Summer Writing Series Challenge (July 2)
Challenge: Non-songfic Songfic
Title: Who Wants to Live Forever
Word Count: 2,000
With a trembling sigh, Harry took Hermione's hands in his and led her to the soft sofa sitting in front of the fireplace. He pulled her down to the overstuffed cushions and released her, folding his in his lap as he tried to compose himself.
"Harry?" She asked tenderly, a look of profound concern on her face. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
Harry shook his head without looking up and with a tremendous amount of willpower, took a deep breath as if he were about to dive into the chilling depths of the Irish Sea. He looked up to her worry filled eyes, his face solemn and serious.
"Hermione..." He started, then gulped nervously as he watched her facial expressions change from worry to nervous fear then to a look he hadn't seen directed at him before. "I know that we haven't spent as much time together as I would have liked when the war started." His voice started at its normal level and slowly degraded to a slight whisper as his gaze rested upon her soft, warm hands. "Do you remember what I said before we left for Voldemort?" He asked in almost pathetically desperate whisper.
She gently laid a hand on his clasped ones and nodded. "You said there wasn't any time for us..." She whispered in perfect recollection of the talk they'd had. "And there was no place for us."
Harry nodded silently as he let his hands part and allowed Hermione's to slowly fill the space between them. He closed them again, as if he were holding a warm mug, trying to pull the warmth and comfort he needed from the simple contact.
"We kissed then..." She whispered so quietly it was as if she were trying to recall a hazy dream. "But we didn't have any time afterwards with all of the Dementors and Death Eaters trying to stop us."
Harry sighed, the weight of the world resting on his shoulders for all to see. "I found myself looking at the last few hours of my life." He said in a dream-like trance. His eyes had glazed over as he remembered the grueling showdown with the Dark Lord. "I saw Ron slip away in a sea of black robes, yet you stayed by my side... You took the Cruciatus for me..."
"I knew what you were thinking." She said reassuringly. "There wasn't a chance in hell that I was going to let you die, Harry." Hermione lifted his face to hers, smiling softly, telling him in their own special language that she would have died for him if she had to for him to live.
Harry returned the gesture, reluctantly, as he glanced at her lips, remembering the mind-numbing sensation he'd felt when they came together for their first and only kiss. He fidgeted slightly as he brought her hand to join the other one that he was already holding.
"Throughout the torture we went through, I kept thinking: who wants to live forever?" His voice broke as he relived the curses the two of them had endured and he smiled wistfully. "You made me realize that I did, I wanted to live forever. My parents, Sirius, you and Ron... Everyone I've cared about had or were sacrificing themselves for me so others could live in peace.
"When the prophecy began to fulfill itself and I was lying, broken on the floor at Malfoy Manner I saw no more chances... My luck had finally run out... Everything seemed pre-ordained and I could do nothing about it."
"But..." Hermione said, trying to puzzle together what he was saying but Harry squeezed her hands slightly.
"I saw you bleeding to death." Tears came to Harry's eyes, his lower lip trembling as he forced himself to remember everything he'd locked away. "I saw you slipping from me and I was powerless to do anything..."
"But you did!" Hermione protested. "I remember! I looked into your eyes and then you were standing! I still don't believe the amount of magic that was flooding from you after all your bones had been broken..." Tears were forming in her eyes as well, threatening to spill down her cheeks in a torrent. "I knew I had to hold on for you and almost did to the end..."
"Thank you." Harry whispered as he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I've never thanked you." He said guiltily. "Never. For helping me get to Quirrell, for finding the information on the Basilisk, for pushing me to learn new spells, or for living through the Department of Mysteries." He swallowed hard and shook his head when her mouth opened again. "I know I don't have to, Hermione." He whispered with a far-away look in his eyes. "I've been kicking myself for not thanking you earlier. You lost so much blood that you nearly died..." He stifled a sob that had tried to interrupt him. "I couldn't live with myself without having told you how much I appreciate your help and for just being there for me... I didn't want to thank you with your Eulogy..."
"That-that was really you that I saw?" She asked with wide eyes. Harry nodded. "I thought I was dreaming..."
"Albus warned against using Legilimency that way, but I wasn't about to let you leave without me." He said in a tiny voice that was weighed down with emotion. "So I entered your mind and held on to you..."
"You could have died with me!" She said harshly, Harry winced at the tone of her voice and she calmed herself before continuing. "That was a foolish thing to do, Harry!"
"I already got the third degree from Albus, Remus, and Arthur..." Harry said with a sigh. "I knew the risks, Hermione, every single one! But I wasn't going to let another person that I cared about slip away from me again, not without a fight. I didn't want to live without you in my life and if I had the slightest chance of keeping you with me, I was ready to risk everything to do it." He looked down as his tears finally began to spill from his eyes. "I tried to tell you afterwards, but Chad kept you far enough away that I couldn't reach you..."
"Chad was a mistake." She said softly as she tilted his face back to hers again. "I was blind... but now..." She gently pressed her lips to his cheek, capturing one of his tears as it tried to run for his chin. "I'm..." Again, she caught another salty droplet of sadness with a soft, moist kiss on the other side of his blushing face. "Not." She said finally then gently leaned in and ever so tenderly kissed him fully on the lips.
Harry's heart had begun to pound like a jackhammer in his chest with the first surprising kiss. It nearly ripped through his robes when she made the trek to his opposite cheek. He lost all coherence when her lips caressed his and her fingertips gently slid from his face to his neck and her hands slowly encircled him, pulling her arms along with them. Harry's trembling hands inched their way to her waist and with the creeping pace of ivy, pulled his arms around her. Within moments, that one, magical contact engulfed him in a desperate need to have her closer than he'd ever had her before. Their embrace tightened and both opened their mouths to deepen their kiss. Harry's heart leapt into his throat as he realized she was about to pull away.
As they parted, oxygen enriched blood slowly returned to his brain, allowing him to think once again. Harry looked into Hermione's eyes and smiled slightly at the seeming endless twinkles that were coming to life in the deep brown swirls that he'd found himself lost in during any number of encounters. He licked his lips in an attempt to continue savoring her flavor as she lifted a hand to cup his flushed cheek.
"I've waited for so long..." He said lovingly, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "I would rather spend forever with you in another life than spend a single second without you." He whispered hoarsely as he rested his forehead against hers. "That's why I took the only option I had, despite the risks... Every tick of the clock is an eternity to me when I'm with you, Hermione. With every glance, I'm blinded by how beautiful you've become. I realized that without you I'm nothing, but with you, I could be the man that I've always dreamed of being..." He gulped nervously as he finally allowed the wall around his heart to crumble, the one he'd worked so hard to keep in place so he wouldn't be hurt, so rejection couldn't taint him. With his defenses lowered, he looked deeply into Hermione's eyes. "I love you, Hermione." He whispered as he felt fear begin to swell within him.
A long, wide smile slowly crept across her face even as tears began to well in her eyes and her lower lip to tremble. "I love you too, Harry." She said as her voice cracked and immediately enveloped his lips with hers in a desperate kiss as if it was the only way to seal the vows they'd just proclaimed to each other.
"Harry and I first met, properly anyway, on the Hogwarts Express. He and I became fast friends and I remember thinking to myself how great it was that the famous Harry Potter was my new friend." Ron said, looking around and making eye contact with everyone. "During our first year, he, I, and Hermione became the best of friends. I may have been misled from time to time, but there were more good times than bad and the time we spent together made me feel like I had gained a brother instead of a friend." He wiped a tear from his cheek, seeing Hermione do the same in her chair.
"We drifted apart over the years, which I truly regret, but he'd always be there even when we were arguing. He was the best man at my wedding, I made him the godfather of all of my children, and he'd become a member of our family without an official invitation." Ron cleared his throat and raised his glass high in the air. "Harry Potter, I speak for every one of us here that we'll miss you dearly. To Life!" He shouted.
Everyone in attendance lifted their glasses and responded, "To Life!" Before taking a drink from their respective goblets.
"Now, it's with a happy heart that I give my congratulations to Mrs. Potter for stealing away my drinking mate and I wish the two of my best friends a life of love and happiness forever!"
Everyone in attendance clapped their hands as Harry and Hermione smiled back at their best friend. They shared a kiss before rushing down the red carpet to the exit, laughing and ducking the rice being tossed at them. They climbed into their awaiting carriage and Harry pulled his new wife into a gentle embrace as if she were made of the most delicate china.
"Who wants to live forever?" He whispered quietly in Hermione's ear as a wide, happy smile filled her face. "I do." He said as he kissed her lovingly. The carriage started off slowly, the couple inside blissfully unaware of everyone but themselves as they lifted off the ground and quietly disappeared into the sky.
Ron wrapped an arm around Luna's shoulders and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. "It took them long enough... It's been forever since I've seen what they had." He whispered, watching the spot where the carriage had disappeared.
Luna looked at him dreamily. "Who waits forever anyway?" She asked quietly and laid her head on his shoulder.
Ron shook his head. "I'm glad they didn't." He said finally before he pulled his pregnant wife into his arms. "Let's go home."
A/N: I had a bit of extra space at the end and decided it would be perfect to add the scene of Ron and Luna at the end. I hope you liked it ;) I couldn't leave the last cliffhanger just dangling everyone with no hope of rescue ;) This ficlet was inspired by the song, "Who Wants to Live Forever" by Queen. The lyrics are as follows:
There's no time for us,
There's no place for us,
What is this thing that builds our dreams, yet slips away from us.
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever.....?
There's no chance for us,
It's all decided for us,
This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us.
Who wants to live forever.
Who dares to love forever,
When love must die.
But touch my tears with your lips,
Touch my world with your fingertips,
And we can have forever,
And we can love forever,
Forever is our today,
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever,
Forever is our today,
Who waits forever anyway?