A/N: I do not own any character references by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter series or agree with her comments. This story is a product of my pure imagination. I do not profit from this and will not pay for any commissions for art about this story.
Some legends are told, some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries
And just one mistake is all it will take
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries
Hey-ya, ah-hey
Hey-ya, remember me for centuries
We've been here forever (forever)
And here's (and here's) the frozen proof (the frozen proof)
I could scream forever (scream forever)
We are the poisoned youth (poisoned youth)
~ Centuries by Fall Out Boy
~*~2nd May 1998 ~*~
The grounds between the Whomping Willow and the castle, despite being pitch black, were littered with debris and the bodies of Snatchers and Death Eaters as they walked through the devastation after leaving the Shrieking Shack.
When they entered the castle, there were no bangs, screams, or shouts, unlike when they left, leaving an eerie silence. The emeralds still covered the ground, now stained with blood, as were the stone walls and floor.
Hermione swallowed hard, thinking of how Hogwarts suddenly reminded her of the castle she and Harry had stayed in, but so much more damaged. "Where is everyone?" she whispered.
Ron walked ahead of them to the Great Hall, and Harry followed, stopping in the doorway. Hermione came up next to him, looking in. All the tables were gone, and the room was filled with people. Survivors stood hugging each other. The injured were being treated by Madam Pomfrey and a group of people helping her on the platform where the Professor's table usually sat. Hermione noted that Firenze was among the injured as blood poured from his side.
The dead. Oh, so many dead lay in the middle of the hall. She spotted Mrs. Weasley lying on Percy, her body shaking as Mr. Weasley stroked her hair, as tears fell down his face. Fred, with George sitting next to him, sat with Percy's head on his lap in disbelief. Ron walked to join Bill and Fleur, and Hermione noticed Ginny sitting by herself, her face swollen and splotchy with tears.
Tears came to her face as Harry froze, and Hermione saw the bodies lying in front of them. Remus and Tonks, both pale and still under the dark ceiling.
"I can't do this," Harry whispered as he turned back toward the door.
Hermione grabbed his hand, "I'll come with you."
"No," Harry shook his head, "Stay here. I'm just going to go up to Dumbledore's office and view the memories he wanted me to see." Harry nodded toward Ginny, "Go be with her."
Hermione nodded sadly as she handed him the flask, then watched Harry turn away and race past the debris to the broken marble stairs.
"Where did he go?"
Hermione looked over at Luna and saw the younger woman had a fat lip and a bruised eye, but was thankfully mostly unchanged. "He has something he has to do."
Luna nodded and turned back to the Great Hall. "What will happen to their son?"
Hermione turned around, staring at Remus and Tonks, suddenly feeling so tired, "Harry is his godfather, but Tonks' mother is still alive."
Luna took Hermione's arm in hers, "Come, you look like you could use some food. The elves have brought some from the kitchens."
Hermione weakly nodded as she followed Luna.
It was too much. The tears, the pain others were experiencing. Hermione felt an ache deep inside her and needed some space. She left the Great Hall and went into the entranceway. Walking over to the stairs, she sat upon them, staring out the doors at the dark forest beyond them.
She felt something brush against her and inhaled, looking around. Frowning when she saw nothing, she saw the dust on the step beneath her move and reached out, grabbing for his cloak. She knew he was there, avoiding her. It slid off his body and onto her lap.
"Hermione," he breathed out as he closed his eyes, "Don't… just let me go."
"What did you see, Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry's eyes met her own. "His memories. Mum and Aunt Petunia growing up. He told her that she was a witch…" he trailed off, "I saw my grandparents from a distance for the first time. Everyone tells me I look like Dad, but… I have my grandpa's chin. He was the one from who I got my eyes from. But they just stood there, as even back then, Aunt Petunia called Mum a freak." He swallowed hard, "I saw the moment my parents met, he was there. Sirius was, too, but Dad didn't know him yet. Not really." His eyes met hers, "My grandpa Potter was in Gryffindor, Dad said so. Sirius made fun of Snape from the beginning. No wonder he didn't like him.
Harry looked away from her, "Snape was jealous that my Dad had feelings for Mum back in their fifth year, after Dad saved his life. That was the year he called her… you know… and they stopped being friends. Mum knew what Death Eaters were. She called his friends Death Eaters. He was You-Know-Who even back then. Then he went and told Voldemort about the prophecy, and regretted it after he chose my family. Told Dumbledore to hide us, but Snape cared only about Mum. Even after she and Dad were killed. But Dumbledore asked him to help protect me. He didn't want anyone to know, probably because he didn't want to truly do it." Harry swallowed hard. "Dumbledore knew Malfoy had to kill him, and he asked Snape to do it."
Hermione gasped.
Harry's eyes wouldn't meet hers. "But Hermione, before his death, Snape told him something. The reason I can see Voldemort's thoughts. I have-"
"Don't say it!" Hermione hissed as tears came to her eyes.
Harry gave her a sad smile, "You knew… suspected at least."
Hermione cried, "I didn't want it to be true."
Harry reached out and touched her cheek, and Hermione closed her eyes. He laid a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you."
"Let me go with you," Hermione sobbed, holding onto his wrist.
"No, I couldn't go through with it if you were there," Harry admitted, "Go to Ron. Please."
Hermione opened her eyes and, through the tears, saw his chin quiver.
"Go to Ron, when… when I go, the Snake will still need to be killed, then he can be killed," Harry told her.
Hermione stood and threw her arms around his neck, "I love you, Harry."
Harry rested his head against hers, "I love you. I always have. Now go, before I can't."
Hermione tore away from him, holding onto him as long as possible as he pulled away from her and collapsed on the stairs when he covered himself with the cloak again.
Sitting on the stairs, sobbing, she looked up as Oliver Wood came inside the school with a young boy over his shoulder. So small. More tears came to her eyes when she saw it was Colin Creevey. Neville was at the front door, leaning on the doorframe. Harry had to have just passed him. Neville wiped his forehead and then went back out into the night.
Inside, she felt hollow. Her body ached, begging her to follow him. With great effort, she rose to her feet. Her legs were shaking beneath her as she descended the stairs and looked out at the lawn. Praying to see Harry one last time. Ginny and Neville were moving in the darkness nearest the castle, unaware that mere feet away from them, Harry was walking to his death.
Dementors were guarding the forest, and Hermione briefly worried about him getting through. Squinting, she saw what seemed to be four shimmering figures at the edge of the forest. Close to the color of a Patronus. One seemed to be a woman with long hair, while another was more masculine, with shoulder-length hair. The male figure with shoulder-length hair seemed to sense her, and its body moved, looking toward her. Even in the darkness, Hermione collapsed to her knees as she realized the Snitch had been opened. He had found the stone, and in a desperate hope, she prayed to the God she had not prayed to in years, praying that, with the cloak and the stone, by some chance, Harry might survive this night. For Sirius Black's ghostly presence was waving at her, then turned with the other shimmering figures to the forest. The dementors parted, accepting Harry's fate.
"Hermione? Hermione!" Ron yelled as he ran over to her, "What's wrong?"
Hermione grabbed onto his torn shirt and sobbed into his chest, "He's gone. He's gone off to the forest."
Ron stood up, nearly knocking her to the ground, "We have to go! We have to stop him!"
Hermione sobbed, "Ron… he… he has to." She choked out, "The reason… he… he's a horcrux."
Ron turned pale in the moonlight as he looked at her, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"He sees inside Voldemort's mind, Ron," Hermione sobbed.
Ron stared at her, then pulled her into his arms as tears of his own fell down his face.
In the distance, she heard barely audible yells. Her body turned cold. She knew it had happened. Harry was gone. The trees creaked as if they were crying, while the birds shrieked as if scared by what had happened in the forest, rising into the rapidly brightening sky.
Hermione's fingers curled around Ron's shirt, "Get me inside… I can't…"
Ron slid his arm around her waist and helped her inside. Aiding her to sit inside the Great Hall, he motioned to someone as she numbly sat. She stared out at the Great Hall, remembering the moments they had shared, as they passed before her eyes like a movie.
A chill ran down her spine as people gasped around her, but Voldemort's magnified voice quickly drowned it out.
"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters out number you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."
Sobs filled the room and rumbles of voices started.
"I refuse!"
"What do you mean? Let's go!"
"No, not Harry!"
Hermione clung to Ron's hand as she looked up at him.
"The Snake," Ron whispered as people started moving toward the doors.
Hermione wasn't sure if they were conceding to him or if they were curious about whether Harry was dead, but her legs refused to move. She willed herself to stand, but couldn't.
Ron slid his arm around her back, helping her to her feet. Every step they took felt as if her body was betraying her.
"NO!"
The anguish in McGonagall's voice ripped through Hermione like a spell, and Ron nearly had to pick her up as she fainted.
When she came to, Fred or George was beside her, helping Ron. "What happened?" They asked.
Gasps were chorused through the hall as Ron lifted her into his arms, and she buried her face against his chest.
When they were outside, she heard Ginny scream, "No!!!!"
Ron's chest rumbled against her, "No!"
As Hermione dared to look up and saw his limp body within Hagrid's arms and sobbed, screaming so loud her throat felt as if it were ripping apart. "Harry! HARRY!"
"Silence!" Voldemort cried with a bang and a flash of light, her voice was stolen from her, "It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"
Hermione's muted sobs tore through her as Ron held onto her.
"You see?" Voldemort said, "Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"
Ron's fingers squeezed her arm. "He beat you!"
Hermione tried to speak, but could not as the others started screaming at him. Voldemort had silenced just her.
She flinched as another powerful bang echoed through the air.
"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," Voldemort stated, "Killed while trying to save himself-"
Hermione would have gasped if she were able, as Neville ran forward, charging with his wand outstretched. A Death Eater surged forward and scuffled with him, a stunning spell misfired, and a fist hit Neville in the stomach, sending him to the ground, his wand flying away from him into Voldemort's hand.
Voldemort threw his wand away onto the ground, laughing, "And who is this?" He hissed, "Who volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?"
Bellatrix laughed, "It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"
"Ah yes, I remember," Voldemort said, looking down at Neville, who was struggling back to his feet. "But you are a pureblood, are you, my brave boy?"
Neville stood, his hands curled into fists without his wand. "So what if I am?"
"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."
"I'll join you when hell freezes over!" Neville yelled, "Dumbledore's Army!"
The members of DA shouted with him.
"Very well," Voldemort said, "If that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On your head, be it."
Hermione saw Voldemort raise his wand, and she closed her eyes. Then, a crash above made glass rain down upon the heads of many as a bird flew out of the castle, carrying something in its feet, and flew into the brightening day. Hermione realized it wasn't a bird at all as it flew into Voldemort's hand, and he shook it. It was the Sorting Hat.
"There will be no more sorting at Hogwarts School. There will be no more houses. The emblem, shield, and colors of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom?" Voldemort asked, pointing his wand at Neville.
Hermione tried to cry out, but was still unable as Voldemort forced the hat onto Neville's head. Ginny and Luna inched closer, but the Death Eaters raised their wands, making them pause.
"Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me," Voldemort said, and with a flick of his wand, the Sorting Hat burst into flames.
Hermione heard Mrs. Longbottom's screams as Neville was engulfed in flames, unable to defend himself.
Gramp came around the castle at the same time as the screaming of war cries from the distance. "HAGGER!"
His cry was answered by Voldemort's giants that ran at Grawp. Then came the centaurs from deep in the forest. Hooves and bows as arrows were flung at the Death Eaters, who started scattering in the confusion.
Ron gasped, "Neville broke the body bind!"
But Hermione barely registered his words as her eyes darted around. Where was Harry's body? Hagrid looked around, as confused as she was. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Neville had a sword in his hand, and he swung it. She briefly felt a wave of relief as Voldemort screamed in fury. Neville had done what she, Ron, and Harry had been trying to do. The Snake was no more.
"HARRY!" Hagrid shouted, "HARRY! WHERE'S HARRY?"
That's when the chaos started. The centaurs charged at the Death Eaters as everyone was also avoiding the giants' feet. As Ron tried to grab her, she saw possibly hundreds of people running from the direction of Hogwarts' gates. An animal's cry made her look up as thestrals and Buckbeak were teaming up against the giants as Grawp fought them. Hermione finally let Ron pull her with everyone back into the castle, and she followed him, numb from the shock of it all. Hitting him, she opened her mouth, trying to talk to him.
"Finite! Merlin, Hermione, who silenced you?" Ron asked, cancelling the spell.
"Voldemort," Hermione told him as she looked behind him and screamed, raising her wand and stunning a Death Eater as they fled inside with them. Running into the Great Hall, some people tried to shut the doors, only for them to be blasted into pieces. She raised her arms over her head to protect herself from the debris as it rained down on her. She saw one of the Death Eaters going after Luna and ran faster than she thought possible, through the dead, jumping on top of one of the tables for a clearer path, and stunned him from behind.
Luna looked at her, catching her breath, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Hermione said as more Death Eaters poured in and they stood side by side, wands at the ready.
Her thoughts of Harry's body going missing went to the back of her mind as the chaos found its way into the Great Hall. Voldemort was now in the room with them. Curses flew from his wand as he shouted commands to his followers, and more allies joined them in the Great Hall. Hermione saw Ron's brother Charlie run into the room that she had only ever seen in pictures. So many familiar faces, but as adults, parents of her classmates were now fighting alongside them.
Hermione jumped, nearly getting hit by a curse, as the kitchen door blasted open behind her, and the House-elves stormed in, screaming and waving various kitchenware. Leading the pack was Kreacher, "Fight! Fight! Fight for my Master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!" The fake locket was proudly around his neck.
They started stabbing and hacking at the Death Eaters, and Kreacher went to run past her, then froze as she cast a shield charm protecting herself. He ran at the Death Eater, attacking her, and with a large cleaver, jumped on the table, swiping and slicing at the Death Eater's neck.
"Kreacher!" Hermione gasped as the blood hit her shield, dripping down it.
Kreacher turned to her. "M…Mistress," he bowed to her, as if with great challenge, "You should not be here in your condition."
Hermione frowned. "I have to fight."
Kreacher nodded, then growled as a high-pitched voice screamed his name.
"Kreacher, how dare you stand here? Go home where you belong, you filthy animal!" Bellatrix screamed, "And even worse, defiling the house of Black by talking to a mudblood!" She spat at his feet.
"Don't you call her that!" Ginny yelled, sending a Bat Boogie Hex at Bellatrix.
The fight was on after that. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, who ran over upon seeing them battle Bellatrix. Three against one, she blocked every curse they sent in her direction, and Hermione shielded the three of them from her every curse. Until Bellatrix sent a Killing Curse toward Ginny, and Kreacher pushed her out of the way at the last second.
Mrs. Weasley screamed, "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" from somewhere in the room, and Hermione sent a curse at her, which she batted away as Bellatrix spun around laughing as Mrs. Weasley threw off her cloak, "OUT OF MY WAY!"
Hermione grabbed Luna, who pulled Ginny out of the way as Mrs. Weasley started dueling Bellatrix. For a brief moment, Hermione thought she saw the flash of Harry's trainer not far from where Mrs. Weasley had just run from, but when she looked back, it was gone.
Hermione started shielding various people around her as she watched Mrs. Weasley become vicious. Her wand was slashing the air as spell after spell came out of her wand. Hermione gasped as the floor cracked under her feet. As one of the spells cracked the floor, she and a few of the DA members moved forward to aid Mrs. Weasley.
"No!" Mrs. Weasley cried, "Get back! Get back! She is mine!"
Hermione looked around as if everyone seemed to move back at her words. The hundreds of people in the room were now against the walls, watching Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix. Then, Hermione saw Voldemort fighting Kingsley, McGonagall, and Slughorn on two sides of the room.
"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, "When Mummy's done the same way as her Percy?"
"You, will, never, touch, our, children, again!" Mrs. Weasley screamed.
Bellatrix laughed and Hermione gasped. As if in slow motion, Mrs. Weasley's spell soared through the room, hitting Bellatrix's chest, directly at where her heart should be. Hermione's breath left her body as Bellatrix's smile froze, and her eyes bulged; then she fell to the ground.
Voldemort screamed as the crowd cheered.
Hermione inhaled as she saw McGonagall blasted backwards by Voldemort's anger and quickly softened her fall to the ground. Kingsley and Slughorn weren't as lucky as his rage was unleashed at Mrs. Weasley.
Raising her wand, Hermione heard, "Protego!" and her knees nearly went out at his voice as a shield charm took up the entire middle of the hall.
Then she saw him as he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, and without looking at her, as if he knew she was there, he threw it at her. She caught it, slumping to the ground with it in her lap.
"Harry!"
"HE'S ALIVE!" echoed around the room, but they quickly fell into silence as Voldemort and Harry stared at each other, then began to circle each other.
Harry quickly glanced at her, and it was as if she heard his voice in her head: 'Put it on.' Then he looked at Voldemort, not removing his eyes from him again. "I don't want anyone else to try to help," Harry said loudly, "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."
As everyone stared at Harry, Hermione went under the cloak. Finding her footing, she moved backward toward the open kitchen door.
Voldemort hissed. "Potter doesn't mean that," he said, his eyes wide. "That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"
Voldemort looked in the direction where she had been sitting, and his face fell for a moment before his anger returned.
"Nobody," Harry said, "There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good…"
Hermione's stomach clenched, sending her to her knees within the doorway.
"One of us?" Voldemort asked, "You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"
"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" Harry asked as they continued to circle around the room. "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"
"Accidents!" screamed Voldemort. "Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and women and permitted me to kill them for you!"
"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," Harry told him, "You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people-"
"But you did not!" Voldemort yelled.
"… I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. She…they're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?" Harry asked, and a chill took her over. Her body suddenly went numb as the crowd closed in in front of her.
"You dare-"
"Yes, I dare," Harry said. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle."
Some in the crowd gasped.
"I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?" Harry asked.
"Is it love again?" Voldemort jeered, "Dumbledore's favourite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter, and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. Where is she?"
Hermione tried not to gasp out loud and reveal her position. Somehow Voldemort knew about them.
"So what will stop you dying now when I strike?" Voldemort asked.
"Just one thing," Harry said.
"If it is not love that will save you this time," Voldemort said, "You must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"
"I believe both," Harry told him.
"You think you know more magic that I do?" Voldemort spat out, "Than I? That Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?"
"Oh, he dreamed of it," Harry said, "But he knew more than you, knew enough not to do what you've done."
"You mean he was weak!" Screamed Voldemort, "Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"
Hermione could almost see Harry shrugging. "No he was cleverer than you," Harry said, "A better wizard, a better man."
"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!" Voldemort screamed.
"You thought you did," Harry said, "But you were wrong."
Everyone seemed to inhale at the same time.
"Dumbledore is dead!" Voldemort spat, "His body decays in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle, I have seen it, Potter, and he will not return!"
Hermione could sense Harry was trying to wind Voldemort up, for the reasons she did not know, but it was making her uneasy.
"Yes, Dumbledore's dead," Harry said calmly, "But you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant."
Hermione's hand was on her mouth, covering her gasp.
"What childish dream is this?" Voldemort asked.
"Severus Snape wasn't yours," Harry said, "Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?"
There was silence for a moment, then Harry revealed, "Snape's Patronus was a doe."
Hermione's eyes got wide, realizing he was the one who had given them the sword.
"The same as my mother's because he loved her for nearly all his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized, he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?" Harry asked.
"He desired her, that was all," Voldemort mocked, "But when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him-"
"Of course, he told you that," Harry said, "But he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since!" Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"
Hermione saw as the crowd parted slightly. Harry and Voldemort's feet were still circling.
"It matters not!" Voldemort shrieked as he cackled. "It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love! Oh, but it all makes sense, Potter, and in ways that you do not understand! Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy. I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Death Stick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"
"Yeah, it did," Harry said, "You're right, but before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done.. think and try for some remorse, Riddle…"
"What's this?" Voldemort asked, confused.
"It's your one last chance. It's all you've got left… I've seen what you'll be otherwise. Be a man. Try… try for some remorse," Harry told him.
"You dare-"
"Yes, I dare, because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle," Harry told him. "That wand still isn't working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."
"He killed-"
Hermione pursed her lips as she heard sassy Harry emerge from his mouth. "Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him!"
"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!" Voldemort's voice shook, "I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"
"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard… The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance." Harry informed her.
"Draco," Hermione whispered.
"The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy," Harry informed him.
"But what does it matter? Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone… and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy…"
"But you're too late," Harry said, "You've missed your chance. I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took his wand from him. So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?"
Hermione pressed her back against the wall.
"Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does… I am the true master of the Elder Wand," Harry stated.
Hermione glanced back as a red glow hit the wall opposite of her. The sun had risen.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Hermione crawled over to the back of the crowd. Looking through their legs, she saw Voldemort's green spell meet Harry's golden one. The Elder Wand flew into the air, spinning in the air, and holding her breath, she saw Harry catch it with his free hand.
Voldemort fell backward as if his strings were cut, as the green spell hit him instead.
Pushing through the legs of the crowd, holding the invisibility cloak in one hand to keep it on her body. Hermione had to reach him.
Then the screams started. Some in disbelief, some in anger, some in joy. Joined by cheers. Feet pounded the ground around her, but Hermione could only see Harry, holding both wands in his hands, staring at Voldemort in disbelief. Once she finally cleared the masses, she stood. Pulling the cloak from her body, she ran to him. He glanced toward her as Ron ran at him from the other side.
Throwing her arms around him, he hugged her to him, breathing into her neck as Ron wrapped his arms around both of them, yelling something that her brain couldn't comprehend. Then Ginny, Neville, and Luna ran over to them, hugging them all. Arms were on all sides of her. She slid the invisibility cloak back into his jacket as the Weasleys all ran over to them, followed by Hagrid, Kingsley, McGonagall, and other teachers. Everyone was yelling and trying to touch him. Overwhelming Hermione.
Harry glanced at her, and she nodded, then her eyes met Ron's. Slowly, as people started to move away, Hermione found her breath. The sun was shining inside the Great Hall as Hermione looked around, noticing many of the Death Eaters were gone.
Someone yelled for Kingsley as a group of men had gathered in the corner of the room.
Hermione took Harry's arm, and Ron moved everyone to the side for them to get through as she led Harry to the Professor's platform. They sat, watching as the Aurors arrived in their red cloaks, talking to Kingsley.
Numb, Hermione rubbed her thumb on Harry's hand as they watched the Aurors move Voldemort's body into a chamber that Hermione had never known existed before. Separate from the room where she knew the bodies of Percy, Tonks, Remus, and others lay.
McGonagall took out her wand, and the House tables appeared, settling onto the floor. A short time later, the house elves must have returned to the kitchen because food and drink appeared on the tables. But neither she, Ron, nor Harry moved. The world around them moved in slow motion as time moved on, as they sat together in silence just watching. Nothing seemed real. It all seemed like a dream.
Kingsley walked over to them after the meeting of wizards had ended, "You'll be happy to know, we already have a plan in motion. The Death Eaters who ran when he was defeated have largely been rounded up by the Aurors. At this moment, Aurors are going to Azkaban now to free the Muggleborns." He looked at them, then to the group of men that had started to disperse, "Those people are key members of the Wizengamot, they have voted me temporary Minister of Magic."
Ron stood and shook his hand, "Way to go, Kings… wait, sir."
Kingsley laughed, "Sit down, Weasley." Someone called for him. "Duty calls."
Ron sat back down on the other side of her and looked down at her hand, taking it in his.
The house tables were suddenly filled with everyone in the hall. Teachers, students, and their parents, ghosts, even centaurs, and house-elves. Hermione smiled as she saw Grawp peering through the window, and Dean and Seamus were throwing food in his mouth as he laughed a rumbling laugh.
"I need to go talk to the parents," Harry finally spoke.
Hermione opened her mouth and heard the rasp of her voice, the pain still there from screaming his name. "Why? Why now?"
Harry squeezed her hand, "Because I have to." He looked at Ron, "Make sure she gets some food."
Ron nodded as Harry stood up and walked away from them. "Blimey," Ron said, running his hand down his face, "I feel like I am an old man after today."
Hermione laughed, laughed to the point that the tears started falling down her face.
"Come on, let's get some food," Ron told her, pulling her up.
"I'm so fucking exhausted," Hermione told him, yawning as they walked to the nearest table and sat down next to two Hufflepuff students.
Ron started filling his plate and looked at Hermione, "Are you okay? You look pale."
Hermione yawned again, propping her head against her arm as she grabbed some chicken and picked at it. "Are any of us okay after today?"
Ron shook his head and put more food on her plate.
Hermione only picked at her food, then pushed the plate aside to rest her head on her folded arms. One of Ron's brothers approached to talk to him, but Hermione was barely listening as sleep overtook her.
Someone gently touched her face about an hour later, and she opened her eyes, looking around. Some people had left the Great Hall, and most of the food had been cleared away.
"It's me," Harry muttered, invisible, "Will you come with me?"
Hermione stood, and Ron followed her, his hand on her lower back as Hermione subconsciously followed Harry without seeing him. She saw his footprints in the dust on the steps as they climbed them.
"We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one, And Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun!" Peeves sang from somewhere down the second-floor corridor.
"Really gives a feeling for the scope and tragedy of the thing, doesn't it?" Ron said, pushing the door open to let her and Harry through.
Once the door closed behind them, taking them through a more private passage, Harry took off his cloak and told Ron what he had seen in the Pensieve. "Then I made it to the edge of the forest and just knew the Snitch would open. You were right, Hermione, it opened up and inside was the stone," Harry told her, exhausted as they walked slowly.
"Your Mum, Dad, Sirius, and Remus appeared, didn't they?" Hermione asked.
Harry looked at her, surprised. "How did you know?"
"I came to the front door, just trying to see… until the end," Hermione said, trying to hold back her tears, "Sirius waved at me, he knew I was there."
Harry frowned, "They said no one else could see them but me."
"I saw them, not clearly as they were far away, but I saw them well enough," Hermione told him.
Harry told them how Voldemort had hit him with the Killing Curse again, and how it didn't work again, that he had awoken dazed, face in the dirt. How Narcissa Malfoy had lied to Voldemort in exchange for knowing Draco was safe.
Harry was starting to tell them how Hagrid had to pick him up and carry him out of the forest when they came out of the passage, and in front of their destination that they had not even discussed.
The gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's study was a place she had seen mostly in passing. Only a handful of times had she been inside, and it was knocked aside, but it stood as best as it could as it saw them.
"Can we go up?" Harry asked it.
"Feel free," It groaned as it lay back down.
Ron helped her over it, and they all climbed up the spiral stone staircase that moved upwards like an escalator. Harry pushed the door open at the top.
An earsplitting sound had her covering her ears, and Harry cried out. It was applause and yelling. All around the walls, headmasters and headmistresses from over the years at Hogwarts were waving, dancing, and jumping up and down. One was sobbing, but Phineas Nigellus let it be known. "And let it be noted that Slytherin House played its part! Let our contribution not be forgotten!"
Harry walked forward around the headmaster's desk to Dumbledore's portrait, who had tears sliding down his face into his long silver beard. Ron put his arm around her as she sagged slightly and laid her head on his shoulder.
Harry held up his hands, and the portraits fell quiet. He sighed, clearly exhausted, "The thing that was hidden in the Snitch. I dropped it in the forest. I don't know exactly where, but I'm not going to go looking for it again. Do you agree?"
"My dear boy, I do," Dumbledore said, "A wise and courageous decision, but no less than I would have expected of you. Does anyone else know where it fell?"
"No one," Harry said.
Dumbledore nodded.
"I'm going to keep Ignotus's present," Harry said.
"But of course, it is yours forever, until you pass it on," Dumbledore replied.
"And then there's this," Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Ron looked at it, amazed. "I don't want it."
"What?!" Ron said loudly, "Are you mental!?"
Harry looked back at him, "I know it's powerful. But I was happier with mine. So…" Harry opened the pouch around his neck and pulled out the two halves of his own wand. Laying the pieces on the desk, he touched it with the Elder Wand, "Reparo."
Hermione watched as his wand resealed, red sparks flying out of the end. He picked up the wand, and she knew it worked when he smiled.
Harry turned back to the portrait, "I'm putting the Elder Wand, back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death like Ignotius, its power will be broken, won't it? The previous master will never have been defeated. That'll be the end of it."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked.
Hermione nodded, "I think Harry's right."
Harry looked at her, "That wand's worth more trouble than it's worth, and quite honestly. I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."
Hermione couldn't help the giggle that erupted from her throat. A smile spread across Harry's face as he too started laughing.
"Mental, you both are mental!" Ron said, throwing his arms up.
"I don't know about you both, but all I want is a bed and a pillow right now," Harry yawned.
"I've been holding Hermione up for the last twenty minutes, and she took a nap already in the Great Hall. I agree, it feels like we haven't slept for days," Ron said, opening the door for them.
Harry looked back at the portraits and nodded at them as he followed her and Ron out of the Headmaster's office.
Taking all the shortcuts that they could safely get through, thankfully, the inner parts of the castle were, for the most part, passable. Finally, they reached Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady saw them and smiled, "Welcome home," she said as she opened the portrait.
Entering the common room, it was empty. The fire wasn't going in the fireplace, and a thin layer of dust had settled on almost everything in the room. A few chunks of rock lay at the foot of the steps, and Hermione sighed, "I don't know if I can make it up those steps, honestly."
Ron picked her up in his arms. "There are at least three beds in our dorm."
Hermione's eyes had already started struggling to stay open as the boys climbed the steps and opened the door to their dorm. Yawning as they walked inside, Hermione was glad to see it was largely untouched, except that the glass in the window was cracked in multiple spots.
Ron set her on a bed, "Neville won't care."
Hermione sighed, trying to take off her shoes. One of the boys took her ankle in his hands and pulled it off. Somehow, a blanket covered her body, and sleep quickly won over. For she was safe with her boys, and nothing would threaten their friendship for the rest of time.
Preview of Chapter 14 – What a Broken Heart Feels Like
"I don't know if it was real, but I was in heaven or an in-between, but I saw Dumbledore. I'm so fucking mad at him, he planned and manipulated my life… my entire life, Hermione," Harry said sadly, "I never had a choice without his manipulations in some way."
"That's not true," Hermione told him as she touched his face, "You had me."
Harry's eyes fluttered shut, then opened as he moved his face into her hand.
"You had me. You always had me, Harry," Hermione assured him.
Harry looked away from her, "I'm not sure what's left of me," He confessed, "I feel like I'm walking around in someone else's skin. Like mine was left behind on the forest floor or the platform when I came back."
Hermione sat up, her blanket pooling at her waist. "You didn't leave anything behind. You survived. That's what people do when they go through hell and survive it."
She saw Harry's Adam's Apple jump as he swallowed. "I nearly didn't come back," he admitted.
Hermione's heart twisted painfully within her chest. "What?"
He looked at her, and she saw that his eyes were bloodshot; he looked so tired. "When I saw my parents, Sirius and Remus…" his voice broke, "I was so tired of fighting. I am so tired, Hermione. So damn tired."
"But you came back," Hermione stated, "You came back because you're not done. Because we're not done."
Harry let out a sob, "I came back because of you… and Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville. I couldn't leave you with my mess to clean up."