Because you make me believe in myself
When nobody else can help
Because you live girl
My world...
Has twice as many stars in the sky
Jesse McCartney ~ Because You Live
Harry was standing on the top of the Astronomy Tower in the rain, surveying the scene below. Five hours had passed since the final battle and the grounds still looked the same. There were bodies everywhere. Harry saw two flashes of red hair among the dead bodies and he turned away. When he turned around, he was startled to find himself face to face with Hermione.
“How are you?” she asked softly, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes. Harry hated it when Hermione cried; he hated to see her hurt.
“I’ll be fine, I always am,” Harry answered. Hermione studied him for a minute.
“You’re lying. You’ll never be fine after this. I know that I won’t. I’ll probably still have nightmares about this when I’m 70 years old,” Hermione said. Harry looked away. He felt bad for lying to Hermione and he knew that he shouldn’t have even tried. He couldn’t hide anything from her. It was impossible.
“Well, at least now it’s over and I’ll never have to lose anyone ever again,” Harry said. A knot began to form in his throat. “I’ve lost everyone I have ever cared about because of Voldemort.” Harry started to tick names off. “My mum, my dad, Sirius, Dumbledore, Lupin, Ron, Ginny, Mr. Weasley.” Then Harry looked at Hermione. “But I thank God that I didn’t lose you. If I ever lost you, I would kill myself.” Hermione looked at him, apparently startled.
“What do you mean?” she asked, the tears now running down her face.
“I’d be so lost without you Hermione, you’re my strength, and you’re like part of my soul. You can read my mind; you always know when I am lying and when I am hiding something. You’ve always been there for me, no matter what the risks and the dangers are. You’ve always been my secret defender. And that one time I thought that I lost you, I didn’t know what to do until Neville said that he had found your pulse. I was so relieved and I was angry. I was angry at my self for putting you in danger.” Harry stopped for a moment and looked at Hermione. Without a word, he opened her arms and Hermione ran into them.
“You know, I am just as afraid as losing you, as you are of losing me. I used to have nightmares all the time. Ask Parvarti, she used to wake me up and calm me down. She wanted to know what they were about, but I would never tell her. Then you disappeared for two weeks last summer and I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared that something happened to you,” Hermione whispered.
“Well, now it’s over. I’ve meaning to tell you something for a very long time, and now I can because I don’t have to worry about Voldemort seeing into my mind and trying to hurt you,” Harry said. Hermione looked at him.
“What?” she whispered
“I love you,” Harry said, looking into Hermione’s eyes.
“I love you too Harry. Ever since the day I meet you on the train. I thought you were so cute. Then I pushed my feelings aside because I thought ‘Who would ever like someone like me?’” Hermione answered. Harry walked over to the battlements with Hermione’s hand in his. The Ministry of Magic was now there, clearing out the bodies.
“It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” Harry mused aloud.
“What?” Hermione asked.
“How you can lose so much in one day and still find something to be happy about.”
“You’re going to miss him, aren’t you?” Hermione asked.
“Of course, he’s been my best friend. He has always stood by my side, but look where it got him.”
“Harry, it isn’t your fault that Ron died. He died fighting for what was right, he died helping destroy an evil that has plagued the wizarding world for a long time,” Hermione said, pulling Harry’s face toward hers. “Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
“If I had gone out onto the lawn alone, no one would have died, but everyone followed,” Harry said mournfully.
“Because they wanted to help, they needed to help fight the evil that has plagued them and their families,” Hermione told Harry, who was still looking at the lawn. All of the sudden tears began to shimmer at the corners of his eyes.
“Why did if have to be me?” he asked softly. “I’ve lost so many people that I cared for and now my only thought is why I had to go through all that pain?”
“Because you were the chosen one, Voldemort picked you because he thought that you presented the most threat, and he was right. You’re the one that finished him off,” Hermione said. “Now come on, lets go to the common room, we’re both soaked.” Harry took one last look at the battle field that was his old life. Then he took Hermione’s hand and took a step into his new life, a life with out evil.
REVIEWING IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL