Chapter 6: The First Aftershock
Hermione, holding little Harry James Weasley, had a few moments alone with Ron as they walked over to Hogwarts' Quidditch field to watch the final match between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
"You know, Ron, that was a wonderful speech you gave a few minutes ago. When we were in school, you'd have rather drunk slug repellent than express your emotions so. publicly."
Ron the adult had a good laugh at this. "Yeah, you're too right, 'Mione. Sometimes I think I spent most of my time at school playing chess, getting into trouble with you and Harry, playing Quidditch, and of course, pining after you. Oh, and being mad at Viktor Krum, too!"
"You never had anything to be mad at, Ron, you know that. We survived that horrible Skeeter woman calling me Harry's girlfriend, we survived Draco Malfoy's plots to drive us apart during our sixth year, we made it through everything."
"I just wish it hadn't taken Harry's death to finally bring us together for good." Ron's expression drew pensive, and sad. "You know, I still get depressed when I think about his life. He lost his parents too early, his Muggle family treated him horribly, and he lived under the constant threat of Voldemort the whole time he was at school. Think about it - he faced Voldemort and his followers every year he was at school!"
"Sure, Ron, but don't forget, he had us! And Sirius, Albus, Hagrid, and Ginny, later on. Hogwarts was his home, and we were his family. We still are his family."
"But isn't it still hard for you, Hermione? Remembering how he was lost to us? It still keeps me up at nights, every so often."
"I know it does Ron. And it still hurts me as well. It just doesn't hurt as bad as it used to. I remember the minutes, the hours, the days after you killed Voldemort."
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The deep pit of grief and despair into which Hermione was plummeting seemed eternal. Her face, buried in the back of Ron's shoulder, was shaking as she cried for what was lost. Even though she had a tight hold on him, it barely registered that he was rocking back and forth, wailing. She didn't notice at all when Professor Dumbledore walked into the hallway.
"Oh, no. Dear, dear boy, no!"
Ron and Hermione jerked upward; they were so startled by Dumbledore's outburst that they fell over, together. As Hermione attempted to stand, Ron lay flat on the floor, face pressed against the cold stone. Hermione wasn't having much luck getting up; her legs didn't seem to want to support her weight.
By then, Dumbledore had regained most of his composure. "No, no Miss Granger, stay seated. Tell me exactly what happened."
Snapped out of her crying spell, Hermione started talking, as fast as she could. The longer she spoke, the longer she could put off thinking about what just happened, thinking about the one dead body remaining on the floor of the hallway. She described to Dumbledore the appearance of the Death Eater, followed by the appearance of the Dark Lord. She told him how she, Ron and Harry exchanged curses and hexes with Voldemort, and how Harry vanished once Ron was hit with the Cruciatus curse.
"And Harry had said, 'Be ready to strike when he drops his wand,' or words to that effect, then Harry disappears, we thought Voldemort had killed him, then Voldemort starts acting all funny. Ron and I get up, fight him again for a while, and then he hits me with the Cruciatus curse, it was very painful! As I begin to get my wits about me, I see that Voldemort had dropped his wand. Ron stood up, and."
"AND THEN I KILLED HARRY!" Ron's distraught words hit Hermione with full force, like a blow, causing her to cry all over again. As she brought her hands to her face, Dumbledore put a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder.
"No, Ronald, it sounds to me like you killed Lord Voldemort. But I must ask you, if."
With a jerk, Ron rolled over, away from Dumbledore. "Get your hands off of me! Don't you see - I killed my best friend! With one of the forbidden curses! Leave me alone!" Ron made it up onto his hands and knees before fell over, unconscious.
"Ron? Ron! Are you all right?"
Dumbledore stood back up and walked over to Harry's body. "No, Miss Granger, he's not all right - events have overtaken him. I dare say that you should take him to the infirmary in another minute or two. But I must ask you a few questions before you go; it is important that I have answers to them right now. Is that all right with you?"
Hermione sat up straight, grateful to Dumbledore for giving her a task to focus her mind. "Yes, Professor, I'll try."
"That's good Hermione, we're almost done. Now, I would guess that Harry used a Habita Duonem spell to incorporate himself with Lord Voldemort's body. Am I right?"
"Yes, Professor. He told us that's what he did before he." Hermione was having trouble saying the words. She continued, softly, ".before he died."
"I assume that Harry got close to Voldemort by Apparating?"
"That's right, Professor, although I though you couldn't Apparate on school grounds."
"Apparently I underestimated some of Voldemort's powers. Don't forget, Voldemort gave some of his powers to Harry when he was an infant, so with enough effort, Harry should have been able to Apparate at Hogwarts, too. Now, when Voldemort dropped his wand, which curse did Mr. Weasley use on him?"
Hermione didn't answer immediately, uncertain as to what the consequences would be if she told the truth. Casting one of the Unforgivable Curses on another human being earned the caster a life sentence in Azkaban, the wizard's prison.
Sensing Hermione's hesitation, Dumbledore added, "Of course, Ronald will be in no trouble whatsoever if he used one of the forbidden spells. There are few wizards who will fault him for slaying the darkest menace our kind have seen for centuries."
"He cast the Avada Kedavra curse, Professor. He was angry; we both thought that Harry was already gone. We didn't know what he had done."
"Very well, Miss Granger, I accept what you are telling me."
Hermione sighed with relief. "Thank you, Professor."
"No, Miss Granger, thank you. Though you have paid too high a price, the three of you have brought an end to years of tyranny and terror. The faculty and students of this school will always be in your debt - a debt which I fear I'm going to have to start trying to repay immediately." Dumbledore looked over to Ron, lying awkwardly on the floor. "His recovery from this is not going to be easy. He is going to need your help, as well as mine."
"I'll stay with Ron as long as he needs me, Professor."
"Thank you again, Miss Granger. I, too, will devote myself to Ron's recovery." Dumbledore turned back to Harry. With a wave of his wand, he caused Harry's body to float in the air beside him. Covering Harry's entire body with Voldemort's black robe, Dumbledore asked, "Would you please bring Mr. Weasley up to the infirmary? I'll ask Madam Pomfrey to give him a dreamless sleeping potion."
Hermione nodded her assent. She hauled Ron down the hallway by his armpits, following Dumbledore and Harry in solemn procession.
Hermione, holding little Harry James Weasley, had a few moments alone with Ron as they walked over to Hogwarts' Quidditch field to watch the final match between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
"You know, Ron, that was a wonderful speech you gave a few minutes ago. When we were in school, you'd have rather drunk slug repellent than express your emotions so. publicly."
Ron the adult had a good laugh at this. "Yeah, you're too right, 'Mione. Sometimes I think I spent most of my time at school playing chess, getting into trouble with you and Harry, playing Quidditch, and of course, pining after you. Oh, and being mad at Viktor Krum, too!"
"You never had anything to be mad at, Ron, you know that. We survived that horrible Skeeter woman calling me Harry's girlfriend, we survived Draco Malfoy's plots to drive us apart during our sixth year, we made it through everything."
"I just wish it hadn't taken Harry's death to finally bring us together for good." Ron's expression drew pensive, and sad. "You know, I still get depressed when I think about his life. He lost his parents too early, his Muggle family treated him horribly, and he lived under the constant threat of Voldemort the whole time he was at school. Think about it - he faced Voldemort and his followers every year he was at school!"
"Sure, Ron, but don't forget, he had us! And Sirius, Albus, Hagrid, and Ginny, later on. Hogwarts was his home, and we were his family. We still are his family."
"But isn't it still hard for you, Hermione? Remembering how he was lost to us? It still keeps me up at nights, every so often."
"I know it does Ron. And it still hurts me as well. It just doesn't hurt as bad as it used to. I remember the minutes, the hours, the days after you killed Voldemort."
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The deep pit of grief and despair into which Hermione was plummeting seemed eternal. Her face, buried in the back of Ron's shoulder, was shaking as she cried for what was lost. Even though she had a tight hold on him, it barely registered that he was rocking back and forth, wailing. She didn't notice at all when Professor Dumbledore walked into the hallway.
"Oh, no. Dear, dear boy, no!"
Ron and Hermione jerked upward; they were so startled by Dumbledore's outburst that they fell over, together. As Hermione attempted to stand, Ron lay flat on the floor, face pressed against the cold stone. Hermione wasn't having much luck getting up; her legs didn't seem to want to support her weight.
By then, Dumbledore had regained most of his composure. "No, no Miss Granger, stay seated. Tell me exactly what happened."
Snapped out of her crying spell, Hermione started talking, as fast as she could. The longer she spoke, the longer she could put off thinking about what just happened, thinking about the one dead body remaining on the floor of the hallway. She described to Dumbledore the appearance of the Death Eater, followed by the appearance of the Dark Lord. She told him how she, Ron and Harry exchanged curses and hexes with Voldemort, and how Harry vanished once Ron was hit with the Cruciatus curse.
"And Harry had said, 'Be ready to strike when he drops his wand,' or words to that effect, then Harry disappears, we thought Voldemort had killed him, then Voldemort starts acting all funny. Ron and I get up, fight him again for a while, and then he hits me with the Cruciatus curse, it was very painful! As I begin to get my wits about me, I see that Voldemort had dropped his wand. Ron stood up, and."
"AND THEN I KILLED HARRY!" Ron's distraught words hit Hermione with full force, like a blow, causing her to cry all over again. As she brought her hands to her face, Dumbledore put a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder.
"No, Ronald, it sounds to me like you killed Lord Voldemort. But I must ask you, if."
With a jerk, Ron rolled over, away from Dumbledore. "Get your hands off of me! Don't you see - I killed my best friend! With one of the forbidden curses! Leave me alone!" Ron made it up onto his hands and knees before fell over, unconscious.
"Ron? Ron! Are you all right?"
Dumbledore stood back up and walked over to Harry's body. "No, Miss Granger, he's not all right - events have overtaken him. I dare say that you should take him to the infirmary in another minute or two. But I must ask you a few questions before you go; it is important that I have answers to them right now. Is that all right with you?"
Hermione sat up straight, grateful to Dumbledore for giving her a task to focus her mind. "Yes, Professor, I'll try."
"That's good Hermione, we're almost done. Now, I would guess that Harry used a Habita Duonem spell to incorporate himself with Lord Voldemort's body. Am I right?"
"Yes, Professor. He told us that's what he did before he." Hermione was having trouble saying the words. She continued, softly, ".before he died."
"I assume that Harry got close to Voldemort by Apparating?"
"That's right, Professor, although I though you couldn't Apparate on school grounds."
"Apparently I underestimated some of Voldemort's powers. Don't forget, Voldemort gave some of his powers to Harry when he was an infant, so with enough effort, Harry should have been able to Apparate at Hogwarts, too. Now, when Voldemort dropped his wand, which curse did Mr. Weasley use on him?"
Hermione didn't answer immediately, uncertain as to what the consequences would be if she told the truth. Casting one of the Unforgivable Curses on another human being earned the caster a life sentence in Azkaban, the wizard's prison.
Sensing Hermione's hesitation, Dumbledore added, "Of course, Ronald will be in no trouble whatsoever if he used one of the forbidden spells. There are few wizards who will fault him for slaying the darkest menace our kind have seen for centuries."
"He cast the Avada Kedavra curse, Professor. He was angry; we both thought that Harry was already gone. We didn't know what he had done."
"Very well, Miss Granger, I accept what you are telling me."
Hermione sighed with relief. "Thank you, Professor."
"No, Miss Granger, thank you. Though you have paid too high a price, the three of you have brought an end to years of tyranny and terror. The faculty and students of this school will always be in your debt - a debt which I fear I'm going to have to start trying to repay immediately." Dumbledore looked over to Ron, lying awkwardly on the floor. "His recovery from this is not going to be easy. He is going to need your help, as well as mine."
"I'll stay with Ron as long as he needs me, Professor."
"Thank you again, Miss Granger. I, too, will devote myself to Ron's recovery." Dumbledore turned back to Harry. With a wave of his wand, he caused Harry's body to float in the air beside him. Covering Harry's entire body with Voldemort's black robe, Dumbledore asked, "Would you please bring Mr. Weasley up to the infirmary? I'll ask Madam Pomfrey to give him a dreamless sleeping potion."
Hermione nodded her assent. She hauled Ron down the hallway by his armpits, following Dumbledore and Harry in solemn procession.