Only At The End
By: Nicole
Summary: Following the traumatic events of his 5th year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter finds himelf reflecting on what was lost, what was left behind, and what was yet to come. However, he did not foresee the terrible news that would change the course of the war. (Thanks to Reveritum in the Portkey chat for help with the summary.)
Only at the end of the year did he truly look sad, like there was a part of him aching to hop off of the Hogwarts Express and run back to Dumbledore, McGonagall, hell, he'd even run back to Snape. But he couldn't run back. It was all part of the cycle of events that had been ignited by Sybil Trelawney's prophecy in the upstairs area of the Hog's Head, the lesser known pub in Hogsmeade, and had most recently climaxed at the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Mysteries. It seemed every thought in his head lately had something or other to do with that damned prophecy. He still hadn't told Ron or Hermione, though he figured they surely must have known something was wrong.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his door. His immediate thought was that it was his Aunt Petunia coming to drag him downstairs for supper, but she never knocked. He went and opened the door. Instead of finding his Aunt Petunia there, he found one of the two people he had been thinking about.
"Hermione," he said softly, "what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Harry," she said, bringing her left hand up to wipe away one of the tears that were currently falling from her eyes. "It's my parents. Voldemort sent.. He sent some of them and they.. They murdered Mum and Dad." She simply wrapped her arms around him, laying her head upon his shoulders. Almost as if by instinct, he started stroking her hair, and whispering that nothing would happen to her here.
Later, after she had calmed down a bit, and she had fallen asleep, Harry felt the need to write a letter. He was sure the Order probably already knew about her parents, but he felt that it was in everyone's best interest to try to contact them and tell them where she was. He also reflected upon things while writing the letter. He was now no longer alone in the fact that he had no parents. But this also meant other things. Hermione's closure at the loss of her parents would only conclude with revenge. After all, Harry wanted revenge in his own way for the murder of his own parents, and he would help Hermione complete that revenge quest in any way possible. For only then, would she truly be able to live in peace.