A/N: Written for the 31 Days of Writing Challenge: October 7, Major Character Death.
No beta, just Grammarly, all mistakes are mine. If you loved this (or hated it) let me know about it in a review! Find me on Tumblr at crochetawayhpff or Facebook at Shan Crochetaway. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!
Summary: Hermione makes a vow.
Pairing: Gen - Hermione Granger, Harry Potter
Rating: T
Warnings: N/A
Die Trying
"No, no, no, no, no!" Hermione couldn't stop saying the word, even as the blood continued to flow, unabated from the wound on Harry's chest. "Damnit, no! This isn't happening," she muttered under her breath as she poured more and more dittany on the wound. Nothing was working.
"'Mione," Harry said, trying to get her attention. She ignored him. She needed to focus on fixing him, on making him better. She couldn't let him die. She wouldn't let him die!
"'Mione," he said more forcefully. Finally, she looked up at his pale face, paler by the blood loss. The dittany wasn't working to staunch the flow, nothing was. "Thank you."
"Harry James Potter," Hermione said, tears falling unbidden from her eyes, "don't you dare die on me now! We need you. Ginny needs you. Ron needs you. I bloody need you!"
He shook his head, coughing a little, blood spurting from his lips and chest with the effort. "Too late. Tell Ginny I love her. Love you too."
"Harry!" Hermione screamed her hands messy with the blood as she tried once more to staunch the flow. She cast every healing charm she could think of, but nothing even touched the wound. The giant wound caused by a giant snake that was now slithering closer and closer to them. "Harry, please don't die," she cried, fumbling her wand and pointing it at the snake. Not that the snake could comprehend the danger it was in from the small stick in her hands.
"You aren't allowed to die," Hermione told Harry as she rose to shaky feet to deal with that blasted snake once and for all. Her hands were covered in blood, her wand was covered in blood and when she used the back of one hand to wipe the tears from her face, her face became covered in blood too.
"You are dead," Hermione said, sending a blasting curse at the snake. It somehow slithered just the right way and avoided being hit. Hermione's hand clenched tighter on her wand and she sent another and another and another until the snake was nothing but a desiccated mess. Hermione was breathing hard and she whirled around back to Harry, dropping to her knees in the snow, but he wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't beating. The blood was oozing now, no longer being pumped out by his still heart.
"Nagini's dead," she said to him. "We at least got Nagini. I don't know how we're going to get Voldemort without you, but I promise Harry, your death won't be in vain. I won't rest until that bastard is cold in the ground. I swear it on my magic and yours."
A bright flash of light and the oath was made. She was bound now, to complete it or die trying. Part of her hoped that she would die trying. Her entire life since she turned eleven has been dedicated to keeping Harry Potter safe. Without him, how was she ever going to live?
~Fin~