A voice from the abyss
I do not own Harry Potter (do any of us?)
They were all shocked when they heard the news of Voldemort's return and Cedric's demise. As panic and chaos ensued, Harry was dragged out of the stadium by Mad Eye Moody and into his office. Harry was confused at first but he soon became nervous as the man in front of him starting talking funny and throwing rants at him. Just as he was about to kill him, his was stunned by Dumbledore, as Snape doused his throat with truth serum, followed by Professor McGonagall and the minister of magic. The school's headmaster pointed a wand at his throat.
"Are you Alastor Moody? Are you?!"
"No…" he croaked.
"Is he in this room? IS HE IN THIS ROOM?!" the man's eyes tilted sideways to his travel trunk. With a whisk of a wand, the locks began to open one by one and they peered into the big hole that opened before them. Inside it, sat a sick and hungry Alastor Moody. The real one.
"But if that's Moody then who's?..." began Harry, prefixed with confusion. The imposter began to change shape in front of his eyes. First, his skin bubbled and his head grew larger, then the magic eye flew off it and onto the floor, followed by his fingers cracking. After his hair turned black, the man's identity was revealed.
"Barty Crouch Jr." said the headmaster.
"He's back. Lord Voldemort has returned…," he said with a wicked grin.
"Impossible! He can't be back!" blurted Minster Fudge.
"The man is under truth serum, Cornelius. He can't be lying."
"Then he's delusional!" snapped the man.
"He's not delusional minister, you have Harry's testimony to back it up. We need to start making preparations as soon as possible."
After a short silence he spoke.
"God dammit…" he muttered under his breath.
"I never thought it would come to this," he said and walked towards the door, but before he reached it Dumbledore spoke.
"One more thing, if I may, Cornelius."
"Yes Dumbledore?"
"Do you remember what I told you about Sirius Black thirteen years ago?"
The man frowned for a moment, trying to remember. Then his eyes widened in shock.
"Good Lord, you were right, Headmaster. He was innocent! I'll make sure he receives an immediate pardon."
"Thank you Mr. Fudge" said Harry, glad his godfather can come out of hiding.
"There's nothing to thank for my boy. I'm trying to rectify some wrongs. I'm just sorry we wrongfully convicted your godfather of a terrible crime he didn't commit..." he said and turned to leave.
"Christ, this is gonna be bad…" they could hear him say as he walked out the door.
After a short silence Harry spoke.
"Now what?"
"Now we wait for Minster Fudge to send over a dementor to deal with Mr. Crouch here. In the meantime, Professor McGonagall, I'd like you to escort Harry to the hospital wing."
"Of course sir. Come on Potter." She said and escorted him out as Harry took one last look at the group left behind, before they left the room. The elderly witch and distraught teenager paced along the empty corridors in silence. Minerva could sense his anguish so she spoke up.
"Mr. Potter I want you to know that what happened out there with you know who was not your fault. So please, don't blame yourself."
"It's not just him, it's Cedric. It was my idea that we'd touch the trophy together and that's why I got him killed."
"You couldn't have known."
"But if I was quicker maybe I would have been able to stop him, but the pain in my scar was too much."
Minerva sighed as they reached the door the hospital room. She placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Listen to me Mr. Potter; it's not your fault. You did the best you could, and Cedric Digory died a hero. Don't blame yourself for things you don't have control over, alright?" she said and looked straight into his eyes.
He sighed.
"Okay."
"Good. I will have Madam Pomfrey give you a dreamless potion so you won't have any nightmares tonight. Get yourself a good rest okay?" she said and opened the doors to the hospital wing and they were greeted by Hermione, Ron and his parents, Lupin and Sirius, now a free man. They all rushed to his aid to see if he was okay, but after everything he's been through, instead of being smothered by all this attention, Harry seemed rather dim and unresponsive. He didn't react beyond a vague noise or nod. After the guests left, it was just Harry and his two best friends. Harry just stood there silently with his head tilted sideways staring at the floor with a sad and empty expression on his face. Sensing he could use some comfort, Hermione approached and gently wrapped her arms around him and stood there in silence. Whatever emotional impact this gesture had on him was unclear, but whatever it was, it somehow broke the emotional dam and Harry started to cry softly. After a short while, he broke apart and sniffed.
"Thanks Hermione." He said through a stuffed nose.
"Sure" she said sincerely as he sniffed again and rubbed his nose. The girl reached for her pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and gave it to him.
"Thanks." He said and took it from her and used it to wipe his eyes and blow his nose. He sighed.
"Oh… shit…" he muttered and sat down on one of the beds as his friends sat down on either side of him. Ron placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You want to talk, mate?"
He shook his head.
"No Ron… not right now…"
"Okay… just know it's not your fault. You did the best you could…"
He sniffed again.
"Yeah…" he said softly. Hermione hated seeing him like this. Eagerly wanting to cheer him up, she removed her jacket and placed it around his shoulders. He smiled at her.
"Thank you." He said and she smiled back. The group spent the rest of their visit in silence until Madam Pomfrey shooed his friends out, so she could give Harry his potion, so he could get ready for bed. In the hours that ensued, Ron and Hermione sat alone together in Gryffindor common room, staring at the fireplace. One by one, their friends went upstairs to sleep. At midnight, Ron was the last to go up and Hermione was left by herself. She sat there silently, staring into empty space. She felt sorry for Harry. Aside from what he's been through, he has to spend a rough night alone. Knowing her best friend, he wouldn't sleep well and he would wind up lying in bed all night, letting the guilt and grief consume him. The sad situation made her sigh because she couldn't keep him company at this hour because it was after curfew. She continued to stare for a duration of time unknown. Finally she spoke.
"Oh to hell with it…" she said and ran up to his room to get his invisibility cloak and darted down the stairs and into the common room. She walked out and headed for the hospital wing. Once she got there, she removed the cloak. It didn't take her long to locate Harry, he was laying on his side on the soft cushy bed. She knew he was still awake because his body seemed tense. She gulped nervously, approached him, and sat down in front of him.
"Hey Harry." She said softly.
"Hermione. What are you doing here?"
The girl smiled and blushed slightly.
"Thought you could use some company." She said and he smiled warmly back to her.
"Thank you, Hermione."
""How do you feel?"
"Not so hot. Can't sleep."
"You want to talk?"
Harry sighed.
"It's just… that… for some reason, all the people I care about always die or end up in danger because of me, first it was you and Ron, then Ginny and now this. I never wanted people to die or suffer for me. So why do these situations keep finding me?"
Hermione shook her head slightly.
"I don't know… but if it weren't for you, Ginny would be long gone. Amongst all the bad that wasn't your fault, you did more good than you realize."
Harry sighed.
"Yeah, but it doesn't change the fact that I let Cedric die. If only I would have been quicker maybe I could have saved him…"
"But then they would have killed you sooner…"
"I would rather die myself than have one of my friends die for me…"
"I know that Harry, but for it's worth, you did your best. No one can ask you for more than right?"
He sighed again.
"I guess…" he said and trailed off. Hermione placed her hand on his palm and rubbed it slightly; he smiled and hummed softly at the sentiment as he held her hand in his. After some peaceful soothing, Harry managed to fall asleep and Hermione smiled, glad she was able to make him feel better, as she leaned lower into her chair and fell into a peaceful slumber with her arms crossed.
To be continued…
So I'll admit, this was inspired by a different story but it's also based on how I wish things would have turned out in the book. So with the help of Hermione, Harry is starting to come to terms with the fact that he's not at fault for Cedric's death, and thanks to her caring and compassion, grew a little closer with her. Only time will tell where this will lead us.
Reviews are most welcome…
Peace out…