Disclaimer: I own no rights;
Thanks for the reviews guys :) since i got a few i figure i will add another chapter..oh and thanks for the "hug" maryjayne..haha. yes, Lupin is dead, didn't make it so clear i guess. Sorry :(
The Black Forest:
Harry dropped to the ground breathlessly.
"We got to keep going" Neville urged.
He was hurt, but most of all he felt weak.
"Get up Potter!" Tonks pulled him to his feet. "It's just a bit further"
Harry closed his eyes and kept moving. Neville and Tonks carried most of his weight as leaned his arms over their shoulders.
"How the mighty have fallen" one of the two wizards that apparated in front of them smiled. "You look pathetic Potter"
"Shut up Ricos" Tonks hissed at the man who had been one of Harry's guards. "Did everyone make it?"
"Yeah, we set up a fake trail" the one other one spoke, Colin Creevey stared at Harry. "He's hurt"
"I know, but we have to keep going" Tonks started to walk again.
"It should be safe for us to use magic here" Colin reached forward. "I can try to…"
"It is still not safe, Creevey. They can trace us, it could make it easy for them to find us. They have us under watch. We have to get somewhere safe before we…"
"Why are you guys wasting your time?" Harry groaned looking up. "All of you know what has to be done"
There was silence.
"I can't do this" Neville was shivering. "I can't"
"Neville, you have to" Harry looked over at the lanky wizard who was staring at him. Neville hadn't looked this scared in a long time…not since he had been captured after Luna's death. He hadn't thought it was possible to feel anything again- but here it was…something that was horrible enough to bring fear in him again.
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked. "Get him here"
Malfoy Manor:
Hermione looked at the dress before her. She smiled. It was really quite pretty. Without a thought she reached for the glass of firewhiskey and took another drink. Voldemort himself was going to bind her to Draco Malfoy today.
'I could just choose death' she thought to herself. 'I could chose to die'
Her hands caressed the soft fabric of the robe. It was smooth and cool to her touch. She knew she could not abandon her friends.
'Harry can't die' she thought. 'Therefore I can't die'
Ron would never forgive her. She closed her eyes and felt the tears again. It was something she hadn't been able to even think about. With all the hell around her she hadn't really sobbed for what she had lost- her love. Never, never would she have guessed herself capable of doing what she had done. She loved Ron, she truly loved Ron but there had been something, something there that had pulled her to Harry. Harry needed her in a way Ron didn't
Hermione took another drink. Ron adores me. Harry needs me. Ron wants me. Harry desires me. Ron touches me. Harry caresses me. Ron is rough and raw and real. Harry is gentle and worships and is ethereal. How could she have hurt him? How could she have hurt Ron? The hatred that he felt for her now, the betrayal inside- it made breathing unbearable. It made her panic with the desire to take it all back.
She was going to sell her soul to Malfoy- she had done that for Ron. This was her bargain, the devil would have her but it was her punishment, her penance for what she had done.
'I wish you could hear me' she thought. "I'm so sorry Ron"
With that she took another drink and let the house elf help her to her ceremonial dress. It was jade green- Malfoy was so tacky- with matching emerald hair clips.
"Granger, are you ready?" Malfoy came in.
She turned to him, her hair pinned up, a few curls falling around on her shoulders. The dress, oriental style, fit tightly against her body. The emeralds in her hair sparkled, her eyes however were dark. He was quiet when she turned to him- he was staring silently, the door still open behind him.
"Ahm…" he quickly closed the door when she looked away, reaching for her bottle of firewhiskey. "Those…. You look…" he approached her.
His black dress robes had a jade green shirt and bowtie.
"The dress fits you well" he finished.
"Sod off, don't try to give me a compliment" she sneered
"Your eyes look red, you shouldn't look like you've been crying. I'm sure there's spell for that" he ignored her fould mood.
"Go to hell, Malfoy, I don't care what I look like"
"Alright, Granger put the firewhiskey down" he sighed taking it.
"Only way I'm going to be able to go through with it" she hissed with a smile.
"You're gonna calm down and do what you have to do"
"Right, cause this is the world you and your friends have created" she continued. "Is this the world you wanted?"
"What bloody difference does it make?" he asked.
She gave him a dirty look. "If you don't think it makes a difference then why did you have to destroy my world?"
"Don't be so bloody self centered…this isn't your world"
"No! but it was my life! It was my world!" she shouted approaching him. "And I'm going to bind myself to you tonight…to you, of all wizards. You come in here looking handsome and every inch the arrogant slytherin you are, but in reality you are just a killer, like any madman out there- you elegant robes can't hide what you are"
"You are alive because of me" he told her.
"You don't get to say you saved my life because you didn't kill me. You didn't save me, you kept me"
"If anyone finds out that I am keeping you like this we will both be dead. I know how happy it would make you to kill me but I have some news about the world around us…this world would be a lot worse for those muggles if I wasn't around. I don't want the world exterminated" he told her.
"You can't be a king if you have no subjects" she smiled.
"Exactly, so sober up" he gripped her arms and shook her. "Sober up, mudblood because there can't be any mistakes on your part. I can make your life easier or I can make it infinitely harder".
As if every single memory had hit her at once, Hermione's bravado faded away.
"I can't" she quipped.
Malfoy let her go, looking down at her condescendingly as she broke down.
"I can't Malfoy" she dropped on her knees. "I can't even breathe anymore"
The Black Forest:
"What happened to him?" Ron asked looking down at the young man on the ground. Harry was sitting on the floor, his back leaning on a tree, his head slumped forward.
"Lupin" Neville told him without looking at Ron. He kept his eyes cast low and refused to acknowledge anyone present.
Ron nodded, his eyes still on Harry. There was silence for a while.
"Ron, you don't have to do it. He wanted us to call for you" Tonks told him gently as Creevey stood there frozen still staring at Harry.
"We can't do this" he spoke up. "We can't, this is Harry Potter" he felt the tears burn in his eyes. "We can heal him and he will go on and he will finally…"
"Shove it, mate. I did my part on the specific promise that Potter was going to die" the Azkaban guard who had helped release Harry argued.
"We can't give up like this!" Creevey cried. "We can still fight! We have him back, we can…"
"Shut up, Creevey" Ron snapped and turned back to Harry.
"Promise me you will go after Malfoy" Harry managed through his labored breathing. "Promise me you will bring him down"
"I will promise you nothing" Ron spat through grit teeth.
Harry opened his eyes and looked at his friend for the first time since his apparition in to the forest.
The others looked at each other confused.
"Give us some time" Ron ordered without looking at the others.
"We don't have much time" Tonks told him gently.
"It won't take much time" Ron replied.
The others slowly made their way from the pair.
"I'm sorry, Ron" Harry looked down. It wasn't shame or defeat or even sadness, his voice was full of acceptance- he had done wrong and knew the right thing was to apologize but he also knew how worthless apologizing was.
"Why? Cause you didn't get me killed in battle?" Ron asked. "Cause you failed all of us! Or because you shagged my fiancée on the day I proposed to her!"
"I guess all" Harry shrugged.
"You gues…" Ron nodded smiling, finding Harry's lack of emotion insulting. "You are a failure, Potter. The boy who lived to fuck us all, that's all you were. You led us astray, you failed"
"And what would have happened without me?" he asked. "You think I chose to be what I am? I didn't ask for this bloody scar in my head"
"boohoo, the unwilling savior"
"What would you have done without me Ronald!" Harry growled. "You don't have a single organized thought in your head. What would the Order have done without me! If I hadn't been born all those old bastards would have died right after Voldemort finished killing my parents. Maybe he would have gotten yours too" Harry smiled. "And then Merlin bless us, you would be dead too"
Ron rushed forward and began to pummel Harry.
"You took everything I had!" Ron shouted. "I trusted you!"
"She wanted me!" Harry fought back with new found strength. He landed a few punches on Ron's face. It didn't last long, Ron managed to subdue Harry and stood up kicking him once in the stomach. Harry doubled over in pain.
"You took her, you seduced her, you knew she was mine! You, the bloody hero that no one can resist, the tortured soul!"
"If she had loved you, Ron she wouldn't have given herself to me" he shouted. "She would have remembered you existed when I kissed her"
"I would have been someone, if I had never met you, instead I was just your bloody shadow" he hissed. "I was just the stupid dog that followed you willingly. I never even gave myself a chance"
"Well, now you get to kill me" Harry smiled up at Ron.
Ron kicked him in the ribs.
"Yeah" Ron smiled. "I guess I get to be the one who kills Voldemort afterall"
"Potter's sidekick friend" Harry smiled. "No one will ever remember that, they will remember that Harry died to bring down Voldemort"
"You think so?" Ron pulled out his wand.
"About bloody time you grew one, Mate" Harry stared at the wand aimed at him. "No wonder Hermione couldn't get enough that night"
"Avada Kedavra" Ron shouted.