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Chapter 45 - A Whisper in the Wind
“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?” Ron screamed when he saw Hermione lying in bed with Malfoy, cuddling with him, sleeping with him. The anger he felt was too much to handle. Sure, he had suspected something. He had suspected friendship… even if he had told Malfoy Hermione was in love with him, he never suspected… he never dreamed that he was actually right.
Hermione and Malfoy shot up in bed. She looked at them all in horror.
“Oh Ron… Harry…” she whispered. Harry’s face was impassive. It was as if it were carved in stone. He just stared at them. Hermione wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. What Malfoy did notice was a ripple moving through the silken sheets.
“HOW COULD YOU? WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Ron screamed, tears pouring from his eyes. Only Malfoy noticed that Ron’s hair was slowly rippling, just as the sheets were.
Hermione jumped out of bed.
“Ron, please, let’s do this another time… when you’ve calmed down…” she pleaded, walking towards him.
“I’M NOT GOING TO CALM DOWN, DAMN IT!” He screamed at Hermione. She turned red in the face, and reached up and slapped him.
He stared at her in horror.
“Ronald Weasley, no matter who I choose you always hates them! Malfoy isn’t good enough! Viktor wasn’t good enough! NO ONE IS GOOD ENOUGH!” She screamed at him in anger, ignoring the dizziness that overcame her.
“I’M GOOD ENOUGH! YOU NEVER CHOSE ME! I’M GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!” Ron screamed, a tear running from his eye. His ears were burning red and his lips were trembling.
“WELL I DON’T LOVE YOU!” Hermione screamed. “YOU’RE LIKE MY BROTHER! WHY WON’T YOU ACCEPT THAT I DON’T LOVE YOU?” she sobbed, tears falling from her eyes.
“Hermione…” Malfoy muttered, noticing that her hair was sticking out and frizzing out with every step closer she got to Harry and Ron.
“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS YOU EVIL FERRET!” Ron sobbed. “YOU WERE DYING! YOU WERE DYING AND YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH MALFOY!” Ron sobbed, grabbing handfuls of hair and tugging on it. “YOU PUT ME THROUGH HELL!”
“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT HELL IS!” Hermione screamed. She felt the blood fill her nose, but she didn’t let it spill down. She had t say this. She could just lie back down once she said this. “YOU’RE RIGHT! I HAVE BEEN DYING! I’VE BEEN GOING THROUGH CONSTANT OPERATIONS! HIDING THIS FROM EVERYONE! I’M IN LOVE WITH DRACO AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS AFRAID OF HAPPENING!” Hermione sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
“What did you just say about Malfoy?” Ron asked in bewilderment. It was one thing to say it, but it was another thing to hear it.
“I said that I… am in love… with Draco Malfoy!” Hermione said calmly, rubbing vigorously at the tears straining from her eyes.
“Hermione…” Draco muttered again, but no one really heard because seconds after her whispered her name, the cake that Harry had been holding exploded, covering Ron, Harry, and Hermione with the tasty cake.
Harry turned around and stalked into the Common Room, where he began to pace. He was muttering to himself, grabbing handfuls of his hairs and tugging at them.
Hermione wiped the icing from her face and brushed the cake out of her hair and chased him into the Common Room.
“Harry! Calm down!” she cried out.
“I AM CALM!” he roared, and in a sudden ripple through the air the coffee table, couch, and arm chair were shoved to the farthest corners of the rooms. She winced at the sound of the legs screeching across the wood. They hit the walls with loud cracks. He stalked back and forth, back and forth, anger and rage in his eyes.
He was trying to control it… but he wasn’t having much luck.
“Harry…” Ron muttered. Harry’s hair was sticking on end, and the furniture was trembling, vibrating and echoing on the floor. Hermione covered her ears, trying to block out the sound. The blood began to dribble from her nose.
Draco saw the pain she was in and rushed forward into the Common Room.
“Potter, you seriously need to control your temper!” he snapped at Harry. Harry turned his sights on Malfoy.
“Don’t… you… dare… even… speak… to… me…” Harry panted, sneering, rage boiling down inside of him.
“You’re going to have to get used to me around, Potter. I’m in love with your best friend and I’m not going anywhere,” Malfoy warned him.
Hermione saw it in Harry’s eyes before Harry even knew what he was doing. She turned and began to run for Malfoy though no one heard her footsteps for the furniture was rattling heavily.
“You don’t know WHAT LOVE IS!” Harry snarled, and then threw his head back and shrieked. It was filled with so much pain and anguish. It sounded like a bird being tortured and dying. It sounded like nails against a chalkboard. It sounded… like hell. Malfoy and Ron doubled over and covered their ears, trying to deafen it out. Harry meant to hurt him… a huge bolt of power shot out towards Malfoy… but it never hit him…
Hermione had shoved the boy she was in love with out of the way, causing him to tumble onto the floor and out of harm’s reach. The bolt struck her directly in the chest and with a blood-curdling scream she was thrown against the window.
The deafening crack of the glass made everyone freeze and watch as Hermione fell to the floor. A shatter seemed to echo through the glass. She slipped down the wall and was still. Her head was limp and she lay in a crumpled pile. She didn’t move…
Malfoy crawled over to Hermione, tears filling his eyes. He pulled her into his lap. She had been weak… she couldn’t handle something like that…
“Hermione… love… wake up,” he begged of her. Her eyes blinked heavily and she looked up at him. He saw that the light was fading in her chocolate brown eyes. She gave him a weak smile, blood staining her tongue and her teeth as a dribble escaped her lips.
“Hey, Draco,” she whispered.
“Hush… shh… don’t speak,” he said, tears falling from his eyes heavily and landing on her face. He couldn’t hold back the sobs. Pain was written across his face as he held her tightly. “Please… just hold on… you have to hold on…” Draco sobbed and rocked her limp body in his arms.
“Hermione…” Ron whispered, tears brimming his eyes.
“Get some help!” Draco screamed, causing Ron to scamper from the room. Harry stood there in shock and horror, unable to move or breathe.
“Draco… listen to me…”
“There will be plenty of time for talk later,” he hushed her, rubbing away the blood on her face and the tears that had fallen from his eyes.
“No, there won’t. I don’t want you to forget me,” she whispered.
“I could never forget you. You’ll always be in my heart,” he sobbed, holding her tight. She wasn’t dying. She couldn’t be dying. After all this… she couldn’t die. He couldn’t let her die. If she died… he wouldn’t be able to go on.
She reached up and stroked his face gently, and it felt like a breeze just barely caressing his skin.
“Oh Draco, I’m already there. I’ll always be with you and in your heart. I’ll never really be gone,” she whispered, tears falling slowly from her eyes.
“Please Hermione… stop… don’t talk like this…” he sobbed helplessly. “You’ll pull through…”
“I’ll be the sunshine in your hair. I’ll be the whisper in the wind…”
“Hermione, please stop… please… I can’t give you up…” Draco sobbed and clutched to her, unable to let her go.
“Draco, please don’t worry about me. I’m going to be just fine. I’ll be in your dreams. I’ll be the beat of your heart, the moonlight shining down. I’ll be with you until the end, Draco. I’ll never give you up… never,” she whispered with a fleeting smile and her hand fell limply from his cheek to her side and her head fell back, the light gone from her eyes, the breath gone from her lips, the love gone from her heart.
“Hermione… no… no… come back. I love you!” Draco sobbed, shaking her gently. “Wake up! Hermione… wake up Hermione! Please… please… oh god don’t leave me here,” he sobbed, kissing her cold forehead. “Don’t leave me alone… I need you… oh god I need you so much…” he continued to sob, but when she didn’t wake up, he realized the cold painful truth.
“WAKE UP! YOU CAN’T BE DEAD! OH GOD NO! YOU AREN’T DEAD! DAMN IT WAKE UP HERMIONE!” he screamed and sobbed, shaking her roughly. Her eyes just continued to stare blankly, a peace written across her face. He paused and looked at her. She wasn’t in pain anymore. It was over. She could finally rest.
He lay her down on the floor and gently closed her eyes. He looked up at Harry, blame and hate in his tearful, full-moon-on-the-water eyes…
“Potter… she’s dead… you killed her…”
(A/N: Three more chapters to go! Two side notes, the next three chapters will be the longest. By the way, I'd like to give credit of Hermione's metaphorical last words to Lonestar in the song "I'm Already There"... I hope you keep reading!)
Chapter 46 - Never Letting Go
Harry stood staring at his dead best friend in horror. This wasn’t right. Hermione wasn’t supposed to die… this wasn’t supposed to be like this! This wasn’t right!
“What now, Potty? Huh? You killed her!” Draco screamed, shoving Harry back, tears flowing heavily from his eyes.
“No… she’s not dead… she’s sleeping… or this is all a dream…” Harry whispered, staring in horror at Hermione. She just lay there, sprawled out in her baggy white t-shirt covered in celebration cake and her blood. The irony of her being smeared in a cake made especially for celebrating her survival stuck Harry cold.
“This is no dream! You killed her! How does that make you feel? You made your worst nightmare come true!” Malfoy snarled again, tears blurring his vision as he swung and hit Harry across the face, causing Harry to collapse to the floor and blood to fill his mouth.
“I couldn’t have killed her…” Harry whispered, staring up weakly at Draco, spitting blood out on the floor beside him. “I couldn’t have… it’s impossible…” he whispered, but he was slowly realizing that he had killed Hermione, and his power was starting to grow…
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“Help! Help!” Ron screamed as he burst into the Great Hall. The students had mostly filed out, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood sitting and watching him shout frantically, and Amy was speaking with Severus Snape and Madam Pomfrey at the teacher’s table.
“What is it?” Snape demanded to know.
“Hermione… she was… she was… she’s in love with Draco… and…” he wheezed.
“Get on with it boy!” Madam Pomfrey said, but Amy had paled and tears had filled her pure white eyes.
“Hermione’s dead…” she whispered and ran for the exit as fast as she could, Ron and the two Professors at her heels.
“I need to warn my sister!” Ron cried out and turned the other direction.
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“Well you did, Potty! You killed her! Your temper killed her! Are you going to kill Ron next? What about Ginny? What the hell, why not kill everyone who ever loved you?” Malfoy hissed, picking Harry up by the collar. “ANSWER ME!” he screamed and slapped Harry hard across the face.
“I… I’d never kill…”
“You’d never kill them? You killed Hermione! Why not kill them?” Malfoy screamed, tears falling from his eyes heavily. Harry shook his head and broke away from Malfoy.
“I didn’t kill her…”
“Look at her, Potter! SHE’S DEAD!”
“I didn’t kill her…”
“OH NO, SHE’S JUST SLEEPING!” Draco roared sarcastically.
“I DIDN’T KILL HER!” Harry screamed and tried to rip out his hair. He threw his head back and shrieked horribly. It sounded like a flock of birds screeching as death was brought upon them. It sounded like demons from hell shrieking. Malfoy watched as the furniture began to vibrate again, bouncing on the floor. A sick and demented smile came over Draco’s face.
“THAT’S RIGHT, HARRY! LET IT LOOSE! LOSE YOUR TEMPER! KILL ME! YOU ALREADY KILLED THE ONE PERSON THAT MEANT SOMETHING TO ME! SO KILL ME! I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR!” Malfoy screamed, throwing his arms out to his sides, ready to welcome the cold dark oblivion of death.
“I DIDN’T KILL ANYONE!”
“KILL ME! OR DO YOU NOT HAVE THE BALLS?” Draco screamed, tears falling freely from his eyes.
“STOP IT!”
Something was wrong. Harry’s hair was sticking straight up, and the green of his eyes were fading away… the were becoming bleached… pure white… radiating off a sort of power that even Malfoy could feel…
“Bloody hell…” Draco whispered, realizing that if Harry lost his temper, Draco wouldn’t be the only one to die.
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“Hurry! HURRY! OH GOD HURRY!” Amy screamed as she ran for the Head Common Room. The amount of power…steadily growing… she was almost suffocating in it. The feeling was incredible. The power that was radiating from Harry was throbbing off of everything… and in her mind she could see… for the first time she could actually see…
“Can you feel it?” Snape shouted to her. “We have to get out of here! We have to save the students!” he roared towards Amy, but she wasn’t going to do as he said.
“HARRY IS MY RESPONSIBILITY! I’M NOT GOING TO LET ANYONE ELSE DIE!” she screamed and ran for the portrait, barely even saying the password before tearing through.
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Ginny and Billy were cuddling in the Gryffindor Common Room, smiling, happy to be in the arms of one another.
“This is perfect,” Ginny whispered and held onto his hands. He nodded and kissed her neck sweetly.
“I don’t want to go home in a few days. I wish I could stay here forever,” Billy whispered and held her close. She nodded, realizing how much she was going to miss him if he went home.
“I know… I think I could actually tolerate Professor Snape if I knew that you were waiting for me at the end of class,” she giggled and turned, planting a sweet kiss on his lips.
“Mm…” he mumbled into her lips and she giggled. “Hey Ginny… what’s that?” he asked. She looked where he was pointing. On the table, a box of Bertie Bott’s Ever Flavor Beans sat there. It was swelling… vibrating…
“I don’t know…” she mumbled and reached out for it. The box exploded and beans showered them with beans. Ginny giggled and brushed them aside.
“Well, I’m not sure I could get used to weird things like that happening,” Billy laughed. “But I would for you,” he said and tried to pull her back into his lap, but she was staring at something.
The jellybeans on the coffee table were vibrating, trembling, shaking and bouncing.
“Are they supposed to do that?” Billy asked, reaching out for one of the beans.
“Oh god… Harry…” she whispered, realizing that he and Ron must have caught Hermione and Draco just as she had… “Billy GET DOWN!” she screamed and grabbed his arm, pulling him down on the floor in the small space between the coffee table and the couch
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Neville had been sitting in the Great Hall with Luna when Ron, that new girl, Pomfrey, and Snape all ran in fear. He wondered what was going on.
“It was probably Peeves. He’s always causing trouble, you know. One time he stole my copy of the Quibbler from me, and then he pasted the pages all over my bed. It was really uncomfortable for me, and daddy was furious that Peeves would treat his magazine like that,” Luna said, poking at her Jell-O.
Neville nodded, realizing that must have been it.
“Hey Neville, does your Jell-O usually jiggle?” Luna asked. Neville laughed.
“Well, of course! Jell-O is supposed to do that, isn’t it?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
She shrugged.
“I suppose… but I never had Jell-O that jiggled on its own before. It’s quite interesting,” she said and watched her Jell-O carefully again.
Neville paused for a moment and then looked at Luna’s snack. Sure enough, it trembled and rippled with some sort of unseen force. He looked at Luna and saw that her long, stringy blonde hair was being filled with static and was beginning to stand on end.
“Luna… it’s not just your Jell-O…” he mumbled as the entire table began to shake.
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“Harry… Harry calm down…” Malfoy whispered, slowly stepping back. Harry’s hair was standing straight up, bright white light sparking from his eyes. Some sort of pulsing light had enveloped him, throbbing and shooting off bolts of white lightning. The same sort of bolt had hit Hermione in the chest and killed her…
Malfoy was seeing Harry’s power.
“SHE CAN’T BE DEAD!” Harry screamed, causing another bolt of power to shoot off. It hit the armchair and it erupted into flame, screaming and cackling in fire. Draco let out a terrified shout and stumbled backwards, farther away from Harry. Smoke filled the room and Draco coughed, suffocating.
“Harry! Stop it!” Malfoy screamed. “You’re going to kill someone!” There was no reasoning with Harry. His face was twisted and contorted, his raven hair rippling and flying about. He was hunched over, panting angrily.
He looked at Malfoy, the bleached white of his eyes wanting to swallow him whole.
“I DIDN’T KILL HER!” he screamed again, two bolts of power shooting out. One of them struck the door to Malfoy’s bedroom and it broke apart into splinters with an incredibly loud shattering noise. The other bolt hit the fireplace, which became coated over in a layer of ice, freezing the flames in place.
Malfoy looked around. He couldn’t stop Harry. There was no way now. Everyone was going to die, and he knew it. Potter was going to kill the entire school.
He fell to the floor, his knees giving way beneath the force of the power. He crawled over to Hermione, wrapping her cold limp body in his arms.
“It’ll be alright, Hermione. I’m coming,” he whispered and kissed her cold lips and closed his eyes
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Amy burst into the room, saw Harry, and almost screamed. He was like a figure from a nightmare. His body rigid and hunched, his hair flying about, a pulsing orb of power having swallowed him whole. Bolts of power shot off of his being like lightning, causing things to explode, freeze, or catch fire.
“Potter! Control yourself!” Snape screamed.
“Mr. Malfoy! Miss Granger!” Madam Pomfrey screamed. She tried to rush to them but a wave of power knocked both her and Snape back, causing them to cling to the doorframe. Their hair was flying about and they had to shout over the whistling screaming of Harry’s power and pained shrieks.
“Stay back!” Amy screamed. She walked heavily towards Harry. It was up to her… she had to save him… she had to save everyone…
“Miss Vinnopal! Get back!” Snape screamed though Harry’s horrible shrieking deafened his shouts.
She plunged her hands into Harry’s aura, and held back the pained screams as the cold fire rushed through her body. She forced herself on and she stood inside of Harry’s power, next to him.
Inside of the orb Harry was just hunched over, crying. He was not the horrible demon nightmarish creature he seemed to be on the outside. The pain and the misery brought tears to her eyes.
She took his hand in hers and squeezed it tight. He looked up at her and she saw what exactly everyone had been so frightened of when they looked at her. It was a cold, pure blank white with the power spilling over the edges. She squeezed his hands and blinked away the tears. She knew once it was over she would never be able to see again…
And even through the pain and horror, she saw that Harry was beautiful.
“Let it go, Harry… let it all go,” she whispered and his lip trembled. He threw his head back and inhaled, ready to scream.
She threw her head back and inhaled, ready to scream along with him.
“SHE’S… NOT… DEAD!” he roared and she emptied all of her strength and control into him. The power in his eyes turned a bright green once again and filled the room, blinding her, and when she heard the shrieks and the glass shattering and the world around her exploding, all she could do was hope.
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Everything was trembling and being thrown about. Screams were heard everywhere throughout the school as people ran for safety. It was like an earthquake had hit Hogwarts, but Ginny knew that it was Harry.
She clung to Billy who held her safely in his arms, breathing steadily though his heartbeat was rapid.
“Billy… I love you…” she whispered.
“Ginny, I love you too,” he whispered and held her tighter. Ginny felt the air change. She felt it thicken and fill with some sort of unexplainable force and power.
“Oh god it’s coming, Billy…”
“I know…”
“DON’T LET ME GO!” she cried out, holding him tighter as the table knocked against her, bruising her back and she screamed as the pressure got too much.
“I’LL NEVER LET YOU GO!” he screamed over Ginny’s shrieks along with the throbbing screams of power about them as he was blinded by an endless bright green light that swallowed them whole.
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Neville and Luna were huddled under the table, their hands over their heads, protecting themselves from flying dishes and textbooks. People were screaming. The floor itself was shaking and vibrating.
Luna looked around frantically.
“My Jell-O!” she screamed and tried to crawl towards it.
“DON’T BE AN IMBECILE!” Neville screamed and pulled her back, throwing his body on top of her and protecting her as an endless, deafening shriek filled his ears The last thing he saw was a blinding green light, throbbing and enveloping the entire school in a wave of power.
Ron was running up the stairs. The portraits were screaming. He was on the last leg until he reached the Gryffindor Tower. He had to reach Ginny. He had to save her. She was his sister!
He could barely stand up straight with everything shaking and trembling. He held onto the railing tightly. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Ginny. Nothing! His mum would kill him!
The ripple of power went through the air and the hair on his head and his arms stood on end. He looked around frantically, and he saw the bright green light coming towards him at an incredible speed, like a wave of power that was pulsing and throbbing.
“Bloody hell…” he whispered and was knocked off his feet when the power hit, tossing him backwards, down the Grand Staircase…
The last thought that went through his head was a simple question…
Would anyone survive?
Chapter 47 - Miracles Can Happen
Harry was panting, breathless. He had fallen to his knees. A cold sweat had broken out on his forehead. His heart was beating so fast it sounded like a hum. He closed his eyes and rubbed at them vigorously.
He felt a hand placed softly on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Amy standing there, looking down at him with an exhausted smile. Her hair had fallen limply in her bright white eyes.
Even those seemed slightly dull.
She fell to her knees beside him and took his hand in hers. She placed his hand on her face.
“Harry… can you feel me?” she whispered, pressing his hand firmly against her skin. He didn’t answer, just simply reached over and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight for a hug.
“What happened?” he asked as they let go of one another. He looked around in horror. The entire Head Common Room was obliterated. It was destroyed, demolished. Birds chirped outside and could be heard clearly for there was no glass in the window.
The walls were barely standing up and there was no sign of a stick of furniture. Actually, that wasn’t entirely factual. All the sticks could be seen, but none could be told apart. Everything was simply rubble.
“You let loose, Harry. You let your power loose,” she smiled brightly. Tears filled his eyes as he looked around.
“Why are you so happy, Amy? Look at what I’ve done!” he cried out, swinging his arms around.
“I know, I can see,” she giggled. He looked up at her curiously.
“What do you mean you can see?” he asked breathlessly. She shrugged.
“I can see everything. I can see the rubble on the ground, the black of your hair, the green of your eyes,” she smiled and ran a hand sweetly through her hair. “You did this Harry. I don’t know how… but you… you gave me sight!” she exclaimed.
“Yes, Potter, but don’t think I won’t be giving you serious detention for this careless display,” Snape muttered grudgingly as he sat up, brushing the debris off. He rubbed his head and brushed the dust from his robes. “You really need to learn some self control.”
Harry had never been happier to see Professor Snape.
“Oh dear… the hospital wing will be overflowing!” Madam Pomfrey groaned as she dug through the debris, looking for her spectacles.
“How… how is this possible? I mean if I completely destroyed the Common Room… why aren’t all of you dead?” Harry asked in astonishment, brushing the dust from his hair.
“Harry, did you know that you have a freckle right here?” Amy giggled and pointed to a spot right below his left eye. “Oh… I think I can explain that!” she said excitedly. Harry had never seen the girl happier.
“Please, I think we all want to know,” Snape muttered grumpily. Though Harry couldn’t quite tell, he got the impression that Amy rolled her eyes.
“Well you see, Harry’s power was getting quite out of control, as you can tell,” she said and pointed around the common room. “But I broke through your power force. I held onto your hand. I conjoined your power with my sense of control. I forced the death into life, and the destruction into creation,” she sighed happily.
“If you hadn’t done that… how many people would have died?” he asked quietly in horror.
“Most likely all of Great Britain,” Snape muttered grumpily. Harry at first thought he was exaggerating, but Amy merely shrugged.
“Wait… where’s Malfoy?” he asked. They all looked around for him.
“I can’t see him. Where was he last?” Amy asked frantically.
“Near the window!” Harry pointed. They crawled through the debris, forcing the rubble aside. If he had killed Malfoy… two people would have died because of him. He was a murderer already. He didn’t need to innocent lives on his conscience.
They dug through the wood.
“Malfoy! Malfoy! Can you hear us?” they call out, digging vigorously.
“Harry! I think I found him!”
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Ginny opened her eyes to dark. She couldn’t see anything. She could hear her own raspy breath and feel a heavy heartbeat… was it hers?
“Billy? Billy can you hear me?” she asked.
“Yes,” he mumbled. “Something hit my head!” he grumbled. She sighed and tried to sit up.
“I need your help. Push up!” she said. They immediately shoved up and pushed the couch off of them. They looked around. People were walking around, dazed and confused. Some of them had bumps and bruises, and a rare few were bleeding.
They crawled up and out of the debris.
“Wow, your headmaster is going to have a fit,” Billy grumbled and rubbed the back of his head.
“Dumbledore will understand,” she said with a smile. She turned to give Billy a warm kiss when a familiar voice called out to her.
“Ginny? Ginny! You in here?” Ron called out. Ginny turned around to see her older brother standing there, cradling his right arm.
“Ron!” she laughed and ran for him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
“Ow! Ouch! Watch the arm!” he cried out and grimaced. She pulled back and looked at him worriedly.
“What happened?” she asked. He shrugged.
“When it came I was caught off guard and I toppled down the stairs… think I broke my wrist,” he hissed.
“You were on your way up to see me?” she asked in a breathless whisper. He shrugged and nodded.
“Ginny… you’re my baby sister! I could never let anything happen to you,” he smirked.
“Oh Ron!” Ginny beamed as tears filled her eyes.
“Cause Mum would kill me if I did,” he shrugged again. Ginny rolled her eyes and smacked him across the shoulder. “Ouch! Ginny you DO NOT beat up the wounded!” Ron scolded and held his arm tightly to him.
Ginny turned to Billy and took his hand in hers.
“You two better get reacquainted… and you better get along. Don’t make me hex either of you,” she threatened.
The boys looked at each other and sighed.
Billy stuck out his hand in a friendly manner. Ron stared at it reproachfully, and then with a sigh of surrender took it regretfully and shook it.
“There now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Ginny laughed, causing both boys to roll their eyes.
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Neville helped Luna out from under the Great Hall table. She had a small cut on her forehead and held a napkin to it so it wouldn’t bleed into her eye. Neville’s lip was a bit swollen and something had hit his shoulder pretty hard.
But besides those two things, both of them were pretty much unharmed.
“Well, wonder what that was,” Neville grumbled, rotating his shoulder. Luna looked around and sighed heavily.
“I don’t think my Jell-O survived,” she whispered with tears in her eyes.
“Bloody hell, Luna, its just Jell-O!” he exclaimed, rolling his eyes. What was up with her and her stupid snack?
“Yea, I know… but…” she whispered and shrugged.
“But what?” he asked.
“My Mum always used to make me Jell-O, and… it reminded me of her I suppose,” she sighed and shrugged heavily. “But you’re right, it’s just Jell-O. No need to obsess over silly things like that,” she shrugged though he couldn’t miss the tears in her eyes.
He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly and hugged her, letting her know that he understood and sometimes there was a need to obsess.
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Harry rushed over to Amy. They brushed aside the rubble. Sure enough there was a robe sleeve.
They grabbed it and tugged.
“Bloody hell!” Harry screamed and fell backwards as Hermione sat up, looking around curiously.
“What happened?” she mumbled. She ran her sleeve across her mouth, wiping away the blood and dirt. “Last thing I remember was… saying goodbye to Draco…” she whispered. She turned around quickly and pushed aside some of the rubble.
Malfoy lay there, his eyes tightly closed.
“Oh no!” she cried out.
“Give him some air!” Amy cried out. Was it just Harry or did everyone seem ruddy casual about the fact that Hermione was back from the dead?
Malfoy groaned and shielded his eyes from the light. He sat up and Hermione threw her arms around him tightly.
“Oh, Draco!” she cried, burying her face in his shoulder. He looked bewildered for a moment.
“Hermione… Hermione… this… this isn’t possible… Hermione you’re dead!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide open in shock.
At least Harry wasn’t the only one caught off guard.
“Don’t be stupid, Draco! If I were dead would I be able to do this?” she asked and grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him deeply. Draco didn’t even mind the fact that she tasted bloody, because she was alive.
“Oh god, Hermione I thought I’d lost you,” he groaned and held her tightly. Amy and Harry helped the two of them stand up.
“Can you tell me EXACTLY WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” Harry demanded to know from Amy. She looked at all of them and smiled.
“I told you Harry… I turned the death and destruction of your power into life and creation. Just so happens that when you get the full blow of something like that… incredible things can happen,” she winked at him.
He looked at Hermione and how she held Draco tightly in her arms as tears run down her face. They held onto one another and loved each other. He smiled, realizing that he had no right to stomp out something like that, even if it was between his best friend and the enemy.
When he thought about what Amy meant, he realized exactly what happened. The eruption of power had destroyed the tumor, the creation had mended her, and the life she had been pumped with… well… that’s what happens when you combine them all together.
Harry turned to Amy and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.
“You know, if it weren’t for you, none of us would be here. You saved billions of lives, Amy,” he smiled.
Hermione and Draco walked over slowly, both nodded.
“You did… and I think you’ve redeemed yourself. Forgive yourself, Amy. You saved billions of innocent lives purposely, and I think that makes up for taking fifty guilty ones by accident,” Hermione whispered.
Harry didn’t ask what they meant by taking fifty guilty lives by accident. He didn’t need to know. He didn’t want to know.
“I… think you’re right,” she whispered, wiping a tear from her eye. “I think I can move on now,” she whispered.
“Not until you two kiss,” Malfoy said, looking at them.
“What?” Harry and Amy asked at the same time.
“Bloody hell, and you all think I’m thickheaded!” Malfoy rolled his eyes. Harry looked at Amy who blinked slowly, actually seeing the love in Harry’s vibrant green eyes for the first time.
“Oh what the hell,” Harry shook his head and grabbed the sides of Amy’s face and pulling her into a passionate kiss. It was Amy’s first kiss, for in all of her four hundred and three years, she had never found anyone she dared to love.
That is, until she met Harry Potter.
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(A/N: the next chapter is the final chapter. It is the epilouge. It ties everything together. It is humorous and sweet, and I hope it gives all of you a sense of satisfaction at how the story ended.)
“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?” Ron screamed when he saw Hermione lying in bed with Malfoy, cuddling with him, sleeping with him. The anger he felt was too much to handle. Sure, he had suspected something. He had suspected friendship… even if he had told Malfoy Hermione was in love with him, he never suspected… he never dreamed that he was actually right.
Hermione and Malfoy shot up in bed. She looked at them all in horror.
“Oh Ron… Harry…” she whispered. Harry’s face was impassive. It was as if it were carved in stone. He just stared at them. Hermione wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. What Malfoy did notice was a ripple moving through the silken sheets.
“HOW COULD YOU? WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Ron screamed, tears pouring from his eyes. Only Malfoy noticed that Ron’s hair was slowly rippling, just as the sheets were.
Hermione jumped out of bed.
“Ron, please, let’s do this another time… when you’ve calmed down…” she pleaded, walking towards him.
“I’M NOT GOING TO CALM DOWN, DAMN IT!” He screamed at Hermione. She turned red in the face, and reached up and slapped him.
He stared at her in horror.
“Ronald Weasley, no matter who I choose you always hates them! Malfoy isn’t good enough! Viktor wasn’t good enough! NO ONE IS GOOD ENOUGH!” She screamed at him in anger, ignoring the dizziness that overcame her.
“I’M GOOD ENOUGH! YOU NEVER CHOSE ME! I’M GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!” Ron screamed, a tear running from his eye. His ears were burning red and his lips were trembling.
“WELL I DON’T LOVE YOU!” Hermione screamed. “YOU’RE LIKE MY BROTHER! WHY WON’T YOU ACCEPT THAT I DON’T LOVE YOU?” she sobbed, tears falling from her eyes.
“Hermione…” Malfoy muttered, noticing that her hair was sticking out and frizzing out with every step closer she got to Harry and Ron.
“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS YOU EVIL FERRET!” Ron sobbed. “YOU WERE DYING! YOU WERE DYING AND YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH MALFOY!” Ron sobbed, grabbing handfuls of hair and tugging on it. “YOU PUT ME THROUGH HELL!”
“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT HELL IS!” Hermione screamed. She felt the blood fill her nose, but she didn’t let it spill down. She had t say this. She could just lie back down once she said this. “YOU’RE RIGHT! I HAVE BEEN DYING! I’VE BEEN GOING THROUGH CONSTANT OPERATIONS! HIDING THIS FROM EVERYONE! I’M IN LOVE WITH DRACO AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS AFRAID OF HAPPENING!” Hermione sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
“What did you just say about Malfoy?” Ron asked in bewilderment. It was one thing to say it, but it was another thing to hear it.
“I said that I… am in love… with Draco Malfoy!” Hermione said calmly, rubbing vigorously at the tears straining from her eyes.
“Hermione…” Draco muttered again, but no one really heard because seconds after her whispered her name, the cake that Harry had been holding exploded, covering Ron, Harry, and Hermione with the tasty cake.
Harry turned around and stalked into the Common Room, where he began to pace. He was muttering to himself, grabbing handfuls of his hairs and tugging at them.
Hermione wiped the icing from her face and brushed the cake out of her hair and chased him into the Common Room.
“Harry! Calm down!” she cried out.
“I AM CALM!” he roared, and in a sudden ripple through the air the coffee table, couch, and arm chair were shoved to the farthest corners of the rooms. She winced at the sound of the legs screeching across the wood. They hit the walls with loud cracks. He stalked back and forth, back and forth, anger and rage in his eyes.
He was trying to control it… but he wasn’t having much luck.
“Harry…” Ron muttered. Harry’s hair was sticking on end, and the furniture was trembling, vibrating and echoing on the floor. Hermione covered her ears, trying to block out the sound. The blood began to dribble from her nose.
Draco saw the pain she was in and rushed forward into the Common Room.
“Potter, you seriously need to control your temper!” he snapped at Harry. Harry turned his sights on Malfoy.
“Don’t… you… dare… even… speak… to… me…” Harry panted, sneering, rage boiling down inside of him.
“You’re going to have to get used to me around, Potter. I’m in love with your best friend and I’m not going anywhere,” Malfoy warned him.
Hermione saw it in Harry’s eyes before Harry even knew what he was doing. She turned and began to run for Malfoy though no one heard her footsteps for the furniture was rattling heavily.
“You don’t know WHAT LOVE IS!” Harry snarled, and then threw his head back and shrieked. It was filled with so much pain and anguish. It sounded like a bird being tortured and dying. It sounded like nails against a chalkboard. It sounded… like hell. Malfoy and Ron doubled over and covered their ears, trying to deafen it out. Harry meant to hurt him… a huge bolt of power shot out towards Malfoy… but it never hit him…
Hermione had shoved the boy she was in love with out of the way, causing him to tumble onto the floor and out of harm’s reach. The bolt struck her directly in the chest and with a blood-curdling scream she was thrown against the window.
The deafening crack of the glass made everyone freeze and watch as Hermione fell to the floor. A shatter seemed to echo through the glass. She slipped down the wall and was still. Her head was limp and she lay in a crumpled pile. She didn’t move…
Malfoy crawled over to Hermione, tears filling his eyes. He pulled her into his lap. She had been weak… she couldn’t handle something like that…
“Hermione… love… wake up,” he begged of her. Her eyes blinked heavily and she looked up at him. He saw that the light was fading in her chocolate brown eyes. She gave him a weak smile, blood staining her tongue and her teeth as a dribble escaped her lips.
“Hey, Draco,” she whispered.
“Hush… shh… don’t speak,” he said, tears falling from his eyes heavily and landing on her face. He couldn’t hold back the sobs. Pain was written across his face as he held her tightly. “Please… just hold on… you have to hold on…” Draco sobbed and rocked her limp body in his arms.
“Hermione…” Ron whispered, tears brimming his eyes.
“Get some help!” Draco screamed, causing Ron to scamper from the room. Harry stood there in shock and horror, unable to move or breathe.
“Draco… listen to me…”
“There will be plenty of time for talk later,” he hushed her, rubbing away the blood on her face and the tears that had fallen from his eyes.
“No, there won’t. I don’t want you to forget me,” she whispered.
“I could never forget you. You’ll always be in my heart,” he sobbed, holding her tight. She wasn’t dying. She couldn’t be dying. After all this… she couldn’t die. He couldn’t let her die. If she died… he wouldn’t be able to go on.
She reached up and stroked his face gently, and it felt like a breeze just barely caressing his skin.
“Oh Draco, I’m already there. I’ll always be with you and in your heart. I’ll never really be gone,” she whispered, tears falling slowly from her eyes.
“Please Hermione… stop… don’t talk like this…” he sobbed helplessly. “You’ll pull through…”
“I’ll be the sunshine in your hair. I’ll be the whisper in the wind…”
“Hermione, please stop… please… I can’t give you up…” Draco sobbed and clutched to her, unable to let her go.
“Draco, please don’t worry about me. I’m going to be just fine. I’ll be in your dreams. I’ll be the beat of your heart, the moonlight shining down. I’ll be with you until the end, Draco. I’ll never give you up… never,” she whispered with a fleeting smile and her hand fell limply from his cheek to her side and her head fell back, the light gone from her eyes, the breath gone from her lips, the love gone from her heart.
“Hermione… no… no… come back. I love you!” Draco sobbed, shaking her gently. “Wake up! Hermione… wake up Hermione! Please… please… oh god don’t leave me here,” he sobbed, kissing her cold forehead. “Don’t leave me alone… I need you… oh god I need you so much…” he continued to sob, but when she didn’t wake up, he realized the cold painful truth.
“WAKE UP! YOU CAN’T BE DEAD! OH GOD NO! YOU AREN’T DEAD! DAMN IT WAKE UP HERMIONE!” he screamed and sobbed, shaking her roughly. Her eyes just continued to stare blankly, a peace written across her face. He paused and looked at her. She wasn’t in pain anymore. It was over. She could finally rest.
He lay her down on the floor and gently closed her eyes. He looked up at Harry, blame and hate in his tearful, full-moon-on-the-water eyes…
“Potter… she’s dead… you killed her…”
(A/N: Three more chapters to go! Two side notes, the next three chapters will be the longest. By the way, I'd like to give credit of Hermione's metaphorical last words to Lonestar in the song "I'm Already There"... I hope you keep reading!)
Chapter 46 - Never Letting Go
Harry stood staring at his dead best friend in horror. This wasn’t right. Hermione wasn’t supposed to die… this wasn’t supposed to be like this! This wasn’t right!
“What now, Potty? Huh? You killed her!” Draco screamed, shoving Harry back, tears flowing heavily from his eyes.
“No… she’s not dead… she’s sleeping… or this is all a dream…” Harry whispered, staring in horror at Hermione. She just lay there, sprawled out in her baggy white t-shirt covered in celebration cake and her blood. The irony of her being smeared in a cake made especially for celebrating her survival stuck Harry cold.
“This is no dream! You killed her! How does that make you feel? You made your worst nightmare come true!” Malfoy snarled again, tears blurring his vision as he swung and hit Harry across the face, causing Harry to collapse to the floor and blood to fill his mouth.
“I couldn’t have killed her…” Harry whispered, staring up weakly at Draco, spitting blood out on the floor beside him. “I couldn’t have… it’s impossible…” he whispered, but he was slowly realizing that he had killed Hermione, and his power was starting to grow…
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“Help! Help!” Ron screamed as he burst into the Great Hall. The students had mostly filed out, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood sitting and watching him shout frantically, and Amy was speaking with Severus Snape and Madam Pomfrey at the teacher’s table.
“What is it?” Snape demanded to know.
“Hermione… she was… she was… she’s in love with Draco… and…” he wheezed.
“Get on with it boy!” Madam Pomfrey said, but Amy had paled and tears had filled her pure white eyes.
“Hermione’s dead…” she whispered and ran for the exit as fast as she could, Ron and the two Professors at her heels.
“I need to warn my sister!” Ron cried out and turned the other direction.
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“Well you did, Potty! You killed her! Your temper killed her! Are you going to kill Ron next? What about Ginny? What the hell, why not kill everyone who ever loved you?” Malfoy hissed, picking Harry up by the collar. “ANSWER ME!” he screamed and slapped Harry hard across the face.
“I… I’d never kill…”
“You’d never kill them? You killed Hermione! Why not kill them?” Malfoy screamed, tears falling from his eyes heavily. Harry shook his head and broke away from Malfoy.
“I didn’t kill her…”
“Look at her, Potter! SHE’S DEAD!”
“I didn’t kill her…”
“OH NO, SHE’S JUST SLEEPING!” Draco roared sarcastically.
“I DIDN’T KILL HER!” Harry screamed and tried to rip out his hair. He threw his head back and shrieked horribly. It sounded like a flock of birds screeching as death was brought upon them. It sounded like demons from hell shrieking. Malfoy watched as the furniture began to vibrate again, bouncing on the floor. A sick and demented smile came over Draco’s face.
“THAT’S RIGHT, HARRY! LET IT LOOSE! LOSE YOUR TEMPER! KILL ME! YOU ALREADY KILLED THE ONE PERSON THAT MEANT SOMETHING TO ME! SO KILL ME! I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR!” Malfoy screamed, throwing his arms out to his sides, ready to welcome the cold dark oblivion of death.
“I DIDN’T KILL ANYONE!”
“KILL ME! OR DO YOU NOT HAVE THE BALLS?” Draco screamed, tears falling freely from his eyes.
“STOP IT!”
Something was wrong. Harry’s hair was sticking straight up, and the green of his eyes were fading away… the were becoming bleached… pure white… radiating off a sort of power that even Malfoy could feel…
“Bloody hell…” Draco whispered, realizing that if Harry lost his temper, Draco wouldn’t be the only one to die.
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“Hurry! HURRY! OH GOD HURRY!” Amy screamed as she ran for the Head Common Room. The amount of power…steadily growing… she was almost suffocating in it. The feeling was incredible. The power that was radiating from Harry was throbbing off of everything… and in her mind she could see… for the first time she could actually see…
“Can you feel it?” Snape shouted to her. “We have to get out of here! We have to save the students!” he roared towards Amy, but she wasn’t going to do as he said.
“HARRY IS MY RESPONSIBILITY! I’M NOT GOING TO LET ANYONE ELSE DIE!” she screamed and ran for the portrait, barely even saying the password before tearing through.
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Ginny and Billy were cuddling in the Gryffindor Common Room, smiling, happy to be in the arms of one another.
“This is perfect,” Ginny whispered and held onto his hands. He nodded and kissed her neck sweetly.
“I don’t want to go home in a few days. I wish I could stay here forever,” Billy whispered and held her close. She nodded, realizing how much she was going to miss him if he went home.
“I know… I think I could actually tolerate Professor Snape if I knew that you were waiting for me at the end of class,” she giggled and turned, planting a sweet kiss on his lips.
“Mm…” he mumbled into her lips and she giggled. “Hey Ginny… what’s that?” he asked. She looked where he was pointing. On the table, a box of Bertie Bott’s Ever Flavor Beans sat there. It was swelling… vibrating…
“I don’t know…” she mumbled and reached out for it. The box exploded and beans showered them with beans. Ginny giggled and brushed them aside.
“Well, I’m not sure I could get used to weird things like that happening,” Billy laughed. “But I would for you,” he said and tried to pull her back into his lap, but she was staring at something.
The jellybeans on the coffee table were vibrating, trembling, shaking and bouncing.
“Are they supposed to do that?” Billy asked, reaching out for one of the beans.
“Oh god… Harry…” she whispered, realizing that he and Ron must have caught Hermione and Draco just as she had… “Billy GET DOWN!” she screamed and grabbed his arm, pulling him down on the floor in the small space between the coffee table and the couch
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Neville had been sitting in the Great Hall with Luna when Ron, that new girl, Pomfrey, and Snape all ran in fear. He wondered what was going on.
“It was probably Peeves. He’s always causing trouble, you know. One time he stole my copy of the Quibbler from me, and then he pasted the pages all over my bed. It was really uncomfortable for me, and daddy was furious that Peeves would treat his magazine like that,” Luna said, poking at her Jell-O.
Neville nodded, realizing that must have been it.
“Hey Neville, does your Jell-O usually jiggle?” Luna asked. Neville laughed.
“Well, of course! Jell-O is supposed to do that, isn’t it?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
She shrugged.
“I suppose… but I never had Jell-O that jiggled on its own before. It’s quite interesting,” she said and watched her Jell-O carefully again.
Neville paused for a moment and then looked at Luna’s snack. Sure enough, it trembled and rippled with some sort of unseen force. He looked at Luna and saw that her long, stringy blonde hair was being filled with static and was beginning to stand on end.
“Luna… it’s not just your Jell-O…” he mumbled as the entire table began to shake.
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“Harry… Harry calm down…” Malfoy whispered, slowly stepping back. Harry’s hair was standing straight up, bright white light sparking from his eyes. Some sort of pulsing light had enveloped him, throbbing and shooting off bolts of white lightning. The same sort of bolt had hit Hermione in the chest and killed her…
Malfoy was seeing Harry’s power.
“SHE CAN’T BE DEAD!” Harry screamed, causing another bolt of power to shoot off. It hit the armchair and it erupted into flame, screaming and cackling in fire. Draco let out a terrified shout and stumbled backwards, farther away from Harry. Smoke filled the room and Draco coughed, suffocating.
“Harry! Stop it!” Malfoy screamed. “You’re going to kill someone!” There was no reasoning with Harry. His face was twisted and contorted, his raven hair rippling and flying about. He was hunched over, panting angrily.
He looked at Malfoy, the bleached white of his eyes wanting to swallow him whole.
“I DIDN’T KILL HER!” he screamed again, two bolts of power shooting out. One of them struck the door to Malfoy’s bedroom and it broke apart into splinters with an incredibly loud shattering noise. The other bolt hit the fireplace, which became coated over in a layer of ice, freezing the flames in place.
Malfoy looked around. He couldn’t stop Harry. There was no way now. Everyone was going to die, and he knew it. Potter was going to kill the entire school.
He fell to the floor, his knees giving way beneath the force of the power. He crawled over to Hermione, wrapping her cold limp body in his arms.
“It’ll be alright, Hermione. I’m coming,” he whispered and kissed her cold lips and closed his eyes
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Amy burst into the room, saw Harry, and almost screamed. He was like a figure from a nightmare. His body rigid and hunched, his hair flying about, a pulsing orb of power having swallowed him whole. Bolts of power shot off of his being like lightning, causing things to explode, freeze, or catch fire.
“Potter! Control yourself!” Snape screamed.
“Mr. Malfoy! Miss Granger!” Madam Pomfrey screamed. She tried to rush to them but a wave of power knocked both her and Snape back, causing them to cling to the doorframe. Their hair was flying about and they had to shout over the whistling screaming of Harry’s power and pained shrieks.
“Stay back!” Amy screamed. She walked heavily towards Harry. It was up to her… she had to save him… she had to save everyone…
“Miss Vinnopal! Get back!” Snape screamed though Harry’s horrible shrieking deafened his shouts.
She plunged her hands into Harry’s aura, and held back the pained screams as the cold fire rushed through her body. She forced herself on and she stood inside of Harry’s power, next to him.
Inside of the orb Harry was just hunched over, crying. He was not the horrible demon nightmarish creature he seemed to be on the outside. The pain and the misery brought tears to her eyes.
She took his hand in hers and squeezed it tight. He looked up at her and she saw what exactly everyone had been so frightened of when they looked at her. It was a cold, pure blank white with the power spilling over the edges. She squeezed his hands and blinked away the tears. She knew once it was over she would never be able to see again…
And even through the pain and horror, she saw that Harry was beautiful.
“Let it go, Harry… let it all go,” she whispered and his lip trembled. He threw his head back and inhaled, ready to scream.
She threw her head back and inhaled, ready to scream along with him.
“SHE’S… NOT… DEAD!” he roared and she emptied all of her strength and control into him. The power in his eyes turned a bright green once again and filled the room, blinding her, and when she heard the shrieks and the glass shattering and the world around her exploding, all she could do was hope.
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Everything was trembling and being thrown about. Screams were heard everywhere throughout the school as people ran for safety. It was like an earthquake had hit Hogwarts, but Ginny knew that it was Harry.
She clung to Billy who held her safely in his arms, breathing steadily though his heartbeat was rapid.
“Billy… I love you…” she whispered.
“Ginny, I love you too,” he whispered and held her tighter. Ginny felt the air change. She felt it thicken and fill with some sort of unexplainable force and power.
“Oh god it’s coming, Billy…”
“I know…”
“DON’T LET ME GO!” she cried out, holding him tighter as the table knocked against her, bruising her back and she screamed as the pressure got too much.
“I’LL NEVER LET YOU GO!” he screamed over Ginny’s shrieks along with the throbbing screams of power about them as he was blinded by an endless bright green light that swallowed them whole.
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Neville and Luna were huddled under the table, their hands over their heads, protecting themselves from flying dishes and textbooks. People were screaming. The floor itself was shaking and vibrating.
Luna looked around frantically.
“My Jell-O!” she screamed and tried to crawl towards it.
“DON’T BE AN IMBECILE!” Neville screamed and pulled her back, throwing his body on top of her and protecting her as an endless, deafening shriek filled his ears The last thing he saw was a blinding green light, throbbing and enveloping the entire school in a wave of power.
Ron was running up the stairs. The portraits were screaming. He was on the last leg until he reached the Gryffindor Tower. He had to reach Ginny. He had to save her. She was his sister!
He could barely stand up straight with everything shaking and trembling. He held onto the railing tightly. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Ginny. Nothing! His mum would kill him!
The ripple of power went through the air and the hair on his head and his arms stood on end. He looked around frantically, and he saw the bright green light coming towards him at an incredible speed, like a wave of power that was pulsing and throbbing.
“Bloody hell…” he whispered and was knocked off his feet when the power hit, tossing him backwards, down the Grand Staircase…
The last thought that went through his head was a simple question…
Would anyone survive?
Chapter 47 - Miracles Can Happen
Harry was panting, breathless. He had fallen to his knees. A cold sweat had broken out on his forehead. His heart was beating so fast it sounded like a hum. He closed his eyes and rubbed at them vigorously.
He felt a hand placed softly on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Amy standing there, looking down at him with an exhausted smile. Her hair had fallen limply in her bright white eyes.
Even those seemed slightly dull.
She fell to her knees beside him and took his hand in hers. She placed his hand on her face.
“Harry… can you feel me?” she whispered, pressing his hand firmly against her skin. He didn’t answer, just simply reached over and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight for a hug.
“What happened?” he asked as they let go of one another. He looked around in horror. The entire Head Common Room was obliterated. It was destroyed, demolished. Birds chirped outside and could be heard clearly for there was no glass in the window.
The walls were barely standing up and there was no sign of a stick of furniture. Actually, that wasn’t entirely factual. All the sticks could be seen, but none could be told apart. Everything was simply rubble.
“You let loose, Harry. You let your power loose,” she smiled brightly. Tears filled his eyes as he looked around.
“Why are you so happy, Amy? Look at what I’ve done!” he cried out, swinging his arms around.
“I know, I can see,” she giggled. He looked up at her curiously.
“What do you mean you can see?” he asked breathlessly. She shrugged.
“I can see everything. I can see the rubble on the ground, the black of your hair, the green of your eyes,” she smiled and ran a hand sweetly through her hair. “You did this Harry. I don’t know how… but you… you gave me sight!” she exclaimed.
“Yes, Potter, but don’t think I won’t be giving you serious detention for this careless display,” Snape muttered grudgingly as he sat up, brushing the debris off. He rubbed his head and brushed the dust from his robes. “You really need to learn some self control.”
Harry had never been happier to see Professor Snape.
“Oh dear… the hospital wing will be overflowing!” Madam Pomfrey groaned as she dug through the debris, looking for her spectacles.
“How… how is this possible? I mean if I completely destroyed the Common Room… why aren’t all of you dead?” Harry asked in astonishment, brushing the dust from his hair.
“Harry, did you know that you have a freckle right here?” Amy giggled and pointed to a spot right below his left eye. “Oh… I think I can explain that!” she said excitedly. Harry had never seen the girl happier.
“Please, I think we all want to know,” Snape muttered grumpily. Though Harry couldn’t quite tell, he got the impression that Amy rolled her eyes.
“Well you see, Harry’s power was getting quite out of control, as you can tell,” she said and pointed around the common room. “But I broke through your power force. I held onto your hand. I conjoined your power with my sense of control. I forced the death into life, and the destruction into creation,” she sighed happily.
“If you hadn’t done that… how many people would have died?” he asked quietly in horror.
“Most likely all of Great Britain,” Snape muttered grumpily. Harry at first thought he was exaggerating, but Amy merely shrugged.
“Wait… where’s Malfoy?” he asked. They all looked around for him.
“I can’t see him. Where was he last?” Amy asked frantically.
“Near the window!” Harry pointed. They crawled through the debris, forcing the rubble aside. If he had killed Malfoy… two people would have died because of him. He was a murderer already. He didn’t need to innocent lives on his conscience.
They dug through the wood.
“Malfoy! Malfoy! Can you hear us?” they call out, digging vigorously.
“Harry! I think I found him!”
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Ginny opened her eyes to dark. She couldn’t see anything. She could hear her own raspy breath and feel a heavy heartbeat… was it hers?
“Billy? Billy can you hear me?” she asked.
“Yes,” he mumbled. “Something hit my head!” he grumbled. She sighed and tried to sit up.
“I need your help. Push up!” she said. They immediately shoved up and pushed the couch off of them. They looked around. People were walking around, dazed and confused. Some of them had bumps and bruises, and a rare few were bleeding.
They crawled up and out of the debris.
“Wow, your headmaster is going to have a fit,” Billy grumbled and rubbed the back of his head.
“Dumbledore will understand,” she said with a smile. She turned to give Billy a warm kiss when a familiar voice called out to her.
“Ginny? Ginny! You in here?” Ron called out. Ginny turned around to see her older brother standing there, cradling his right arm.
“Ron!” she laughed and ran for him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
“Ow! Ouch! Watch the arm!” he cried out and grimaced. She pulled back and looked at him worriedly.
“What happened?” she asked. He shrugged.
“When it came I was caught off guard and I toppled down the stairs… think I broke my wrist,” he hissed.
“You were on your way up to see me?” she asked in a breathless whisper. He shrugged and nodded.
“Ginny… you’re my baby sister! I could never let anything happen to you,” he smirked.
“Oh Ron!” Ginny beamed as tears filled her eyes.
“Cause Mum would kill me if I did,” he shrugged again. Ginny rolled her eyes and smacked him across the shoulder. “Ouch! Ginny you DO NOT beat up the wounded!” Ron scolded and held his arm tightly to him.
Ginny turned to Billy and took his hand in hers.
“You two better get reacquainted… and you better get along. Don’t make me hex either of you,” she threatened.
The boys looked at each other and sighed.
Billy stuck out his hand in a friendly manner. Ron stared at it reproachfully, and then with a sigh of surrender took it regretfully and shook it.
“There now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Ginny laughed, causing both boys to roll their eyes.
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Neville helped Luna out from under the Great Hall table. She had a small cut on her forehead and held a napkin to it so it wouldn’t bleed into her eye. Neville’s lip was a bit swollen and something had hit his shoulder pretty hard.
But besides those two things, both of them were pretty much unharmed.
“Well, wonder what that was,” Neville grumbled, rotating his shoulder. Luna looked around and sighed heavily.
“I don’t think my Jell-O survived,” she whispered with tears in her eyes.
“Bloody hell, Luna, its just Jell-O!” he exclaimed, rolling his eyes. What was up with her and her stupid snack?
“Yea, I know… but…” she whispered and shrugged.
“But what?” he asked.
“My Mum always used to make me Jell-O, and… it reminded me of her I suppose,” she sighed and shrugged heavily. “But you’re right, it’s just Jell-O. No need to obsess over silly things like that,” she shrugged though he couldn’t miss the tears in her eyes.
He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly and hugged her, letting her know that he understood and sometimes there was a need to obsess.
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Harry rushed over to Amy. They brushed aside the rubble. Sure enough there was a robe sleeve.
They grabbed it and tugged.
“Bloody hell!” Harry screamed and fell backwards as Hermione sat up, looking around curiously.
“What happened?” she mumbled. She ran her sleeve across her mouth, wiping away the blood and dirt. “Last thing I remember was… saying goodbye to Draco…” she whispered. She turned around quickly and pushed aside some of the rubble.
Malfoy lay there, his eyes tightly closed.
“Oh no!” she cried out.
“Give him some air!” Amy cried out. Was it just Harry or did everyone seem ruddy casual about the fact that Hermione was back from the dead?
Malfoy groaned and shielded his eyes from the light. He sat up and Hermione threw her arms around him tightly.
“Oh, Draco!” she cried, burying her face in his shoulder. He looked bewildered for a moment.
“Hermione… Hermione… this… this isn’t possible… Hermione you’re dead!” he exclaimed, his eyes wide open in shock.
At least Harry wasn’t the only one caught off guard.
“Don’t be stupid, Draco! If I were dead would I be able to do this?” she asked and grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him deeply. Draco didn’t even mind the fact that she tasted bloody, because she was alive.
“Oh god, Hermione I thought I’d lost you,” he groaned and held her tightly. Amy and Harry helped the two of them stand up.
“Can you tell me EXACTLY WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” Harry demanded to know from Amy. She looked at all of them and smiled.
“I told you Harry… I turned the death and destruction of your power into life and creation. Just so happens that when you get the full blow of something like that… incredible things can happen,” she winked at him.
He looked at Hermione and how she held Draco tightly in her arms as tears run down her face. They held onto one another and loved each other. He smiled, realizing that he had no right to stomp out something like that, even if it was between his best friend and the enemy.
When he thought about what Amy meant, he realized exactly what happened. The eruption of power had destroyed the tumor, the creation had mended her, and the life she had been pumped with… well… that’s what happens when you combine them all together.
Harry turned to Amy and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.
“You know, if it weren’t for you, none of us would be here. You saved billions of lives, Amy,” he smiled.
Hermione and Draco walked over slowly, both nodded.
“You did… and I think you’ve redeemed yourself. Forgive yourself, Amy. You saved billions of innocent lives purposely, and I think that makes up for taking fifty guilty ones by accident,” Hermione whispered.
Harry didn’t ask what they meant by taking fifty guilty lives by accident. He didn’t need to know. He didn’t want to know.
“I… think you’re right,” she whispered, wiping a tear from her eye. “I think I can move on now,” she whispered.
“Not until you two kiss,” Malfoy said, looking at them.
“What?” Harry and Amy asked at the same time.
“Bloody hell, and you all think I’m thickheaded!” Malfoy rolled his eyes. Harry looked at Amy who blinked slowly, actually seeing the love in Harry’s vibrant green eyes for the first time.
“Oh what the hell,” Harry shook his head and grabbed the sides of Amy’s face and pulling her into a passionate kiss. It was Amy’s first kiss, for in all of her four hundred and three years, she had never found anyone she dared to love.
That is, until she met Harry Potter.
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(A/N: the next chapter is the final chapter. It is the epilouge. It ties everything together. It is humorous and sweet, and I hope it gives all of you a sense of satisfaction at how the story ended.)
