Chapter 13- Flight of Death
Author's Note: Thanks for my latest reviews. If you guys frequently read my story, please do give me some comments: just no flames please (constructive criticism is fine).
I noticed that there
might be confusion last chapter. I just want to clear something up:
Dumbledore is not dead. Next chapter he will be mentioned again
because he is obviously alive.
I hope you guys enjoy this one
"Hermione, hide!" Ron yelled as he began dueling Voldemort. "Find a way out!"
"There is no way out!" Voldemort said triumphantly and blasted Ron away with a spell.
"No!" Hermione screamed in terror as she saw Ron fly all the way to the wall and smacked onto it with a loud thud.
"There's no hope for you, mudblood!" Voldemort fired a spell at Hermione. She dodged it awkwardly and the spell blasted a hole in the wall. Hermione saw a chance to escape but he hesitated as she reminded herself of Ron's unconscious body somewhere.
"Reparo!" The crumbled pieces of the wall began to piece together and the wall returned to normal. "You're not going anywhere!" Voldemort said with a sinister smile.
"You won't win," said Hermione shakily. She knew that it was impossible to defeat the Dark Lord single-handedly. She looked around frantically for an escape route as she dodged the streams of green light that were pelting towards her. If only her witty mind would think of something right now.
"You can't run from death, silly girl. Bow down to it!" Voldemort fired another spell at Hermione. She reflected it with a rebounding charm. The spell bounced all over the room before Voldemort absorbed it with a bluish colored spell.
"Reducto!" Hermione fired the spell before Voldemort could recover. He was thrown back to the wall unconscious but alive. Hermione ran to the spot where Ron was lying and felt his pulse. "Stunned… Ennervate."
Ron jerked upright so fast that he fainted back down. Hermione smiled a bit and stifled a chuckle. She was so glad he was alive that she could have just stayed there for eternity feeling his warm blood run all over him. She caressed the black suit that her Ron was wearing. What could he have possibly been doing with this formal clothing? She felt a hard, plastic card on the side and read it: thirty pounds. It's new? When did he buy this? Ron stirred.
"Are you alright, Honey?" Hermione asked apprehensively.
"Yeah!" Ron said jerkily. "Yeah…" His eyes lit up with sudden thought. He meant to get up as he said, "We have to get away from here" but Hermione put her hand on his forehead.
"Lie down a bit. You
need to rest for a while."
"No," Ron shoved Hermione's
hand away, "we really have to go now. Where's Voldemort?"
"I… He's unconscious there somewhere," replied Hermione, looking around.
"Well…" Ron thought for a moment, " we should do something to him. Put a binding charm on him or something," He sat up, slowly this time. Then he picked himself up, dusted himself, and went around looking for Voldemort.
"I don't think…" Hermione started. She got up too.
"It's going to work." Ron said firmly without looking at Hermione. "Ah, here he is." He took out his wand and murmured something. A stream of yellow, stringy-looking light weaved out of his wand and began coiling around Voldemort's body. Ron smiled at Hermione with a satisfied look.
"I guess he was more unconscious that I thought," Hermione thought aloud.
"Let's go," said Ron calmly and took Hermione's hand.
"So what do we do with him?" Hermione was looking a little nervous. She wasn't too sure of what was going on.
"I guess we could make him a wall décor," suggested Ron with a sneer.
"Maybe it should be you who I should make into a wall décor!" It was Voldemort. He had recovered from Hermione's blast, and it looked like he had broken free of the binding charm. Ron and Hermione were filled with so much shock that they couldn't react. Both of them were blasted back and slammed into a wall. Hermione instinctively reached for her stomach, making sure the baby was safe. Her eyes lighted up with fear as she felt herself.
"Oh, I see," said Voldemort eyeing Hermione curiously. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't die after all. But you know," his voice was like a metal whip that lashed at Hermione, "there are plenty of ways to kill a man." He laughed. The whole room felt as if it was echoing an icy wind within it. He raised his wand. Then, he sent a shot of green light straight at Hermione.
Hermione felt a tear drop from her cheek as she felt a fusion of icy cold and searing flame course through her body. For sure she was dead. She took a final glance at Ron to her left side before she closed her eyes and accepted her death. She prayed that Voldemort wouldn't kill Ron too but it was just wishful thinking.
"Now, you will never bother me again," said a voice in the distance.
The light faded and everything went pitch black in a few seconds. This must be how it feels like to die, Hermione thought. She tried to look at herself but she couldn't see anything. Everything was so dark and empty. She felt depressed as she continued to stare at the void. Always she had thought that death was more than just this. She looked for the faintest sign of light but there was none. What a sad death, she thought. Maybe this was a death reserved for those whose bodies had been ripped apart by the Killing Curse. Forever, their souls would roam in an endless shadow. There was nothing to see.
She should've just summoned the God-Beast. Maybe then her death would have been better, and at least Voldemort would have been vanquished. But she chose the wrong choice; she chose the stupid choice. She was too emotional. She cursed herself a thousand times because of this mistake. She felt like floating away and damning herself forever in the void she was in.
Yet it wasn't so. She felt someone tap her shoulder, but she couldn't see the person or her shoulder. She felt the tap again; who could it be? Maybe there are other spirits floating around but couldn't see each other. She thought about the hundred, or even thousands, of people that fell victim to the Avada Kedavra Curse. It was quite possible.
"Hermione?" It was a distant but familiar voice.
"I'm here," answered Hermione. Yet she felt that the person couldn't hear her.
"Hermione, wake up!" The voice was closer and firmer. Was it possible that she was still alive? It couldn't have been. But just for the sake of it, she tried to raise her arm. She could feel it lifting up but she couldn't see it. Then, she felt it. Somebody had taken her hand and pulled her up.
"I'm alive?" Hermione asked herself bewildered. "I'm alive!" Her eyes opened. Above her, there was a face looming but it wasn't clear. She blinked twice and saw that it was Luna's face, and that she was sitting up. "Where's Ron?"
"He's there. He's still unconscious but he'll come 'round in no time," there was an obscure void-feeling lingering inside Hermione. She wondered if it was her, or Luna that was radiating the peculiar feeling.
"Lucky that Voldemort left us alone," mused Hermione uncertainly.
Luna was shaking her head, however. "No… not lucky." Luna paused for a breath of air, tenuously. "Did Voldemort do anything to you? You think?" Luna sounded apprehensive.
"Well, I thought that he cast a Killing Curse at me…" Hermione thought for a while but quickly shoved it away, "I guess not since I'm alive, right?"
It felt like a long amount of time that Hermione waited hopefully for an answer. For a second, she thought that all of this was just an illusion. She thought that these things were just beguiling her into thinking she was still alive.
"No," was the reply. Luna tried to hug Hermione but Hermione just sat up really fast and looked around.
"Where's Ron?" Hermione looked worried and her voice was high-pitched.
"He's over there." Ron was lying behind Hermione. His breathing was very shallow.
"My baby!" Hermione reached her hand down to her stomach and felt it. It was flat save the little bits of skin that were remnants of her swollen belly. "My baby!" Hermione gasped; comprehension was dawning upon her. "Where is she?" she looked at Luna expectantly as though she would see Luna carrying the baby in her arms. "Where is she, Luna?" She held out her shaking hands still expecting the baby to flop down on them. "Where is she?" Tears were streaking down her face in a sudden gush.
"I…" Luna looked away for a moment and then said, "I had to take her out. She was dead when we got to you."
"No!" Hermione
screamed. "No!"
Luna looked away. She couldn't bear to
stand what was happening. At the same time, Ron jolted upright and
zeroed in on Hermione's voice. He stood up quickly, still wearing
his tux, and hurried over to Hermione. He hugged her tightly in his
arms. "It's going to be alright," he whispered repeatedly. He
kissed her in her forehead, on her cheeks, on her lips, but nothing
helped. "Please stop crying. I'm here. I'm here."
"Ron!
The baby's gone!" Tears were flooding Hermione's face. Her
voice was croaky and inaudible.
"What?" Ron looked at Luna but the answers weren't there. Luna was still looking away. "What happened, honey?"
"She died! I couldn't save her! She died!"
Ron closed his eyes to mask his grief. They were so close to having a family. He felt anger rushing through his blood: whoever did this was going to pay! "Who did it?" Ron burst out in anger.
"Ron, don't," whispered Hermione softly.
"Don't do what?" Ron said indignantly.
"I know what you're thinking. But you can't possibly defeat him."
"Who? Who did this?"
"Voldemort," Luna said, finally finding the courage to speak.
"What?" Ron
exclaimed. He thrust his hand inside his pocket and pulled out his
wand. It was spewing out red sparks. He walked away from Hermione and
Luna filled with thoughts of revenge; Voldemort had done enough. He
deserves to die!
"Impedimenta!" Ron fell flat on the ground
face first. He spat a mouthful of dirt and grass, and stood up
looking bewildered. "Ron, no." Hermione had cast the spell to
stop him. She got up from her bed strenuously and massaged her back.
"You can't stop him Ron," Hermione looked around and shrugged.
"Look where we are. We're in the middle of a forest, in a
campfire," she pointed toward a crackling fire surrounded by dozens
of portable sleeping bags. "We, lost Ron… we lost," she looked
down feeling a pang in her heart, "I made us lose. I made the wrong
choice."
Ron looked around the darkened clearing. "You're right," he sighed. He made his way back to the little patch of grass that Hermione was in and hugged her. "But you're wrong too. You didn't make a mistake: you made the right choice when you decided not to do what you intended to do. I love you." He tried to kiss her but she turned away.
"But our baby. Ron, we were going to have a family." Hermione's eyes were filled with fresh tears. All shined like silver under the moonlight. She looked beautiful.
"She's in a better place. One way or another, I was going to end up losing either of you… I did not want to choose. But I guess… I guess fate chose for me."
"Why do you still
love me, Ron? I was the one who did all these stupid things. I was
the one who got our baby killed." Hermione shook her head in anger
before looking back at Ron. "I lied to you!"
"It's not
your fault. You found a way to save us all, and you hung on to it.
You felt what you were doing was right. You acted like a true
Gryffindor and Harry would be proud."
"I just feel horrible."
"It's alright. Please don't blame yourself. It was my fault, too. If I could just have protected you and…"
"Both of you guys just stop!" It was Cho. "If you dwell on your grief, we'll never get to move on." She placed each of her hands on their shoulders. "Voldemort's men attacked our underground tunnels; I don't know how they found out where it was. We had to leave: now we're here."
"Without the stones, we will never figure out how to beat Voldemort," Luna added with a sigh.
"Oh guys," said
Hermione feeling warm and fuzzy inside. She really did have true
friends. "You're right; we'll stop. We'll all go to sleep."
Then she added, "I'm sure we'll find a way. Every problem can
be solved."
"And I won't go out seeking revenge," pledged
Ron playfully.
They all slept. The night stars were all clearly shining in the cloudless sky. The moon, however, hid its shy face behind the only cloud above. Ron found it hard to go back to sleep since he had already rested a while ago. He turned to his right and saw that Hermione was awake as well.
"I love you," said Ron as he kissed Hermione in the cheek.
"I love you too," replied Hermione turning toward Ron. "I just wish we could use our love to make a spell that would defeat Voldemort… or something."
"Well, our love is strong. Man…" Ron scratched his head in dismay, "I wish I had paid more attention in our advanced magic classes."
Hermione smiled. "I'm
glad I still have you here with me."
"The baby's here too,"
spoke Ron softly, pointing up to the moon. "She's over there
hiding."
Hermione chuckled.
"Yeah. I'm sure she was a playful child."
"She was."
"I still feel sad."
"Well, tomorrow's
another day."
"Life goes so fast. We can never settle
down."
"That's why we love each other… and Hermione, stop
blaming yourself, ok? When this is all done I'm sure we'll find a
house on the hills somewhere and settle."
"I'll try."
"I
love you."
"I love you, Ronald."
"Go to sleep," Ron poked Hermione playfully. He ran his hand on her silky hair. He brushed the back of his hand against her smooth face. He was so glad to know that Hermione was still alive, although the cost of it was his own child.
Looking up at the moonlight, he muttered to himself, "Voldemort, if you think you can break us apart, you're wrong. I lover too much to just let you go like this. We will find a way to defeat you, and what you stand for."
"What honey?" Hermione had heard him talking. Perhaps he had thought too loud; his anger strong. Hermione touched his cheek with the hand bearing the ruby ring he had bought; it was glowing under the moonlight, beautiful as its bearer. "You need to sleep too, Ron."
"I know…" Ron kissed her once more on the cheek. "I will."
