(A/N: Finally, this is the last chapter of the story. As usual, I'd like to thank my BETA readers Nonya and Ariana Rookwood for their great help. At the end, I'll thank all my readers personally, but now, enjoy the reading!)
Chapter 16. THE STRENGTH OF LOVE
Hermione fell on the floor, staring in disbelief at the Portal of Power, which had just swallowed her beloved Harry in a vortex of light and fog.
She couldn't believe she had lost him forever. She couldn't believe she wasn't going to ever be reflected in his sweet green eyes anymore or that she wouldn't talk to him ever again.
"Now I am ready to receive the immense power that I deserve!" Voldemort ended the sentence with a terrifying laugh, but Hermione didn't care anymore about him or anything else.
Her love had left, and her heart had been irreparably broken. Hermione slowly turned around and saw that Marco and Angy were looking at her in shock. Then her gaze fell on the fountain; the eclipse had already reached totality.
She stared again at the vortex in front of her, wishing she could reach Harry inside that evil mirror. Then Dumbledore's words came to her mind. Always follow your heart... But what was her heart saying in that moment? She slowly stood up, almost in a trance, and moved closer to the Portal.
"Hermione, don't!" Hermione barely heard Marco's exasperated voice, but she had already made her decision. Nothing could keep her in this world anymore. She just wanted to follow her lost love.
Hermione felt Marco's strong hand grab her arm, but she was so close to the Portal that its terrible force had started to draw her inside already.
Marco's voice was the last thing she heard before being swallowed inside the Portal.
***O***
Marco remained still, staring at the mirror in shock. He couldn't believe his eyes. Harry and Hermione had disappeared forever.
"How could you have done it? How could you have done it to them, you bastard!" Marco had completely lost his temper and was shouting at the most evil wizard in the world.
"Muggle! How dare you address yourself in this way to the Dark Lord?" Voldemort was furious and pointed his wand at the boy.
"Crucio!" At the Dark Lord's command, Marco fell on the floor, his body twisting in pain.
Angy remained still for a few minutes, staring in turn at Marco and at her master. Suddenly, she came forwards and stood right between the two.
"Stop it! Please, my Lord!" she shouted, and she lowered her gaze.
"How dare you? You've changed, Angy, and I don't like it at all!" said Voldemort, deeply disappointed.
"It's just that, well, you haven't got any reason to torture him. He's just a stupid Muggle after all!" Angy hurriedly explained.
"A stupid and insolent Muggle! I know that recently, your loyalty to me has weakened. But I think you can easily show me you're still faithful if you kill this Muggle in front of me. I will be extremely proud of you, my little Angy." Voldemort ended the sentence with a spine-chilling laugh.
The young witch stared at Marco, who was lying on the floor with a hand pressed to his heart and his head raised toward her.
"Angy, please don't do it! Don't let him change you! You don't belong to this world of blood and death!" Marco's eyes were wet with emotion. Angy looked at him nervously.
Suddenly, she pointed her wand at Marco, but her hand started to tremble, and her forehead was moist with sweat.
"Angy, listen to your heart and to my words." Marco was now silently crying, and she was staring at him with wide eyes, almost in a trance. "I love you! I've never loved anyone else like you. I'm sure you love me in return. Please don't destroy this feeling! Please, Angy!" Warm tears were rolling down his face.
Angy couldn't resist anymore; she lowered the wand and bent her head. "I can't do that, I can't!" she shouted, sobbing.
"Stupid little girl! I don't need a traitor like you!" Voldemort pointed his wand at Angy."Avada Kedavra!"
Everything happened in a fraction of a second: as the green ray of light exited Voldemort's wand, Marco got up, grabbed Angy's legs, and dragged her to the floor with all his strength.
The Unforgivable Curse hit a column at the back of the room, blowing it to pieces. Marco embraced the girl tightly, protecting her with his body.
When Angy raised her head, she stared Marco in the eyes; she was crying. "Oh, Marco, please forgive me," she whispered desperately.
"You've been forgiven already, my love." Marco spoke in a soft voice, gazing at her sweetly.
"Stop it! Now I'm going to kill you both!"
"You won't kill anybody, Tom!"
Voldemort turned abruptly to see who had spoken. "Finally, you've come! Right on time to witness my triumph!" Voldemort laughed, extremely amused, but he became serious when he saw Albus Dumbledore coming towards him.
The wise old man was walking slowly. His sumptuous robes were blue as the night sky and were rustling on the cold marble floor. His eyes had their usual twinkle.
"I am sorry to contradict you, but there won't be anything triumphant about your demise, Tom!" Dumbledore spoke in an extremely calm, firm voice.
"You are raving, stupid old man! Soon the Portal of Power will flood me with its shining aura and I will become the most powerful wizard of all ages. I'll defeat death forever and the whole magical world will finally bow to me." Voldemort's voice was triumphant but Dumbledore didn't lose his calm.
"You've forgotten the sacrifice."
"Ah, right! I am really sorry to inform you, that your dearest Harry Potter and his Mudblood friend have kindly offered their miserable lives to my cause. Surprised? It seems that this time, I've won, and you've lost!"
"No, you've lost, Tom! Look with your own eyes." Dumbledore pointed at the magical mirror. Voldemort turned toward it, and jumped in place, astonished.
In the vortex was a human figure surrounded by a blinding light; a tall, slim man was coming out of the mirror, holding a girl in his arms.
Marco and Angy's eyes widened in surprise, as Harry and Hermione came out of the mirror, miraculously unharmed. Harry had an extremely regal air and was walking with his head up. Hermione seemed to be unconscious and her head was leaning on his shoulder; both were surrounded by a shining aura of light.
"It's not possible! I can't believe it!" Voldemort stared in disbelief at the scene in front of him and stepped backwards, worried.
"On the contrary, it's all real, Tom. The prophecy of the magical mirror wrote about a sacrifice, but you didn't understand the meaning of it. The Power beyond any other Power is the power of love, and the sacrifice was what Hermione did! Throwing herself into the vortex, she was able to save both Harry and herself. Love has finally defeated death, bringing Harry back to the world, to whom he belongs." Dumbledore looked at Harry with affection.
"No, it's not true! I've studied the prophecy in detail, and now I want the power I deserve!" Voldemort was raving, moving closer to the magical mirror where the vortex of light was still whirling.
Harry walked toward Marco and Angy and then gently lowered Hermione to the floor close to them. "Care for her," he said in a firm voice, and both nodded. Hermione was slowly regaining consciousness. Harry returned to Dumbledore and stopped at his side.
"Are you ready, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, smiling at him, and the young wizard nodded. Both stretched their arms out, towards Voldemort. "Tom! Is there maybe somebody who wants to sacrifice his life to save yours?" asked Dumbedore, staring the Dark Lord in the eyes.
Voldemort gazed at Angy hopefully, but she looked back at him with hatred; the evil wizard was now trembling like a leaf. "Please, have mercy!" Voldemort was begging like a wounded animal.
Suddenly, a globe of energy materialized in their hands, and changed into a powerful ray of blinding light, that Harry and Dumbledore hurled at their enemy, hitting him in the chest.
"Noooo!" Voldemort was knocked backwards into the Portal and disappeared forever, swallowed by the same vortex he had evoked.
At that moment, the eclipse ended, and the Portal of Power closed abruptly. The mirror surface became smooth again.
"Shall we make sure that nobody else will be able to use the Portal again in the future?" asked Dumbledore, looking at Harry and he nodded in response. Both threw another powerful ray of light at the mirror, which exploded, casting pieces everywhere.
Voldemort had been defeated by the strength of love and sacrifice.
Harry felt relieved; he looked at Dumbledore in gratitude, and the wise man smiled lovingly.
"Now, go to her," Dumbledore said.
Harry nodded and returned to Hermione. She was still lying on the floor near Marco and Angy, who had assisted at the scene in reverent silence. Harry bent close to her and hugged her tightly in his arms. "It's over now," he whispered sweetly.
"I love you, Harry, for ages," Hermione whispered in his ear; he got lost in her deep brown eyes.
"I love you, too, Hermione, more than my own life."
Tears of joy streamed down their faces; they'd never felt as united as in that very moment.
"I can't believe we're still alive!" she said.
"If you hadn't come after me, I would have remained trapped in that Portal for eternity. I owe you my life." His voice was full of gratitude. Both were locked in each other's gaze.
Then Hermione wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and looked around; the room had been partially destroyed by the magical duel and the effects of the vortex.
With great surprise, she saw that at a distance, Angy and Marco were kissing passionately, holding each other in their arms.
When Hermione turned to Harry again, he was smiling sweetly. Without speaking a word, he cupped her face in his hands. Hermione's heart started to beat faster as Harry slowly leaned close and tenderly kissed her forehead. Their hearts were overflowing with love and happiness.
***O***
Dawn was slowly turning the roofs an intense pink and gold. Harry and Hermione had stopped for a moment to enjoy the breathtaking view of the city from the top of Trinità dei Monti. Rome couldn't be more beautiful.
Dumbledore had helped them get out of the Colosseum. Predictably, the Death Eaters had already left as soon as the Dark Lord had been defeated.
Harry and Hermione were so excited by the events that they decided to stay awake the whole night, walking along the narrow streets, hand in hand.
The Imperial Forums, the Maximum Circle, the Spanish Square, the whole city had been revealed to them like a jewel case full of treasures. They talked for hours about anything and everything, each one of them opening their hearts completely to the other.
They were hugged tightly, inebriated by the view in front of them. "It looks like a dream! Me and you in one of the most wonderful cities in the world," Hermione said happily, feeling finally safer in Harry's arms.
"It isn't a dream, Hermione. This is reality. It's the dawn of a new life together," he said warmly.
"A life without Voldemort!" she added.
"Unfortunately, it's always possible that another merciless being like him could come in the future. Voldemort wasn't the first one, and he won't be the last. The important thing is that we'll be together, loving each other." Harry stared at the horizon thoughtfully.
"You've become wiser and reflective. I don't remember you like that!"
"There are many hidden sides of me still to discover. But you'll have all the time you want to do it!" said Harry enigmatically. "Since we're on the subject, where have Marco and Angy gone?" he asked, curious.
"They followed Dumbledore back to Hogwarts; Angy wants to make amends for her mistakes, and the Headmaster will help her. In the meantime, she'd like to show the magical world to Marco. I'm pretty sure that the two of them are going to get married soon!" Hermione added, winking.
"Well, I wish them all the happiness they deserve."
Suddenly, she thought of something important. "There is a special place I'd like to take you," she told him, grabbing his hand.
"Which place?" he asked, smiling.
"Do you trust me?" Hermione said enigmatically. Then she closed her eyes in deep concentration, and they both apparated with a loud, Crack! In a second, they had magically appeared in Venice.
"Wow! It's wonderful!" Harry was looking around him, astonished.
They were in the center of St Marco's Square, completely alone except for a large flock of doves, flying over their heads.
"We're in Venice, the city of lovers! Do you promise me that we'll come here for our honeymoon?" Hermione asked maliciously.
"W-what? Well, of course!" Harry hesitated, surprised. Then he came closer, smiling, and hugged her tightly. "I love you so much, you know?"
"I love you, too, Harry."
The young witch got to her tiptoes and cupped her hands around Harry's face, realizing that the most important person in her whole life was standing in front of her. They pressed their foreheads together and she got lost in his shining green eyes. With their heart full of joy, they closed the eyes, and kissed passionately, sealing their love promise.
THE END
(A/N: Here we are then! I thank you all for following me in this wonderful adventure. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story, as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Now I'm going to thank each one of you for your great support: SarahLupin, Cheerydance, Pirate, RickyElRey, The Divine MsD, KJ Bridgerton, izzieq, PotterPrincess, Ftmble1, Ivanela, michelline, Allison, destroyerdrt, azmrS, dfca, DannySheffield, mycha KK, Cathy Ann, Iannereddy, PJ, diggingupophelia, SeK19005, The girl on the moon, louisemills1, funvince, Lordiluvatar, khermione85626, Pi Girl, Harry and Orlando, i found Nemo, april, sweetness, HarryWouldBeAPaladin, MrsDanielRadcliffe, smichick1614, Monica, Lyly Jane, Woodstock. I HOPE YOU'LL STILL FOLLOW MY OTHER STORY "SECRETS FROM THE PAST". BYE FOR NOW! - Petronilla)
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