This is my truth, tell me yours.

A/N: This is the first of a planned three chapters, each based on a song from the album ‘This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours’, by the Manic Street Preachers, a Welsh Band. I think the songs suit the mood of the final battle perfectly, and I hope it inspires you to buy the album!

Enjoy and Review,
Love, I’mHermione (AKA IamHermione, but someone else has that name on FF.net!)

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JKR, my idol, and the Manic Street Preachers, who would be worried if they knew how much I thought about them... ;-D

Chapter 1. Nobody Loved You

What’s your story, baby

No control of what I am saying

Winter leaves still make me believe

No vendettas, just a cherry blossom tree...

Never had the chance to take you home

Now there’s no reason, just another tomorrow

Keep giving me your free air miles

What would I give, just for one of your smiles?

Just for one of your smiles?

Harry Potter crept slowly down the dormitory stairs into the Gryffindor common room. He had not changed for bed this night. It was planned. He would leave without a word. It would be easier that way. No teary good-byes. No thinking that this might be the last he see of the people he loves. No feelings.

He paused by the common room fire and bent down. He left two sealed envelopes on the hearth; one marked ‘Ron’, and the other ‘Hermione’. He knew they'd find them. The fireplace was their favourite part of the common room. They'd be sure to look there.

Turning from the dying embers, he looked around the room. He hoisted his bag onto his back and fixed his sword at his side. He walked through the portrait hole and didn’t look back. He was gone, and He might never come back.

............

Hermione woke with a start. Her eyes snapped open and, gasping for breath she sat bolt upright in her bed. Without a moment’s pause, she leaped out of bed. She grabbed her dressing gown and bolted out of the room.

Wrapping her gown tightly around her, she sped to the boys’ dorms. She shut her eyes as she opened the door, inch by agonising inch. The sound of harsh snoring greeted her. She prayed he was still here.

She made her way slowly over to Harry’s bed and, when she got there, pulled back the curtains, her eyes tightly shut, afraid of finding an empty bed.

After a second, she felt a hand on her waist. She knew before she opened her eyes what this meant and felt a warmth spread from that very spot to the tips of her fingers and toes. He was still here.

She opened her eyes and felt herself sigh with relief, while the corners of her mouth curved upwards in a relieved smile. She took in Harry’s bleary but concerned looking eyes and felt a tear slide down her cheek and she cried with relief.

‘C’mere’, Harry said softly. He took her hands and pulled her down onto the bed and into his arms. He cast a quick silencing charm on his bed hangings, knowing that Hermione needed to talk.

Let me turn down all these lights

And sit with me, then you can hold me tight

Give me some more of you carrier bags

And let me dream of a new autumn light

Tell me your story baby

What’s you poison, what is your honey

You stopped me hurting, but so much disorder

Winter flowers... Did you ever forgive her?

Did you ever forgive her?

Hermione’s body shook with sobs against Harry’s chest. She clung to his T- shirt, while he rubbed soothing circles on her back. And slowly her sobs subsided as he rocked her back and forward.

‘You’ve had a nightmare.’ It wasn’t a question.

Hermione rolled onto her back while Harry propped his head on his arm to look at her- Hermione didn’t know where to start.

‘I didn’t even stop to think, Harry’, she said suddenly. ‘I just had to check you were still here.’

Harry knew straight away what she was talking about. He had told her about the prophecy a week ago. Parvati had since told him that she had heard Hermione crying in the night.

‘Hermione- ’

‘No Harry’, she cut him off. ‘Just let me finish’. She paused, unable to look him in the eye as she spoke.

‘Would you ever leave without saying goodbye?’

‘Hermione, listen- ’

‘You left me a note’. She cut him off again, her voice shaking.

Harry inched closer to her, until he was only whispering

‘I don’t know what I’ll do’.

Hermione looked at him now.

‘Harry, this last week has been torture. All I can think of is you and that stupid prophecy.’ Her voice was getting louder now. ‘I feel like I’m already grieving for you and I hate it!’

She was quiet again and she whispered.
‘And do you know what the worst thing is? That you can take it all in you stride. It has nothing to do with me and I’m already a mess thinking about it. About you’, she finished in a barely audible whisper.

‘It has everything to do with you’, Harry snapped, louder than he meant to.

Hermione flinched, her eyes questioning, and Harry lay back on his back, his breathing shallow.

‘What do you mean, Harry?’

Harry didn’t answer.

‘What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean, Harry?’, she yelled, leaning over him.

Harry sat up, wringing his hands and looking afraid. Hermione felt uneasy at his look of fear. He never showed fear. Never. No matter how much he felt, he never showed it. But then she understood. He was afraid of what she thought.

A heavy silence hung over them from her previous outburst. She felt disgusted with herself. She reached out and placed a hand in his hair.

‘I’m sorry, Harry’, she said quietly. ‘I’m just upset, that’s all. It’s not your fault.’

‘It is my fault’, he said slowly, as if realising it for the first time. ‘Look what I’ve done to you! You shouldn’t have to worry about me all the time. Your only sixteen, for Christ’s sake!’

‘Well, you shouldn’t have to worry about saving the world, or being murdered!’ she snapped back. ‘You’re only sixteen too.’

A silence hung again.

‘Harry, I want to worry about you’, she said eventually. ‘You say, look what you’ve done to me? You’ve saved my life more times than I can count! You inspire me to be the best Harry. You made me who I am today!’, she said softly.

‘Or is that the problem?’, she asked with a questioning look at Harry. ‘Do you not like who I am today?’

‘No, Hermione, I love who you are’, he said tiredly. ‘That’s the bloody problem’.

Hermione was stunned at Harry's reaction. Did he really mean what she hoped he meant? She looked into his eyes and reached for his hand. She took his hand and placed it over her heart, so he could feel her rapid heartbeat.

‘This is what you’ve done to me’, she said, her eyes never leaving his as she moved towards him.

Her lips met with his and Harry pulled back like he had received an electric shock.

‘This is what I mean Hermione’, he said, his eyes pleading with hers. ‘I don’t want you to have to live like me. Always prepared. And always afraid’, he added softly.

‘I love you Harry’, Hermione replied, her hand still clutching Harry’s. ‘I’m never afraid when I’m with you. Don’t make me go through this alone, worrying. And I know you don’t want anyone to love you but I can’t change the way I feel, Harry. You can’t know how much I love you’, she finished in a whisper.

Nobody loved you

Nobody made you feel so alone

Nobody loved you

No, no...

This time it was Harry who leaned forward. He looked in Hermione’s eyes, and she saw that he was afraid. Afraid of the freedom he was about to take away from her. The freedom of not being involved with that god-forsaken prophecy. He intertwined his fingers with hers.

Cherry blossom tree

But at least you were free

Nobody loved you

Like me...

He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. He put a hand to her cheek and another to her waist. He pulled her closer, and she put her hands to his chest and gently pushed until he was lying flat, never breaking their kiss.

His hand, now in her hair, pulled her closer still as he deepened the kiss. Hermione moaned into his mouth as his tongue met hers and her hands roamed from his chest to his hair. Hermione eventually pulled away. ‘I want you, Harry- ’

He looked into her eyes and his eyes flashed with lust and questioning. She answered his silent question by taking hold of the hem of his T-shirt and pulling it over his head.

He flipped her over and began unbuttoning her pajama top, kissing her neck and shoulders as he did. She arched her back as he slid the top down her arms, and stared into his eyes.

His eyes flickered down to her chest and back again.

‘Hermione’, he breathed, before claiming her lips again. She buried her hands in his silky hair and Harry slid his hand down her neck and shoulders until he got to her breast.

He cupped it with his hand and she moaned into his mouth again and arched her back. She slid her hands down his toned chest again and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of his boxer shorts.

He broke away from the kiss. ‘Are you sure, Hermione?’ he asked.

Hermione put her hand to his cheek and he turned his face to her touch.

‘I have loved you for so long Harry. I want to do this. And I want to do this with you.’ She spoke softly and reassuringly. She kissed him again as she slid his boxer shorts off his hips.

Harry kicked them off as he moved to Hermione’s pajama bottoms. She lifted her hips and he slid them off. They were both naked now

Hermione looked up into Harry’s eyes. He was nervous, she could see. And she knew that he could tell that she was too. It was the first time for both of them.

‘I trust you, Harry’ she said after a second.

‘I love you, Hermione’, he replied softly.

Harry kissed her and began to enter her slowly. He reached her barrier and she shut her eyes. He pressed through and she let out a small gasp from the crook of his neck.

He looked into her eyes. ‘You ok?’ he asked, his voice full of concern. She nodded back to him and smiled. ‘I’m fine’.

He kissed her neck and began to move; slowly at first, then building up speed. Hermione’s fingernails dug into Harry’s back as the sensations increased and she hooked her ankles behind him in order to take him in more deeply.

Their breathing became shallower as they neared their climaxes. Hermione cried out Harry’s name as a powerful orgasm washed over her. A moment later she heard him do the same.

She buried her head in the crook of his neck again, kissing his neck until her breathing returned to normal. She pulled him down to lie on top of her and he hugged her close.

‘Hermione- ’, he searched for words. ‘That was... incredible.’

Hermione smiled widely. ‘Yes, it was, wasn’t it’.

She pulled him down for another kiss and quickly deepened it, sliding her tongue along his lips until he parted them for her. A moan escaped his throat and she felt him go hard again inside her.

She heard herself sigh with pleasure as Harry began to move again. They didn’t break the kiss and they moved more slowly this time. Hermione gripped his shoulders and threw her head back in pleasure as she climaxed.

Harry kissed her neck down to her collarbone until he felt his own release. He muffled a moan in her hair.

He rolled over onto his back and Hermione clung to his side, her head resting on his shoulder and her arms and legs intertwined with his. Harry held her tight to his side.

‘This changes everything, Hermione’, he said softly. ‘You’re as deep in as I am now’.

‘I’ve been in deep for years, Harry... As long as I've loved you.’

She propped her head on her hand to look at him, and saw his eyes were troubled. She knew how his mind worked by now...

‘Oh, Harry! Just let me be with you! Can’t you live with that?’ she finished uncertainly.

‘Hermione’, harry replied, thinking deeply. ‘I love you more that I could possibly love anyone.’ There was a pause. ‘And I worry, you know?’ I know that some day I’m going to have to go. Alone’, he added before she could argue. ‘And I want you to stay with me. But I won’t ask you to. I won’t ask you to sacrifice everything for me’

‘You don’t have to ask me, Harry’, she replied with a sad smile. ‘It goes without saying. I’ll stay with you.’

He looked into her eyes and kissed her again. They fell asleep in each other’s arms after what felt like in eternity.

What’s your story, baby

No control of what I am saying

Winter leaves still make me believe

No vendettas, just a cherry blossom tree

Just a cherry blossom tree...

A/N: This is the second chapter, set to the album, ‘This is my truth, tell me yours’, by the Manic Street Preachers.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JKR and the Manic Street Preachers, Without whom the world would be a sad, boring Place.

Chapter 2: Be Natural

The next morning dawned a typical winter’s morning: dark and windy. Hermione woke slowly, playing with a smile before she opened her eyes.

She stretched and sat up lazily, propping herself up on her elbows, and looked around her, expecting to see Harry. But he wasn’t there. This realisation seemed to awaken her faster than a bucket of cold water.

She summoned her cloths and threw them on as quickly as she could and dashed out of the boys’ dorms, not stopping to check if any of the boys had seen her.

Once in the common room, she couldn’t help but glance at the fireplace. She’d had the terrifying feeling that that dream she had last night might have come true.

When she saw that the hearth was clear of any notes of goodbye (‘more like suicide notes’ she thought with a mixture of rage and anxiety) she bolted out of the common room.

…………………………………………….

Been Natural for once in my life

Now I’ll have to swallow some pride

Know that I should never give advice

But it’s too late now to say goodbye

Harry sat under the shade of the tree where he had seen his father sit in Snape’s memory. He didn’t know why he’d sat there for so long. Maybe he felt close to his father, or his mother, or even Sirius.

He needed advice, but god-knows he wasn’t going to get it here. He wasn’t going to be comforted by his memories anymore. And he wasn’t going to find any answers. He knew that now.

He knew he shouldn’t have left Hermione like that. He knew he should be with her now, telling her that he wouldn’t leave without a goodbye, as he knew she feared he would.

But no matter how much he knew he shouldn’t be there, he couldn’t leave. He couldn’t go back to her and hold her anymore. He couldn’t tell her it would be all right because it wouldn't.

It was after about two hours of musing that he heard her call his name. He stood up and turned to face her. She was standing a bit away from him, her hair and robes blowing wildly behind her.

He lowered his eyes from hers. He had lowered his guard last night. He had let her in. But now he was determined that she would not put herself in danger for him anymore. She walked slowly towards him, and when she saw his expression, hers became furious.

She kept walking until she was right in front of him.

‘Hermione, I- ’

-SMACK-

The palm of her hand met his face with a force that surprised him.

He put his hand to the spot where she had hit him, but still did not meet her eyes.

‘You think you’re so misunderstood Harry’, she said, her voice quiet but intensely passionate. ‘You pull away from your friends- from me- so that we won’t get hurt. WELL THIS BLOODY WELL HURTS!’ She screamed at him.

Be natural, don’t want any friends

Be natural, come on and hit me again

Be natural, I’m repeating myself

Be natural, is there any thing else?

He met her eyes now.

‘So what happened last night, Harry?’ she asked in the same quiet voice.

‘You let your guard down’, she answered for him when he didn’t. ‘You let me see the real you again and now you regret it.’

‘I DON’T REGRET ANYTHING!’ he yelled at her, causing her to step back from him.

He lowered his voice. ‘I don’t regret anything but having to tell you- ’. His voice faltered.

He turned away from her.

‘I got an owl this morning’, he whispered. Hermione moved closer to hear him.

She leaned against the tree when she realised what he was trying to say. Her legs gave way and she felt herself slide down to the ground.

‘When?’ she gasped. Her eyes were out of focus.

‘I leave tomorrow morning’, he answered, interpreting her question correctly.

Starbright keep me safe-

Today and tonight…

No water tastes like lemonade

Slowly, slowly, it starts to fade…

‘Oh my god’, she whispered to herself.

Suddenly he turned around. He fell to his knees beside her.

‘Don’t be upset’, he said to her sadly. ‘We knew this was going to happen. It’s just a bit sooner than we expected, is all’.

‘But I didn’t expect it’, she sobbed. ‘I never thought it would actually happen’

Harry pulled her into a tight hug. ‘Well that doesn’t sound like the logical Hermione I know’, he whispered, his sarcasm lost in Hermione’s grief. ‘And you’ve given me something to remember you by’, he said, pulling back and pointing to his reddening cheek.

She smiled sadly, before her body began to shake with grief again. She pulled Harry back to her, holding him to her like she would never let go.

They stayed like that for a long time. It was lunchtime before Harry lifted her to her feet and led her back to the castle. She leant on him for support and she still hadn’t stopped crying.

Harry and Hermione didn’t head to the Great hall for lunch. Instead, they went to find Ron in the common room- he always ate lunch early, and he’d be back by then.

Sure enough, Ron was sitting in his favourite seat by the fire. His head snapped up when he heard the portrait hole open. He rushed to them when he realised Hermione had been crying. Her face was pale and tearstained.

Harry led her to the couch opposite Ron’s seat and they sat down. Ron sat opposite them and Harry looked up at him. He seemed to understand in an instant.

He had seen Hermione bolting out of their dorms earlier and when he checked, he found the crumpled piece of parchment on Harry’s bedside table. He knew immediately what was wrong when they walked through the portrait hole.

Ron looked from Harry to Hermione, who seemed to have run out of tears. ‘Oh Jesus’, was all he could manage to say.

No words were spoken that afternoon. Ron left after a long time, leaving Harry and Hermione on their own. It was a while before Hermione spoke.

‘We have tonight, Harry’.

Be natural with me tonight

Be natural; put your fists in my eyes

Be natural, so turn me to stone

Be natural, just leave me alone…

She looked into his eyes and pulled him in for a kiss. A mind-blowing kiss. A kiss that contained every once of passion and energy she possessed. A kiss that said what neither could- I might never see you again.

They eventually broke the kiss, but remained with their foreheads touching and breathing shallowly. ‘I love you, Hermione’, he breathed.

She kissed his cheek where she had slapped him, and caressed it with her hand. Then he took her hand in his. Darkness was falling. They stood and made their way to Harry’s room, never breaking eye contact.

That night they made love, slowly and passionately. Harry kissed her while they rocked gently together. Hermione held him tight through the night, even in her sleep.

Harry kissed her forehead before dawn, and left without a sound.

…………………………………………

When Hermione woke the next morning, Harry was gone. She held back a sob as she dressed slowly. There was no way she’d catch him now.

She descended the staircase to the common room. And didn’t look up until she was in the middle of the circular room. She stepped forward and fell to her knees on front of the fireplace. Two envelopes were waiting. She slowly reached out for the one marked Hermione.

She cried freely as she read it.

Dear Hermione,

I know you didn’t want it this way, and I’m sorry. I don’t think I could have gone if you’d have tried to stop me. I have to go. This is what I was born for. If I don’t do this, nobody else will. And it has to be now. And I have to be alone.

I know you’re upset. We both know that I might not come back. I mean, let’s face it; the odds aren’t exactly on my side…

But for now, Hermione, know that I love you. If I come back, it will be for you. And if I don’t, I hope that I don’t die in vain. And though I’m on my own, I’m thinking of you.

I love you, even when you scream at me, or slap me, or tell me what a self-absorbed idiot I am. If I don’t come back, don’t wait for me. Move on. Be happy.

But remember I loved you.

Harry

Grown up or backwards born

Into eternity and black holes…

Floating around out here on my own,

Screaming at me, forever unknown…

Been natural…

Been natural…

Been natural…

Is there anything else?

Chapter 3- You’re Tender And You’re Tired

You’re so fragile tonight

Been up hurting all night

It’s not trivial, like they think

Yes, you’re desperate and you’re hurt…

Hermione honestly didn’t know how she got through the five days following Harry’s departure. A cliché, she knew. But when she would think back on those days, she would find no recollection of anything but the pain.

The almost unbearable pain.

If Hermione didn’t know where she was most of the time, the rest of the school certainly did; the tree by the lake was her refuge. And her company was her blinding desire to be with Harry again.

Ron sat with her sometimes; brought her in for meals when he knew she would not go unprompted; held her when he knew she was close to collapse; reminded her when she began to doubt Harry was alive.

Usually, though, they both sat alone. Alone with the uncertainty. Uncertainty can almost be worse that loss. There can be no words to ease your anxiety and no actions either. But worst of all, there can be know hope; for all you know is that anything you do is worthless, useless, futile… Hope must have a basis in knowledge.

Thought about it so many times

Too afraid to open your eyes

To see the sadness that’s inside

Just sit back in and stop time…

It was five days after Harry had left the castle, when Ron and Hermione sat in the great Hall in silence. They were not the only ones. Those who spoke were quickly silenced.

Then shortly after the meal commenced, something happened. The explosion that rang through the great hall, starting at the doors, was deafening. The Flash of light that accompanied it was blinding. But the scream of pain that followed was terrifying. It was that type of scream that makes you feel as if you can feel the pain too…

A figure then appeared, out of thin air, in front of the closed oak doors of the Great Hall. Hermione screamed in agony when that same figure looked at her and collapsed.

It was Harry. Hermione knew from the second of the explosion that Harry was coming back. Her heart jumped to her throat when he appeared suddenly in front of her eyes. But his accompanying screams tore at her soul.

He looked into her eyes, and fell.

‘HARRY’, she yelled. The terror in her voice was evident. She almost flew from her seat to his side. He was bruised and he was bleeding. But more than that: He was not breathing.

‘HE’S NOT BREATHING’, she screamed again, turning and fixing her panicked stare at Dumbledore, who was running towards her and Harry, closely followed by Ron.

‘Poppy’, Dumbledore called, in the direction of the staff table. There was no need, though; she was hot on his heels.

Madame Pomfrey was quickly at Harry’s side, listening for a heartbeat and searching for a pulse. She looked up at Dumbledore and looked into his eyes, which lacked their usual twinkle. She shook her head, ever so slightly. But Hermione saw.

‘DO SOMETHING!’ she screamed at her. Madame Pomfrey looked around at Hermione, who was clutching Harry’s hand. She seemed to come to a decision in an instant.

‘Help me, Minerva’, she said shortly, and together they began to try and revive Harry as Hermione had seen Mad-Eye do with Tonks in the department of Mysteries.

Dumbledore looked at Hermione. She was pale and shaking, but she was not crying. She was watching in horror as Madame Pomfrey pounded on Harry’s chest and Professor McGonagall gave him mouth to mouth.

‘I know this curse, Miss Granger’, he said softly. ‘I never thought that Harry knew about it though’. Dumbledore was visibly upset. ‘It would take a miracle for him to wake, Hermione’.

Hermione gasped and looked up at Dumbledore. He was holding on to Harry’s other hand. ‘You’re wrong’, she said quietly. It was a statement, not an insult.

The great Hall was silent now. Hermione began to talk to Harry, in soothing tones.

You’re tender and you’re tired

You can’t be bothered to decide

Whether you live or die

Or just forget about your life…

‘Please wake up, Harry’. The whole school could hear her.

‘I know you’re tired, and hurt, but please, Harry, wake up… for me Harry’.

Hermione stroked his cheek where she had slapped him five days before. ‘I love you, Harry’, she told him softly. There was an intake of breath from the students behind her, but she didn’t hear. She gasped loudly.

‘He squeezed my hand’, she said excitedly to Dumbledore.

‘Come on, Harry’, she said, more urgently. ‘Breath, sweetheart’.

Nothing happened.

‘Don’t do this to me, Harry’, she said, panicking. ‘Please, don’t do this’ she whispered. ‘I love you so much…’

Something did happen this time. Harry began to splutter weakly. Very weakly. Madame Pomfrey checked for a pulse again, and found one. She beamed at Hermione. ‘He’s alive’, she said, unnecessarily.

There was a burst of applause from the students and teachers alike, at this proclamation. Professor McGonagall wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Dumbledore let out an incredulous gasp. If Hermione heard the deafening noises of relief coming from the students behind her, she didn’t show it. Ron squeezed her shoulder in relief and reassurance.

Hermione was now rubbing Harry’s hand, as if trying to warm him into life.

‘Wake up, sweetheart’, she whispered. ‘Come on Harry; I know you can’.

She felt Harry squeeze her hand again, and watched as his eyes opened slowly, revealing startling green.

‘Hermione- ’, he breathed. Then his eyes closed again.

But it’s too late to be real

No time to be strong enough

It’s time to leave it all behind

Memory has become pain…

Madame Pomfrey’s smile faltered, and she said with urgency, ‘We have to get him to saint Mungo’s, quickly’.

Dumbledore conjured a stretcher and He and Ron quickly moved Harry onto it. ‘He’s getting weaker’, Madame Pomfrey barked.

Hermione felt like the rug had been pulled from beneath her. But her brain seemed to click into action. She stayed calm as she said: ‘Let’s go’.

Dumbledore pulled from his pocket a chocolate frog card. He touched it with his wand and muttered, ‘Portus’. It glowed for a second before returning to its normal state.

‘Poppy, you go with them’, he said sharply.

Madame Pomfrey, Hermione, and Ron took hold of the card, with Hermione and Madame Pomfrey also holding Harry’s arm.

A second later, they were in the foyer of St. Mungo’s. Two healers came rushing over to them, recognizing Madame Pomfrey. Dumbledore appeared beside the group a second later and spoke to the healer next to him. ‘He cast the Gnoleb curse,’ he said softly, and looking at Harry with awe.

The healer seemed to understand in an instant until she looked at Harry again. ‘But he’s alive’, she said slowly, looking from Harry to Dumbledore. ‘That’s not possible’.

‘I know’, Dumbledore replied, still staring at Harry.

The healers took Harry to what they told Hermione was the ‘Intensive healing room’.

Hermione reluctantly sat outside with Ron and Dumbledore while the healers worked on Harry.

She looked at Dumbledore for the first time since they arrived at the Hospital.

‘He cast the Gnoleb curse?’ she whispered incredulously. Dumbledore nodded with the same expression of awe he wore a minute earlier.

‘I knew the moment he appeared in the Great Hall. I did not expect him to wake, as you know. That is why.’

Ron looked from Dumbledore to Hermione. He was as white as a sheet, and had not spoken since Harry ad appeared in the Great Hall.

‘What is the Gnoleb Curse?’, he asked quietly.

‘It’s suicide’, Hermione whispered to nobody in particular.

Dumbledore looked at her for a moment, then at Ron. ‘The Gnoleb Curse is sometimes known as Gryffindor’s curse, as he was the last known wizard to have used it. The curse causes both caster and victim to be banished to the place that they truly belong. However the curse is extremely dangerous. In theory, it will only work if the caster’s heart is pure. Gryffindor banished Slytherin, and killed him. However, Gryffindor himself died in the process. His heart was not completely pure.’

Ron gaped at him. ‘What does "a pure heart" mean?’ he asked him.

Dumbledore seemed to think for a moment. ‘I suppose it means that the caster must be acting out of good, and nothing else. Gryffindor was acting partly out of vengeance, even though he was doing the right thing…’

Dumbledore thought about this for a while. He didn’t notice Hermione rise from her seat to meet the healer who had just emerged from Harry’s room. The healer smiled with the same expression of awe as Dumbledore had earlier.

‘Incredible…’, she whispered to Hermione.

Hermione rushed past the healer and through the double doors of the Intensive healing room, leaving the healer standing, gobsmaked, in her wake.

Once inside the room, Hermione saw the other healer laying out potions on the table beside Harry’s bed. Madame Pomfrey headed out to Ron and Dumbledore.

The healer turned when he heard Hermione ask timidly, ‘Is he awake?’.

‘Not yet’, he replied kindly. ‘You can sit with him if you like, though’.

Hermione sank, gratefully, into the wing-backed chair beside Harry’s bed, taking Harry’s hand in hers again and speaking in the same soothing but pleading tone she’d used in the Great Hall.

Rebuild the void with flowers

Sad-eyed destruction, built around sand and sea

Yes, you can build yourself around…

Build yourself around me,

Yourself around me…

‘You just saved the world, Harry’, she whispered to him. ‘I’m not angry at you for leaving.’ Hermione felt like she had to reassure him that he did the right thing. ‘I’m so proud of you’, she whispered to his tired form.

The healers had cleaned Harry up; he was no longer bruised and bleeding. But that was just his outward appearance, Hermione knew. Healers could do nothing for the turmoil she knew he felt inside. She could see it in his eyes just before he collapsed in the Great Hall. All his life had been focused in this one event. And now it was over. She knew he hadn’t even expected to survive. There was bound to be a void in his life now.

‘I’ll help you Harry’, she said softly to him, and she felt him squeeze her hand again. Hermione knew that he was showing her that he understood what she meant.

‘Wake up, sweetheart’, she asked, for the second time that evening. ‘Please wake up…’

She sat back in her chair, worriedly looking at Harry. The healer had left, though she didn’t know when. She looked around the room. It was empty, save for shelves upon shelves of potion bottles lining two of the walls. There were posters on the walls in here like the ones in the foyer.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, turning her head back to Harry.

He was sitting up, his eyes sparkling and a small smile on his face. Hermione gasped. Harry’s smile widened, and Hermione launched herself onto the bed and on top of him, hugging him with all her might.

Harry could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. He hugged her back fiercely, laughing with happiness.

He pulled back from her to look at her. She was somewhere between laughing and crying. He wiped the tears from her cheek. They stared into each other’s eyes for an indeterminable length of time.

‘I’m sorry- ’, Harry began, but Hermione cut him off. ‘Don’t be’, she whispered breathlessly. Then she leaned in and kissed him. It was a kiss like the one they had shared on their last night together; just as passionate, but with the complete opposite emotions. They didn’t kiss like it would be their last kiss, but like it was their first. This kiss said; I’m never leaving you again.

They broke away after a minute, but remained staring into each other’s eyes. ‘How are you feeling’, Hermione asked after a second. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘No, actually’, he replied with a slight frown. ‘That’s strange… I was bleeding like hell before I cast the curse’.

‘The healers fixed the cuts and bruises’, Hermione answered gently. Her eyes darkened. ‘When you screamed in the great hall, I thought you were dying’.

‘I was’, he answered truthfully. ‘But I didn’t’, he said slowly. ‘I could hear you, and feel you… Maybe my heart was pure, I dunno… I’m glad I’m alive though’, he added jokingly.

Hermione raised a hand to his cheek. ‘So am I’. She kissed him again.

‘Does that mean you’ll marry me, then’, Harry asked lightly.

Hermione did a double take.

‘Hermione, will you marry me?’ he asked, in a more serious tone. Hermione looked into his eyes. They were twinkling again. A slow smile spread across her face.

‘Yes’, she answered simply.

Harry smiled just as widely now. Hermione was again between laughter and tears. She threw herself at him again, clinging to him like she had earlier. Harry was laughing with her. He lifted her to her feet, hugging her tight. ‘You’re incredible’, he whispered in her ear.

Hermione snorted. ‘This from the only wizard ever to have survived the Avada Kedavra and the Gnoleb Curses?’

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her, and then smiled. ‘I love you’.

‘Let’s go see Ron’, Hermione said. ‘He was as white as a sheet earlier’, she laughed.

Ron gasped as Harry and Hermione walked hand in hand through the doors to where he and Dumbledore had been siting. He had evidently not expected to see Harry awake, never mind up and walking. He and Dumbledore both stood simultaneously.

Ron strode over to Harry and embraced him like a brother. ‘Can nothing keep you down, mate?’ he laughed. Harry laughed with him.

Dumbledore then walked over to Harry, looking at him in awe again. It was very disconcerting, Harry thought, to have the greatest wizard in the world look at you in awe. ‘Well done, Harry’, he croaked. He was evidently still too shocked to react any more than that.

Madame Pomfrey, who had been waiting in the shadows was in much the same position as Dumbledore; shocked. She had an extremely odd expression on her face. Harry was more than surprised, however, when she approached him and hugged him. ‘Thank you, Potter’, she said to him when she finally released him. ‘He’s gone’, she said simply to Harry’s silent enquiry.

Ron let out a whoop for joy at this statement, which seemed to bring everyone to tears of mirth.

**********

‘Let’s go back to Hogwarts’, Harry said after a twenty minutes of being hugged and cheered by almost every conscious person in St. Mungo’s.

A minute later, The five of them reappeared in the Great Hall, where Harry had lay a few hours earlier. The students were still gathered around the tables, even though it was late. They were probably waiting for any news about Harry’s condition.

A cheer to rival any explosion erupted at the sight of Harry walking, hand in hand with Hermione, and led by Dumbledore and Ron, to the front of the Great Hall.

Dumbledore turned and raised his hands. There was immediate silence. He gestured to Harry to speak. The students were looking at him expectantly. Hermione squeezed his hand reassuringly and he smiled.

Echoing Madame Pomfrey, he said, looking around the Great Hall; ‘He’s gone’.

The chaos that followed this statement was insane. A tide of students ran at Harry. Some to congratulate him and some to just stare at him in awe. The Slytherin’s reaction was somewhat unexpected. Although some looked mutinous, others just shrugged. It was all a bit surreal, Harry and Hermione would later think.

******

If Harry was famous before, it was nothing to what he was after. He spent the next day at the ministry, recounting his story; to the minister, to reporters, and to the people that had flocked to London just to see him. Hermione held his hand all the way, repeating to him before they left in the morning; ‘I’ll help you’, as she had at the hospital.

The next year and a half of school and normalcy came as a shock to Harry, having never experienced a normal school life before. Both he and Hermione achieved almost perfect scores in their Newts, with Hermione slightly ahead, Harry grudgingly admitted to her.

Ron scored exceptionally high, also, ensuring him a place in the auror-training program.

Hermione went on to train as a healer. Harry used to joke that it was so she wouldn’t have to keep going to the trouble of bringing him to the hospital all the time.

Harry decided that he’s had enough of dark wizards to last him a lifetime, after he’d spent one long and dull year as an Auror. He was offered a contract with every Quiddich Team in Britain and Ireland, choosing to play with Puddlemere United.

Harry and Hermione were married on Halloween, the year after they finished Hogwarts. There could be no such thing as a small wedding for the most famous couple of the century. They now live in Godric’s Hollow- rebuilt as a wedding present from Dumbledore. And when their children ask for their favourite bedtime story, this is what they hear. Well, the censored version, anyway…

The End!

A/N; Well I’m sad to see that one end… I was going to post four chapters, but I just made this a long one… Hope you like the songs I used. They could almost have been written for the last battle, if you ask me. Sequel is looking more appealing to me all the time. Review and tell me if you want one? All the best, and thanks for reading! IamHermione