~A/N> So yeah, two chapters in two days. Don't get used to it...without a voice, I can't work on my
podcast right now, and I'm bored to death :p Plus, once I started this chapter, it took on a life of it's own
and it was done in four hours time. I should warn you, there is character death in this chapter, and although there is
H/Hr fluff, there's also sadness. There's a brief glimpse of what will come in the second author's note at
the end. I would say happy reading, but I know it's going to be anything but happy...
"Weren't they supposed to be down ten minutes ago?"
"I have no idea, but I'm ready to leave without her."
"How long does it take a girl to get ready anyway?"
"Oh, would you boys stop complaining. We take our time so that we look good for you," Ginny said, gliding down the stairs in a curve hugging emerald green dress that was almost the exact color of Harry's eyes.
When Harry saw the color of the dress and the way she was exaggeratedly swinging her hips as she walked, he rolled his eyes and thought, 'Lucky me. Of course my date would be the first one down.'
As she walked up to him, Ginny wrapped her arm through his and tried to drag him out of the common room as quick as she could. As they were about ten steps from the portrait hole, Harry stopped short as he heard a collective gasp rise up from the other guys. When he turned around, he couldn't help but stare at the vision of Hermione on the top of the stairs, with Luna walking by her side. She had on a dark blue colored dress that was strapless, and her hair fell in beautiful ringlets down her back and around her face, giving her a look of innocence. As she met Seamus at the bottom of the stairs, she looked up and locked eyes with him, giving him a small smile. He smiled back at her and felt his chest tighten as Seamus took her hand in his and started to walk out with her. Ginny, who had watched the entire exchange, huffed angrily and practically dragged Harry out of the common room.
Glaring at her, Harry asked angrily, "What's the rush?"
"I'm tired of seeing you drool over Hermione when you're supposed to be my date for the Halloween Ball," she replied in a whiny, pouty tone of voice.
Steeling his resolve, Harry pulled Ginny around one of the corners and said, "Look Ginny, tonight we are simply friends going to a dance together, that's all. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I thought of you as more than a friend, but I don't. I want to be with..."
"Hermione, yes I know," Ginny finished for him, rolling her eyes. "Whatever, let's just get to the Great Hall and try to have some fun tonight, okay?"
"Sure, whatever," Harry grumbled as she started to pull him along after her again. Merlin, just kill me now.
~*~
After they had been at the Ball for about an hour, Seamus waved a hand in front of Hermione's face and asked, "Hullo? Am I really that boring?"
"What?" Hermione asked, turning distractedly toward him. She had been watching Harry and Ginny talking to Ron and Luna across the room, and she hadn't really heard what Seamus had said.
"Am I boring you?" Seamus asked again, sounding a little put out. "All you've done all night is stare at Harry and Ginny."
"I'm sorry Seamus, it's just that..."
"You'd rather be here with Harry instead of me," Seamus finished, sounding a bit put out.
"I'm worried about Harry, and I'm concerned for his safety," Hermione replied, sounding almost as angry as he did. "Please don't be jealous, I've told you before that I came here with you as friends, and nothing more."
"Yes, I know," he said, staring into her eyes. "And I told you before that I like you as more than a friend."
Sighing, Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache coming on. As she did so, the Guardian mark on her wrist started to tingle, but she thought nothing of it. "Look, let's just dance and try to have fun, okay?"
"Sure."
~*~
It was killing him, seeing her dancing with him. All Harry wanted to do was walk out onto the dance floor, cut into the dance, and snog Hermione senseless. She looked so beautiful, and under the light that the floating pumpkins cast, she was absolutely gorgeous. Ginny had been talking to a few of the other guys off of their Quidditch team for almost half and hour and Harry was growing increasingly bored. "Ginny," he said, interrupting one of her various stories, "Would you like to dance?"
"I thought you'd never ask," she replied, giving him that smile again. Didn't she know how fake it looked?
The two of them walked amongst the other dancers and Harry stopped a short distance away from where Hermione and Seamus were dancing. As Ginny and Seamus shared an annoyed look, Hermione looked over at Harry and their eyes locked. Harry could swear that he saw longing in them, a longing for him, and his body tingled at the thought of how much he wanted to be with her. He wanted to hold her, kiss those lovely lips, trail kisses down her neck...
"Did you hear me Harry?" Ginny asked, breaking him from his lecherous thoughts.
"Hmm?" he replied offhandedly.
"I give up," she replied, storming off of the dance floor and out of the Great Hall.
Harry watched her retreating figure and then looked back at Hermione. Giving her an apologetic look, he ran out after Ginny, stopping her before she could go outside. "Ginny," he said, as he grabbed her arm. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just that..."
"You want to be with her instead, I get it Harry," she finished, not meeting his eyes. "It just hurts, you know? I've wanted to be your girlfriend for as long as I can remember, and last year when we were together, I was so happy. But with everything that happened...I understood why you broke up with me. I just always had this notion that you would want me back someday, but I see the way you look at her, and I know that I have absolutely no chance of getting you back now. It still hurts though, and I can't make it stop."
Harry felt terrible, seeing Ginny so heartbroken. He wrapped his arms around her, remembering the good times they had shared the year before, and said, "I'll never forget last year; being with you was wonderful. It's just that I've moved on now, and you need to as well. I'm not the one you're meant to be with Ginny, but I know in my heart that you'll find that person soon."
She sniffled, trying her hardest to keep her tears at bay, and said, "Go to her, Harry. It's obvious she wants to be with you too."
Harry stared at her for a moment, seeing the sadness in her eyes still, but now resignation seemed to be there as well. Without another word, he turned away from her and made his way back into the Ball, intent on getting his dance with Hermione.
~*~
The moment Seamus saw Harry re-enter the Great Hall, he knew that it was more than likely the end of his night with Hermione. She had been distant the entire night, watching Harry from across the room and barely responding to his conversation, and it was obvious that he was the one she wanted to be with. He had been hoping that maybe, just for that night, that she would look at him the way she always looked at Harry just once, and he would know that there was an inkling of a chance for him. But seeing her behavior, he knew he didn't have a chance in hell against Harry bloody Potter. Sighing, he stepped back from her as he released her and said, "I think Harry is here for his dance."
Looking at Seamus, confused by his behavior, Hermione watched as he took another step away from her and said, "But Seamus..."
"Please don't," he interrupted, not wanting her pity. "It's more than obvious who you want to be with. I was foolish to think that I could compete with him."
"Seamus, I'm..." Hermione started, but then stopped talking as Harry approached them.
He stood there, looking between the two of them, and asked, "Am I interrupting something?"
"Of course you are, but when has that stopped you before?" Seamus replied angrily, glaring at him. When Harry went to say something, he held up a hand and said, "I don't want to hear it. Just dance with her already...you win, I give up."
"Seamus..." Hermione said, as she tried to reach out to stop him, but he moved too quickly and soon he was out of the room. She put her hand to her mouth, trying to stop her lip from quivering as she kept the tears that threatened at bay. Looking to Harry she whispered, "I wanted to be with you tonight, but I didn't want to hurt him like that. He's a wonderful person...he didn't deserve that."
"Ginny didn't deserve to be treated the way I treated her either," Harry replied as he walked up to stand in front of her. Holding out his hand, he asked, "May I have this dance?"
"You didn't even need to ask," she replied quietly as she stared into his eyes.
Harry took her into his arms as a slow song came on the wireless, and for the first time that night he felt whole...complete. Hermione looked up at him as he tightened his hold on her and he lowered his head, pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that he'd wanted to give her for a very long time. Hermoine moved her hands so that they were both behind his neck, sinking into the feel of his lips on hers as her fingers moved through his hair. Completely forgetting where they were, Harry lightly ran his tongue over her lips, asking permission to deepen the kiss, and she parted them without hesitation. The two of them stayed that way, swaying back and forth to a music that was all their own, lost in a kiss that threatened to drown them both in it's intensity.
Suddenly, the two of them broke apart, Harry's hand reaching up to cover his scar as Hermione reached down to the Guardian mark on her wrist. Both were experiencing a stinging, burning pain in their marks, and both knew that it meant trouble was coming, and soon.
Looking at her, Harry said, "Why don't we just try to enjoy the rest of our night together, and if something happens, we'll deal with it then?"
Sighing as he wrapped his arms around her again, Hermione lay her head on his shoulder and said, "I think that's a wonderful idea. Besides, this is Hogwarts, we're perfectly safe here."
Harry, feeling very uneasy at hearing her words, said, "Hermione, we're never safe, no matter where we are. I'm the boy-who-lived, and you're the Guardian assigned to protect me. We're living targets for all the evil that's in this world."
Taking in what he said, Hermione closed her eyes as tears threatened once again and said, "So let's just enjoy the time we have, and hopefully keep the evil at bay, if only for just a little while."
Nodding his head, he pulled her as close to him as he could, hoping that he could protect her from the evil that he knew was on it's way to disrupt their lives, as she continued to dance with her head on his shoulder thinking the exact same thing.
They danced every dance together after that, enjoying each other's company. About an hour after he had stormed out, Seamus returned with Ginny by his side, and the two started to dance together. Harry and Hermione watched them for a little while, and Hermione smiled as she noticed the two seemed to be finally enjoying themselves. Every once in a while, a nasty look would be thrown their way by one of them, but it didn't phase Harry or Hermione one bit.
Just as the last song of the night was announced, the strange twinges in their scars turned to searing pain and they looked at each other, worried about the implications. Immediately on guard, they looked around the Great Hall to see that everything looked perfectly normal. No one had noticed Draco Malfoy making his way across the Hall with a distant look in his eyes, his movements forced, until it was too late. He started firing Unforgiveables at the students, and most of them didn't even have time to dive out of the way of the colored jets of light. Screams erupted throughout the Hall as everyone started running for the doors, hoping to escape. Unfortunately, the doors had been sealed, trapping them in and keeping the professors out.
As many screams of "Help us!" rang out, Harry and Hermione started searching for Malfoy. Unfortunately, he was looking for them as well, and the three met in the middle of the Great Hall with wands drawn.
"Finally," Malfoy said, in a voice that didn't belong to him, "The boy-who-lived and his Guardian together in one place. Now I can finish you both at once and finally get on with my plan to take over the world."
Harry glared at Malfoy, even though he knew it wasn't really him, and ground out, "Don't think it's going to be that easy, Voldemort."
"Voldemort?" he replied, laughing evilly. "You silly boy, I'm not Voldemort. My name is Damien...I'm sure that your Guardian knows very well who I am. I'm the one that killed your mother's Guardian and your father as well. Now, it's your turn to die."
"Damien," Hermione whispered, the fear evident in her voice. When Harry looked at her with confusion, anger, and hurt in his eyes, she said, "He's the Head Shaddock...the most evil being in the world. He killed Ancelin, and was with Voldemort the night your parents were killed."
"You bastard!" Harry yelled, preparing to cast a spell. Before he could say a word, Damien-as-Malfoy waved his wand without saying a word and cast a Crucio on him.
As Harry lay screaming in agony on the floor, Hermione screamed, "Stop it!", as Ron, Luna, Seamus, and Ginny came running up to them. Seeing his best mate in pain, Ron tackled Malfoy to the floor, breaking the curse for a moment, but was soon thrown against the wall. As Luna watched Ron slide unconscious to the floor, she pulled out her wand to cast a Stupify, but never had a chance. She too was thrown against the wall, and slid down next to Ron, unconscious as well. Ginny and Seamus stood frozen, watching how easily Malfoy was defending himself and then as he started to crucio Harry again, not knowing that it was really Damien possessing Malfoy.
When Damien finally released Harry from the Cruciatus, he turned his wand on Hermione and said, "Now, I can finally be rid of your blasted kind and go forward with my plan. Avada..."
"No!" Seamus yelled, running at full speed toward Hermione. Just as Damien said, "Kedava," and the green jet of light went sailing toward Hermione, Seamus jumped in front of her, taking the killing curse right in the middle of his chest.
When Seamus fell to the floor at her feet, his eyes wide open in a lifeless stare, Hermione screamed in anger and pointing her wand at Damien-as-Malfoy shouted, "Andrelateo Olethros Daimonion Philos*!" A jet of golden-white light sailed toward Malfoy's body and slammed him into the same wall that Ron and Luna had hit. Luckily, the two of them had been moved by Ginny before Hermione had cast her spell. Hermione watched as Damien's shadow was extracted from Malfoy's body and sailed through the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, disappearing amongst the stars that shone brightly there. Hermione registered the sound of the Great Hall's doors being blasted open by some of the Professors, and she watched in a trance as one of the students told the Headmistress what Draco had done. McGonagall had immediately sent two of the professors to guard him, and as she looked around the room her face was a mask of sadness and grief.
Exhausted, Hermione fell to her knees and started to cry as her eyes focused once more on Seamus's lifeless body. Knowing he was gone, she quickly crawled over to Harry and moved him so that his head lay on her lap. As she spoke softly to him, urging him to wake up, she kept glancing over to Seamus as tears streamed down her face. When Harry finally opened his eyes and blearily focused on her, she cried even harder as she said, "Thank God you're alive! I was so afraid that I'd lose you too!"
Looking very confused, Harry slowly turned his head to the side, fearing what he would see. When his eyes came to rest on Seamus, he looked back up to Hermione's tear stained face. In a very weak, rough sounding voice, he asked, "Is he...?"
Crying so hard that she couldn't speak, Hermione slowly nodded her head, confirming Harry's worst fears. As Madam Pomfrey rushed over to examine Harry, Hermione left the nurse to her work and made her way back to Seamus. Kneeling down, she placed her hand over the place his heart once beat so strongly, and bent down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. "You're my hero," she whispered, and unable to take the pain in her chest any longer, Hermione completely broke down as she lay her head upon his chest, sobbing for the boy that was and the great Wizard that could have been.
~*~
After Headmistress McGonagall finally dragged Hermione away from Seamus, she was escorted to the Hospital Ward to be examined with the other students. Ron and Luna would be spending the night there after suffering head injuries, and after completely examining him head-to-toe, Madam Pomfrey relented and said that Harry could sleep in his own bed that night. After he was cleared, he made his way to where Hermione was being examined and took one of her hands into his. Feeling the contact, Hermione looked up and her eyes focused on his. Seeing the pain in her eyes made his lung's constrict, and before he could say anything comforting she whispered, "He's dead...he's dead because of me..."
Harry, concerned by the way she was acting, looked at Madam Pomfrey and asked, "Is she going to be okay?"
"She's in shock from what she saw, and her body is exhausted by the spell she cast. I don't know what it was, but her magical levels are well below normal." Seeing how concerned Harry was, she added, "I'm sure with some Dreamless Sleep potion and some rest, she'll be physically fine. Mentally, I'm really not sure..." Harry continued to hold her hand as the nurse finished with Hermione's exam and when she was finally done she said, "I'm afraid I don't have any more beds available, so she'll have to spend the night in her dorm as well."
"I'll take her back to the common room," Harry stated, helping a barely coherent Hermione to stand from the chair she was sitting on. Wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her, Harry accepted two vials of Dreamless Sleep potion from Madam Pomfrey and made his way out of the Ward, Hermione walking slowly next to him, seemingly catatonic. "I'm so sorry I didn't protect you," he whispered, as he bent down to place a gentle kiss on her temple.
At the feel of his lips on her skin, Hermione looked into his eyes once again and said, "I killed him Harry...he's dead because of me."
"It wasn't your fault, luv," Harry said, gathering her closer to his side. When she started to cry again, he steered her to the Head Boy and Girl's quarters and helped her into the common room.
When Susan, who had been sitting on the sofa with her boyfriend, saw the two of them walk in she looked to Harry and asked, "Are you two okay?"
"I'll survive, but I don't know about Hermione yet. She's in a bit of a state after witnessing what she did."
"Oh you mean....", Susan's boyfriend started to say, but was promptly cut off by one of Susan's elbows planted in his ribs.
Glaring at him, Harry said, "Yeah, that's what I meant." Getting her to walk again, Harry guided Hermione past the sofa and said, "She's going to stay with me tonight. I don't think she should be alone after what she's been through."
Without waiting for a response, Harry went to walk up the stairs when he realized how hard it would be for Hermione. Without a second thought, he scooped her up in his arms and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, feeling exhausted and sore. The next thing her brain registered was being gently laid onto a bed, and then Harry coaxing her to drink some vile tasting liquid. A few minutes later, her eyes started to droop, and as she started to drift off into sleep she felt Harry lay behind her. As he gathered her into his arms once again, she laid her head onto his chest and listened to the wonderful sound of his heart beating strong, and a small part of her was so glad that he was still alive. With that thought, an image of Seamus came to mind once again and tears started to fall from her eyes. Harry, feeling the wetness on his chest, reached out to brush them gently away and then planted tender kisses on her cheeks where they had been. "Try to get some sleep, luv," he whispered. Feeling the potion overtake her, she finally drifted off into a sleep where she wasn't haunted by the sight of Seamus's dead body, or Harry being unmercifully tortured by the most evil being ever.
*Andrelateo Olethros Daimonion Philos- Banish The Evil One
~A/N2> Sorry it's so sad, but it had to be done. In the next chapter, the repercussions of the attack, and an explanation about what happened to Draco. Please review! :)