How Harry beat Voldemort
It had been about two hours since Hermione, Ron and Harry started the story of Harry's life. Now, they were down to the last bit of the story, the last battle Voldemort fought. Ron and Hermione turned to Harry here, not quite sure how to explain how he won. Harry shifted in his seat seemingly uncomfortable talking about the battle.
"Well, being Voldermort he somehow discovered how to Apparate onto the grounds while we were playing Quidditch. I saw the students running towards Hogwarts and found out, later, that Hagrid (he is a teacher there) took Ron and Hermione into the castle. I was pretty high in the air and down below I could see three people moving around. At first, I thought it was Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore. Half of me hoped it was them because I knew they could help, but the other half wanted them far away and not to get hurt.
After sending spells back and forth with Voldemort, I knew that what I'd used through the years to try and overcome him wasn't going to work. The only thing I could do was something Dumbledore had taught me. He told me that if someone could cast a spell that makes time stand still for a few seconds, followed by casting the death spell with "everything I had" that it might be enough to kill him.
So, down below Dumbledore had cast that spell, while two other professors, McGonagall and Snape formed a shield around me, I was able to get the Avada Kedavra off, but not before he managed to get one of his own spells out to me. But being "suspended in time" his wasn't as strong and traveled slower than normal. I was able to move to the side, but it hit the shield that was around me and knocked me out. One of the professors, McGonagall, I think," Harry looked at Ron who was nodding yes, "managed to slow my fall, but I fell pretty hard anyway. I was out for two days and don't really remember anything from the point where I saw three beams of light come from the Quidditch Pitch until I woke up in the hospital wing.
When I awoke, I was confused and didn't understand why Hermione was crying so hard. I thought Ron had died because he wasn't there at that time." Harry paused for a moment, remembering the feeling of complete despair when he thought that. Ron stared intently at him, never hearing this part before. Everyone was very quiet and Hermione squeezed his hand, urging him to continue. Harry moved into a more comfortable position on the couch and continued, "Hermione was just crying on my chest, not even knowing that I was awake. I managed to grab her to let her know I was conscious. She sat up and just stared at me. I heard her yell to someone to go get Ron and tell him that I was awake. She then began telling me how Professors McGonagall and Snape helped save my life.
When Ron showed up, they both began to tell me what happened. Ron had found Hermione after I told him to get off the pitch, and Hagrid had to physically carry them back to the castle because neither wanted to leave. Professor Flitwick, who heads up the Ravenclaw house, cast a charm to lock all the doors and windows and helped contain all the students in the great hall. Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff, put a calming charm on all the students because they were all screaming, crying and running around. She managed to charm up a huge window so everyone could see what was going on since students were climbing over each other to look out the ones we normally have. I guess the whole thing lasted maybe 20 minutes? Not very long…," Harry shrugged, done with telling his side of the story.
"Who took you to the hospital wing?" Samantha asked in a quiet voice.
"Professor McGonagall was able to apparate herself and Harry to the wing so she didn't have to walk by the hall windows. Hermione and I never knew what happened after we saw him fall. The stadium blocked out the view. All we could see was a great green line of fire go up into the sky from where Voldemort was; above him was the dark mark and that too went up in flames, kind of like fireworks," Ron answered Samantha.
There were a few moments of silence as they all stared into the fire that Ron had conjured about an hour ago. It seemed
very comforting given the story being told.
"So, no wonder people kept coming up to you, Harry. What are you going to do when you get back to school?"
Harry let out a huge sigh. "I don't know. I plan on just having fun my last year there, but I'm sure I will be followed around by Colin, a younger student who keeps taking pictures; interviews and such. The newspaper keeps asking me now via an owl, but I keep declining. This is the first I have really talked about it with anyone."
"Yeah, after he woke up, he refused to say anything about it. Dumbledore had to tell us what happened. Harry was in the hospital wing for a week after he woke up getting bones mended and such. Then we had one week of classes left and we came home," Ron clarified.
"This is the first time we have heard it from him." Ron looked over at Harry who was playing with Hermione's hair in an absentminded sort of way. Seeing them sitting there, holding each other brought a smile to Ron's face. He turned away quickly and stood up, not wanting to embarrass them by calling attention to it. He offered to get everyone a butterbeer, Samantha never having one before went into the kitchen to help him.
As Ron added the finishing touches on the butterbeers he conjured up, Samantha stared out the kitchen window, arms wrapped around her middle.
"You ok?" Ron asked her, throwing a spoon into the sink, and turning towards her. She shook her head a bit and he walked over to her. He wasn't sure what to say to her. He was never in the position to comfort a female, except for Hermione occasionally and that involved a pat on the back. Samantha didn't see like a "pat on the back" kind of girl. Ron stood behind her for a moment then laid his hands on her shoulders. "I know it's a lot to take in which is probably why Hermione didn't say anything before tonight."
Samantha nodded her understanding.
"I think I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't hearing it from all of you," she said softly, leaning back against him startling Ron for a moment. He was trying to concentrate on making her feel better but having her touching him and leaning against him wasn't helping his thought processes any. He slowly moved his hands down her arms to her waist, waiting for her to say more.
"Hermione sat with him for two days?"
"Yea. She slept in the bed next to him. She only left to eat and then I had to force her." He felt her hands come down and lay on top of his. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep steadying breath. He had never felt so nervous; when he had kissed Luna, once, it seemed almost too easy. It had been very quick too, none of this holding hands, leaning against him stuff.
"I think she really loves him. God, I'm even happy he defeated Voldemort and I never even knew about it." Samantha turned towards Ron, his hands still on her waist. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked so sad. Ron noticed her eyes were exactly like Hermione's, the color, the shape, even they way they reflected the emotions going on inside.
"Are you ok? Do you want to go home?" Ron inquired, wondering if she was just overwhelmed. "You just heard a story in two hours that took place over six years. Even I have a hard time taking it all in."
He looked down and saw her hands at her side, on impulse he reached down and took her hands in his. As she squeezed his hands in response, he moved his eyes to her face. She gazed at him for a second then stretched up and set her lips against his. Almost immediately, Ron put his arms around her and leaned into her kiss. Her hands moved to his shoulders as he slowly pulled away. His bright blue eyes searched her dark brown ones. For a moment, Samantha gazed back at him with a look of wonderment on her face. Then she started to blush and looked down.
"I-I'm sorry," She stammered (which was the first time Ron had ever heard her apologize).
Ron shook his head, hoping she wasn't going to say it was a mistake. But she didn't say anything else; realizing his arms were still around her he let her go and for a moment, Samantha looked like she wanted to say something else. She removed her hands, but not after letting her fingers trail down his arms, leaving him with goosebumps.
Ron cleared his throat, clearly confused as to what both of them were feeling.
"Let's get these drinks in to Harry and Hermione," he suggested, and thankful for something to do she grabbed to tankards and followed him through the swinging door to the living room.
Meanwhile, as Ron and Samantha were getting drinks Hermione turned to face Harry.
"I forgot to tell you, my parents are taking me to Spain before school starts. We leave in few days."
Harry nodded, but felt an unfamiliar feeling spread throughout his chest. "How long will you be there?"
"Just for four days; we leave on Tuesday and come back on Friday, so I can get ready for school," Hermione raised a hand to his face and caressed his cheek. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…why?" Harry smiled a bit feeling her thumb move across his cheek.
"Very quiet."
"I wish you weren't going," Harry said quietly. He felt her hand still and move away.
"Why?" Hermione shifted her position so she was facing him, front to front, face to face.
"I'll miss you," Harry said simply, putting words to the feeling he had in his chest. For a moment she just stared at him, and he thought maybe he said the wrong thing.
"Me too, Harry," she said quietly, leaning forward she placed a kiss on his cheek, her left hand coming up to rest on shoulder. "We can go get our books together on Saturday," she whispered in his ear. "We should have our letters by then."
Harry glanced at the kitchen door; still closed and he could hear the tinkling of a spoon in the tankard. Quickly, he
turned his head and captured Hermione's lips with his, momentarily startling her. He grabbed her by her lower back
and pulled her into his lap, pushing his lips against hers until he felt her open and touched his tongue to hers.
Letting out a moan, Hermione pushed herself into him and grabbed the back of his head, rubbing his neck, his shoulders,
not quite sure where to put her hands. She finally decided on wrapping them around his upper chest, where she could
still grab his shoulders. Feeling bold, knowing he would have a few seconds to pull away once he heard the squeaky
kitchen door move, he moved his hand from her back to her face, cupping her chin and pulling her closer. He loved the
feel of her against him, like it was the most natural thing that could ever happen. Her lips were so soft and sweet, he
thought he could stay like that all day. He played with her ear and felt her squirm against him like it tickled, moving
his hand down he placed it where it had been hours before, under her shirt. Hermione gasped and pulled away.
"Ron, Samantha…," she panted. Harry winked and gently squeezed her breast. He saw Hermione's eyes close for a minute then open quickly as she heard the unmistakable sound of tankards being picked up. She jumped off his lap and stared at him, silently questioning with her eyes as to why he did that.
As Harry reached across Hermione for his drink, he whispered so only she could hear, "THAT is what I wanted to do with you." He relished in the open mouthed gaze she directed towards him, and relished in the fact that he had totally floored Hermione Granger.
An hour or so later, Hermione and Samantha left to go back to their homes. Samantha was going to Spain with Hermione, so they had to spend all day Sunday and Monday packing and getting their Muggle Passports ready. Harry and Ron decided to visit The Burrow in hopes of a home cooked meal. Both boys could conjure up meals, but they were never as good as The Burrow's! A few minutes after apparating into the kitchen, Fred and George had shown up with some new tricks that everyone refused to try out. By now, the Weasley clan couldn't be tricked…they had lived with it long enough.
After a fulfilling dinner, Ginny asked Harry to take a walk with her, while Ron played wizard's chess with his father.
"So," Ginny began as they walked towards the apple orchard, "How's it going with Hermione?"
"Fine…why are you asking?" Harry said in an amused tone of voice.
"Well, she is one of my best friends, as are you, so I just like to know how everyone is doing," Ginny smiled mischievously.
"You just want juicy details!"
"Of course! I have a need to know! No patience here in this girl!" Ginny tossed back her red hair as Harry playfully shoved her to the side of the path.
"What if there aren't any?" he asked lightly, plucking an apple from the tree and biting into it.
"Oh, stop. I know there are. I can see how you both feel for each other and if you could keep your hands to yourselves this long, you both ought to be shot!" she laughed, following his example and grabbing an apple.
Harry shrugged and pondered what he should tell her. He hadn't really thought about telling anyone, Ron had seen them kiss goodnight and didn't seem to think much of it.
"I don't really know what to tell you Ginny."
"Well, start off with telling me how you feel about her."
"I love her," he blurted. Harry stopped in his tracks as did Ginny and he turned to stare at her.
"What?" Ginny squeaked at the same time Harry asked, "Did I just say 'love'?" they stared at each other, half eaten apples by their sides.
"Harry, I never in my life ever heard you say you love anyone!" Ginny ran to him and hugged him hard.
"Me neither," Harry mumbled, dropping his apple and returning her hug. "It just popped out."
Ginny pulled away and looked up at him. "Love can do that sometimes." She smiled. "I remember thinking that when I went out with boys, now I am a bit older and realize it wasn't love."
They let each other go and began walking again.
"Is there anyone special?" he asked Ginny, pushing a branch out of their way.
"Not yet." She smiled. "I was just trying to get through my OWL's and figure out what I want to do when I get out of Hogwarts. Plus, I haven't seen any guys that could steal my heart…yet."
"How do you think you did on your OWL and what DO you want to do?"
"I did great on them! Not as well as Percy, but I will take 10 any day! As far as what I want to be, I think I would really like to teach, but that is still up in the air." She tossed her apple far into the orchard and turned around back towards the Burrow.
"Oh, did mum tell you about Bill? He and Fleur are going to get married!" Harry let out a loud laugh, remembering how Ron would turn red just at the sight of her back during the tri-wizard tournament.
"Ron will die; he has had a crush on her for years. When is the big day?"
Ginny shook her head, "I haven't heard when. Probably in a few months….have to make arrangements to get her family from France and our crazy family together to meet I'm sure. You know though, I think Ron is over her. He seems pretty keen on Samantha."
Harry nodded, looking up at one of the windows as he passed by. Fred and George were trying to give Ron advice in chess. "I agree. It's the first time though, I have seen him pretty comfortable around any girl he likes."
"It will be interesting to see what happens, especially when we go back to school." They stopped at the stairs and Ginny put a hand on his arm.
"Harry, tell Hermione what you just told me," she saw Harry blush and look down, clearly uncomfortable with the words he uttered earlier, "You will never see her happier, especially since they are coming from you." She tapped his chest, emphasizing "you" and held the door opened for him.
The next day was Monday and Ron convinced Harry to apparate to Fred and George's shop. Not having much else to do he agreed and got up early with Ron, had a quick breakfast and joined him for a full day of Fred and George.
"Harry! Did you come to try out our "Seamus On You" candy?"
"That was a brilliant idea, Harry, one of the best ones yet. Care to try it?"
Harry shook his head and gazed around at the shop, feeling a bit proud that he had helped The Weasley twins bring this dream to reality.
"This is wonderful, I bet you guys have just about everything and more here!" Harry picked up a cracker, that when pulled let's out a real firecracker into the air, then chased people down the street. Carefully, he set it back down.
"Did you come to help, now that your girlfriend isn't in the country anymore?" Fred teased, waving his wand at the sign on the door to show OPEN.
"You Weasley's don't let anything rest do you? Ginny grilled me last night." Harry looked at an innocent looking cookie, but found out that when you bit into it, it would scream and try to run away from you. He smiled when he thought of how much he would love to send this to Dudley!
"That is what we do best. Inquiring minds NEED to know…," George answered, helping Ron move some boxes from the front to the back of the store.
Harry just let the subject drop, trying to figure out how to get comfortable with the fact that it would soon be very public knowledge that he and Hermione were an item.
Ron came out, dusting his hands off on his pants.
"Guys, Ginny told me that Harry loves Hermione." Ron ducked as Harry threw a cookie his way.
"Awww…Harry that's great. Really," Fred said at the same time George chimed in, "About bloody time." Hearing anything remotely, truly nice coming out of Fred's mouth was a shock to Ron and Harry who stared at him.
"Oh, don't mind him-," George jerked a thumb towards his twin, "He is in love too, just doesn't know it yet." A scuffle ensued as Fred pushed George down and was quickly stopped when the bell on the door chimed. Harry and Ron shrugged at each other, not getting another chance to say anything about it until lunchtime.
After a quick lunch at The Three Broomsticks, Harry and Ron walked around the town.
"So, is it true? You really love Hermione?" Ron asked, stopping at a window of Quidditch supplies. Harry shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about the whole "love" and relationship discussion.
"It sort of popped out, so I guess yeah, I do. Now the thing is, because you all know and I just found out…figured it out… myself, I'm going to have to tell her soon. She'd kill me hearing it from any other source." Harry stared at the window too, not trusting himself to say much more. Ron nodded and didn't question him any further. They spent the rest of their walk around time trying to figure out who Fred was in love with. Ron clearly had no idea, since it was news to him at this point.
Harry enjoyed working with and talking to Fred and George again. Their shop was always busy and he got to see the latest inventions they were working on. By the end of the day, Harry was ready to go home and just sit. He realized as the day wore on that he really missed Hermione. He had never felt this way before and was actually counting down to when she would be home, which was a new experience for him also.
Just as Fred and George closed up shop, Hedwig and Pig came soaring in through and open window.
"Letters!" Harry and Ron exclaimed, grabbing the official Hogwarts stationary and tearing it open.
Ron looked at his letter and was very happy that he wasn't a prefect. Fred and George clapped him on the back. "You can have some fun now! No more little Percy comments from us this year, Ron!"
Harry read his letter and saw a personal note from Dumbledore at the bottom that read:
Dear Harry,
I realize it will be your last year at Hogwarts, and with the defeat of Voldemort, I thought that you might need a year to just have fun and relax. Therefore, after a hard decision I have decided to not make you Head Boy. I have given that job to Neville, which could make this year a very interesting one indeed! Hope you are enjoying your summer and give my wishes to Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley.
Signed,
Albus Dumbledore"
Harry read the letter aloud and the Weasley's laughed until they were red in the face, which didn't take very long, about Neville being head boy.
"Wait til Hermione hears this!" Ron had shouted, laughing even harder. They all knew she would be Head Girl, but they would have to wait to hear from her to confirm their thoughts.
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The week had passed uneventfully and even a bit slowly for Harry. He had heard from Hermione, via a post owl, that she was indeed Head Girl and was wondering if he was Head Boy. She also wrote a long letter about France, how she missed him and wished he was there. She had even hinted that Samantha was talking about Ron and that she had so much fun being with him. When Harry relayed that to his friend, Ron shook his head but was smiling at the same time.
Harry passed the time answering Hermione, cleaning, painting and redecorating the house with Quidditch pictures, some Gryffindor items and some things that Ron insisted he keep there, because he was moving in after their 7th year. Harry had warmed to that idea right away. He liked being out from the Dursley house, but all this quiet was beginning to get almost boring. To pass more time, he poured through magazines about jobs. Auror wasn't going to come to fruition since he didn't get the top grade in Potions (no surprise), so now he was back to square one. 'What do I want to do?' was a thought that flitted through his head like Nearly Headless Nick flying through the walls at Hogwarts.
Through the days he found himself wondering what Hermione would think about his career choice. He knew she wanted to be a healer but had entertained the thought of an Auror, also.
One night, he had even had a dream that he and Hermione had gotten married and Fred let off a stinkbomb in the church; everyone mounted on brooms and took off being followed by those fireworks the twins had in their store. Harry had relayed that dream to Ron, who thought for a moment over breakfast the next morning, then said that if Harry was dreaming about getting married, then he must really be smitten. Harry had asked Ron about Samantha and Ron gave a small shrug and smile, telling him that they had kissed but just for a second or two, but it was promising because she didn't slap him or run away…even though she had kissed him first!
As a result of all the thinking Harry had been doing about his relationship with Hermione, the impending Bill/Fleur wedding and the mysterious girl for Fred, he went to bed on Thursday night wondering if being a normal teenage boy was any easier than defeating the Dark Lord! From his spot, as a "normal" teenage boy, being 17 sure didn't feel easy!