Harry

Astronomy Tower

June 30th, 1997

It had been minutes since he could move his body. Dumbledore had, without hesitation, fired a full body bind spell the moment they landed on the Astronomy Tower.

When Harry heard Malfoy's voice with Dumbledore, them secluded at the top of the Astronomy Tower, he felt as if all of his deepest held suspicions were finally realized. Malfoy was a Death Eater, and he was planning on doing something to Dumbledore, and Harry knew it all along.

That was until he heard Hermione's voice and then the scene shifted before him. Only vaguely could Harry see out to the landing, but for a fraction of a second he could see Hermione's face, and it was then that it all bore down on him, when Harry had realized he had been utterly blind to the changes in his best friend over the course of the year.

When Harry first heard the rumor about Malfoy and Hermione, he brushed it off as insanity. Why would Hermione ever like a prat like Malfoy? And not that Harry agreed with it, but also, Malfoy was a pureblood who never in a million years would be with a muggle born. In general, Harry put little value in anything pumped out in the Hogwarts' rumor mill. He had gone through several himself, so his trust in the public forum was near zero.

But Hermione had changed over the past year. She'd be distant at times, and also turned more private than Harry could ever recall. He didn't say anything though, because she looked happy (except for that long stretch of time after the rumor came out, which again, now seemed obvious).

Harry recalled Hermione's look when she told him that his robes were a bloodied mess because he gravely injured Malfoy. That should have been enough to tell him everything, but he was distracted, oblivious.

But it all began to fall into place as Harry saw, through the small channel of visibility he had, Hermione crash into Malfoy, tears already beading over her cheeks.

Harry watched as Hermione told Malfoy she cast morsmordre on herself to just get to him, and then Malfoy reaching out and tenderly kissed the mark.

And then he heard Draco Malfoy tell his best friend, Hermione Granger, that he loved her.

Harry sat there in utter silence, this time by choice.

All of Harry's beliefs were inverting in on themselves.

Hermione had always liked Ron. That was something Harry took as a constant. But he watched in disbelief as Hermione became transformed by grief, because Malfoy was seemingly in danger, and she was clearly in love with him.

After Malfoy spoke "Obliviate" Harry heard the gut wrenching sob tear from Draco's chest, and in that moment, Harry knew that he never understood Malfoy, not in the way Hermione did. Perhaps no one would ever understand him in the way Hermione did.

He then heard Malfoy tell Dumbledore he wouldn't kill him, driving the stake further into Harry's gut that he had been completely wrong about that git Malfoy.

If it hadn't been for Snape barreling in and murdering Dumbledore in cold blood, Harry would have considered the revelations of the relationship between Malfoy and Hermione the most shocking thing about that evening.

Once the blindingly bright green orb of death faded into Dumbledore's chest, his body became free. And it was because the caster of the bind, Albus Dumbledore, was dead.

Even though his binds had left him, Harry couldn't move. Harry was shocked into stillness.

Malfoy was the last one down the stairwell, and before he turned, Harry saw him look to the area he had placed Hermione right before he descended the stairs.

With feeling finally coursing back through his limbs, Harry rushed to the point where he saw Malfoy look. There Hermione sat, crumpled on her side against the wall, looking blissfully unaware of what had just taken place.

Softly, Harry jostled her shoulder. Her eyes flickered open, then zoomed in on Harry's.

"Harry!" she shouted, then threw her arms around his neck. She first analyzed Harry, then her surroundings.

"I'm so sorry, I must have been stunned. I was patrolling like you told me to, but I saw the dark mark from the courtyard. I ran up here and must have been stunned!"

Harry felt like crying for Hermione. There wasn't an ounce of recognition of what just happened.

Then he felt like crying all together, because Dumbledore had died.

Dumbledore was dead.

"Hermione," Harry choked out. "Dumbledore was killed"

Her hand shot to her mouth. Tears began to form at her already blood shot eyes, already red from tears she didn't even remember.

"No!" Hermione looked around, and then up again at the dark mark. "How?"

"Snape," was all Harry could manage before he began to pull Hermione up. Her face screwed up like she didn't believe it, but then saw Harry's expression, and steadied her own look.

Fresh sounds of fighting rang up from the stairwell. Hermione's focus became alert.

"I'm so sorry Harry," Hermione comforted him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "And…Harry I'm sorry you were right about Malfoy being a Death Eater. I'm so sorry I didn't believe you!"

Harry was unsure of what Malfoy planted in her memory in order give her that revelation, but he nodded all the same.

"We need to go," Harry said, looking at the stairwell. "Are you OK to fight?"

Hermione took a grounding breath, and reached for her wand. In the process of doing so she seemed to notice the faint trace of something on her left arm, but then turned her attention back to Harry.

"Yes, I'm ready to fight"