The end.
A screeching ringing filled the air and many fell to the ground, covering their ears tightly as the remaining windows of the fine school shattered into a fine dust that sprinkled to the ground. The unmistakable gold link between Voldemort and Harry Potter split abruptly and a large flash of green filled the air. For a moment, the entire world seemed calm as time seemed to stop as debris floated in the air. But it was only for a brief moment. Two light thuds were heard when time started again followed by a piercing scream.
Ginny Weasley ran to the empty shell of her former lover and she held him to her, sobbing and uttering cries of denial. Many stood in shock as the reality of what just happened dawned on them. The only noise present was Ginny's lone sobs as she held Harry close to her. Luna held Neville and cried silently into his chest as Molly and Arthur pulled their daughter away. Ginny screamed and kicked against her father's tight grip while Molly whispered gentle things into her ears as she tried to console her only baby girl.
Hermione stepped out into the courtyard for a moment, seeing Harry's body. She covered her mouth and turned in horror, quickly retreating back into the castle holding back her sobs. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Good was supposed to triumph over evil like in all of the old fables, tales, legends, and stories. Harry Potter was dead.
Her heart already breaking Hermione went down the vacant halls slowly, feeling the pain of losing someone she loved. Hogwarts her home was in ruins like some forgotten civilization. Harry Potter was dead.
Dead bodies littered the corridors where her she once shared jokes with friends, avoided curses from enemies, and where she learned to love the world of magic. Harry Potter was dead. Dead as a dog.
Voldemort and his followers destroyed anger she felt could not be quelled by Voldemort's death alone. He did this. As she traveled down another hall she saw Ron, the one good thing in her life. She smiled momentarily until she noticed the scene unfolding before her.
Ron wiped his tears and closed Lavender's Brown eyes whispering to her inaudibly. He kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek, shaking uncontrollably. Similar to his sister, he held her body close and wept. It was at that moment when she knew Ronald Weasley was still and would forever be in love with Lavender Brown.
Hermione felt her heart beat uncontrollably against her chest. The pain of a thousand heartbreaks consumed her and her knees felt wobbly. She turned and quickly ran from the scene. No matter how fast she ran that image wouldn't escape her. "I love you Hermione."
"I love you Hermione," taunted her memory.
"You are the only one for me."
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Hermione screamed and brandished her wand out, blasting a large hole into the stone wall. She panted softly and shook as she gripped her wand tighter. She retreated into her sanctuary in Hogwarts, the library. If it were possible to have more heartbreak, the sight of the once great library could have cost it. Death Eaters must have started burning books as large piles of ash littered the floor. One bookshelf remained however with a single book. Raising a single brow, she slowly approached the book. Hermione's thoughts were racing. Why would the Death Eaters leave one book. Was it an accident or was it on purpose? Hesitantly Hermione took the book off the shelf feeling the magic hum through the object. An invisible force tugging on her as she sat down. Her surroundings melted around her and she flinched getting up quickly as if that could stop it. Hermione blinked as she surveyed the room.
She was now standing in Flourish and Blotts or what she thought was. To her surprise a little wizard chasing a flying book was headed towards her. "No stop!" She tried to grab the boy before he collided with her, but he went right through her. Eyes widening in fear and shock she backed up into a shelf, finding that no one could see her. "Hello?" she called out to the wizards, but they all passed her like she was air. " I'll bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter? Famous Harry Potter. Can't go into a bookshop without making the front page," sneered a familiar voice.
Hermione walked through a crowd fawning over Lockhart's new book and she realized what this was. It was her memory of a peculiar encounter second year. Ginny turned red as she moved forward to come to his defense. "Leave him alone," she spat irritability.
Draco's face drew into a condescending and amused smile. "Look, Potter. You've got yourself a girlfriend."
Ginny's face darkened to a shade that matched her hair while the younger Ron's ears turned the same shade of red.
"Now, now, Draco, play nicely," cooed a sickening voice. Lucius Malfoy smiled softly as he gazed down at the young group of friends. "Mr. Potter. Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last,"he said extending his hand, which Harry took hesitantly. Instantly Lucius grabbed Harry's hand tightly and pulled him forward.
"Forgive me," he said hastily as he used his cane to draw back his bangs covering his scar.
"Your scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you," Lucius said in a whispered. His voice contained admiration and somehow pity.
Harry glared and pulled away. "Voldemort killed my parents. He was nothing more than a murderer," he spat with anger lacing every syllable.
Lucius only smiled at this sight. "You must be very brave to mention his name." Then he paused for a second. "Or very foolish."
Hermione flinched as her younger self cut in. "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Hermione stared and wondered how she could ever let her hair get that bad in the first place or matching a blue jumper with a red skirt.
Lucius quickly spun to face the young girl and he quickly masked a face of disgust to a face of politeness. Recognition quickly washed over his fine features and he spoke calmly. "And you must be Miss Granger."
It wasn't really a question, but Draco nodded in confirmation anyway. Lucius smiled and continued. "Yes, Draco has told me all about you. And your parents." He looked over to her parents that were talking with Mr. Weasley. "Muggles, aren't they?" His tone was lighter and seemed thoughtful as his lips curled upwards.
Hermione both present and past, balled up her fist in rage at his threatening tone.
Lucius smiled and continued. "Let me see red hair, vacant expressions, tatty second hand books, you must be the Weasley's," he said as he grabbed a book out of Ginny's cauldron to prove a point. Like a wildfire Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny all had the same reaction where their faces flared in anger while Mr. Weasley came over.
"Children! It's mad in here! Let's go outside," he said cheerfully as he placed a hand on Ron's back.
Lucius smiled down at Arthur. "Well, well, Weasley senior." Arthur's smile disappeared and he responded with a curt Lucius. However the unwelcoming tone didn't deter him. "It is tiring at the Ministry, Arthur? All those extra raids. I do hope they are paying you overtime. By judging by the state of this I say not. What is the use being a disgrace to the name of Wizard if they don't even pay you well for it."
Mr. Weasley flushed a shade of red and quickly responded, "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of Wizard Malfoy."
Lucius smiled. "Clearly," he glanced over at Hermione's parents "Associating with muggles... And I thought your family could sink no lower." He dropped Ginny's book back into her cauldron along with another book. Hermione frowned at this. Why didn't anyone notice before?
The flash of light appeared again and she was back in the library, clutching the very book Malfoy placed into Ginny's possession. Curiously, Hermione flipped through the old yellow pages and frowned. Empty. The only thing that was written on the leather bound book was the initials TMR. Those initials seemed familiar to her somehow, but blame the grief or heartbreak, she couldn't place them. Her thoughts wandered to her favorite kiss she shared with Ron.
Hermione sat in her favorite sofa in the Gryffindor Common room with her Divination book open. Her curly hair was tied in a messy bun and she bit down on her quill in frustration. "Argh! This is so stupid." She threw her parchment into the hungry fire and proceeded to take out another roll.
Ron walked in, his red hair still damp from the shower from she assumed he had taken after Quidditch practice. He smiled as he came behind her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, rubbing them gently. "Hey."
Her eyes softened when they met his and she smiled shyly. "Hey."
She noticed that his arms continued to get stronger and his big hand held her small one. His eyes shone in the firelight and he cupped her face gently as he pressed his lips to hers. Hermione placed her hand on his cheek gently as the sparks flew for her and gently responded to this kiss.
It was the first one that felt like Ron meant it. It wasn't wet and it was just nice. Hermione felt as if for once she could tell Ronald loved her. Ron loved her. Little did Hermione know, but Ron was only kissing her out of guilt and that he had just come from a broom cupboard with Lavender.
Taking out her wand, Hermione conjured herself a soft sofa from a piece of wood, much like the one she had always shared with Ron, and sat with the book. She lazily flipped through the book and stopped, sitting up as she found a page with two words in elegant script. Mori volo. Hermione frowned as she stared at the Latin phrase. "I want to die."
The book emitted a red light and suddenly felt hot to the touch, making Hermione yelp and drop it quickly. The book started spinning around the room and suddenly Hermione felt as if her insides were exploding. As her brain seemed to pound against her skull, she instinctively screamed holding her head and closing her eyes as she crouched down trying anything to rid herself of the excruciating pain. It felt like every cell in her body was screaming and ready to burst. All of Hermione's senses numbed and what was most likely ten seconds felt like ten years to her as her senses twisted and turned against her. Insanity tickled her mind as her mind lost its grip on reality for that moment, but reality gripped her by the collar and pulled her away as her body landed in a great pool of water.
The pressure of the water crashed against her skin and the force of the water was pulling her down and around like a limp doll. Her body seemingly fell deeper there was a flash of something in the water. A Grindylow clung to her leg as she neared large kelp plants and Hermione accidentally let out a large breath of air in shock as she struggled to free herself. More Grindylows jumped from the weeds and pulled her near the bottom. Her lungs were on fire and burned in protest as Hermione tried to reach for her wand. Grindylow after Grindylow clung to her, many biting her and others still pulling her down. She held her wand and attempted to utter the bubblehead charm, but the lack of air was making her dizzy. Her honey coloured eyes started to close when she saw a large figure swimming towards her.
Hermione thought it was done when the figure pointed a wand at her. Her eyes widened and she quickly closed her eyes again, but one of the beasts released her leg. The fatigue was getting to her and her vision became even more unclear as she tried to focus. Her eyes fluttered and her thoughts quickly focused on who was helping her. A clearly cast "immobulus" sent the Grindylows away while Hermione felt the person grab her hand and cast a nonverbal spell projecting them out of the water and onto the shore.
A group of Hogwarts girls screamed from the shore and were quick to conjure Hermione's rescuer a towel. He moved them aside and laid the unconscious down onto the soft grass. Cold, but calculating eyes narrowed and strong hands started compressions into Hermione's chest. He felt her ribs crack under the pressure, but he continued. Soon his lips pressed to hers as he pinched her nose. Powerful breaths filled her lungs and to the crowd watching, it seemed less like an attempt to save her life, but more sensual. Anger filled the girls watching to see Hogwart's Head Boy Tom Riddle smiled softly at her when her eyes opened and for a moment, Hermione thought it was genuine.
"Are you alright miss?" he asked in a silky voice. Hermione just stared at him, while girls swooned and glared. Hermione stared as she noticed how close he was to her face and how she and Riddle were both wet. Reality set in and Hermione flipped shit. She spazzed out and pushed Riddle off her in pure shock. The wizard who would ruin her life just saved her by kissing her!
"Get away from me," she exclaimed. A very shocked Riddle moved back, raising an elegant dark brow.
"Tom is a hero!" cried out angry girls.
"He saved that stranger from drowning," swooned a seventh year Hufflepuff girl.
"I wish he would save me," exclaimed a young Slytherin girl.
Riddle extended her a hand to which Hermione glared at this fake attempt at chivalry. Riddle raised a brow again as Hermione tried to get up on her own. Riddle looked at the strange girl curiously. She was so frail and skinny and small compared to his tall frame. She was probably only 5'5 at most giving him nearly a foot more of height. Hermione started to feel weak again as the world spun again and as soon as she managed to pull herself up, she collapsed onto the soft grass.
The girls gasped and Riddle moved them away. "Move back," he said as he scooped her up.
Cradling her to his chest he was surprised how light she was, but then again she was really small. Professor Slughorn ran down to the Lake and he frowned. "Oh dear what happened Tom?!"
Riddle shrugged looking at the girl in his arms. "No idea Professor. She just… fell from the sky," he said softly, genuinely confused.
The girl reminded him of a doe caught in a pair of headlights the way her bright eyes seemed to be full of fear around him, yet he had done only good towards her. Good, he reminded himself. She should be afraid. All of these fools should be afraid he thought bitterly. He looked back to the girl who didn't even thank him. Her fiery eyes held something far from gratitude and this thought raged the young Dark Lord.
Slughorn smiled brightly at his favorite student. "Well done Tom for assisting the young damsel in distress. Perhaps we ought to bring her to Madame Guardalabene to make sure she is alright."
He let out a hearty laugh and he pat Riddle on the back. "Only the first week of term and already so much excitement. Professor Dippet still has a surprise for everyone," he continued thoughtfully.
Riddle nodded in mock urgency combined with agreement. He didn't care what happened to this strange girl and he started heading back to the castle quickly with the bumbling Professor close by. Questions filled his mind as he carried her and nothing would stop him from finding out. He shivered in his drenched garments as the wind blew around them. Quickly, he began to regret his impulsive action to dive into the water. Slughorn led him to the Hospital Wing and called for Madame.
Madame Guardalabene was old, but somehow retained her beauty within her elegance. Her french roots were very apparent, and she choose to always over exert her accent when she spoke. She seemed to glide in her dark red robes as she came over and exclaimed swearing in French. "What iz dis Horace?!" she screeched.
She quickly grabbed a book and started swatting at Slughorn. "I told Dippet your class iz too dangerous! Ze poor girl suffers, because you are a big great buffoon!"
Slughorn ducked from the book. "Now now Madame. This girl needs help. She fell into The Black Lake."
Guardalabene smiled at Tom. "Mister Riddle, set her down in ze empty bed. Yes. Sluggy get out!" she said pointing to the door.
Tom set the girl down and looked at her. "Madame, I don't mean to be nosy, but she will be alright. Right?"
Guardalabene nearly laughed. "Young man, you already saved her life yes? I wouldn't worry about her. I'll be speaking to Dippet about ze act of courage Tom. Great rewards yes?"
Tom flushed a bit. "I was just performing my duty as Head Boy." The bit of color on his cheeks was well rehearsed and Riddle was a brilliant actor.
Guardalabene had a wistful look on her face as she performed a warming charm on Hermione's sleeping form. "Perhaps, or maybe zere iz something else? It is a beautiful day out and I'm sure you are not the only student out by the lake. Others could have jumped for her, yes?"
Tucking Hermione in, the older woman thought to how she met her husband briefly. Tom paused and for a bit he felt himself open up to Margaret Guardalabene. "I… I-I didn't think about it," he said softly looking at her.
"I'm sure ze pretty girl will have everlasting gratitude for you," she said slowly with a wink.
Tom laughed awkwardly. "I don't think so."
"No?" she asked as she put her wand away.
Flashing his trademark smile he ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think so Madame."
Guardalabene smiled and she shooed him away. "Off you go. She will be awake in a couple of hourz, right in time for ze feast I'd imagine."
Riddle smiled politely and bowed slightly, taking his leave. As he walked down the halls, his mind wandered to a dream. It was always the very same thing.
Tom walked through the fog of the Forbidden Forest surrounded by his knights. The low deep voice of a woman came through as he continued to walk.
The Dark Lord will Rise. That which will rise will always fall. He will meet his match, that will bring him great power, but also will be his downfall.
Tom stopped in his tracks and quickly looked around him. His followers were gone and a sense of fear grasped him. A small woman in a dark hooded cloak kneeled before him near a body. She stood up, her magic crackling against his in full opposition. Her body seemed tense, but her posture strong and proud. Was this his great enemy? A mere woman? Tom inhaled the air full of magic and his eyes narrowed to the body near her. He started towards her with his trusted yew wand pointed only to be expelled back by her magic. He fell to the ground and glared daggers at the woman. The only thing he could clearly see was her honeyed coloured eyes as she turned and started walking away into the progressing fog. It was almost like she dared him to follow her. His eyes widened as she moved away from the body of a great wizard. Tom was staring at his own corpse.