FAGE: Sweet 16.
Title: Whispers of the Past
Written for: Bkhchica
Written by: Deonne
Rating: M/T language
Beta: Kgfinkel
Banner Maker: TheDarkestFallenStar
Prompt used: Life altering Decisions and Camping out.
Summary: Some questions need answers, but don't always give you the answers you want.
If you would like to see all stories for this event head to the community page FAGE: Sweet 16. All stories past and present will be posted here. Do not forget to add the C2 to your favorite lists for all new stories as they are posted.
I stood staring at the campsite, the scorches still slashed across the trees from spell fire as Snatchers had sprung up. It was the day that everything we held as truth changed. Who we could trust and who had their own agenda. Hermione's world had shattered as she watched Ron smile while he lifted the sleeve of his jumper and tapped his wand against his forearm. The Dark Mark was like a beacon as the clearing filled with bodies.
We had barely survived that battle. As it was, the scars we had gained matched those on the trees. Deep, painful and telling. And while we won the war in the end, the damage to our world had been done. Friendships and families had fallen as fear had taken hold and survivors were left to pick up the pieces and try to construct a new normal.
Shacklebolt was doing his best, and had relied on the two of us to help bring peace. He urged us to attend as many parties as we could, all in the hopes of relieving the fear of others. After all, if we were there, then no-one would dare to attack. What few realized was that we hadn't come out of it unscathed. Hermione still jumped when she heard leaves crunch suddenly, while I still couldn't step into a room without my wand drawn.
Worst of all, we barely trusted anyone. We just couldn't. That betrayal had been more than just a friend lost in his fear. He gloated as spells were shot towards us. He would bring his family into a new light, one where they were higher than the Malfoys and Potters. One where people would fear to see the end of his wand, and would scurry like vermin from his sight.
Until that is, all the Snatchers were lying on the ground covered in blood and he stood alone. It was only then that he called him to where we were and it cost his life. He had been made an example of for all that followed Voldemort, if you failed you life was forfeit. Images were posted everywhere, his body laid out in the middle of Diagon Alley; gutted and his forearm on display.
We didn't blame the Weasley's; they were just as shocked as the rest of us. But the damage was done, and there was no way to save their image. From what we had heard months later, they had left for Australia and were keeping to themselves.
"I'm not meant to be here." I heard him sigh as the wisps of smoke gathered to form the former friend.
"It's been five years. I think you can give us the answers we need." I stared at him as he stood there unchanged from the boy he was.
"Then ask." he grimaced, looking behind me as her footsteps became louder.
"Why did you do it? Don't try to lie since you can't. It'll hurt you more." I stood there, I felt her hand slide into mine. Her gasp let me know that she too now could see who stood before me.
"You stand there, and expect me to answer you. There's nothing you could do to me now, I don't answer to you or anyone else." He stood defiant, no doubt expecting me to back down.
"And that's where you're wrong. I'm told you don't know what happened after your death, but you should know that things were dramatically different to what you hoped for. You can't leave until I allow you to go, and the longer you stay the more 'painful' it is for you." I smirked as I felt her hand clench around mine and if I were to look at her , I knew she would not be happy with what was happening.
"You're a right tosser, you know that." he huffed as he crossed his arms.
"Then answer the questions and we'll leave you to be in your afterlife. Though word of warning; you've been removed from the family archives. It was Molly's last action before they left for another country." At this, I did look towards her. She looked just as she did when we were back in school, after everything had happened and people would whisper about what had happened.
"You're already starting to feel the pull aren't you?" I smiled as she squeezed my hand a little harder this time. She would be pissed, especially once this had all finished, but only until I answered her questions.
"Fine, ask away." he stomped towards one of the fallen trunks only for him to fall through it.
I felt as she turned her head into my arm, trying to hide her laugh. I didn't bother, only getting louder as he shot us a look of pure hatred. It didn't matter to me anymore that he despised us, we deserved the truth and answers to what had happened back then. When it had turned and why.
"What did you get out of joining them? It obviously wasn't a long life." I asked once he stood back up, his lower legs still in the trunk.
"I was always looked over. With my family, at school. Even with you two." he started, "You should have heard the way my brothers went on about you. You just gave Fred and George the money, didn't ask if anyone else wanted it. And mum was always going on about how well mannered you both were. Like the rest of us were nothing. We were her kids and she liked you two more than us. I recon she'd have happily kicked me out and brought you into the family."
"So you did this because you thought they cared for us more?" Hermione snapped. Stopping his rant from building more power.
"No, I did it because I wanted more. More respect. More power. More everything. He asked for only one thing. That I delivered you, Hermione, was just a bonus." His grin was feral, and instantly I was reminded of the days when the Goblet of Fire had spat my name out. That same look of disgust and envy showed on his face.
I felt as Hermione took her wand out, her movements precise as she waved her wand back and forth, the slow and methodical movement causing wisps of smoke to form before the image of how he was displayed formed.
"That's what your want for power got you. Not sure whose actual handiwork it was; but I can give you a good guess." she spat as I watched Ron take in the image that she had conjured.
"Bullshit. I was loyal right to the end." he walked over to it, trying to kick it free from his sight.
"You're a magical imprint. You can't do anything to anything Ron." she sighed, and I couldn't help but smile. It was so uniquely Hermione as she reprimanded you and in the same breath berated you without having to say anything.
"Right getting back to what we are here for. Who else did you sell out to Voldemort?" I asked as she whipped her wand once more and the image faded away.
We watched as Ron choked a few times, words he wanted to deny fighting to come out. It would have been comical if it didn't mean he had been feeding information to them for longer than we thought. He was our Wormtail. I knew right then that I'd have chased after him, just as Sirius had after that October night.
"Jordan and the twins. The raid on their hideout was easy. No one would expect a Weasley to out their own family." he sneered once more. "They got Lee, but Fred and George got away. So did that weird guy from the Order. He was pissed when he realized that he missed him by minutes."
"Lee," she whimpered as she listened.
"Oh it wasn't just them. Dean was a bit put out when he figured it out, that Li girl from Ravenclaw, and some other muggle borns. Luna was fun, though a bit mental. We did try to find your aunt but the Order hid them too well. We did find your home though Hermione: Greyback was very disappointed you weren't camped out there."
"Were you always this vile?" Her ire grew as she stood there, only making him smile as he got the response he wanted. Hurting her had seemed like a idiotic behavior of a school boy, but now I wasn't sure.
"Please I may not know what happened after I died, but I watched you take down those snatchers. You're not as innocent as you act." he snapped back.
"The difference is that you seemed to take pleasure in what you did, we never did. Not once did we aim to kill. And every life that ended by our hands we carry with us." I groaned as I pulled her to my chest, watching with a slight satisfaction at the angry look he shot me. "How's that pull going by the way?"
I watched as he grunted, his hand coming up to his chest trying to alleviate the ache that had pulled once more into his chest. My hand tightened on the small stone in my hand, and I watched as he moaned; almost buckling instantly at my movement.
"How did you do that." he whined as I slightly loosened my grip.
"One of the perks it would seem." I smirked as Hermione started to turn towards him once more. "Keep being a prick to her like that and I'll make it worse."
"Fine, whatever. She's not worth it." He waved his hand to dismiss us. It was obvious that the pouting.
"Are you okay Hermione?" I whispered as she slowly gathered herself once more. Her grip changed as she moved, pulling my arm around her all while keeping skin-to-skin contact.
"I'm fine. I wasn't ready for that, for this." she sighed before squaring her shoulders. "How didn't he know about our hunt?"
"Of course he knew about it. The diary, the ring, and the necklace. He's the Dark Lord," he laughed, his eyes had the same crazed look as Crouch Junior when Dumbledore confronted him in the office after the third task.
"Was the Dark Lord. He's dead and all of his little items are long gone." she smirked as he cut him off and watched as his face contorted.
"Again with the bullocks story. Nobody could have defeated him." he stormed up to us, his face only inches away from us as smoke like spittle flew from his mouth.
"Harry did. Right in front of everyone. Neville took out the snake with the sword of Gryffindor, Ginny got rid of the diadem with a fang from the basilisk, and well, riding a dragon out of Gringotts was a different experience. All in all, your Dark Lord died mortal." she smiled only to flinch seconds later when his ghostly hand flew forward to hit her.
I squeezed that stone with everything I had, watching him scream in pain as he withered on the ground. I felt as my nails dug into my skin, the pain only furthering my need to cause pain.
"Harry, stop. You don't know what it would do if your blood hit the stone when someone was here." she had turned in my arms once more as I looked at the shadow of the boy I once thought of as a brother.
"After everything we went through at school, when did you decide that you would become the second coming of Scabbers?" She asked as I began to breathe once more.
"I am nothing like Wormtail. I stood there, willingly. I stood there proudly as he gave me my mark. He held me higher than the ferret Malfoy." he stood there once more smugly smiling as we watched on.
"At least Malfoy's still alive. Hell, he even helped defend Hogwarts in the end rather than answer to a man who was more animal than a werewolf ever would be. You however were killed by that animal you pledged your life to. Nothing more than a footnote in his paragraph in history." She stood there venting her anger, something she had been holding back for so long in fear of hurting others.
He scoffed at her as she stood barely holding contact with my arm, stepping as close to the memory of someone we had thought of as family. She looked like an avenging angel against the demon of her past. We had spoken about everything once the war ended, his betrayal was the one part that she had still found hard to look past.
"Are you finished? I don't think he ever understood what he did." I asked, pulling her back to me. As much as I would happily see her tear him to shreds, it wouldn't truly be him. It would help, only on the surface.
"One more question, where are the dead? If nothing else, clear this off your soul and let them be laid to rest." she sighed, her body sagging against me.
"No, I don't think I'll tell you. Not until you tell me how you're able to do this. For as much as Hermione is bookish, and you're too light to play with dark magic." he scoffed
"Answer her final question and you have my word. I will tell you exactly how I'm able to bring you here." I sighed, It had already taken so long to get here. It wasn't taxing on my magic, but my body felt heavier as we stood here.
"You've not looked hard enough really. I mean it's pretty obvious that he'd have hidden them where no one could find them. So few knew anything about him. It's how I rose to where I was so quickly after all. I really should thank you for that, sharing all those memories that Dumbledore showed you. It's kind of ironic really." he smirked, "that snitch that Dumbledore gave you talked about beginnings and endings. Yet you two have forgotten about His beginnings."
I watched as Hermione took what he said. She was always the brains of the two of us.
"I know where." she nodded before turning once more. "Good bye Ron. I do hope you realize that there won't be any coming back for you." she smiled before letting me go and walking towards the tree line once more.
"You really did pick the wrong side. Voldemort was a vile dark wizard. He did the most black of magic in creating those horcrux. It wasn't until after you died. We saved Luna after speaking to her dad. A story you probably grew up listening to. The Deathly Hallows… only they're real. The invisibility cloak that had been in my family for generations, never failing to hide those underneath it once." I watched his face as he listened.
"The elder wand once belonged to Dumbledore, but was taken from him by Draco, which was taken from him by me." I pulled the wand from its holster strapped to my arm. Anyone who had been close to Dumbledore would have realized it was his wand.
"And the resurrection stone… found in the Gaunt Family ring that once held part of Voldemort's soul." I held my hand flat as the stone gleamed in my hand, the sun shining through the trees and hitting it. "Add all three together."
"And you become the master of Death." he stammered backwards as if I were able to physically touch him. "Harry, you were my best mate in life. Think of everything we went through together. Let me try again."
Slowly I clenched the stone again, allowing my pain and anger at him to take hold. I watched as he grabbed at his chest, cracks forming on his chest and face.
"Harry, no, please. Don't do this." he cried as a larger crack splintered his stomach.
"There are no more second chances. Goodbye Ron" I stood and watched as he splintered into pieces, his soul shattered beyond repair. Never again would his corrupted soul be able to walk the earth and destroy those still living.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled the box I had stored the stone in and put it away once more, the goblins had created it so that only my magic could open it. It had taken a lot of compromise and gold to repair the damage getting the cup had caused. Thankfully they viewed the horror of horcrux magic just as vile as we did.
As those final screams ricocheted off the trees in my ears I headed towards where Hermione waited, glad that she would never see the memory of his final moments. She may have been able to see the bright light as he splintered into pieces, but she would never see the full demise of his soul. That would be my burden to hold from now until my final breath.
"It's finished. Never again." She stated as she reached into my pocket and removed the box before placing it into that same beaded bag from those years on the run. "I know it'll always go back to you, but no more using it unless it's necessary. Never again Harry. Promise me." she looked up at me and it was only then that I realized what that just cost her. The tears fell freely as she searched my eyes for something.
"I promise." she smiled softly before folding herself into my chest as she had since the day we married two years ago.
Walking a little further into the trees, allowed for the pain to leave and the new emotions to rise. It wasn't far, but the pond was just the same as it was that fateful day. I could still see the sword sitting at the bottom, moonlight making it shine brighter as the snow enchased the banks. Both of us argued as to who should go down into the freezing temperatures and only won when I pointed out it was her wand that we had, her wand that answered her better than it would ever answer me.
That same night when ultimately we both ended in that water when we forgot about the horcrux I had worn around my neck. As the soul piece inside the locket realized it was coming closer to its end. Her hands pulled me to the surface, and her mouth as she breathed air back into my lungs. Her tears as she threatened to kill me herself if I ever tried to leave her again.
And it was two years later that we had stood once more on that bank as we held on to one another when I asked her to marry me. Where instead of freezing cold water we fell into the cool summer water when she hit me before snogging me.
"So you want to tell me what you realized from his last words?" I asked, watching as she turned towards me once more.
"Tom's story began at Wool's Orphanage." she smiled before taking my hand and apparating us away.
