The Headmaster moved swiftly to the green cloaked body, fearing the worst. He rolled the body very slowly onto his back, moving his hand to the young man's throat, praying for a pulse.
Dumbledore felt his skin being to burn as he touched the young man, despite the pain he felt it, the faintest whisper of a pulse, desperately clinging to life.
Satisfied for a moment, Dumbledore moved to the other form lying unmoving on the ground. He felt Voldemort's neck, only to find coldness radiating from his skin, a result of the pulse that did not beat within his veins.
`He did it.' Dumbledore thought to himself, `He defeated him.'
He moved quickly back to Harry's body and lifted him with much less effort than a man of his age should have been capable of. Blood trickled from Harry's mouth as Dumbledore walked to the school. `Hang on Harry." Dumbledore thought desperately making his way through the sun shining over the grounds.
`Oh my God I'm dead.' The thought skirted through Harry's mind as he began to awaken, the pain in his body almost unbearable, his mind a mere meddled mash of thoughts and memories. He knew why he felt so terrible, but did not remember the outcome. His mind fought to play over the battle, trying to remember the end, he couldn't. The first sound he noticed was muffled crying, her muffled crying. He knew her quiet sobs anywhere, and his heart twisted in pain. Attempting to open his eyes Harry was introduced to a new level of pain, his lids refusing to move. He tried to summon the energy to speak, but it would not come. He felt the darkness begin to take him once again, desperate to let Hermione know he was alive and barely conscious; he pushed out with everything he had and moved his hand, which was being held by her shaking ones, buried under her face as she cried.
The sobs stopped instantly as she felt the slight motion.
"Harry?" She whispered questioningly, not daring to get her hopes up, but praying that what she had felt was not a trick of her mind.
The last thing Harry did, before the darkness swam over his mind once again, was let his head roll in her direction, the smallest of inclines at each side of his mouth.
"Oh Harry your alive." Hermione whispered again.
With that, knowing she would be there when he woke, he let the darkness take him to the depths.
He awoke again later, how much later he didn't know, but the pain was less and he dared to open his eyes again. This time the pain didn't increase impossibly and he felt his lids inch open. The world appeared muddled and he heard voices, coming through to his ears as if he was underwater.
"How is he?" A voice he recognized as Ron's asked.
"The same. He hasn't moved since the other day." Hermione answered, her voice strained to say the least.
"Are you sure he moved Hermione?" Ron asked lightly, "Are you sure it wasn't... wishful thinking?"
Hermoine boiled in anger born of worry and insomnia, "I KNOW when I feel something RON! I did not IMAGINE IT!"
Harry felt the beginnings of a row coming on, and it did nothing to help the pain that was radiating through his head.
He tried to speak, and this time his body allowed him to, albeit very weakly and quietly, "Hey if you two are going to kill each other, could you do it outside? I have a headache from hell."
Silence.
Through the slits of his eyes he saw the brown bushy haired blob turn to him, "Ha...Harry?" Her voice sounded almost hopeful, if daring to believe he spoke was only going to break her heart.
"Hey, sweetheart." He spoke hoarsely to her.
"Oh Harry!" She said relief evident in her voice as she threw herself onto him. "You did it baby, you killed him."
Although the added weight also added pain, he didn't mind, he was here, conscious, not dead, with the one person he loved more than the world lying with him, and the weight of a lifetimes worth of battles being lifted from his shoulders.
The days after were still a blur to Harry years later when he thought back on them. He had stayed unconscious for almost a month, but within days of waking up he was faced with reality. There was the inevitable statement to The Minister. Then, of course, the interview with the Daily Prophet to tell the world what had happened. Although he remembered almost everything, the final moment still escaped his memory. Dumbledore had said it must have been a product of the power that had radiated from both him and Voldemort. The power had been so great his senses had overloaded and the electric impulses in his brain couldn't even record it to memory. Truthfully he didn't mind that much, despite Voldemort being the most evil wizard in history, Harry didn't want to remember murdering him, didn't want to remember becoming a murderer, no matter how honorable the intentions.
So Harry sat one evening, in front of a roaring fire, in the living room of a re-built Godric's Hollow. He sat in silence, his wife and daughter being out shopping for Christmas. He sat thinking about that night, and the nights afterwards, his wedding and the birth of his beautiful daughter, Lily Michelle Potter, who had dark messy hair deep chocolate eyes, and a knack for getting into trouble at Hogwarts. His thoughts were interrupted as the door opened, bringing with it the cold and snow that was falling outside in the twenty degree December weather. He heard two sets of feet coming in the door, and he stood from the couch, and fire. He heard a "Hey dad," as a flash of raven hair went by him, and then quickly padded up the stairs, bags clutched firmly in her grasp.
"Hey Lil'." He called after her.
"Hello, sweetheart." He heard her say as she came in the door, dropping her packages inside.
He quickly moved to her, pulling her into an embrace, inhaling her vanilla scent as he always did. He pulled back and kissed her, not a quick hello kiss, but a passionate, re-declaration of his love.
As they parted she looked at him quizzically, "What was that for?"
"Just cause." He said in response, flashing her a crooked smile.
She looked at him knowingly, "You've been reminiscing again haven't you?"
He smiled guiltily, "Just a little."
"Oh Harry." She said, smiling and pulling him back into a hug.
He pulled away quickly to stare into those chocolate eyes he loved so much. "I love you Hermione."
"And I love you Harry Potter." She said, pulling him into another kiss.
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