Apology: Part II
Title: Apology: Part II
Author: sugareey (aka ME)
Rating: R (for language)
Pairing: H/D
Word Count: 1,814
Summary: Harry realizes something he never thought about before.
Disclaimer: not mine. however, it is my duty to manipulate the characters.
Warning: post hbp i guess. click here for all parts.
A/N: continues from Part I. this is for the AWDT prompt "Open to interpretation" for nocturnali and jamie2109. cheers!
It was over when he began to cry. He didn’t care about the excruciating pain that ran through him. He felt like he was on fire. His skin was smeared with blood. But that didn’t stop him from looking for bodies. Trying to stand up, he almost collapsed. He tested his weight gingerly on his right leg. It shook violently. A sprained ankle. It reminded him of the Triwizard Tournament. He had done the same thing in the maze, except an Acromantula had dropped him from at least twelve feet. That was the night Lord Voldemort came back. That was when hell broke loose. That was when he saw Cedric Diggory die.
The memory made him cry harder. He could still feel rage boiling inside of him, but it was now mixed with grief. He stared at the ashes and robes before him. He picked up the wand on top of the pile. Thirteen inches. Yew. Phoenix. The brother wand. He broke it in half, tossing the pieces away before running. He bit his lip while tolerating the sharp pain shooting up his leg. He scanned the ground as he ran. He hated this.
Bodies were scattered everywhere. He couldn’t differentiate the wounded from the dead. Squinting through the fog, he tried to see if he recognized anyone. The sky began to darken. Harry kept running, pausing briefly to check the identities of more bodies. There were so many of them. If only the remaining Death Eaters hadn’t escaped. If only he had been quicker.
Harry could vaguely make out some of the Order examining bodies as well. He thought he saw McGonagall, Hermione, Fred and Neville amongst them. But where was Ron? Where was everyone else? His chest tightened as he scanned the ground again for red hair. Then he heard a scream. Harry whipped his head around, instantly spotting Hermione on her knees. She screamed again before sobbing hysterically. Harry tried to run to her but his leg gave out. He watched her cry, throwing herself on top of someone lifeless figure. Ron. He felt the air being squeezed out of him. Ron must be…dead. Had he let another person down? Was this his fault? Harry crawled on his hands and knees to get to his friends. He had to find out what happened. As he crawled, his knees bumped against something soft.
He noticed a limp body dressed in torn black robes. A hood covered the face. A Death Eater! Crawling closer, Harry saw the wand lying next to the body. It looked familiar, unless he was imagining things. As he attempted to lower the hood, Harry saw a glimpse of pale skin. Shit. His heart began to pound hard within his chest. Blood rushed too quickly to his brain. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real. This was just a dream.
But he knew it wasn’t a dream when he jerked the hood down. He was staring at Draco Malfoy. Malfoy’s blond hair was now completely stained with crimson blood. His eyes were closed, his red lips parted slightly. There was a smudge of dirt on his sharp, aristocratic nose. His cheeks were pure white. Harry quickly grasped Malfoy’s arm, lifting the sleeve up roughly. He saw the patch of raw pink skin accompanied with other wounds. He checked for a pulse, feeling nothing but coldness. He let the arm fall, cursing loudly.
“You’re not dead!” Harry murmured. “You never said you’d die…”
Salty tears ran down his cheeks, dripping onto Malfoy’s robes. But it didn’t matter. Harry found himself sprawled on top of Malfoy as the world crumbled around him. He gripped the tattered robes tightly as he cried.
“I never properly thanked you, Malfoy,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I want to let you know…how much I appreciate what you’ve done. How you…”
He broke off again, choking back a sob. He tried to convince himself that there was still hope, that Malfoy might be alive. Maybe Ron and everyone else would be alive too. Though Harry wanted to know the truth, he was afraid to accept it. If he was wrong…if more people were actually dead, he didn’t know what he would do. It really was his fault that people met death so early. If only he had died sixteen years ago.
“Potter!”
“Harry!”
Harry buried his face against Malfoy’s chest, which was soaked with blood. He could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. Fat raindrops began to fall from the sky. He could have cared less. He just wanted Malfoy to wake up.
“Look what happened!” he shouted, shaking his head. He slapped Malfoy’s face with a hand. “See? H-he won’t wake up…he’s…”
“Potter, please move away from him!” said Minerva McGonagall sharply, even though she was shaken.
“No! He didn’t deserve this!”
“Harry! This is Malfoy!” pointed out Hermione frantically. “You know what he is!”
“He wasn’t a fucking Death Eater!” yelled Harry as he held Malfoy’s limp body in his arms. “He was never a Death Eater!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking-”
“He saved my life! He Stunned Bellatrix LeStrange to stop the Cruciatus Curse from killing me!”
“Potter, what is the meaning of-”
“He was working with the Order, damn it! He knew about the Horcruxes!”
“What?” queried McGonagall and Hermione together.
“Snape helped him! He-they…they were helping us!”
“Severus Snape?” repeated McGonagall, completely bewildered. “He was really a spy for-”
“Dumbledore!” Harry’s voice wavered. “Snape has been spying for us all long! And Malfoy…”
“How do you know this, Harry?” Hermione asked cautiously. “Malfoy knows Occlumency. He could have-”
Harry ripped the sleeve of Malfoy’s robe, holding the lifeless arm in his hand.
“What do you call this?” seethed Harry as more tears ran down his face. “He burned and cut his fucking mark off! He did everything to get rid of it! He did this for…”
“Harry, thank Merlin you’re okay!”
Harry looked up to see a limping Remus Lupin running toward him as fast as possible.
“Is that…Draco Malfoy?”
“I’m afraid it is, Remus,” replied McGonagall worriedly. “We do not know whether he is-”
“HE IS NOT DEAD!” screamed Harry heartlessly, soaked by the pouring rain. “He‘s not…”
“Harry,” murmured Remus gently, resting a hand on Harry’s shoulder, “we need to get out of here. Go with Hermione and then we can-”
“NO! You’re going to leave him here, aren’t you?”
“Harry, let’s be reasonable…”
“He did this for me!” Harry burst out. “He didn’t kill Dumbledore because he’s no Death Eater! He ran away from Voldemort because he wanted to! He helped with the Horcruxes because he could! He did it for me!”
“Harry!”
“No…don’t fucking leave him! You won’t let this happen…you can’t…”
“Please, Harry! Your scar’s bleeding!” cried Hermione tearfully.
“He did this for me…he did…” Harry kept saying until he knew no more.
~~~~~
When Harry woke up, he didn’t expect to hear voices. He could hear hushed whispers around him as he struggled to sit up. His body ached. His head felt like lead. As he opened his eyes, his jaw dropped. He blinked.
“Ron!”
“Hi, mate,” Ron greeted him, sitting in a wheelchair at Harry’s bedside.
“But I saw you…dead…Hermione was…”
“It’s okay, Harry,” reassured Hermione gently. “He was hit by a spell. A particularly strong one. But he’s doing better, aren’t you, Ron?”
“Yeah, I am,” said Ron, smiling as he grabbed Hermione’s hand. “Thanks.”
Harry swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He had never seen his friends so affectionate with each other before. He knew that they had finally gotten together at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. He knew they were meant for each other. Of course he was happy for them. But he couldn’t help feeling so…empty. Harry couldn’t help but envy Ron for finding such a wonderful person to have a relationship with. He knew Ginny would still be waiting for him. He could argue that he loved her, but he wasn’t sure anymore. It felt like everything had been destroyed ever since he killed Voldemort.
“How long have I been here?”
Hermione looked at Ron before answering quietly.
“Two weeks. You’ve been in a coma for two weeks.”
“W-what…happened?”
Hermione sat on Harry’s bed, sighing.
“We don’t blame you for anything, Harry. It must have been after Voldemort’s death that your scar started bleeding.”
“Well that explains this,” grumbled Harry, touching the gauze around his head. “Why-”
“We think it bled because Voldemort is dead. After all, he was the final Horcrux. This means your scar is no longer connected to him. The bleeding was like a cleansing to rid off all the Dark Magic he used on you when you were a baby.”
“Does that mean I don’t have his powers anymore?” asked Harry curiously.
“You can try,” encouraged Ron. “Go on, say something in Parseltongue.”
Harry shifted awkwardly on the bed, leaning back on his pillows.
“Salazar Slytherin,” he hissed.
“Bloody hell! You can still speak it!”
“W-what? But why?”
“Your scar only closed the mind connection you once had with Voldemort,” explained Hermione. “But you still possess the powers that he transferred to you. That scar won’t be hurting again, Harry. You are now the most powerful wizard of all time.”
“You can’t be serious!” exclaimed Harry in disbelief.
“It’s true,” Hermione told him, grinning slightly. “But-you were right, Harry. Snape was helping Dumbledore the whole time.”
“Snape?” questioned Ron immediately. “The bloody bastard killed him!”
“No, Ron…the Horcrux that Dumbledore destroyed was killing him all year. Snape told us the ring put a curse on Dumbledore. Dumbledore is an expert Legilimens, right Harry?”
“So is Snape.”
“Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him that night. It wasn’t it accident but it wasn’t betrayal. Snape has been secretly looking for the Horcruxes ever since.”
“H-he told you that?” inquired Harry, surprised. “Where is he now?”
“At Hogwarts with Lupin and McGonagall. They’re trying to see what Dumbledore has to say about all this. You know…his portrait.”
“So he’s innocent?” raged Ron. “When he killed so many people?”
“That was before he switched sides,” corrected Harry. “Remember what I told you before? Dumbledore cleared his name and he converted as a spy at his own risk. Talk about a huge risk.”
“Harry…” began Hermione tentatively, “there’s something else you should know.”
“Yeah?”
“Malfoy’s still alive. He was a spy too. He was the person writing those anonymous letters you kept getting about the Horcruxes.”
“And…?” trailed off Harry, holding his breath.
“They’re holding him at the Ministry of Magic. They want to give him a trial.”
Harry nodded, aware that his body was shaking.
“A lot of the facts are open to interpretation,” continued Hermione, avoiding Harry’s eyes. “However, if he is proven guilty…”
“No…” whispered Harry, feeling numb. “They can’t…”
“I’m really sorry, Harry. They will kill him.”
Part III
Author: sugareey (aka ME)
Rating: R (for language)
Pairing: H/D
Word Count: 1,814
Summary: Harry realizes something he never thought about before.
Disclaimer: not mine. however, it is my duty to manipulate the characters.
Warning: post hbp i guess. click here for all parts.
A/N: continues from Part I. this is for the AWDT prompt "Open to interpretation" for nocturnali and jamie2109. cheers!
It was over when he began to cry. He didn’t care about the excruciating pain that ran through him. He felt like he was on fire. His skin was smeared with blood. But that didn’t stop him from looking for bodies. Trying to stand up, he almost collapsed. He tested his weight gingerly on his right leg. It shook violently. A sprained ankle. It reminded him of the Triwizard Tournament. He had done the same thing in the maze, except an Acromantula had dropped him from at least twelve feet. That was the night Lord Voldemort came back. That was when hell broke loose. That was when he saw Cedric Diggory die.
The memory made him cry harder. He could still feel rage boiling inside of him, but it was now mixed with grief. He stared at the ashes and robes before him. He picked up the wand on top of the pile. Thirteen inches. Yew. Phoenix. The brother wand. He broke it in half, tossing the pieces away before running. He bit his lip while tolerating the sharp pain shooting up his leg. He scanned the ground as he ran. He hated this.
Bodies were scattered everywhere. He couldn’t differentiate the wounded from the dead. Squinting through the fog, he tried to see if he recognized anyone. The sky began to darken. Harry kept running, pausing briefly to check the identities of more bodies. There were so many of them. If only the remaining Death Eaters hadn’t escaped. If only he had been quicker.
Harry could vaguely make out some of the Order examining bodies as well. He thought he saw McGonagall, Hermione, Fred and Neville amongst them. But where was Ron? Where was everyone else? His chest tightened as he scanned the ground again for red hair. Then he heard a scream. Harry whipped his head around, instantly spotting Hermione on her knees. She screamed again before sobbing hysterically. Harry tried to run to her but his leg gave out. He watched her cry, throwing herself on top of someone lifeless figure. Ron. He felt the air being squeezed out of him. Ron must be…dead. Had he let another person down? Was this his fault? Harry crawled on his hands and knees to get to his friends. He had to find out what happened. As he crawled, his knees bumped against something soft.
He noticed a limp body dressed in torn black robes. A hood covered the face. A Death Eater! Crawling closer, Harry saw the wand lying next to the body. It looked familiar, unless he was imagining things. As he attempted to lower the hood, Harry saw a glimpse of pale skin. Shit. His heart began to pound hard within his chest. Blood rushed too quickly to his brain. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real. This was just a dream.
But he knew it wasn’t a dream when he jerked the hood down. He was staring at Draco Malfoy. Malfoy’s blond hair was now completely stained with crimson blood. His eyes were closed, his red lips parted slightly. There was a smudge of dirt on his sharp, aristocratic nose. His cheeks were pure white. Harry quickly grasped Malfoy’s arm, lifting the sleeve up roughly. He saw the patch of raw pink skin accompanied with other wounds. He checked for a pulse, feeling nothing but coldness. He let the arm fall, cursing loudly.
“You’re not dead!” Harry murmured. “You never said you’d die…”
Salty tears ran down his cheeks, dripping onto Malfoy’s robes. But it didn’t matter. Harry found himself sprawled on top of Malfoy as the world crumbled around him. He gripped the tattered robes tightly as he cried.
“I never properly thanked you, Malfoy,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I want to let you know…how much I appreciate what you’ve done. How you…”
He broke off again, choking back a sob. He tried to convince himself that there was still hope, that Malfoy might be alive. Maybe Ron and everyone else would be alive too. Though Harry wanted to know the truth, he was afraid to accept it. If he was wrong…if more people were actually dead, he didn’t know what he would do. It really was his fault that people met death so early. If only he had died sixteen years ago.
“Potter!”
“Harry!”
Harry buried his face against Malfoy’s chest, which was soaked with blood. He could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. Fat raindrops began to fall from the sky. He could have cared less. He just wanted Malfoy to wake up.
“Look what happened!” he shouted, shaking his head. He slapped Malfoy’s face with a hand. “See? H-he won’t wake up…he’s…”
“Potter, please move away from him!” said Minerva McGonagall sharply, even though she was shaken.
“No! He didn’t deserve this!”
“Harry! This is Malfoy!” pointed out Hermione frantically. “You know what he is!”
“He wasn’t a fucking Death Eater!” yelled Harry as he held Malfoy’s limp body in his arms. “He was never a Death Eater!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking-”
“He saved my life! He Stunned Bellatrix LeStrange to stop the Cruciatus Curse from killing me!”
“Potter, what is the meaning of-”
“He was working with the Order, damn it! He knew about the Horcruxes!”
“What?” queried McGonagall and Hermione together.
“Snape helped him! He-they…they were helping us!”
“Severus Snape?” repeated McGonagall, completely bewildered. “He was really a spy for-”
“Dumbledore!” Harry’s voice wavered. “Snape has been spying for us all long! And Malfoy…”
“How do you know this, Harry?” Hermione asked cautiously. “Malfoy knows Occlumency. He could have-”
Harry ripped the sleeve of Malfoy’s robe, holding the lifeless arm in his hand.
“What do you call this?” seethed Harry as more tears ran down his face. “He burned and cut his fucking mark off! He did everything to get rid of it! He did this for…”
“Harry, thank Merlin you’re okay!”
Harry looked up to see a limping Remus Lupin running toward him as fast as possible.
“Is that…Draco Malfoy?”
“I’m afraid it is, Remus,” replied McGonagall worriedly. “We do not know whether he is-”
“HE IS NOT DEAD!” screamed Harry heartlessly, soaked by the pouring rain. “He‘s not…”
“Harry,” murmured Remus gently, resting a hand on Harry’s shoulder, “we need to get out of here. Go with Hermione and then we can-”
“NO! You’re going to leave him here, aren’t you?”
“Harry, let’s be reasonable…”
“He did this for me!” Harry burst out. “He didn’t kill Dumbledore because he’s no Death Eater! He ran away from Voldemort because he wanted to! He helped with the Horcruxes because he could! He did it for me!”
“Harry!”
“No…don’t fucking leave him! You won’t let this happen…you can’t…”
“Please, Harry! Your scar’s bleeding!” cried Hermione tearfully.
“He did this for me…he did…” Harry kept saying until he knew no more.
~~~~~
When Harry woke up, he didn’t expect to hear voices. He could hear hushed whispers around him as he struggled to sit up. His body ached. His head felt like lead. As he opened his eyes, his jaw dropped. He blinked.
“Ron!”
“Hi, mate,” Ron greeted him, sitting in a wheelchair at Harry’s bedside.
“But I saw you…dead…Hermione was…”
“It’s okay, Harry,” reassured Hermione gently. “He was hit by a spell. A particularly strong one. But he’s doing better, aren’t you, Ron?”
“Yeah, I am,” said Ron, smiling as he grabbed Hermione’s hand. “Thanks.”
Harry swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He had never seen his friends so affectionate with each other before. He knew that they had finally gotten together at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. He knew they were meant for each other. Of course he was happy for them. But he couldn’t help feeling so…empty. Harry couldn’t help but envy Ron for finding such a wonderful person to have a relationship with. He knew Ginny would still be waiting for him. He could argue that he loved her, but he wasn’t sure anymore. It felt like everything had been destroyed ever since he killed Voldemort.
“How long have I been here?”
Hermione looked at Ron before answering quietly.
“Two weeks. You’ve been in a coma for two weeks.”
“W-what…happened?”
Hermione sat on Harry’s bed, sighing.
“We don’t blame you for anything, Harry. It must have been after Voldemort’s death that your scar started bleeding.”
“Well that explains this,” grumbled Harry, touching the gauze around his head. “Why-”
“We think it bled because Voldemort is dead. After all, he was the final Horcrux. This means your scar is no longer connected to him. The bleeding was like a cleansing to rid off all the Dark Magic he used on you when you were a baby.”
“Does that mean I don’t have his powers anymore?” asked Harry curiously.
“You can try,” encouraged Ron. “Go on, say something in Parseltongue.”
Harry shifted awkwardly on the bed, leaning back on his pillows.
“Salazar Slytherin,” he hissed.
“Bloody hell! You can still speak it!”
“W-what? But why?”
“Your scar only closed the mind connection you once had with Voldemort,” explained Hermione. “But you still possess the powers that he transferred to you. That scar won’t be hurting again, Harry. You are now the most powerful wizard of all time.”
“You can’t be serious!” exclaimed Harry in disbelief.
“It’s true,” Hermione told him, grinning slightly. “But-you were right, Harry. Snape was helping Dumbledore the whole time.”
“Snape?” questioned Ron immediately. “The bloody bastard killed him!”
“No, Ron…the Horcrux that Dumbledore destroyed was killing him all year. Snape told us the ring put a curse on Dumbledore. Dumbledore is an expert Legilimens, right Harry?”
“So is Snape.”
“Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him that night. It wasn’t it accident but it wasn’t betrayal. Snape has been secretly looking for the Horcruxes ever since.”
“H-he told you that?” inquired Harry, surprised. “Where is he now?”
“At Hogwarts with Lupin and McGonagall. They’re trying to see what Dumbledore has to say about all this. You know…his portrait.”
“So he’s innocent?” raged Ron. “When he killed so many people?”
“That was before he switched sides,” corrected Harry. “Remember what I told you before? Dumbledore cleared his name and he converted as a spy at his own risk. Talk about a huge risk.”
“Harry…” began Hermione tentatively, “there’s something else you should know.”
“Yeah?”
“Malfoy’s still alive. He was a spy too. He was the person writing those anonymous letters you kept getting about the Horcruxes.”
“And…?” trailed off Harry, holding his breath.
“They’re holding him at the Ministry of Magic. They want to give him a trial.”
Harry nodded, aware that his body was shaking.
“A lot of the facts are open to interpretation,” continued Hermione, avoiding Harry’s eyes. “However, if he is proven guilty…”
“No…” whispered Harry, feeling numb. “They can’t…”
“I’m really sorry, Harry. They will kill him.”
Part III