CHAPTER 27: If only

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys. I re-wrote this chapter 3 times before finally settling on this. It is short, one of the shortest I've done. But it is what I feel is best for the story. I want to keep a certain cadence to this story and the length justifies it. Also, I'm changing the rating to (M). Because of violence, and graphic description of injury. Don't worry, I'm not going to scar you with anything sexual. You won't find that in this story. With that being said, without further ado...….

They first thing Harry noticed as he slowly came out of his shock was the sound of loud wheezing coming from beside him. It was so loud that he could hear it over the rapid beating of his heart. He whipped his head in its direction, his eyes going wide once more as they landed on the stunned state of his friend.

Hermione's eyes were wide as saucers and her mouth agape. But that's not what worried Harry for he knew he had the exact same expression just a moment ago. It was because she was breathing nasally and loud wheezing sounds were escaping from her mouth. He knew she wasn't even aware of any of it as she looked shellshocked. Her gaze remained transfixed on the bodies lying ahead.

Taking a few steps towards her he gently laid his hand on her shoulder. "Hermione" he said softly, to not scare her. "Hermione" he repeated, when she didn't respond and gave her shoulder a little shake.

Slowly, her head turned in his direction before her gaze settled on his, her eyes still comically wide. "Harry" her voice came out in a gasp.

"Yeah, it's me. Hermione, are you okay?" he asked. He was getting worried that she was about to hyperventilate as her upper body started trembling.

"I'm-I'm sc-scared" she stammered. "I've never seen anyone like this before. Are they-are they dead" she whispered the last word as her gaze turned back to the bodies. Her breathing was getting shallow with every second.

He was starting to feel extremely worried about her now. He had a bad feeling that if he didn't do something she would faint right on the spot in the next few seconds.

"Hermione, look at me" he grasped her hand as she turned her head towards him. "It's okay. Let's get out of here"

Not waiting for her response, he pulled her back the way they came from, but not before taking one last look over his shoulder at the herd of spiders scuttling along the floor next to the bodies before disappearing through a small hole in the wall.

Harry never let go of Hermione's hand as he pulled her from one corridor to the other. He didn't have a particular destination in mind. He just wanted to get away as far possible, mainly for Hermione's sake.

He stopped abruptly when he noticed Hermione's breathing becoming ragged. "Oh, I'm sorry Hermione! I forgot" he exclaimed.

She shook her head as she pulled out her puffer. She shook it a couple of times before bringing her lips to it and taking a long deep breath. She held her breath for a few seconds before slowly exhaling. She put the puffer back in her pocket as she leaned her back against the wall to rest.

"It's...okay..." she gasped, her voice a pitch higher than normal. "Thank you" she continued, as her breathing slowly returned to normal. "I would've fainted if you hadn't dragged me from there" She shuddered as a vision of the two bodies flashed through her mind.

"Don't mention it" he said, before his mind went into overdrive about they had witnessed. They were both deep in thoughts for the next several minutes before Harry turned to her.

"C'mon, let's get out of here before we get caught" said Harry, pulling her by the elbow.

Hermione pulled her elbow from his hold before grasping his hand as they walked briskly.

"Who do you think we should tell?" asked Hermione. "I think we should go straight to Professor Dumbledore because telling another staff member isn't going to make much of a difference as they are going to tell him anyway"

"We are not telling anyone" Responded Harry, as they turned a corner.

"Wait what-" Hermione halted immediately, making Harry stop and turn around.

He lifted an eyebrow in question. "What?"

"What do you mean we're not going to tell anyone. We can't just leave them there, Harry. Everyone's in the great hall and who knows what can happen to them in the time being"

"Nothing's going to happen to them, trust me" he replied, before pulling her along once more.

They had only taken two steps before Hermione stopped again. He turned to her with an irritable expression. "Hermione, quit stopping. We have to get back before anyone sees us. What's wrong with you? Has your brain stopped working?"

Her eyes turned wide in disbelief for a moment before a look of anger came over her features. She wrenched her hand from his as her eyes burned with fury. "What's wrong with me! What's wrong with you...You're more worried about getting caught then those two students who are probably fighting for their lives. It's like you don't even care" she finished incredulously.

Harry sighed deeply as he ran a hand through his messy locks before answering her. "It's not that I don't care but...jeez Hermione, you're acting as if you don't know what will happen when everyone finds out that I was the one, again, who saw them first. More than half the school already believes that I'm behind all these attacks. If they find out that I was somehow involve in this too...I won't survive a day" he hoped she understood from his desperate tone.

"But no will know Harry. We just need to tell Professor Dumbledore, that's all, and you know he isn't going to announce to everyone that we gave him the information" she reasoned.

"He won't need to. There is still an hour left before dinner finishes and you're saying that we tell him now, which means walking up to the head table. Everyone's eyes will be on us, it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. Forget about that, I think we're already doomed because we're already late and will be the last to enter the great hall. That's why I was taking us back to the common room"

"Common room!" she said in shock. "But that's even more suspicious if we don't show up to dinner at all"

"Maybe but we also have an excuse this way. We can simply say that we weren't hungry and went to the common room to study, and, the corridor where the bodies are is no way near the path we take to get back to the common room. Since, no one has seen us, they can't suspect us" He felt relief wash over him as he realized the plan was pretty fool proof. Now, if we can only make back to the common room without getting seen.

He was so buys wishing that he had his invisibility cloak that he didn't notice the stupefied expression on Hermione's face. "How could you be so insensitive?" she whispered.

He looked up and furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Harry...how can you care so less, or in this case not at all about others, that too when they are fighting for their lives"

"Don't start lecturing me now, Hermione, alright. Plus, we don't even know if they're alive or not so it won't exactly matter much if they're already dead, alright"

It didn't occur to him what he had said until he saw her mouth open in shock as a gasp escaped her lips. She was staring at him as if she couldn't believe he just said that before a look of pure disdain crossed her features.

"That's it! I've had it with you!" she yelled, before she slapped him right across the face. "I never believed that you were a bad person no matter how badly you treated everyone every time you had one of your fits but..." she wiped at the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "Guess I was wrong" She sniffled.

Harry was still in shock at what just happened. The sting of the slap was only starting to register to him as he stared blankly at her. His mind had blocked everything she said after 'I've had it with you'. He vaguely remembered her also calling him a bad person but put it in the back of his mind as he saw her lips moving again.

"You can do whatever you like, but I'm going to do what I believe is right" She paused as she breathed deeply through her nose as she wiped a stray tear on her cheek. "Don't worry, I'm won't throw in your name so you can go back to your dorm and sleep in peace" she hissed the last word before storming past him.

He turned around just in time to see her disappear behind a corner.

What's wrong with me.

He stared at the floor, mourning in his head how he could destroy their friendship for the second time. She probably wouldn't even talk to me anymore. His breath hitched at the thought and he felt his chest constrict in pain.

He closed his eyes and took out his penny from his trouser pocket and started twisting and twirling it between his fingers. Gradually, the pain started leaving as he looked into his heart instead of his brain for an answer for the first time ever since this whole mess had started since the night Filch's cat was found petrified.

He opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a long breath. He stopped twisting the coin and looked at it before nodding to himself.

I know what to do.

Pocketing the penny back in his trouser, he dashed in the direction Hermione had gone. He was making his way through the hallways at a rapid face, with only one thought running through his mind.

I have to reach her before she enters the great hall, so then we can tell Dumbledore together.

Sweat was starting to form on his eyebrows but he didn't care to wipe it as he turned another corner.

Kill Kill Kill

Harry pulled up immediately, his momentum pushing him a couple of steps further before he came to a halt. His eyes were wide with fear shining in them. He hadn't heard the voice ever since the night Justin Filch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick were attacked.

It's begun, master...We have her

Harry's eyes turned even wider. He had never heard the voice say that before.

What did it meant? Is it talking about those students me and Hermione saw dead or-?

A sharp gasp escaped his lips as his mind went to a very dark place. The hallway that was once filled with the sounds of his labored breathing was mute to all sound now, but not for long as Harry came back to reality like a jolt of electricity flashing through the sky.

Hermione.

With his whole conscious wrapped around her name, he bolted.

He ran like he had never run before, forcing, demanding, and pushing his legs for that extra yard to close the distance between him and wherever his friend was as quickly as possible.

After a couple of minutes, he reached the corridor of the great hall and continued his frantic pace. He was slightly surprised that he hadn't encountered her yet, even though she had time on her side she was no match to him when it came to running, and that was when he wasn't even bolting through the castle like a maniac.

He reached the double doors and came to a skidding stop. He took a moment to regain some of his normal breathing back before pushing the right door open and walking inside. Except a handful of students no one looked up at him as they were all busy enjoying their dinner along with their housemates.

His eyes were locked at the head table the moment he stepped inside, since that's where he believed she would be. However, that was not the case. Dread started to sneak into his heart as he shifted his gaze towards the Gryffindor table and looked everywhere for her.

The feeling got worse when he couldn't spot her bushy mass of head anywhere. He gulped when his eyes landed on the empty seat next to Ron, and the one opposite him.

It had become an unspoken rule between them that whenever one of them would reach the great hall first, mostly it was Hermione during breakfast because she got up the earliest, and Ron during dinner because he couldn't wait any longer, it was that person's responsibility to save two seats for the other two.

Just like Ron had done now. But there was no Hermione.

He whipped his head towards the one person he trusted the most. Even though he should have expected it by now knowing he always knew when something was wrong with him or troubling him, he was still surprised when he found a pair of blue eyes staring at him.

Even from afar he could see the small frown on his face.

Something must have shown on his face, he didn't know what though, could have been desperation, fear, terror, or other multitude of emotions similar to those because in the next second Dumbledore stood up and the entire hall turned silent.

…...

"Repeat the words to me again, Harry" said Dumbledore, as he walked briskly down the corridor. He was almost jogging as he tried to keep up with him. But he wasn't the only one having trouble keeping up with him he noticed as he glanced over his shoulder to see Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Sinistra, Binns, Sprout, and Vector a few yards behind them trudging along to keep up with the headmaster.

Except for Snape, who had no problem keeping up with Dumbledore and was walking shoulder to shoulder with him, his cloak billowing past him dramatically.

"Harry"

He snapped his gaze towards Dumbledore and noticed that he had gained a few yards on him. He sprinted the short distance and caught up with him.

"Yes Professor"

"Repeat the words to me again" Dumbledore said as he turned left at the end of the corridor with the rest following him.

Harry gulped before opening his mouth. He didn't think he would ever forget those words in that voice for the rest of his life. "It said 'It's begun master, we have her'"

He looked up at Dumbledore when he didn't answer and a jolt of fear shot through him at seeing a stricken expression on his face. A deep unsettling feeling started growing in his chest, not dissimilar to a weed plucking its way to reach the top of the ground before settling right above his heart.

He shifted his gaze over to Snape and the feeling only worsened at seeing an alarming expression on the potions professor's face. He had never seen his eyes that wide and just like him, his gaze was fixed on Dumbledore.

"Headmaster-"

Dumbledore stopped and faced him. "You must leave now, Severus"

"But I haven't heard-" He stopped when Dumbledore lifted his hand.

"Time is not on our side, I'm afraid"

Snape opened his mouth before shutting it. He stared at Dumbledore for a second before giving him a single nod. "Right away, sir"

"Thank you"

Harry watched as Snape shifted on his feet before walking the way they came from. He bustled through the group of teachers standing a few feet away as they moved away.

"Minerva, would you please escort Harry back to the common room" Harry whipped his head around towards Dumbledore.

"But sir-"

"Not now, Harry" Dumbledore cut him off and leaned forward a little. "You must do as I say. We'll talk later"

"But sir, I can help you. I'm the only one who can hear the voice" he protested desperately.

"You are helping, Harry, but for now I need you to be back in your dormitory" He arched an eyebrow before adding. "That's my final decision"

Harry's nostrils flared in anger and he badly wanted to scream that it was a stupid decision when Hermione's voice popped in his head. Honestly Harry, you're better than that...you should know better than that. She said those words to him after the match was cancelled and he had thrown a fit and left the stadium.

Suddenly, he was hit with a wave of emotion. It was so strong and unlike anything he had ever felt. He didn't know what it was except for that his eyes were starting to prickle. He ducked his head and internally berated himself as anger coursed through him.

His head was swarming with so many emotions that he started to feel dizzy, but a hand on his shoulder steadied him and made him look up.

Dumbledore was giving him a knowing smile before it turned rueful. "It will take time, but everything will start to make sense" He brought his face close to his ear and whispered. "You just have to look in your heart" He leaned back and winked.

"Headmaster!" Everyone, except Harry, shifted their gaze towards Lockhart who was hastily making his way toward them. He walked past the staff members before stopping next to Harry. "Sir, good news. Both Penelope Clearwater and Jimmy Milkins have only been petrified like the other students"

A combined loud sigh of relief was heard all around.

"That indeed is good news, Gilderoy. Thank you," said Dumbledore.

"Oh, no problem, sir" blushed Lockhart. "Always there to help"

"I hope Poppy has contacted, St Mungo's"

"Yes sir" nodded Lockhart before adding. "Though it took a whole lot of convincing on my part to change her mind. She's still as stubborn as I remember when I was a student" he chuckled.

A small smile came over Dumbledore's face. "Good. She's going to need extra hands or I'm afraid soon she'll be sleeping in one of the cots in the infirmary"

"Well, that is only if there will be a bed available because with how quick-" Lockhart shut his mouth as he noticed that no one was laughing at his attempt at a joke. He caught McGonagall's eye and visibly flinched at the death glare she was sending his way.

He awkwardly cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the floor.

"On another thought, why don't you accompany Harry back to the common room, Gilderoy" spoke Dumbledore. Lockhart whipped his head up towards him. "I just remembered I need to speak with Minerva, privately"

Lockhart opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally found his voice. "O-of course. Right away"

Before Harry knew what was happening, he was being dragged down the hallway by Lockhart.

…...

Somewhere in Scotland

Snape apparated right in the middle of a small clearing in the forest. He looked around and upon seeing no one released a long sigh. He walked a few paces towards a boulder resting next to a tree. He lifted the lower half of his robe before sitting on it.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose, the scent of fresh water from the nearby stream wafting over to him and calming his senses. The leaves rustled in the light breeze and the soothing sound brought a small smile on his lips.

His peace was broken by a loud bang and his eyes shot open. His hand immediately going to his wand but his grip loosened when his gaze landed on Zabeen, who was lifting himself from the ground.

He dusted of his clothes before looking up. His face instantly hardened as he pointed an accusing finger at Snape.

"You! Do you have any idea what you made me do!" he shouted as he closed his distance between them.

Snape's eyes narrowed as he noticed that he was limping. His gaze shifted to his right leg which was dragging along the muddy ground. There was a huge whole on the side of his trouser that stretched from the base of his knee up to his hip bone.

But instead of seeing pale white flesh, all he could see was red, dark red. Not a speck of skin could be seen as it was covered in blood, which was gushing out of large gash on his upper thigh.

Snape bolted up and in less than second was holding on to his shoulders as Zabeen finally succumbed to the pain and dropped to the ground as his legs gave out.

"What have you done" muttered Snape as he ran his wand over his body, muttering a spell under his breath.

The end of his wand glowed red for five seconds before the light gave out.

A chuckle escaped Zabeen's mouth before blood sputtered from it. "I don't suppose that's good news" Snape grimaced at seeing all his teeth painted red.

Snape lifted his arm that was cradling his neck and softly laid his head on the ground. He ripped open Zabeen's navy-blue coat before doing the same to his shirt. His eyes turned wide at seeing his entire chest covered in blood before he masked his shock and schooled his features back to normal.

"Leave it...professor..." he coughed roughly, sputtering more blood out of his mouth that landed on his face. "Reducto to the chest...get-get out of here...they follo-followed me...held on to me when I apparated...landed in the forest...I-I couldn't sha-shake them...won't be lo-long before they find us" His breathing was turning shallow by every passing second as he tried to breathe deeply through his nose but was struggling badly.

"We're leaving now" Snape said, grasping his hand.

"NO!"

"What do you mean, no" Snape glared at him.

"I-I" His face twisted in agony as he started hacking, blood oozing out of his mouth. "I can't...the pain" he moaned in pain as tears started rolling down his cheeks. "My Ryla..." He sobbed. "I promised her"

Snape looked away for a moment as Zabeen's body wrecked with sobs. "Listen, Zabeen. Listen to me" He turned his face towards him, holding on to his chin. "The pain will be unbearable; I'm not going to lie and you could still die but...there's also a chance you may survive and I'm not placing this decision in your hands because there are people who love you and would give their lives in a heartbeat for you...it would wreck them"

Zabeen stared at him for a moment before nodding.

Snape disapparated them the next second.

…...

Hogsmeade, Hog's Head Inn

"AAH!" Zabeen's blood curdling scream reverberated off the walls, jolting people out of their seats.

"ABERFORTH!" yelled Snape, as he glowered at a group of five men who had their wands pointed in their direction. "Put it down" He growled.

They instantly lowered their wands as Snape shot them one last glare before scanning the rest of the crowd.

Due to it being a Wednesday, the pub was mostly empty with only a dozen people as opposed to a full house if it had been a weekend. Everyone had backed against the opposite wall, their face ashen white and mouth's wide open.

All pair of eyes were fixed on Zabeen's bloody and broken body. Snape dropped his gaze to his leg to examine the injury and the tear in his thigh became more prominent as some of the blood had dried off due to apparition and he could see an inch of a bone popping out. He looked at his face to find him unconscious. If it wasn't for the very low hum of his breathing, Snape would've thought that they had lost him. But not yet.

"Severus! What's wrong?"

Snape looked up to see Aberforth hurrying towards him. His face a mask of horror as he stopped before them, his eyes raking up Zabeen's form before they landed on his face. A sharp gasp escaped his lips before he turned wide-eyed towards Snape.

"We don't have time... he doesn't have time. Call him, now" Snape's voice was on the edge of desperation, something Aberforth thought he would never see. He stared at him for a moment, still shocked by what was happening. He dropped his gaze to Zabeen's face and shook his head. "What have you done?" he muttered, as he took out the ring off his middle finger before he started scrubbing the ruby stone on top of it. He rubbed it frantically. "C'mon, c'mon"

A second later Albus Dumbledore appeared next to them without making a shred of a noise. But the affect was far more powerful than that of a normal apparation as all the patrons in the pub scrambled out in less than ten seconds. Aberforth waved his wand in an upward flick and the door snapped shut just as the last person ran out.

Snape looked at Dumbledore. His face betrayed no emotion as to what he was feeling or thoughts running through his mind.

A moment later Dumbledore looked at Snape before pulling Zabeen from his hold and putting an arm around his waist. The potions master backed away as Dumbledore turned to his brother. His expression must've indicated something because Aberforth started shaking his head.

"No, no-Albus, you can't"

"I have no other choice"

"Yes, you do. You can take him back to the castle, have Poppy look after him"

"And then what! Have him taken to Azkaban the moment he regains he wakes up"

"She wouldn't-they wouldn't do that. They would do as you say. I'm sure of it."

"I'm not putting my staff or any faculty member in a situation where they have to choose between what they believe is right or to do as I say. I can't betray them like that...not-not when there's another way" Albus finished in a whisper, but Aberforth still heard t.

"I'm not sure there is"

Albus whipped his gaze in his direction, his penetrating stare would've made a lesser man drop to his knees.

"Not after what you did last time" added Aberforth.

"That's my problem" With that he disapparated, leaving the two men staring at the floor.

…...

Godric's Hollow

Dumbledore stared at the front door as he stood at the front yard of a house he was slowly becoming familiar with.

He took a deep breath before levitating Zabeen's body a few feet above the ground. He broke the through the wards with a wave of his hand. He was about to knock on the door before it was wrenched open from the inside and in a blink of an eye, he found himself staring at the end of a wand, pointed right between his eyes.

"Dear merlin!" gasped Samantha, clutching a hand over her chest. She was panting and her entire form was shaking from fear and shock.

Dumbledore walked past her as he stepped inside before levitating Zabeen's body behind him.

Samantha's eyes bulged out of her sockets as she got a look at the Zabeen's face. She brought a hand to her mouth to stop the scream that was battling hard to escape through her lips.

"I need your help"

…...

Hogwarts

"Well, here we are" Lockhart announced cheerfully. But like his previous attempts to break the tension and make Harry smile, he failed again.

"Rumpled snake" said Harry, dejectedly. Even the fat lady looked at him in concern for a moment before opening the door. Without saying another word or even acknowledging Lockhart's presence, Harry climbed through the door with his head down.

His pace was slow, some may even call it leisurely, as he crossed the common room before climbing the stairs to the dormitory. He opened the door and stepped in, not even bothering to close it.

"Harry!" exclaimed Ron, before he jumped up from the floor. Dean and Seamus followed him as Neville started packing his cards of exploding snap. "We've all been waiting for you" he walked over to close the door before facing him.

"Now you can finally tell us what that all was about" said Seamus, as he took a few steps towards him.

Harry sat on the edge of his bed and took of his shoes before removing his socks.

"Yeah, one second I'm enjoying my delicious piece of chicken, and the next we're all being escorted back to our dormitories. And then to make it more confusing, we saw you disappearing with the teachers" said Dean, as he stopped next to Seamus.

"Oh, by the way, before you tell us all about that, did you see Hermione. I forgot my quill in the library and was hoping if she grabbed it when you guys left," said Ron, as he walked over to sit next to him, but before he had a chance Harry shifted on top of the bed and closed the curtains around it.

The boys looked at each other worriedly.

"Harry" Ron asked tentatively. "Mate, you okay?"

There was a five second pause before "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

They all backed away. Their eyes wide in fear as they looked at each other before turning their gaze back to the curtains around Harry's bed.

Neville was on the brink of crying as he hurriedly crawled on to his bed and under the covers before draping the curtains around him.

Ron gulped as he kept staring at Harry's bed as Dean and Seamus followed Neville and tucked under their covers before draping the curtains around their beds.

Ron slowly padded over to his bed and got under the covers. Unlike his friends, he didn't drape the curtains around his bed as he couldn't turn his gaze away from the one's separating him and his best mate. A horrible feeling was making his spine chill that told him that something very bad had happened.

A few feet away on the bed facing him, Harry was on his side with his hands tucked under his head. A lonely tear was trickling across his face followed by another as he blinked. He sniffled as he took out the coin from his trouser pocket before bringing his hand back under his head, the penny sitting firmly in his hold.

I'm going to find you, Hermione. I promise.

…...

Godric's Hollow

Dumbledore bolted up from the sofa as the front door busted open. He stepped into the hallway that led to the main door and saw the deputy headmistress standing on the archway. The figure she cut was nothing short of terrifying, with her hair matted to her head because of the peltering rain and her eyes blazing with so many emotions he wondered if it was possible for a human to feel that many emotions in one moment.

He let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw his brother come into the view behind her.

He looked up after a moment and saw Minerva staring wide-eyed in shock. But her stare was not directed at him. A sob escaped her lips. She brought her hand to her mouth as her legs gave out. Luckily, Aberforth saved her from dropping to the porcelain tile which would have shattered her kneecaps.

McGonagall clung to him as sobbed into his chest. Aberforth wrapped his arms around her shoulder as he looked at Albus, before turning his gaze to the person behind him.

Albus walked back to sofa and resumed his previous sitting position. He took out his ring and started rotating it between his fingers, not sparing a glance in Samantha's direction, whose face was smeared in tears as they kept pouring out of her eyes.

'You know this was going to happen sooner or later' said a voice in his head. A voice that belonged to a person from a different time. A time he wished he could spend his entire life in.

A rueful smile came over his lips.

If only.

A/N: As always, post your comments and let me know your thoughts. Things are getting spicy and I can't wait to bring more to you.