Chapter 16

Harry Potter stood alone on a hill at the edge of Hogsmeade. He wore simple black robes and kept his wand loosely in his hand. Witches and wizards had fled the area and a slight wind lifted the hair back from Harry's forehead, exposing his scar. The temperature dropped as Harry stared down the path that led to Hogwarts. He sighed deeply and willed his body to look calm and relaxed like he had been out for a stroll. He felt the unholy presence behind him before he could turn around.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort barely whispered and the wind carried the name toward Harry. As Harry slowly turned, he recognized some of the 30 figures on either side of Voldemort: Nagini, the Malfoy family, Crabbe, Goyle, Bellatrix, and Greyback. Harry's nostrils flared when he saw Greyback but he kept his composure, sticking to the plan. Voldemort kept his wand in his hand, but at his side, unmoving. He laughed a loud high-pitched shriek that would have sent children fleeing back to the mother's skirts.

"And you come alone," he breathed. "Marvelous." Voldemort walked forward alone, narrowing the gap between himself and Harry to twenty feet. Nagini was a short distance behind him, Harry noticed. Then Voldemort stopped, lifted his chin and smelled the air. His smile dropped and he looked angry.

"What .. is that?" Voldemort looked around and his followers began to murmur and look uneasy.

"That," Harry said, speaking for the first time, "is a power of which you will never know." At that moment, Hermione Granger threw off the Invisibility Cloak and pointed her Elder Wand at Voldemort, her left hand clutching the Resurrection Stone. She looked beautiful and terrifying in a black tank top and black pants that hugged her body. Harry shivered as the wind picked up and Hermione stepped in front of her beloved. Her pupils were dilated and her arm was steady as she advanced upon Voldemort. Harry could see the confusion and hatred in his eyes.

"No, it can't be," he whispered. "How dare a mudblood hold the Deathly Hallows!" Nagini hissed loudly and lifted her head even with Hermione. Voldemort lifted his wand arm and began to cast. "Avada Kedavra!"

Harry yelled and stepped forward but Hermione casually flicked her wand and disarmed him. Voldemort's wand went flying into the hand of Hermione Granger and she smiled.

"You silly man," he grinned and pointed both his wand and the Elder Wand at his face, "You are no match for a woman." Harry could not hear what spell she muttered but in the next moment, Voldemort's body arched back and he was lifted off of the ground. He began to scream and Hermione walked closer to him and turned her wand slightly. Her smile turned sinister and Voldemort's screams grew louder. Nagini hissed around and sprang toward Hermione. Harry expected it and cast the Fiendfyre. His months of training in the chest had paid off and he was able to contain the fire that burned alive the last Horcrux of Lord Voldemort. As the black smoke lifted and Harry reined in the fire, the Death Eaters began to charge forward. They met an invisible wall before they could reach Voldemort, some bouncing backward. Sirius Black approached from behind the Death Eaters with McGonagall, Remus, Flitwick and 50 students in tow. Flitwick had his wand arm raised and kept the invisible barrier strong.

Sirius looked uneasily at the floating and tortured body of Voldemort before focusing his attention on the Death Eaters.

"It's over," he said. "Lay down your wands and you will leave here with your lives." The professors and students all lifted their wands, prepared to battle. Ginny and Neville were in the front, next to Seamus and Dean. Fenrir Greyback took a step toward Sirius and laughed.

"We will never surrender to you," he said with a scowl. "You have condemned your group to death. We will kill every one of you," he pointed toward Ginny. "Except that sexy redhead in the front row. I'm going to take her home and-" Fenrir exploded in a mass of blood and fur and Sirius threw up a hasty Protego to save them the mess. A loud noise from the top of the hill turned everyone's attention to Hermione Granger as the lifeless body of Lord Voldemort fell to the ground. She had her wand pointed at the space where Greyback had been standing only moments earlier.

"Death Eaters will all drop their wands now to suffer the same fate as Greyback," she spoke as if she were inviting them all to dinner, with a casual understanding that it was their choice. Every single Death Eater dropped their wands. Sirius and the professors moved forward to collect the wands while the students kept their wands trained upon the enemy. Harry stepped forward and put his hand on the small of Hermione's back. She turned slightly to look at him, power and magic still radiating off of her body.

"You did it," Harry whispered in her ear. "You are the Chosen One." He kissed her on the top of the head as she looked down at the Deathly Hallows. So much power for one person, she thought. She picked up the invisibility cloak, grabbed Harry's hand, and apparated out of Hogsmeade. Sirius heard the pop and looked up. He didn't know when he would see them again but hoped it wouldn't be too long.

Hand in hand with Harry, Hermione walked toward the small cottage that she had seen Harry in all those months ago (weeks ago?). She passed the front door and went around back, walking towards the cliffs, overlooking the ocean. When she first saw this place, it reminded her of the Cliffs of Moher. Tall and powerful and beautiful. Dusk was falling and Hermione didn't want to miss her chance before this was all over. When she got to the cliffs, she handed Harry his Invisibility Cloak.

"This has been passed down in your family for generations. It belongs to you and I hope that you will continue to pass it down to your children." Hermione paused a beat. "To our children," she said, looking up into Harry's eyes. He smiled and she saw the love that he held for her. He took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. She sighed slightly but pulled back. She had one more piece of business to conclude.

"This wand is mine, Harry," she said. "When we went to visit Dumbledore and I disarmed him, the Elder Wand transferred its powers to me." She turned the wand over thoughtfully in her hands. "He may not have known everything, but he always tried to do the right thing. And for that, we are grateful for his sacrifice," Hermione looked back up at Harry and took a step back. "But there's one more thing we have to do, Harry." Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out the Resurrection Stone. She looked to her right and Harry followed her gaze. Seeing nothing, he glanced back at Hermione, only to see her eyes fill with tears.

"Yes, yes I know Ronald," she said with a hint of exasperation. Harry visibly jerked. Hermione looked back at Harry and held out her hand with the Resurrection Stone laying in her palm.

"Harry," she said, a sad smile on her lips, "Step toward me and put your hand on top of mine." He looked hesitant but hopeful. She nodded encouragingly. "This is what Remus trained you for," she said. "We'll do this together."

"I love you, Hermione," Harry said as he took a deep breath, stepped forward and put his hand on the Stone. Suddenly he could hear Ron arguing with Hermione.

"Bloody hell Hermione, let the man hold the Stone himself," Harry heard Ron say from somewhere around his left elbow. "It's not like he will choke on it or anything. He's a grown man." Harry looked to his left and couldn't stop the sob from escaping from between his lips.

"All right there Harry?" Ron asked. Ron hadn't aged. He was the same gangly 14-year-old with a mop of red hair and bright blue eyes. His head was cocked to one side and he was wearing a Chudley Cannons sweater. Ron took a step forward and made to put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Hermione told me, everything mate," Ron said with a sad smile. "It's not your fault," he said. At this Harry began to openly sob. Hermione reached forward with her free hand and wrapped it around his waist. The golden trio stood like that for some time, Hermione occasionally murmuring words of encouragement and Ron looking slightly awkward while Harry cried for the death of Ron and his parents.

"I'm going to have to go soon if you keep up with this," Ron finally said, breaking the tension and making the three of them laugh heartily. Hermione looked at Ron then.

"Do you agree with the plan?" she asked. Ron sighed and made a big show of rolling his eyes. Harry could not have been more thrilled with the whole exchange. Hermione turned to look up at Harry.

"I thought about destroying the Resurrection Stone but in the end, it's a powerful tool, just like a wand or a cloak," she looked back at Ron who nodded. "So I'm going to create an alter here, on the cliffs, next to your family's cottage. So we can visit with our loved one whenever we want." Harry's eyes watered as he looked back from Hermione to Ron.

"You mean," Harry started but Ron interrupted.

"We can hang out whenever you want!" Ron exclaimed. "Although, not all the time because we've got this long term Quidditch game going. And you never get tired in the afterlife so we play for weeks at a time!" Ron looked up at the sky and then back at Harry and Hermione. "They want to know if I want to start a new game now so…" Ron rocked backward on his feet which made Harry and Hermione laugh at the same time. Harry turned back to look at Hermione.

"This is amazing, Hermione," he said and kissed her on the forehead. "You are the most brilliant person I have ever known." Hermione smiled.

"I know," she said and turned to Ron. "We'll talk to you later, yea?" she asked. Ron winked and turned to walk away.

"You bloody well better."