(Untitled)
Who? Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry Potter, Hermione Weasley, Voldemort
What? The final show down
When? Roughly 24-48 hours after the Ministry battle
Why? All we are saying is give peace a chance.
( I got a number on me. I got a number. Won't make it through the high noon sun. Well I am my father's son. And I am my father's son. His bed is made. And I was a hero early in the morning. I ain't no hero in the night. I am my father's son. )
What? The final show down
When? Roughly 24-48 hours after the Ministry battle
Why? All we are saying is give peace a chance.
( I got a number on me. I got a number. Won't make it through the high noon sun. Well I am my father's son. And I am my father's son. His bed is made. And I was a hero early in the morning. I ain't no hero in the night. I am my father's son. )
"Peace. The prophecy said neither of us could survive as long as the other lived, yet both of us dying didn't work. We both found our way back. There are other priorities in our lives now. No one has to know about your child. I can keep that secret, and you can take the chance to move on, away from Hogwarts and this war. If you truly wish to teach like you did when you were younger then do so. Just because you can't do so here at Hogwarts doesn't mean other schools wouldn't be willing. I'm sure you know of at least one who already is open to your way of thinking."
He couldn't bring himself to mention Durmstrang straight out, but it was implied. Let another school deal with him. They would most likely welcome him with open arms.
"I'd like to live my life where my entire world doesn't revolve around what you will do next. Wouldn't you appreciate living a life where you could teach and live to raise your heir? I'll pull my side back if you'll do the same. A truce. We may never see eye to eye on how the wizarding war should exist, but we could put aside the blood shed. You said, once, that every drop of magical blood spilled was a waste. I agree with you there. The prophecy ties us together so let's make a choice, together, to end this now. Three wars and we're both practically in the same spots we were before, yet we have a future with our children. Do we wish to give that up to continue a battle that neither side can truly call victory?"
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"And tell me, how can you say that no one will come for my child or Bellatrix in her state? It is one thing to say that you and I will keep our words and that we will not persue such matter but the others. Your mudblood friend does seem fit on killing Bellatrix and I am sure there are others fit on killing those on either side. This will not just stop because we say so."
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His tone was kept light because he did not wish to offend him. Not when the lines of communication were finally open. Harry was so tired of his life revolving around that blasted prophecy. He had a feeling that Voldemort was sick of it too.
"What would you need from Hermione to trust that she will not come after Bellatrix again?"
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"Do you believe that should you say so those fighting with you would not come for me and mine?"
Again another pause as he thought about the mudblood. "Her vow," was all he replied with.
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The vow. Right. Well an unbreakable vow on four sides would be the best for this. It was the only way to tie their hands and force peace to happen.
"The unbreakable vow, all four of us take it. There is one more thing." He took a deep breath and squeezed Hermione's hand again. Fear still washed over him like a cold summer rain, but he needed to do this.
"I am a horcrux again. I wish to not be one. If you will kill me and leave it in fate's hands if I come back we can finally end this war and move on with our lives. In return, I'll give you the vow to not go after another horcrux again. Me for the remainders, it is a fair trade is it not?"
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He knew of the vows, knew such people would take them.
"Kill you?" Silence fell once more, minutes passed, "And tell me, should you not come back this time, your vow would be broken and your friends and family would come after me. You cannot stop this."
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Harry took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. Preparing to face death wasn't as easy this time as it had been last time. There was so much more to lose.
"I have a wife and children. My parents are back. You should know me well enough to know that if I can come back, I will do so. I will fight to live, but if death must be permanent for both sides to have peace, for your child and mine to be able to grow up without this hanging over their heads isn't it worth the risk?"
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"Agreed."
He stood slowly and moved from the fire, "Bella is sleeping. We will meet at midnight in the ruins of the place you and I first met, from there we will portkey to a location away from everything. Do you agree?"
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"Agreed. Midnight it is."
He opened his eyes and slowly sat up and looked at Hermione. They'd discussed what he had planned to ask before, at length already. Now it was just time to move on with it.
"Midnight at my parents' house in Godric's Hollow. He wants the unbreakable vow between you and Bella and the knowledge you will make sure everyone realizes I forced him to kill me as part of the agreement. If I make it back, and trust me Hermione, I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I will fight like hell to come back, I'll give him the unbreakable vow as well." He checked the watch that Molly and Arthur gave him and sighed. "Just a few hours until peace."
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Squeezing her eyes closed she took a breath before reaching over and stroking his cheek softly, "Harry, if you don't come back I am going to find that stone and bring you back so I can kill you myself. Do I make myself clear?"
The coldness that had been in her eyes since findind Rose was gone but it was will with a weary sadness that was eating her up slowly inside. "But this, this is out burden to carry and if..." Her words failed her.
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"I'm glad I won't have to do this alone this time." He'd dropped the stone the last time because he felt like he had to face it alone. As much as he hated having to make Hermione endure this, he wasn't sure if he could have faced Voldemort and the killing curse a second time on his own.
His hand found hers again and squeezed it. They could do this. This was their burden, but it could also be their victory. Everyone, on both sides even, had lost too much. It was time to take a stand and end it. For their families as well as for the people they didn't know.
Voldemort had been right. Every drop of blood spilled had been a waste. Harry was tired of wasting something so precious.
"How are you feeling? Are you warm enough? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" The poison had taken it's toll on her, he could tell.
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Moving a little closer she wrapped his arm around her and hid in his chest, "Oh Harry...these past few days, if this doesn't end now I don't think I can take much more. There is only so much one person can take, only so much my...Harry, how do I explain to Rose that...how will I make it all better?"
Hermione's voice broke a little, "I need you Harry, more and more each day I need you and if you're not here to help me through this I think I might just crack into a thousand unfixable pieces."
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"Sometimes I look in the mirror and I wonder what happened to me. Did I lose something when I was with Bella that couldn't be repaired? Did the memories that Carrow showed me push me to the point I couldn't get myself back? Did Severus break me into pieces that can't be put back together? I look at you and Ron, at my fathers and Rosie, Teddy and Al...we're showing signs of what we've gone through, but we're still here, Hermione. Battered, bruised, and maybe a little broken, but still here."
He kissed the top of her head and held her close. She'd been his sister since she was eleven years old. They had endured so much together. This was just another adventure. And if he couldn't come back from this then he was grateful he had family with him for the final moments.
"You are not just the cleverest witch of our year, Hermione. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known. You'll tell Rosie that she is strong and beautiful and brave just like her mother and father. And that her family will be there to help her get better. And you will throw yourself into taking care of your little girl and your expanding family. You'll go back to the ministry and continue your work. You'll look in the mirror and see yourself getting better each and every day. We've done things we said we'd never do, but the fact is we're still us. I see you when I look at you, and you see me when you look at me so we're not lost completely then, right?"
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Hermione hid her face in his neck and tears came for the first time. She felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and it was all her fault. She could have stopped so many things from happening if she had really thought things through and not listened with her heart.
"T-that day," she said softly as she cried, "That day and the Ministry when I went againt Voldemort, I...I didn't care if I lived or died." And admiting that was so hard to her, "Rose, Ron, I hadn't been able to protect either of them. I'd let them both down and when I look in the mirror I see nothing but a shadow of what I was. I can't even look at Ron because I don't want him to see how different I am now. How broken."
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Harry stroked her hair and rocked her a bit beside him. He was glad she was letting some things out. Bottling it up would only make her weaker, sicker, more likely to lose her mind later. The last thing he wanted was for her to do the laugh at death that so many before her had done.
"You knew you could die, yes, but you fought him, Hermione. I saw you. You charged in and you fought with the spirit of a lioness. If you truly wished to die you wouldn't have fought so hard. You were there to finish the fight, but you had that fire still in your eyes. The fire that said you wanted to be the last one standing. I've tried shutting myself away from Ginny and everyone, but it doesn't work really. Even over the last twenty-four hours when I was setting our back up plans in motion, I thought I could pull away from everyone. Then Reggie woke up from a nightmare and I held him to soothe him because Ginny was already asleep with Emma beside her. And I realized I needed them near me more than away from me because they are who I truly am. Ron, Rosie, Hugo, and your twins, they are the ones who will ground you when you feel like you're losing yourself. People make mistakes, Hermione, even people as clever and brave as you, but you are here with me now. You're walking into this knowing it could be a trap and putting your faith in it being worth the risk. That is the Hermione Granger-Weasley I have always known. The girl who will push past fear and logic at times and trust her heart. You can do this, and you will be the one left standing. I promise you this."
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"How many families and lives were destroyed?"
A breath before she leaned her forehead to his, "I've been so cold to Ron, pushing him away everytime he tries to get close, tries to talk to me. I could feel him watching me, cursing himself for not being able to get from that bed and just hold me until he could make everything alright. I've very much been the queen bitch."
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