The Aftermath
By S. Christian
DISCLAIMER: This fic is based on charactars and situations created by J.K. Rowling and not myself. I have no money, therefore please, try your best not to sue me.
Skipping too much of an intro this time. Most of you wouldn't be reading this unless you've read what came before, therefore, you would know exactly what is going on. Now read on in prosper. And this time, don't forget to R&R you gits.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And tomorrow morning, you're expected to testify in favor of Draco," Harry said, finishing off his lengthy story. Now a silence filled the room, causing Harry's eyes to shift around the room, wanting anything to speak.
Yet, all Ron could do is sit and stare, not being able to close his mouth as it seemed. Finally, Ron shut his mouth and blinked. "Why the bloody hell are you on Malfoy's side, again?"
Harry just kind of shrugged, for he truly hadn't quite figured that part out yet. "Good question. In fact, the only reason one could call that a bad question is because it really has no answer. Draco Malfoy showed up in my office, told me about his situation, and I believed him. I could see the truth in his eyes. You know how us Aurors are."
Ron scowled. "What kind of lame excuse is that?" Now Ron was using his best Harry impersonation, which was, to speak in its favor, terrible. "You know how us Aurors are."
Harry laughed. It was likely to be the first time he had laughed since the arrival of Ron. Harry had noticed as he advanced to his laughter stage that Hermione was yet to speak at all. In fact, she had barely done more than grin. That is, of course, if you called her week curling of lips a grin. Harry knew what she was thinking. He also knew it would be so much better to get their relationship off their chests. But this wasn't the time. He still had to have Ron on his side for the hearing.
Hermione made eye contact with Harry. She knew what he was thinking about then. She also knew she had better talk to her best friend. They didn't want Ron finding out too soon. That might just ruin everything for Draco. 'Oh shit,' she thought, 'I have compassion for a pure-blooded bastard.'
She quickly forced the thoughts out of her head and decided she had better speak. "So, Ron. Erg, how was, uh, Bulgaria?" She was starting to sound desperate. Fortunately, through his thickness, Ron didn't notice.
In fact, he smiled really wide. "Well, it's a nice country and everything. But, I'll be damned if fights get any better on any other country's soil."
Hermione was now smiling, too, remembering the letter. "How is Krum any way?"
Ron's smile got impossibly wider. "Well, I punched him a good one in that crooked nose of his, managed to knee him in the stomach, and broke his new Firebolt 5000 over his head."
Hermione now changed to one of her scolding looks. She spoke like her early days at Hogwarts. "You realize that they'll fine you for all of that. Really, Ron. Don't you think a little bit of self-control would make you a little happier?"
Harry and Ron now spoke at the same time. "No fucking way!" They looked at each other and busted out laughing. Hermione, trying to hold her motherly scolding face on, couldn't resist and laughed too.
When Harry could finally breathe again, he gave a small sigh. There they were. The Marvelous Three of Hogwarts. Together. But something seemed different. In fact, everything seemed different. They had all changed quickly without noticing it, not even in each other.
Nothing could be exactly the same again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**Flashback**
It's dark.
Why is it so dark?
That's all that the Auror could think about. Then he remembered. The prophecy was to be concluded on this night. Someone was to die.
Now Harry wondered. 'Am I dead? Have I lost."
He opened his eyes. That answered his question. Almost, at least. He didn't know if his enemy was dead. He saw dead bodies everywhere. Some of them were the bodies of men or women that Harry allied himself with. Ministry wizards. Others wore masks.
The Death Eaters.
As Harry sat up and looked around, he also realized he didn't know who some of the bodies belonged to. Some of the people just got themselves involved.
Harry started to walk. There was blood everywhere. He stepped over several bodies, noticing that some weren't dead. Then he saw her.
He wasn't sure if Hermione was still alive. "Oh God, please let her be alive," is all he could say as he ran over to her. He felt for a pulse. Much to his relief, he found one. He kissed her head. He wouldn't let her die, no matter what.
He heard someone behind him. A familiar voice spoke. "A pity I wasted such a good spell on a mud-blood. She is almost certainly dead. No use trying to wake her."
Harry spoke quietly, but with anger. "Lucius Malfoy," he said, "you are hereby under arrest for betrayal to the Ministry of Magic of England, multiple counts of murder, and a count of attempted murder."
Lucius laughed. "Attempted. What the hell can you possibly mean, Potter. I have never failed to finish a job, especially when it comes to the death of those who oppose the Dark Lord."
"You failed in this one case," Harry said coldly. "She's still alive."
Lucius stopped laughing. "That's impossible. That curse has never failed. It especially wouldn't fail on a mud-blood whore like her." His voice was now coming in desperate hisses.
Harry couldn't figure it out either. Lucius would take pride in his killings. He wouldn't lie about the curse he used, and he sure as hell wouldn't use the wrong one. But some how, Hermione was laying on the ground before him, unconscious, but still very much alive. Harry started to ponder when he heard a noise behind him.
He turned to see that Lucius had drawn his wand. He was now pointing at Harry. "I'll kill you, Potter. The Dark Lord will honor my name. He will praise me beyond all belief. Then, I will kill her." He pointed his wand at Hermione, and then back at Harry.
Harry was in a bad situation. If he drew his wand, he would be killed on the spot. If he didn't, he would be killed on the spot. As Harry pondered, he looked to see Hermione's wand right next to him. He would have to try it.
This would have been more helpful if he knew what curse to use. He needed to immobilize Lucius. He also wanted to hurt him. He figured it out. His Arrow Curse. He'd never done it to a person before, but he figured this was as good a time as any.
"Reylus Mhysterihoso!" He had hit Lucius in the stomach. Lucius dropped his wand and clutched his wound. He looked down to see the blood on his hand.
"What the fuck did you do, Potter?" Lucius managed to spit out those words as he fell over.
Harry knew that Ministry wizards had to be somewhere. He sent up the signal. Someone would see the red sparks, come detain Lucius if he was still alive, and get Hermione to St. Mungos.
"He was always an egotistical fool, that Lucius Malfoy. Wouldn't you think so, Harry Potter?"
A very cold voice now spoke. Harry's scar started to burn. He had learned to ignore it most of the time, but this was too painful. He turned to see Voldemort, grinning like the madman he was.
"Ah, yes. I'm very sorry about that scar. It should never have happened. You should have died. Oh well. Potter, always remember one thing. Don't deny yourself the second chance. Remember that in your death, Potter."
Voldemort raised his wand. Harry saw a figure get up behind Voldemort. He couldn't see who it was. He wasn't Ministry or Death Eater.
"Avada-," Voldemort started.
The figure drew a wand and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" The wand flew out of Voldemorts hand. He turned to see the figure running. Voldemort started to give chase.
"You will pay you insolent little fool!" He was angry beyond belief. "You will meet the same bloody end as your fat-"
Again, he never finished his words, for Harry was up with wand drawn. Voldemort noticed that he,himself,had no wand. He looked at Harry in fear this time.
Harry was concentrated on Voldemort. "The game is over now. You have killed too many people. You have broken too many families. You have ruined my life up until now. It's over." Harry tilted his head. "You lose."
Voldemort's eyes grew wide as he looked at the wand pointing at him. "This isn't how it was supposed to end. I was supposed to win. I was supposed to rule the wizarding world!"
Harry spoke coldly. "And I was supposed to grow up with my family, but sometimes our plans change." With that, Harry started to swish his wand. "Nikilik Karpius!"
Before Harry said the words, Voldemort had grabbed a dead Ministry wizards wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" as Harry said his curse. Voldemorts green beam went through the ball, but the ball still came forward. As the ball hit him, a cloud of red hit the air. That was all that remained of Voldemort. A cloud of his blood.
But Harry had more things on his mind as the Killing Curse hit him. 'What will my friends do without me? What is it like to be dead? Will I ever see Hermione smile again?'
At that thought, the curse hit him. He fell on to his knees. The thought of Hermione, despite the pain, was dominant in his mind. He felt that if he kept thinking of her, all would be better. The pain mounted to a higher level. He felt something warm going down his face. His scar was bleeding. Then all of the sudden, the pain stopped and he fell to the ground next to Hermione, passed out.
*Next day*
He woke up in two weeks, and when he woke up, he saw Hermione. He smiled as he saw her smile. She was happy he was awake, and he was happy she was so happy that he was awake. But then he remembered. He should have almost certainly been dead. And should she.
Why were neither of them dead? He knew who to see to get his answer.
He arrived at Hogwarts the next week.
Dumbledore was as happy as ever to see him. He was packing his personal belongings from his Hogwarts office to go to the Ministry. He had been very abrubtly elected Minister as soon as word got out that he was the head of the frontline forces on Voldemort. He gave a smile to Harry.
"Never would have supposed I'd be out of here before I die," he said. "Did you, Harry?"
Harry couldn't help but smile. Dumbledore did that to people. The only time that Harry could remember that Dumbledore didn't make him feel like smiling was when Sirius had died. Harry was upset with Dumbledore for the most pathetic reason: he was sure it was Dumbledore's fault Sirius was dead.
Harry had gotten over that idea by the time he was back for sixth year. He knew the truth: Sirius was responsible for himself and Harry, and vica versa. If anyone but Sirius was to blame, Harry would have to blame himself.
But here, Harry smiled. "Well, Professor, or, erg, Minis-"
Dumbledore held up his hand. "I am still a Professor until tomorrow Harry. Please use my proper title while in this school if you choose to give me a title at all. Now what did you want, Harry? You came in looking troubled."
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. I was wondering how Hermione and I can still be alive. We both had fatal curses performed on us, especially on me, yet we both stand well today."
Dumbledore understood how Harry was feeling. In fact, he expected Harry as soon as he got of St. Mungos. "Settle down, Harry, settle down. I'm pretty sure if you thought about it for a second. it would make perfect sense."
Harry thought and then shook his head, obviously clueless.
Dumbledore sighed. "Remember when I explained why you had to live with the Dursleys?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "You said that the love that my mom used, sacrificing her life for mine, protected me from Voldemort. Apparently, Aunt Petunia had the same love in her blood."
"Exactly," Dumbledore said, pointing an old finger at Harry. "The reason Hermione stands alive is because she was protected by the love that you two share as friends." Harry could tell Dumbledore knew that Harry loved Hermione beyond friendship, but what was he talking about "shared"? Hermione would never love him more than the best friend that he is to her. Never. But that was irrelevant.
"OK," Harry responded. "But how come I'm still alive? I mean, I just survived the second Killing Curse of my life, but my shield from Voldemort was destroyed in the fourth year. All I came out with was two weeks unconscious and a week of hospital life. How did I survive?"
Dumbledore now just stared. "Harry, tell me, what were you thinking about when that curse hit you? What did you believe your first priority was?"
Harry turned slightly pink in the cheeks. "Hermione. I wanted her to be safe."
Dumbledore nodded. "That's your answer. Hermione saved you out there. The very thought of her helped you to stay alive."
"That doesn't make any sense," Harry said, obviously confused. "She was unconscious."
Dumbledore chuckled. "You'll understand in due time, Harry. You'll understand."
Harry just stared. He wasn't sure how he was ever going to understand what Dumbledore had explained to him. But after a few months, Harry was scaring himself with one fact.
He understood now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The morning of the appeal, Harry got up earlier than everyone else. He went into the kitchen to start breakfast. Throught the course of making it, Hermione came out of her bedroom, already dressed.
"Can I help with anything?" she asked.
Harry shook his head. "I've got everything under conrol. I've been making breakfast for years now. In fact, I'm pretty well accustomed to cooking period."
Hermione shrugged. "Suits you." There was a silence now, one that Harry prayed could just be broken. He didn't like being silent around Hermione, it wasn't very suiting of any relationship they've ever had. Especially now that they were an item. Hermione didn't break the silence, but instead, walked over to Harry and placed a soft but loving kiss on his lips.
Harry was stunned. "What exactly was that for?" He was still gaping.
Hermione giggled a little bit. "Just reminding you that I love you. Haven't seen enough of you alone to do so, so I figured it was as good a time as any."
Harry just shrugged. "OK," he said. Without warning he pulled her in for a harder, more passionate kiss.
He eventually broke to let Hermione breathe and stop the bacon from burning. When breakfast was ready, a drowsy Ron walked out of his room, as if it was his turn to show up in the play.
"I smell bacon, eggs, toast, and... Hmmm... Are those little sausages?" Ron had a keen sense of smell. His mom called it Ron's sixth sense: a keen sense of food.
Harry laughed. "Hermione, could you start my drum roll?" He now put on the best game show host voice he could. "Now, for the brand new car, what kind of jelly do we have for the toast."
Ron sniffed. "Grape and strawberry, but the strawberry is definitely not jelly. It's jam."
"Ding, ding!" Hermione now went through a big laughing fit.
They ate breakfast, still talking and chortling about the old times and not so old times. Ron was still laughing when he said, "And who woulda thought that we would be defending Draco Malfoy in court? Draco fuckin' Malfoy!"
Harry looked at his clock. "Speaking of witch, I need to get ready for work. See you in a few minutes."
Ron watched Harry disappear into his room. "Changing, that man is. Changing every day. When it started, I have no idea. But it did at some point. Do you agree, Herms?"
Hermione nodded. "I've noticed it alot. I don't think it's a bad thing, though."
"Oh don't get me wrong," Ron said. "It's not a bad thing at all. In fact, I think it's almost for the better. He's always more aware, and his sense of humor has taken a bludger of a turn."
Hermione laughed. On the inside, she wasn't laughing. Ron had no idea how much both of his best friends had changed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry came out of his room in his Auror's uniform: a black cloak that hung down his calves, black pullover, black gloves (fingers exposed: optimal wand handling), black pants held up by a black belt, and his black boots. The only sign of a color other than black on this uniform was a small English flag pinned to his cloak for which ministry he worked for.
"Nice uniform, mate," Ron said. "It looks cool. Do all Aurors where those?"
Harry nodded. "They thought it needed to look like this for a more dominating look. Noone complained when they made them is what I hear."
Hermione now spoke. "I think they chose it for manuverability," she said in her 'as a matter of fact' tone that Harry and Ron always rolled their eyes at.
Harry and Ron rolled their eyes.
Harry looked back up at the clock. "Let's go. I'm taking the motorcycle today. Seems like a good day for a ride. Hermione, are you taking your car?" She nodded. "Ok then, Ron, you're riding with Hermione. We're going to Underground Level 4, Courtroom B4."
With that, Harry went outside, hopped on Sirius' old motorcycle, and sped away.
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What did ya'll think. Appeal is next chapter. It will probably be up remotely soon. Oh yeah, R&R grease monkeys. Until my update, I must say adios.
By S. Christian
DISCLAIMER: This fic is based on charactars and situations created by J.K. Rowling and not myself. I have no money, therefore please, try your best not to sue me.
Skipping too much of an intro this time. Most of you wouldn't be reading this unless you've read what came before, therefore, you would know exactly what is going on. Now read on in prosper. And this time, don't forget to R&R you gits.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And tomorrow morning, you're expected to testify in favor of Draco," Harry said, finishing off his lengthy story. Now a silence filled the room, causing Harry's eyes to shift around the room, wanting anything to speak.
Yet, all Ron could do is sit and stare, not being able to close his mouth as it seemed. Finally, Ron shut his mouth and blinked. "Why the bloody hell are you on Malfoy's side, again?"
Harry just kind of shrugged, for he truly hadn't quite figured that part out yet. "Good question. In fact, the only reason one could call that a bad question is because it really has no answer. Draco Malfoy showed up in my office, told me about his situation, and I believed him. I could see the truth in his eyes. You know how us Aurors are."
Ron scowled. "What kind of lame excuse is that?" Now Ron was using his best Harry impersonation, which was, to speak in its favor, terrible. "You know how us Aurors are."
Harry laughed. It was likely to be the first time he had laughed since the arrival of Ron. Harry had noticed as he advanced to his laughter stage that Hermione was yet to speak at all. In fact, she had barely done more than grin. That is, of course, if you called her week curling of lips a grin. Harry knew what she was thinking. He also knew it would be so much better to get their relationship off their chests. But this wasn't the time. He still had to have Ron on his side for the hearing.
Hermione made eye contact with Harry. She knew what he was thinking about then. She also knew she had better talk to her best friend. They didn't want Ron finding out too soon. That might just ruin everything for Draco. 'Oh shit,' she thought, 'I have compassion for a pure-blooded bastard.'
She quickly forced the thoughts out of her head and decided she had better speak. "So, Ron. Erg, how was, uh, Bulgaria?" She was starting to sound desperate. Fortunately, through his thickness, Ron didn't notice.
In fact, he smiled really wide. "Well, it's a nice country and everything. But, I'll be damned if fights get any better on any other country's soil."
Hermione was now smiling, too, remembering the letter. "How is Krum any way?"
Ron's smile got impossibly wider. "Well, I punched him a good one in that crooked nose of his, managed to knee him in the stomach, and broke his new Firebolt 5000 over his head."
Hermione now changed to one of her scolding looks. She spoke like her early days at Hogwarts. "You realize that they'll fine you for all of that. Really, Ron. Don't you think a little bit of self-control would make you a little happier?"
Harry and Ron now spoke at the same time. "No fucking way!" They looked at each other and busted out laughing. Hermione, trying to hold her motherly scolding face on, couldn't resist and laughed too.
When Harry could finally breathe again, he gave a small sigh. There they were. The Marvelous Three of Hogwarts. Together. But something seemed different. In fact, everything seemed different. They had all changed quickly without noticing it, not even in each other.
Nothing could be exactly the same again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**Flashback**
It's dark.
Why is it so dark?
That's all that the Auror could think about. Then he remembered. The prophecy was to be concluded on this night. Someone was to die.
Now Harry wondered. 'Am I dead? Have I lost."
He opened his eyes. That answered his question. Almost, at least. He didn't know if his enemy was dead. He saw dead bodies everywhere. Some of them were the bodies of men or women that Harry allied himself with. Ministry wizards. Others wore masks.
The Death Eaters.
As Harry sat up and looked around, he also realized he didn't know who some of the bodies belonged to. Some of the people just got themselves involved.
Harry started to walk. There was blood everywhere. He stepped over several bodies, noticing that some weren't dead. Then he saw her.
He wasn't sure if Hermione was still alive. "Oh God, please let her be alive," is all he could say as he ran over to her. He felt for a pulse. Much to his relief, he found one. He kissed her head. He wouldn't let her die, no matter what.
He heard someone behind him. A familiar voice spoke. "A pity I wasted such a good spell on a mud-blood. She is almost certainly dead. No use trying to wake her."
Harry spoke quietly, but with anger. "Lucius Malfoy," he said, "you are hereby under arrest for betrayal to the Ministry of Magic of England, multiple counts of murder, and a count of attempted murder."
Lucius laughed. "Attempted. What the hell can you possibly mean, Potter. I have never failed to finish a job, especially when it comes to the death of those who oppose the Dark Lord."
"You failed in this one case," Harry said coldly. "She's still alive."
Lucius stopped laughing. "That's impossible. That curse has never failed. It especially wouldn't fail on a mud-blood whore like her." His voice was now coming in desperate hisses.
Harry couldn't figure it out either. Lucius would take pride in his killings. He wouldn't lie about the curse he used, and he sure as hell wouldn't use the wrong one. But some how, Hermione was laying on the ground before him, unconscious, but still very much alive. Harry started to ponder when he heard a noise behind him.
He turned to see that Lucius had drawn his wand. He was now pointing at Harry. "I'll kill you, Potter. The Dark Lord will honor my name. He will praise me beyond all belief. Then, I will kill her." He pointed his wand at Hermione, and then back at Harry.
Harry was in a bad situation. If he drew his wand, he would be killed on the spot. If he didn't, he would be killed on the spot. As Harry pondered, he looked to see Hermione's wand right next to him. He would have to try it.
This would have been more helpful if he knew what curse to use. He needed to immobilize Lucius. He also wanted to hurt him. He figured it out. His Arrow Curse. He'd never done it to a person before, but he figured this was as good a time as any.
"Reylus Mhysterihoso!" He had hit Lucius in the stomach. Lucius dropped his wand and clutched his wound. He looked down to see the blood on his hand.
"What the fuck did you do, Potter?" Lucius managed to spit out those words as he fell over.
Harry knew that Ministry wizards had to be somewhere. He sent up the signal. Someone would see the red sparks, come detain Lucius if he was still alive, and get Hermione to St. Mungos.
"He was always an egotistical fool, that Lucius Malfoy. Wouldn't you think so, Harry Potter?"
A very cold voice now spoke. Harry's scar started to burn. He had learned to ignore it most of the time, but this was too painful. He turned to see Voldemort, grinning like the madman he was.
"Ah, yes. I'm very sorry about that scar. It should never have happened. You should have died. Oh well. Potter, always remember one thing. Don't deny yourself the second chance. Remember that in your death, Potter."
Voldemort raised his wand. Harry saw a figure get up behind Voldemort. He couldn't see who it was. He wasn't Ministry or Death Eater.
"Avada-," Voldemort started.
The figure drew a wand and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" The wand flew out of Voldemorts hand. He turned to see the figure running. Voldemort started to give chase.
"You will pay you insolent little fool!" He was angry beyond belief. "You will meet the same bloody end as your fat-"
Again, he never finished his words, for Harry was up with wand drawn. Voldemort noticed that he,himself,had no wand. He looked at Harry in fear this time.
Harry was concentrated on Voldemort. "The game is over now. You have killed too many people. You have broken too many families. You have ruined my life up until now. It's over." Harry tilted his head. "You lose."
Voldemort's eyes grew wide as he looked at the wand pointing at him. "This isn't how it was supposed to end. I was supposed to win. I was supposed to rule the wizarding world!"
Harry spoke coldly. "And I was supposed to grow up with my family, but sometimes our plans change." With that, Harry started to swish his wand. "Nikilik Karpius!"
Before Harry said the words, Voldemort had grabbed a dead Ministry wizards wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" as Harry said his curse. Voldemorts green beam went through the ball, but the ball still came forward. As the ball hit him, a cloud of red hit the air. That was all that remained of Voldemort. A cloud of his blood.
But Harry had more things on his mind as the Killing Curse hit him. 'What will my friends do without me? What is it like to be dead? Will I ever see Hermione smile again?'
At that thought, the curse hit him. He fell on to his knees. The thought of Hermione, despite the pain, was dominant in his mind. He felt that if he kept thinking of her, all would be better. The pain mounted to a higher level. He felt something warm going down his face. His scar was bleeding. Then all of the sudden, the pain stopped and he fell to the ground next to Hermione, passed out.
*Next day*
He woke up in two weeks, and when he woke up, he saw Hermione. He smiled as he saw her smile. She was happy he was awake, and he was happy she was so happy that he was awake. But then he remembered. He should have almost certainly been dead. And should she.
Why were neither of them dead? He knew who to see to get his answer.
He arrived at Hogwarts the next week.
Dumbledore was as happy as ever to see him. He was packing his personal belongings from his Hogwarts office to go to the Ministry. He had been very abrubtly elected Minister as soon as word got out that he was the head of the frontline forces on Voldemort. He gave a smile to Harry.
"Never would have supposed I'd be out of here before I die," he said. "Did you, Harry?"
Harry couldn't help but smile. Dumbledore did that to people. The only time that Harry could remember that Dumbledore didn't make him feel like smiling was when Sirius had died. Harry was upset with Dumbledore for the most pathetic reason: he was sure it was Dumbledore's fault Sirius was dead.
Harry had gotten over that idea by the time he was back for sixth year. He knew the truth: Sirius was responsible for himself and Harry, and vica versa. If anyone but Sirius was to blame, Harry would have to blame himself.
But here, Harry smiled. "Well, Professor, or, erg, Minis-"
Dumbledore held up his hand. "I am still a Professor until tomorrow Harry. Please use my proper title while in this school if you choose to give me a title at all. Now what did you want, Harry? You came in looking troubled."
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. I was wondering how Hermione and I can still be alive. We both had fatal curses performed on us, especially on me, yet we both stand well today."
Dumbledore understood how Harry was feeling. In fact, he expected Harry as soon as he got of St. Mungos. "Settle down, Harry, settle down. I'm pretty sure if you thought about it for a second. it would make perfect sense."
Harry thought and then shook his head, obviously clueless.
Dumbledore sighed. "Remember when I explained why you had to live with the Dursleys?"
"Yeah," Harry said. "You said that the love that my mom used, sacrificing her life for mine, protected me from Voldemort. Apparently, Aunt Petunia had the same love in her blood."
"Exactly," Dumbledore said, pointing an old finger at Harry. "The reason Hermione stands alive is because she was protected by the love that you two share as friends." Harry could tell Dumbledore knew that Harry loved Hermione beyond friendship, but what was he talking about "shared"? Hermione would never love him more than the best friend that he is to her. Never. But that was irrelevant.
"OK," Harry responded. "But how come I'm still alive? I mean, I just survived the second Killing Curse of my life, but my shield from Voldemort was destroyed in the fourth year. All I came out with was two weeks unconscious and a week of hospital life. How did I survive?"
Dumbledore now just stared. "Harry, tell me, what were you thinking about when that curse hit you? What did you believe your first priority was?"
Harry turned slightly pink in the cheeks. "Hermione. I wanted her to be safe."
Dumbledore nodded. "That's your answer. Hermione saved you out there. The very thought of her helped you to stay alive."
"That doesn't make any sense," Harry said, obviously confused. "She was unconscious."
Dumbledore chuckled. "You'll understand in due time, Harry. You'll understand."
Harry just stared. He wasn't sure how he was ever going to understand what Dumbledore had explained to him. But after a few months, Harry was scaring himself with one fact.
He understood now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The morning of the appeal, Harry got up earlier than everyone else. He went into the kitchen to start breakfast. Throught the course of making it, Hermione came out of her bedroom, already dressed.
"Can I help with anything?" she asked.
Harry shook his head. "I've got everything under conrol. I've been making breakfast for years now. In fact, I'm pretty well accustomed to cooking period."
Hermione shrugged. "Suits you." There was a silence now, one that Harry prayed could just be broken. He didn't like being silent around Hermione, it wasn't very suiting of any relationship they've ever had. Especially now that they were an item. Hermione didn't break the silence, but instead, walked over to Harry and placed a soft but loving kiss on his lips.
Harry was stunned. "What exactly was that for?" He was still gaping.
Hermione giggled a little bit. "Just reminding you that I love you. Haven't seen enough of you alone to do so, so I figured it was as good a time as any."
Harry just shrugged. "OK," he said. Without warning he pulled her in for a harder, more passionate kiss.
He eventually broke to let Hermione breathe and stop the bacon from burning. When breakfast was ready, a drowsy Ron walked out of his room, as if it was his turn to show up in the play.
"I smell bacon, eggs, toast, and... Hmmm... Are those little sausages?" Ron had a keen sense of smell. His mom called it Ron's sixth sense: a keen sense of food.
Harry laughed. "Hermione, could you start my drum roll?" He now put on the best game show host voice he could. "Now, for the brand new car, what kind of jelly do we have for the toast."
Ron sniffed. "Grape and strawberry, but the strawberry is definitely not jelly. It's jam."
"Ding, ding!" Hermione now went through a big laughing fit.
They ate breakfast, still talking and chortling about the old times and not so old times. Ron was still laughing when he said, "And who woulda thought that we would be defending Draco Malfoy in court? Draco fuckin' Malfoy!"
Harry looked at his clock. "Speaking of witch, I need to get ready for work. See you in a few minutes."
Ron watched Harry disappear into his room. "Changing, that man is. Changing every day. When it started, I have no idea. But it did at some point. Do you agree, Herms?"
Hermione nodded. "I've noticed it alot. I don't think it's a bad thing, though."
"Oh don't get me wrong," Ron said. "It's not a bad thing at all. In fact, I think it's almost for the better. He's always more aware, and his sense of humor has taken a bludger of a turn."
Hermione laughed. On the inside, she wasn't laughing. Ron had no idea how much both of his best friends had changed.
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Harry came out of his room in his Auror's uniform: a black cloak that hung down his calves, black pullover, black gloves (fingers exposed: optimal wand handling), black pants held up by a black belt, and his black boots. The only sign of a color other than black on this uniform was a small English flag pinned to his cloak for which ministry he worked for.
"Nice uniform, mate," Ron said. "It looks cool. Do all Aurors where those?"
Harry nodded. "They thought it needed to look like this for a more dominating look. Noone complained when they made them is what I hear."
Hermione now spoke. "I think they chose it for manuverability," she said in her 'as a matter of fact' tone that Harry and Ron always rolled their eyes at.
Harry and Ron rolled their eyes.
Harry looked back up at the clock. "Let's go. I'm taking the motorcycle today. Seems like a good day for a ride. Hermione, are you taking your car?" She nodded. "Ok then, Ron, you're riding with Hermione. We're going to Underground Level 4, Courtroom B4."
With that, Harry went outside, hopped on Sirius' old motorcycle, and sped away.
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What did ya'll think. Appeal is next chapter. It will probably be up remotely soon. Oh yeah, R&R grease monkeys. Until my update, I must say adios.