Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.

A.N.: Hi people! Here's another chapter!
First of all, I want to thank you all for your reviews. To think that I actually made some of cry had me up in the clouds... I don't know how I'll be able to keep up with that emotional level... anyway, this chapter is a little lighter I guess.
Someody asked me if I was going to kill Fred. I'd really like to answer that question, but I haven't made up my mind about the battle yet so... can't answer.
I'm kind of playing it by ear here on how I want some pieces of the story to develop. It would really help me to know what you think and what you want to happen.
Finally, I want to thank my beta for helping me with the final edition! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Read enjoy and let me know what you think in the review box ;)


Chapter 4: Coming Back to Life

When Harry and Hermione went down the stairs, they found that Molly and Arthur had retired to take a nap. Fred, George and Bill were sitting around the table pretending to eat the lunch that Fleur had made for them. The air seemed to be as depressing as it had been in the morning. Hermione wrapped an arm around Harry's, showing an unconscious fear of losing sight of him and he did nothing but give her a small smile before he turned to Bill.

"Bill, where's Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I know she shouldn't have said that to Hermione but I don't think now's the time to…"

"I know" Harry interrupted him. "You're right, she shouldn't have said that but we need to talk to her about something else."

"She's been outside since you went upstairs" he nodded towards the window and Harry saw Ginny sitting on the sand alone, away from everyone.

"Maybe it will be for the best if you go talk to her alone, Harry" Hermione spoke this time.

"Are you sure?" he asked; he could already feel her starting to shake. She was doing a pretty good job at pretending that she was ok, but Harry knew that her experience with torture and the lose of Ron had really made a number on her.

"You go, I'll make some tea and wait here." she squeaked, letting go of his arm.

"Ok, I'll be right back" he promised and he left the room as quickly as he could.

"Harry, wait. What are you two up to?"

"Hermione will explain it to you" Harry said after a quick silent exchange with Hermione.

Harry left the cottage and walked silently towards Ginny. The red haired girl was no longer crying, but her eyes were so lost and filled with sadness that he almost turned back to leave her alone in her grief.

"I need to talk to you, Ginny" Harry said softly. He had been mad at her for yelling at Hermione like she had, but she seemed so fragile that he was afraid he would break her if he spoke too loudly.

Ginny shrugged and gestured to a spot in the sand next to her. Silently, Harry sat next to her and allowed the silence to cover them as a blanket for a long moment.

"You haven't been just hiding and running like everyone says, have you?" Ginny finally asked.

"No, we haven't…"

"You should have escaped" she sighed. "Ron wouldn't have died if you had fled the country. You still can, you could at least save yourself…"

"We're not running away, Gin. Ron knew what he was risking when he decided that he would come with me. We're going to keep fighting and we'll end this war."

Ginny took a deep breath and her eyes gleamed with tears again.

"We, we, we…" she let out a sad small chuckle "You and Hermione." she said and Harry saw pain crossing her face at the words. Almost as if saying their names together was too much for her. "Do you realise how you consider you and her as a single unit?"

"We… we need each other. That's how it's always been." Harry said without putting much thought into his words. He didn't even understand where Ginny was going with her words.

"Yes… that's how it's always been… But you've never needed me, have you?"

"Ginny, I don't think now's the best time to have this conversation… You and I…" But he couldn't finish his improvised speech, Ginny cut him off with a question he had never prepared the answer to.

"Do you love her, Harry?"

Ginny's eyes buried in his and the question cut deep into him. He had never thought about it. Even liking Hermione that way had always been out of the question. Loving her? It seemed absolutely impossible yet the most natural way to call what he felt for her.

Ginny was right, he considered himself and Hermione as a unit in more ways than one. He was more scared to lose her that anybody else in the war. She was the only person he thought he couldn't keep fighting without… Did he love her? How could he know what love was after everything he had been through, after so many of the people that claimed to have loved him had died?

"You do, Harry… I've seen it. Now more than ever…" She sighed. "The way you automatically look for her every time you step into a room, the way you let her touch you, the way you share everything with her… You'd trust her with your life, you'd die to keep her safe without question… Right now, you're worried about her because you've both been through hell and you hate not having each other within arm's reach." She gave him a sad smile. "We've never had something like that, Harry. That's what love looks like…"

Harry didn't say anything. He just stared at the wild ocean in front of him thinking about what Ginny had said. If you thought about it logically, she was right. Everything she had said was true… But loving Hermione? It still sounded so odd in Harry's head. Still, there was something inside him that felt incredibly warm at the thought.

"This is a war, Gin. I can't think about that now…"

"Isn't the war the reason why you should think about that? Merlin knows that it's the last thing I would want, but you know that you could die any day now, the same goes for her…"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I do love you. And sometimes loving someone means letting go and wanting the person you love to be happy."

Harry nodded in understanding and they both remained silent for a long while.

"You didn't come here to talk about this" Ginny said once it became clear that Harry wasn't going to say anything else.

"No. In fact I wanted to ask you something… We need to get into Hogwarts as soon as possible. You've been there since classes started again. I need you to tell me everything you know about it, I'm sure it's not going to be as easy as getting into Honeydukes and taking the secret passage."

"They sealed off all the passages we knew of before school started. There are dementors all around the boundary walls, regular patrols inside the school… The place has never been so heavily guarded. And I haven't even started to talk about the Carrows, Snape's deputies. There's only one way in… What do you need with the school anyway?"

"We need to speak with McGonagall. There's something we need to find. Two somethings in fact, but one of them can wait…"

"The only way in is through Aberforth's passage."

"Aberforth? As in…"

"Dumbledore's brother, yes. He's the owner of the Hog's Head Inn. The only safe way to get in is if you apparate directly inside the Hog's Head, you may not even need to get inside Hogwarts. If you explain it to him, maybe he'll be able to get McGonagall to talk to you"

"Good, Hermione should have already spoken to Bill. We are leaving right now. We don't have much time."

"Take care, Harry" Ginny said, her eyes going back to the ocean.

"I'll be back tonight and we'll plan what to do here. I know what you're feeling, Ginny. I can't say that everything's going to be alright because it won't, but you'll survive…"

"I know. It's what Ron would have wanted anyway."

Harry nodded and walked back to the cottage to find Hermione talking with Bill at the table while they drank tea. Next to Hermione, a hot cup of tea was waiting for him.

"Hey" Harry said taking his seat next to her and she gave him a small smile.

"Harry, I have good news" she told him with a smile and Harry smiled back. He hadn't heard about good news in too long. "We've been talking. Bill says that maybe we don't even need to go to Hogwarts today. He knows who sent help at Malfoy Manor, Harry. It was Dumbledore's brother. House Elves still can apparate in and out of Hogwarts, maybe if we call Dobby again, he'll be able to bring McGonagall. It will be quicker and much safer than trying to get inside the school ourselves."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, this time he was looking directly at Bill.

"It's worth the try. After what we've heard from Hogwarts, I'm sure you don't want to go there unless you absolutely have to."

"What do you think?" Harry asked again, this time looking at Hermione, another manifestation of his absolute trust in her.

"I think it's a good plan… We'll have to get into Hogwarts eventually, but I don't think we'll be able to get out. We should take care of Gringotts first… If you're so sure about the wand, maybe getting McGonagall to come here is our best shot."

"Yeah… I think you're right" Harry nodded after thinking about it for a while. "Can you contact Dumbledore's brother, Bill?"

"Yes I can. Don't worry. You should try to eat something while you wait… You'll need your strength."

"Thank you, Bill" Hermione smiled before he left the room to contact Aberforth.

"So we wait…" Harry said after taking a sip of his cup of tea.

"We wait…" Hermione nodded. "How did everything go with Ginny?"

"She gave me the information we needed. I don't think Hogwarts looks like home anymore."

"Is it that bad?"

"She didn't get to tell me many details, but it doesn't sound good."

"And how is she?" Hermione asked again.

"She has just lost her brother, I don't think she'll be ok for a while…" he sighed. "How are you?"

"Is this how it's gonna be now? I get struck with a Dark Curse and I get to have you worrying about me 24/7?" she tried to joke.

"I always worry about you" Harry said without thinking and the truth in his words surprised them both.

"I can't say that I'm fine. I don't know if I'll ever be fine again…" she admitted. "After what happened with Ron and…" She shuddered "I'm scared, Harry. They were so close to killing us all."

"But they didn't" suddenly, some of Ginny's words echoed in Harry's head. He wasn't sure about loving her, he didn't even what to think about that words right now, but he did want Hermione to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. "You know you can leave if you want to" he said without looking at her and trying to sound as gentle as he could with the lump that was starting to form in his throat. "You could escape, find a way to leave the country… You could be safe."

"You're not really suggesting that I leave you behind are you?"

"Think about it, Hermione. It's the only way you can be truly safe… away from all this, away from me."

"Harry I'm not leaving you" she said with such passion in her voice that he had to look at her to make sure that she wasn't crying again. "I could barely stand to be a few feet away from you for five minutes while you talked with Ginny and you want me to leave the country? I won't. Not a chance."

"But… I need you to be safe" the words left Harry's mouth before he even thought about it and Hermione's face lit up.

"I don't care about safety if you're not with me, Harry" she said without hesitation. "I'm not leaving. We're in this together, we've had this conversation a hundred times…"

"You'd be willing to die…" he whispered and Hermione nodded. "You'd be willing to give up the chance to have the life you've always wanted for me?"

"I'd do anything for you" she said simply and hid behind her cup of tea.

Again, Ginny's words echoed in Harry's head but he didn't say anything. He had always been better with actions than with words so he took her hand in his and held her. Somehow feeling her skin made him feel stronger than ever.

"You're freezing" Harry whispered and took her hand closer to his face to blow hot air in her skin.

"I've been reading… Extended exposure to the Cruciatus Curse can have some side effects. Cold's one of them… nightmares too, of course."

"Haven't you tried a Heating Charm?"

"Ain't gonna work. It's dark magic. It'll eventually fade away…"

They finished their tea in silence, holding hands and enjoying the peace of a moment of safety while Hermione read a book she had gotten from Bill earlier.

"Hermione?" Harry spoke after some minutes and she looked up from the pages.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad that you're with me" he smiled and she smiled back at him, that shining beautiful smile of hers… What he wouldn't give to have her smiling like that every day?

"There's no other place I'd rather be."


Harry felt that things were finally starting to get better when he saw Dobby and Minerva McGonagall walking towards Shell Cottage after apparating in the same place where Harry, Hermione, Ron and Dobby had apparated the day before. Bill went to greet them and soon they were all sitting around the table in the kitchen.

"It is so good to see you two" McGonagall smiled after shaking Harry's and Hermione's hands with great affection. "I'm deeply sorry about what happened with Mister Weasley…" she added at the end.

"We all are" Hermione nodded. "It's good to see you again, Professor."

"I hear that you two needed to ask me something?"

"Actually we do, Professor" this time, it was Harry who spoke. "We… we've been working on a special mission that Dumbledore's left us and we need help."

"Professor, we wouldn't have asked you to put yourself at risk if it wasn't absolutely necessary. If there's anything Dumbledore left you for us, now's the time to give it to us. We need Dumbledore's wand. You-Know-Who is after it too and it is very important that he doesn't get it." Hermione continued and then allowed Harry to take her place.

"We believe that the real wand is not buried with him in his grave. He knew that the wand was not a common one and that probably more than one wizard would seek to get it… You're the only person we could think of that he would trust enough to tell this information."

"Professor Dumbledore knew that he was going to die for a long while before the incident on the tower" McGonagall started to speak and both Harry and Hermione we surprised with her words. "He was cursed, I'm sure you've noticed his hand… The curse would have killed him shortly after the end of the school year if he hadn't been killed that night."

"He knew he was going to die?" Hermione asked with disbelief.

"And he never told us?" Harry asked this time, his body starting to fill with disappointment and rage.

"I was told that when he died I had to hide his wand and transfigure an ordinary one to look like his to be buried. Of course I did as he said. I had instructions to give you the original wand along with a few other items when you came back to school but you never did."

"He knew he was dying and he never told us" Harry mumbled looking at Hermione. He had never felt so betrayed in his life.

"Harry" Hermione spoke when she felt him shaking with rage next to her and she took his hand in hers managing to get his attention. "I know how you feel but it's not what matters now…"

After a deep breath, Harry nodded and they turned their attention back to McGonagall.

"We're going to need this objects now, Professor" Hermione said back to her serious, confident self.

"Of course" McGonagall waved her wand and in an instant, a small wooden box was placed on top of the table. "Only Mister Potter will be able to open it. If you ever need more help, you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry told her sincerely.

"You're welcome, Mister Potter. Good luck" she smiled at the two of them with affection. "I'll better go back before anybody notices I'm gone."

"Thank you again, Professor" Hermione thanked her with a smile. "We'll see eachother soon."

"Take care of each other."

Both nodded before she left the room to meet Dobby and leave for Hogwarts as soon as possible. The elf was going to come back later to help them with breaking into Gringotts.

"Open it!" Hermione urged Harry as soon as they were alone in the room.

"I don't know what to think, Hermione. He knew he was about to die… He never said anything, he could've…"

"Listen" she interrupted him. "For what we know now, Dumbledore was far from being the person we thought him to be but right now the only thing we should think about is how to end this war. Maybe there's something in that box that will help us defeat Tom. Just open it, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath before he finally opened the wooden box. Inside it, he found many small bottles containing what he easily recognized as memories, a smaller version of Dumbledore's pensieve, Dumbledore's wand and a note.

"I hope this memories help you. You must see them only after the last Horcrux has been destroyed. I'm very proud of you, my dear boy. The best of luck, Albus Dumbledore" Hermione read.

"More secrets…" Harry growled. "I need to know what the memories are…"

"Harry, I think we should do as Dumbledore says in this… I'm sure he had his reasons."

After giving it a few minutes of thought, Harry finally nodded and pushed the topic away.

"So this is it, the Elder Wand" Harry whispered picking up the wand from the box.

"Try it, Harry" Hermione told him.

Harry was surprised to feel a warm caress in his hand where the wand was touching him and without thinking, he held Hermione's hand and before the incantation left his lips, a shining silver stag burst from Harry's wand, charging around the room in search of a threat and then finally came back to Harry's side.

"Harry, that's… that's the strongest Patronus I've ever seen" Hermione whispered amazed by the sight and reached out to trying to touch it only to be surprised by the fact that she actually could touch it. "It's solid!"

"It must be the wand… I didn't even get to say the incantation"

"The Unbeatable Wand…" Hermione said, testing the words in her mouth "Maybe the Hallows are real after all."

"I think they are" Harry agreed and for the first time a warm feeling started to grow in his chest: hope.