Disclaimer: All characters, events and references drawn from HP belong to J.K. Rowling, etc., respectively, everything else is my own invention.
FORESIGHT
PART TEN
How could they do this? How could they betray us like this? No. It can't be true. They couldn't have…
Harry felt terribly let down at the sight of the three redheads standing there, expressionless and looking at the couple huddled over Ron. Hermione had obviously figured things out too, for she had the same look of disgust at those whom they had entrusted with their lives.
Voldemort let out a harsh laugh and shook his head.
"Ah, Harry. By the look on you and your mudblood girlfriend's face, I see you've figured out our little scheme," the Dark Lord started. "It was so easy, actually. I merely had to use the source of your greatest weakness - your absolute trust in those you love. A flaw which I learned to dispense with long ago. And so, here you are, helpless in my hands. But because you have been such willing prey this night and because it will be your last one on earth, allow me to put your mind at ease a little. Not all is as bad as are you are presently thinking, Harry…"
The almost reptilian looking wizard paused for a moment in a fixed gaze at both of them.
"How do you like my Invitalis Field?" Voldemort asked, now raising his hands and looking up into the sparkling effect overhead. "You know that I have in years past roamed the world, searching for every bit of dark magic I could find that might help me in my continuing quest for greatness. And I happened to find this little spell in the hands of some monks in a very dark corner of the globe, many years before you were even born. They were using it to hide their monastery from their enemies, whom I happened upon quite accidentally in a fierce battle with the old men."
"When I came to their aid and used my considerable magical talents to destroy their foes, the monks gratefully gave me the formula for creating this extremely useful, yet rarely known piece of magic. Of course, afterwards I killed all the monks and burned their monastery to the ground. After all, I couldn't have every other dark wizard or Auror gaining knowledge of all my secrets, now could I?"
"One of the fascinating side effects of the Field, Harry, that I discovered later, is that ghosts can't materialize inside of it. So as you have probably guessed by now, considering what happened last time, during our little encounter in the graveyard and the fact that no one knows your present whereabouts…" Voldemort now leveled his gaze at both of them and his expression became one of darkest evil. "…no one will be coming to save you this time. Not even dear old Mum and Dad."
Voldemort now turned his gaze over to the three Weasleys standing together in silence, looking pensively at the Dark Lord.
"As for your three 'friends'…well, they have served me well this night, especially one of them who needed to do his penance for failing me so miserably last year. But now that you are here, Harry…enough of this ruse!"
Voldemort pulled out his wand and pointed it at the three figures.
"Revelatum!" he spoke sharply. Suddenly the three of them fell over, grasping their stomachs and convulsing as through they were vomiting. They were all on their knees, their faces toward the ground, heaving in pain.
Harry couldn't make out any kind of color, as everything was washed out by the pre-dawn moon still clinging to its place in the heavens. But he and Hermione now watched as the hair on Fred, George and Ginny began to alter, their bodies changing slightly too. When they finally recovered from the charm, the three of them stood up again, this time looking nothing like their previous appearance. Harry and Hermione both were stunned.
The imposter who had been Ginny, was not recognizable to either of them. She had long, black flowing hair and a very beautiful but sinister looking face. The young man who was George was also unknown to them, but the imposter posing as Fred was a face they knew and hated all too well. His almost whitish blond hair and tell tale smirk, made Draco Malfoy easy to spot a mile away. However, Harry noticed that one side of Malfoy's face was horribly scarred now. That must account for the hesitance and look of fear he had on his face while gazing at the two of them, Harry thought. Service to absolute evil has its rewards and apparently Voldemort rewarded Malfoy well, after his failure to kill Dumbledore.
Harry now felt a mixture of relief and worry at the same time. He was glad that it was no longer the Weasleys that were standing nearby, but he couldn't help but feel afraid over what might have happened to the real Fred, George and Ginny. Unfortunately, now was not the time to speculate on something he could do nothing about.
"As you can see, Harry, while you three have been gallivanting all over the place, hunting down my horcruxes, which, consequently, I no longer need anyway, we, unlike you, have been doing our homework. And as you and your mudblood friend can attest to, polyjuice has its uses, although I had to make a few modifications to the formula, otherwise my servants would have altered too soon and you would have received a premature shock at your mophead friend's new looks."
A round of laughter again went up from the Death Eaters in the clearing, but suddenly went silent as Hermione jumped up from her place by Ron, ignoring Voldemort, and storming towards Malfoy with a fury. Harry jumped up and tried to catch her, but it was too late. When she stood practically in his face, Malfoy tried hard not to look fearful and uncertain with all the Dark Lord's servants watching, but he failed pretty miserably. Hermione glared into his newly deformed face, and then surprised everyone. Instead of hitting Draco, she turned and threw a terrific punch at the 'Ginny' imposter, hitting her squarely in the jaw and knocking her flat on her back.
An even louder explosion of laughter wafted into the cool night air at the spectacle now unfolding. Hermione, in her effort to strike the imposter, had fallen over on the ground too. She started to get back up, cradling her punching hand in the other and holding her arm stiffly, wincing at the pain. She slowly began to back away. The girl on the ground sat up, glared unflinchingly at Hermione and then rose up herself. She started to move forward, ready to take Hermione's head off.
"STOP! These two are mine and only mine," the order went out from Voldemort very threateningly.
The dark haired girl obeyed, glancing briefly at Voldemort then back to Hermione, a mocking smile now appearing on her face. Another laugh went up, then Draco and the other two walked over to stand next to Snape and the rest of the Death Eaters. Hermione moved back to stand next to Harry, still holding her fist.
Harry was tired of this. He needed to do something before the situation became even graver. He started to walk away from Hermione and Ron, who had been laying at their feet. As he moved left to the side of them, he watched every Death Eater he could, hoping that one of them might not be holding their wand too tightly, preparing to do the summoning spell if he caught one off guard. Voldemort simply watched Harry as though he were a harmless bird in a cage that could be quashed anytime he wished.
"How do you want to do this Voldemort? Another duel?" Harry rang out with seriousness and confidence, though feeling little of it himself. He hoped that perhaps the evil wizard might give him a wand like last time, then he could finally make a move.
"A duel? Oh no, Harry, not this time," Voldemort replied, "You tucked tail and ran out on me last time, remember? And quite ungentlemanly, I might add. No, Harry, I'm in no mood for games with a half-rate wizard bearing a 'messiah' complex tonight. You've been a real thorn in my side and I'm going to finally pluck you out. I have more important things to do, after all. A war to prosecute, worlds to conquer. And perhaps those who seem bent on fighting me might feel more inclined to see things my way, once their 'hero' is gone."
"No, Harry Potter, first I'm going to visit on you all the pain I have had to endure for seventeen long years and then I am simply going to kill you. Then who knows? Maybe I'll let my Death Eaters have a little fun with your girlfriend, afterwards. They did dress for the occasion and I'm sure are quite eager for some action…"
Harry's fury had reached the breaking point and he snapped, losing any concern for his own safety at the moment. The only thing he wanted to do was cram his fist or his foot into Voldemort's mouth just to stop that incessant ranting, especially at the suggestion of what he would do with Hermione.
Harry started to charge forward but a loud CRACK issued from the tip of Voldemort's wand and Harry found himself flying backwards and hitting the ground hard. He winced at the pain in his chest and backside, trying to get up on his feet again.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted in fear, seeing him fall back and then moving in his direction. But she immediately stopped and turned to look at Voldemort.
"Oh very well, Potter, if you insist…let's begin," Voldemort snarled at him.
Harry had managed to get to his knees when the CRACK sounded and a blue light arced from Voldemort's wand, hitting Harry in the shoulder. Harry began doubling over in pain. He could feel the burning start from his shoulder and move down through his entire nervous system to his fingertips and toes. It was similar to someone smashing his cold fingers with a hammer, but it was happening over his whole body. He cried out involuntarily, though trying desperately to maintain a strong composure, not wanting Voldemort to have the satisfaction of seeing him suffer.
After the pain had subsided a little, Harry looked up with a determination in his eyes, his teeth gritted in an all out attempt to stand up and fight his enemy's onslaught. His body, however, was screaming at him to just lay down. Suddenly, another CRACK came from the wand tip and the bluish arc hit his chest, sending him reeling over on his side, the fresh wave of pain racing through his system like electricity.
Harry could barely make out the roar of laughter and noise coming from the Death Eaters around the clearing. His hands were trembling and he felt terribly nauseated at the excruciating pain that continued to pulse in his veins. He was struggling now to just maintain consciousness and he saw that the Dark Lord knew this. Voldemort was simply watching Harry writhe on the ground, biding his time until Harry could recover enough strength to be hit with the curse again.
A deep cry of emotion seemed to wail inside of him at his helplessness in the disintegrating situation around him. He briefly glanced at Hermione, seeing her standing there, watching him, desperately wanting to do something, the tears streaming down her face. And for some strange reason she was still holding her closed fist tightly in her other hand.
"How about another one, Harry…yes?" the Dark Lord called out to the cheers coming from the dark wizards watching.
Voldemort raised his wand once more and pointed it at Harry, who was now turned on his stomach, trying to get his hands to push the rest of his body off the ground.
"NOOOO!!!"
Every laugh, cheer or other noise immediately died at the sound of the female voice and a loud CRACK echoing off the inside of the Invitalis Field. But this time the noise had not come from Voldemort's wand. Harry watched in astonishment as the Dark Lord lurched off of the ground, floating up several feet in the air, his face full of surprise. The Death Eaters viewing this strange sight then gasped to see their master begin to spin in place, sideways, head over feet, faster and faster. Harry quickly turned to look over at Hermione who was no longer holding her fist.
She was standing firmly, a look of intense rage on her face, her arm outstretched and pointing a wand at Voldemort and twirling it in circles, rapidly. Harry now understood what she had done. When she had decked Ginny's imposter, the imposter had dropped her wand. Hermione seeing this, fell down, feinting clumsiness. She had been holding the wand behind her stiff arm the whole time, unbeknownst to Voldemort, the imposter, or any of the others. Her cleverness never ceased to amaze him.
Harry watched again as Hermione raised the wand slightly and then jerked it down strongly as though she were hitting something with it in anger. Voldemort's body slammed into the ground, head first, and the wizard lay still in the grass. Pandemonium broke out all over the crowd around them. Voldemort had apparently instructed them not to interfere or face a stiff penalty, but it appeared that their master had been knocked unconscious. Harry even saw Snape hesitantly whip out his wand, a look of uncertainty in his cold face.
There came a commotion from behind and Harry turned to look at it, while starting to get on his knees again, the pain gradually dissipating.
"HERMIONE!" he yelled out, alerting her to the danger coming from behind.
She spun around, pointing the wand in the direction she now faced. Several Death Eaters had apparently been convinced their master was defeated and had begun to storm towards Hermione, drawing their wands as they moved.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" she yelled out and a shockwave coursed from out of the end of her wand.
It hit the group of Death Eaters and sent them flying through the air, crashing into the other wizards from whence they came. Hermione then turned to her left, the sight of movement catching her eye. Another group had moved forward and raised their wands, hoping to catch her off guard but she was too fast for their indecisiveness.
"PLAGIARUM VENTUS!" she shot out.
Harry saw what looked like a swarm of insects erupt from the tip of the wand and spew into the crowd of Death Eaters standing to their side. He had read of this spell in a book once, and remembered that the particular version Hermione was now using called for Firewasps, whose stings were said to be ten times worse than normal hornets.
The black hats went crazy, trying to swat or wave off the wasps swarming around them, some rolling on the ground and others fleeing through the woods entirely. Still others, who were obviously in terrible pain at all the stings, were attempting to move away from Hermione as fast as possible. She continued to stand there, wand pointed at them. CRACK!
Another audible explosion reverberated off of the sparkling field around them. But now Harry watched in horror as the wand dropped from Hermione's hand and her arm went limp. She cried out in pain and collapsed on her knees. He turned his head to see Voldemort sitting on the ground, his wand pointed towards her and slowly getting up. The look on his face told Harry one thing and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what Voldemort was going to do next. Shock began to fill Harry's mind at the terrible thought of watching Hermione being killed by the same curse his mother had been struck with. He had to do something quickly.
"ACCIO!" Harry yelled out, his arm reaching in the direction of Hermione as he began to stand up on his shaky legs. The wand flew from its resting spot in the grass and into his hand, and he immediately turned it on the Dark Lord.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" he shouted and the red light arced out of Harry's wand and sailed towards the Dark Lord.
Voldemort had been diverted from Hermione by the flying wand and now turned his own wand at Harry again. The blue light flew out and the two streams met in midair, creating a thunderous noise that deafened everyone inside the clearing. Harry slowly stood up, gaining his balance, and steadily walked in the direction of Voldemort, the red and blue beams sparking and creating small explosions of light at their point of contact. The scene looked eerily reminscent of their duel in the graveyard as the two tried to break each other's will.
Harry felt all of the hatred he held for the dark wizard begin to focus to a point in his mind that brought every memory back of the horrors he had witnessed in his life because of the evil that now stood before him. His mother and father, Dumbledore, Sirius and countless witches or wizards who had died to rid the world of this menace. The thoughts and memories brought forth a determination and anger like never before in Harry. He gained new confidence and began walking even more steadly towards the Dark Lord, trying to break Voldemort's spell and finally end this tragedy. His thoughts turned to Hermione and the love he felt so strongly for her. The desire to see her happy, to hold her again in his arms, to finally be free to do so without this threat hanging over both their lives. Maybe now it could be over and they could all be free.
Harry watched as the reddish arc from his wand began to overpower the blue light coming from Voldemort's. Sparks were showering everywhere as the evil wizard began to back up, his arm trembling from the powerful exchange erupting before them both. It seemed that Harry was winning. Perhaps the prophecy was true after all, perhaps this was the purpose for his life, perhaps all the hopes that so many had placed on him weren't unfounded after all. Harry began to feel a sense of relief - he was finally doing it! He never really understood Dumbledore's words about how love was the only force that could defeat the Dark Lord. He didn't know how his mother's love had saved him before, but it didn't matter now, Harry Potter was finally doing it! He had become the man his parents had died to save, he had become the wizard that he never knew was in him until that fateful night six years ago. This was the destiny he had been preparing for ever since. But just as those thoughts were crossing his dizzied mind, Voldemort did something Harry wasn't expecting.
The nemesis he had loathed for so long now raised his other arm, extending it towards Harry. A shockwave erupted from Voldemort's fingertips, crashing into Harry's legs, causing him to collapse. At the same time the dark wizard leaned forward, intensifying the pressure he had brought to bear on the spell coming out of his wand. The bluish light quickly overtook Harry's expelliarmus beam and flew into the wand in Harry's hand. The wand exploded in a shower of sparks, splinters of wood flying everywhere. The hand he was holding it in was burning in pain as though he had been holding a lit firecracker.
Down on his knees, Harry glanced back at Voldemort, only to see another bluish arc racing toward him and hitting him hard in the chest. The pain began to sear his body all over again and Harry felt himself crumbling beneath the weight of the pain and the aching despair cascading through his once hopeful mind. He had been so wrong. He was foolish enough, in that brief feeling of overcoming the Dark Lord, to believe all that nonsense about his destiny and now it was going to cost him his life and perhaps Hermione's too.
Harry Potter was beaten and he knew it. Voldemort was simply too powerful and cunning for a skinny seventeen year old kid who knew so little compared to the shadow that now hovered over him in victory.
"Is this all you've got, Potter? Is this the champion the world has been waiting for all these years?" Voldemort scowled, shaking his head and looking very incredulous at the sight of Harry reeling from pain in the grass. The Death Eaters around them were silent, simply waiting for the final blow.
"Disappointing. Pitiful. I really will have to level that worthless school of yours after I win this war, if this is the kind of wizards it's been turning out. Oh well. I'm tired of this episode of ours, Harry. Farewell…"
Harry knew what was coming next and though not surprised, some part of him couldn't believe that it was going to end like this. But he lifted his head up and set his eyes on his enemy, determined to face his fate as a man. The one thought that now crossed his mind, brought more pain to his heart than any of Voldemort's spells could. Hermione. I'm so sorry Hermione. I'm so sorry that I failed you all. I love you more than anything that this life could have given me. I hope you can forgive me.
Harry couldn't stand to even look at her at this moment, words again failing him.
The Dark Lord slowly raised his wand, his expression one of strange solemnity, as though it were a ritual and something he was going to savor. Then his words erupted into the night air.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Suddenly there was a blur of movement, but Harry couldn't tell what it was. He fell back slightly on the ground and noticed that his view of Voldemort had been blocked by something. As he scrambled to try and process the image in his mind, he saw it was a silhouette standing before him, darkened even more by the green light that seemed to fill the air around it. The green light now dissipated and the silhouette began moving backwards towards him but slightly off to his right. As he watched it come closer, he noticed that it had begun to fall to the ground next to him. The next moment was the most terrifying of his life.
It was as though someone had reached into his heart and tore half of it out, leaving the other half to bleed and burn with pain, and now functioning only half as well as before and not enough to keep him alive. He could not fathom the startling image he now witnessed, watching Hermione's body collapse beside him, still and lifeless. It was as though time had suddenly stopped for Harry and though he knew he was screaming at the top of his lungs at what had just transpired, he couldn't hear himself at all.
He mustered every bit of strength he had left and began moving closer to the girl he loved, trying to put all the pain he was under in the back of his mind. The tears had already begun to fall and the shock was overtaking his mind. No. She can't be dead, she can't be. NO!!! He finally reached her side and with aching limbs began to lift her up and draw her body closer to him. Her limp arms drooped down by her side and her head fell back as he brought her up to his body. Harry began sobbing uncontrollably. He reached up with one trembling hand and cradled her head, bringing it up even with her body again. He gazed at that beautiful face, seemingly vacant and silent.
A cry came out of Harry's mouth now that sent a chill down the spine of every Death Eater in the clearing. His heart was breaking into fragments. That pain he had felt only hours before, before the two of them had shared their love for each other, that same pain that he had carried with him ever since Hermione's 'change', it came back in waves over his mind and soul. It was a deathly emptiness and loss that he could not comprehend. He felt for a moment what life would be like without her - a raw, empty existence that would never be the same, a soul having lost it's true companion, wandering like a restless ghost until it's final end.
Harry leaned in and pressed her body against his. He was weeping loudly, but didn't care. The one person who had shown him an unconditional love, who had meant so much to him, whose life was intertwined and enwrapped with his own, was now gone. She had done it. She did what only one other person in his life had done. She proved in this last act the kind of love that is so rare and precious that the thought of her now brought so much more admiration and also amazement at that love's strangely beautiful essence. He was not sure what this now meant. The sacrifice of his mother, was supposedly voided by Voldemort's resurrection, but a new sacrifice for Harry had been made. However, unlike the incident during his infancy, he was conscious of this and knew Hermione more than he had known anyone else in his life. The pain that this act had brought with it was more than any he had for his parent's before - this was different.
Instinct would have normally told him to get up and face his enemy now in light of what just happened. Perhaps Hermione's sacrifice was enough to protect him again and allow him to finish the Dark Lord off once and for all. If anything, it would honor what she had done so selflessly. But Harry couldn't. Something had broken in him now that was beyond repair and he simply no longer cared. A fact that he knew without any doubt crossed into his brain and remained fixed, it seemed, over the both of them. There was no Harry Potter without Hermione Granger. He simply did not want to face a world without her. He never in his life believed he would find such a surprising and immensely strong love like this again, and he only wanted to be with her. Wherever she was - that was his home.
Then just as suddenly, Harry felt something else began to ebb in him. That same peace that had taken him over at the river, just before he had taken her into his arms. That same peace now flooded into him, causing all the pain and trouble he felt to rush away. The tears stopped and Harry reached up with his other hand, gently caressing her cheek and brushing her bushy brown hair aside. He smiled at her and then leaned in kissing her gently on the forehead, just as she had done for him only two hours ago. He didn't care about Voldemort, the Death Eaters or anything else. He could only think about her and wanted so desperately to see her smile again, wherever that might be.
"Wait for me, Hermione. I'm coming…it won't be too long. I'm coming for you…" the words trailed off brokenly as he continued to gaze at her face, still slightly glowing in the morning light of the moon.
He had been oblivious to the world for several moments, but now noticed movement again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the Dark Lord had raised his wand once more. Sacrifice or not, he was determined to kill Harry Potter, but Harry didn't care anymore. He drew Hermione a little closer to him, slightly turning his back to Voldemort in a final gesture of protection over the beautifully smart and clever girl he was so glad to have met on that train all those years ago. He wanted the last thing he saw to be that pretty face, the last thing he felt to be her body next to his, to feel that warmth one more time, before it was gone forever.
He saw out of the corner of his eye the green flash of light, the arc racing toward his head.
And then everything went blank…