The Great Hall was filled with silence that night. The whispers had died down as the words of Dumbledore sunk in. He had always been the one to faith in good triumphing over evil, or at least that is what they had all presumed.
Later That NightA sliding sound would be heard as the stairway formed in Professor Dumbledore's office. Soon afterwards, non-other than Harry Potter materialized in the doorway, looking at the worn out headmaster.
"Did you really mean what you said out there, Headmaster?" He asked quietly, unmoving from the frame of the doorway.
Sighing, Albus shifted in his seat and looked at Harry over his glasses, "Yes Mr. Potter. I could lie to you, and tell you that what I said out there was not the truth, but we both no better. I have done enough lying and keeping things from you. I just feel that sometimes Harry, you feel that you are the only one who is fighting this war, the only one who feels loss, and the only one whose affected. I'm sorry, but your not."
The man in the chair would get up and walk up into what Harry presumed to be his quarters. He truly looked older than ever.
Turning quickly, Harry made his way back down the stairway and into the hallway, where Hermione and Ron were waiting for him. His face disguised what the Headmaster had told him, he did not want pity from his friends because they did not know what it was like to be like him.
Ron went to put and arm around Harry; they had been going together since 6th year though it was not talked about very much. Or at least not where people could hear it. Harry was in no way ashamed of being gay, but he just felt that it was between Ron and him, and well, maybe Hermione.
Shrugging the arm off of him, he stormed down the hallway leaving his friends behind to speculate what had happened. Hermione's hand went up and patted Ron on the back, after seeing what a rejected look he had upon his face. Gazing over at her, he just shook her head then took off after Harry, leaving her all alone. Or at least she thought that she was all alone, but unbeknownst to her, a pair of black eyes watched the scene very carefully.
Dejectedly, Hermione leaned against a nearby wall. It seemed that more and more lately they were abandoning her. But, she supposed, that is what growing up was all about. Leaving behind the dreams of what they once shared, and embracing the fact that her future had no certainty anymore.
The Next Night At DinnerTonight students sat nervously, not quite knowing what to expect, or who to expect it from. Albus sat at his place, eyeing both the students and staff for the least bit of odd behavior. All day he had wondered whether or not to end the spell, but had finally decided against it. Ugly things may be to come from it, but what needs to be said would be said.
Many eyes were drawn to the Gryffindor table, where they Golden Trio sat split apart. Harry had isolated himself from the others, and it seemed that there was almost a visible barrier separating them. Ron, however, had sat with Dean and Seamus to talk about quidditch, something Hermione of course had no interest in.
It would be duly noted that several students were missing from their seats from each tables. After what had happened the previous night, they thought detention with Filch was more agreeable than singing in the Great Hall.
Suddenly, as if possessed, Hermione stood swiping her glass to the side of the table. Of course, it had not hit anybody because no one had chosen to sit by her. All eyes fell upon the angry looking Gryffindor as she began to sing in a bitter, cold voice.
"When the warmth of the day becomes the night
Who could sleep beneath a strange moonlight?
No guiding star
So far from home
Walked the way o' promise to find but snow
Throughout, the voice of the winds brings nothing more
Than low echoes
So far from home
Even from a child
A wish is not enough
For me, for me the sky may fall
And even from a child
A dream is not enough
Could be, could be the sky may fall
Could be, could be the night ends all
No rains could weep as I have wept
To know a simple dream will not be kept
I am a child
So far from home
One by one the sky falls
I may not awaken"
Gasping as the song ended, she had never felt such raw emotion, not to say that it wasn't all true. It was, Hogwarts wasn't what she had been promised. No happy endings, no peace, and now no friends. Scared brown eyes looked around the hall filling with tears as she turned away to run towards the exit. But before she could get there, the smooth sound of a baritone washed over her, coming from the snarky professor at the staff table. She would recognize that voice anywhere.
"And in my twisted face
There's not the slightest trace
Of anything that even hints of kindness
And from my tortured shape
No comfort, no escape
I see, but deep within is utter blindness
Hopeless
As my dream dies
As the time flies
Love a lost illusion
Helpless
Unforgiven
Cold and driven
To this sad conclusion
No beauty could move me
No goodness improve me
No power on earth, if I can't love her
No passion could reach me
No lesson could teach me
How I could have loved her and make her love me too
If I can't love her, then who?
Long ago I should have seen
All the things I could have been
Careless and unthinking, I moved onward
No pain could be deeper
No life could be cheaper
No point anymore, if I can't love her
No spirit could win me
No hope left within me
Hope I could have loved her and that she'd set me free
But it's not to be
If I can't love her
Let the world be done with me."
He closed with a powerful note, black eyes locked onto those brown ones. Seeing them widened with shocked, he shook his head. His hands trembled as he moved down the aisle between the tables, grabbing her elbow, escorting her out of the Great Hall. The students and staff were left with nothing but a glimpse of black billowing capes, and a smirk that fell upon the face of the old Headmaster.