~A/N> I know I said this would be the last chapter, but I have decided to split it in two again. This chapter
gives all the explanations and the next will be pure fluff; I should have it up by Saturday. I have to say thanks and
give credit to my wonderful beta Spaz...she helped me write a part of this chapter that I was having trouble with and
helped me out immensely! Thanks for all of the exceptional reviews for the last chapter, I hope you weren't too mad
at me for what I did to Hermione :)
"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.~ Aristotle"
I could feel my body pulsing with power and my heart felt as if it were going to pound out of my chest; bracing
myself against the pull of magic I suddenly heard my Mother's voice say, "You can do it Harry." Trying to
hold on to my wand I heard Hermione's voice say, "I love you Harry. You can defeat him."
Replaying those voices over in my mind I tightened my hold on my wand and held on until Voldemort released one last scream of agony and in a flash of bright white light he disappeared, leaving nothing behind but his wand...
At least that's what I thought...as I continued to stare at the spot where Voldemort last stood, I saw a
translucent figure in his place. As my eyes adjusted after the brilliance of the light, I stood unmoving as I realized
whom it was standing in front me...Tom Riddle. Before I could say anything he held up a hand towards me and mouthed,
"Thank you," and then faded away.
"What just happened?" I asked bewildered.
Dumbledore stood at my side and began to speak, "Love, Harry is the most powerful magic of all. Your ability to love, your love for Hermione, was the power behind the curse as you cast it. The one magic that Voldemort had no defence against and the strength of your love destroyed the evil leaving the essence of the man, Tom Riddle behind. You set that essence free Harry, freeing Tom's spirit and allowing him to finally move on."
"Bloody hell," I said. Not quite able to grasp the enormity of what had just happened, I walked over to where Voldemort's wand lay and picked it up. I looked around the room and saw bodies sprawled everywhere, some were Order members but most of them Death Eaters. While the surviving Death Eaters were being bound so they could be taken to Azkaban prison, I turned to look at Dumbledore and asked, "Where's Hermione?"
A pained look passed over his features, but he quickly recovered and his expression became one of neutrality. Turning towards the place where I had last seen Hermione, he waved his hand slightly and I watched as she once again came into view; my heart almost stopped when I realized she wasn't moving.
I ran over to where she was and collapsed onto the ground next to her. Smoothing the hair off of her face I said, "Hermione? Luv...it's over...he's finally gone."
When she still lay there motionless I reached towards the pulse point on her neck and felt my breath hitch when I found no pulse at all. I quickly turned to Dumbledore and yelled, "She's not breathing, what happened to her? You said she was okay!!"
"She was Harry," he replied, slowly walking up to me, "Until Voldemort struck you with the Unforgiveable."
"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked fighting back the tears of rage and despair that were threatening to fall from my eyes as I continued to smooth her hair back.
He drew in a deep breath and then slowly released a heavy sigh and looked down on me with consoling eyes. "She gave her life for yours Harry. She knew the risk she was taking, she made the choice to protect you with her heart...she loved you very much."
"This wasn't supposed to happen!" I shouted, angry that she had taken it upon herself to do this. However, my anger quickly turned to grief as I realised that I had lost her…just like I lost my Mum, my Dad…and Sirius. `Everyone I love leaves me,' I thought then looking back at Dumbledore I asked questions I already knew the answers to, "Why did she do this? She should have told me what she was planning…"
"You would not have changed her mind Harry," Dumbledore said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, "her love for you was so great that she gave her life so that you could live to defeat Voldemort."
"I did this for her...for us...what am I supposed to do without her?" I asked quietly, looking down at her still form as tears finally escaped from my eyes and rolled unnoticed down my cheeks. I held her in my arms, trying to keep my sanity in tact, mourning the loss of my best friend, the love of my life...my soul mate.
~*~
I lay on the ground, gasping for breath, after Voldemort had used the Cruciatus on Harry not once, but twice. My strength was greatly depleted and I could hardly keep my eyes open; the only thing that kept me hanging on to consciousness was Harry and the fact that he was still standing, strong, powerful and able to fight his greatest enemy.
I watched the fight play out, and when I heard Voldemort cast the killing curse, I started to weep. This was it, if the curse struck Harry, I would die instead of him, for him. Various thoughts started to drift through my mind of how his Mum had sacrificed herself for him in much the same way...all of our happy memories together...how much I loved him...how he was my soul mate in every sense of the word. Feeling the greatest sadness I had ever felt, I braced myself as Harry's body absorbed the green jet of light; the last thought I had before I drew my last breath was of Harry and my unconditional love for him.
I thought that was it, the end of my short life on this Earth, but in fact it was the beginning of something so
astounding that it changed my life forever; it was not a culmination to my life, but in fact a rebirth...I felt as if I
was a Phoenix rising...
The moment that Voldemort's curse hit Harry his body absorbed it, and through the link of my protection spell, it
passed through to me and knocked me unconscious. What I thought to be my last breath was anything but...as my body
absorbed the killing curse and I took in my last breath, Harry had cast the Avada Kedavra and had vanquished Lord
Voldemort forever.
I lay on the ground, certain I was dead, and waited for my mother... or maybe Harry's mother Lily to come and get me, help me cross over to the other side. Instead I was greeted with the vision of a man, a young man about my age, bathed in white light. Curious as to why he was there I asked, "Are you my guide?"
"You are not dead...Hermione. I am not your guide; I am Tom Riddle-" He said before I interrupted him.
"Voldemort? What do you want? To take me to Hell with you?" I shouted, reaching for my wand before remembering that I was...
"No. Voldemort is gone and I am free now. I wanted to…meet you…to say thank you, your love for Harry…your love for each other is very powerful…take care of him." Tom said.
"What?" I asked, "I don't understand."
"You'll see. Rest now...you will awaken soon and don't forget, take care of him." Tom said one last time before walking to the light.
At the exact moment he disappeared, I felt a surge of magical energy spreading throughout my body and gasped at the pain I felt. Suddenly my lungs felt as if they were going to burst if I didn't take a breath soon and with what little strength I had left, I took a deep breath and felt life coursing through my body once again..
~*~
I don't know how long I sat on the ground holding her, I just knew that it was painful to breathe and I couldn't imagine taking one step out of this room without her at my side. As I lamented over my great loss, I felt a strange stirring in my chest and a presence within me that I knew didn't belong to me.
When I looked down at Hermione's face, I noticed a faint flutter of movement under her eyelids and realized that her face wasn't as white as it had been just minutes before. "Professor!" I called, summoning him to my side, "Something's happening..."
Just as Dumbledore reached my side, I saw the greatest sight I had ever seen...Hermione slowly opened her eyes and blinked them rapidly a couple of times. Squinting up at me, I saw the slightest of smiles grace her lips as she whispered, "Harry?"
"It's me Luv...you gave me quite a scare," I said, my body shaking with unbridled elation upon hearing her voice. I leaned down and softly brushed my lips across hers, revelling in their warmth.
"Harry, we must get Miss Granger back to Hogwarts immediately. Madame Pomfrey can tend to her there; she will no doubt require some time to convalesce after such a strain on her magic." Dumbledore said as the long absent twinkle returned to his pale blue eyes.
"Right" I replied. I watched as he looked briefly around the room; finding a battered shoe lying on the floor, he picked it up and said, "Portus!"
Holding it out to me he said, "This will take you directly to the Hospital Wing; once there explain what has happened with Miss Granger to Madame Pomfrey so she will have a better idea how to treat her. I will be along shortly to check on you."
Nodding my head in understanding, I reached out to take the Portkey from him. "Thank you Sir," I said, firmly placing Hermione's hand on it also just before I felt the slightly off-putting pull behind my naval.
The moment we landed in the Ward, Madame Pomfrey came bustling towards us and started to fuss over me. "I'm fine Madame Pomfrey," I said impatiently, "It's Hermione that needs your attention; I think she may have been actually dead for a short period of time and then somehow came back to life."
The wide-eyed nurse quickly levitated Hermione onto an empty bed and put curtains up all around it. As I went to walk through the curtains, the nurse put a hand on my chest and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to wait outside until I am done with my examination."
"I don't think so," I replied, staring the nurse down, "She just died...I'm not leaving her side ever again. I'll stand just inside the curtains so that I'm out of your way."
About thirty minutes later Madame Pomfrey completed her examination and gave me a very dirty look as she stormed out throwing the curtain aside. I turned my attention back to Hermione as she lay in the bed...she looked almost angelic as she lay propped up on a pillow, a white dressing gown had replaced her clothes and she had a white sheet pulled up to her waist. As I sat gently next to her on the bed she gave me a small smile and said, "Hey".
"Hey," I replied quietly, taking her hand in mine, and stared at her. After a few moments of my staring she looked a bit uncomfortable and asked, "What's wrong Harry?"
"Why?" I asked a little harshly, and taking a calming breath I asked, "Why'd you do it?"
"Because I love you," she answered, looking at me with a solemn expression on her face. "Your mad if you think I'm going to apologize because I'm not sorry. I knew what I was doing, I understood and accepted the consequences...I came to the realization that your life was much more valuable than mine. You were the only one who could defeat Voldemort and I...well, I wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop him, let alone anyone else."
"Why didn't you tell me what you were planning?" I asked; I already knew the answer, but my emotions were rolling in the pit of my stomach and I had no idea, which one I was feeling more.
"Harry, please don't be angry with me…it's over now, let's concentrate on moving forward and not dwelling on what might have happened…because it didn't. Voldemort is gone, he's not going to attack anyone ever again, his Death Eaters are either dead or in hiding for their lives, not around the corner waiting to pounce…you are finally free."
"I'm free?" I asked, unable to believe she had just said that. "How am I free Hermione? I just killed someone!"
"He was barely human Harry," she replied, cupping my cheek with her hand, "Voldemort was an incarnation of evil...he was a monster who preyed on the innocent. He couldn't stand who he really was, and his quest to eradicate everyone who wasn't of pure blood was his deluded way to cleanse himself of his own mixed heritage."
"But I still murdered him!" I exclaimed, getting up quickly from the bed. I paced back and forth next to the bed and ran my hand through my hair in frustration.
~*~
"...Voldemort is gone and I am free now... your love for each other is very powerful...take care of him."
That sentence suddenly ran through my mind and I realized that Harry must have no idea that he set Tom Riddle free. Maybe if he knew something good came out of all of this he would feel a little better about what he did.
"Harry..." I started to say, but Professor Dumbledore chose that moment to pull back the curtains.
"Hello Harry...Miss Granger, you are feeling better I presume?" he asked.
"A little," I replied honestly. "You are just in time Sir, I was just about to tell Harry what happened."
I waited for Dumbledore to conjure up a chair while Harry sat in the one that had been sitting next to my bed. Taking a deep, calming breath I said, "You know by now that I was taken from Hagrid's Hut...but I doubt that you know that it was Professor Snape that took me."
"Are you sure that it was Professor Snape Miss Granger?" Professor Dumbledore asked, a thoughtful look on his face.
"I thought it was Professor Snape...I found out later when they had taken me to those dungeons that it was actually another Death Eater using Polyjuice," I explained, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this Sir, but Professor Snape is dead; Voldemort made a point of telling me how he knew the Professor was a traitor and how he made him pay for his betrayal."
"Sadly, that is what I suspected and feared all along." Dumbledore replied.
"So after we found you, what spell was it that you cast to protect me?" Harry asked, watching me closely.
"It was a Sacrificial Protection Spell...I bound my soul to yours so that if Voldemort used an Unforgivable on you, the effects of the curse would merely pass through you and felt by me instead."
I watched as Harry's face turned a light shade of red and his green eyes flashed with anger as he said, "Did you die when Voldemort's curse passed through me?"
"I thought I did," I replied, "but while I was...I don't know what you would call it, between worlds maybe...I was visited by a young man I thought was there to take me to the other side. He introduced himself as Tom Riddle..."
"What?!" Harry interrupted, shooting up from his chair, "I didn't defeat him?" I watched as Harry angrily turned to Dumbledore and said, "You told me that I had defeated Voldemort and set Tom Riddle's essence free!"
I looked toward Dumbledore and saw the knowing expression on his face before he said, "We should hear the whole story before we pass judgement Harry."
As Harry sighed heavily and sank back down in his chair, I scooted up a little and winced from the pain that traveled through my body. When the surge of pain had passed, I continued with my explanation, "I reacted much the same way Harry just did, I panicked when he said his name, but he explained that Voldemort was gone and that you had set him free Harry...you made it possible for Tom Riddle's spirit to finally pass to the other side."
"When Tom passed from this world to the next his residual magic that had passed through Harry needed some place to go…Harry is powerful enough on his own, he had no need for the magic; accordingly Tom's essence found its way to you, Miss Granger through the link. Your magical strength was then replenished thus bringing you back from the brink of death." Dumbledore said.
Harry looked up at me with a look of uncertainty in his eyes; he looked lost and after everything he had been through, I could understand his reluctance to accept that Voldemort was finally gone. It was like gazing into the face of the scared little boy I met on the Hogwarts Express nearly seven years ago; I sat there staring into his emerald green eyes, trying to convey to him the truth of my words, as Dumbledore stood up and said, "I shall leave you to rest Miss Granger; thank you for clearing up the occurrences in Black Manor."
I continued to stare and Harry stared right back, his emotions were obviously warring inside his mind as I determined by the troubled look in his eyes. He moved to sit beside me on the bed and I reached out and wrapped my arms around him, ignoring the pain ripping through my body, hugging him fiercely; lifting my head up off of his shoulder I said, "it's over Harry, you're finally free...we're all finally free."
~*~
As soon as the word spread that I had in fact defeated Voldemort for good this time, the entire wizarding community erupted in impromptu celebrating and I was sent numerous owls with letters of congratulations. The parties went on for days and weeks even, and I was swamped with mail every single day. I sat in the Great Hall next to Ron and watched as yet another owl flew towards me. When it deposited the roll of parchment on my plate of food Ron said, "Bloody hell Harry; can't we even have a peaceful breakfast?"
My dorm mates hadn't appreciated the bags of mail that I had stacked in our room; they really didn't appreciate it when all the girls had started sneaking up and knocking on our door at all hours of the night and if one of them opened it, the girls would beg to talk to me.
"You're just put out that none of it's for you Weasley" stated Draco, who was across from me at our table seated next to Ginny. That had been the one big surprise to come out of the final battle...Draco Malfoy had saved Ron's life. As Ron was fighting against one Death Eater, another one had came up behind him and cast the killing curse. Draco had seen what was happening and had run full out at Ron, tackling him to the floor just before the curse hit him in the back.
"Sod off Malfoy," said Ron angrily, stabbing one of the sausages on his plate.
"Now is that any way to talk to the person you owe a Wizards Debt?" Draco asked, smirking. Ginny slapped him playfully on the arm and laughed.
"Stop reminding him every five minutes Draco," she said, "he may act angry, but deep inside he knows he wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."
"Yes I know that Malfoy saved my life, as does the entire school, but that doesn't mean that we have to be best friends now!" Ron replied, glaring at his sister.
As the three of them continued to bicker, Hermione walked up and sat down next to me, kissing me on the cheek. "Morning luv," she said, smiling happily at me. She had finally been released from Hospital about a week ago; she was okay physically, but unfortunately she was having nightmares...as was I. We had spent many nights together on the Common Room sofa, just talking and comforting each other, and thankfully there had been fewer sleepless nights when we were together.
"Morning," I replied, "You're running late this morning, aren't you?"
"I had to see Madame Pomfrey for a check-up this morning," she said, spooning some eggs onto her plate, "she gave me some Dreamless Sleep potion to help with the nightmares...she gave me some for you too." I nodded my head in understanding, thinking how lucky I was to have her in my life, when she said, "You know, I realized this morning that we never got to have our date."
I almost spit out the pumpkin juice I was drinking when she mentioned the date; that had been the night I had planned on us being 'together' for the first time...I had forgotten all about it thanks to the recent happenings and distractions.
"Do you...Would you still like to have that date?" I asked.
"Absolutely," she said, with a devious look in her eyes, "I would love to have a night alone with you."
I tried to swallow, but it suddenly felt like there was a huge lump in my throat; feeling a bit nervous I said, "How does Friday sound?"
"Friday's perfect," she said, taking the last bite of her breakfast, "I need to look something up in the Library, I'll see you in class."
I watched her walk out of the Great Hall and started to plan everything I would need to do before Friday; I only had four days to plan what was going to be the greatest night of my life.