Shattered Glass
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to update! I'm going through a major dry spell that's lasted all summer and has extended into the new school year. Hopefully it's done by the time I'm back into English class! I hope you enjoy it, and if you notice any horribly misspelled words, or nasty grammatical errors, let me know! Anything that you recognize is Ms. Rowling's. Jeshickah and Fala are names I got from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' book "Midnight Predator". Again, enjoy!
t14m
The Mirror of Erised
Harry Potter found himself standing in front of the Mirror of Erised. In his first year of Hogwarts, Harry saw his parents looking back at him. Now, in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, he saw himself free. His arm no longer had the black Dark Mark burned into it, his forehead no longer bore his trademark lightning bolt scar. All he wanted was for it to end. Harry nodded knowingly. This was the verification he needed. He turned and left the room without a backward glance. Harry Potter shut the door with a defining click that marked the beginning of the end.
Hermione Granger stood still in front of the Mirror. Her reflection showed her standing with Draco, holding an infant in her arms, Draco's arm around her waist. She felt warm, safe, standing in front of the Mirror, even though she knew that her dreams would never come to be. Not with Draco the way he was, not with her impending death, not with her planned marriage if her death did not come. She had been thinking a lot about Death lately. She wondered if she would come back as a ghost, or as a spirit. She wondered if ghosts were able to touch material things. Maybe only poltergeists could do that. She was about to find out. Hermione hugged herself from the biting cold and turned stiffly, leaving the door slightly open, to whatever may come.
Ronald Weasley hated Harry. Saint Potter. He hated him, he really did. But, since he needed Harry, he couldn't speak out. He instead took his anger and frustration out on himself. The cuts and scars down his arms held stories of their own. When Harry made him mad, he cut. Even when Harry didn't bother him, he would think of times when he had, and he would cut. It was an addiction. The same way others drink or do drugs, Ron cut. His mother noticed, but he told her that he had gotten in the way of one of Fred and George's experiments. After some mild prodding with her wand, she would send him on the way with a call after him to be careful. Now in the mirror, he saw himself standing with Draco and Hermione. No Harry. Ron cracked his knuckles maliciously and slammed the door on the room. He was going to get Harry.
Draco Malfoy. He was to be the fifth and final person to encounter the Mirror of Erised ever. He saw himself with Hermione. But this Hermione was different. She was happy. Not like the Hermione he knew now. Hermione was always sullen and withdrawn, preferring to keep her emotions under check instead of telling everyone about them. When she was upset, she would put on some Muggle music and read a book, write poetry or stories, and sometimes just sit and think. She rarely showed her poetry to anyone. Except Draco. She had written him a poem, just after they all received the Mark. He took it everywhere with him. He pulled it from his pocket and read it, reminding himself that he had to live, to get back to her. He unfolded the poem and read:
Roses on Cold Nights
Where have you gone?
I remember the cold nights
We spent together,
Under the stars.
When you wrapped your arms
Around me, I felt safe.
Secure. Like nothing could ever be wrong.
Where have you gone?
Each time you gave me a
Rose, I want you to know that I was yours.
I still am.
Then you went away from me.
Where have you gone?
I sold my soul to be with you again.
Now we are both
Together, yet so far
Apart.
Where have you gone?
They're taking me away
Where am I going?
Will you be there?
The darkness is overpowering.
I'm dying.
Where are you?
Where have you gone?
Before I die, Draco,
I want to say…
I love you.
Where have you gone?
With a sharp shock; and a jolt back to reality, Draco sensed that Hermione needed him. He rubbed his left forearm, put the parchment back into his pocket, and headed in the direction he knew she had gone, thus sealing the fate of the Four.
Walking briskly through the corridors, Severus Snape found himself mentally preparing himself for what was to come. Turning the corner, he found himself facing the Mirror of Erised. His reflection was standing behind a woman, his hand on her shoulder, and a small girl standing with her arms around his legs. Severus stepped back, shocked. It reflected a time far back in his past. Before his life at Hogwarts, before he was the man everyone feared. Before the fall of Voldemort. He had a family then. He had a wife, Jeshickah, and a little girl, Fala. Before Voldemort fell, Severus was a full-fledged Death Eater. When his daughter was born, Severus began to doubt Voldemort's ways. He left Voldemort and joined ranks with Dumbledore, in the crusade against his former lifestyle. Voldemort learned of this, and swore revenge on Severus. He chose Jeshickah and Fala, knowing that they were the two people Severus loved most. Severus got a distress call from Jeshickah one day and rushed home. He was too late. That moment, as soon as he walked into his home, was the moment his heart turned to an icy brick. Voldemort had gotten his revenge. He had destroyed the lives Severus cared most about. Snape became the man everyone feared, throwing himself into his work. Back in Hogwarts, a solitary tear slid down Severus's cheek. He wiped it away quickly and strode off, furious with himself for getting caught up in the past. But he couldn't help but glance back over his shoulder to take a final look at the life he had lost. Fala waved, and Jeshickah smiled sadly. He whispered "I'll be seeing you soon. We can be a family again," and bravely swept away to his death, shutting the door silently, never forgetting the reward for his sacrifice.
Upon Draco's arrival, Voldemort turned in his seat to face the four people lined up silently behind him. This was the night; he explained to them, that they would fulfill their destiny. He explained their battle plans and how they were to make the journey to the field. When they got there, Harry and Ron were to go one direction, and Draco and Hermione the other. When the time came, Ron and Hermione would meet and find Dumbledore, luring him to the planned spot under the pretence that Harry was in danger and in the possession of Voldemort. A double-bluff, so to speak.
Severus Snape stood outside the partially closed door of the meeting room. The last person to enter the room had forgotten to close it. They would pay for that later. He had heard every word that Voldemort had spoken. He knew where to meet, when to meet them… It was time for him to take the life that had destroyed so many others.