(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. )
"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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He wished he could wave his wand and make things automatically better for her and Ron. For everyone inside Grimmauld and hell everywhere outside Grimmauld. But solutions take time. Healing takes even longer.
"You recognize you haven't been yourself. That puts you a step ahead at putting things right. He loves you, Hermione. He loves you when you're your usual self, and he loves you when you are cold and distant. You'll lean on him soon. I know you will. You and I close off when we get stressed out or pushed to our breaking points, but we always go back to them because those Weasley hearts provide us with the foundation to build from. I know you can do this. You'll put yourself back together again. I love you so much. You know that. I'm glad it's you that will stand with me tonight to finish this."
He checked his watch and tried not to focus too much on time. It was easier to focus on her and how she was feeling. But they'd have to go soon. They'd have to finish it, and he would have to test fate. He just hoped the answer fate had for him was one that he could handle. But he really did believe Hermione would fix herself and those around her. She was so much stronger than she possibly realized.
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"I need me back, I need to be able to nurse my daughter and help her heal without causing more damage to either of us. I need to be able to take Billie and David to the park and push them on the swings and sit and read to Hugo as he falls asleep. I need to be able to kiss my husband good night."
She laughed a little sadly, "They say you don't realise how bad things are until those simple things are taken from you and you want nothing more than to have them back."
Noticing him check his watch she caught the time, it would soon be time to go. Reaching up she brushed his cheek before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips, "Every hero who goes to give their life for a good cause deserves the chance at one kiss. Even if it's just from a sister."
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He smiled when she kissed him. He didn't feel like much of a hero right now. If anything he felt like the moment he stood up he'd fall back down again. Sirius had told him dying was easy, and maybe it was if you didn't see it coming. But that walk toward death? It was mind-numbing and rather terrifying.
But he found strength and courage in Hermione's faith in him, and her ability to stand beside him no matter how uneasy and uncertain the terms of this deal were. Harry believed this would work though.
"We have faith this could work, Hermione. That's the first step to you getting yourself back." He slowly stood up and offered her his hand. He wasn't quite shaking, but he felt the ticking of the clock inside his head. Every breath a miracle. Every moment he had with his best friend and sister a gift. Once she was on her feet he didn't let go of her hand. They used to apparate this way, hand in hand, when they were horcrux hunting all those years before.
Back to who they used to be right?
"Ready then?"
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Taking a breath she closed her eyes and waited for him to take her to his very first home.
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