Fading Regrets by James Rating: PG Ship: Harry & Hermione Canon: Books 1 - 4 Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance Status: Complete Length: 13,182 words in 5 chapters Published: 16 Dec 2002 Last updated: 11 Jun 2003 In a world plagued with Terrorism, Harry Potter triumphs over evil once again, but at a terrible price. He knew this moment would come, and is prepared to die to stop his enemy. Hermione Granger is in the middle of a content relationship with Ron Weasley, with just one regret: That she didn’t choose Harry. After what seems like Harry’s final act, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Will he come back, smashing the wizard world’s philosophy about death? Will Hermione ever get to tell Harr From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/51/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. The Price of Saving a World Fading Regrets Author Name: MythX Author e-mail: k3nny@paradise.net.nz Category: Action/Adventure, Romance Keywords: Harry/Hermione, Voldemort, death, love Spoilers: All four Rating: PG13 Summary: In a world plagued with Terrorism, Harry Potter triumphs over evil once again, but at a terrible price. He knew this moment would come, and is prepared to die to stop his enemy. Hermione Granger is in the middle of a content relationship with Ron Weasley, with just one regret: That she didn’t choose Harry. After what seems like Harry’s final act, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Will he come back, smashing the wizard world’s philosophy about death? Will Hermione ever get to tell Harry how much he means to her? Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Chapter 1: Vernon Dursley was leaving his home on a damp, cool morning to get to work. He knew that leaving his house for the day would take him from its sanctions, and his life would be at risk in the dangerous times that his world was facing. This problem that plagued the world was terrorism. This terrorism was coming from a dangerous and unknown enemy. The wizardry world, however, knew of this enemy, but chose not to speak his name. He kissed his wife good-bye and fare-welled his son Dudley, who, like so many other students, had been sent home early from his school. He had known a terrorized life for 2 years now, and still no one was getting closer to answering the threat. As Vernon Dursley started his car he wondered – as he did every morning – if he would return home alive. Vernon had to go to work – there were no other alternatives. He had to make money for his family. He was, at least, thankful that the boy was not home early from school. There was one thing that nibbled at the back of this mind though, and that was that – those sort of people – were responsible for it. Some of the things that had happened were unbelievable – there just wasn’t any way of explaining them. As he approached a traffic light he saw people in robes about. A sense of panic overtook him, as he knew that robed people had been spotted before terrorist acts before. Upon closer inspection, however, these robed figured didn’t look like they were up to something – no, if anything, they looked like they were partying. They had drinks in hand, and every now and then would raise them and say something. In the sky if you looked you could see the flashes and explosions of fireworks, but Vernon didn’t notice this as he sped past them to his work. A few of them were near Grunnings, his drill firm, so he had no choice but to walk past them. Parking his car, he got out, and noticed more of them. They were everywhere. As Vernon neared, he started to catch some of their conversation. Abruptly, they all raised their glances in the air, and toasted, “To Harry Potter.” Vernon Dursley fell over upon hearing that, which caught the attention of the group. To his shock, one of them walked up to him and hugged him. “This is a very special day today, even for someone like yourself! Have yourself a glass and toast in recognition of Harry Potter – he saved us again!” What Vernon Dursley did not notice was that the toast lacked something had been their last time. That something was the phrase “The boy who lived”. Vernon then saw something he didn’t want to see – something he expressed a severe dislike in. He saw magic. The man made a goblet appear in his hand. He then offered it to Vernon. Vernon chose that moment to turn and run back to his car – he would not be attending work today! He drove home at full speed, screeching his breaks as he left, and muttering something about ‘that bloody boy’. When he arrived home he knocked on the door, and a happy-looking Petunia emerged. “Vernon! They’ve stopped the person behind the terrorism!” she shrieked. “Great, isn’t it dad? Wonder who stopped him! I bet he’s famous!” Dudley said happily. This pushed all thought of Harry out of his mind, as she led him into the living room. He was in time to catch the story on the news. “Today the British Prime Minister has announced that the mastermind behind these terrorist attacks was once and for all stopped today, by none other than a 16 year old boy. Wait – we now cut to a live feed” the picture then cut to a picture of a short, stubby and bald man. “-And it is my greatest honour to express thanks on behalf of Britain to the person who stopped these attacks, Mr Harry Potter.” **************** Hermione Granger, like so many of the students at Hogwarts, was not out celebrating. She was still trying to get over the trauma she had just gone through a few hours ago, and overcome the shock of the event she had just witnessed. The graduation feast was going well. It was being held at lunchtime so that the students could get to the train on time. Hermione was only a 6th year, but had been named head girl for the next year, and had an important role to play in the feast. The whole school was gathered, and so she stood to begin. Harry Potter, the head boy of next year, was due to come in part way through the celebrations, as he was busy. Hermione didn’t mind. She could handle the people by herself. She had been going out with Ron Weasley since the beginning of her 5th year now, and she felt that she was in love. She had just one regret. She had accepted Ron over Harry. Not because she loved Ron more, In fact, the exact opposite was true. She didn’t want to loose her friendship with Harry, because it was so strong. What she hadn’t been counting on was having no time to be with him. In fact, their friendship was almost non-existent now. She spent all her time with Ron, and Harry spent all his time doing other things. She was content with Ron; she had never been with anyone else. She honestly thought it was true love - well, she convinced herself it was anyway. Suddenly, as she was part way through her welcoming speech, the great hall went pitch black. The enchantments on the roof to mirror the sky seemed to have stopped working, and the candles in the room all went out. Everyone grabbed for his or her wand, but almost no one had brought them. Suddenly, the great hall door burst open, and in came a group of hooded figures, which everyone knew to be death eaters. The students ran, but there was nowhere to hide. Soon the death eaters had herded them into a corner like sheep. To get peace in the room they had sent spells at anyone and everyone. Slytherins were being hit by curses just as much as anyone else. None of their curses appeared to be fatal however – they seemed to be waiting for someone else to do that. Hermione unfortunately knew who it would be. Just as she had dreaded, Lord Voldemort walked through the doors to the great hall moments later. Voldemort had a brief duel with Dumbledore, but all he did was stun him, so that, as he put it “Dumbledore could watch the destruction of his school and students”. “It appears that the snakes will be eating today,” Voldemort said, chuckling as he looked at the students gathered in the corner. A Slytherin student put his hand up – no doubt to try and explain he was on their side. Voldemort pointed his wand at him and chanted “Crucio”. He lifted it quickly, but the Slytherin was on the ground withering in pain. If Hermione hadn’t been so terrified she might have found it amusing that the Slytherins had suddenly all became terrified. “Is Potter here?” Voldemort asked in his chilling, cold voice, all the while surveying the students before him with a disinterested hatred. The death eaters shock their head. “I guess we will just have bring him here then. Hermione Granger? Where are you my little mudblood?” Fear flooded through Hermione, he wanted to single her out. Some of the Slytherins, in a last-minute attempt to save themselves, pointed at her. “Ahh, time to meet your doom young lady. I wonder how Potter will feel then” There was suddenly a loud ‘pop’ sound. “Don’t touch her Voldemort.” A calm and composed voice said from the darkness. The death eaters all had their wands pointed at the students, so that they could see them, so Voldemort had no idea where the voice had come from. “SHOW YOURSELF!” Voldemort commanded. Without hesitating, the person who had just entered did show himself. It was Harry Potter. “This is between you and me. Leave them out of this.” Hermione was shocked. Harry? How could he fight for them? He had only just completed his 6th year! “I wondered if you might show up, Potter.” “Well wonder no longer.” He then turned and pointed his hand – not his wand, but his hand, at the roof, and light spilled from it. The light that had come out of his hand seemed to settle on the roof, and the room was lit as normal. Hermione had no idea he was capable of this, but then again, she and Harry weren’t all that close with Ron taking up all her time. Harry turned back to Voldemort, and with one wave of his hand, like out of a Star Wars movie, the death eaters all fell limp to the ground, unconscious. He also said “Students, do not try to leave. There is a magical barrier around you which should block curses.” Voldemort snickered at this. “Well, Tom, what are you waiting for?” “DO NOT CALL ME THAT!” Voldemort screamed. “Temper Temper…” Harry muttered joyfully. Hermione couldn’t believe Harry was so composed at a time like this – He was facing the most dangerous wizard for as long as history can remember, and yet he made it sound like a game. The two of them began screaming curses at each other. Voldemort’s vocabulary seemed to lack variety, because he tried almost nothing but the unforgiveables. Harry dodged the curses as though he were dancing and shot his own curses back as well. The two seemed to send their curses on a different route, however, and, thought Hermione didn’t know it, this was because of the Prior Incantium effect that neither of them wanted to get in the way of their duel. Hermione really had to hand it to Harry, he had such a strong shielding charm up that only the unforgivable curses could get past it. Was the person out there fighting the Harry Potter that she thought she knew so well? Then the duel took a new turn. Voldemort turned to the students. “Well, Potter, I’ve always wanted to kill you, and it seems that you will never kill me, when your afraid to use little stronger than a ticking charm, so how about we speed the process up by letting you watch the death of somebody... You care deeply about?” Although Hermione was looking down at the ground in fear, she knew Voldemort was looking for her. There was a sudden gasp, and everyone was looking at Harry. She turned and looked at him as well. He looked composed, but it was possible to see the fury burning in his eyes. Harry was suddenly being surrounded with a golden light, which grew more and more bright, and it appeared to be merging with him. It was impossible to see where Harry Potter ended, and the golden light begun. Voldemort had seen him too. He looked rather worried. “You will not touch her” Harry said, still getting brighter, and the golden light getting thicker. It was like a mist now; it was impossible to see his body because it had thickened up so much. The light was orbiting around him in a perfect circle. The ball looked perfect, but still it got stronger, deeper. How much strength did Harry have? How could he do all this? Hermione was in shock, so her brain didn’t process her question. She just stared, as everyone else was, in numb anticipation. Voldemort seemed to have frozen in shock as well. He seemed to know something that the students didn’t; he seemed to know what it was that Harry was doing. Hermione’s brain finally answered the question – he was transferring the power inside him to his body outside of him. While it was orbiting him, it was still powering him. But if he used it all he would--. Suddenly the power orbiting Harry changed its trail and flew full speed at Voldemort. Helpless to do anything, Voldemort stood and watched. The power ball surrounded Voldemort, and then got smaller and smaller. It shrunk until it was no longer visible, shrinking Voldemort to nothing as well. Everyone’s eyes turned to Harry, whose eyes looked hollow. There was no sparkle of brilliant green, just a lifeless void where a boy had once lived. It was a fate worse than that of a dementor's kiss. He would loose his soul to worse than nothing - he would loose his soul to imprisoning Voldemort. “Your safe now.” He said simply, keeping eye contact with Hermione all the while, before dropping lifelessly to the ground. Hermione rushed by his side to check a pulse, but there was none – Harry Potter was dead. She had witnessed the death of her best friend – a friend better than Ron would ever be. She felt terrible – while she had been having fun with Ron, he had, without complaining, been preparing for that very moment. He had given his life without hesitating to save others – Hermione might have guessed that he would. It was something only Harry would do. Ron wouldn’t. Hermione found herself crying again, not for the first time that day. Harry’s death proved to her just how much he meant to her. She doubted she would feel this horrible if Ron had died. The knowledge that he had died to save her and every other student present just, well, hurt. Harry could have not used all of his power though, Hermione thought sadly. He summoned all that he had to his outside, and sent every little bit – he didn’t want there to be any chance that Voldemort would live on. The pressures of society were all slanting towards him, and he carried his duty out without fail. As she walked across the Great Hall floor, the only thing to be heard was her shoe tapping on the hard ground. As she took her place at Gryffindor table, it was replaced by total silence once again. Professor Dumbledore stood to address the students. His eyes had no twinkle, his lips had no smile, and he looked as lost and sad as everybody gathered. “Today, we witnessed an act of unbelievable courage. We witnessed bravery like we had never seen bravery before. Giving ones own life to save that of many others is a true sacrifice. Could we all please bow our heads in silence, in memory of Harry Potter.” Everybody did so, including the Slytherins. The thoughts going through their minds were the same as the students in the other houses: I would be snake food if it weren’t for Harry Potter. Dumbledore eventually looked up – there had been so many good deeds or memories he had reflected on that it had taken 5 minutes. He had expected to see all of the students looking back, but that was not the case – they were all still reflecting. Some 10 minutes later, Dumbledore decided it best to disturb the silence. “Students, I’m sure you will reflect on what happened today many times in the future. Harry Potter will be kept preserved here at Hogwarts until you all return from your holidays. He will receive the order of Merlin first class for this act – something that only I have ever received to date. If Harry were standing here, he would be angry that all of you have such sad faces at his passing – he would want you all to enjoy your holidays. Please do that for him. School Dismissed.” And with that, the students slowly stood up, and exited the Great Hall in a slow and orderly fashion. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. High Hopes Title: Fading Regrets Author Name: MythX Author e-mail: k3nny@paradise.net.nz Category: Action/Adventure, Romance Keywords: Harry/Hermione, Voldemort, death, love Spoilers: All four Rating: PG13 Summary: In a world plagued with Terrorism, Harry Potter triumphs over evil once again, but at a terrible price. He knew this moment would come, and is prepared to die to stop his enemy. Hermione Granger is in the middle of a content relationship with Ron Weasley, with just one regret: That she didn’t choose Harry. After what seems like Harry’s final act, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Will he come back, smashing the wizard world’s philosophy about death? Will Hermione ever get to tell Harry how much he means to her? Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Chapter 2: After the summer from hell Hermione Granger was finally returning to Hogwarts. This was a day she had been dreading since that fateful day at the end of last term. Today was the day she would pay her last respects to Harry Potter. Her parents had asked her if it was her friend Harry Potter that had stopped the terrorist attacks – apparently the muggle Television stations had been informed. Hermione had run out of the room crying, and her parents had pursued her, and eventually discovered what had happened. Her mother had cried with her when she told her about him. Her holiday had been a time of reflection. Anything in her life that was worth remembering involved Harry – his smiling face was the warmth in every dark moment. All her adventures had always focused around him. The time she spent with Ron suddenly looked boring, even wasted in comparison. The thought that struck her most painfully was actually the truth. Harry had never known much love – certainly the Dursley household had never shown him an overwhelming amount. The only love his life ever saw was the love he received when he was in the wizardry world. It was this, Hermione realised, which made him use everything he had – every little glitter of power. He gave his life for what he considered his family – the people who cared about him. Hermione had loved him so dearly that she had thought that starting a relationship would destroy that love. How stupid she had been. Over the past 2 years she doubted Harry saw any love at all. He certainly had not been around her or Ron – they had been too busy with each other to notice. Harry had been on the edge, by himself. Hermione hadn’t given his welfare a second thought – she had been deliberately pushing all thoughts of Harry out of her head so that she could focus on Ron. As she walked up the grand steps of Hogwarts she, like so many others, had tears forming in her eyes. The one thing that stopped her from breaking down was the thought of Harry saying, “Don’t cry. I don’t have any regrets.” She may not have known him well around the time that he died, but she had the odd conversation now and then, and she knew that this was exactly what he would say. Whenever he had seen her he had asked her how she and Ron were going. She knew he cared about him. Ron knew as well. If he hurt her, Harry would kill him. Harry had respected her decision to be with Ron – he had taken the rejection in his stride - just as he took death. What shocked Hermione most was that Harry didn’t hesitate at all during that battle – he knew he would die, but he was prepared to embrace it when it happened. He hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time when a curse came his way. No, he chose to give his life, and he did it with as much hesitation as one may have in choosing whether to breathe or not. Hermione walked into the great hall to a very sober hall, exactly the way she had left it the year before. The sacrifice was fresh on everyone’s mind – and the trauma was still not relenting. Everybody present knew that his or her life would have met an abrupt ending had it not been for Harry’s intervening. Dumbledore stood to address the students. It appeared a faint twinkle was in his eyes, and a small smile crept onto his lips. “Students, I’m sure the incident at the conclusion of last term is still very fresh in all your minds, and I am certain you all are feeling in the debt of Harry Potter” He paused, surveying them. “I don’t want to get anybody’s’ hopes high, but Mr Potter has fiant traces of his magical energy returning. The chances of his recovery are, well… I don’t know what to make of his chances. Textbook wise, there should be no chance of him recovering, but I certainly wouldn’t write him off. No one has ever recovered from doing what he did – but then again, no one has ever successfully done that before, so I don’t know what to make of it. No magic can cure his injuries, and it is certain that if he does make a return, he will be in a very bad condition. All that I ask, is that you keep Mr Potter’s recovery on your mind.” A stunned silence fell over the Great Hall. Without warning, a Slytherin student begun to start a slow, constant clap. Others soon joined in, before a deafening clapping sound filled the hall. This show of support showed just how unified the school was on this one issue. If Harry were here he would be angry at the attention – but he would be very proud of the school for standing united on something – even the Slytherins. **************** It was three days after that opening feast, and Hermione found herself in the Hogwarts Infirmary yet again. She had settled into a pattern – in every spare moment of her time she came and sat next to the limp figure of Harry Potter. He didn’t talk, he didn’t move, he didn’t even breathe, but despite all this, Madame Pomfrey said that he was doing jus fine. Hermione had her doubts, but she did not voice her opinion. In fact, she sat at his side and held his hand, cooing gently to him. All that had to happen was for magic in Harry’s veins to return – that was what Dumbledore said. No one really had any idea what was going to happen of course, no one had ever managed to void him or herself of all magic before. The startling fact was that Harry’s magic was returning, out of nothing. It was like someone was pouring it into his veins again. Even if his magic returned, there was the small problem of his heart not beating. Apparently though, the returning magic should restore his beat – since there was technically nothing wrong with him at all. At that moment he was totally and utterly dead, and his comeback would totally and utterly revolutionise the way wizards look at death – more attention that he no doubt would not want. Still, it was hope, and that was the one thing that Hermione Granger needed. Ron had only been to see Harry once, and that was to ‘pay his last respects’ as he called it. He honestly believed Harry was gone for good. Hermione would not give up so easily though. She knew that if anyone were going to defy the laws of magic, it would be Harry. Coming out of her trance-like state, she tightened her grip on his cold hand and studied his face. Magic, thought unable to help him, was able to stop the degrading of a corpse. He looked just as he did on the fateful moment. A moment she remembered in far more detail that she would like. Harry was, on paper, still the head boy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No one was going to deduct the name from him when there was still the possibility that he would pull through. Some seven days later, Harry’s physical state had not changed, but beyond the skin his magical power was still regrouping. Hermione was at his side, having ran the whole way from Potions with her usual determination. While she whispered gently to him reassuring things, someone else chose that moment to visit. Security on Harry was very tight – students that had not known him were only allowed to visit once a week if they chose at a certain time. It was not that time now. Hermione turned to see who had arrived, to reveal the face of Ronald Weasley. Hermione almost had to strain her mind to remember him – she had spent so much time with Harry that so much as talking to her boyfriend of two years had been a rare occurrence indeed. “Hermione?” Ron asked, getting her attention. “What is it Ron?” She said, sounding agitated at being interrupted. “You have to let him go. He’s gone now. I mean its not like he’s me or something. You weren’t even that close to him before it happened.” Hermione looked at him with a very powerful scowl. She was shocked that he could say something so heartless about his best friend. “I deserve to see you more,” He bravely continued. “You’re my girlfriend, remember?” “I’m not giving up on him! He is and always will be my best friend – he wouldn’t give up on me,” She said defiantly, before adding “And I don’t care if this time is wasted. I love him.” Ron was outraged at this – to him it was a simple decision, all she had to do was let him go. He decided to change tact. “I hate to do this Hermione, but its me or him – he’s taking up too much of your time. It doesn’t leave any time for me.” Ron said, feeling that this would clinch it – she would submit. Hermione couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could he be so insensitive? Is this the person I have loved for the last two years, she asked herself? And how unfair was this question – she was being asked to choose between someone on their deathbed, and her boyfriend. To the ordinary person this may seem like an easy question to answer – but not to Hermione. But, she found that the answer was surprisingly simple: Ron did nothing but take, yet Harry gave his life. “Well I guess this is goodbye then Ron. It was good while it lasted.” Hermione said softly. Ron’s posture changed very abruptly. His eyes were suddenly wide, his shoulder’s dropped, and he bought a hand to his face. It could be easily said that Ron had not been expecting that answer. “No no, Hermione, I didn’t mean it… I was just joking!” He said, trying to mend the situation. He had been intending to propose at the end of the school year, and everyone had expected it. Hermione would have none of this, however. She had made her mind up. She was through with Ron and his high expectations of her. Harry had always cared for her – he had definitely proved that. She knew that Ron would at least hesitate before saving her life, let alone knowing that he would die in the process. Ron walked out very angrily muttering darkly “She didn’t mean that, she didn’t mean that”. But, as Hermione was only too happy to confirm in the days and weeks that followed, she certainly did mean that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Faith Title: Fading Regrets Author Name: MythX Author e-mail: k3nny@paradise.net.nz Category: Action/Adventure, Romance Keywords: Harry/Hermione, Voldemort, death, love Spoilers: All four Rating: PG13 Summary: In a world plagued with Terrorism, Harry Potter triumphs over evil once again, but at a terrible price. He knew this moment would come, and is prepared to die to stop his enemy. Hermione Granger is in the middle of a content relationship with Ron Weasley, with just one regret: That she didn’t choose Harry. After what seems like Harry’s final act, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Will he come back, smashing the wizard world’s philosophy about death? Will Hermione ever get to tell Harry how much he means to her? Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Chapter 3: A week after splitting up with Ron, Hermione was still at Harry’s side every spare second that she got. One time, she had been sitting at Harry’s side, holding his arm in her usual manor, and thinking idly about what Harry would be saying if he could see her doing this. Most people had given up on him now – he was still not breathing, and yes – the magic in his veins was getting stronger, but he should have resumed his usual breathing patterns by now. Professor Dumbledore had glumly stated that perhaps the young legend cannot defy the laws of magic after all – but Hermione wasn’t giving up. Hermione, for the first time in her life, was actually appreciative of the Daily Prophet. In every issue since the event, the magical newspaper had published a tribute story to Harry, interviewing anyone and everyone who would share something in his memory. Hermione had willfully contributed a truckload of memories, wanting Harry to be remembered for the wonderful person that he was. The affect of what she had said just increased public admiration for him, which was fine by Hermione. The Prophet reporter wasn’t exaggerating in the least when she made comments such as “With tears streaming down her face…” – it had been very hard on Hermione bringing back their many adventures, but it felt good to get them off her chest. The thing that encouraged her most was seeing Harry with his eyes nearly popping out of his head in shock at the sight of all this publicity – Harry had always had a soft spot for Hermione, and he found it impossible to be angry with her, so he had to be content with disapproving of her actions. In his memory, each and every Quidditch match in the wizarding world had gone through a customary moment of silence – every ministry meeting begun in this fashion, and once every day the Wizarding radio network would have a moment’s silence as well. Muggles originally had been unaware of his perishing, but had been told of his fate after they had been searching frantically for him. They had wanted to interview him. So, before each and every one of their sports matches, they too held a moment’s silence in his memory – but they had stopped doing that after a month. Hermione couldn’t see the wizarding world relenting from this memorial moment – Harry just meant too much to everyone. The muggles didn’t know the half of what happened, it was understandable that it wouldn’t be so meaningful to them. Even if Harry did bounce back to life, Hermione had been told that it would be a long and tedious process before Harry was the boy that they had all knew so well. Hermione had silently vowed that she would be with him every step of the way if he made it that far– she was not going to let him go without her friendship and love any longer. Hermione suddenly snapped out of her dreamy state and held her breath – Something had disturbed the silence that was usually in the room. Hermione realized what the noise was – it was breathing! She closed her eyes and muttered a prayer of hope, before glancing down at the corpse in front of her. The most unbelievable thing was happening – Harry was breathing! Its like magic Hermione thought to herself. She was grinning like an idiot so much that she didn’t even stop to realise how stupid that had sounded. He had defied the critics, he had defied the laws of magic, and he had contradicted the beliefs of everyone – Harry Potter had come back from the dead. Hermione leapt in the air, jumping for joy. She just had to tell someone. A miracle had taken place before her very eyes. Hermione found a sudden burst of energy as she nearly flew towards the great hall, where dinner would be being served at that very moment. The noise of the Great Hall doors banging as Hermione threw them open disrupted the silence that almost customarily fell whenever a teacher wasn’t talking. No one seemed to be able to get the memory out of his or her head. Everyone was too preoccupied asking him or herself a question they hoped they never would have to answer, ‘would I be brave enough to do what Harry did?’ The loud banging of the doors snapped them out of their trances, and they all looked up with the usual grim hope in their eyes. “He’s breathing!” Hermione yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice intruding on silence. The effects of those simple words was instant – the entire school was suddenly on its feet cheering. Conversation, which hadn’t featured at Hogwarts meals for a long time, suddenly broke out – the chatter was all focused around one boy, their hero. Grins were shared all round, and Dumbledore conjured up a particularly large supply of butter beer for a party that would go long into the night. There was a small and simply question nagging at the back of every mind, and that involved Harry. ‘What will Harry be like now that he’s back from the dead?’ – no one really knew. The experience may have changed him considerably – but then again, who wouldn’t be changed after going through an event like that? Not one single student could say that they had not been changed. Deep down, Hermione felt that Harry would be that same smiling person – he had been ready to die long before the event had taken place. Hermione was not to stay at the celebrations, however, as there was somewhere far more important for her to be. She scurried back to the infirmary with a beautiful twinkle in her eyes and a grin firmly plastered on her face. Harry was much the way she had left him. Hermione soon lost touch with reality as she watched his slow rhythmical actions as he breathed and out again. “He’s getting better then,” an old but cheerful voice stated. Hermione jumped, she had been so wrapped up in her happiness that she had not noticed someone enter. She spun to see who had spoken, and discovered that Professor Dumbledore was behind her. She hadn’t heard him speak cheerfully for so long that she had not recognised the voice. “Will he be the same person, Professor?” Hermione asked with a quiver in her voice. Dumbledore considered this a moment, before answering, “I’m afraid I don’t know, Hermione. No one has experienced this before, but I’m prepared to bet that if it’s possible for someone to make a full recovery, then Harry will do just that.” He said this in a soothing voice, and as Hermione watched, she saw a faint smile creep to the corner of Harry’s lips. About a week later, it seemed Harry’s brain had got back from holiday – as he was thrashing about wildly with grim determination. His condition had barely changed – he had not been conscious yet. As usual Hermione was at his side. Memorials were being turned into celebrations as Harry Potter was hailed as ‘The Boy Who Lived’ once more. The Daily Prophet had published a story stating that the wonder-boy was coming back from the dead – something that they made sure to point out, had never been accomplished before. Harry is going to kill me when he wakes up, Hermione thought happily – the thought of Harry alive was the one thing that kept her going on the average school day. She was at his side every moment that she was not in class – leaving only to go to bed when Madame Pomfrey forced her out. While at his side she would do her homework, and even sleep next to him, still holding his hand. She even studied, and Hermione wondered strangely if he could understand her – he seemed to smile at the oddest of times – like when she found an interesting fact in ‘Hogwarts – A History’, for example, and read it out loud. It was but a few days later that Hermione had started scribbling furiously on her parchment to the sound of Harry’s slow, deep breathing. When she finished what she was writing, however, the deep breathing had stopped. Turning to Harry, she let out a piercing scream – Harry was looking right at her. Within moments the room had aurors in it – the ministry had dispatched some to Hogwarts to guard Harry as he made his recovery. Everyone had thought it rather excessive, and people often joked that after Voldemort, Harry could probably stop anyone else in his sleep. When the guards saw that he was conscious, they visibly relaxed, and you could see the respect in their eyes as they looked at Harry. They admired him as much as the students, Hermione realized. In the war that they had fought with Voldemort, the side of good had very little success. They had needed someone to idolize just like everyone else, and so they chose Harry Potter. Hermione couldn’t help but mentally complement them on their choice. Harry’s eyes seemed out of focus – he couldn’t see anything, but his eyes were searching frantically around the room. Post-shock perhaps? As his eyes finally seemed to focus, they settled on her. Suddenly the shock left them, and they were replaced by calmness. Harry closed his eyes and seemed to go back to sleep – seeing Hermione safe appeared to have satisfied him. This became a usual episode with Hermione. Every now and then, Harry would open his eyes, see her, and then go back to sleep. Harry couldn’t yet talk – and Hermione suspected that he couldn’t hear. He couldn’t move his body either, which scared Hermione a lot. Of all the people, she knew that he definitely didn’t deserve to be paralyzed. Dumbledore had reassured her that it was early days yet, and the Daily Prophet had begun to exclaim Harry’s triumphant return. In Harry’s considerably weakened state, it was rather fascinated observing his actions. No one was sure if he would get him memory back at all – but it seemed to Hermione, that he knew who she was. Everyone else thought the same way – when Harry finally got the use of his mouth, he had the energy to stay awake longer. Sometimes, he would show no signs of resting, although his eyes sure liked tired. It was these times that the Hogwarts matron had wanted to give him sleeping potions. He had sharply refused the potion from Madame Pomfrey, denying any entry to his mouth. In fact, no one was allowed to feed him the potion except Hermione, who he confidently trusted. And it was on that note that Harry Potter recovered. With the Daily Prophet giving the world a running commentary, and with students visiting the Infirmary on a Daily basis, Harry slowly begun mastering his body once more. Hermione couldn’t really compare this entire experience to anything except nurturing a baby. One day, however, Harry Potter learnt to do something else. The October feast was a few days off, and Hermione was merrily completing her homework, with Harry carefully watching as well. Suddenly, the silence was broken. “Hi Hermione, what's my name?” It sounded like the stupidest question in the world – Harry appeared to know Hermione’s name, yet not his own. If Hermione hadn’t been so shocked at hearing his voice she probably would have laughed – it sounded funny, but his question had been asked innocently. “Your names Harry. Harry Potter.” Hermione answered, feeling tears prickling at her eyes. She felt like a mother who had just observed her child speak its first word. “Ohh. I’m… not, sure how I know you, but I do.” He said hesitantly. Feeling rather ashamed. Harry seemed to be able to do most things now, and his voice hadn’t changed a bit. It seemed that the only thing he didn’t have was his memory. “Don’t worry. We all know you Harry. You will remember slowly.” Flanked by the rest of the school, Hermione had started one of the stupidest quests in her life – finding Harry’s memory. Some of the discussions were actually rather humorous. Two days after Harry had first started to speak, his fellow Gryffindor year group were assembled in the infirmary. Harry’s memory hadn’t come back to him at all, but he learnt fast. The Gryffindors were all telling him about himself. “You’re a perfect divination student Harry. You really try hard in that class” Lavander Brown contributed. “You get good marks too… Professor Trelawney even predicted this,” Ron said, trying to keep a straight face while cuddling up to Lavender. Ron and Lavender had become ‘a thing’ now, yet Ron always seemed to glance over and Hermione with hope. Hermione was always found watching Harry. Hermione shook her head at their funny antics. Well, at least Fred and George weren’t trying to brainwash him. Yet. “No I’m not.” Harry said to Ron and Lavender. The shock that crossed their faces was priceless. “And how, would you know that?” Ron asked rather indignantly, wondering how someone with no memory could contradict him. “Because Hermione shook her head.” Harry replied confidently. All eyes turned to Hermione. Her faced mirrored their ones. She was just as surprised as they were. “What makes you believe her?” Ron asked Harry controversially. “Because I trust her.” Harry replied simply. “Why wouldn’t you trust the more attractive witch?” Lavender asked Harry, putting on a particularly charming face, and fluttering her eyelashes at Harry. Harry snorted. “Hermione looks far more beautiful to me.” He replied happily. Everyone except Lavender laughed at Harry’s challenging look, as though daring Lavender to try and contradict him. Lavender looked a bit putout at first, but even she joined in eventually, but Harry looked completely oblivious to what was so funny. This conversation was just one of the many to come on Harry’s long road to recovery. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Health Fading Regrets Author Name: MythX Author e-mail: k3nny@paradise.net.nz Category: Action/Adventure, Romance Keywords: Harry/Hermione, Voldemort, death, love Spoilers: All four Rating: PG13 Summary: In a world plagued with Terrorism, Harry Potter triumphs over evil once again, but at a terrible price. He knew this moment would come, and is prepared to die to stop his enemy. Hermione Granger is in the middle of a content relationship with Ron Weasley, with just one regret: That she didn’t choose Harry. After what seems like Harry’s final act, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Will he come back, smashing the wizard world’s philosophy about death? Will Hermione ever get to tell Harry how much he means to her? Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Chapter 4: Before long Harry’s memory begun to trickle back to him – and it seemed that the conversations he had without his memory began to leave him. Still, all he could string together so far was various bits and pieces of his childhood, which discouraged him considerably – It appeared that he was unaware of his wizardry abilities as of yet, and when he was reminded, he forget about it within days. Hermione was there for him every step of the way, always her cheerful and supportive self. Harry was completely aware of who she was, even if he happened to forget the names of anyone else who visited him. Ron was fondly known as ‘red-head’, Lavender was known as ‘flirty-girl’ and Fred and George were known as ‘red-head’ as well, as Harry seemed unable to distinguish between the two. Fred and George, though not Hogwarts students any longer, visited Harry regularly from their store in Hogsmeide. To start the shop the twins had needed a lot of money, but the 1,000 galleons Harry had donated had easily covered it. The twins had mused that it was ‘only fair’ that the investor get to sample the products, even if he was too trusting to defend himself. Gradually Harry was getting his memory back, and due to popular demand, the school was getting a report on Harry’s condition every evening. It appeared that Harry still didn’t know how Hermione fitted into his mind yet, but somehow he knew that she did, in a very special way. About 3 weeks later, Harry was beginning to find his feet. He hadn’t walked since the incident, but his legs were getting strong and strong, and his determination to walk was rising to new levels. Unbelievably, it appeared that Harry might be out before Christmas. Going from dead to perfectly healthy could be easily said to be full recovery. Hermione hobbled into the infirmary looking particularly tired after a grueling potions lesson. She stopped by Madame Pomfrey’s office and searched for the matron to see if there was anything she could help with. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see Madame – no - Harry? It was a very strange site, seeing someone you had seen in a hospital bed for a few months, walking towards you limply. Hermione was used to being surprised, but she couldn’t help but give a small cry – half in happiness, half in surprise. The first thing Harry did with his newly found freedom was pull Hermione into a bone-crunching hug. “I remember why I did it!” Harry said triumphantly. He had been asked ‘why he would give his life’ by people ever since he could talk, and every time he had been clueless. Hermione was still struggling to accept this new development, and come to terms with the fact that her friend – who had been dead at the end of last term, was now able to walk up to and hug her by the end of this term. Harry also appeared to have rediscovered his memory. “How are you and Ron going Hermione?” he asked with a sly grin – it seemed that he had discarded all the memories he had while recovery. “We broke up.” Hermione said, trying to answer the question soberly, but finding that joy and excitement crept into her voice after witnessing Harry walk. Harry’s face went from a happy one to a sad one. Hermione couldn’t help but wonder why he would be sad at them braking up. He had wanted her just as much as Ron had wanted her, and yet she had gone with Ron. Surely he wanted his chance? “I’m so sorry. When did this happen?” Harry asked quietly. He had fear in his voice, and his fears were confirmed when Hermione answered. “While you were recovering.” His face fell. Hermione looked him in the eye and saw many emotions in there. She realized that Harry was being Harry again – he cared more for other people than he did for himself, and so he cared more for Hermione’s happiness than he did for his own. She realized in that awkward silence that Harry had taken her choice of Ron as a full-scale rejection those 2 years before. She had been serious when she said that she wanted their friendship to stay as strong as it was, and believed that love could destroy what they had, but she could hardly blame him for thinking that – her choice to be with Ron destroyed their friendship anyway. “But now that I’m back to normal, you two can make up now can’t you?” He said this with hope evident in his deep green eyes. Hermione couldn’t help but wonder how she had ended up with such an amazing best friend. She decided to change the subject, not wanting to disappoint him. “Perhaps… Harry, how did you defeat You-Know-Who?” “Uhh? Oh Voldemort? Using my magic to trap him… Now that I think about it, I don’t remember saving any magic… Are you sure I’m not a ghost or something?” Harry said, trying to force a hand through himself with no luck. He then tried to walk through a wall, but he had similar result, not to mention a rather large bump on his head. Then, much to Hermione’s disbelief, he did pass through the wall, and returned moments later. “Nope, I’m not a ghost.” He said sadly. “But you just… just…” Hermione stuttered, looking at Harry in shock. “That? No… Just a bit of wandless magic… Well if I’m not a ghost, then are we in a dream or something?” Then his face contorted into pain, “Or did you die too? Did I fail? Argh. I thought I had given it enough” He looked furious with himself, and the room begun to shake a bit. Hermione figured that for her own welfare as much as Harry’s, she had better get to the point before he accidentally blew the school up. “You came back from the dead.” She said simply. The room stopped shaking, and Harry’s expression softened. “Well that explains it then… Uhh-ohh. That hadn’t been done before has it?” “Afraid not…” “Perfect.” Harry muttered. Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at that – he certainly hadn’t changed at all. “Whats the time? I’m hungry… I’m sick of hospital beds” Harry said, still saddened by of his record-breaking feat. “Dinner starts in half an hour.” “Well, lets go then, before Madame Pomfrey-“ “Ohh no you don’t.” Madame Pomfrey said, coming around the corner. “I feel fine!” Harry said, sounding like a little kid. “Your to stay here. You haven’t recovered yet.” The nurse replied firmly. Harry looked rather angry. His expression reminded Hermione of the boy that defeated Voldemort. It seemed that Madame Pomfrey was reminded as well, as she quickly relented, “All right, you can go after a quick check-up then. You have time to catch dinner.” After Harry was given a not-so-quick check up, they soon discovered that they were late for dinner. “Great… So now I get to walk into the great hall with everyone watching me… wait on a second,” Harry got a dangerous glint in his eye. “Harry…” Hermione cautioned. “Just a simply spell… yes that should work. I’ll have enough energy to do that.” Harry smirked at Hermione and explained. “I don’t want to have everyone look at me entering the great hall… And I don’t think I’m up to apparating around Hogwarts at the moment-“ “You can apparate around Hogwarts?” Hermione interrupted, looking shocked. “Uhh-huh. It’s quite easy really. Just drains some energy.” Harry replied matter-of-factly, before going on with his plan, “Anyway, I’m going to cast an invisibility spell on myself.” “But Harry, your wand is up in Gryffindor tower.” Hermione said, blushing as she remembered that she was keeping his wand under her pillow. “Who said anything about needing wands?” Harry replied, before pointing his index finger at himself and disappearing. “This feels very weird,” Hermione muttered to what she imagined was Harry. Surprising the voice came from her other side. “Tell me about it,” Harry replied. They continued walking along the corridors before coming to the entrance hall, which led directly into the great hall. Harry’s eyes suddenly froze on something that stood immediately inside the main entrance to Hogwarts. “Hermione, care to explain what that is?” “It’s a statue of you Harry. I must have forgotten to tell you about it…” she trailed off. In front of them stood a life-sized statue of Harry with a caption engraved on a gold background. Harry read the caption: “Sir Harry Potter – the boy who will live on in our hearts” “Wait a second – ‘Sir Harry Potter’? Where did that come from?” Harry asked, confused. “Apparently the muggle queen has knighted you after you stopped their terrorism” Hermione replied. “Now muggles know my name as well? Great...” He muttered angrily to himself. “Don’t worry, they think your dead. Bellow it was a small table, which had a book on it. The book looked rather thick. It was a condolence book. “Someone forget that I’m not dead?” Harry asked, trying not to burst out laughing as he noticed the book. Attention was his worst enemy, but he clearly found it amusing that people would waste their time writing in a book about him. He still didn’t sound very amused at the statue. Hermione was worried for a moment that he might blow it up, but since Harry was not visible at that moment, she didn’t have a very good idea as to how he was taking all of this. They resumed their march and entered the great hall. After opening the door, Hermione felt very stupid walking to Gryffindor table by herself. Harry didn’t help matters – he kept tapping her on the shoulder and making her turn around. Hermione sat down, but not before she pulled out an extra seat for Harry. She looked up to Professor Dumbledore to see if he had managed to spot Harry, but the headmaster seemed totally oblivious to Harry’s presence. Knowing that people would start to get very scared if Harry begun eating while still invisible, she reached out and punched the chair beside her where she expected Harry’s shoulder would be. Suddenly there was a small cry of “Ouch!” and heads spun to the seemingly empty chair. It seemed that Dumbledore had heard the cry as well, but he seemed just as confused as everyone else. Surely he could see through Harry’s invisibility spell, Hermione thought. Harry gave up, and where no one had been, Harry Potter appeared. The entire hall stared at Harry, with mouths dangling open. “Hello?” Harry said lamely, with all eyes still focusing on him. After many shrieks and screams of delight, everyone begun talking again, and Harry found himself at the center of it all. Harry was very amused to discover what his forgetful self had got up to, and had to beg for Lavender and Ron’s apology for some nicknames that didn’t go down too well. He had no recollection of ever doing such things, but he just smiled and continued to tuck in to the wonderful assortment of foods. Soon, Dumbledore stood and called everyone to attention. “Firstly, I would like to say that it is definitely good to see you out and about again Mr Potter. I propose a toast” And with a click of his fingers, all goblets were once again filled with Pumpkin Juice. “To Harry Potter!” Everyone said, raising their glasses as they did so. Harry gave a nod of his head in recognition, and a small smile, but Hermione could read Harry like a book, and knew that Harry disapproved of it, but accepted that it was inevitable. Dumbledore continued, “It is also my duty to invite you all to Mr Potter’s recognition ceremony. He will be receiving the Order of Merlin 1st class and will be thanked by foreign ministries from around the world. This will take place of Christmas, so you need not attend should you wish to go home.” “This might be the first Christmas I actually want to go home,” Harry muttered under his breath to Hermione. She giggled at the look of pain on his face. He really was a charmer when he didn’t want to be. A group of Ravenclaws walked up to the table and asked if Harry would go and sit with them. Harry didn’t want to, but reluctantly agreed, and said goodbye to the Gryffindor table. The dinner soon turned to a school feast in honour of Harry, and there seemed to be an unlimited amount of Pumpkin Juice, and even butterbeer had been added to the confectionary list eventually – the house elves had no doubt visited Hogsmeade on the school’s behalf. Dinner that evening went far later than it had even gone before, and Harry had made his way around each and every table, answering as many questions as he could, and getting to know everyone. He could safely say he had spoken with every student at Hogwarts. The Slytherins had even invited him to their table. The Hufflepuff table had even offered to provide an escort of house members to protect him when he voyaged across there, but as he had rightly pointed out that, after Voldemort, they probably wouldn’t be much of a challenge should they choose to attack him. The evening was marvelous. Toasting went into the early hours of the morning, and many people didn’t sleep a wink that night. Harry found that this party in his honour did benefit him somehow, as classes the next day were cancelled, which included a potions lesson, which would have been first period. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Order of Merlin Fading Regrets Author Name: MythX Author e-mail: k3nny@paradise.net.nz Category: Action/Adventure, Romance Keywords: Harry/Hermione, Voldemort, death, love Spoilers: All four Rating: PG13 Summary: In a world plagued with Terrorism, Harry Potter triumphs over evil once again, but at a terrible price. He knew this moment would come, and is prepared to die to stop his enemy. Hermione Granger is in the middle of a content relationship with Ron Weasley, with just one regret: That she didn’t choose Harry. After what seems like Harry’s final act, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Will he come back, smashing the wizard world’s philosophy about death? Will Hermione ever get to tell Harry how much he means to her? Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Chapter 5: Life soon settled back into its normal gist at Hogwarts, but it soon became apparent that Harry was wasting his time – he was more powerful than the teachers, and knew magic far beyond the levels an ordinary wizard is expected to know in his lifetime, let alone required to pass the NEWTs. The fact that Harry had been this powerful before, but had been hiding it, was a big surprise to everyone. He was given special permission by Dumbledore to attend classes as he pleased so that he could make a full recovery before his Order of Merlin Ceremony. Harry ended up attending most classes anyway – which Hermione was extremely thankful for, and insisted on telling him so every chance she got. Deep down, Hermione didn’t want to be left friendless, as her break-up with Ron had turned Ron rather bitter towards her. Still, Harry maintained a friendship with both of them, but Hermione could only compare Harry and Ron’s friendship to trying to balance on a seesaw – Ron seemed to believe Harry was responsible for Hermione breaking up their relationship. One Friday afternoon, three weeks before Christmas, Hermione was sitting in the common room, when Harry approached to continue what was becoming even more of a challenge to him Voldemort. Trying to get Ron and Hermione back together. Hermione knew that he tried and tried, but always had no luck. Ron claimed that ‘Hermione had ended it, she can apologize’, and Hermione had insisted that ‘it was over’. Despite all that he had on his plate, he still wouldn’t relent from his task of trying to make his friends happy. Hermione knew that he felt responsible for it, and, although Hermione wouldn’t tell him so, he was. If Harry didn’t exist, Hermione would probably be sitting in Ron’s arms right now, but she wasn’t. Why? Because she knew there were better arms, and they belonged to Harry Potter. Hermione knew that Harry longed to see her happy, and he didn’t let his personal feelings clot his emotions. She still remembered a promise she had made Harry’s dead body – to give him the friendship and love she had kept from him. There was one thing Hermione knew to keep, and that was a promise made to the dead. “Hermione, please make up with Ron! You know how much I hate seeing you two unhappy.” Harry said with a genuinely sad face, and a raspy voice – He had just returned from Quidditch practice, no doubt. Hermione gave him a firm hug – a greeting that she had given him every time she saw him since his recovery – and she treated every hug like it would be their last. Hermione sighed, “Harry, you know I don’t want to, please respect my wishes.” And that was how most conversations on the topic of Ron usually ended, as Harry certainly did respect her wishes. Hermione was also pleased to have a very interesting chat with Harry about a week later – with just two weeks to go before the Ceremony. “So, all ready for the big day?” Hermione asked, smirking at Harry as he lay down on the couch, finally having managed to weasel his way out of talking with the younger students of Gryffindor. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said, sighing and leaning back to let his back mould into the comfortable common room chair. “You realise you’re the youngest person to every receive the award? And the second person in history to ever receive it?” Harry groaned. The thought clearly hadn’t crossed his mind. “Being such as prestigious award, you no doubt have to say a speech?” Hermione asked, expecting to catch him out again. She was to be disappointed though, as he nodded, and tapped his head, “I’ve got it all planned out. I’ll just make sure there isn’t anything I’ve overlooked. I’m off to see Dumbledore.” Harry then disappeared – something Hermione had never really got used to, as he apparated around the school at his leisure. He then reappeared looking rather horror-stricken. “I’ve got to take a date. Why can’t wizards that save the world be single?” He said, still cringing at the thought. Hermione’s heart gave a leap, but she decided to play it cool, and snickered, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say Mr ‘Save the world’ is scared of asking a girl to a dance.” Harry glared at her, “It wasn’t in my job description,” he said lamely, looking as though he would rather die than ask a girl to attend with him. “Everyone knew that there would be a dance. Why did someone forget to tell me about this?” Harry asked Hermione pointedly. “Don’t you turn this around on me, buster! Your stuck with it.” Harry still looked as though he had sampled Snape’s Christmas pudding, but chose not to reply. Suddenly, Harry’s eyes begun to sparkle like Dumbledore’s, did. Hermione, who had always wished that she could do that, decided it must be a powerful-wizard thing. “Well at least you could make up with Ron and asking him to go with you…” Harry said pleadingly, trailing off. “Harry,” Hermione warned, “I don’t want to go with him and you know it. Anyway, Ron’s bound to have asked Lavender by now, so please drop it.” Harry’s twinkle dimmed considerably. “Would you like to go with me?” Harry asked hopefully, causing Hermione’s heart to leap, before reluctantly adding “As friends of course. After all that you did for me while I was, err, dead, I want this to be my way of saying thank you,” Hermione blushed, she didn’t know that Harry was aware of how much time she had spent with him. Harry caught sight of the blush, and added, “You don’t think I would miss that would you? I can remember you being there while I was conscious, and Madame Pomfrey was happy to tell me that you were there in every moment of your spare time while I was dead.” Hermione was still disappointed, she had been hoping that Harry would ask her to go as more than friends, she couldn’t lie to herself anymore – she felt exactly the same way about him as he had two years ago, but she couldn’t help but worry that he no longer returned her feelings. Harry misread her silence, and said, with a quaver in his voice, “You don’t have to of course. I didn’t mean to offend you, Hermione”. “Harry, you great dolt, of course I’ll go with you!” Hermione replied, with a grin. *************** The ceremony in which Harry would receive his Order of Merlin 1st class award had finally approached. The Great hall had been magically expanded to fit an enormous crowd, and not a single student had gone away for the holidays. Seeing an award of this nature being awarded was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and, much to Harry’s disappointment, the event was to be the most publicized in magical history. Being in the middle of winter, the outside air was chilly, and snow had coated the Hogwarts grounds, giving Hogwarts a warm and fluffy look. But even the weather seemed to be paying respect to Harry, as it didn’t show any signs of storms, and the arrival of the many guests went smoothly. Dumbledore stood in the grand foyer ushering the thousands of local and international guests into the Great Hall – many that he had not seen himself since he was awarded the Order of Merlin, all those years before. It was an internationally recognized award, one that was awarded all over the world. Guests came from far and wide to represent their ministries. All ministries throughout the world had to give their consent if the Order of Merlin 1st class was to be awarded, and because of this, Harry was only the 2nd person ever to receive it. There were many different levels, but none as important as this one. On the stage were 15 comfortable seats, where the various Ministers of Magic were to be seated. These 15 people were the most powerful people in the world – they had control of their various countries or continents. Security for the event was through the roof, but no one was ever really aware of the location of Hogwarts anyway, so it was the ideal place to hold the event. On the stage there was also two more seats, separated slightly aware from the rest. This, Hermione supposed, was where Harry and Dumbledore would be seated. For dinner, the great hall had been set up with hundreds of round tables, with 6 chairs placed around each. Small tags had be been placed on the table in front of every seat with the name of the person who was to sit there. At the door Students ushered the guests towards their seats. A main table had been erected down in front of the stage. It looked far more prestigious that it normally did at school dinners. It was long, and could seat about 50 people. The various Ministers of Magic were placed at this table, along with Harry, Dumbledore, various other highly prestigious people, and people that Harry had invited. Naturally, this meant that the entire Weasley family was sitting there, and so was Harry’s date Hermione. Once everyone had finally been seated dinner begun, and Harry found himself without the chance to speak with to the Weasleys or Hermione, as the various Ministers and other important guests had kept him in conversation the whole time. He had given a particularly large number of ‘sorry’ glances to Hermione, but she had been fine with it, and talked happily with Ginny and Dumbledore the whole time. Mr Weasley seemed to be getting on just fine with the various other guests, and Mrs Weasley was in a nice conversation with some of the wives. The ministers had all been very nice and kind in their conversations, and had treated him with a great deal of respect. Harry had been thankful that they didn’t push him around like a child, and he had even enjoyed some of the conversation. The topics ranged from dark arts to Quidditch, and Harry found that he had been offered a place in basically every national Quidditch side present, not to mention jobs in all of the ministries. He had kindly said he would think about it. “Surely you must of thought about your future though, Harry?” The Bulgarian Minister of Magic had prompted. “Well, leading up to my encounter with Voldemort-“ Much to Harry’s anger, they all flinched, “I had my future made up, but since then, everything has changed.” “Ahh,” said Fudge wisely, who still happened to be the Minister of Magic for the continent, “always planning on Quidditch were you? Now you’re thinking about something to use your power?” “No…” Harry replied kindly, “Before that evening, I had thought I was going to die.” A silence fell over their conversation as the ministers realized what he was getting at. Harry finally had the chance to join the conversation with the Weasleys, but Dumbledore called an end to dinner at that very moment. The Ministers, Dumbledore and Harry soon made their way up onto the stage. Dumbledore stood at the podium that had been erected, and invited Hermione up onto the stage to sit in the vacant chair next to Harry. Hermione stared in awe at the thousands of people looking at them on the stage. Harry looked completely oblivious. Not a nerve showing on his face. Professor Dumbledore soon begun with his introduction, speaking into the microphone that had been placed on top of the podium, beaming at the audience. “Welcome, everyone, to this marvelous occasion. I never thought I would be given the honour of presenting an Order of Merlin 1st class in my lifetime, but I believe that this award today couldn’t be more deserved. I had never seen an act of such courage before I saw Harry Potter embrace death in the name of saving the lives of others, and bring the downfall of the Dark Lord. “Personally, I can say that Harry sacrificing himself was my biggest fear leading up to that occasion, as I saw him risk his life in the name of others on many occasions throughout his earlier years at Hogwarts. Saving the Philosopher’s Stone, and finding, entering, and destroying the Basilisk that inhabited the Chamber of secrets – which saved a student’s live and stopped school closure, are two of his accomplishments from his first and second years alone.” His speech then went on to outline more of Harry’s time at Hogwarts. Hermione chanced a sideways glance at Harry during the speech, and saw that his face was calm and composed, as though he was being read a fairy tale. She knew that he didn’t like the overwhelming attention, but he bore with it. “Without further ado, I would like to present Mr Harry Potter with the Order of Merlin first class.” The Thousands in attendance stood and clapped as Harry shook hands with each and every Minister of Magic, and finally Dumbledore. The applause went on much, much longer, as he stood there, surveying the crowd. Millions of wizards at home were listening to this very broadcast as well, as it went live around the world. In neighboring countries, today had been a holiday, so that people could sit at home and listen to it on the radio, or watch it through their fireplaces. Hermione felt proud of Harry as he stood there with a calm, kind and thankful expression on his face. She was not just proud of what he had achieved, but of how composed he was able to keep himself. It was one of the many qualities she had admired in Harry at a young age, and a quality that was very rare. Harry turned to her, amidst the strong applause, and gave a small nod in recognition. Hermione, who was still very scared as she looked out into the faces of thousands, gave him a small nod in return. Harry soon raised a hand to silence the crowd, as it appeared that the applauding would go on all night if he didn’t. The clapping sound slowly died down, until it was silence fell as people watched the young wizard in center stage. “I’m sure you are all used to far wiser wizards and witches accepting such a prestigious award, so for my lack of wisdom, I apologize in advance.” Harry begun. “I have been asked, by many people, why I did what I did. What drove a person to give his own life for the lives of others? And I answer this question very simply. When I was a boy, I lived with an Aunt and Uncle who insisted that I was the lowest of the low. They told me I would never become anything. That could very well have been true, had it not been for the enchanting magical community.” Many people were either crying or looking scandalized at what they had been told about Harry’s upbringing. Hermione felt the same way. How could someone with such a pure heart be told such horrible thing. “I do not always have fond memories of the wizarding world, but I can assure you, that the memories all have special qualities to them. I would never trade them for anything, because of the uniqueness that they each have. Two of what I would consider special qualities in my life, are my best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Without them, my life would be a very boring and unattractive thing. Without them, I could go as far as saying my life wouldn’t be worth living. “So in answer to the question that so many have asked, why did I do it? I did it because I felt it was my turn to give something to the magical world, and I felt compelled to secure the future of my friends. Better one person die than thousands or millions of others.” Harry had to move a tear out of his eye when he finished that, and so did most people in the audience. It certainly had been a night full of surprises. “I would like to think that my own sacrifice – however unsuccessful the actual sacrificial part may have been, can influence people’s choices between good and evil. When I fought with Voldemort in my first year, he told me something that made me think. ‘There is no such thing as good and evil, just power and those who wish to seek it’. This of course is not true, but it got me thinking. The line between good and evil has not been drawn. Good and Evil, are ultimately decided by us at the end of the day. So I urge all of you to think of the consequences of every one of your actions before you make them. Think of what you are doing: Is it good, or is it bad? Are you doing something that you shouldn’t be doing? – If everyone did this, then the world really can move forwards after the times of Voldemort. There is one thing that I hate more than someone who has chosen to live a life of evil, and that is an evil person who could have been a good person. Thank you all.” Amongst a thundering applause, he then walked over and sat down by Hermione, who squeezed his hand reassuringly and kissed him on the cheek. When the applause had finally died down – some 5 minutes later, Dumbledore asked everyone to stand, and then clicked his fingers, and the tables all disappeared. Around the edge of the room now stood tables and chairs for people to sit at, but the main focus was to be the dance that would take place. Harry was asked to lead it, which he did uncertainly, but found Hermione to be a very talented dancer. She held him firmly and tightly, and they danced happily to the wonderful music. The evening had gone well. Hermione really wished she had some idea of Harry’s feelings for her, because after this evening, she was struggling to hold herself back from kissing him like there was no tomorrow. She felt proud of Harry, and could honestly say that she had fallen in love with him. Hermione had never thought someone would ever give their own life for her, but Harry had, without hesitation. Hermione watched Harry very carefully, and she could still feel all eyes on her as they danced the opening song. Before long though, she found herself entranced in his eyes, and found that Harry seemed equally as captured with hers. She could see deep into his emerald green eyes, and they seemed to go on forever. All she could make out was her face reflecting straight back. The two neared, and two entities merged into one. A kiss that had been years in the making finally took place, and thousands of people were there to witness it. Hermione pulled Harry closer, willing him to share her body. Hermione didn’t have to ask Harry any questions. The kiss answered them all.