The Rebirthing Party-Chapter 20
Pappy returned to Hogwarts by the most secretive method available. He knew that Minerva was watching the Marauder's Map. He was sure he was beyond reproach and he hated that he'd had to take their wands. He'd used the simplest charm he could to make sure that in an emergency Dumbledore could free them. As he entered the corridor near the courtyard he saw Harry racing toward him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Pappy said sternly.
Harry said. "Pappy, I had that dream again just a few minutes ago. You know the one where I'm sneaking through the Forbidden Forest? I heard other voices this time though. The voices seemed vaguely familiar and for some reason I was not as afraid this time when I heard the snake."
"What did you think you were going to do? Follow Snape into Voldemort's lair and slay them both." Pappy asked.
"Pappy, don't stop me. Come with me if you want, but I know my destiny lies there. I am tired of running scared." Harry said.
"What do you mean running scared? You are one of the bravest and pure hearted young men I have ever met. What do you mean scared?" Pappy asked raising his arms. He got chills as he realized the beginning of his vision started at his point with Harry and him standing talking animatedly.
"I mean, there is a full moon. I could hear the howling in the background as I walked through the forest. When I woke just a few minutes ago, it was to the sound of howling. I believe it is Lupin." Harry was talking a mile a minute. "I think Snape is going to Voldemort. All I know is that when I awoke everything seemed like it had in the dream. So I'm going."
"Harry, Why would you follow Snape alone if he were going to Voldemort?" Pappy asked.
"It would be the only reason I would go after Snape or enter the woods. I couldn't find Hermione, but after all the talk I won't put her in danger not this time. I'm hoping you will follow me and help me." Harry said his cheeks red with fury. "I can't take it anymore. The dreams…the sadness…the fear…," Harry's voice trailed off as the echo through the courtyard made his words indistinguishable.
For the first time in all the years since he'd had this vision, Pappy wasn't sure what to do. The vision was playing out, but Harry's attitude and the words he'd never heard were unnerving. It was as if someone had told you that a relative had died. You knew it would happen, but when it did your heart skips a beat. `A long last, the curse of this vision can be over,' Pappy thought. He could feel his heart pumping in his chest. He chased after Harry. Harry seemed to know where he was going.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Harry thought, `That bastard Snape. I'll follow him. I hope Pappy follows me. I need help, but I have to do it. Hermione, forgive me for not saying good-bye.' He stopped running after running down the stone steps toward Hagrid's. The lights were out at Hagrid's just as he'd seen in his dream.
Harry stopped and looked to the sky. "Whoever has put this in my life, give me the strength to finish it. Merlin, God, Pappy, Dumbledore, Voldemort. If there is a God, keep Hermione safe. I don't know what to believe." He opened the pocket watch as he gasped for breath and he saw his beautiful Hermione. Her smile renewed his resolve and strength.
He began to run again. Out of the corner of his eye just to the right of Hagrid's he could see the shadow of a man not running anymore, but slowly slinking around the corner of the cottage. `There he is,' thought Harry.
Pappy had closed a good portion of the gap between Harry and him. When Harry stopped to catch his breath Pappy decided that it was foolish to make his heart race like this. He walked slowly until he was sure Harry had passed Hagrid's. He Apparated to the near corner of the cottage to close the gap on Harry, but he'd lost sight of him. Pappy was thankful that he'd learned the secret to the charm prohibiting Disapparating/Apparating on Hogwarts' grounds. But now he was left with only the portion of the dream Harry had described. He knew he'd seen more, but this wasn't familiar. Pappy was uneasy, more and more of his vision was proving false.
Harry sneaked up to the edge of the precipice he'd seen in his dream. He looked back. He couldn't see any sign of Pappy. `Damn,' he thought. `How do I do this without him?' Harry thought about the dream and the way he'd been surprised in the corridor by snake voice and what he presumed was Voldemort. He had been thinking of this moment ever since he'd had the dream.
What would he do if he were trapped? What did he, Harry, possibly know how to do that could rival the strength of Voldemort? He found himself clutching the watch for strength. He looked at the time. It was eleven forty-two. He saw Hermione with her beautifully tight jean skirt. He remembered that night not so long ago. Something happened that night he couldn't quite remember. A sense of anticipation poured over him and he moved on.
Then he thought of what he'd learned by chance in the fields that night this summer. The night he'd spent alone thinking when Hermione and Ginny came back from shopping. He had been so angry, lonely, sad and helpless.
He was out flipping his wand around thinking of nothing but how to get rid of this feeling of helplessness. He laughed at himself derisively for looking like a mad orchestra conductor of the music in that music box he'd bought for Hermione. Each time he though of how she had made him feel more lonely than at anytime in his life today, he'd feel a strange sensation well in his chest and mind. How could he be man enough to kill Voldemort when he still could not conquer the fear of love for Hermione? He was a boy, but he wanted desperately to show her he was a man.
He thought of Hermione that night as his only true inspiration and the pain of loneliness closed in around him. He hated this feeling. He looked for something to take his frustrations out on. He saw a small mound of stones in the field, concentrated on them and performed the blasting spell. The rocks scattered. He laughed at himself again. How could he be powerful enough to defeat Voldemort? He couldn't even take control with Hermione and tell her he loved her.
The thought stirred his anger at being weak to the point of shear hate for his weakness. He spied a stone about ten feet from him. He swiftly moved his wand in a circle as he felt his concentration on it build. At the last moment, when his wand pointed at the rock he felt a surge through his body. The rock and dust exploded into a plume that looked like fireworks shot in the air and he was thrown backwards from the blast. He looked down at himself to be sure he'd not been hurt. He knew that the Weasley's or someone must have heard it. Maybe they'd just think it was fireworks. He headed home more resolved to be in charge of his life, but still sad and lonely.
He looked at the watch again hoping that seeing Hermione's face would give him inspiration. He saw her smiling and he felt a surge of strength. He thought, `That's the secret. Love and hate are the same emotion, just with opposite intent. I was so mad that night that I refused to be made the fool. I was going to act like a man from then on with Hermione. I can concentrate on our love and be determined to get back to her.' He looked at her in his watch again. She was smiling longingly on that first night that they'd kissed. Her face was a beautiful rosy pink as she blushed. She was gorgeous.
He couldn't afford to be wrong this time. It wasn't going to be used for his amusement. He found a large boulder some 40 feet up the hill toward the forest. He focused on it with a determination to be back with Hermione and love so strong he felt chills up his spine. He struck with the wand in a lightening quick move that surprised him." BLAM! The explosion and the flash this time had been ten times what he'd generated that night in the fields. It echoed through the forest. He was glad he learned to be further from the blast point.
Some three hundred yards away down the hill, Pappy heard the explosion. He feared they'd found Harry. He listened for more explosions. These were wand blasts from a very powerful wizard. Had Voldemort already been reborn or was he in someone chasing Harry. Pappy was confused. His vision was now unreliable.
Harry listened closely. He realized that he'd made a mistake and had announced his presence. He could hear voices below him. He removed his cloak and lied down prone peering over the side of the craggy hill. He could move more quietly and quicker in just his jumper and jeans. He crawled slowly to the edge he'd been at a few minutes before he'd seen the boulder. He looked down. He saw three people looking around for the source of the explosion. One was Snape and the other he recognized from the Department of Mysteries, Nott. Another man looked familiar but he couldn't place him.
It was then that the dream began to give him the eerie feeling of déjà vu. The howling in the background got louder. The bright moonlit night had turned misty and evil. He felt as if he were reliving the night with Malfoy, Ron, Neville and Hagrid in detention. It was nearly in this same place that he'd seen the dead unicorn and the phantom in the cloak sucking the life from the unicorn. The cloaked phantom had begun to move toward him as he remembered Firenze driving it away as he leapt over Harry toward the hissing creature.
Suddenly, Harry heard something he hadn't heard in nearly four years. It was the unmistakable sound of Parseltongue, snake language. "Come to us Harry Potter. Come to us now. Let this be over. You cannot win. Join our party." Any doubt fate had brought him to this night faded at that moment. The skin on his back prickled as the chills went up his spine. His hands shook. He took at deep breath. He told himself, "Feel the fear but don't let it consume you. Feel the fear and move anyway. You have to do what you were destined to do."
He could feel the tears in his eyes form as he remembered the moment he'd seen in his watch. He'd made love to Hermione. He dug deep into his memory. He could feel her soft breasts against his flesh. That's all he could remember. He looked at his watch again. For some odd reason, he could hear the music as she was listening to it at that very moment.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hermione looked at Tonks and said, "So, they told you that Harry and I did it." Hermione could sense exactly what Tonks was speaking of at the moment.
"Yes, Hermione, they did. They didn't want to betray your trust, but Dumbledore just told me. I mean he just told me before he called you in."
Hermione's eyes teared as the fear for Harry grew. "He's out there, isn't he? You just want me to not think about him." She reached into her robe and pulled out the music box.
Tonks nodded and as tears formed in her eyes too. "Hermione, I am not crying because I love Harry like you might think. I am crying because I see the most beautiful love story unfolding before my eyes. I was a sap for love and frilly things at your age. I miss being that sweet young girl." Tonks tried to wipe away the tears on her tee shirt sleeve, but they came back as fast as she wiped them away.
"I settled for a boy that I thought I loved. I let him convince me that love was telling me he loved me. I convinced myself that if he said it often enough it would come true." Tonks sniffled as she spoke. "I lost my virginity a year earlier than you. And, he had three other girls before they turned sixteen while he was my boyfriend, but stupid me. I didn't see what a liar and a cheat he was. He was a charmer with no substance." Tonks was crying now like she had never let those memories cause her to cry ever before in her life.
"Tonks, I wish I could make the memories go away?" Hermione said.
"My sweet little Hermione, I know I act like I'm much older than you, but I'm only twenty-two. I have hidden these memories away by becoming a tough Auror. The reason I am so clumsy is that it took me forever to become athletic enough to do this. I was a little princess before I graduated. Or, so I told myself. Any man could have me that would treat me like one. Then I met another boy and he thought I was a whore so he'd never give me the time. Finally, he did. An hour, naked on the Astronomy tower roof. That was the low point. I was smart enough so I became an Auror to kick ass and take names and never be the victim again." She'd been able to stop sobbing but the tears flowed.
Hermione tried to change the subject, but she also wanted to see Harry's picture.
"So, do you know about this music box?" Hermione asked.
"Sort of. It was charmed by Pappy's wife, right?" Tonks said casually.
"Yes, it had been Pappy's grandmother's music and jewelry box. Or, so Pappy said. I don't believe much of what he's told us now." Hermione looked at the clock. It was eleven forty-five. She opened the box and turned the key until it stopped. "The mirror in the lid showed Harry's wonderful wide grin. The one that had lit her heart every summer for years and she never had known completely why until this year. Claire de Lune played softly.
"That's a beautiful song." Tonks said. "I'm kind of the rock `n roll, fuck the world, body-piercing type. I have never liked classical music, but that is beautiful."
"Harry bought it for me." Hermione said unpretentiously. "My mother used to play this song for me on the piano as a little girl. It calms me and reminds me when there were no worries in the world." She looked again at the picture of Harry as it changed to when they were lying in the field outside Ron's this summer. She'd felt his strength then and had felt it a few months ago as they held each other in the Room of Requirement. She could sense he had it now at this very moment. She prayed silently that this strength was enough.
"Hermione, I will not let anything happen to you or Harry." Tonks said as matter-of-factly as could be.
"How can you say that? He's out there facing Voldemort right now." Hermione looked perplexed. She listened to the music staring at the picture in the music box.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Harry felt as if the trees were talking to one another. The snake voice lured him down the side of the large rock that had looked like a hill to him moments before. He saw the entrance to the dungeons in the direction the Death Eaters had gone. He walked toward it. He walked down an almost hidden stone stairway to a dimly lighted corridor that came to a tee, like a dead-end. `I hope this dead-end isn't an omen, I can hear Trelawney now about the Grimm,' he thought.
He decided that the voice was coming from the left as he entered. "Lumos," Harry said as he brought his wand up as the full moon's mist-dimmed light faded. He could hear the sounds of the forest echo through the tunnel as he went deeper into the catacombs. He saw hundreds of rats throughout the tunnel. They were running in the exact opposite direction. He thought he heard footsteps behind him. He listened and looked back. `Nothing,' he thought. `Just nerves.'
The smell of death was in the air. He looked at the walls as he walked. He surveyed every inch and crack for clues as to his location. He tried to remember the charm he'd used to find his way through the maze at the tri-wizard tournament. Finally, he did. He laid his illuminated wand carefully flat in his left hand and said, "Point me." His wand pointed back over his left shoulder. The Four Point Spell allowed him to which way was north. He knew he was headed toward the cell that Luna had been in because Pappy said it was a straight run to Hogwarts. The tunnel was pointing southwest as he expected.
The smell of decomposing flesh was making Harry sick. He saw half-eaten rats and a body lying in the corridor. He presumed it was one of the Death Eaters that had crossed Voldemort. He could hear the sound of the snake voice get louder and louder. Finally, he was in front of the first open dungeon cell. He walked in and around the large stone table. It resembled the one that Pappy described and he saw the decomposed and half-eaten body of a man in the corner. He saw the hieroglyphs on the walls. He was there. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. That was Wormtail. He quickly moved back into the corridor.
He moved slowly and put out his wand. "Nox," he commanded. The wand went dark. He put his wand in his front pants pocket.
With each step he could feel the crunch of small bones from rodents and hear the incessant gnashing of tiny teeth. `There must be thousands of these rats in here.' Harry thought. He heard the snake voice say, `that's right, Harry. Until I get a large meal like you and your friend I eat hundreds of these little morsels each day.'
The skin on his arms began to crawl as he saw the soft glow coming from an athwart corridor or dungeon cell to his right and about fifty feet ahead. He could feel the tension growing. He resisted the urge to pull his wand out of his pants. He felt his way along the wall. He was so scared he wanted to run back the way he had come, but he was compelled to move forward. He couldn't understand what made him keep moving. His heart raced, he felt as if he'd pee himself with every noise. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of footfall behind him.
At first he thought he had been swallowed by the snake as he saw the glowing green orbs arise in front of him and felt his feet leave the floor. Then he realized that someone…no two people had grabbed his arms and were propelling him forward toward the snake but the snake was not getting closer.
He twisted and turned. He kicked at them. He couldn't free himself. The dream no longer seemed to be guiding him. Something had changed.
Then he could feel his life ebb and flow as he heard the voice that had haunted him for nearly six years but particularly the last one. Voldemort spoke, "Game over, Harry. Thank you for joining our little party. We were wondering if you were looking for the maitre`d near where your dear friend Wormtail came to his inglorious end. Do you want a rat to eat Harry? It's the last supper so to speak."
He'd come to the glowing dungeon cell. The strength of his captors was overwhelming. He couldn't move. He could hear the cold voice of Voldemort continue. "You've attended one of these before you little shit. You know the routine." His arm was held out and the unbridled pain in his left arm made his eyes water. He was carried to the cauldron to the immediate left of someone he recognized…it couldn't be. Snape! Harry laughed.
Snape's eyes were swollen shut and his jaw jutted in an awkward direction. "You conniving and traitorous son of a bitch, Snape. You led me to this." Harry could see that he had been beaten too badly to speak. "Even Voldemort and your fellow Death Eaters would rather kill. I am sure they broke your jaw so they did have to hear you speak." His arm was being held over the cauldron. Harry could see into it as he the blood from his arm dripped in. Nott stood next to him and dropped in bones. Harry surmised through the brutal pain in his arm that they were either of Voldemort's soulless shell of a body or brought from Tom Riddle's, his father's grave.
"Don't use his name in my presence you arrogant little bastard! Yes, Potter, you would be the Darkest Wizard of our time if you were the one who survived. You have guessed right. I can use my own bones, your blood…and your very dear friend Snape's flesh." Voldemort's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere. It seemed that every time he spoke a different Death Eaters lips moved.
Nott walked to the other side leaving him in the arms of his captures. He could feel his head get lighter and lighter as his arm bled. From the rack on the other side he noticed a large flat-bladed sword being removed. "The Sword of Slytherin shall cleave your arm Snape. You have always said you would do anything for me," Voldemort's voice said as Nott's mouth moved. Nott closed on Snape. He placed the Sword in the white hot embers below the cauldron. "We don't want you to die too quickly Snape, now do we Nagini?" Voldemort's voice and the hissing from behind Harry turned to Parseltongue again, "No, Master, I will feed well."
The blade of the sword had become an angry red as Nott drew it out. He lifted the sword above his head and swung as the slits in Snape's swollen eyes opened wide. The blade looked as if it had hit a pound of butter with cherry sauce in it. Even the crunch of the bones as it tore away Snape's flesh was somewhat muted. The blood from Snape's arm sprayed Harry's face and neck. He could feel the men holding him flinch. Their grip weakened as the disgust of it all caused them to move. It was at that moment things slowed as they became like a new dream. He felt himself released from their grasp.
He heard the struggles and saw the flashes from the corridor behind him. He saw Pappy. No one had seen him until he revealed himself. He felt the stinging pain in his arm, but an unusual sense of calm passed over him again. In his mind he heard the music; he felt it in his heart.
He could feel himself falling but as he looked down it was only a matter of inches. He reached his wand in his right front pants pocket. Time seemed to be suspended as he looked toward Nott and down at Snape's arm falling into the cauldron. He saw Snape being dropped to the dungeon floor as his captors attempted to defend the Dark Lord from Pappy. Snape's robes were on fire from the fire beneath the cauldron.
He heard the hiss of the large snake behind him. The voice of Nagini was saying, "You are mine Potter." Harry turned and with all his being he lined the wand with his nose, circled it to the right, and flicked. "BLAM" The explosion sent pieces of Nagini, the inner walls of the cell, and the old walls of the corridor flying in all directions. The smoke like dust made breathing difficult. No one within the blast area was left standing. Nott and two of the other Death Eaters were lying dead with parts of Nagini's fangs imbedded in their bodies. Pappy had been partially shielded by the solid steel rack from which the sword had been drawn, but he was lying silently in the rubble as well.
Harry could feel the burning in his left arm and now looked down to see what looked like small rivulets of blood on both thighs. He realized that some of it was from flying debris, but he'd also taken some buckshot like pieces of the floor and walls in his legs. But thankfully, he was now completely free. "Imbeciles, I told each of you that he must not come here with the wand." Voldemort was rising from the cauldron as the pieces of his precious Nagini rained down on him from all directions. "You will not escape me again, Potter." Harry was not more than six feet from Voldemort as he arose from the cauldron.
Harry dove through the spoiled and stinking flesh toward his right because he knew he would not be able to withstand the pain of rolling on his bleeding arm. The burning in his thighs was minor compared to his arm. He saw Pappy rising with great difficulty ten feet away, he moved around the corner of the collapsed wall. The first green flash from the direction of Voldemort cracked inches from him as he came to the attack position. "Avada Kedavra," Harry cried as he pointed his wand toward Voldemort. Voldemort had slinked down behind the edges of the cauldron as the green laser-like beam tore more stone from the wall behind. Harry's fear mounted as he realized he had the strength from his dear Hermione, but could he get away from the curse sure to come. He remained in the gloom of the dust as long a he could.
The ceiling creaked above him as it seemed that wood was breaking-the roots of the trees above held the ceiling together. Harry was amazed that he could think of these things as his life's blood leaked from his arm and his mortal enemy followed. He could see the glow of Voldemort's illuminated wand again. He hid with Pappy behind the 31/2 foot wide rack at the corner of the dungeon cell. "Potter, come out to play. You are stronger than I'd hoped. It will be amusing to chase you through the maze. Maybe I should just make you burn slowly. The Death Curse would be too easy."
Harry could hear the music in his head. It was as if Hermione were in the room with him. Voldemort appeared fearful of sudden movement. He was cautiously floating from the cauldron. "Hide and go seek. What a wonderful game for a young mischievous wizard to play with his Uncle Voldemort. Oh wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just be one big happy family, you little prick." Voldemort's next volley blew the rack back into Harry and just past the Pappy. Harry could feel the burning in his scar. The music became louder in his head. His heart raced. Things seemed so slow. He looked at the watch and saw her face…her smile…her tears…her anger at Malfoy…he turned and looked at Voldemort as he lay nearly pinned in the corridor.
He was surprised that he had his strength after being slammed into the wall. He raised his arm as he could feel Voldemort closing on him. It was as if Voldemort couldn't see him, but could smell him like a viper…like Nagini would have found his prey…was Nagini Voldemort's eyes. "Harry, you surprise me with your wisdom." Harry saw him four feet away turned just slightly to his left and turning toward him. He raised his wand. The green flame shot from his wand as the cacophony of sounds surrounding played in his head. The crunching of the rubble as it broke away from the ceiling, the movement of Voldemort as he turned, his own voice, "Avada Kedavra," and finally the music deafeningly playing in his head as an image of his beautiful Hermione emerged. Both Hate and Love consumed him. "Avada Kedavra," he shouted again. His arm felt weak as both green laser-like flames reached Voldemort just below the collar bone in the center of his chest. His snake-like eyes dimmed as he was lifted off his feet and thrown back into the edge of the cauldron as a whirlwind was created in the crumbling rubble. He heard a snap as it seemed that Voldemort had been broken in two as his torso bent awkwardly backwards over the cauldron and his feet dangled in the fire.
Harry's eyes burned as the dust stung him. Pappy was moving better now. Harry could barely see. He could barely feel his legs and arms. He looked to Pappy. He tried to speak, but he couldn't. The pain in his arm had ceased and almost become numb. His last image was of Voldemort broken at the other end of the dungeon cell. He fell to his back unconscious.
Pappy staggered toward Harry the blood oozing from his forehead and shoulder. He had been hit hard by flying debris. He kneeled. "It wasn't like my vision at all Harry."
Pappy checked Harry's pulse and breathing. He made a makeshift bandage as he conjured white cloth. The dust in the air was going to make cleaning Harry's wound difficult. But Pappy continued. Once he was sure Harry was okay. He surveyed the damage. Harry had made all but the earthen ceiling above crumble at his command. Pappy realized that the earth above would be crashing in shortly. The roots of the trees sustained it momentarily, but he must get Harry out. He saw Snape lying on the floor next to the cauldron. His face had been blackened with burns from the cauldron embers. Miraculously, he seemed to be breathing. Pappy checked him.
Pappy couldn't stay focused, because of his own pain. He lifted Harry to his shoulder and used moved Snape's body to the largest stone slab available and began to pick his way through the rubble, clearing the way with his wand as he went.
Soon they'd cleared the rubble and found solid ground although the dust cloud filled the corridors. He heard Harry whisper something. He stopped and laid Harry on the floor. Harry's eyes were open. "The watch please; let me hold the watch." He had tears in his eyes. "Pappy, I can hear the music. I need to see her." Pappy smiled. He was so thankful for his Francine. She had made them both. The grandmother story was good, but the truth was better.
Something had happened to make Hermione cry. He couldn't remember when it had happened. He'd known every moment to this point. He was confused. "Why is she crying, Pappy? I don't remember this."
At that very moment, Hermione saw his picture fade from the mirror in the music box. It came back and flickered for a moment. Hermione cried, "Harry, noooooo, this can't be happening." Tonks had seen it too. Harry's picture had disappeared. It was back and for a moment, Hermione smiled. "He's not dead. No, he's not dead." She cried. She didn't remember that as long as his picture was bright, he was alive.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tonks had noticed what Hermione had not. Dumbledore had left his quarters with Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye and Dawlish. Dawlish had been one of the Aurors in Harry's protective guard when they'd moved him from Privet Drive to Grimmauld Place last year. They were headed toward the entrance to the dungeons. As they approached, they heard a loud explosion rock the foundation.
"Gentlemen, be prepared for anything." Dumbledore pronounced. They moved more quickly than any of them thought possible. The adrenaline had been boosted a notch with the explosion. The four of them spread in a formation that would make it impossible for a single wand blast to get them all. They stayed thirty yards apart and staggered against each wall. The dust was rolling down the corridor. They had over two miles to travel to get to where they thought whoever could have survived would be.
Ten minutes into their journey, Shacklebolt saw a green glow coming from straight ahead. The stopped the fast paced walk they'd had settled into and began to approach more cautiously. None of them were in shape to run like they'd started out. Dumbledore looked down at his Marauder's Map for the first time since they'd left his quarters. He looked again. He was afraid to think that he'd grabbed one of the forged copies that didn't give the truth of who was where. He looked again.
"Shacklebolt, look there. My old eyes are playing tricks on me." The both read the name, Harry Potter. "He's alive," said a joyous Dumbledore. He noticed two other names moving with him, Nathaniel and Severus.
When they arrived, they found Pappy carrying Harry. Dumbledore asked Dawlish and Shacklebolt to attend to Harry and Snape. Dumbledore looked at Nathaniel and asked him if he and Mad-Eye would return to the scene and survey the damage. Dumbledore wanted assurances that Voldemort was dead.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Hermione, come quick!" implored Minerva McGonagall. Rarely had Tonks or Hermione ever heard excitement in McGonagall's voice. "Who's that, Hermione? I ask you, who's that?" Minerva McGonagall sounded like a kid saying I told you so.
Hermione ran to the table where the Marauder's Map lay. She looked down at the Map and could barely contain the chills running up and down her spine. "It's Harry. Oh, my gosh, it's Harry!" She jumped up and down with Tonks. They had tears of joy that made all the worry seem a million miles away.
By morning, the word had spread throughout Hogwarts that Voldemort had been defeated. Harry was lying in a bed in the Hogwarts infirmary. The explosion in the forest had created a sinkhole that extended to the edge of Hagrid's hut.
Harry responded to all questions with the same answer. He couldn't think. "Yes, it's over. Thank God, it's over." Harry said.
Dumbledore had one brief comment, "The area was searched and all the evidence that I could find points to the fact that Voldemort is indeed dead. Nathaniel Moore, Alastor Moody and I counted fifteen dead. The wand of Voldemort has been collected and will be tested today."
Rita Skeeter asked if Harry wanted to say anything for the next morning's paper. The crowd listened carefully.
Harry thought carefully for a few minutes and looked at Rita coldly. He wanted to say, "Yes I do. Minister Fudge, do you have a moment? Could you make sure this fraud has a head line tomorrow that she is being indicted for being an unregistered Animagus. She has spent the last two or three years ruining my life and misrepresenting the facts. If you don't, I will find some way to have my revenge. And, judging from the reason we're here today, I don't believe you will find that to be a threat. It is a promise that I will keep."
The joy in his heart was the only thing that kept him from doing just that. "Yes, Rita I do. Please promise though that you won't pretend to be a fly on the wall and print something else." Harry winked. Rita felt uncomfortable, but smiled. "I only want to say that Hermione Granger is the most wonderful girl in the world. And, without her love, I would be dead. And, without her love, it is possible that we would still be living in fear of Voldemort." He stopped. "That's it Rita. No more. Where's Hermione?"
Out of no where, he saw Hermione come into view as the crowd parted. She had done her like she had the night of the Yule Ball two years before and was wearing his favorite outfit. She was wearing a tee shirt with the word, "Love" and a pair of jeans. The crowd of a dozen or so people parted further to allow her through. She leaned down and kissed him.
Tonks stood in the corner near his bed and applauded along with Pappy, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Dawlish, Shacklebolt, and Mad-Eye. They were the only ones who fully understood the danger Harry had faced and the strength that he gained from the love he and Hermione shared.
-->