Chapter Fifteen:

Even

She had said the words. She had lived not that long and still she was dying in a room with Harry's only daughter. His daughter would be the only thing to remember her by, but she was in danger too. The nurse had told him, and instantly he fell to his knees in tears. He wanted to run away, because he couldn't look at her again.

She wouldn't be here in a few hours, and he couldn't do anything about it. He was all she had right now, and she was all he had. He wouldn't be able to look his daughter in the face knowing that Hermione was somewhere inside her. Hermione's spirit would pump through her veins and he knew this.

Hermione, though, wasn't dead yet. She was still in there, on the edge of life, but she was still alive. He couldn't lose her, because he had no idea how to raise a child. If Melody was alright, then he would be lost. He needed Hermione for the baby, and for himself. He swore he couldn't live without her, but what he meant to say was he wouldn't.

"Let me in." He said. "Please," He begged the nurse. She nodded and with a swift move he was inside.

"Good luck Harry." Molly Weasley had said from the seats on the other side of the hall.

"Mindy," He turned to the nurse. "Can you get Molly into a nursing outfit? She might be able to help." He asked.

"Of course," She said. She headed down the hall with Molly on her tail.

"Why couldn't we go?" Ron asked in outrage. "I'm her friend too!" He protested.

"Exactly," Harry said. "You're friends and I'm her husband. She is in there getting operated on, and you guys are men and she's probably naked in places that even I wouldn't want you to see." He said.

"I'm not a man!" Ginny exclaimed and Harry had turned a cold glare onto her through his teary eyes.

"I meant to say you are men, and they other I don't trust." And with that Harry was in the operating room. He had left Ginny with a spark of guilt on her face, and he knew he had caught her.

He returned back in and dropped to his knees once again. He leaned over her body and laid his head on her arm. He was not going to let her pass this easily. He was not going to let her slip through his fingers like sand. He could not cope with the fact that she was indeed dying. He wanted to pretend it was a dream.

Then what made him cry the most is a memory had come to his attention. The past nine months were nothing but pure ecstasy. If he didn't love her, then he wouldn't have married her that quickly at hand. He promised her something and he made everything seem alright, but he was wrong. That day he was wrong…

Flashback:

"I don't understand," She spoke silently. "How can you be confident about having a baby?" Hermione asked. Harry wiped away the tears in her eyes.

"Because you are the mother," Harry spoke gently. "We should be celebrating, not crying." He teased.

"Harry, I'm scared." She said as she couldn't hold back the tears that poured from her trembling eyes. "What if something happens?" She asked as she made a slight gasp.

"Nothing will happen, Hermione." Harry assured. "Hermione, you are about to have a daughter or son... shouldn't you be happy?" He asked as he moved a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I guess, but I just can't help but feel so worried." She said as she placed a hand on her lower stomach.

"You worry too much." Harry laughed as he kissed the top of her head. "I'll take care of you. No matter what it is, I'll do it." He wrapped his arms around her waist again.

Hermione said a gentle thank you as she felt a light kiss upon her lips. Hermione could feel Harry's hand gently rubbing her stomach and she kissed him back with pleasure. She still wasn't feeling all that well, but she didn't want to leave Harry. She had broke their kiss and laid her head on Harry's shoulder with a sigh.

End.

Then another came to his attention. This one was the kind to bring smiles to his face, but it wasn't working. If only he could be as happy now as he was then. This memory drove him completely mad with thoughts knowing that it will never be the same. Nothing would ever be the same…

Second Flashback:

He pulled at her side lightly so only her top half was under him. He looked into her eyes with want and desire. She smiled, but before she could say anything her mouth had been claimed by the lips of her loved one. She had kissed him so many times before, but there was something about this one's spark.

Harry had no sooner started to explore the crevice of her mouth then she had smiled. He closed his eyes and claimed his wife as his. Now and forever he expected. He wanted to be together for that long, but who knew what was going to happen? Harry started panting as he split his lips with Hermione's for air.

"I love you." He panted softly.

"I love you too." She said as she rolled her fingers with his wavy hair.

Hermione smiled lightly as she kissed him once again on the mouth. She pulled Harry's head to her chest and he laid there with content. She let out a small sigh and kissed the top of his head before speaking. She spoke with all her emotions gathering into a few words:

"In less then a month, we will be parents." She said.

"Are you scared?" He asked. She nodded, but of course he hadn't seen it. She sighed as the corner of mouth twitched.

"To death," She said. "But I am mostly afraid of the pain." She said truthfully.

"I'll be right there with you." Harry assured. "I'll be there to help you through this. I promise I won't leave you." He said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Do you," She stopped. "Do you think we'll be together forever?" She asked and Harry nodded.

"I do." He answered with a sweetened tone. "And once our daughter has arrived we'll finally be a family." He smiled.

"Melody," She repeated. "Are you fine with that name?" She asked, a little concerned.

"Yes." Harry smiled. "Melody Lynn Potter." He smiled.

"It sounds perfect." She giggled.

End.

Melody was in trouble, and Hermione was in trouble. He held her hand in his, but he couldn't save her. Only the doctors could save her. Only one person could save her, and that person wasn't. Harry felt anger towards them. If his wife didn't make it, then he would do something.

It might be outrageous and it would probably be rather stupid, but it didn't matter. He would get revenge and save her. He would set her spirit free from the hell they had caused, but he wondered if he would ever be able to look at his child again. He wasn't sure if he could. Knowing Hermione was somewhere in her heart and he couldn't pull her out. Even his own love couldn't save her.

He had snapped his head up when he had heard a cry. A cry from a baby, and hopefully she was going to be fine. He watched the nurse remove the young child, covered in blood, and wipe it clean. It didn't make him sick, but he was worried she wouldn't be alright. He looked back to the doctor who had a bright smile on his face.

"Is she okay?" Harry asked.

"She should be. We are going to check just in case. I'm afraid your wife might have lost more blood then we thought. She is sort of knocked out right now, but we aren't entirely sure if she'll be alright." He said with a sigh. "All we have to do it pray that she'll be alright."

Harry held her hand in his and he wiped the tears from her eyes. She was stone cold and she wouldn't wake up. Harry watched a machine as a bright green line increased and decreased with each beep. The doctor had explained that if it moves then she's still breathing. Harry could feel her breathe, but she wasn't awake.

He put his forehead to the top of her hand after kissing it gently. He was still on his knees and the room smelled like blood. He didn't care if it made him sick, and he didn't care if he was stuck here for his entire life. All that mattered to him was his awareness of Hermione's safety. He promised her he'd protect, and he would try and find some way to fulfill his promise.

The long black door had opened again and in walked a short lady with a nursing outfit. Her red hair was packed in neatly under her bandana and a cup covered her mouth. Her eyes were filled with tears as she analyzed Harry quickly. She set a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to her.

"Molly," Harry said. He stood and gave her a hug again.

"I saw your daughter." Molly said. "She's absolutely beautiful." She smiled. Harry would have smiled in return, but he kept his eyes on Hermione.

"Consider her your granddaughter." He said.

"You seem frightened Harry." She said gently. Maybe he was scared, but mostly he was thinking of what Hermione must feel like on the inch of life.

"I am." He said quietly as he was pulled into another hug by Molly. He just absorbed to power of her warm hugs.

"Tell me, dear," She said. Never could a term of endearment scare the living out of him. He felt scared and somewhat violated. He looked at her.

"I don't know if I can live without her." He said. "I don't know if Melody can live without having or even knowing her mother. I don't know if the world will still spin if they are unhappy. I don't know… I just don't know." He said.

"You turned out pretty well." She said and that when something hit him.

"I don't," He said. "Out of anything in the world I do not want Melody to grow up like me." He spoke rather loudly. "That's why I was afraid. I didn't want Melody growing up with the fact that her entire family was in danger. I didn't want her hurt and I did not want her to live with anyone but her parents." He looked at Hermione.

"It's hard for you because you've experienced it." She said in a hefty voice. "You've pursued it and you have mastered it. Any child would be lucky to have you as a father." She said motherly.

"I'm not quite sure." Harry said proudly. "I'm not a very good people person." He said truthfully.

"Hermione has changed you without even knowing it. You were shy, silent, and mysterious before, and now you are so open that I have no idea what is going on." She had laughed and he smiled weakly.

"You don't mean that." He said and Molly looked mortified.

"Are you calling me a liar?" She joked. "I don't like being called liar from short little Potters like you." She laughed.

"I'm not short!" He said and she had ruffled his hair.

"Alright, you are taller then me, but you need to have faith." She said when her laugher died down and Harry's smile had vanished.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Have faith that God will save her." She said gesturing towards Hermione. "Believe that she will wake, and believe that she will be with you forever. A simple prayer is worth a thousand feelings." She smiled.

"I thought it was a picture is worth a thousand words." He said with confusion.

"Please don't talk like muggles." She joked. "You already have those horrific contucks." She said with disgust.

"Contacts, Molly, they're called contacts." He said and she flipped her hand in the air.

"Whatever," She said. "The point why I am here is to help you through this horrifying experience. I'll leave for now and check on Melanie-"

"Melody," He corrected.

"Melody," She presumed. "I will go see how she's doing and leave you with your thoughts." She smiled. "Now I want you to be happy. Your smile can light up Broadway."

With that said Molly had left. Harry turned back to his wife who still lay in the same position as when he last looked. She looked like an angel, but she was most likely going to be one. He couldn't help but think that he could see her spirit drifting to the heavens as he stared.

She was motionless and she was as cold as ice. He set a hand to her cheek in hopes of warming her a little, but it wouldn't work. She was losing and the machine beeping was slowing down. She was going away, but he couldn't stop her. He knelt back down and did something that he had never done before.

"I know Hermione that you liked this muggle song, so I'll sing it for you." He said with a whisper in her ear.

Then it happened. Right before he opened his mouth the sound came. A long, never ending, beeping sound had come from the scope machine. At least two doctors had run into the room almost instantly and he looked mortified. She was gone, and she wasn't coming back.

"She's leaving," One of the doctors shouted.

"We're going to need you to leave. She's gone." They said. Harry's eye began to tear again. No, and this couldn't be possible.

"No!" He hissed at them. "She's not gone, she's alive!" He cried but they shook their heads.

"No, she's not." They said with a guilty tone.

"Have faith!" He said. He had hit his knees and before he knew it, he was singing in a quiet tone. "Take the very breath you gave me, take the heart from my chest. I'll gladly take her place if you let me, make this my last request. Take me out of this world, but please, God, please, don't…"

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"How could you… It's a miracle." A nurse gasped and Harry looked up.

There laid his wife. She was breathing and she was alive. He looked up and the Doctor's looked at him like he had three heads. They were amazed and they stood staring at him with unbelief. He had ignored them. He ran to her and felt a feeling of warmth through her skin. She was becoming very hot now.

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

He needed her to wake up, and he needed her to be alright. His daughter was alright, and Hermione would be too. He just needed her to open her eyes and then everything would be alright again. When he was going to drop to his knees and lose all pricks of hope, she had opened her chocolate eyes.

"Harry," She said a little shakily.

"Hermione," He praised. "Thank god you're alright. You gave me a big scare there. I thought I was going to lose you." He said.

"It's alright Harry," She smiled. "I'm alright. Is Melody?" She asked.

"Yes," He said gratefully. "Everyone is alright."

"Mrs. Potter," A voice said. "Thank god you're alright. We thought we lost you." A familiar man said.

"I'm fine Sid," She said. "Just a little tired." She smiled.

"I understand." He nodded to her.

"Can I-" she stopped to correct herself. "Can we see our daughter?" Hermione asked.

Sid looked a little uncomfortable but with a nod and a sweep he was off towards the door and out of sight. When the door closed behind him, Harry turned to Hermione. She had a smiled on her face and a look of love in her eyes. She spoke a few words that confused Harry beyond belief.

"Thank you Harry." She said simply.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You are the reason why I am here." She said.

He could understand that his singing might have brought her back, but she was in a temporary coma, so how could she have heard him? He looked at her with bewilderment and stared at her till she answered. She smiled at his sweet perplexity and giggled under her breath.

Before he said anything else she had pulled him to her and kissed his lips. She was alive because of him, and she understood why he needed her. She had broken apart from their kiss after he returned one and stared at him. He put a thin smile on his lips and stood up a little straighter.

"I don't understand." He said truthfully.

"Harry, it was you." She smiled. "This is very weird to tell, so please listen carefully because it's hard to explain." She said.

"Alright," he said and knelt down to make himself comfortable.

"Well first my mind was spinning. I wasn't sure where I was going, but all these memories were speeding by me so fast that it was just blobs of color. I felt really dizzy and then it stopped. I felt a lot of pain and I fell on a hard floor. It felt like wet cement, and I was being absorbed into the gooey substance. All this pain exploded from my lower body and I screamed, but only one person heard me. It was a person who looked like a monster. He was mean and he was growling at me. Soon I was surrounded by fire!" She said. She added emphasis to specific words to make more meaning to them all. "I tried getting out of it, but I couldn't. I was trapped with this monster who said he wanted to claim me as his. I hadn't understood, but I tried to tell him I was only yours forever, but I had no voice. He had taken my voice away, and I felt lost." She paused.

"Go on." Harry said, interested.

"Well first I felt scared. I felt like he was going to rape me or something, but then something else had grabbed me. It was a young woman in pure white with wings sprouting from her back. I found my voice again, but it wasn't exactly the same as it is now." She said. "It was higher. It was sharper, and it was stranger. I was annoyed and confused and she was leading me through a portal. She wouldn't tell me where she was going, but there was a white light and there was a pink light. She told me to choose. I had no idea which one." She sighed.

"But you chose the right one, right?" He asked in interest and she nodded.

"I heard something from the pink light. I heard a voice. It was singing my most favorite muggle song. My parents loved it too, but I loved it because it always made me cry. She told me to choose, so I chose the song." She said with pure happiness. "Then when I got closer to the door I recognized the voice. It was yours. It was only yours and I called out to you. I hoped you'd hear me, but you didn't answer. I screamed, yelled, but somehow I knew you wouldn't hear me. I was confused. I had no idea where I was so I walked through the pink light. Your voice got louder and then I lost it again. And now, here I am." She said.

"You've been through a lot." Harry said with a tone of amazement.

"Harry, I knew that woman from somewhere." She said. "I've seen her somewhere, I know it. Her face was so familiar. She had long red hair and reflexes about as quickly as an eagle. She knew me somehow, and for some reason I knew her too."

"But who could she be?" He asked. "Not many people I know have died." He said. "Except-" he shook his head. "No, it couldn't be."

"Who?" Hermione asked curiously.

"No one," Harry said. "I think I'm going crazy." He laughed.

"I thought it was your mother at first, but then I thought it couldn't be." She said and Harry blinked.

"I hate it when you read my mind." He mumbled.

She had kissed his lips. She wanted to thank him for letting her choose the right door to go through. He had saved her, and she didn't want to know where the other door ended up. He had kissed back with so much love, but she couldn't hold on. She wasn't strong enough to hold on any longer. She was weak.

"Harry, thank you." She smiled.

"I don't understand what you are thanking me for." He said with a laugh.

"Thank you for believing, and thank you for saving me." She said and with another quick swipe she had claimed his lips in a soft kiss.

"I love you," he said and kissed her back. "I would have done something crazy if you didn't wake." He said. "But for now you need to rest." He said.

"Wait," She said when he moved for the door.

"What?" He asked and turned to her.

"You saved my life," She said.

"And you saved mine," He said. "So, yes, now we're even."

Author's Notes:

I thought it would be too early for her to die, and I didn't want this story to turn to tragedy. I couldn't bear it because basically all my stories have some sort of tragedy in it. So I hope you enjoy!

The song that Harry sang: Don't Take the Girl by Tim McGraw

To My Reviewers:

DogHouseBlues – I might almost, but I didn't have the heart to kill her. Harry needs her too much to kill her. Plus, I don't know if you guys would want me to stop writing this story, because I would have no idea where to go with it if Hermione died.

PrincessLuckyCML – I'm not going to make Hermione die, so don't worry about it so much! Something tells me you are getting a little too attached, and it's scaring the hell out of me. Lol, just kidding.

harryhermione4ever – not now… she can't die now.

Jayu – Thank you for that kind thought of wisdom. I personally don't like this chapter very much, but felt I had to post it. If no one likes it then I could always re-write it and post again.

waking dark – Not entirely because of that. Later chapter will tell more about why I have made him the heir of Godric Gryffindor.

Ms. Sakura Moon – Calm down before you have a spasm. Haha. The wait is over, but I doubt you'll like this chapter much. I think this chapter was a bit TOO fluffy, lol.

QuidditchGirl30 – Margaret, I figured you would tell my you account name soon, lol. Well hope you enjoy, and until next time… thanks a lot for the reviews!

rockergurl13 – Was that an order? And I'm not laughing, because for some reason it felt like an order, and I do not take orders from reviewers.

NicciBubbles – Ah, yes, Drama. The whole world is nothing but Drama, and my entire story is nothing but fluff and Drama. Yay, don't you love it? Haha.

That's it… thanks y'all!

Airalynn

UPDATED: (SATUIRDAY) JULY 30, 2005

"Imagination is the living power and prime agent of all human perception."