Chapter Twenty-Three
bA/N: Read the important note at the bottom of this chapter, please!/b
A/N: Hello! I would like to thank all of my reviewers. Almost 90 reviews! And as I write this, eating cold pizza, and living my poor excuse of a life, this news makes my pizza warmer! And I haven't had any people tell me they hate the whole darn story!
Oh, I forgot: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. So, in short, I don't own Harry Potter. But a girl can dream, can't she?
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Albus Dumbledore walked softly down to the dungeons. He knew Snape was down there, and hopefully he was alive. As the old man slowly made his decent into the depths of Hogwarts, he couldn't help but feel the shame of what had happened to a place he worked so hard for.
Walls were crumbled around him; classrooms were nothing but pieces of rock. Many students were about, frightened out pf their minds, some crying hysterically, others comforting, yet some students were still shocked. But the greatest was to be the potions classroom.
Broken bottles lay in crumbles over the mess, the former foundations feeling the effects of the spilt potions. In a corner, under one of the sturdy, heavy, wooden tables, regularly used in Potions class, lay a man. He let out a low moan of pain, as he clutched his side in pain. Bright red blood poured out of him, pooling on the dusty stone floor. Tears feel down his face, for the first time in almost twenty years, he was crying.
Albus walked over to the man, and kneeled down next to him, but upon seeing the hurt man's face, Albus gasped. Everyone had a time to die the old Professor knew that. We all must leave the Earth and continue on in the afterlife, but the man, lying in distress on the floor, surprised Albus. This man, who had spent countless years, skirting death, was now faced with it. The man let out his final breath. Severus Snape was finally dead.
*** Many weeks had past, and even though the castle had been magically repaired, the school still felt the pains of that night. And the pain was felt the most in a secluded corner of the Hospital wing.
Draco Malfoy had been in a coma for almost six weeks, and showed no signs of improvement. Hermione kept a constant stay at his bedside, never leaving. Ron would come, only for Hermione's sake, though. It really had killed him, loving someone who could never love him back. He could really relate to how Ginny felt when she "gave up" on Harry.
"Ron," Hermione said, looking up from Draco's crisp, clean bed sheets, "I know what you said that day, about always being there for the baby, and me, I was wondering if. You would like to be the baby's Godfather."
It took a few minutes for the whole thing to sink in, but once it dawned on Ron, he couldn't be happier. "You want me, stupid, unintelligent Ron, who bickers with you every minute of the day, to be the Godfather of you baby, not Harry, or Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, or anybody else, me?" He said in one breath, a look of shock covering his face. Hermione nodded, a smile on her face. "YES!" Ron screamed, hugging a three-month pregnant Hermione very tightly.
"Yes, I do." She whispered, tears falling down her face. Hermione let go of Ron, and sat down in her normal recliner that she had transfigured to the spot.
"Hermione? Why don't you go take a nap? You haven't left in ages. You have been here for almost six weeks straight. Go get some rest." Ron suggested, pulling on his friend's sleeve, making gestures suggesting that she should leave.
"Your right, Ron. I should go freshen up, shouldn't I?" She said, sounding like her normal perky self. "Could you stay here, and watch him for me? Let me know if he even lifts an eyebrow. I want to be here when he wakes up."
'If he ever wakes up.' Ron thought grimly, thinking about how heartbroken Hermione would be if Draco died. Hermione carefully stood up, off of the recliner, quickly transfiguring it back to the old, wooden chair it once had been, and slowly tumbled out of the room. Ron looked on at Malfoy's coma-ridden body, and felt a pang somewhere deep inside him. He could be there, lying on the bed, unaware that the one who he loved with all his heart, even suggesting that Malfoy had a heart, was keeping watch over him, for six straight weeks.
Ron looked down at that body, and started talking to it. He didn't know what came over him, because under normal circumstances, even if he were caught near Malfoy in the Hospital wing, he would have laughed his head off at Malfoy's pain. "Malfoy," he found himself saying, "Don't die. If Hermione hasn't told you, you have a kid. And she is not giving it up for the world. She needs you. Do you have any idea what she means to me? And she thinks the world of you, she really does. She has been here for the past six weeks, and she hasn't left, until now, when I told her to go, get some rest. She needs you to pull through. Your kid needs a father, not just a Godfather, who happened to be a damn good friend of its mum. It needs a father, and Hermione needs you, no matter how big a git I think you are. She needs you. Because I love her too, and it pains me to see the way she looks into your eyes, even if she can't see them, its just she really needs to bloody PULL THROUGH!" He said, getting angry. "SHE LOVES YOU, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO? GO INTO A COMA FOR SIX WEEKS? CAN'T YOU FEEL THAT IT IS KILLING HER TO BE HERE, WATCHING YOU, BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE YOU?" Ron screamed, standing up, arms flailing all over, as he spoke. "SHE BLOODY WELL LO."
Ron never got a chance to finish when suddenly,
"God Weasley, stop screaming at me." Ron screamed for joy as Hermione came running into the room, well as good as a three month pregnant lady could run, into Draco's corner of the room, hearing Ron scream, she knew one thing had happened. Draco had woken up.
***
Harry lay groggily on the warm carpet of the Gryffindor Common Room. Sunlight streamed into the room, making the gleaming gold's in the room sparkle. Ginny lay with her head on this stomach, trying to sleep, but failing miserably.
Ginny didn't talk much since Christmas, and Harry didn't blame her. He was like that when he had first lost Sirius. He spent cold nights alone, beating himself up over getting his Godfather killed, and he blamed himself for all the deaths in his life. But, Ginny, like he had, would stare off into space, oblivious to the world around her.
"Harry?" A small, but nearby voice said, bringing out of his mind. "Harry, do you think I am a murderer?"
"Harry pulled the person close to him, not wanting to let her go. "Ginny, no, Bellatrix is the murderer. Not you. She killed Sirius and loads of other people. She deserved what she got."
"They won't try me? For murder?" She asked, but was cut short by a joyous shriek. "What now?" Ginny asked, getting off of Harry. "Who is it this time?" As she said that, Ron came running into the common room, looking sullen, but as soon as he saw Harry and Ginny, the look disappeared form his face.
"You heard 'Mione, didn't you?" He asked sounding put down.
"Since when was it 'Mione' Ron?" Ginny asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"What? Oh, I don't know. Malfoy woke up, though." He said, plopping down in a chair. Ginny went, and sat across from him, on a couch.
"That's great news!" Ginny said, looking at her brother. Then it dawned on her. "You really like her, don't you?" She asked, as Harry sat down next to her, snaking his arm around her. Ron slowly nodded his head, face rivaling his hair.
"HA!" Harry screamed. "Gin, you owe me, what was it, oh ya, ten sickles."
"WHAT?" Ron screamed standing up. "YOU HAD A BET GOING ON ME?" He shouted, getting angry. Ginny couldn't help herself and started laughing.
"Yep." She said. "It started when Harry heard you muttering about Hermione in your sleep. Since then, the bets have gone up. I had it that you would tell Hermione before us, which you obviously didn't do. Malfoy got in the way, I presume." She said, rummaging around in her pockets for Harry's money.
"You let her do this?" Ron asked, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Do you have any idea how painful these last few weeks have been for me? I'm leaving. And Harry, don't even think about coming up to the dorms. I'm sealing the door." Ron rapidly ran to the seventh year dorms, threw out Dean, who had been writing to his mum screaming,
"You can write to you mum in the common room!" Then sealing the door with the most powerful sealing charm he knew. Sitting in the common room, people could hear books being thrown, chairs hitting walls and a very muffled "The bloody git just HAD to wake up didn't he? The bloody git! I'll blow him to smithereens when I get the chance. Even if I land in Azkaban!" Ron finished, laughing like a madman. By now most of the first and second years were frightened out of their minds, and taking shelter in the library, because they could hear Ron in their rooms, even the girls.
After quite some time, Ginny couldn't take Ron's ranting anymore. He had gone eerily silent for about ten minutes, but those who still dared to stay in the common room knew it was only a short time until something exploded. Soon enough, the sound of shattering glass echoed down the stairs going to the boy's rooms, when a sound like someone jumping out of a window followed.
"Harry!" Ginny gasped. "He's finally done it!" She started crying, as Dean ran over to the window to see if Ron really had jumped.
"Look!" Dean said, motioning for Ginny to come over to the window. "He hasn't jumped. He flew out the window!" Ginny ran over to the window, and looked out of it. Sure enough, a red- haired figure was flying to the Quidditch Pitch, at top speed.
"Let him go." Harry said. "Flying will calm him. He'll come to his senses." Ha said, stopping Ginny from getting her own broom to follow him. "Ron will be fine. Flying calms you down." Ginny let Ron go, but still watched her brother gracefully swerve, dive, and accelerate at varying speed, letting himself fly free in the air. "Come in Gin, lets go sit. You look tired." Ginny nodded and let Harry led her over to a couch near the fire. Seeing that they needed to be left alone, people got up, and left giving excuses like they were tired, or needed to go to the library and asking their friends to go with them. Shortly, Harry and Ginny were the only two people in the Common Room, snuggled up together, Harry holding Ginny close, stroking her hair.
"She is gone Gin, she will never bother us again." Harry said, guessing about what she was thinking.
"I know, I'm not thinking about her." Ginny responded, resting her head on Harry's chest, breathing deeply.
"What then?" Harry inquired.
"The Chamber." Harry grew silent. The chamber was coming back to him now, of late. He kept on seeing Ginny's limp form, the pale complexion that she had, and the coldness that seemed to crawl on her. He remembered Tom Riddle, laughing, as the Basilisk tried to kill him, Tom's blurry edges, showing that Ginny wasn't completely wasted.
"I have been thinking about that too." Harry said, lightly kissing her forehead. "Don't let it get to you. That was the past this is now. Don't let it get to you."
"I tried not to, but then I remembered how it seemed that Tom was the only one who understood me, he knew what I was thinking. And now, knowing that I almost bright him back."
"Gin, listen to me." Harry said, placing a hand on her chin to make her look at him. "That is the past. Don't dwell on it. I am the one who brought him back. Its my blood that ran threw his veins. I don't care if I almost died down there. It was for you. And that is all that matters. That you are still here."
"But I was stupid enough to." Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He silenced her with a kiss.
"Don't blame yourself. We have all done stupid things."
"Not ones that resulted in almost ten people losing their." Once more, his mouth was on hers, exploring every crack and opportunity in her mouth. Her tongue replying his, both lost in each other. Harry groaned, asking for more, and Ginny happily gave him more. It went on like that for hours, it seemed, until both needed air, and Ginny needed to fix her clothes. Some seemed to have found ways to undo themselves, and she desperately needed to fix that.
"Harry," She murmured, "We can't go too far tonight. Ron will be in soon." Harry nodded a reply, gasping for breath himself. Ginny was amazing, and that just proved it.
"Your right. Good night Gin." He said, as she walked gracefully up the stairs to her dorm to at least attempt to sleep.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, I would like to thank all my reviewers. Thank you to all who have read this story since it was started way back in August; you guys mean so much to me. The next chapter will be the last chapter, and I will thank all of you people then, because the list is long, and I just want to get this up. It will be a while until my next post; I can't control what my parents ground me for, contrary to popular belief. So, please review, I only need ten or so until I reach the 100 mark!
bA/N: Hi, this is lady Jade Green, a very good friend of the Red Haired One. She asked me to repost this chapter with an extra author's note. She will not be able to post anything for about a month, unless I get it and post for her. She would appreciate any reviews you could give her, though! Have a great week, and sorry for the inconvinience!
~Lady Jade Green/b
bA/N: Read the important note at the bottom of this chapter, please!/b
A/N: Hello! I would like to thank all of my reviewers. Almost 90 reviews! And as I write this, eating cold pizza, and living my poor excuse of a life, this news makes my pizza warmer! And I haven't had any people tell me they hate the whole darn story!
Oh, I forgot: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. So, in short, I don't own Harry Potter. But a girl can dream, can't she?
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Albus Dumbledore walked softly down to the dungeons. He knew Snape was down there, and hopefully he was alive. As the old man slowly made his decent into the depths of Hogwarts, he couldn't help but feel the shame of what had happened to a place he worked so hard for.
Walls were crumbled around him; classrooms were nothing but pieces of rock. Many students were about, frightened out pf their minds, some crying hysterically, others comforting, yet some students were still shocked. But the greatest was to be the potions classroom.
Broken bottles lay in crumbles over the mess, the former foundations feeling the effects of the spilt potions. In a corner, under one of the sturdy, heavy, wooden tables, regularly used in Potions class, lay a man. He let out a low moan of pain, as he clutched his side in pain. Bright red blood poured out of him, pooling on the dusty stone floor. Tears feel down his face, for the first time in almost twenty years, he was crying.
Albus walked over to the man, and kneeled down next to him, but upon seeing the hurt man's face, Albus gasped. Everyone had a time to die the old Professor knew that. We all must leave the Earth and continue on in the afterlife, but the man, lying in distress on the floor, surprised Albus. This man, who had spent countless years, skirting death, was now faced with it. The man let out his final breath. Severus Snape was finally dead.
*** Many weeks had past, and even though the castle had been magically repaired, the school still felt the pains of that night. And the pain was felt the most in a secluded corner of the Hospital wing.
Draco Malfoy had been in a coma for almost six weeks, and showed no signs of improvement. Hermione kept a constant stay at his bedside, never leaving. Ron would come, only for Hermione's sake, though. It really had killed him, loving someone who could never love him back. He could really relate to how Ginny felt when she "gave up" on Harry.
"Ron," Hermione said, looking up from Draco's crisp, clean bed sheets, "I know what you said that day, about always being there for the baby, and me, I was wondering if. You would like to be the baby's Godfather."
It took a few minutes for the whole thing to sink in, but once it dawned on Ron, he couldn't be happier. "You want me, stupid, unintelligent Ron, who bickers with you every minute of the day, to be the Godfather of you baby, not Harry, or Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, or anybody else, me?" He said in one breath, a look of shock covering his face. Hermione nodded, a smile on her face. "YES!" Ron screamed, hugging a three-month pregnant Hermione very tightly.
"Yes, I do." She whispered, tears falling down her face. Hermione let go of Ron, and sat down in her normal recliner that she had transfigured to the spot.
"Hermione? Why don't you go take a nap? You haven't left in ages. You have been here for almost six weeks straight. Go get some rest." Ron suggested, pulling on his friend's sleeve, making gestures suggesting that she should leave.
"Your right, Ron. I should go freshen up, shouldn't I?" She said, sounding like her normal perky self. "Could you stay here, and watch him for me? Let me know if he even lifts an eyebrow. I want to be here when he wakes up."
'If he ever wakes up.' Ron thought grimly, thinking about how heartbroken Hermione would be if Draco died. Hermione carefully stood up, off of the recliner, quickly transfiguring it back to the old, wooden chair it once had been, and slowly tumbled out of the room. Ron looked on at Malfoy's coma-ridden body, and felt a pang somewhere deep inside him. He could be there, lying on the bed, unaware that the one who he loved with all his heart, even suggesting that Malfoy had a heart, was keeping watch over him, for six straight weeks.
Ron looked down at that body, and started talking to it. He didn't know what came over him, because under normal circumstances, even if he were caught near Malfoy in the Hospital wing, he would have laughed his head off at Malfoy's pain. "Malfoy," he found himself saying, "Don't die. If Hermione hasn't told you, you have a kid. And she is not giving it up for the world. She needs you. Do you have any idea what she means to me? And she thinks the world of you, she really does. She has been here for the past six weeks, and she hasn't left, until now, when I told her to go, get some rest. She needs you to pull through. Your kid needs a father, not just a Godfather, who happened to be a damn good friend of its mum. It needs a father, and Hermione needs you, no matter how big a git I think you are. She needs you. Because I love her too, and it pains me to see the way she looks into your eyes, even if she can't see them, its just she really needs to bloody PULL THROUGH!" He said, getting angry. "SHE LOVES YOU, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO? GO INTO A COMA FOR SIX WEEKS? CAN'T YOU FEEL THAT IT IS KILLING HER TO BE HERE, WATCHING YOU, BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE YOU?" Ron screamed, standing up, arms flailing all over, as he spoke. "SHE BLOODY WELL LO."
Ron never got a chance to finish when suddenly,
"God Weasley, stop screaming at me." Ron screamed for joy as Hermione came running into the room, well as good as a three month pregnant lady could run, into Draco's corner of the room, hearing Ron scream, she knew one thing had happened. Draco had woken up.
***
Harry lay groggily on the warm carpet of the Gryffindor Common Room. Sunlight streamed into the room, making the gleaming gold's in the room sparkle. Ginny lay with her head on this stomach, trying to sleep, but failing miserably.
Ginny didn't talk much since Christmas, and Harry didn't blame her. He was like that when he had first lost Sirius. He spent cold nights alone, beating himself up over getting his Godfather killed, and he blamed himself for all the deaths in his life. But, Ginny, like he had, would stare off into space, oblivious to the world around her.
"Harry?" A small, but nearby voice said, bringing out of his mind. "Harry, do you think I am a murderer?"
"Harry pulled the person close to him, not wanting to let her go. "Ginny, no, Bellatrix is the murderer. Not you. She killed Sirius and loads of other people. She deserved what she got."
"They won't try me? For murder?" She asked, but was cut short by a joyous shriek. "What now?" Ginny asked, getting off of Harry. "Who is it this time?" As she said that, Ron came running into the common room, looking sullen, but as soon as he saw Harry and Ginny, the look disappeared form his face.
"You heard 'Mione, didn't you?" He asked sounding put down.
"Since when was it 'Mione' Ron?" Ginny asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"What? Oh, I don't know. Malfoy woke up, though." He said, plopping down in a chair. Ginny went, and sat across from him, on a couch.
"That's great news!" Ginny said, looking at her brother. Then it dawned on her. "You really like her, don't you?" She asked, as Harry sat down next to her, snaking his arm around her. Ron slowly nodded his head, face rivaling his hair.
"HA!" Harry screamed. "Gin, you owe me, what was it, oh ya, ten sickles."
"WHAT?" Ron screamed standing up. "YOU HAD A BET GOING ON ME?" He shouted, getting angry. Ginny couldn't help herself and started laughing.
"Yep." She said. "It started when Harry heard you muttering about Hermione in your sleep. Since then, the bets have gone up. I had it that you would tell Hermione before us, which you obviously didn't do. Malfoy got in the way, I presume." She said, rummaging around in her pockets for Harry's money.
"You let her do this?" Ron asked, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Do you have any idea how painful these last few weeks have been for me? I'm leaving. And Harry, don't even think about coming up to the dorms. I'm sealing the door." Ron rapidly ran to the seventh year dorms, threw out Dean, who had been writing to his mum screaming,
"You can write to you mum in the common room!" Then sealing the door with the most powerful sealing charm he knew. Sitting in the common room, people could hear books being thrown, chairs hitting walls and a very muffled "The bloody git just HAD to wake up didn't he? The bloody git! I'll blow him to smithereens when I get the chance. Even if I land in Azkaban!" Ron finished, laughing like a madman. By now most of the first and second years were frightened out of their minds, and taking shelter in the library, because they could hear Ron in their rooms, even the girls.
After quite some time, Ginny couldn't take Ron's ranting anymore. He had gone eerily silent for about ten minutes, but those who still dared to stay in the common room knew it was only a short time until something exploded. Soon enough, the sound of shattering glass echoed down the stairs going to the boy's rooms, when a sound like someone jumping out of a window followed.
"Harry!" Ginny gasped. "He's finally done it!" She started crying, as Dean ran over to the window to see if Ron really had jumped.
"Look!" Dean said, motioning for Ginny to come over to the window. "He hasn't jumped. He flew out the window!" Ginny ran over to the window, and looked out of it. Sure enough, a red- haired figure was flying to the Quidditch Pitch, at top speed.
"Let him go." Harry said. "Flying will calm him. He'll come to his senses." Ha said, stopping Ginny from getting her own broom to follow him. "Ron will be fine. Flying calms you down." Ginny let Ron go, but still watched her brother gracefully swerve, dive, and accelerate at varying speed, letting himself fly free in the air. "Come in Gin, lets go sit. You look tired." Ginny nodded and let Harry led her over to a couch near the fire. Seeing that they needed to be left alone, people got up, and left giving excuses like they were tired, or needed to go to the library and asking their friends to go with them. Shortly, Harry and Ginny were the only two people in the Common Room, snuggled up together, Harry holding Ginny close, stroking her hair.
"She is gone Gin, she will never bother us again." Harry said, guessing about what she was thinking.
"I know, I'm not thinking about her." Ginny responded, resting her head on Harry's chest, breathing deeply.
"What then?" Harry inquired.
"The Chamber." Harry grew silent. The chamber was coming back to him now, of late. He kept on seeing Ginny's limp form, the pale complexion that she had, and the coldness that seemed to crawl on her. He remembered Tom Riddle, laughing, as the Basilisk tried to kill him, Tom's blurry edges, showing that Ginny wasn't completely wasted.
"I have been thinking about that too." Harry said, lightly kissing her forehead. "Don't let it get to you. That was the past this is now. Don't let it get to you."
"I tried not to, but then I remembered how it seemed that Tom was the only one who understood me, he knew what I was thinking. And now, knowing that I almost bright him back."
"Gin, listen to me." Harry said, placing a hand on her chin to make her look at him. "That is the past. Don't dwell on it. I am the one who brought him back. Its my blood that ran threw his veins. I don't care if I almost died down there. It was for you. And that is all that matters. That you are still here."
"But I was stupid enough to." Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He silenced her with a kiss.
"Don't blame yourself. We have all done stupid things."
"Not ones that resulted in almost ten people losing their." Once more, his mouth was on hers, exploring every crack and opportunity in her mouth. Her tongue replying his, both lost in each other. Harry groaned, asking for more, and Ginny happily gave him more. It went on like that for hours, it seemed, until both needed air, and Ginny needed to fix her clothes. Some seemed to have found ways to undo themselves, and she desperately needed to fix that.
"Harry," She murmured, "We can't go too far tonight. Ron will be in soon." Harry nodded a reply, gasping for breath himself. Ginny was amazing, and that just proved it.
"Your right. Good night Gin." He said, as she walked gracefully up the stairs to her dorm to at least attempt to sleep.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, I would like to thank all my reviewers. Thank you to all who have read this story since it was started way back in August; you guys mean so much to me. The next chapter will be the last chapter, and I will thank all of you people then, because the list is long, and I just want to get this up. It will be a while until my next post; I can't control what my parents ground me for, contrary to popular belief. So, please review, I only need ten or so until I reach the 100 mark!
bA/N: Hi, this is lady Jade Green, a very good friend of the Red Haired One. She asked me to repost this chapter with an extra author's note. She will not be able to post anything for about a month, unless I get it and post for her. She would appreciate any reviews you could give her, though! Have a great week, and sorry for the inconvinience!
~Lady Jade Green/b
