Disclaimer: I don't own it at all.
A/N: Hey, so I lied and I'm updating this sooner than expected, it's all good though. I've decided to forget homework for tonight, especially since the evil roomies are all gone, perfect opportunity to write! Ya! Anyways, here goes with the story. Enjoy.
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Ron and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, looking extremely downcast and forlorn. In fact, the whole of the Weasley's looked depressed as well, but they were keeping away from the two friends to give them space and a chance to deal with the inevitable.
"What's the matter with you two?" asked Seamus, not realizing the severity behind the question.
Ron looked up at him with such a look that Seamus took a few steps backward. Everyone in the common room was now quiet, waiting to see what was about to transpire. Without even realizing they were doing it, the Weasley twins came closer to their brother, ready to stop him from doing something he might regret later.
Ron, however, did notice what his brothers were doing. It made him stop to think before he reacted, which was something he normally wouldn't do. Instead of blowing a gasket on his friend, he took a deep breath and proceeded.
"Look, I'm not in the best of moods, because something is wrong. Just stay out of my way, alright?" Seamus nodded his head in understanding and took off out of the common room. Most of the people in the room had noticed that Harry wasn't among them as he normally would be. This had started to worry them, especially since his friends were all acting so strangely. Ron's proclamation had just confirmed their thoughts, in an offhanded sort of way.
"Way to keep your cool Ron." said Hermione, slightly sarcastically. She was still in a foul mood, no matter what. "I want to go see him." She said suddenly. Ron looked at her, saw the determination in her eyes, and decided to go with her. Forget the fact that Madame Pomfrey thought he could be contagious, they wanted to see their friend, this could be the last chance they got.
"I want to go get something, wait for me, and I'll come with you, okay?" Hermione just shook her head and sat down on the couch to wait for her friend. Ron took that as an affirmative and ran up the stairs to his dorm room. A few minutes later he reappeared downstairs. "I'm ready when you are." He said secretly, and the two of them snuck out of the common room.
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The corridors leading to the hospital wing seemed dark and dreary to the two friends as they hurriedly made their way down them. Of course, it was nothing compared to the darkness of their hearts. They had a bad feeling, like things were about to drastically change. Life as they knew it was about to become a downward spiral. As they approached the doors to the hospital wing, they noticed that one of them was cracked open slightly. Beyond the doors they could hear a conversation going on. It was Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madame Pomfrey. They were talking heatedly about something, presumably Harry. Madame Pomfrey kept going back between the cabinets containing her healing potions to Harry's beside. By the looks of it, she was becoming quite hysterical.
"I don't understand it, what is wrong with the poor child. I'm sorry," she said dropping down beside the bed that held Harry, "he's dying, there is absolutely nothing that I can do to save him. I've never seen anything like this. I don't know how to save him." She gasped out. She had started to cry by this point, along with those in the room. "Perhaps we should call his friends, his godfather. He won't survive the night, they need to come say goodbye." She gently rubbed her hand against his cheek. What was left of Harry flinched against the touch. "It's horrible to say, but it would almost be better, he's in pain." She quickly got up and went to busy herself at her desk, leaving the Professors to themselves.
"We need to get Weasley and Granger up here. They'll want to be here when he…. goes." McGonagall was crying herself.
"We're already here." Ron and Hermione entered the hospital wing and walked up to the two teachers. The latter were stunned by the looks in their eyes. They were dull and lifeless. They realized then that they must have heard everything that was just said.
"Oh…you heard, didn't you?" McGonagall, in a rare act of motherly care, took the two into an embrace. "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way."
"It's alright Professor, we knew deep down that he wouldn't last much longer." Hermione now seemed dead on her feet. She slowly drifted past those standing in the room with her and went to Harry. Sitting down in the chair that Madame Pomfrey had just vacated, she picked up Harry's hand, and held it to her face. She gently kissed his hand and then laid it back down on top of the blankets. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she reached up and grasped it. Ron put his other arm around her and rested his head on top of her own.
"Perhaps we should leave them alone Minerva." Dumbledore said. He pointed towards the doorway and she followed him out. "We have a lot to do. We must contact the Weasleys, find Sirius and Remus, and the Dursleys. I'm sure they'll want to know what's going on. We'll also have to tell the students, once he's passed." Dumbledore nearly choked on his words. He couldn't believe that Harry was dying like this. It had been a cold for all they knew. If only they had caught it earlier, maybe they could have saved him. Now it was too late. He had seen how the life was draining out of his body.
"No use wondering on what might have been Albus, what is meant to be will be." She gave his hand a tight squeeze before letting go. "I'll go immediately to the Weasley's. It would be best for them to find out in person, rather than by owl post."
Albus Dumbledore nodded his head and they parted ways. He wasn't looking forward to speaking to Sirius. His soul had almost been shattered once already. Twice could be deadly.
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Minerva stepped out of the fireplace and into the Weasley's living room. She found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Charlie and Bill, who had returned when he heard about Harry's sickness, sitting in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley nearly tumbled out of her chair when she looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing in her kitchen.
"You startled me Minerva." She said, one hand on her chest, trying to calm herself down. "Won't you sit down? I've just made some hot tea and cookies, would you like one?" She held the plate containing the cookies out in front of Minerva, who just shook her head no. "Well then, what brings you here? I hope those twins haven't gotten into trouble so soon into the school year." She put the plate back down on the table, hoping against hope that that was the reason the Head of Gryffindor House had come to her home.
"I have some bad news."
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Dumbledore had successfully found Sirius and Remus out at Remus's home. They had come to pack some things to bring back to Hogwarts. Sirius hadn't wanted to leave Harry's side, but he knew that Remus wouldn't know what to bring with him, so he had reluctantly left his godson in the hands of Madame Pomfrey. Now he was wishing that he had stayed. He knew there was nothing that Madame Pomfrey could do for Harry, but precious moments that could have been spent at his side had been wasted on clothing.
Now they stood in the hospital wing, along with Hermione, Ron, the entire Weasley clan, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and much to their disgust, the Dursleys. Well, the only Dursley that had actually shown up was Vernon, followed closely by Indra Rostau, Harry's social worker. And the only reason Vernon had shown up was to see if this was some elaborate hoax to keep him from getting his nephew, or if the little prat was actually going to die. If so, he wanted to be there to watch. Indra had come because she had genuinely started to care for the boy, plus Harry's safety was still at risk where concerning his uncle, she was legally bound to supervise any situation where Harry was in a room with his uncle. When she had walked into the room, she had been overwhelmed by a sense of pain. The poor child was in agony, even though it didn't look it.
"Why is he hurting so much?" asked Indra, quickly looking the people over in the room, finding whom she thought to be the nurse, and strode up to her. Madame Pomfrey stood up to face the woman approaching her. The others in the room were now even more silent that before.
"He's in pain?" asked Sirius, looking like he would explode.
"Yes, Sirius, he is." Madame Pomfrey looked like she was in pain herself. "I haven't got a clue why though. I've tried giving him every pain reliever potion known to wizards and none of them seem to help. I honestly don't know what to do to make it better for him, I'm so sorry."
"Would it be possible to wake him up?" Hermione's face was all puffy and red from crying. This knew information had hit her hard. "If it will cause him more pain, don't, but is it possible? I would like to speak to him once more."
Madame Pomfrey seemed to consider this for a moment before she answered. "It is possible, but I highly doubt he'll even know what is going on, and it would be more than likely that he'll be in a considerable amount of pain."
Hermione started shaking her head psychotically, "Don't wake him up. I don't want him to hurt anymore." She started to cry again and Ron immediately pulled her to him.
"It's okay Hermione. Shh…" Ron said comfortingly, however, he was desperately in need of comfort himself. He was never more grateful when he felt both his parents' hands on his shoulder.
Suddenly, they were all broken from their thoughts as Harry's labored breathing came into them. Madame Pomfrey ran to his side, checking his pulse. Harry took a shuddering, gasping breath, and then there was nothing. He had fallen silent.
"Harry?" asked Madame Pomfrey, placing her head next to his mouth. She sat back up slowly.
"We've lost him." Hermione's screams pierced the silence.
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Everyone from school, or so it seemed, had showed up for Harry's funeral. Perhaps the only one's who hadn't attended were Slytherin. Harry's death had hit everyone incredibly hard. Especially those closest to him. Hermione and Ron hadn't talked to anyone since he had passed and it was beginning to worry their friends and family. Sirius was dead inside. He had lost the only 'family' he had left. He loved Harry so much it hurt, and knowing the pain that Harry had suffered through at the hands of his real family and Voldemort nearly tore his heart out. If he had only taken Harry from the beginning then none of this would have happened. Of course, he knew it wouldn't have been possible. Even if he had taken Harry from Hagrid that day so long ago, he would have been caught eventually. They couldn't have gone on hiding forever. He only hoped that Harry had known how much he did love him. How much everyone around him loved him. He was fairly positive that no one had ever told him that they loved him, at least none that the boy could remember. His parents had said it daily. It was his greatest fear that Harry had died without knowing this.
The entire Weasley family was heartbroken. Harry had been like a son to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and a brother to the Weasley children. To them, they had just lost a family member. A very beloved family member. They just hoped that their youngest son and brother would be able to cope with losing his best friend. Although, they weren't so sure he would.
Hermione and Ron walked up to Harry's casket together. It had only been a day since Harry had passed, but he still seemed to be alive, like he was only sleeping. Dumbledore had decided to immediately bury Harry; he didn't want Voldemort to find out where he was and try to do something vial to his body. He was to be buried on Holy ground, ground that couldn't be touched by anything as evil as Voldemort or his followers. Only those filled with true love for Harry could enter the sacred place. This had been Dumbledore's idea. They approached the casket and Hermione laid a flower on Harry's chest.
"We love you Harry. We're going to miss you so much." She started to cry again, but there were really no more tears to be shed. Ron clasped her hand in his and stepped up next to his best friend. He reached in and grabbed hold of one of Harry's hands, which were crossed upon his chest.
"Why'd you leave us?" he asked, tears pouring down his face. He hadn't allowed himself to cry, but seeing his best friend, dead in front of him, he realized that he would never see him again, and he was angry. "You're so strong, how did this happen. I just don't understand it." He screamed in a whisper, so that no one except Hermione could hear him. She had never seen Ron react so emotionally before and it was beginning to scare her. She started to rub his hand in a comforting gesture, which seemed to calm him somewhat. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just don't know how to go on without my best friend. What am I supposed to do? I'm going to miss you so much. I love you too, you're my best friend. I'll never forget you." He whispered. He took his hand off of Harry's and brought something out of his robes. "I thought you might want this. I know you're with your parents now and that they'll take care of you." He put the photo album that Hagrid had given to Harry during his first year beside Harry. "Take care man." He and Hermione walked away from the casket and went to sit down beside their parents. Somewhere behind them they could hear Hagrid who was crying so hysterically that Dumbledore and McGonagall were trying to get him to leave the ceremony for a moment to calm down.
After Harry's body was lowered into the ground, they all made their way back to Hogwarts. The 'sanctuary' for Harry's body was on Hogwart's grounds, which made Ron and Hermione glad that they could visit their friend whenever they wanted. There was a gathering for friends and family only in the Great Hall. However, one person was still absent.
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Sirius stood beside Harry's gravestone, trying his hardest not to cry. "I'm so sorry I failed you Harry." He placed a hand on the gravestone and stood up to leave. "I love you." He murmured.
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Deep down in the ground, oxygen was gulped greedily into deprived lungs. Eyes opened to pure blackness. He wondered what the hell was going on. Why was it so dark, so cold, so silent? He made to sit up, only to bang his head a few inches from where he was lying. He brought his hands up to the ceiling of whatever he was in. He tried to push upon it, but got nowhere. He groped around in his surroundings and it finally dawned on him where he was. He was in a coffin. Harry screamed.
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I am so evil. I know. You probably all hate me now, for making you believe that Harry had died. In fact, I was balling my eyes out when I was writing about Ron talking to Harry. And I knew he wouldn't die. Now, what's going to happen? Will they find him in time? Who knows? PLEASE DONT KILL ME!
Hermione Eveningfall: Hey, I'm never sure if I'm starting on the right reviewer or not. I'm sure you could care less, but oh well. Sounds like school is hectic for you too. So you just found this fic, that's cool. I assure you it will only get better. Ohh, and I went to a favorites list! Woo-Hoo! I went to your stories, and they are really good. I don't know if I reviewed yet, but I will, I promise. Glad you liked this one, by the way.
Angelangie: Well, here is the more, hope you like it.
Lei Dumbledore: What the hell kind of classes you takin' girl? That's insane. I would have gone into work overload and had a mind shutdown. Well, I hope you do well with your paper and what not. I'm glad that you are interested, intrigued, and all that jazz. Well, I updated earlier than I thought, so I hope you really enjoyed this chapter too.
Sailor Sol: Yea, I have wonderful stories. Here's the next chapter for ya, hope ya enjoyed it immensely and such stuff. Vernon is always evil if you ask me. Nope, not Voldie in disguise. He's just a pain in the royal rear end. I know, I can't believe he died, it's so depressing. The movie was great, awesome. What's wrong with the ten minute spider scene? It scared the shit out of me! I hate spiders. It was still a really neat scene. You hate spiders too? School sucks, so I decided to screw it for a night.
Arizosa: Hell no, he won't really die. As if you hadn't figured that one out already. But you can never tell, he's still in a sticky situation. I'm not sure how or if I can get him out of it. Hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Oh, I have a beautiful imagination and you love it. I'm wonderful, I know. I just can't spell right now. (Having issues, but I already fixed them, so ignore me now.)
Weird: Hey, I read your story, guess it would have helped if I had reviewed it, huh? I like where you're going with it by the way. I'm early, you don't have to wait until December 13Th~ Have a good day now.
Japangirlcmw: Yo, my biggest fan. (That's so cute.) Anyways, yep, short, sweet, and to the point are my chapters. Even though I think this one is one of my longest ones or something. Took me forever to write, I swear. Later tator.
Ms. Prongs: I was beginning to wonder where you went. Put me on your favorite's list, it's much easier to find the story that way. I shall yell at JaimeyKay for you, next actually. Don't feel bad, I understand. I forget about some stories, have to think really hard on who the author was, find them, and then re-read it so I can figure out what the heck is going on again. It blows. Normally I write their names down on a piece of paper, so I can just FIND them. Harry torture is the only way to go. (Kidding) I'm gonna babble with you on the book 5 coming out. I absolutely am dying to read it. I can't wait. I wonder what it's gonna be about. Probably all of the ideas on this fanfic thinger combined. Only ten times better. Hope you were inspirationalized. Made up me own word. Ah and then you came back! He-He. Bloody Hell, I'm sorry. Now how much do you hate me for this chapter? Just so you didn't throw a hissy fit, I put this up. Well not the entire reason, but my faithful reviewers are always my inspiration. PACKERS? I hate football, no offense to you and your enjoyment of football, I just hate all physical activity. I flunked P.E. How sad am I? Later.
JaimeyKay: Sorry you can't review because your computer is poop! Just kidding, although you're probably agreeing with me as I type, or as you read this. Well, I'm going to yell at you now for Ms. Prongs. UPDATE YOUR FRIGGIN STORY! I agree with her, mind you, I mean really, what were you thinking? For all I know, you've updated, since I haven't checked yet, and you're like "Shadowarwen, shut the heck up." Anyways, at least you didn't have to wait until decemeber 13th to update. I can't spell DECEMBER. Anyways, I always get straight to the action, or to the extreme sadness in this chapter. Damn this is a long chapter. No studying going on here, but I will eventually, or fail, which sucks. I shall not fail! Okay, I'll shut up now. I emailed you by the way, since you emailed me since your computer is poop. Just so you know. Later tator too.