Ginny twisted and turned in her bed, trying desperately to hold onto the memory of something. She could see the shape of a human, there in her thoughts. He was reaching out to her in someway, his hand close to her face. But she couldn’t remember what that hand felt like. She couldn’t remember the smell of his hair or the color of it. His eyes were green, she thought. Or were they blue ? She couldn’t remember ! She knew the name. Harry. And she knew that she loved him. But she also knew that she couldn’t hold onto it forever. The memories were fading, slowly but surely, and soon there would be nothing left. She cursed the Malfoys and Bellatrix Lestrange as she began to fall into a restless sleep. She knew that in the morning, even more of what she had now would slip away.

“How are you alive, exactly?” Hermione pressed.

The two of them had been walking for nearly three hours, and the only thing that Harry had talked about was the potion that would bring back her mortality. She was beginning to get bored, and wanted to know exactly what had happened to her best friend.

“Harry,” she continued when he didn’t say anything, “tell me. What’s so bad about it ?”

“Nothing’s bad about it at all,” Harry said, “I mean, I’m alive…what could be bad about that?”

“Exactly!” Hermione said, “So why are you avoiding the subject?”

“I’m not avoiding it,” Harry replied, “It’s just that…well, I’m not completely sure if I understand it. See, Snape said…”

“Ok, start there. What’s all of this about Snape ?”

“He saved me,” Harry said,“He plucked me from the battle when he realized that I was still breathing. He took me to this little Muggle Cabin and fixed me up. That’s why it took so long to get to you. I wasn’t completely healed yet.”

“Harry,” Hermione said,“he killed Dumbledore!”

“Not out of cold blood,” Harry replied,“He told me that is was something that had to be done.”

“Wait…why did…” she began, but then shook her head, “Never mind. How on Earth did you survive that Killing Curse ? I mean,Valil said it hit you squarely in the chest. People don’t just bounce back after that, you know.”

Harry told her about the connection between him and Ginny, and how her love for him had kept him alive. Hermione listened intently, her sharp mind taking in every detail so that later, if need be, she could use that knowledge for their benefit.

“Snape says that her love feeds my strength,” Harry finished,“He told me that as long as she continues to hold onto her feelings for me, then I’ll be alright.”

“Wow,” Hermione replied,“Love really is the strongest magic there is.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, smiling, “I guess it is.”

They were silent for a moment. Across the small field that they were crossing, the only thing that could be heard was the crunch of their feet on the grass. Both were contemplating what had been said, each lost in thoughts of their own love. They were out there, just waiting to be rescued, with no idea that Harry or Hermione were alive.

“Harry, I have a confession to make,” Hermione said finally. Harry looked up at her inquisitively, a thoughtful smile across his face.

“Yes ?”

“Before Ron and I started going out,” Hermione said, “I think…I think that I…”

“Yes?” Harry repeated, now curious and nervous at the same time.

“ I think that I may have loved you both,” she said, taking a deep breath, “Each time I was with you, I felt so happy and free, almost as if I could fly. And then, I would see Ron with another girl, and I would get so jealous. My heart, I think, was trying to decide which way to go. I wanted you to know that…that even though my heart belongs to Ron, a piece of it is yours as well. It always has been. It always will be.”

Harry stopped for a moment and looked at her, completely unaware of what to say. There she was, standing there, telling him that part of her was in love with him, and he didn’t know what to do. He just stared at her, frozen on the spot, hoping that his mind would come to life and make him do something. Then, he felt his legs move forward. He put his arm on her shoulder and then kissed her lightly on the cheek.

“Part of me has always loved you too, Hermione,” he said, “I just…I don’t…”

“It’s okay, Harry,” she said, “We can stop there. I mean, after all, I did choose Ron. It’s him that I’m in love with. And I know that your heart is set on Ginny. I just wanted you to know that. When I was trapped in that Hell back there, thinking that you were dead, I felt so horrible because I knew that you would never know. Now, you do. I hope that nothing happens to any of us. But, in case it does…at least you know now, right?”

“Right,” Harry said, “That’s…that’s good.”

There was an awkward silence between the two for the next half-hour. Their feet shuffled along, going up the large hill in front of them and then back down. Harry looked set and determined on finding something tonight. Hermione kept praying and hoping that Ron was okay. She didn’t even want to picture Ginny in her predicament. It was too painful. She kept her mind on her boyfriend. It would stop her from focusing on the headache that was growing in her right temple.

It wasn’t until they reached the middle of the small wood that they were crossing when Harry bent over. He placed his hands on his knees, as if he were extremely exhausted, and looked up into the sky. Hermione moved around to face him.

“Harry?” she said, her brow furrowed with worry, “Is everything alright?”

Harry nodded his head, but he put his hand up to silence her. He blinked his eyes several times and shook his head once or twice. He let out a small moan, as if he were in pain. Then, he slowly arched his back and stood back up.

“What the bloody hell was that all about?” Hermione asked.

“I honestly have no idea,” Harry replied, wiping a small amount of sweat from his face, “I was just fine, and then all of a sudden, I got really dizzy. I could almost feel the Killing Curse hitting me again. That was so…so weird.”

“Well, maybe you’re just tired,” Hermione said, “I mean, we have been walking for a long time, and you haven’t moved that much in a couple of weeks. Maybe we should…”

“No,” Harry said, “No breaks. It’s only dusk. We can make it to that camp before the sun completely sets.”

“How do you know that?” Hermione asked, “Do you possess the “Sight ” now, too?”

“No, Snape told me,” he replied, and she backed off. She’d forgotten that the former Potions Master had helped her friend. Nodding, she continued to follow him deeper and deeper into the wood.

Harry had changed, Hermione noticed. When he had last looked into her eyes, she noticed a light in his eyes that had never been there before. Perhaps it was just because she hadn’t seen him in so long, but she could tell that something was different. She didn’t feel as though she were walking with her seventeen-year-old boy anymore, but rather a true and powerful wizard. She also noticed, however, a new emptiness within him. The darkness that had fallen over their world was weighing down on his shoulders, and she knew that he knew it. She also knew that, just as he had always done, he was blaming everything that had happened to all of them on himself. She wanted to put her hand out and touch his shoulder, to tell him that none of this could have been prevented, but instead she continued walking behind him. Her head, however, was now pounding ruthlessly.

“Harry, I have a headache,” she told him, and he turned around quickly.

“What does that mean?” he asked her anxiously. She stopped and leaned up against the nearest tree, massaging her eye sockets to numb the pain.

“It means that I’m hungry,” she said, and his eyes grew anxious.

“We…we have bread in my backpack.”

“You know what I mean.”

Harry shook his head, unable to think of what to do. The potion wouldn’t take full effect for another three days. He didn’t know if she would be able to last that long. He looked to her for advice on what to do.

“Do you think you could…” he began, but she was already off in the woods, hissing at something below him that he couldn’t see. She pounced on it like an animal, and he heard her sink her teeth into whatever it was. She came back up, a rabbit in her hand. Blood was dripping down her chin. Tears were falling down her cheeks.

“I’m still a monster,” she said, “I still have to kill to stay satistfied.”

“You’re not a monster, Hermione,” Harry said to her, “The potion just hasn’t kicked in yet. You have to have something in you, or else you crash. In this final case, it was blood. It won’t happen again, that I can promise.”

“Three days, right?”

“Three days.”

“Okay. I just needed something for the long journey ahead. I couldn’t keep going.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, “I understand completely. And the journey isn’t much longer. At the end of this wood, there’s another hill. The Death Eaters are camped right at the foot of it.”

“Well, that’s good. Not much longer to walk then, right?”

“Right.”

“Just one question,” she requested of him.

“Yes?”

“What are they doing camping out?” she asked, “I mean, they’ve already defeated the Order. Their mission is complete. Why do they need to march across the land staying in tents together when they have everything and can go home?”

“That’s just it,” Harry said, “Snape said that they don’t have everything that they want. They haven’t overtaken the entire Muggle world yet. They camp out near an individual town, waiting for the right moment to strike. Then, they destroy that town and go out to celebrate in the local pub. After that, they go home for a couple of days, and then go out to do it all again.”

“Talk about a vicious cycle,” Hermione said, and Harry had to nod.

“You could call it that,” he replied, “But that’s going to end tonight. We’re not just saving Ron tonight, Hermione. We’re taking out that entire camp.”

“Well that sounds…WHAT?” Hermione asked, her mouth opening in disbelief.

“You heard me.”

“Harry, did that Killing Curse fry your brain or something?” Hermione asked, “We can’t take that entire camp, they’ll kill all three of us. There has to be atleast one hundred or more Death Eaters serving Voldemort right now. You can’t fight them all at once, you’ll DIE!”

“Did Valil fry your brain?” Harry retorted, “The Death Eaters don’t travel all together, Hermione. There’s twenty or thirty of them in the camp at a time.”

“Oh…my mistake!” Hermione said, “Three against thirty. That has much better odds! Now, maybe there can be a 1 in 10 chance that we ALL survive. Ooo…sign me up!”

“Shut up,” Harry said quietly.

“No! I’m not going to shut up! Not until…”

“No, really Hermione,” Harry said, “We both need to shut up.”

Their argument had carried them to the end of the forest. They were standing at one end of the hill, gazing up above themat the starry sky. Their was an odd orange glow coming from the other side, and the two knew that it was a fire. They had reached their destination. Quietly,. Harry and Hermione snuck up the side of the hill, reaching the top without so much as a « shhh » between them. Each had more important things on their mind than who was being the quietest. They looked down into the camp, crouching so that their shadows would not cast down on the tents. Slowly, Harry motioned for Hermione to crawl with him down the left hand side of the hill. She obeyed, and the two were sliding on her hands and bellies, going down like snakes to where their friend’s tent was. Harry slipped his head inside…and let out a silent groan.

Ron was asleep, his head leaning on the post behind him. His hands were bound with a tight rope, and his feet jutted out at odd angles. To the left slept Macnair, his large axe held in his hand like a large teddy bear. Hermione moved to free Ron, but Harry put his hand out to stop her. Taking a deep breath, he raised his wand. Moving in, he walked over and pointed it at Macnair’s face. Then, after a final breath and a twitch of the shoulder, Harry closed his eyes and whispered the words that had frightened him for so long.

“ Avada Kedavra.”