Ok, this is a HP one shot. THERE ARE HBP SPOILERS! You've been warned. I seriously needed to get this out of my head. It's inspired by the Rob Thomas song "Ever the Same", although it is NOT a song fic. +grins as downfallen rule enforcers slowly walk away.+ I do NOT own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling… lucky. Alright… now on with the story.
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Curses and hexes shot overhead as the wizards and witches fighting dodged them while shooting counter-curses over their shoulders and around fallen barriers. They defended the castle with as much force as seventh year Hogwarts students could. Some of the fighters weren't even in their seventh year. Some of them had seen their seventh year at Hogwarts long ago in the past. They all fought side by side, stepping over fallen comrades and Death Eaters alike.
The three leading the fight against the impending evil were the same three that had been battling since they arrived at Hogwarts seven years ago. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley stood shoulder to shoulder, as they had since the inception of their friendship during a fight with a particularly nasty mountain troll in the girl's bathroom. The Golden Trio, as they were affectionately called by their teachers, had only grown stronger over the past year. But it wasn't only the three that had grown tougher, but the entirety of Dumbledore's Army, the name the whole group had instantly agreed to keep, in honor of their missed headmaster.
Once the shock of Dumbledore's death had worn off, and grieving had subsided to only thinking of the man a few times a day, Harry had set off to find the remaining horcruxes that Voldemort's soul still resided in. Ron and Hermione had stayed by his side through each and every one. The three had set off at the beginning of the summer, much to the dismay of the entire Weasley and Granger families. They left a protesting Ginny at the Burrow, but with a task at hand. Harry, still crazily in love with her, put her in charge of getting all of Dumbledore's Army back together and start training them again. She took the job with great dignity and perseverance that only Ginny contained. The youngest of the Weasley clan found Hedwig at her window weekly, with new spells, hexes, and curses to teach the other students, along with the constant reminder to stay safe. And she took every single order to heart, teaching her fellow soldiers what Harry instructed her, the underage restriction to be forgotten, as the Ministry had other things to worry about than underage wizards and witches learning to defend themselves. And once The Golden Trio disapparated in front of the Burrow, the galleons every single member of the D.A. still kept, burned in their pockets.
Much to the dismay of Ron, Harry had to return to the Dursley's for possibly the final time in his life. The three stayed at Privet Drive for a week, scaring Dudley to his room for the full length of their stay. Aunt Petunia, realizing the amount of danger her nephew was in, put down some of her icy barriers towards her sister's son and wept as the three left her doorstep once Lily's spell had been renewed.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had set off on the journey to defeat Voldemort one Horcrux at a time. The three taught each other spells and jinxes that the others didn't know on their trip. They even attempted the Unforgivable Curses, but neither of the three had the heart to use them. Finding the Horcruxes was indeed a challenge that was fought by all three. They investigated Grimmauld Place, searching for clues, along with Dumbledore's old office. Who knew that Ron could so easily climb the fence leading up to Hogwarts? They found some evidence and as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. Finding half of the Horcruxes they needed, the three had only returned to the Burrow once during their journey, to witness the marriage of Bill and Fleur. After they left a very somber celebration, they returned to their search and finally found every single piece of Voldemort's soul. And after all the time of discussion, Ron had finally stopped flinching at the dark wizard's name. They returned to Hogwarts, scared to go back to the Burrow for Death Eaters had followed their every step. It was July 31 when the three returned to the very castle they had learned almost every single hex, jinx, curse and spell in. They had celebrated Harry's 17th birthday in the Gryffindor common room. The castle wasn't empty as they had thought, but many of the teachers, including McGonagall and Hagrid, had remained. The three poured over the restricted section of Hogwarts Library, Madam Pince no where to be found to kick them out of it. Hedwig got much of her exercise flying from Hogwarts to the Burrow and back. September 1st rolled around and only a few students other than the recruits of Dumbledore's Army had returned. All other parents were too scared to send their children back to a place that had so easily been overtaken by Death Eaters the school year before. Those that did return and weren't in the D.A. were instantly enlisted, each and every one agreeing to defend Hogwarts. Surprisingly, there were members of each and every house of Hogwarts in Dumbledore's Army, including Slytherins. It was the first time since the four original founders divided that the houses set upon and agreed on a single common goal. The Sorting Hat sat smugly in the Headmaster's office, glad that the students had finally listened to its advice.
Since only a handful of students had returned, classes were useless. McGonagall stood as the responsible supervising adult, as she was also the new Headmistress. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were put as leaders and they taught groups of Dumbledore's Army different defensive and offensive strategies. They trained, for there was nothing else to do but wait for Voldemort to attack. Some of The Order of the Phoenix stayed at Hogwarts to help McGonagall and Hagrid with the children and to protect the castle, while other members continued to gain information about Voldemort. Students were set to watch the front gates for any apparating Death Eaters, but none showed. Until, however, during a quiet lunch, Luna Lovegood's roaring lion hat, originally created to cheer on the Gryffindor Quidditch team but now serving as a warning signal, was heard in the Great Hall on a cold January day.
They had met the Death Eaters head on in the entrance hall to Hogwarts. Shots of green and red light rushed over head as the students and members of the Order collided with the impending killers. Death Eaters chased students into hallways and classrooms, but the kids of Hogwarts had the upper hand. They knew each and every secret passage way of the castle. The ghosts helped as well. The castle itself seemed to know that it was under attack, as it constantly gave the kids the advantage, sealing doors so only the D.A. and the Order could enter, disguising doors as walls and tapestries. Almost all of Dumbledore's Army paired off with another member of the D.A. and took off in separate directions, with a Death Eater and a member of the Order close on their heels. A loud popping noise was constantly heard as more and more reinforcements for both sides appeared outside the gates of Hogwarts.
The only ones that stayed in the same area to each other were Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Luna and Neville. They were the strongest of the D.A. and took Death Eaters down with ease, surprising Voldemort's army with their skill. Neville proved to be quite a match, the memories of his parents in his head as he dueled with their torturer, Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix and her cronies pushed the teens farther and farther into Hogwarts, up stairs and through hallways, until they had reached the very rooftop where the group's namesake had been killed. The battle had lasted for hours, and the sun was now setting upon the Forbidden Forest. The teens had grown so used to fighting with each other that they could easily detect when a comrade was in trouble.
Death Eaters continued to rush onto the rooftop, closely followed by members of the Order and, surprisingly enough, Ministry Aurors. After much time, Hermione was able to seal the doors shut. Reinforcements for either side couldn't enter not even fellow students or Order of the Phoenix members.
"C'mon, Potter!" Bellatrix shouted over her shoulder as she dodged a spell from a tired Neville. "Is this all you and your little friends can do? At least Sirius gave a fight!" Harry roared with anger at the witch. He ran at her, pushing Death Eaters out of the way and with all the power he could muster, he shot a red bolt of light out of his wand at the woman, as did Neville. Both shots hit her back and chest and she screamed in a mixture of rage and pain as she fell to the ground. Neville's eyes filled with tears as he made eye contact with Harry. He had finally given his parents the revenge they deserved. After they broke eye contact, Neville seemed to fight with a renewed force.
Every single witch and wizard on the rooftop was growing tired, the teens faster than the adults they were fighting. The Death Eater's numbers were growing few as the D.A. fought back, however. The teens had wounds of different proportions, though none truly fatal.
Suddenly a thunderous crack echoed over Hogwarts. All on the rooftop turned, stopping in the middle of sending jinxes at their opponents, to see who could have possible apparated on the grounds of Hogwarts. Death Eaters bowed as members of the D.A. and the Order gasped.
Standing near the edge of the rooftop, in almost the exact spot where Dumbledore had sat before he had died, was the most feared wizard in the entire magical world. Voldemort had returned to Hogwarts.
"Harry!" Ron shouted at his best friend, as Hermione and Ginny stood next to Ron. The Chosen One nodded to the only friends he had ever had in life as he stood straight, looking just as James had in his final minutes. Death Eaters resumed fighting with the teens, letting their Lord to his victim.
"The time is now, Harry Potter. You will finally die, at my hand. I can kill you now." Voldemort's red eyes blazed as he watched Harry cross the roof. "There is no phoenix, no mother, no Dumbledore here to save you this time. To sacrifice themselves for you." Harry stood there, silently, watching his destiny as it stood before him.
"Avada Kedavra!" They both yelled at the same moment. The curses zoomed at their targets.
"Harry!" Numerous shots of gold light sped towards the green eyed boy, surrounding him. The bolt of green light sent from Voldemort's wand connected, sending Harry flying backwards to land at his friends' feet. Harry's curse, meant in full unlike the other times he had tried the spell, met its target, as the Death Eaters failed to react as quickly as Harry's friends. A cry of pain and a thunderous boom knocked all who could hear it off of their feet. Left only in the spot where the now deceased Dark Lord had once stood was a wand. Before anyone could react, Ginny pushed herself off of the ground and snatched the wand up. She stood over the Death Eaters as she broke the wand in two, and as she did, a phoenix feather floated to the ground. As it landed, it burst into flames, never to be reincarnated. The Death Eaters looked at one another and in one combined pop, disapparated from the grounds, as the spell to protect Hogwarts had apparently been broken by the appearance of Voldemort.
The remaining wizards and witches on the roof, those still breathing anyway, stared at each other in complete and utter silence. A sob broke the hush. All attention was drawn to two kneeling figures. Ginny rushed forward. Hermione knelt on the ground, holding Harry's head in her lap. Ron was beside her, embracing her against his chest.
"Alohomora!" The sound of combined voices came from behind the bound doors. The doors flew open to reveal members of The Order, Ministry and D.A. Instantly, Ginny began to shout commands.
"We need to get him to the infirmary wing! Now!" No one seemed to hesitate to take orders from the sixteen year old, not even adults three times her age. "Get all wounded there as well! And someone try to replace the anti-apparating spell! Check to make sure the other spells guarding the castle are still in place. We don't know which spells held up when he arrived!" Instantly orders were carried out as Hagrid carefully ran with Harry in his arms to the infirmary wing. Others that were wounded slowly followed. Soon enough only Neville, Luna, Ginny, Hermione and Ron remained on the roof. Ron still held a sobbing Hermione, fighting back tears himself as he soothed her.
"He's going to be ok, Hermione." She only continued to cry. He pulled her from her huddled posture and held her at arms length, shaking her to make eye contact, which she unwillingly did. "Listen to me! He's going to be ok!" His voice cracked at the end, making the statement seem slightly less believable.
"C'mon. Let's get down there; you guys need to be healed." Ginny started down the stairs as the rest of the group followed. They made their way down numerous staircases until they finally reached the very familiar infirmary.
"I want everyone who is not wounded, or who can wait to be healed out of here now!" McGonagall shouted over the heads of her fellow witches and wizards. "If you can get to another location to be healed, please do so! The anti-apparating spell is not in place yet! You may apparate to another location if you need to!" Multiple pops were heard as the fighters of an unforgettable battle obeyed the Headmistress, leaving the hospital wing almost empty except for the wounded and their family members who had fought beside them. The entire Weasley family, including Percy and Fleur who had joined the fight, much to the surprise of Fred and George, stood next to Harry's bed as his friends entered, along with a very pale Remus Lupin. Mrs. Weasley rushed forward and gathered her son, daughter and Hermione into a comforting hug. Neville and Luna were led to chairs, where they sat, shock coming over them slowly. After about half a minute, Mrs. Weasley did the same to the three she had just enveloped into a bone crushing hug. Chairs were placed next to Harry's bed and the three sat in them. McGonagall crossed the room and approached the Weasley's.
"Molly. Arthur. Remus." She nodded to the adults and the boys of the Weasley family whom she all had as students. "If I could please ask you to allow the healers to do their jobs. The Gryffindor dormitories are open for you. Just tell the Fat Lady that you have my permission to enter. I highly doubt you'll need a password. If you cannot fall asleep, summon the house-elf Dobby and he'll bring you a sleeping potion. I highly recommend it, especially for tonight. Or if you need anything else, do no hesitate to call him." All nine nodded and, after hugging each and every one of the children who had just entered and giving the unconscious Harry a hopeful glance, headed towards the familiar lodgings of Gryffindor tower.
"You three may stay here. I know I can't persuade you to return to your dormitories. I'll send someone to check up on you within the hour." Ginny and Ron nodded. Hermione just stared at Harry. She sat perched in her chair, knees bent against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Ron scooted his chair next to hers and enclosed his arms around her. Ginny moved to the other side of the bed and took Harry's hand. All three watched Harry's chest slowly rise up and down.
The morning came and went, and sometimes the sun witnessed at least one of the waiting three awake, watching over their friend. At times all three of them were watching him, sometimes only one or two. None of the three said a word to each other, and hardly any of them ate.
Morning turned into afternoon and then spun into night, which found Hermione still curled in her chair, asleep, the slumbering Ron with his head on her shoulder, arms still encircling her. Ginny lay with her head on the bed, clutching Harry's hand. Most of the patients of Hogwarts Hospital wing had left, being cured. Members of the Weasley family came and went, checking up on all four of the teenagers.
As the dawning sun spread its rays over the Forbidden Forest, which didn't seem all that scary to the kids now, a stirring woke the three waiting friends. Ginny lifted her head to see a blinking Hermione and Ron. A murmuring had woken them. They turned their attention to Harry, whose eyes fluttered slowly open. His eyes were slightly blurry as his vision cleared. Hermione gasped as Ginny let out a cry of relief. Ron smiled.
"Welcome back, mate." Harry gave Ron a small smile as Ginny gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What is it with you and the hospital wing?" He joked. Harry's smile grew bigger.
"So, you guys saved me?" Ron shrugged as Hermione grinned. "Does this mean that I'll have to come back to Hogwarts every summer?"
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Fin.
I didn't know which ending I should pick… but I kind of like this one better than the one I had originally thought of. Review, please.
I remain,
Pendragon4