Unofficial Portkey Archive

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document.write(''); chapter sixteen: Showdown

"Drop your wand," Kimmy instructed coolly, her wand aimed at Harry's skull. "Go on, do it."

Reluctantly, Harry took out his wand and set it on the ground.

" Accio wand," Kimmy commanded, never taking her eyes from Harry. The wand flew into her hand and she pocketed it, smiling. " There. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Harry merely glared at her, too livid to speak. When he finally found his voice, it was trembling with anger. "You've taken this too far, Kimmy. Do you know what could have happened to Hermione? Do you realize how awful that would have been?"

Kimmy's smile weakened visibly; her face remained hardened, but there was a flash of emotion in her blue eyes. " I'm sorry," she said, and sounded as though she really meant it, " but it had to be done. It was for the best, Harry-you have to see that."

" Why don't you tell him what you told me?" Hermione inquired. She was still very weak, but it seemed as though the potion was beginning to wear off. "Why don't you tell him about your plan to get me out of the way so that you could keep him for yourself?"

Harry frowned at his ex-fiancé. " What is she talking about, Kimmy?"

Kimmy kept the wand aimed firmly at Harry's head, though this announcement seemed to unsettle her. " I was only trying to prevent the prophecy...at first. That's all I wanted. I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you.

" But I did," Kimmy continued, and there were tears swimming in her eyes now. "I'm in love with you, Harry."

" You certainly have a funny way of showing it," Harry said, but there was no humor in his voice.

Kimmy met his gaze earnestly. " More than anyone else, I needed to keep the prophecy from coming to pass, Harry. It says she's going to destroy you. Why am I the only one who seems to care about that anymore?"

Harry felt vaguely sickened. How dare she try to justify this? How dare she think that her obsession with him validated kidnapping and abusing Hermione?

Misinterpreting his silence, Kimmy rushed on. " We have a connection, Harry. Can't you feel it? Your parents were both killed by Voldemort, and so were mine. You were raised by Muggles, and so was I. It isn't too late, Harry. You can leave her now, and no one will know. No one will care. You'll be safe, and we'll be happy together-I know we will be."

Harry was almost afraid to ask. " And what about Hermione?"

There was a feverish intensity in Kimmy's eyes now. " We'll do whatever you want with her. You can divorce her legally, or we can kill her now. We can even leave her here with Dudley, if you'd like. I'm sure he'll take care of things for us..."

Harry had been angry before in his life. There'd been times when he'd argued against Draco, and times that Snape had treated him unfairly, and times when the entire school had turned against him. But with the rage he felt now-the overwhelming, all-consuming rage-he was surprised he didn't implode on the spot.

Kimmy watched him hopefully. Slowly, angrily, Harry met her gaze with scathing eyes. "Never," he spat out, " Never! Even if Hermione was dead...even if there were no other witches in the world...even if we were the only two people on the planet-I'd never love you." He shook his head incredulously. " Did you honestly think that we could ride off into the sunset together? That we'd live happily ever after? I love this woman." He looked down into Hermione's eyes, which were swimming with tears. Again, he repeated, " I love this woman, and you tried to keep us apart. You hurt her. And that means you hurt me, too."

There was open anguish on Kimmy's face, disbelief mingled with sorrow. " But... you loved me once."

" You had me under the Imperius Curse," Harry reminded her.

Kimmy shook her head. " You've beaten that curse before, Harry. The only reason it could have worked on you this time was because you wanted it..."

Harry stared at her, truly astonished now. " You really are insane, aren't you? I don't know what you did to the spell-how you made it work-but THAT WASN'T ME. I've never loved you. I'm in love with Hermione! I'm married to Hermione."

Kimmy was silent for a moment, her head hung dejectedly, as Harry and Hermione both watched her anxiously.

" You really love her?" Kimmy inquired, her voice subdued like that of a child who has just been reprimanded.

" Yes." Harry said firmly.

Kimmy lifted her head, her eyes filled with rage. " Then you can die with her!" she spat, and lifted her wand.

" Harry!"

Frantically, Harry flung himself over Hermione, trying to shield her with his body. *Is this how my mother felt?* he wondered. *Giving her life to save me when she didn't know that it would work? Ready to die so long as she didn't have to watch Voldemort kill someone she loved?*

"AVADA--"

There was a loud popping noise, and Harry closed his eyes. This was it. He was dead now. Kimmy had performed her curse, and he was dead. He only hoped someone could help Hermione...

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry looked up, surprised to find that he was still alive and even more surprised to see Dumbledore standing in the room. His face was flushed with righteous indignation, and his normally kind blue eyes blazed with anger. Effectively, his spell had disarmed Kimmy, and she was lying on the ground, stunned.

Dumbledore advanced toward her, a truly terrifying figure. " Kimberly Trelawney," he seethed, " You have gone too far this time. The wizarding world will not stand for this. The memory of your great-grandmother will not stand for this. I will not stand for this!"

Kimmy was cowering beneath him now, weeping plaintively. " I did it for love!" she gasped, " I did it for love!"

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

Kimmy went silent, frozen, though she continued to watch them unblinkingly.

Dumbledore turned to Harry and Hermione, and suddenly he was Dumbledore again, and his face was kind and comforting. " I apologize for being so late," he said sincerely, " but there was a rather advanced blocking charm that kept me from entering the building. Are you all right?"

" I'm fine," Harry said, " but Kimmy's drugged Hermione with something."

Dumbledore frowned at this. " Yes, we should get her help right away. I believe Poppy is already at Hogwarts, preparing for the new school year. You can take Hermione there if you'd like. As for me," Dumbledore continued, " I'll be taking Miss Trelawney and Mr. Dursley to the proper authorities."

Harry tried to reply, but suddenly his throat felt too constricted to speak. There was so much he wanted to say to Dumbledore, so many thanks he had to give. If it hadn't been for him...

Dumbledore smiled at him kindly, seeming to sense the words. " We can talk later," he said gently, " for now, I suggest you take your wife to see Madam Pomfrey."

Harry nodded and obligingly gathered Hermione into his arms. When he was certain that she was comfortable and secure, he reached into his pocket and withdrew the special portkey that Dumbledore had given him so many years before.

In a flash, they were gone.

***

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A/N: (*sighs and shakes her head at Kimmy). Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! You guys really keep me on my toes, but in a good way. :)