Disclaimer: I only own Harry Potter in my wildest dreams… In reality, everything HP-related belongs only to JK Rowling. No Greater Love Part 1: The Sacrifice
It was chaos.
Spells, curses, hexes being shouted from every direction. Bolts of light shooting out of wands in every which way.
And his scar, always the searing pain of his scar, the constant reminder that Voldemort was near, even if he couldn't be seen.
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Remus dueling with Bellatrix Lestrange, a contained but no less dangerous fury on his face and sent a silent thought of support to his former professor. Yes, Remus, avenge Sirius' death, for both our sakes…
Avery raised his wand preparing to curse Ron whose back was turned towards him. Harry quickly yelled "Stupefy!" watching to make sure Avery was out before shouting, "Watch your back!" to Ron. Ron waved a hand in acknowledgement before following Mr. Weasley, Bill and Ginny in surrounding Lucius Malfoy.
He glanced around and felt a stab of fear. Their numbers were down; they were losing… And Voldemort was still nowhere to be seen…
He just had time to wonder where Hermione was when white-hot pain erupted in his head and Harry spun, knowing he had come. Voldemort, tall and menacing in his black robes, red eyes filled with malicious triumph at the thought that he was finally going to get to kill Harry Potter, that thorn in his side.
"So, Potter, not ready to give up yet?"
Harry stared at his parents' murderer, breath coming fast but he didn't rise to the bait. He needed to keep calm or he would have even less chance of surviving this than he already had.
Voldemort muttered a few words and two shadowy figures, Lily and James, emerged from his wand.
The figures of his parents held out their hands in invitation. "It's OK, Harry, just give up now."
Another muttered word and flick of his wand and the shadowy figure of Sirius appeared as well. "Think, Harry," the figure said, "what hope do you have of surviving?"
Harry's wand hand was trembling and white-knuckled from the force of his grip as he stared at the figures of his parents and his godfather saying all the same things he thought and feared in his moments of self-doubt, his breath hitching in his chest, and slowly, he started to lower his wand...
But then he heard another, a stronger, voice, Hermione's voice, in his head. "No, Harry, don't listen. You can do this, you can."
The fog in his mind cleared. He stiffened, raising his wand. "No!" he exploded.
Voldemort snarled something and the shadowy figures of his parents and Sirius vanished. "So you won't listen, eh, Potter? Foolish boy. Now I'll just have to kill you, but first, pain. Crucio!"
Harry staggered back from the excruciating pain, as if his bones were being crushed inside him.
As if from far away he heard Hermione scream, "Harry!"
He turned to see that Voldemort had raised his wand again. He tried to stand, tried to respond but his body refused to cooperate, still in the throes of the Cruciatus so he just stared, knowing he was going to be killed. The prophecy would be fulfilled after all…
"Avada Kedavra!"
Harry closed his eyes against the green light, knowing it would be the last thing he saw…
Then suddenly, he was knocked aside, out of the path of the green light. He landed heavily on his side, a weight landing on top of him.
He struggled to get up. He was alive. He wasn't dead. Someone had saved him--
He looked-- and for a moment he could have sworn that his heart stopped beating. His knees buckled beneath him as a gaping emptiness opened inside his chest leaving him feeling hollow and dead.
It was Hermione-lying on the ground, eyes closed, skin pale. He dropped to his knees beside her, gathering her into his arms, one hand chafing her limp one in a vain attempt to restore some life to it. "No, Hermione!" he croaked, his voice not sounding like his own, "wake up. You can't leave me. I need you. I love you." Irrationally he shook her still form, sobs beginning to build in his chest, making it hurt to breathe. "I love you, Hermione. Do you hear me? I'm sorry I never told you. I love you…"
Her hand fell from his nerveless grasp as he stared at her through tear-blurred eyes. "It wasn't supposed to be you! It was supposed to be me; it was always supposed to be me," he said in an agonized whisper.
He suddenly remembered the moment he'd first realized just how strong Hermione's feelings for him were…
He remembered himself saying, "Kill or be killed, that's my choice. I'm only me; how- what can I possibly do-"
His words were cut off abruptly because her lips were in the way. Hermione had kissed him. On the lips. Hard, fast, but a kiss.
He drew back, staring at her through wide eyes. What-
She was flushed but her voice was determined and she met his eyes squarely. "Don't think like that, Harry. You're going to survive. I promise you to do everything I can to make sure you do. You're going to live; you have to live…"
He had kissed her then because he couldn't think of anything to say in response.
That moment had changed their relationship, shifted it, to more than simple friendship but not quite actually being together. And he had finally realized that there was at least one person in the world who cared about him more than anything else, who would do anything for him…
Through the buzzing in his ears, he heard Voldemort's cold voice. "Foolish idiot girl, getting in the way like that. A touching sacrifice," he mocked, "But stupid. You're still going to die, Potter."
He surged to his feet, sudden fury overtaking the mind-numbing grief. Irrationally he found himself defending Hermione even while he knew he shouldn't take Voldemort's baiting words.
"She wasn't foolish; she knew what she was doing." The words brought him up short. Hermione had known what she was doing. She had saved his life… And even if he felt he wanted to die too, to be with her, he couldn't. He wouldn't let Hermione's sacrifice be for nothing. He had to live.
He glared at Voldemort. "She did it for me. You couldn't understand…"
Voldemort didn't understand. That was the power he knew not- the power of selfless, self-sacrificing love… And he knew what to do.
Voldemort's red eyes glowed with malice as he looked at Hermione's still form on the ground. "An unexpected pleasure, to be able to kill your Mudblood girlfriend, Pott-"
Harry closed his mind to Voldemort's taunt, only took advantage of Voldemort's momentary distraction and yelled, "Expelliarmus" grabbing Voldemort's wand as it flew toward him. "Incendio," and Voldemort's wand burned.
"Noo!" Voldemort shrieked madly, trying to rush forward but a quick "Impedimenta" stopped him.
"Creo Infirmus!" and a jet of pale yellow light shot from his wand, hitting Voldemort in the chest.
Voldemort gasped, eyes widening before he rallied enough to hiss, "You think you're clever, draining my strength. But I don't really need it; I'm still more powerful than you will ever be."
Harry looked at Hermione again, just a glance and a thought, For you, Hermione, and then crossed the distance between himself and Voldemort in several bounds. His fingers closed around Voldemort's neck and Voldemort screeched in pain as the skin began to burn, just as Quirrell's had done at his touch six years ago.
Voldemort's long, spidery fingers scrabbled madly to remove Harry's fingers but they were jerked back as they too burned.
"But I have your blood, your protection," Voldemort gasped out.
"This isn't my mother's protection," Harry gritted out, his fingers tightening, ignoring the burning sensation in his own fingers. "It's Hermione's."
One last convulsive shudder ran through Voldemort and then he went limp, his flesh beginning to corrode from where Harry's hands were.
Harry held on squeezing tighter and tighter, vaguely aware that there were tears in his eyes. "This is for Hermione, for killing the one person who loved me and whom I loved!" His voice cracked and with a final hard shake, Harry dropped Voldemort's body, suddenly intensely weary.
"Incendio totalus." He didn't stay to watch the body of his former nemesis burn.
Harry staggered over to where Hermione's body lay, the rage that had fueled him vanishing, leaving him with the remnants of the Cruciatus and deeper, more than that, the soul-crushing sorrow.
He fell to his knees beside her, finally feeling the tears flow as he stared at her face, knowing he was never going to see her smile at him, never going to hear her voice again…
He pulled her into his arms, sobs now racking his entire frame as he placed a trembling kiss on her lips. "I love you," he whispered brokenly. "Always. I've always loved you. You knew that, right? You knew everything, my Hermione…" His arms tightened around her limp form as he continued to talk to her between his sobs. "You knew I loved you, even if I didn't say it, didn't you? Tell me you knew it, Hermione. I need to know you knew I loved you too. Please, Hermione…" He kissed her again and again, his tears wetting her face, trying to comprehend what life would be like without her by his side. From deep within him, he felt something primitive well up, exploding from his throat in a hoarse cry, more animal than human, of a creature who'd just lost the dearest thing in life. "Nooooooooooooo!!!"
Author's Note: *runs and hides* This isn't over yet…