With One Dream

Title: With One Dream
Author Name: Truffles
Beta Reader: Another
Category: Romance/Angst
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Book 1-5
Summary: A battle fought. A battle lost. Countless of lives lost. And the Second War is far from over. Can Harry and Hermione find the courage to keep on fighting through the terror and despair that encases the Wizarding World? Hermione’s POV.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. This story is based on characters and any other things you recognize created and owned by JK Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, and Warner Bros., Inc.And for the song, With One Dream, words and music are both done by James Selway and arranged by Carole Stephens.

Though terror and fear surround us,
Through darkness can hide our day,
With love as our guide,
We will stand side by side and help each other to find the way.
With one dream, we stand.

~With One Dream by James Selway

The battle is at last over. Over the last four days, almost everyone was gathered here either to fight or to heal the wounded. The longest battle we’ve had since the beginning of the Second War. And the end of the war seems so far away.

Voldemort has resorted to using any creature that will obey him. Dementors, Giants, Vampires, and Dragons. This was also one of the bloodiest battles. We’ve lost this round. So many lives were lost. And those who survived are only filled with more despair.

I see the bodies scattered around me as I walk through the battlefield, once the beautiful ground of Hogwarts. It is still as death now. Death Eaters and Aurors lay side by side with no differentiation.

I see Hagrid’s hut, or what’s left of it, to my right just a short distance from the now burnt edge of the Forbidden Forest. I can barely make out his treasured garden, where he’d grown those huge pumpkins for Halloween Feast each year. I realize that he never told me what he did to make them grow so big. Everything seemed so trivial now. All those things I had to know before have lost their meanings. Not far from the hut, lay the half-giant’s dead body, killed by his own brothers and sisters. Hagrid was a good friend. I will miss him. Perhaps even those awful rock cakes he makes.

As I walk on I see more fellow students who had died far before their time. All students in and above fifth year were recruited to fight.

I pass Neville. His dueling skills had improved immensely with the help of Harry and the rest of the members of the Dumbledore’s Army, but I guess it just wasn’t enough to keep him alive. I guess it’s what Harry said in our fifth year. No matter how good you are, if Voldemort wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t stand a chance. Harry is the exception, of course.

I walk past many more bodies. Bodies of friends, bodies of people I knew, and bodies of strangers. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Colin Creevey lying motionlessly on the ground. What a terrible loss it’ll be for Dennis. Being only in fourth year, he was one of the younger DA members that weren’t old enough to fight, no matter how many times he begged Dumbledore and McGonagall for permission to fight alongside his brother. For a second, I thought I almost felt sorrow.

But I haven’t cried in months. After the first year of war, I found that I could no longer find the tears to cry. It’s like I don’t have emotions anymore. I don’t feel sadness when I see my fellow classmate’s dead bodies littered on the ground. I don’t feel happiness when a battle is won. Only numbness.

Except around Harry. I feel fear when we part before a battle not knowing if we’ll ever see each other again. I feel nervousness after a battle when I search for him, alive or dead. I feel relief when I see that he is alive. And I feel love whenever I stare into those gorgeous emerald eyes of his. Around Harry I feel. Around Harry I become alive. And around Harry, I have a reason to go on.

So, now as I walk through the field searching for my fiancé for two months, I felt the anxiousness of not knowing whether I can ever run into his warm embrace again.

Then I saw him. He was standing there in the middle of the field. He is looking around the battleground. Examining the damage, the loss. His posture cried out confusion, turmoil, and pain. But he was alive. That’s all that ever mattered. And my heart soars with joy. I smile my first true smile in weeks. My pace quickens and I yell out his name.

“Harry!” Harry, my first and only true love. Finally, I was running as fast as my feet would carry me toward him, my eyes never leaving him.

He turns around and looks at me. His eyes were filled with agony and defeat, shinning with unshed tears.

I take his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. I smile reassuringly at him.

“It’s not over yet, Harry. We may have lost this round, but we’re not beaten. We can still win this.”

Harry only shakes his head dejectedly. He looked so lost, like a little boy who couldn’t find his way home in a cruel and unforgiving world. With no one there to guide him. But I’m here now.

I reached out with both of my hand and grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently. Then I cupped his face in my hands and asked, “Do you still dream? Do you still hope? For the day when all of this is over, and we can finally lead a life without terror and fear?” I asked softly, “because I know I still do.”

Slowly, his eyes clear. And I could see the sadness and anguish fade away until only love, relief, and tenderness filled those dazzling emerald orbs.

The dream was still alive. Hope still shone. And the tender flame of love kindled on.

Harry, then took both of my hands in his and smiled warmly at me.

“Yes, Hermione. I still dream of the day when we can live without constant fear of being attacked. I still hope for the day when we can watch our children play in the sun.” He pauses. And then, slowly he bought my right hand that bore our engagement ring, a symbol that held the promise of a better future, to his lips. “And with all my heart, I’m still waiting for the day when you’ll walk down the aisle in the most beautiful wedding gown ever made and we exchange our vows.”

I smiled. “Then we will fight until the end?”

“We will fight until the end.”

His lips lowered onto mine, and our kiss sealed our promise to fulfill our dreams and hope. Or to die trying.

If one gets lost along the way, the other will help them find their way again. And our love will always be our guide.

Filled with new determination, we turned our gazes toward the rising sun. A new day, a new hope. A second chance.

AN: And that’s the end, the end of this story anyways. Our hero and heroine’s lives are just beginning, and hopefully won’t end for a long, long time. And with some luck, their story will live on even longer.

So what do you think? Good? Bad? So-so? The bright side? I can only get better, right? But for that, I need your help! Please drop a review to help me become a better writer. It’s in your favor really. Every time someone gives a new pointer, I’ll get better and each time I write, you’ll be reading better, and more “matured” stories.

A little background info on the song, With One Dream, if you’re interested. James Selway wrote this piece on Sept. 13 in response to the terrible tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001. The World Children’s choir, joined by professional singers from Washington, D.C. and accompanied by a 34-piece orchestra, recorded With One Dream on Sept. 20. The CD’s were released as part of the World children’s Choir Voices for Children Campaign. The recipients include children who lost parents in the attacks and Afghan children. For more information, visit www.worldchildrenschoir.org.

Kind of interesting, huh? This was one of our school choir songs and I was very inspired by it. Thanks to everyone who read this story. And don’t forget to leave a review!