Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews :)

Trying to update as much as I can before school work takes over my life again :P

xXx


The dragon began to stand up, positioning itself as tall as it could in the cramped tunnel. Its eyes moved from Ron to Hermione, before falling on Harry.

'Remember what it is Harry,' Hermione told him as she took hold of his arm. 'You can do this.'

The dragon breathed in through its nostrils and the candle that was by the door blew out. With the sound like the crack of a whip that echoed through the tunnel, the dragon disappeared, only to be replaced by a hooded dementor, its breath instantly rattling through Harry's mind. And then it was gone again, and Harry found himself staring instead into the eyes of Ginny. This was not what he had been expecting. She was wearing a pure white dress that reached almost the floor, and her hair was pinned back into a loose bun.

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he took in her form. She looked perfect, just like the last time he had seen her. Just like at the wedding. Before he realised what he was doing he was lifting his hand to touch her cheek, just like he had done a million times before. In response, Ginny pulled out her wand and pointed in at Harry's neck, her eyes burning the same colour as her hair.

'You left me,' she growled at him, and the voice that reached Harry was not Ginny's. Ginny had had practice standing up for herself with all her brothers, but the voice held hatred that he knew Ginny was not capable of.

'I – I had to,' he stammered, but Ginny only stepped closer to him until she was an inch away.

'You can make it up to me you know,' she whispered in his ear. 'Just leave here and apparate home. I'll be waiting for you. Now. Before it's too late. Before you let me die.'

Harry felt his body shake. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the burrow and hold Ginny. To make sure she was safe. But he knew he couldn't until he had finished what he had set out to do.

'No,' he managed to say, and Ginny stepped back from him immediately, raising her wand again and pointing it at Harry once more.

'Harry, the spell,' shouted Hermione, but Harry could only focus on Ginny. He knew the spell that was needed. He knew what he had to do, and yet it seemed almost impossible.

'Harry,' he heard Ron shout. 'It's not her. Look at her. It's not Ginny!'

Harry lifted his own wand and pointed it at Ginny. Every part of him was telling himself that this was wrong. That there was no way that he should be pointing his wand at the girl in front of him.

But this wasn't his Ginny. He had to tell himself that.

'R-Riddikulus,' he shouted, but nothing happened. Ginny merely cackled at him, and raised her wand even further.

'You're not passing. You left me to die. You betrayed me. So now I'm going to do the same,' said Ginny.

'Harry!' shouted Ron. 'You can defeat a dementor, you've escaped you-know-who, and you can do this. You did this in the second year!'

Harry turned to look at the faces beside him. Ron was right. He had managed to stop this creature in his second year, but at that point he still had some happiness in his life that he could focus on. But now…

Harry closed his eyes, shutting out the Ginny in front of him and focusing on his Ginny. The one that was safe at the burrow and waiting for him. The one that he had kissed at the wedding and who had helped him feel something when he was numb. She was safe. He knew she was, and this thought alone was enough to make him smile.

'Riddikulus,' he said again, remembering every embrace he had had with her, and when he opened his eyes, the wand that was pointed between his eyes turned to rubbed. Ginny giggled at him, and for a brief moment it was his Ginny stood in front of him, laughing at one of her brothers jokes. The sound of her laughter made Harry laugh himself, but as soon as he did so there was the crack of a whip once again and Ginny was gone.


Ron smiled to himself, but before he knew it, there was a form materialising in front of him. Hermione looked him straight in the eyes, and Ron could see that she too was wearing a simple white dress that reached almost her ankles and floated around her in the breeze.

'Ron,' she smiled at him before she took a sharp intake of breath and fell at his feet, blood slatted across her body, tainting her pale skin. Ron froze, staring at the girl at his feet, unable to feel anything.

He could hear someone shouting his name, grabbing his arm. But he couldn't take his eyes off Hermione. Falling to his knees he gently brushed his hand across her arm. It was as cold as ice and held no sign of life. Tears sprang to his eyes, and a voice filled his mind.

'You did this Ronald,' it taunted. 'If you'd left with Harry and not let Hermione get involved, she would be safe. But you let her put herself in danger. You were selfish and wanted her to be with you. You killed her.'

'No, I-I…' stammered Ron but he couldn't seem to argue with the voice. It was right. He had let Hermione put herself in danger day after day. This was his fault.

The grasp on his arm tightened, but he couldn't concentrate. There was no way he was going to carry on without Hermione. He couldn't leave her here and carry on through the tunnel. Anything could happen to her.

'RON!' he heard someone yell, and there was a sharp pain across his face as if someone had slapped him. 'Ronald Weasley, snap out of it. I'm here. I'm always here. Ron…'

And Ron felt a soft hand slip between his fingers. He smiled. The hand was warm. It was smooth. And it could only belong to one person. Before he realised he was running through memory after memory of the person that he knew was kneeling beside him. She was not dead. She was right next to Ron, just like she had been for the last seven years.

Images flashed through his mind. Images of bright brown eyes. Of snowball fights. Of sitting round the common room fire finishing homework, a teaspoon, spearmint toothpaste…

Ron didn't notice he was smiling until he had pointed his wand at the Hermione shaped creature in front of him, his other hand still enclosed in his Hermione's.

'Riddikulus,' he smiled, and when he focused again, the Hermione in front if him was doubled over, a wide smile on her face as she laughed uncontrollably, as if she was being tickled. Ron laughed at the sight. It felt almost like a memory. Then the crack echoed through the tunnel again and the laughing Hermione was gone.


Hermione took a deep breath and braced herself for the image to appear in front of her. Yet nothing appeared. She looked from Ron to Harry who both seemed as confused as she did.

'They're dead,' came a voice inside her head. She immediately closed her eyes. If she couldn't see them, it would make it easier. 'Did you really think that they would be safe in Australia?'

Hermione could feel her breath quicken. 'This isn't real,' she told herself. 'None of this is real.'

'If you look now,' continued the voice. 'You could see them again. One last time.'

Hermione closed her eyes even tighter. She wouldn't give in.

'You'll need to look sometime,' the voice continued. 'How are you going to get past if you can't even look.'

Hermione felt a soft hand touch her nose and she smiled, her eyes flickering open. Her dad was kneeling in front of her, a grin on his lips, her mum right beside them. They looked exactly the same as the day she left them, apart from a slight green glow that surrounded their bodies.

'Don't worry,' came the voice again. 'It was all very quick. Just a simple killing curse whilst they were gardening. They wouldn't have felt a thing.'

'Mum, I'm so sorry' Hermione cried as her mother stepped in front of her. 'I tried so hard to keep you safe.'

'I know, I know,' whispered her mother, tucking Hermione's hair behind her ear before slipping her hand on top of the one that wasn't still clinging to Ron and pulling her to her feet. 'Why don't you just stay here for a while with us? We can catch up. Say good bye properly.'

Hermione froze. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms round her parents and never let go. 'These aren't my parents' she told herself, closing her eyes again. 'They are still safe in Australia.' Hermione almost didn't believe her own words, but it was this thought that had kept her going every day, and she had to hold on to it as tightly as she could.

'Go away,' she said sternly as she faced the forms in front of her again. 'Go away! Riddikulus! R-Riddik-' and Hermione sunk to her knees once more. Why couldn't she make it all stop? The other two had been strong enough!

The forms of her parents stood above her, their eyes soft and arms outstretched.

'Go away!' she shouted again, and the forms changed, their eyes burning red just as the Ginny's had done.

'You sent us away to die Hermione,' said her mother. 'In a country where we knew no one. Where we will be buried under false names. Where no one we loved will ever know!'

'You ruined our life,' continued her father. 'What little of it we had left.'

'You are not my parents!' shouted Hermione as she looked at the forms. Every aspect of them looked the same apart from the eyes, yet she had to get this idea out of her head. 'My dad was the one person who could get me to sleep at night. He was the one who would read me a bed time story and checked under the bed for monsters every night. He was the one who would touch my nose to make me smile, and who taught me how to ride a bike.'

Her gaze then shifted to the form of her mother.

'And my mum,' she sighed. 'I could tell my mum anything. She was always there for me with any problem that I had. She gave me advise. She let me help her bake cookies, and even let me eat one even though she always said it would spoil my appetite before she made out tea. And she could make anything seem better with a hug.'

Hermione closed her eyes once again, thinking of the time that she had spent with her parents. The laughter that would fill the house when her father tried to tell them a joke that he had heard at work. The safety she felt when she was in their arms.

'Riddikulus,' she smiled, and when she opened her eyes again both her parents were smiling back at her.

'Hey Hermione, have I told you the one about the elephants in the fridge?' asked the form of her dad.

'She's heard that one a million times before,' laughed her mum. 'What's he like? He actually thinks he's funny you know?'

And Hermione found herself laughing along with her parents, before there was a loud crack, and darkness surrounded the once more.

'And then they were gone again,' whispered Hermione as Ron wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder.


'We have to move before it comes back,' announced Harry. 'I don't think any of us could cope with that again.'

'You could not be more right mate,' agreed Ron as he led Hermione, who was still sniffing but seemed to have composed herself.

'That was one evil Boggart,' said Harry as they began to walk. 'Why use one anyway? They can't really hurt anyone that tried to get past.'

'It's there to stop anyone from trying,' said Hermione shakily. 'If you came across the thing you feared more than anything else, there isn't much chance that you would try and pass it.'

Ron nodded in agreement.

'I would have taken the dragon any day,' he replied. 'Honestly. If dragons were the worst of my fears…'

But they weren't. Dragons were nothing. Yes they could breath fire, and yes they could kill him in one swoop. But the pain of dying from a dragon was nothing to the pain he felt when Hermione was lying dead at his feet. When he had to watch her suffer through the memories of her parents. He quickly found Hermione's hand again and tightened his grip. There was no way she was going anywhere where he couldn't follow.