The Riddle of Jim Lillian
Part Three: Hermione's Tale
Standard Disclaimer: 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.
WARNING: Major Character Deaths
Part Three Summary: Hermione tells her side of the final battle and how she lost the love of her life.
5th June, 1998, late afternoon
The silence in the room was almost deafening. Hermione stopped her tale when she had gotten to the part when she reached the top of the Astronomy Tower. That was several minutes ago. She sat in her chair, still and silent as a statue.
"What happened at the Astronomy Tower, Miss Granger?" Minister Bones prompted.
Hermione cast a quick, furtive glace at Mr. Weasley and then cast her eyes on the floor. After a moment she said slowly,
"I saw Draco Malfoy push Ron off the Tower," she said in an almost rehearsed tone.
"What?" McGonagall interrupted. "Draco Malfoy?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hermione nodded slowly while still looking at the floor. "After Ron… died, Draco disarmed me and threw my wand over the Tower's wall. He boasted that this was his first real mission for his 'Dark Lord.' The little braggart couldn't even say 'Voldemort.'
"His first real mission as a true Death Eater, no more snooping around in the shadows of the castle listening in on petty, trivial secrets. Voldemort, through Draco's father, ordered the little blighter to get Harry's wand and destroy it."
McGonagall looked like she was going to be sick.
"Then he bragged about killing Luna," Hermione continued.
"What?" McGonagall whimpered. Her heart sank as she realized that she had lost a fourth student.
"He said that she had stumbled on his plans somehow," Hermione said in monotone. "Malfoy said that he had used her to practice his Unforgivables. He made her write a letter under the Imperius Curse saying that she was leaving with the rest of the students. Then he killed her and dumped her body somewhere in the Forbidden Forest."
Hermione buried her face in her hands.
"She was a good girl… a good woman," Hermione said through her hands. "Nobody understood her, not really. Luna didn't deserve that…"
Hermione fell silent as she attempted to compose herself. With tears streaming down her face, McGonagall turned to Hagrid and said,
"Hagrid, if you would…?"
Hagrid nodded his head and went out of the office in order to begin the search for the dead girl's remains.
"We figured…" Hermione paused. "I figured that he must have somehow gotten into the Gryffindor common room to steal Harry's wand. And that he attacked Ginny and killed Neville while on his mission. Ron probably heard the commotion and saw Professor McGonagall leave the room with Ginny and Neville. Then Draco must have snuck out after she had left, and Ron followed the pillock."
"So Draco was the person who used the unknown curse on Harry's broom?" Minister Bones asked.
Hermione nodded.
"Just to get Harry away from his wand?"
"Yes, ma'am, Harry was protective of his wand." Hermione slipped back into her dead voice. "Actually, he was overly protective of it. He never let it out of his sight, and barely anyone was allowed to touch it. Except for myself, and once, he let Dumbledore handle it last year during the Halloween Ball."
"What happened next?" Bones asked.
Hermione remained silent, lost in her thoughts for a moment.
"He really trusted me you know. Not just with his wand," she said as a tear ran down her face. "He told me all of his secrets, how those bastard Dursleys had mistreated him while growing up, how the Sorting Hat had wanted him in Slytherin. I was the first person to whom he told the prophesy. We weren't even dating yet, still, he told me. He told me even before he told Ron. He told me everything -- he told me his fears and his wants. Everything except…"
She fell back into silence.
"Hermione, dear, would you like to take a break?" McGonagall asked.
"He then cast the Dark Mark," Hermione said.
"Excuse me?"
"Draco, he cast the Dark Mark," she repeated herself. "It was a signal to Voldemort that Harry's wand had been destroyed.
"We saw a number of Death Eaters enter the gates. And then we saw Voldemort enter; the school grounds actually shook as he crossed the wards. Draco, being the coward that he is, jumped on his broom and flew away. He said that he didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.
"Harry and I decided that we needed to get out of there. So we went back down the stairs and found Ginny."
"So Miss Weasley did not witness Malfoy's attack on her brother?" Madame Bones asked. After a brief moment, Hermione nodded. Arthur Weasley breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of there being one less horror that his baby girl had to live through.
"We took her to the nearest professor's office to use the fireplace," Hermione continued. "We opted to floo to the Ministry, but it didn't work. We tried a number of different destinations, hoping that it was just the Ministry that was shut off. We gave up after we had used half of the floo powder."
"Somehow, the Death Eaters had severed the floo network going in and out of Hogwarts," McGonagall explained. Hermione nodded and continued.
"The three of us decided to hide in the Room of Requirement. The unique magic of the room would keep us totally secure if we wished it. But as we were heading there, we heard the Death Eaters.
"They were calling to Harry to come out of hiding as if they were playing a game. Taunting him by saying 'come out, boy,' and 'we're going to have our way with your Mudblood girlfriend.'"
Hermione closed her eyes and drew a fortifying breath before proceeding.
"That's when Harry stopped and said that it was time." Her voice hitched in her throat. "That it was time that he had to face his destiny. He could feel it. I begged him to let me join him, be at his side. But he said that I needed to help Ginny and that he couldn't do it if he didn't know I was safe.
"That's when he told me…"
Hermione, again, froze. She silently stared through McGonagall.
"Told you what, dear?" McGonagall asked.
"That he… he loved me," Hermione said as tears cascaded down her face. "That was the one thing he never told me. I knew he did love me. I could see it every time he looked into my eyes, every time he would touch me. He was just afraid that if he told me, if he actually said the words out loud, that something terrible would happen to me. Just like his parents and Sirius, everyone he loved died. He was afraid that I would meet the same fate. It seemed that the 'Powers That Be' were actively trying to keep Harry from being happy.
"He kissed me and ran off down the hall. He left before I could tell him that I loved him…"
5th June, 1998 late morning:
"Oh, gods…" Ginny groaned with her not-quite healed tongue as she half-stumbled half-walked while leaning on Hermione for support. Harry had left them minutes ago, and Hermione began to strain under Ginny's weight. "What just happened? How could he have done that?"
"It's alright Ginny," Hermione said.
"How can it be alright?" the red-haired witch cried.
"It had to be done." Hermione pulled Ginny to the right and led her down another corridor. "And nobody will ever find out…"
"Why are we going through the basement?" Ginny asked.
"It's the best way if we want to avoid the Death Eaters altogether, if possible," Hermione explained. "Harry was able to draw off a group of them upstairs so that we could escape. I'm hoping that they are searching the upper floors first and have not made it down here to the basement yet. I don't want to risk running into any more of them without our wands."
Hermione turned another corner and ran headfirst into the black-clad figure of a Death Eater. Hermione gasped and looked past the white mask and into the small, watery eyes of Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew, the man who betrayed Harry and his parents to Voldemort, the man who was also essential in The Dark Lord's resurrection.
Instinctively Hermione's hand flew at his face. Her blow tore Wormtail's mask off, and Hermione swung with her other hand at his exposed face. Hermione's nails dug into the tender flesh on his cheek. Ginny, without Hermione's hands to support her, fell to the ground in a heap.
In a flash, Wormtail pulled up his wand and leveled it at Hermione's face. She froze in place, her fist hung in midair ready for another blow.
Pettigrew hissed as his free hand touched the deep scratch marks on his pasty face. Blood slowly seeped out of the wounds.
"Pick her up," Wormtail ordered Hermione as he gestured with a nod of his head toward Ginny. Hermione did not move; her hand was still ready to strike at the vile traitor. He shoved his wand into her face, and in his most menacing voice commanded her, "Do it, now!"
Hermione hesitantly bent over and helped Ginny to her feet. Hermione stood protectively in front of the younger witch.
"He'll be coming this way soon," Wormtail muttered as his hands shook slightly.
"Are you going to turn us over to your master now?" Hermione asked with a little quake of fear in her voice.
Wormtail ignored her and his beady eyes darted up and down the hallway.
"If you let Ginny go, I will willingly surrender myself to Voldemort," Hermione said with more confidence than she realized she had. Ginny began to protest, but Hermione hushed her with a motion of her hand. "I am Harry's girlfriend; I'll make an excellent prize for him."
"Be quiet, you foolish girl!" he hissed. Wormtail's eyes bulged as he spotted something further down the hall. "There it is!"
Wormtail ordered the two girls to move down the hall; he made them stop in front of a large tapestry depicting a bowl of fruit. A silver hand extended out of Wormtail's robe and tickled the pear. The pear shook as if it were giggling and then magically turned into a door. Wormtail flung the door open and the hall was filled with the shocked squeaks of the house-elves who worked in the school's kitchen.
"Get in there! Now!" Pettigrew commanded. "The Dark Lord will be here any second. MOVE!"
Hermione and Ginny stumbled into the kitchen, and Pettigrew stuck his head in after them.
"You lot;" he barked at the dozens of house-elves, "keep these two safe. Do not let anyone in or out until this is all over. Understand?"
The house-elves nodded in unison, and Wormtail slammed the door shut. Hermione stood dumbstruck in the middle of the kitchen holding Ginny up.
"What the hell was that?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I'm jiggered," Ginny replied with a swollen tongue.
The two girls stood in silence, contemplating what had just happened as dozens of elves began casting various locking spells on the door.
"Wormtail," a strange high-pitched voice filtered through the door, "what are you doing?"
"Master!" Wormtail's frightened voice answered. "I… I was looking for the Potter boy."
"Oh, Merlin, that's him H..Hi..Him," Ginny whispered fearfully into Hermione's ear. "That's Riddle"
Hermione found herself trembling at the realization of who was outside the door and what Wormtail's true intentions could be. Why did Pettigrew put the two witches in the kitchen? Was he helping them hide? Or were they to be a prize for his master? Hermione tried desperately to stop herself from shaking but to no avail.
"You are hiding something," Voldemort hissed.
"No, no master! I w-would never hide…"
"Legilimens!" Hermione froze as she heard Voldemort cast the spell used to extract memories and emotions from the target. Whatever reason Wormtail was protecting them would be moot. Voldemort would find them.
"Potter's mudblood bitch," Voldemort chuckled, "and the blood-traitor. Why, Wormtail, were you trying to redeem yourself?"
"M-m-master, please…" Wormtail pleaded, "Please, let them go…"
"Why would I do that?"
"Potter's wand is destroyed…he is powerless without it. You can banish him and the two girls somewhere…"
"Don't be a fool," Voldemort practically growled. "Those two whores thought they could stand up to me, try to stop me from learning the entire prophesy. They need to be 'taught' a lesson. And as for Potter… when he dies, I will become immortal. No one will be able to stop me."
Voldemort's high-pitched laughter pierced the kitchen.
"Please, master… no more blood," Wormtail begged. "I cannot have any more blood on my hands."
"I was going to wait until after I killed Potter and the old man to give you your just reward… but it seems that I must deal with you first.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Hermione heard Wormtail's body fall lifelessly to the floor as Voldemort cast the Killing Curse.
"Now to deal with the whores." Hermione clenched her fists in a vain attempt to stop them from quaking and screwed up her courage. She would not give Voldemort the satisfaction of watching her beg for mercy, for he knew nothing of mercy. He was a monster who had attempted to kill a baby 16 years earlier just because a prophesy was made. Mercy and compassion were alien concepts to him. She prepared herself for her first, and last, confrontation with The Dark Lord.
"Ah, if it isn't the The-Boy-Who-Lived," Voldemort mocked. "You have saved me the trouble of looking for you." Voldemort laughed. "Your luck has finally run out boy. It is time you paid for all the trouble you have caused."
Hermione tried to scream, to warn Harry, to tell him to run away, but found that she couldn't make the words come of her mouth due to the terror that ran through her body.
"Just to let you know, after I finish you, I will take out my frustration on your little whore. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Hermione expected to hear another body hit the floor but instead, she heard stone scraping against stone, and then an explosion rocked the kitchen.
"How did you do that?" Voldemort hissed in obvious pain. "You will pay for that, boy! AVADA KEDAVRA!"
An ear-shattering sound of metal twisting and crumpling echoed through the air.
"Let me go, fool!" Voldemort shouted. "Your blood-protection won't work anymo…"
Someone, either Harry or Voldemort, Hermione could not tell which, began to groan painfully. His groan slowly turned into a pitiful cry. The cry suddenly stopped and was replaced by the sound of another body slumping to the floor. Hermione held her breath in anticipation.
"Well, that was a bit anti-climatic," Harry's voice filtered through the door.
For a half second, Hermione's heart sung. For a half second, all of the pain that she and Harry had been through, all of the deaths, all the sacrifices were worth it. For a half second, Harry and Hermione had a future. For that half second, Hermione was the happiest she had ever been, that half second before Harry started screaming.
It was an ungodly scream, one that made the castle's foundations rattle. It knocked pots and pans off of their hooks in the kitchen. Windows were shattering throughout the school.
But Hermione noticed none of this. She could feel Harry and his pain. It was nothing she could have ever imagined; to her it felt as if his body was being torn apart. And she could feel his spirit calling out to her, begging her to help. Begging her to make the pain stop.
Hermione bolted to the door; she had to help him, to stop his pain. A dozen elves physically blocked her with their bodies. She pushed and kicked them out of her way. In that moment, Hermione didn't care about the tiny creatures or their welfare; all she cared about was Harry. She needed to get to Harry; he needed her. For every one elf that she removed, another two took his place. Within seconds a score of elves were dragging Hermione to a stop.
Then, it ended. The rattling ceased. The screaming stopped. Harry's spirit no longer called to her.
Hermione sat on the floor for what felt like days, with Ginny trying vainly to comfort her. Even with Ginny and house-elves surrounding her, Hermione never felt so alone.
A loud pounding brought Hermione's attention to the door. She heard two muffled voices calling for Ginny.
"Open the door," Hermione said in an empty hollow voice. "It is all over."
It was all over. No more Harry, no more love. No more hope, nothing left.
The elves canceled the locking spells, and the door flew open immediately. A number of fiery redheads rushed into the room including Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
"GINNY!" Mrs. Weasley's voice boomed. Her face was gaunt and pale; the only color came from her red eyes and tearstains.
"Mum… Mummy," Ginny sobbed as she reached for her mother. Mrs. Weasley scooped up her daughter as if she was a rag doll.
"Oh, my baby," Mrs. Weasley squalled.
"I'm sorry, Mummy, I'm so sorry," Ginny said thickly through her tears. "I didn't mean to…"
"Shh, it's okay, pumpkin," her father cooed as he gently stroked her hair.
Hermione felt two sets of hands come to rest on her shoulders. If she had cared to look up, she would have seen the twins, Fred and George, standing above her. But she did not care, not anymore.
"Let's get them to the Hospital Ward!" someone, possibly Bill, Hermione did not care enough to notice who, ordered. The twins pulled Hermione up, but her feet did not seem to want to work just then. Fred and George carried her out, following the rest of the Weasley clan.
The sickening smell of broiled meat filled the hallway. Pettigrew's body lay next to a blistered and smoldering body. A dozen witches and wizards stood around the second body with their wands pointing at it, as if it might jump up at any second.
"Mon Dieu!" Hermione heard Fleur Delacour whimper. Hermione looked up and followed the French girl's gaze and saw the giant, lumbering form of Hagrid walking towards them. He was carrying something small, something limp and lifeless.
Harry James Potter.
Hermione did not realize that she had started screaming. Nor did she see Remus Lupin walk out from behind Hagrid and pull her into a tight, comforting embrace. She did not see Ginny wrench herself away from her mother and father and limp over to join the embrace. She did not notice the remaining Weasley join either.
All she knew, all she realized was that Harry, her love and her life, was gone… forever.
5th June, 1998 late afternoon:
"And then I ended up here," Hermione finished. McGonagall and Bones brushed their tears away. Arthur Weasley had his face buried in his hands, his body rocking with sobs.
Remus walked from out of the shadows and stood next to Hermione.
"If we are finished here, I would like to take Hermione, and let her…" Remus sighed heavily, "I would like for Hermione to pay her respects and say goodbye."
Minister Bones mutely nodded.
Hermione could not recall Remus helping her up, walking through the long corridors or descending the stairs. But somehow she found herself in front of a body with a white sheet pulled up over its head.
"Hermione, I'm going to cast a privacy bubble around you and… Harry," Lupin said hesitantly. "If you need me I will be right outside."
"Thank you, Professor," she replied in her hollow voice.
With a bizarre sucking sound, an enormous black bubble appeared, surrounding Hermione and the bed on which the body lie.
She stood there for a long while, staring at the form under the sheet. Hermione slowly moved forward and folded the top of the sheet down, revealing Harry's ghost white face. She collapsed on top of the body.
"Harry, I love you," she sobbed onto his chest. "I love you so very much…" Hermione's fingers traced his cold features. "You never let me tell you that…"
The tips of her fingers ran over the familiar rough scar on his forehead.
"I had a dream the other night. We were a few years older, and we were walking in a park. We were each holding the hands of twins, a boy and a girl. They couldn't have been older then two or three. It seemed so real, I could even tell you what they smelled like and their names; the boy's was Sirius and the girl's was Aludra. That's a star in the same constellation as Sirius. In the dream, I was pregnant again, but I hadn't told you yet. I had wanted to surprise you.
"I wanted to give you what was taken away from you, what you always wanted, a family. I sorry that I can't do that for you…"
Hermione gazed at Harry's face, her eyes trailing up to his infamous scar. Her mind wondered back to when she first met Harry on the train; the first time she saw the scar in person. She thought it was cute the way it turned abruptly 90 degrees to the left side of his head.
Hermione's eyes narrowed as she notice that the scar turned right.
"What?" she mumbled. It was on the proper side of his head, but Harry's scar was reversed; it was a mirror image. Hermione stood up straight and chewed her lip as her mind raced through all possible explanations. She came up with only one. For some reason, Harry's body had been tampered with, and she needed to know why.
She slowly stepped back from the hospital bed as she withdrew her wand. She closed her eyes and focused her mind on the image of his scar. Hermione brought her wand down and pointed it directly at the body and said clearly,
"Finite Incantatem."
As the canceling spell was cast, her wand was stopped in mid-air as if an invisible hand had blocked it. Hermione's eyes grew wide in shock as a hand appeared magically hovering over Harry's face.
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Thanks to my betas sasqch and Penelope78