If you have not yet read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows you will probably not be able to follow a lot of this chapter. So, I would recommend picking up a copy and reading it first.
The Battle of Hogwarts Revisited: Unexpected Consequences
Harry's arm wrapped tighter around Hermione, taking comfort in the warmth of her bare skin as it pressed against his own. He closed his eyes and listened to her breathing. As it had on so many nights before, the slow rhythm to her breathing relaxed him, and soon took Harry to the blackness of sleep and towards the dream that he was sure to come. His last conscious thought before he finally drifted off was that one way or another, after tomorrow he would not have the dream for a while.
Sure enough, he found himself slipping back into the dream. It started at a place much earlier than it normally did, a fact which Harry did not seem to notice, nor really care about because now he was no longer in the present. It was now a night in May, more than five years before, and Harry was once again a seventeen year old wizard. He was standing just outside the Room of Requirement. Both Ron and Hermione were there with him. All three of them watched on, in surprise, as Ravenclaw's Diadem crumbled to pieces with an eerie scream, the result of Crabbe's Fiendfyre. Voldemort's snake was the only horcrux left to be destroyed.
Now, they needed a moment to think, to come up with a plan to kill the snake, but the events that were to follow would prevent the three of them from coming up with any kind of plan. It was then that Percy and Fred appeared, both in separate duels with different Death Eaters. Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately ran to their aid. Three stunning spells later one of the Death Eater's was down, and Percy had successfully transfigured what turned out to be Pius Thicknesse, the puppet Minister for Magic, into something like a sea urchin. Percy had even cracked a joke about resigning from the Ministry. Then, the whole world seemed to explode.
All of them, Harry, his friends, and Death Eaters alike, had been thrown several feet through the air. Harry was dazed. He shook his head in an effort to regain his senses. He heard Percy yelling something that sounded like "Fred!" Harry shook his head and thought he heard another loud scream from what sounded like a girl. He quickly dismissed the second yell when he looked over to see Percy struggling over Fred's body. It was as though he had been doused with a bucket of cold water. His senses returned instantly. Fearing the worst, Harry jumped up to his feet and rushed to Fred Weasly's side. He had to see for himself. Fred was unconscious and bleeding from a small gash on the side of his head, but he was still breathing, still alive. Harry let out a small sigh of relief, glad that Fred was not too badly off. He looked over Percy's shoulder to ask Hermione get out her bottle of Dittany to deal the gash of Fred's head, when he was hit with a chilling realization. The second set of screams was coming from Hermione's mouth and tears were streaming from her eyes. His first instinct was that she too had been injured, but her scream was not one of physical pain. Then he saw them: a pair of legs stretched out across the rubble. He looked again to Hermione as she desperately screamed, "Ron, please wake up! Please, please, please." She pulled at Ron's collar tugging him up towards her. Harry jumped over Fred's body, towards Ron and Hermione, nearly knocking Percy over in the process. What he saw sent Harry into a near panic. There, lying on the debris covered ground was his best friend. Ron's head was covered in blood and lolling to the side as Hermione roughly shook him, trying to coax him to consciousness. Harry knelt on next to his friend and grabbed his wrist, searching for a pulse. He found none. His hands moved to Ron's neck hoping to find a pulse there, but again nothing. Finally, he placed his hand on Ron's chest feeling for the gentle thumping of a heartbeat.
The moment seemed to freeze for Harry. His hand rested on Ron's chest as Hermione, tears still streaming from her eyes, stared at him, hoping for something, anything that could tell her that everything was okay. Harry could not look at her. Instead, he stared at Ron's face, hoping that his own hand was now lying to him. Ron could not be dead. After everything they had gone through, to die so close to the end, but the longer Harry sat there the harder it became to deny the horrible truth. Ronald Weasley was dead. No amount of hope was going to change that. Finally, with the greatest amount of effort he had ever had to summon for anything he had ever or would ever do, Harry managed to look back into Hermione's eyes and say, "He's gone."
"No!!!!!" screamed Hermione as looked back at Harry. "He's not dead! He can't be dead, not when we've just…" Hermione was too overcome to finish her sentence. She collapsed on top of Ron's body, crying even harder, slamming her fists onto his chest. Harry didn't know if she was doing this out of anger or fear or some vain attempt to reignite Ron's life. He could only stare on feeling totally helpless.
There was little time to mourn, however, because that was when Aragog's progeny made their own invasion of the castle. Harry stunned a couple of the spiders back before he finally sent one back through the hole in the side of the castle wall and into his brothers and sisters, knocking them all down the outside wall to the ground below. After that, Percy helped Harry place Ron's body in a somewhat safer place before hoisting Fred on his shoulders and carrying him away.
Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her away. "NO!" Hermione shouted, "We can't leave him there." As much as he agreed with her, there was no time to carry Ron's body anywhere else. They needed to get somewhere safe. Harry needed to think about what to do next if he could some how manage to get the image of Ron's bloody head out his mind.
They hid in a vacated classroom. Sitting against the wall opposite its closed door and using empty desks for cover, the invisibility cloak haphazrdly thrown over them, Harry held his wand in one hand, pointed towards the door. In the other, he had a tight grip on Hermione. Her head was resting against his shoulder as she continued sobbing, while Harry did his best to hold back his own grief. His best friend, someone with whom he had survived a countless number of brushes with death, was now gone. Was there life after this moment? Could there be?
Harry didn't know how long they were there. He would have been content to spend the rest of the battle just sitting in that classroom, hiding from the world, but the reality of the situation was slowing coming back. The only way that this could be ended, that Ron could be avenged, was to destroy Lord Voldemort. "Hermione…" he finally said in as calming and soothing a voice as he could, "…we've got to pull ourselves together. I know you love him, but right now, there's a battle to be won. We have to finish what we started. That's the only way to end this." His words seemed to work. Hermione lifted her head and looked back at him. He stared back into her tear-filled eyes. "It'll be alright, Hermione. In time, everything will be alright, I promise." She seemed to regain her composure at his words.
"I know Harry. You're right. We have to finish this. I want to…I need to help you kill Voldemort." Harry looked deeply into Hermione's eyes, deeper than he ever had before. He knew at once that she was now as determined as he was to get Voldemort. Hermione and he now shared a bond that went much deeper than being close friends. They had both lost someone important to them at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Even if he hadn't killed Ron personally, Voldemort was the cause of all this death and destruction. It was his Death Eaters attacking Hogwarts, injuring and killing the castle's defenders and on his orders. In Harry's mind Voldemort was just as guilty as if he had pulled the trigger himself. "Where is he now?" she asked. "Where's Voldemort Harry? Find him." The tone with which Hermione had spoken was one that Harry had never thought he would ever hear her use. She wanted vengeance, and the fact that she was asking him to do something that she had once so vehemently encouraged him not to do, told Harry how much Hermione wanted to get Voldemort. Harry would have been lying if he denied that a desire for revenge wasn't boiling within him as well, but he knew that now was not the time for mindless rage. He needed clarity. He needed to find Lord Voldemort and his snake, so that they could finish them both.
With several deep breaths, Harry managed to calm himself before closing his eyes. It took surprisingly little effort to slip back into Voldemort's mind. The image was clear: Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy in the Shrieking Shack. Malfoy was concerned about his son, but Voldemort didn't care in the least about Draco. He wanted Lucius to bring him Snape. For what reason, Harry did not know or care. He knew where Voldemort was. He knew where they had to go. "He's in the Shrieking Shack."
"Let's go Harry."
As his dream so often did, the dream skipped the next several minutes of his Harry's memories. He had realized a few years before that this dream was about the events that started he and Hermione down the path to becoming lovers. While the moments that the dream brushed past were important to how he defeated Voldemort, they had little to do with why Hermione now lay in his arms. So the dream skipped past his and Harry and Hermione's journey underneath the invisibility cloak through the battle, how they secretly stunned any Death Eaters they came across along the way, and chasing the spiders as they carried Hagrid away. Harry did not have to re-live the moments where he was unable to conjure a Patronus to fend off the dementors without the help of his friends or when they had run from the giants to the Whomping Willow. He did not have to watch again as Voldemort ordered Nagini to kill Snape, or the look on Snape's face as he handed them his memories. The dream now placed Harry on his and Hermione's return from the Shrieking Shack.
Hermione was keeping a tight grip on Harry's arm as they walked back to the castle. The battle had now been fully pushed inside of the school, but its path of destruction was still left behind for them to walk through. Scattered about the lawn leading into the castle were the bodies of the dead and wounded. Many of them groaned in pain, while the others lay eerily still. Harry tried to ignore the moans that he heard. It was too dark out to identify any one specifically. He only hoped that not too many of his friends were counted amongst the numbers of dead. He and Hermione remained hidden under the invisibility cloak, not stopping to look or render assistance to their injured friends. They needed to get to Dumbledore's pensieve to see what memories Snape had left them in his final moments.
Harry knew that there was something important now contained in the small vial that Hermione had conjured up. What it was, Harry did not know, but he had a feeling that it might be a way to defeat Voldemort. He didn't know why he thought this. Maybe Snape had realized, all too late, the same thing that Malfoy's had already realized: Voldemort didn't care about anyone who presented an obstacle in his path to power, no matter how loyal they had been to him. Now, perhaps Snape, in his last moments, was trying to stop his former master in some final act of redemption.
They stopped when the finally entered the castle, trying to take in the sights of the battle before them. Rubble for the stone walls and shattered statues was strewn about the floor of the castle mixed in with different pieces from the various suits of armor that had been brought to life to defend the castle. More bodies of the injured and dead lay amongst the stone debris, many of them were people that Harry knew from school, but not anyone he was terribly close to.
The battle now seemed to be centered in and nearby the Great Hall. Harry saw Fred, George, and Percy standing on the staircase landing firing off spells up and down the staircase at Death Eaters. Neville and Professor Sprout were doing a remarkable job with the Venomous Tentacula plants, having wrapped up three Death Eaters. Padma Patil and Katie Bell were also holding their own against a Death Eater.
The Great Hall, itself, looked nothing like the place that Harry had been just earlier that evening. The teachers' table and three of the four students' tables were split into pieces, some of which were turned on their sides and either being used by some of the combatants for cover or were on fire, filling the hall with smoke. Through the smoke, Harry could just make out Madame Pomfrey moving quickly amongst the wounded defenders of Hogwarts, tending to them and healing their wounds as best she could under combat conditions. Professor Sinistra was standing guard over her, in case any Death Eaters thought it might be sporting to attack the Hogwarts matron as she tried to heal the wounded. There were other figures there, but with the smoke, it was difficult to make up any one person in particular.
Harry and Hermione continued forward. Harry fired off several stunning spells, which provided his friends with a better fighting chance, but they did not stop to offer any more help. Snape's memories, still harbored in the small flask, were more important. As they got nearer to the entrance of the Great Hall, the combatants came into better focus. Harry could see Dean and Seamus as they both fought. He could also make out Hannah Abbott, Oliver Wood, and Ernie MacMillan. It was difficult to tell which Death Eaters were there, as many were still wearing their hoods, although Harry could definitely see Dolohov, Yaxley, Fenrir Greyback, and, despite the noise of the battle, the distinctive cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange was clearly audible.
They were almost past the entrance to the Great Hall, when something out of the corner of Harry's eye grabbed his attention. He stopped. "What is it?" Hermione asked, but he was not paying attention. Harry turned slowly, hoping that what he had seen was a figment of his imagination, but even at 50 yards away and through all the smoke and figures of those still fighting, the girl with the flowing red hair was unmistakable. Ginny, along with Luna and Parvati Patil, were trying to take on Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry immediately broke from the protection of the invisibility cloak and ran into the Great Hall, ignoring Hermione's shouts begging him to return. He had to intervene, to protect Ginny. Even at three to one odds, he knew that they were no match for Bellatrix. He made his way through the crowd of combatants, repeatedly shoving people out of his way and stunning a couple of Death Eaters along the way, but all of them, friend and foe alike, were slowing Harry down.
Two flicks from Bellatrix's wand were all that it took to deal with Parvati and Luna. They both fell to the ground, stunned. That left only Ginny. "Come on little Weasley, shall we make it two of you blood traitors tonight?" he heard the sadistic woman say. Harry began moving with more desperation, but no matter how hard he pushed himself, he was moving too slowly, as though he was wading through a pool of waist deep water.
He was still yards away but had managed to get himself into a place where he had a perfect line of sight on Bellatrix. He raised his wand and yelled "STUPEFY!" At that same moment, Dean Thomas was pushed back into him. The collision sent Harry to the ground and his stunning spell into the wall behind the smoldering ruins of the teacher's dining table. With an unconscious Dean pinning him to the ground, Harry could only look on as it happened.
The world was suddenly moving in slow motion. The flash of green erupted from the end of Bellatrix's wand and flew at Ginny, hitting her square in the chest. A look of surprise came over Ginny's face, and then she fell to the ground. "GINNY!!! NO!!!!" Harry roared so loudly, that all those near him seemed to stop what they were doing. He unceremoniously shoved Dean off of him, leapt to his feet, and began moving towards Bellatrix Lestrange with determined purpose. He had to get to Ginny. She hasn't been hit with the killing curse. She's still alive. If I can get to her I can save her, he thought, denying the truth he already knew.
Bellatrix had turned when Harry screamed. She immediately began throwing taunts towards Harry, "Aww was that your little girlfriend Potter? Do you want to have a go with me now? Come on little Potter, let's play. Let's have some fun, and when we're done, I'll take what's left of you to the Dark Lord, so he can finish you."
But even as she taunted Harry her face was showing a look of fear that refused to leave. The rage that he had suppressed at Ron's death, was now flowing uncontrolled. Harry made no attempt to hide it. He wanted blood. Perhaps she had seen the same look in her Lord and Master when he had been angry.
Bellatrix sent a curse at Harry. Not really knowing nor caring how, he blocked it with ease. She sent another and another, Harry blocked them all. Somewhere in the background he heard a woman's voice scream out, "Not Ginny!" He knew it was Mrs. Weasley. He saw her out of the corner of his eye running towards her daughter, but he was not really paying attention. His focus was solely on Bellatrix Lestrange. The rest of the world was a hazy blur, as though both of them were somehow separate from it. He hadn't even noticed that the fighting in the Great Hall had stopped or that almost every eye in the room was now focused on him and Bellatrix. Harry continued moving forward, his every step telling his purpose. Her fear seemed to become more and more apparent with every step he took and every spell he deflected.
Just feet away from Lestrange he pointed his wand. "CRUCIO!" erupted from his mouth. The force of the spell knocked Bellatrix Lestrange ten feet back and to the ground, writhing in agony. Although his anger was righteous, this time he meant to cause her the most severe pain possible. He kept his wand pointed at her, continuing her agony, for several seconds longer, until Harry suddenly found himself standing over her, his wand pointed directly at the person who had just murdered the woman he loved. She looked up at him showing more fear in her eyes than Harry had ever seen in another person. Harry knew why she was afraid. Anyone in the room could see that murder was in Harry's eyes. All he had to do was say it; he desperately wanted to say it. It was not as though she didn't deserve it. It was not as though the world wouldn't be a better place without her. Then a voice popped into his head. It was the calming of love and compassion. It was Ginny's voice. Harry you don't have to do this. You're not a murderer. You aren't Voldemort. The urge to kill drained away from Harry. No, he could not kill Bellatrix Lestrange. It would do nothing to bring Ginny back, and he could never sink down to the level of Lord Voldemort. Harry lowered his wand but continued to stare down at Bellatrix. Her look changed from fear to a look of sneering triumph. "Awww…wee little Potter's too scared…"
"STUPEFY" Harry yelled, and the stunning spell shot out from the tip of his wand, rendering Bellatrix Lestrange unconscious.
Suddenly, the loud high pitched voice of Voldemort flooded the Great Hall. He was calling for his Death Eaters to return and giving Harry an hour to come out to meet him.
As the remaining Death Eaters vacated the Great Hall and the castle, Harry looked over towards Ginny's body to see Mrs. Weasley wailing over what had once been the woman he had wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The rest of the Weasley family was all there at her side now. Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Fleur were all trying to comfort her, which was difficult considering that they were holding back their own tears with little success. Fred and George both just stared down at their sister's lifeless body, too much in shock to do anything else. Harry knew that their grief was just beginning. He watched as Percy, obviously injured, limped up and whispered something into Mr. Wesley's ear. Mr. Weasley immediately fell to his knees, now overcome with grief at the news that Ron was also gone. Within a few seconds, the entire Weasley family was as bad off as Mrs. Weasley. As much as he wanted to go and be with them, to mourn with them, he could not bring himself to do it. He did not want to see Ginny that way.
Harry felt a hand gently touch him on his shoulder. He turned to see Hermione. Tears were again flowing from her eyes. "Harry…I'm so…sorry," she said. Harry could tell that she wanted to say more but really could not find the proper words.
For the first time that night, Harry truly felt as though he was at his limit. He struggled to hold back the tears. He knew that no one would begrudge him them now. It was so near the surface now that it would be easy to just let it all out. But Harry could not do that, not while Voldemort was out there waiting for him. "I'm alright…" he finally managed to say.
"No, you're not Harry. How could you be?"
"I meant…I'm alright for now." Harry looked down at Hermione. "I have to finish this first. There will be time for tears when this is done." Hermione gave him a sort of smile. "Go, you should be with the Weasleys. I'll come find you when I know what we need to do next."
Much to his surprise, Hermione did not argue with him. Instead, she gave him a long, tight hug before joining the Weasleys. Harry slipped back under the invisibility cloak and went to Dumbledore's old office to look at Snape's memories. Once again, the dream moved ahead. Harry was now walking into the Dark Forest. He had just left the castle and everyone that he cared about behind. It had been hard a walk through the castle, but he hadn't stopped for fear that he would not be able to continue with what had to be done. The memories of seeing the Weasley family, still distraught over the loss of Ron and Ginny were still fresh in his mind. He had heard Mrs. Weasley frantically asking if anyone had seen Harry. She seemed to know that Harry was going to face Voldemort, although everyone tried to tell her that Harry would never be so foolish. He had also seen Hermione sitting next to Ron's body. Tears were streaming from her eyes. Harry found it hardest of all to leave Hermione behind. She had lost one of her friends already, and now she was about to lose another friend. More than anything, Harry had wanted to go to her and explain what he had to do and why, but he couldn't. As much as she would understand why it had to be done, he also knew that she would try to talk him out of it, telling him that there had to be another way. However, Harry could see no other way. He was one of Voldemort's horcruxes. As long as he remained alive, so to would Voldemort. He had to die. So he left the castle and headed into the Dark Forest. No one, except Neville, had seen him leave.
It was in the forest that Harry finally figured out how to open the Golden Snitch left to him by Dumbledore. Out popped the Resurrection Stone. He turned it over in his hand three times. There they were, the six of them standing in front of him, not really there but not ghosts either. His mother had told him how brave he was. He spoke to Lupin, then to Sirius. Sirius had just told him that it dying didn't hurt, when Ron chimed in, "It's not so bad really, being dead…kind of peaceful, actually." Harry turned to Ron, saddened by the fact that his friend was now here instead of back at the castle with Hermione, where he belonged. "I'm sorry that I got you involved in all this, Ron. I wished you'd've had more time with Hermione."
"Don't worry, mate, I knew what I was getting myself into. It was my choice. You're my friend Harry. I couldn't very well let you run off and Listen Harry, it's been fun being your friend. Well, most of it has been fun anyways. There were those other few parts…well…best not to mention them really. Don't worry about Hermione. I mean, it's my own bloody fault for taking so long. I just had to go out with Lavender Brown last year. At least I got to snog her in the end, huh?" Harry couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
Then, Harry's gaze fell on to Ginny. She was smiling at him. She was still so beautiful. "Ginny, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have ended things with you. I shouldn't have been so stupid. I just wanted to…"
"Shh Harry." Ginny said very gently. "Don't say anymore. I know you didn't want to break things off with me. You were trying to protect me, I know that, and it makes me feel good to know that you wanted to protect me because I knew that you loved me."
"I still do love you." Harry said quickly, not knowing it would be the only time he would ever get a chance to say those words to Ginny.
"I know you do, Harry. I'll always be thankful that I got to have you. That's all that matters to me. I love you Harry Potter."
Even in death, Ginny was a comfort to him. More than ever, he wished could take her into his arms, to show her how much she meant to him. Harry felt a greater understanding and sympathy for Cadmus now.
"Don't cry son," Harry's father said. It was only then that Harry realized that there were tears in his eyes. "You've been lucky enough to experience something that so few people ever do. You've been able to truly love someone. You will always have that."
Harry's gaze finally returned to his mother, finding as much comfort in her eyes as he had with Ginny just moments before. They walked on, Ginny to his immediate left and his mother to his right. It was comforting knowing that the two women he cared most about were on either side of him, walking him to his death. He took solace in the fact that, in a very short time, he would be with all of them once again.
Notes: Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I have a few things on my plate, and it can be hard to find the time to write and re-write the chapter when I have few distractions. As this chapter and the one to follow were originally one much larger chapter I should have it ready to go in a much shorter time. I would also like to know what everyone thinks about this story. So any and all reviews and criticisms are welcome. Don't worry, I can take it.