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.
This is the last chapter of this story. I would like to thank all who reviewed my work. Your reviews have willed me on through the writing of this story, especially the positive ones (oh wait... they were all more-or-less positive). To recap last chapter, Lucius is not dead and has apparated to an unknown location, Hermione was assaulted by Crabbe and Goyle (I felt I had to involve them, even if there part was short), and Draco is dead. We begin when Harry arrives at the home of the Weasleys with Draco's limp body.
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It was easily the worst day of his life. He watched one of his close friends die. And for what? Sure, Death Eaters were dead. But as long as Lucius lived, there would always be more. There was no stopping the process. You kill one leader, another leader rises. You kill that leader's soldiers, he will recruit more.
Harry arrived in the middle of the Weasley's living room. Mr. and Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, a bruised Percy, and Ron were there, obviously in a worried state. They all stopped and looked as Harry looked up, his face littered with dirt and blood. They saw someone in his hands. Ginny let out a single gasp and fainted.
Mrs. Weasley was there quickly and touched Harry's shoulder in a motherly way. It seethed with pain, and his face showed it.
"Oh dear me, Harry, what happened?" she managed to ask.
Harry was breathing deeply, yet somewhat quickly. "What does it look like? Draco is dead, and I am injured, and I have no idea where Lucius Malfoy is."
She was taken aback by his sudden coldness. Ginny woke up, as Fred and George helped him up.
She cried. "What happened to him?"
Harry walked across the room and knelt by her. "His shit excuse for a father killed him. When I arrived, he was already on the ground. He had not died yet, but he was near. After Lucius escaped, he said his last words to me. A few of those were for me to give you this."
He presented the box.
"I don't know whats in it," Harry continued. "He didn't want me to look. He just said it was for you.
She took the box with her shaky hands and opened it. Inside was a small piece of paper, folded a few times, and a golden ring. She unfolded the paper and read:
I'm not good at these sort of things, so look at the embroiderment in the ring.
-Draco
She picked out the ring and read the text along the inside. In beautiful cursive, it simply said, "Ginny, will you marry me?"
She cried even harder now and held the ring close to her heart. "Yes, Draco. I will."
Everyone stood silent. Harry looked around the room and realized someone wasn't there.
"Where's Hermione?"
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"Sir, if you would just let us take care of your arm."
Harry was getting impatient. "I don't give a fuck about my arm! Just take me to her!"
They arrived in one of the rooms. There she was. The woman he loved. Unconscious in a hospital bed.
Tears ran down his eyes. "What happened to her?"
The St. Mungo's nurse sighed. "There was an attack on the Ministry. Several witches and wizards were injured, a few killed. It was the Death Eaters. Miss Granger was one of the lucky ones."
He was already at her side, holding her hand. "When will she wake up?"
"In a few days."
Harry nodded. "Thank you. If you want, you can take care of the arm, but try and pull me from her side, and it won't be my arm you should be worrying about."
The nurse's mouth almost dropped. "Maybe I should get the doctor."
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Harry sat there, looking at her. Her beautiful face. Her beautiful hair. His beautiful Hermione. She was there. In a hospital bed. She was nearly killed.
Ron wheeled his way in. He looked at Harry. Harry knew he was there, but didn't acknowledge his entrance. Instead, he continued to stare at Hermione, stroking her hand lightly.
"It's not your fault she's in here, Harry," Ron said, breaking the silence.
Harry actually looked up. He didn't have anger, but frustration in his eyes. "Ron, it may not be my fault, but I wasn't here to take care of her, which I should have been."
"That's the thing, Harry," Ron said, becoming furious with Harry. "You've always taken the blame for everything. Stop being an ass! It's not your fucking fault! Not now, and certainly not any other time. Things just happen. Stop pretending you can control it and wake up into reality."
Harry was taken aback to say the least. He was about to respond when Neville rushed in.
"They found him!"
Harry shook his head. "What?"
Neville was jittering with excitement. "We found Lucius. There sending men there to fight him as we speak."
Ron looked at Harry. Harry got up and grabbed his coat. "I'm going."
"You are?" Neville said.
"Yeah, and you're staying here. Watch Hermione and tell her where I went. I'm leaving you in charge of the case on the attack on the Ministry. Got it?'
Neville was still trying to process what Harry had just said. "Ok. I guess so."
Harry went over to Ron. "I'll be back soon."
The two best friends shook hands. Harry leaned in and whispered, "Take care of her," into Ron's ear.
He nodded.
Harry turned and started to leave the room. He stopped. He turned around and went over to the bed. He bent in close and kissed Hermione's forehead. "I promised."
With that, he left the room. Ron tried not to cry. It wouldn't be the manly thing to do. He held in the tears and watched his best friend apparate away in the middle of the hallway.
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The evergreen forest in Western America was silent. Ministry wizards were everywhere. They tried to stay as hidden as possible, but they weren't going Guerilla style combat.
Harry looked around. Still no sign of Lucius. They had been there for 3 weeks and still no sign of the Death Eaters.
He was getting worried. At that point, it was possible they had all moved to another area. He lightened his spirit with another thought of Hermione. Just then, he was hit with a curse. An ambush!
He hit the ground, clutching his bleeding stomach as Death Eaters rushed out of the woods
This is it. I'm dying. I'll never see her again. Wait! I promised!
He grabbed for his wand with his bloody hand and stood up.
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Hermione woke with a jolt. Someone was at the door.
"Shit!" she cursed as she pulled on her robe. She looked at the time. It was only 3:15 in the morning. She opened the door to see Neville.
"Hey there, Hermione," he said in a sulky mood.
"Neville, what the hell?" she said. "You know how early it is?"
He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that."
She rolled her eyes. "It's ok. You want some tea."
"No," he said. "I don't really feel like it."
She squinted her eyes. "And why not? What's wrong?"
He took a deep breath. "I have news. About Harry. In America, he took five curses and finally hit the ground. They were rushed into the woods, so his body was never recovered. Hermione, he's dead."
She couldn't believe it. She slowly sat down. "No. He can't be. He promised I'd see him again. This can't be happening."
Neville reached out to pat her shoulder, but she pulled away and began to cry.
It was the worst night of her life.
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At least he had a nice funeral service. A beautiful monument. Hermione sat there, alone. She was still in her black dress from the funeral. She just sat by the monument, remembering him. How he loved her. How she loved him. A tear rolled down her eyes, one of many on that day.
She touched the name HARRY JAMES POTTER. "How could you not come back?" she asked through the tears.
She saw something white in the corner of eye. It was an owl. Hedwig!
"Hedwig?" she said, not believing it.
The owl had a note on her leg. Hermione untied it and read. What it said caused her to drop it. She looked at the grave and at the owl. She couldn't believe it. Two simple words had just changed everything.
I PROMISED.
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That's the end of this fic. I would like to thank the reviewers once again. I love you all for making this possible. Look for my sequel soon. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Until we meet for some catastrophic reason in the future, I must say adios.
-S. Christian
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.
This is the last chapter of this story. I would like to thank all who reviewed my work. Your reviews have willed me on through the writing of this story, especially the positive ones (oh wait... they were all more-or-less positive). To recap last chapter, Lucius is not dead and has apparated to an unknown location, Hermione was assaulted by Crabbe and Goyle (I felt I had to involve them, even if there part was short), and Draco is dead. We begin when Harry arrives at the home of the Weasleys with Draco's limp body.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was easily the worst day of his life. He watched one of his close friends die. And for what? Sure, Death Eaters were dead. But as long as Lucius lived, there would always be more. There was no stopping the process. You kill one leader, another leader rises. You kill that leader's soldiers, he will recruit more.
Harry arrived in the middle of the Weasley's living room. Mr. and Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, a bruised Percy, and Ron were there, obviously in a worried state. They all stopped and looked as Harry looked up, his face littered with dirt and blood. They saw someone in his hands. Ginny let out a single gasp and fainted.
Mrs. Weasley was there quickly and touched Harry's shoulder in a motherly way. It seethed with pain, and his face showed it.
"Oh dear me, Harry, what happened?" she managed to ask.
Harry was breathing deeply, yet somewhat quickly. "What does it look like? Draco is dead, and I am injured, and I have no idea where Lucius Malfoy is."
She was taken aback by his sudden coldness. Ginny woke up, as Fred and George helped him up.
She cried. "What happened to him?"
Harry walked across the room and knelt by her. "His shit excuse for a father killed him. When I arrived, he was already on the ground. He had not died yet, but he was near. After Lucius escaped, he said his last words to me. A few of those were for me to give you this."
He presented the box.
"I don't know whats in it," Harry continued. "He didn't want me to look. He just said it was for you.
She took the box with her shaky hands and opened it. Inside was a small piece of paper, folded a few times, and a golden ring. She unfolded the paper and read:
I'm not good at these sort of things, so look at the embroiderment in the ring.
-Draco
She picked out the ring and read the text along the inside. In beautiful cursive, it simply said, "Ginny, will you marry me?"
She cried even harder now and held the ring close to her heart. "Yes, Draco. I will."
Everyone stood silent. Harry looked around the room and realized someone wasn't there.
"Where's Hermione?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sir, if you would just let us take care of your arm."
Harry was getting impatient. "I don't give a fuck about my arm! Just take me to her!"
They arrived in one of the rooms. There she was. The woman he loved. Unconscious in a hospital bed.
Tears ran down his eyes. "What happened to her?"
The St. Mungo's nurse sighed. "There was an attack on the Ministry. Several witches and wizards were injured, a few killed. It was the Death Eaters. Miss Granger was one of the lucky ones."
He was already at her side, holding her hand. "When will she wake up?"
"In a few days."
Harry nodded. "Thank you. If you want, you can take care of the arm, but try and pull me from her side, and it won't be my arm you should be worrying about."
The nurse's mouth almost dropped. "Maybe I should get the doctor."
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Harry sat there, looking at her. Her beautiful face. Her beautiful hair. His beautiful Hermione. She was there. In a hospital bed. She was nearly killed.
Ron wheeled his way in. He looked at Harry. Harry knew he was there, but didn't acknowledge his entrance. Instead, he continued to stare at Hermione, stroking her hand lightly.
"It's not your fault she's in here, Harry," Ron said, breaking the silence.
Harry actually looked up. He didn't have anger, but frustration in his eyes. "Ron, it may not be my fault, but I wasn't here to take care of her, which I should have been."
"That's the thing, Harry," Ron said, becoming furious with Harry. "You've always taken the blame for everything. Stop being an ass! It's not your fucking fault! Not now, and certainly not any other time. Things just happen. Stop pretending you can control it and wake up into reality."
Harry was taken aback to say the least. He was about to respond when Neville rushed in.
"They found him!"
Harry shook his head. "What?"
Neville was jittering with excitement. "We found Lucius. There sending men there to fight him as we speak."
Ron looked at Harry. Harry got up and grabbed his coat. "I'm going."
"You are?" Neville said.
"Yeah, and you're staying here. Watch Hermione and tell her where I went. I'm leaving you in charge of the case on the attack on the Ministry. Got it?'
Neville was still trying to process what Harry had just said. "Ok. I guess so."
Harry went over to Ron. "I'll be back soon."
The two best friends shook hands. Harry leaned in and whispered, "Take care of her," into Ron's ear.
He nodded.
Harry turned and started to leave the room. He stopped. He turned around and went over to the bed. He bent in close and kissed Hermione's forehead. "I promised."
With that, he left the room. Ron tried not to cry. It wouldn't be the manly thing to do. He held in the tears and watched his best friend apparate away in the middle of the hallway.
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The evergreen forest in Western America was silent. Ministry wizards were everywhere. They tried to stay as hidden as possible, but they weren't going Guerilla style combat.
Harry looked around. Still no sign of Lucius. They had been there for 3 weeks and still no sign of the Death Eaters.
He was getting worried. At that point, it was possible they had all moved to another area. He lightened his spirit with another thought of Hermione. Just then, he was hit with a curse. An ambush!
He hit the ground, clutching his bleeding stomach as Death Eaters rushed out of the woods
This is it. I'm dying. I'll never see her again. Wait! I promised!
He grabbed for his wand with his bloody hand and stood up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione woke with a jolt. Someone was at the door.
"Shit!" she cursed as she pulled on her robe. She looked at the time. It was only 3:15 in the morning. She opened the door to see Neville.
"Hey there, Hermione," he said in a sulky mood.
"Neville, what the hell?" she said. "You know how early it is?"
He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that."
She rolled her eyes. "It's ok. You want some tea."
"No," he said. "I don't really feel like it."
She squinted her eyes. "And why not? What's wrong?"
He took a deep breath. "I have news. About Harry. In America, he took five curses and finally hit the ground. They were rushed into the woods, so his body was never recovered. Hermione, he's dead."
She couldn't believe it. She slowly sat down. "No. He can't be. He promised I'd see him again. This can't be happening."
Neville reached out to pat her shoulder, but she pulled away and began to cry.
It was the worst night of her life.
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At least he had a nice funeral service. A beautiful monument. Hermione sat there, alone. She was still in her black dress from the funeral. She just sat by the monument, remembering him. How he loved her. How she loved him. A tear rolled down her eyes, one of many on that day.
She touched the name HARRY JAMES POTTER. "How could you not come back?" she asked through the tears.
She saw something white in the corner of eye. It was an owl. Hedwig!
"Hedwig?" she said, not believing it.
The owl had a note on her leg. Hermione untied it and read. What it said caused her to drop it. She looked at the grave and at the owl. She couldn't believe it. Two simple words had just changed everything.
I PROMISED.
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That's the end of this fic. I would like to thank the reviewers once again. I love you all for making this possible. Look for my sequel soon. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Until we meet for some catastrophic reason in the future, I must say adios.
-S. Christian