The Darkest Hours
By: FayeValentine00
Chapter 1
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The Dark Mark had appeared over the streets of Muggle London two weeks prior. Since then, the Mark had been popping everywhere, both in Muggle and Wizarding towns. As far as the Order knew, there had been no injuries yet, even with that knowledge, fear of the Mark and of the people causing it was spreading like wild fire.
Harry had found it hard to concentrate on anything. His thoughts were full of where the Death Eaters had gone to and what kind of tragedies they might be planning. It'd become nearly an obsession. All he wanted was a normal life yet even now, with Voldemort dead, he was unable to find peace. It was a nightmare. The only thing that made his life worth living was the wonderful woman who sat on a couch across the room, sandwiched between Molly and Ginny who were gushing about something they saw in the newest bridal magazine they'd bought.
Hermione looked up and her eyes met Harry's immediately. It was almost as if she'd known that Harry had been watching her. She gave him a small smile that warmed Harry's heart, momentarily helping him to forget the dangers that lurked just outside the walls of the Burrow. She never failed to brighten his world, no matter how dark it seemed and before he knew it, he was returning her smile earnestly.
"So, what do you think of this hairstyle? It's nice, don't you think?" Molly asked oblivious to the fact that Hermione wasn't hearing a word that she said.
It wasn't until Ginny looked up and saw the locked gazes of her friends that she spoke. "Err, Mum, Let's go and, umm, see what we can make for dinner."
"But Ginny dear, it's only 3 o'cl-" Mrs. Weasley's voice trailed off as she too watched the couple. "Oh, right then. Let's go Ginny. There is much to do. We're having company." Without waiting for a response from Hermione, Ginny and Molly quickly made their way from the room leaving the couple to themselves.
Slowly, Hermione stood up from her seat and crossed the room before settling down on the right arm of his chair. "Don't do this to yourself, Harry."
His eyes dropped away from hers and turned to his own feet. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Harry, please look at me." She placed a hand to his chin and lifted it until he was looking up at her. "What will come, will come. All we can do is stand up and face it when it does. We can do it, Harry. As long as we can stand up together we can do it."
"I know, Hermione. You're right," he said slowly, his eyes trailing down her body and stopping at the diamond ring on her left hand. It felt like years since he'd given it to her yet it'd been mere days. His next words were spoken as almost an afterthought. "You're always right."
Despite her best efforts, Hermione laughed out loud. "No, not always."
To her surprise, this time Harry smiled as well. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree." Then, before Hermione could stop him, Harry reached out and pulled Hermione off the arm of the chair landing straight in his lap. Their eyes closed slowly and their lips were near centimeters apart when a voice spoke up.
"Look at this Fred. We can't go anywhere these days without running into these two snogging," George's voice rang out, loud and clear, for every person in the house to hear.
Hermione jumped out of Harry's lap like someone had lit a fire underneath her. Her face was so red that he was sure she wanted to run away.
Fred opened his mouth to join in on George's joke but Harry spoke first. "You both sure know how to ruin a good moment," he said hoping his face looked a bit calmer then Hermione's.
"We try," Fred said with a wink while George walked over to Hermione and waved a hand in from of her face.
"Alright there, Hermione. We were only joking."
"F-fine," she said, still trying to regain her composure.
A new voice in the doorway took the focus off of the couple and brought everyone back to a harsh reality. "A new Mark has appeared in Muggle skies."
The voice belonged to Remus Lupin. If it was possible, he looked more haggard then usual. There was something in his eyes that told Harry that it was bad. Something that told them all that it was worse then anything that'd happened as of yet.
"Where is it, Remus?" George asked slowly as Molly and Ginny stepped into the room with looks of worry on their faces.
He didn't answer at first. Remus' eyes locked with Harry and a feeling of dread overcame him. His eyes darted to Hermione and back so quickly that Harry didn't think anyone else had noticed yet a loud bang told Harry that Hermione had disapperated out of the room. He was just about to go after her when his former Professor grabbed his arm.
"It's too late, Harry. The Granger's are dead."
The whole room went quiet, all eyes turning to the place where Hermione had stood just moments before. They all knew what she was going to find when she got to the place where she called home yet no one knew what to do. It was nearly a full minute before Ginny finally broke the silence with three words that summed up everyone's thoughts.
"Oh my God."
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Hermione disapperated as soon as she saw the look in Remus' eyes. Somehow she just knew that the new Mark had something to do with her parents. This was the moment that she'd been dreading for years, ever since she'd learned how Mudblood were viewed.
She appeared with a pop on the sidewalk in front of the house that she'd been calling a home for her entire life. Her heart sunk the moment that she looked up and saw the Dark Mark hanging high in the sky. There were faceless people walking around that she only assumed were members of the Order but they were the furthest things from her mind at the time.
She knew what she would find if she walked inside yet she had no choice. She had to see the truth with her own eyes. She began to step forward slowly. One foot moved in front of the other, over and over again, until she stopped in the doorway. Every person that'd been milling around stopped what they were doing and watched her. For some reason, she couldn't find the strength to go any further.
"Hermione, wait."
She turned around slowly and found herself looking up into Harry's bright green eyes that were full of pain and sympathy. One look at his face and any hope that she may have held vanished.
"Harry, they aren't… They can't be…" Her lips had begun to tremble as her pleading eyes searched his. The sorrow in her eyes broke his heart. "They can't be dead. Please tell me it's a lie."
He couldn't find any words to speak. He didn't know what to say. Even though he'd lost his parents as a child, he had no cure-all to give her. All he could do was simply step forward and wrap his arms tightly around her small frame.
She stood rigid for a long time. He could feel her tears drip silently onto his shoulder, soaking through his shirt. Her breaths were coming in quick gasps. It was nearly 5 minutes before he heard her speak softly.
"I have to go to them."
"No, Hermione. I don't think that's a good idea."
Her head shot up quickly and her eyes met his fiercely. "I have to. I have to see them for myself. I have to see the truth!"
He knew he couldn't argue but also he knew that there was no way he would let her go alone. With no other choice, he let out a long sigh and nodded his understanding. "Alright."
Her left hand found his right hand and squeezed it tightly. Harry could feel the ring on her finger and somehow felt even worse. It just occurred to him that Hermione wouldn't be able to have her own parents at her wedding. It seemed so cruel and so unfair. In fact, it seemed so much so that Harry knew that the Death Eaters had not simply acted at random. They knew who they were killing and they knew why they'd waited till now. They'd waited until the killings would cause the most damage to the morale of the Order.
Hermione led the way, her hand never releasing its tight grip on his. They walked through the kitchen and into a large family room. Harry noticed a large number of people crowded around the far end of the room and something deep down in his soul told him that this was the place that they were seeking.
The people froze when they saw Harry and Hermione enter the room. No one seemed to know what to say so instead they simply got up and moved away. Harry didn't want to look. He wasn't sure that he wanted to see what lay on the floor. It wasn't until Hermione gasped that he allowed himself to believe what Remus had told him.
Mr. Granger was lying closest to the couple. His eyes open with a look of shock on his face. Harry was relieved to find that Hermione's father had more then likely not suffered. They'd been killed the same way Cedric had died. It'd been quick. At least Hermione could find peace in knowing that much.
Mrs. Granger was behind him. It was obvious that her husband had protected her until his final moments. Her face was pointed away which Harry was thankful for. The unseeing eyes of Mr. Granger were bad enough but he wasn't sure if Hermione could stand seeing both of her parent's faces.
"Alright," Hermione said softly her voice breaking. She made a move like she was about to step towards her parents but then stopped herself. There was nothing else that could be done. With that bit of knowledge, anger began to seep into her sorrow and the tears began to roll down her cheeks once more. "L-Let's go."
"Hermione, I-"
She spun around so quickly that Harry took a step back but the look in her eyes said more then she ever could. "Please, Harry. T-Take me out of here." All of her emotions must have hit her at once because her knees gave out and Harry had to catch her.
Without waiting for permission, he scooped her up quickly into his arms and carried her from the room. Once he stepped back into the kitchen, Hermione's defenses finally broke down and she burst out into loud tears for the first time. She threw her arms around his neck, buried her face into his chest and held on for dear life.
When he stepped outside, he found the Weasley's waiting for him with looks of concern on their faces. He knew that he'd need some time alone with Hermione to talk things out so he turned to all of them with a pleading look.
"I'm going to take Hermione back to the Burrow. Can you stay here and make sure everything is taken care of? I'll be back as soon as possible," Harry asked trying to keep his voice even but his own emotions were threatening to overtake him.
"Do you want me to help you?" Ginny mouthed silently so Hermione wouldn't hear.
Harry shook his head but gave her a half-hearted smile.
"You just take her home, dear. We'll take care of things here. It will all be alright," Mrs. Weasley said with concern in her eyes as she looked at Hermione's sobbing form.
After one last quick nod, Harry disapperated and reappeared in Ron's former bedroom wondering what on earth he'd be able to do to help the woman he loved.