Also, this is all JKR’s, or more fondly known as Jo, and I am merely writing down what I picture as the last chapter of the seventh book, whatever it may be called.
The End of Only One Beginning
Hermione Granger moaned and rolled her forehead against something soft. She slowly opened her eyes, for her head was aching to a level that she was sure had never been reached before. When the blurriness subsided, she saw a pale face and red hair. She tried to push herself up, only to find her left arm felt as if a dagger had just plunged through her skin and muscle. She fell the short distance, back onto her original resting ‘pillow’. Her arm was broken, she had no doubt. Opening her eyes once more against the terrible pain, she looked around, hoping to find her wand. Strangely, she saw it lying a few inches from her left hand. Using her right hand, she slid it underneath her broken arm and stretched painfully to her wand. Grasping it only with her fingers, she pulled it to her, and then, maneuvering it tactfully, she whispered an incantation, and her arm was bound in a splint. The pain was somewhat gone, and after attempting to wiggle her fingers, and finding that she couldn’t, as shocks had shot up her arm. She squeezed her eyes shut, and focused on the black expanse she found there. Then, gathering up her strength, she pushed herself up, and looked into the face of one whom she had walked, studied, laughed, cried and did so much more next too.
Ronald Weasley.
His eyes were closed, and his face had a somewhat peaceful expression etched into his pale features. Hermione once again shut her eyes, and shook her head. That was stupid! she thought, as pain once more riddled her mind. She looked back down onto the face of her dear friend, and berated herself.
Why couldn’t you just swallow it and tell his that you cared for him? Now look at him; lying there, looking too far gone? Why, Granger? Why?
And all too quickly, the events of the night rushed back to her, and tears began to slip down her face, falling onto Ron’s shirt where her head had resumed its rest upon.
Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, watched out of the corner of his eye and he saw his best mate get hit with a curse, and he heard his other friend scream. But, he couldn’t do anything, for the monster in front of him took his entire conscious mind.
Hermione screamed as she watched a curse hit Ron in the chest. As he fell, another one hit his leg, and a sickly crack hit her ears. Ron shouted out in pain as he fell, his broken leg underneath his good one. Ron took a shattering breath, and grabbed his leg. The Death Eater in front of him raised his wand once more and took aim. Hermione screamed and shot a curse at the thing, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. She ran over to Ron, ready to drop at his side, but before she could, she heard a voice shatter the air.
“Mudblood!”
Hermione felt a tug on her body, and whipped around. No one had a hold of her, but a Death Eater had his wand pointed at her. She raised her wand as well, but that was thrown out of her hand, landing a few inches away from Ron, who was still fighting, tears and pain abounding from his face as he sat on the ground. She turned away from him and looked into the masked face of the person in front of her. She stood firm, her chin high, and her eyes on fire. She heard a terrible laugh, and she was whipped around again. She watched as Ron was finally defeated and his body fell back against the ground, his eyes shut, and his face full of pain. Though he was defeated, it was not from the second Death Eater who had been attacking him, for the black-cloaked figure was now lying on the ground, its robes torn and bloody in many places. The Death Eater who was controlling Hermione growled and forced Hermione back around. She was brave enough to give the person, if the enemy could even be called ‘people’, an insolent smile.
She instantly regretted it as pain such as she had never felt before ripped through her body. It forced such tears to come forth, that Hermione momentarily took leave on her senses. Her knees met the ground forcefully, and she was holding her body so hard she feared she would break her ribs. Then the source of pain was gone, and as soon as Hermione could see clearly, she raised her head, and saw the offending Death Eater in a crumpled heap on the ground. She also saw Harry, dear Harry, turn from his reprieve from fighting against the foe of so many people, the horrendous Lord Voldemort. His reprieve had been her, and she felt so very gratefully to Harry. She also felt a surge of hatred for the monster, but it was overthrown by the echoes of pain still in her bones and muscles. She turned and started to crawl towards Ron. When she was but a foot from him, she dimly saw a jet of light hit her left forearm, and she heard the another sickly crack. She crumpled, her head finally resting against Ron’s stomach. Then as her head swam in circles, her conscious mind left her, and all she saw was blackness, and all she heard was the resounding sounds of screams of appalling laughter and pain.
Her body shook with sobs that threatened to escape, but she held them back fiercely.
She slowly raised herself up onto her knees with her good arm and looked down into Ron’s face. She had watched his face for so long -seven years- and here he was. Gone. Or near enough. She reached out her hand and gently stroked his face. It was still warm, and hope, but oh so little, coursed through her body. She then imagined his eyes opening slowly and haltingly, and he looked into hers. She felt angry with herself for imaging this simple thing.
But, his eyes remained opened.
Hermione’s eyes widened as Ron slowly started to push himself up. She shook her head fiercely, hating herself for it, but the image and action didn’t go away. Then Ron, too, grimaced, and he sank back down on the ground, and reached for his leg. Hermione watched, amazed, as he sat up as much as he could.
“Ron?” she whispered. He turned and his blue eyes looked into her brown eyes.
“Hermione,” he replied simply. He reached out and touched her cheek with cold fingers. This act broke her from her reverie, and she clutched at his hand, holding it against her cheek. Tears flooded her eyes once more, and she let them fall as she looked into Ron’s eyes. Ron shifted and grimaced once more. Hermione reached for her wand and muttered the incantation that once again caused a splint to form; this time around Ron’s broken leg. She remembered back four years to that night in the Shrieking Shack. Sirius, in his Animagus form of a large dog, had bitten Ron trying to get to his “pet rat Scabbers”; the slimy, stupid traitor!
Ron broke away from her gaze and looked behind him. He found a small tree about a yard away and he began to move himself over to the tree. Hermione crawled along with him and when he stopped, she sat cross-legged right next to him, and reached for his hand.
“What happened?” asked Ron. Hermione grimaced slightly, remembering everything of the last months.
Harry had indeed returned to Hogwarts. It took a lot of persuasion, but finally, he was won over by the Weasleys, Hermione, Ron, and many people from the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore’s death had been hard on everyone, and Harry had made up his mind to leave Hogwarts and find the remaining Horcruxes, and fulfill the Prophecy. With the promise of the use of any section of the Hogwarts library, everyone in the Order to help him, and the allowance to leave school for anything, Harry returned to Hogwarts, for his final year. Slughorn remained the Potions master, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts position was split between Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, with the occasional appearance of the real Mad-Eye Moody. The tension between Lupin and Tonks had been amusing to behold and was finally resolved when Lupin came to see that she wasn’t going to give up.
All throughout the year, Harry had been a recurrent visitor to the library and missed quite a few of his classes, visiting wizards and places that could help him on his quest. Hermione and Ron sometimes came with him, though more often then not; they remained in the common room, talking about Head and Prefect duties, as Hermione was the Head Girl, or just talking about random stuff, and even studying. They had both secretly enjoyed that company, though they never voiced their opinions to each other. Ron and Lavender were no longer “Ron and Lavender”, so he never had someone to share “quiet” moments with.
Harry and Ginevra Weasley, Ron’s younger sister, remained out of each other’s company. Harry refused to let Ginny come back into his life, for he cared too much. But, by pushing her away, he just as good as said that he loved her more than anything. Hermione and Ron watched this, and shook their heads.
Finally, near the end of the school year, as the sky became darker, and deaths more frequent, Harry found the final Horcrux, a locket stolen by Regulus A. Black. Within two weeks, after which he came back scarred, but with head held high, the Horcrux had been destroyed. The only thing in the way of the Prophecy becoming no more was the single most terrible thing in both the wizarding world and the Muggle world. Lord Voldemort ; a name spoken with frightened reverence by few, Harry one of them. Hermione was another, along with many of the people in the Order. Ron, too, finally had managed to say the name without faltering.
This battle was hopefully the last one. Harry had been on the trail of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hermione, Ron and Ginny had forced Harry to allow them to come, not that they would have let Harry go without them. Armed with only their wands, the four of them set out on a dangerous quest to try to save life as they had come to know it.
And they fought.
“So much; too much to remember,” replied Hermione finally. Ron titled her chin upwards to meet his gaze, and amended his question.
“What happened after I blacked-out?”
“Not much that I can remember. I just remember watching you fall, and hearing-” she shuddered-“your leg break. I shot a curse at the Death Eater in front of you, and then I was forced around by another Death Eater. He turned me around again to gloat in your defeat, and I watched as you fell back. But not without stunning that Death Eater that you were fighting. The Death Eater holding me apparently didn’t like that, and I was hit with a curse and...I, well I just crumpled. There was so much pain. Then the pain was gone, and I saw Harry turn back to fighting V-Voldemort-” she didn’t stutter over the name from fear of it, but because another sob racked her body- “and then I felt my own arm break and then I too, passed out...on top of you as it were.” She stopped speaking, and felt as Ron pulled her close.
She felt him wrap his arms around her, and stroke her back with one hand, and her hair with the other. He nuzzled her head with his nose, and kissed her hair. With her good hand, she brought him as close as she could. She felt tears slip down her cheeks, and she felt his tears on the fabric of her shoulder. She felt Ron’s strong body shudder with his own sadness and anger.
“Why?” he whispered.
“That is a question that could be answered with so many things,” said Hermione simply and truthfully.
“Why did I wait? Why couldn’t I have just told you how I felt? For now, we have no idea of what is going on or how long we will last. Why couldn’t I just say ‘I love you’ so long ago, and allow us the time between then and now to grow close? Why?” Ron didn’t let go of Hermione as he asked her these shattering questions, and Hermione didn’t want to let go either.
Had he really said that? Had he said that he loved her? Had he really?
“Ron, why? Why couldn’t I say ’I love you’? Why did I wait? Why couldn’t we have grown closer?” Hermione answered his questions somewhat with her own. For so many years -Do I even know how long it has been? Do I even know when I started to like him? - they had fought against their feelings, denying them, telling themselves that the other didn’t like them. Why had they been so scared; so naïve?
Ron pulled away to stare into her eyes. She could see so many questions there, and she couldn’t speak any of the answers. He searched her face, before lowering his own, and bringing it within inches of hers. Slowly- oh so slowly, for it seemed time had stopped for Hermione- Ron continued to bring his face, his lips, closer. Finally, they touched hers.
A strange feeling found its way though Hermione’s body. Then, it stopped. Opening her eyes slightly, she found Ron still near to her face, his eyes half open. After what seemed like a century, he brought his lips back onto hers, and the kiss this time was much more.
Though it was not Hermione’s first kiss, nor was it Ron’s, there was something about it that made it their first. It felt like what they imagined a kiss to be. Ron pulled Hermione closer and he could almost feel the want for him to deepen the kiss.
So he did.
It was a wonderful feeling, and he wished it never would end. Alas, a small scream, a rustling and a whimper forced them to break their embrace, though it was with great reluctance. They both turned and saw a figure bending over another in its arms. A cloud moved from in front of the moon, and Hermione and Ron saw a knotted mass of red hair, and another of black. They gasped, and Ron began to push himself up. Hermione instantly got up as well, and pulled Ron up to her. Using each other as supports they walked over to the two figures, knowing who they were.
With some difficulty Ron sat down opposite his little sister. Not so little was she now. She had been through much: rejection, sadness and anger. Most of these came from the boy “no, the man- that she was cradling; Harry. Hermione, too, sat down opposite her two dear friends.
Ginny looked up, tears blurring her vision.
“He’s gone!” she whispered, but with such a force that she might as well have shouted it.
Hermione gasped, and put her hand on Harry’s neck. There was no pulse. She gave another shattering cry, and Ron wrapped an arm around her. Ginny’s tears spilt down her cheeks as she began to speak.
“I had been hit with a pretty bad curse, and j-just fell. With my mind half gone, I saw that...that...that monster point his wand. It all happened so slowly. I saw the beginnings of a green jet, and then, a s-shadow crossed in front of it. There was a blindly flash, and then a, a t-thump, and I was g-gone.” She gave a devastating sob, and lowered her head to rest atop Harry’s forehead. She took a steadying breath and continued. “Then I woke up, and tried to clear the sense of foreboding that was in my mind, but then I saw Harry. Lying here; not moving. I screamed and came over. Then you two came over.” She looked into her brother’s eyes, then her best friend’s.
“Oh Ginny!” whispered Hermione, leaning over the limp form and giving Ginny a gentle hug. Ginny didn’t respond; she wouldn’t let go of Harry. When Hermione let go, she began to speak again.
“I wish that he hadn’t been so stubborn. He knows I loved him; he knew that there as just as much danger placed on me, even though we were very close at the end of last year, as was placed on you or Ron. But he wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t let me love him. But I wouldn’t be stopped; I couldn’t be stopped. He showed me that he loved me so much by trying to keep me safe. I love him still, and I will never love another. Why did you have to be so brave? Why did you jump?” she asked Harry’s body, in such a voice that her undying love was so apparent; Hermione had no doubt of the love of Ginny. “I love you, Harry. And though you can not hear me, I will always say that. I love you.” She began to cry once more, and Hermione felt compelled to say something to Harry as Ginny cried her heart out.
“You were always something special Harry. You could never have been my ‘something special’, but you were Ginny’s. She loves you, and it is a shame that you can’t hear us. You were so brave, and we all were right behind you. We loved you too much to let you go. And even now, we will move on, but we will never forget. I love you, Harry.” She too, began to cry, but into Ron’s shoulder, whose turn it now was to say something.
Ron reached out and grabbed the hand that Hermione had been holding, and clasped it.
“You were a friend of mine. There were many you coulda’ chosen, but you chose me as your best mate. But, you were more then a best mate. You were more. You were another brother, but closer then any of the rest. I, I...I l-loved you too, Harry. And I will never forget the place you had in my heart, in my life, in everyone else’s. I can’t believe that just like that, you’re gone.” His own tears were falling down his cheek. Then, he noticed something miraculous. He shook his head, regretting the pain that he felt, but he felt that it was worth it when the image he saw didn’t go away.
“Ginny,” he said, his voice cracking slightly, “Look at your bracelet.”
On Ginny’s right wrist, which was lying across Harry’s chest, clutching his left shoulder was a silver bracelet. In the middle of the chain, there was a long flat bit that had Ginevra written across it.
She hesitantly raised her head, and looked down at her wrist. There was a slight, irregular occurring mist on the flat part of the bracelet. Her eyes widened, and she too shook her head. The fog wasn’t there when she stopped, but- There! There it was again. It faded, but appeared again. She looked over at Hermione and Ron, both with amazed looks on their faces, and then down at Harry. She placed her hand in the same spot that Hermione had, and left it there for a longer time.
There. There was a movement.
There, there is was again. A soft movement; could it be? Could it really be...?
Ron moved Ginny’s hand away and he too, felt the movement.
“Harry?” muttered Ginny, right next to his ear. A miniscule movement then occurred on the eyelids of the form in her arms. She whispered the name once more, and the movement occurred again in the form of a tilt of his head. Once again, the name was repeated, but there was such an amount of hope behind hit, that Ginny gave a shaky smile. Harry moved his eyes once again, and slowly, his eyelids moved back. Ginny looked as if she could just burst with tears. And burst she did.
Her tears of happiness ran down her cheeks and onto Harry’s as he continued to stir softly. When her name was emitted from his lips Ginny starting kissing Harry’s face and hair softly and yet with great passion.
Hermione was surprised, and yet so happy that she could have jumped to the moon herself. Ron too, had a look on his not-so-pale face that betrayed his joy at watching his friend stir.
“Oh Harry!” Ginny continued to repeat between her kisses. Then she stopped, and just held him. He let his head rest against her shoulder, and he slowly, painfully it looked like, brought his hand out of Ron’s and Hermione joint grip up to her cheek. Wasted not was time as Ginny brought her hand up to her cheek and clutched his hand in hers. A slow, but emotional smile graced Harry’s face, and it spread to his eyes.
Hermione turned to Ron, and careful of her broken arm, embraced Ron. He wrapped his arms once more around her, and kissed her forehead as it rested against his own shoulder. Hermione felt such happiness that her friend was alive and then, it came to her.
“Ron! It’s over!”
He looked into her eyes, confused.
“Harry; he’s alive! That means that Voldemort is dead! Gone forever! Neither can live while the other survives! Remember? If Harry is alive, that must mean that Voldemort is dead! Harry saved Ginny from the Avada Kedavra curse; and he is alive. That means that because of love- and Harry must’ve felt a great deal of it for Ginny to jump out and save her and destroy Voldemort once more- that Voldemort, poor, stupid Tom Riddle, is no more!” She looked ready to now jump from the moon to a far, distant star.
And slowly, her joy seeped into Ronald. “You’re right! It’s over! Ginny: it’s over!”
Ginny and Harry both had been listening to Hermione’s exclamation. Their faces, too, slowly absorbed Ron and Hermione’s joy. Ginny looked down at Harry’s eyes.
“You saved us. You saved the whole of the world, Harry!”
“But, I could-couldn’t have done it without you!” Harry’s words were spoken slowly, and laboriously. Even at the urging that he not speak, he continued. “Because of you, I found love. And using that love, we defeated him.” He looked up at the face above him, and smiled weakly. “I love you, Ginny.”
Ginny slowly bent further and brought her lips to Harry’s in their first kiss for nearly a year. Energy seemed to slowly flow back into Harry, and when they broke apart, he sat up gradually. Ginny moved her leg into a position that allowed Harry to lean back and rest against her knee. From this position, he kissed Ginny once more in a chaste and gentle kiss. Ron and Hermione smiled.
“What should we do?” asked Ron, realizing that they were in the middle of just about no where. “Where do we go; how should we contact the other members of the Order?”
Hermione’s brow furrowed and she thought hard. “Well we all know how to Apparate, so we could try that way. Though I think Harry may be too weak to do so.”
“We can do Side-Along Apparition,” suggested Ginny, “I can hold onto Harry, and Apparate back to the Burrow.”
“That probably is the best idea,” said Hermione. She was slightly surprised that Harry didn’t object to the weakness that he was feeling. “We could probably all hold onto one another, so that we will be stronger.”
Ron nodded. “But I think before we go, we should eat something.” And after saying so, he reached for his wand. But it wasn’t on him, and he got worried.
“Accio Ronald’s wand,” muttered Hermione, and Ron’s wand zoomed over from the spot where he fell. He gave a grateful look to his love, and conjured up a small meal.
Once everyone was somewhat satisfied, they began to stand up, one-by-one. Hermione was the first, and Ron leaned against her as he stood up, before turning to help Harry up. Ginny came last, and Harry leaned heavily against Ron and Ginny. Hermione kept her right arm around Ron’s waist, and Ginny linked her arm carefully with Hermione’s broken one. But before they started to count, Harry stopped them.
“What about Voldemort?” he asked, looking over his shoulder. The others followed his gaze, and gasped at what they saw. A large scorch mark covered the ground not far from where Harry had fallen. In the middle of it was black robe, torn and burnt. On top of that, was a shaft of wood. Voldemort’s wand
“Wait here; I have a feeling that I should go and get that.” He began to step away, but the others stopped him.
“Are you sure, Harry?” asked Ginny. When he nodded, she sighed. “Well, then at least let me come with you.” She lifted Harry’s arm over her shoulder and he walked with her to the scorched bit. Ron and Hermione watched as Harry stepped alone, into the center where he grabbed the wand. Nothing happened, and Harry walked back to Ginny. Slowly they came back to the other two, stooping along the way for Harry and Ginny’s wand that had been blown out of their hands.
“Well, I guess it was a good thing you went back; you would’ve left your wands for good if you didn’t,” pointed out Ron with a smile. The others chuckled slightly, and reformed their circle. Then, they all closed their eyes and pictured the Burrow. Hermione counted off, and on three, they all took a quarter turn.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat holding each other on the back steps of their home. Fred and George were leaning on their mother in a comforting way, the apprehension clear on their face. Bill, his face marred, and his wife Fleur stood in each other’s arms, while Charlie stood near, his arms crossed, staring out at the back yard. Tonks stood in front of Lupin, leaning against his lean chest. He had his head resting against her mousy brown hair, his arms around her waist. Her hair was this unseemly color not because she was sad about Remus, but because she was under stress from the news that McGonagall had brought them.
McGonagall and Moody had appeared at Grimmauld Place to get Remus and Tonks before Apparating to the Burrow, in order to tell all the details at once. Mrs. Weasley had gasped and began crying when she heard of the disappearance of her son and daughter and two people who were close enough to be her children. Her kin had gathered around her and comforted her as they waited for some news of the quartet. McGonagall then left to go and bring Mr. and Mrs. Granger back to the Burrow to await the news, if there was any. They were now sitting close on a bench in the back garden, waiting with just as much trepidation as the rest of the people.
And after many hours of waiting and worrying, their fears departed.
With four pops, tired, but proud, teenagers appeared in the backyard of Ron and Ginny’s home. When they got over the restricted feeling, they noticed the surprised looks on the faces staring at them. Then, with glances shared between each other, the foursome started to limp towards the group, leaning against each other. The Weasleys and their company seemed to snap out of their trance and all of them started to get up. Mrs. Weasley was the first to get to the small and tired group, and she squeezed them all in turn with large, motherly bear hugs. Mrs. Granger was next, and she held Hermione for a great long time. Finally, McGonagall was able to tear Molly and Jane away from the adolescents and lead them into the house.
There, Harry was laid out of the couch, Ginny in an armchair right next to him, holding his hand, with Ron and Hermione on a mismatched couch not far from them, his leg propped up on an ottoman. They all received cups of tea and a Dreamless Sleep potion. Everyone else was very eager to hear their tale, but McGonagall, in her forceful manner, made them hold their questions untilafter the four young adults had regained most of their normal manner.
It was nearly a day later that McGonagall allowed Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny to retell their adventure. What these four expected, they didn’t really know, but they felt sure that the reactions of the adults were more then they had expected.
Silence followed after the account, and in its place came amazement, some confusion and respect for the four young adults.
As Harry looked around at the people sitting in the small family room of the comfortable house, he could feel his heart swell. Ginny was leaning against him in a way that said she was never going to get up, and Harry didn’t want her to. Ron and Hermione had finally come around, and they were looking into each other’s eyes with love. Harry would’ve felt somewhat disgusted if this had happened a few years earlier, but now it felt and looked right. Molly and Arthur were looking at Harry and the other three with incredulity, admiration and love in their eyes. The twins looked amazed and for once on their lives they looked as if they didn’t know what to say or do. Remus and Tonks looked good together; his calm, somewhat worn features complimenting her young, upbeat ones, and they both held looks of deep admiration; for each other and the four teens lying on the couches. Tonks’ hair slowly turned to a bright bubblegum. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked slightly lost at the talk of Voldemort at curses, but they could tell that their daughter took part in a great thing. Bill, Fleur and Charlie looked on with high regard as well.
Harry smiled and felt that everything was just as it should be. Tears of joy filled his eyes and he let them fall. McGonagall must have seen this, for she ushered everyone out of the room once more to let them sleep and be with each other for a bit. She had the most admiring look on her face; once that said she approved and that what she had heard honored the late Albus Dumbledore.
Harry was glad that everyone was gone. He felt tired and really wanted to relax. He was glad that everything was over, but all he really wanted right then was sleep. He turned to look at his Ginny. She looked into his green eyes, and smiled. She then leaned up and kissed Harry soundly on the lips. And as much as Harry would’ve liked to continue the kiss, he ended it and satisfied himself with looking at her for a bit.
“I love you,” he said simply.
“I love you, too, Harry,” said Ginny, stroking his cheek.
“Thank you for not giving up on me. Because of your love, you helped me see so much. Without you, Voldemort never would’ve been defeated. Thank you.” He returned her caressing by running his hand over her hair and her back. She rested her head on his chest and stretched out next to him on the wide sofa. Harry smiled and closed his eyes.
It was all over, and he was happy.
Author’s Note I had thought up this idea a while ago, after finishing the marvelous book known as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (stupid, greasy Snape!) and just now wrote it down. I thank those that have read this, and will ask you one thing: which genre do you think I should put this under? R/H and H/G, or general, or what? Thanks much!
Oh, and maybe if you want, you can check out my James/Lily fic. It’s called “A Few Detentions and a Story”. Don’t worry about it though.
LaneTechFreshie a.k.a. Emily!