There was a decorated General, with a heart of gold
That likened him to all the stories he told
Of past battles won and lost and legends of old
A seasoned veteran in his own time
On the battle field he gained respectful fame
With many medals of bravery and stripes to his name
He grew a beard as soon as he could to cover the scars on his face
And always urged his men on
Harry sat alone in the dark, willing the night to stretch on forever. It was the last night of peace Harry would ever know. The next day was set; he was to become a murderer, or a martyr, depending on if things went his way. The day Harry's life had been waiting on was set to arrive, you would think this would make Harry feel some sort of resolution, but yet it had not. As he sat alone in the darkening night, staring off into the great body of water beside the school, he couldn't help but let his thoughts move in a direction he had avoided for some time: his heart.
It had been five years since Harry had graduated from Hogwarts, and in those five years he had become one of the most powerful wizards on the planet. He moved quickly through the Auror ranks, due to his thirst to prove he was not just a name, but a force to be reckoned with. In only five years his courage in battle, and in the fight against Voldemort, he had risen to the highest Auror ranking: General. Personally Harry found it quite fitting that the battle for the wizarding world would take place on the landscape he had grown to call home. He had received a note from Voldemort simply stating that the fate of the wizarding world would be decided on the lush green grounds of Hogwarts, on the morning of his 23rd birthday.
So there he sat, the evening before, willing the darkness to envelope him entirely. One would think that on the eve of impending doom his thoughts would be on the upcoming battle, but no, Harry's thoughts had drifted to one place, or rather drifted to one person. He had fought his feelings for years, ever since that fateful night in the Department of Mysteries, where he had watched, mortified, as her body had fallen to the floor, unmoving. It was then and there he realized his love, and it was also then and there that he realized he could never tell her; never allow her to put herself in anymore danger than just being his friend already had.
Harry lie back on the wet grass, staring up at the moon. His thoughts stayed on her; she was his life, she was his everything, and he couldn't tell her. There, on the lush grass of Hogwarts, The-Boy-Who-Lived fell into an uneasy sleep.
But on the eve of a great battle, with the infantry in dream
The old General tossed in his sleep, and wrestled with its meaning
He awoke from the night just to tell what he had seen
And walked slowly out of his tent
Harry awoke with a start, his dream being the culprit. He had been with her, lying in that very spot, cuddled together whispering sweet nothings in each other's ear. It was a dream so real and so vivid Harry could still feel the happiness it had brought when he awoke. As his thoughts moved through his mind with the softness of a hurricane, he longed to sleep again, just to feel that happiness one last time. This thought surged through his mind, causing chaos and breaking down walls he had spent years putting up. He couldn't do it. He couldn't go to his doom without telling her, he couldn't go to his death without knowing if she felt the same way.
All the men held tall with their chests in the air
With a courage in their blood and a fire in their stare
It was a grey morning and they all wondered how they would fair
Till the old General told them to go home
He said: I have seen the others
And I have discovered that this fight is not worth fighting
No
And I've seen their mothers and I will no other to follow me where I'm going
So
He stood quickly, his resolution set, his mind made up. He turned quickly and began to walk back to the castle. She was there, sleeping in one of the empty teacher dormitories. Of course she was there, where else would she be than with her best friend on the eve of such an important day. Ron was there too, he and his wife, Luna, were sleeping in the teacher dormitories adjacent to hers.
Harry quickly made his way across the grounds. He arrived at the entrance and paused, `just what the hell am I doing?' He turned back from the door to stare out over the lake. `What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if this ruins our friendship, assuming of course that after tomorrow there is still a friendship to ruin?' He stood there, thinking to himself, arguing back and forth within his own mind. His distracted thoughts kept him from hearing the door move slightly behind him, and kept him from hearing the gentle swish of a lady's nightgown.
He began to speak out loud to himself, "She can't feel the same way. She can't love me. How could I even think of doing this to her? Telling my best friend that I love her before going out to fight the greatest evil this world has ever known."
She gasped quite loudly, and this he heard. Harry turned, surprise and shock written on his face, to come eye to eye with the one person he was thinking about, and the one person who didn't need to hear what he had just said to himself.
Take a shower and shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living
Take a shower and shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men and you must be living
Go now you are forgiven
"Harry?" She managed in a weak voice.
"Hi." Came his reply, the only one he could muster at that moment.
They stood in awkward silence for a few moments until she finally broke the ice, "Do you mean it?"
Harry's pulse quickened, as did his breath, he thought for a second before giving in to his heart, "Yes, I meant it."
He expected her to look sad, upset, and maybe even angry at him for doing this before he was supposed to go off and fight. What he did not expect however was what he got. "I love you too."
But the men held fast with their guns on their shoulders
Not knowing what to do with the contradicting orders
The General said he would do his own duty but he would extend it not further
The men could go as they pleased
But not a man moved their eyes gazed straight ahead
Till one by one they stepped back and not a word was said
The old General was left with his own words echoing in his head
He then prepared to fight
He said
Harry didn't remember taking those two steps to her; he didn't remember pulling her into his arms, what he did remember, as he would tell his grandchildren almost fifty years later, was that when their lips touched he found the power the dark lord knows not. He found it in of one of his best friends, someone he would trust with his life, and more: love.
As their lips parted Harry muttered four words he had been fighting against for over seven years, "I love you Hermione."
And her reply was something Harry never thought he would hear uttered from her lips, "I love you Harry."
Take a shower and shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men you must be living
Take a shower and shine your shoes
You've got no time to lose
You are young men and you must be living
Go now you are forgiven.
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