The Phoenix Prophecy

Chapter 17: Epilogue - Part 2

Monday — July 21^st

Harry:

It felt great to be reunited with Ron and everyone else, but that feeling paled in comparison to the way I felt when I awoke a few minutes ago and saw that Hermione was lying next to me. The joy that I felt at seeing her was indescribable.

The memory of the incredible pain that I had experienced from being engulfed in a fireball had caused me to instantly awaken from a deep, dreamless sleep. My heart was pounding and I was gasping for air until I saw Hermione lying beside me, sleeping peacefully. The fact that she was with me, and appeared to be all right, helped to quickly dissipate my acute anxiety. I was content just to sit there and watch her sleep. Watching her, my thoughts turned to how much I loved her, and needed her. She was incredibly beautiful, both on the outside and on the inside. She could be as soft and playful as a kitten or as hard and dangerous as a mountain lion. Her animagus cougar form suddenly came to mind. It was the perfect animal form for her. Powerful and graceful, yet cunning, fearless and deadly if the need arose. She truly was a remarkable woman. I felt blessed.

After several minutes of watching her sleep, I sat up and placed my hand gently on her shoulder. My touch must have startled her as her body jerked violently and she started to scream.

“Hermione, it’s me, Harry,” I yelled out as I pulled her into a sitting position and hugged her to me as tightly as I could.

“Harry, is that really you?” she asked after she stopped screaming and pulled herself away from me so that she could look at my face.

“Yes, it’s me,” I replied smiling at her and brushing her hair from the side of her face.

“Are we dead?”

“I don’t know,” I replied gazing around at the room we were in. “I don’t feel any different than normal. Well actually I do feel different, but in a good sort of way. I feel full of energy and extremely happy, especially because you are with me.”

“Well if we aren’t dead, then where are we? What happened to us? The last thing I remember was being in the middle of a fireball immediately after your separated the ‘Rings of Power.’”

“That is the last thing I remember too. Hermione, I have no idea where we are or how we got here. I woke up a few minutes before you did. Since then I have been just sitting here watching you sleep and thinking to myself how beautiful you look and how much I love you.”

For several moments, Hermione just looked at me and said nothing, vocally that is. The look on her face expressed more than words ever could. No sooner had her eyes begun to glisten than they were filled with passion and desire. Before I could blink, she through her arms around my neck and pressed her lips tightly to mine. The force of her lunge knocked me over sideways and we ended up lying side by side on the bed, our lips still locked together.

My body felt as if it was on fire, but this time the fire was coming from deep within me. If this continued, I was sure that I would burst into flames at any second. I rolled Hermione onto her back with some difficulty—she was trying to do the same to me—and lifted my head so that I could look at her face and into her enchanting eyes. Abruptly my attention was drawn to a visible, pinkish colored glow that seemed to be emanating from her body.

“What’s…Harry…you’re glowing.”

“So are you.”

“We are dead, aren’t we?” she asked, a look of panic crossing her face and the glow from her body quickly faded from sight.

“I don’t think so, but if we are, at least we are together,” I answered as I looked around the small, softly lit room we were in.

“Harry, your glow is gone. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“The glow must have something to do with our feelings of love and passion for each other. I have read about an inner or spiritual glow that lovers have for each other, but nothing quite like this.”

“Well, what ever the cause, it didn’t hurt,” I said as I returned my gaze to look at her face. While I watched her look at me, I noticed a sudden change in the way she was looking at me.

“Harry, kiss me again as though you are trying to become one with me.

I didn’t have to be asked a second time. I placed my lips to hers and our kiss quickly gained intensity until I felt as if my body were about to burst into flames once again. When our lips parted, I instantly noticed that the glow I had seen earlier was back and more intense than the first time.

“You’re glowing again,” Hermione giggled as she gazed up at me, her eyes burning with fire.

“So are you.”

“Harry, I am truly ready to become a woman. If we are dead then waiting is no longer necessary. If we are still alive, I do not want to take a chance on dying without having shared ourselves with each other. Either way, I am ready to take our love to the next level.”

“Are you sure?” was all that I could manage to say.

“Yes, quite sure. Do you feel the same?”

“Yes, I do,” I replied as I gazed into her eyes, feeling the intense love she felt for me.

As I started to press my lips to hers once again, an image flashed through my mind. I clearly saw Professor Dumbledore and the others standing in the middle of a meadow. Hermione and I were walking towards them from the side of the meadow. I heard and felt Hermione gasp in surprise.

“Harry, I just had the strangest vision.”

“Yeah, so did I.

“What do you think it means?’

“I’m not sure.”

Before either of us could say anything else, the door in the room opened and bright sunlight filled the room. Beyond the door, I could see a meadow like the one I saw in my mind. I could also smell scents from wildflowers. The air was fresh and warm.

“Harry, I think the others are waiting for us on the other side of the door.”

“I get that feeling too. I think we should check this out. I only wish that the image would have come to us a little bit later.”

“I know exactly what you mean. Frustrated, doesn’t quite describe how I am feeling at this moment, but I’m sure that we will find ourselves at this point again in the not too distant future.”

We kissed once again and then quickly got up from the bed and headed for the doorway. As we stepped through the doorway into the meadow, I felt completely at peace with myself and the world around me. It didn’t bother me in the least when I glanced behind me and noticed that the doorway we had just walked through had vanished. I smiled at Hermione and took her hand in mine as we headed towards the center of the meadow where the others were waiting.

Hermione:

I would have been content to walk slowly to where the others were gathered in the center of the meadow. Looking closely at Harry, I could just make out the tiniest glow still surrounding his body. The peacefulness that I felt as Harry and I walked hand in hand was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I was serenely happy and wished that this moment could last for all eternity. I was a little surprised that my frustration at being interrupted before we had a chance to make love had dissipated so quickly. I knew in my heart that we would find another time and place to share our love in the future. For the moment, I was content to wait for that time to arise. Harry was the man that I loved and he was always there for me. Standing by his side made me feel as if I understood my place and purpose in life. As long as we were together, I could deal with anything.

We had only taken a few steps when Ron noticed us and began yelling. Harry turned and smiled at me and then we took off running towards him and Gretchen who was only a few steps behind Ron. As soon as we met, Ron threw his arms around Harry and the two of then hugged each other. As soon as Ron finished hugging Harry, he pulled me into a huge hug that I whole-heartedly returned. While Ron was hugging me, Harry hugged Gretchen.

Gretchen hugged me before Ron could answer my question about what had happened to us. I didn’t think anything of the baby she was holding in her arms, as I was accustomed to seeing her with the twins. When she stepped back, I noticed a serenely happy look on her face. I was about to inquire why she looked so happy when I noticed that Gawain and Athene were standing next to Professor Dumbledore. Before I could get Harry’s attention, Gawain suggested that we all take a seat on the ground so that he could answer our questions.

Questions were something that I had a plenty, as I assumed the others did as well. It took a few moments for us to arrange ourselves in a semi-circle facing Gawain and Athene. I was at one end of the semi-circle with Harry on my right and Ron on his right, followed by Gretchen, Martha and her family. Great grandmother and Professor Dumbledore ended the semi-circle.

“Before we get started, could you please tell us where we are?” I asked before anyone else spoke.

“The correct question you should have asked is ‘Where and when’ are we?” Gawain replied, smiling with the face I remembered from his first visit to the Blyth’s farm. “You are no longer in your world or in your time. You are in a place that we have created especially for you so that you may come to understand what has happened to you and why.”

In the silence that followed Gawain’s statement, I turned to look at Harry who was looking at me.

“We are dead, aren’t we?” I said, feeling my happiness rapidly draining from my body.

“I’m afraid that I have to agree with you,” he replied gloomily.