had been kind enough to leave
the hospital wing while he grieved for his friends.
He couldn't believe it, his two best friends were dead, and never
coming back. I should have saved them, he thought. Dumbledore had told
him that he knew that he couldn't have saved them, even if he had tried. But
Harry didn't want to accept that, refused to accept that. It was his fault;
he as good as killed his best friends. He was just as bad as Wormtail.
He looked at Hermione's face. Any second now, her eyes would open
and she would smile at him, and he would hear her ask him why he was crying.
Any second now, any second……… but Harry knew he was being stupid. That
second would never come, he was all alone.
Harry turned away, he couldn't stand to see her oblivious, smiling face
anymore. Instead, he turned to Ron's bed.
Ron lay there with the exact same smile Hermione wore. Ron, the
first friend Harry had ever had, was dead. Harry looked at Ron's face and
knew, he knew he'd never escape the smile of Death.
He stood up and looked at the peaceful faces of Hermione and Ron,
both slightly smiling. But the calm smiles did nothing to help his feelings; in
fact it made them worse. For it was almost as if the smiles were mocking
him.
"You didn't save us, Harry. If not for you, we would still be living. All
your fault… ALL your fault…"
"Ron and Hermione would never say that," Harry told himself, not even
knowing he spoke aloud, "That's not them. Not them."
"What are you doing, Potter?" said a cold voice behind him, "Begun to
talk to yourself now, have you?"
Harry whirled around in anger. Snape's sudden appearance didn't help
him much right now. Snape was standing just inside the door wearing his
usual black robes.
"I asked you a question, Potter," said Snape, softly.
Anger within Harry at Snape rushed to combine with the self-anger
for not being able to save his only true friends and came boiling forth with
such a ferocity that Snape totally forgot that he was a professor talking to
a soon to graduate seventh year.
"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'?!?!" Harry shouted at him,
"I am here for good reason, unlike you Snape! You are pathetic! You
probably think you're really witty coming to brag that my two best friends
are dead because you had a Damnable grudge against my father who's ALSO
dead!!!" Harry took a few steps forward, but some part of reason told him
it wouldn't be a good idea to strangle Snape.
Snape who had been caught off guard by the first harangue but had
recovered his wits enough to spit out, "Are you ASKing for a detention,
Potter?"
But Harry wasn't to be trifled with, he knew what Snape was trying to
do. Not about to give up, and still angry, he shouted, "Another thing!! You
are contemptible! You always LOVE to push your advantage so you can give
your rival's SON a hard time!! I never did anything to you! Why not forget
the whole thing and just leave me alone!? I mean, NOW! Just leave, Snape!"
Harry turned his back to Snape and kneeled down between the beds
of his dead friends. He didn't care what Snape did.
Snape just stood there as if frozen by the tirade Harry had just
thrown at him. He took a deep breath, as if he hadn't been affected by
what Harry had said, and started for the door. Before he reached it, he
said, in a voice that was not at all like any voice Harry had heard him use
before and made his look back at him, "I'm sorry for your loss, Potter." And
then he strode out the door.
"Professor?" Harry said tentatively. Snape's brooding form
reappeared in the doorway.
"What do you want, Potter?"
Harry took what seemed to be the longest breath of his life and said,
"Uh… Thanks."
Snape paused, and then he said, "You'd better hurry, unless you want
to be late for graduation, Potter."
And he was gone.
~Finis~
Disclaimer:: JK Rowling owns the characters, I own nothing. Not even
the word harangue; since it is a real word.
A/N:: Ok, weird I know. I had always wanted to do a fic where the
confrontation with Volde was over, but Harry had to deal with the loss of his
friends. So I added a bit of Snape, 1 cup of Harry going off on him, baked
at 350* then let cool, and came out with this very strange fic. Ah, what
staying up on a school night can do to you. Yawn… I'm going back to bed……