My Unreality
4. Reflection
Disclaimer: I did not create any of the Harry Potter characters or storyline.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You are all awesome!!
Reflection
Harry stared at the Dark Forest before him. He had been in here so many times with Ron and Hermione throughout his school years. Every single time they had found themselves in deathly situations, and Harry had the funny feeling it was about to happen again.
“What are you waiting for?” Hermione asked, coming to stand next to him, her wand lit up with a lumos spell, illuminating her face in the gathering darkness. They had needed to wait until night fall so that it would not be too obvious they were going into the forbidden forest. Neither of them were particularly thrilled about the idea, but Harry could tell that Hermione was afraid they would be seen before they even got in the forest.
“It’s nothing.” Harry said dismissively and walked through the trees. Instantly he felt a chill run down his spine, similar to the feeling one gets when being watched. He glanced about the dark forest and frowned to himself. There were no eyes peering out from the trees, no crunching of twigs. He shivered slightly, wondering if it was just his imagination, or if it really was something watching them. He had enough experience of this forest to know it was dangerous. Falling into a false sense of security could cost them their lives.
Harry steeled himself against his fears and gestured for Hermione to come up to where he was. He did not have his wand with him anymore, it had been broken in the other world so he would have to rely on her this time.
“Stay close.” Harry commanded, “I don’t want us getting split up, and we need to make sure we can see everything in front of us.”
Hermione nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation. She bit her lips slightly and looked about the forest. Harry followed her gaze and saw the many paths twisting off into the darkness. This place was like a maze in way. Harry couldn’t help but wonder what madness drove the Harry in this world to run off into this forest.
“Where should we start looking?” Hermione asked, her eyes glowing in an unearthly way in the wand light.
“I guess we’ll just head up one of these paths and see what happens.”
Hermione nodded her head and followed Harry as they walked through the trees. He found it strange going through the forest again. In his world it had been burnt down. Voldemort wanted to stop the centaurs from joining with the Light, so he burned down the forest, killing nearly all the creatures who inhabited it. Now, here he was again, walking through the forest, only this time it was in another world, with another Hermione.
“Do you think he is alright, Harry I mean?” Hermione asked in a worried voice. Harry stared at her face, trying to discern her expression. She looked tried and worried, though he guessed he probably looked the same. He hoped that Harry wasn’t hurt, or worse, dead. It could mean that he would be stuck here forever, cursed to live in a world he did not belong in, never to be reunited with his friends or his love.
“I’m sure he’s fine. I think…I will know if he’s dead.” Harry said slowly. It seemed plausible enough that they would have some kind of connection. Sometimes he felt like he was being drawn to where Harry was. When Hermione had said that Harry could be in the Dark Forest, Harry had felt a pull inside him, as if the Harry in this world wanted to be found. It made sense, so he just let his feelings guide him in the hopes that they would bring him to Harry, wherever he was in the forest.
Hermione sighed as she thought about what Harry had said. “Harry, when we find the other you in this world…you’re going to go back right? Back to your own world?”
Harry nodded. He wasn’t sure where Hermione was going with this, but he had an inkling that things were about to get very comfortable. He had sensed that something had happened between Hermione and the Harry in this world. When he had asked her why she hated him, she had been so shocked. He had thought that perhaps Hermione had liked Harry but he had not returned her feelings. It seemed plausible enough, since she had fallen for him so quickly.
“Hermione.” Harry said slowly, as he tried to find the right words. “What happened between you and Harry?”
Hermione looked away, her eyes downcast to hide her emotions. He could sense her discomfort and knew she did not want to talk about it. Not to him anyway. But he had to know, he had to know because this Hermione was so much like his, and he hated to see her hurt.
“Did he do something to hurt you?”
Hermione shifted uncomfortably and met his gaze. He could see the shame in her eyes and frowned slightly.
“His friend, Isabelle Black, played a prank on me that involved Harry. I don’t if he knew at the time, but well….she said that he wanted to go with me to Hogsmeade and….”Hermione broke off, her face heating up with pink tinges. “I guess I kind of liked him, so I waited where we were so supposed to meet but he never turned up. I found out what happened the next day and of course I was upset, but what really hurt me was that he never even said sorry. He just ignored me, and that was it.”
Hermione sighed and shook her head. “You probably think I’m stupid for holding a grudge over something so trivial.”
Harry smiled slightly and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You’re not stupid for feeling hurt. I don’t know he would be stupid enough to not see what a beautiful and talented witch you are. It’s his problem that he’s a jerk, Hermione; he’s the one who is missing out here.”
Hermione blushed slightly and met his gaze, her eyes filling with the same warmth he had seen earlier that day. He looked away, realising he had said too much again. It was so hard to keep his feelings to himself when she was so familiar to him. Even though she had experienced life differently to him, it was like seeing Hermione right there.
“Why are you so nice to me, Harry?” Hermione asked in a small voice, her hand reaching out to take his own in her warm grasp. “What am I to you in your world?”
Harry swallowed and closed his eyes. He could feel the same overwhelming pain threatening to wash over him. Seeing her so close, her eyes, her lips, it was like falling back into a lost dream where he was back with Hermione, holding her in his arms and loving her like he used to before all the war happened. His Hermione was everything to him. She was his rock, his other half, but she was gone.
Harry opened his eyes and looked at Hermione, his eyes filling with the sorrow of the memories. “She was my best friend….and she was my girlfriend.”
Hermione nodded her head. He watched her eyes close off, as she pondered to herself all that he had said. He watched her lips curve down into a frown, the same frown she would wear when she came across a problem.
“What do you mean ‘was‘?” Hermione asked, her brows furrowed together.
Harry sighed and ran a hand tiredly through his hair making it even more messy. “She died.” He looked away as the memories flooded back over him. He would never forgive himself for what had happened to Hermione, knowing that he could have saved her…knowing that he let her die. Harry clenched his fist and glared at the tree. If only he had another chance, he could try again. He could stop what happened in his world.
“How…How did she die?” Hermione asked quietly. He frowned and turned to face her, his eyebrows narrowing slightly. Why would she even ask something like that? He didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to admit what he had done, but then looking into her face he could see that it wasn’t her just being nosy, she only wanted to understand him.
Harry frowned and thought back to the day Hermione had died. He remembered it like it was yesterday, everything still so clear in his head…
Harry leaned against the wall, the sound of shouting echoing around him. He had gotten used to the explosions and screams of death. It was just another part of war, and war was all that happened now.
He lifted up his bloodstained face and stared at the camp. Witches and Wizards were rushing to and fro, their wands ready for any sign of trouble. Some wizard was screaming in pain as his leg had been blown off by a particularly nasty spell. Harry watched as a medic rushed towards the wizard and healed his wound, quickly handing him a walking stick. The medic rushed off to go help another wounded wizard, and Harry soon lost interest in watching the wounded being healed.
He tiredly stood up off the ground when a sudden explosion happened near him. The same medic which he had been watching was now lying before him with glassy eyes. Harry barely had time to realise the witch was dead when another explosion went off. He felt his body flying from the impact and crash into a part of the wall. Feeling rather dazed, Harry glanced about the rubble, his ears ringing loudly from the blast. As the dust began to clear, Harry could see shadowy figures moving towards him. As they got closer, he could make out the black cloaks and terrifying masks that covered their faces.
“Death Eaters.” Harry muttered under his breath. He quickly dragged his aching body off the ground and started to run towards the other side of the camp which was no up in flames. He knew that Hermione was somewhere around here and he was not going to leave unless she was with him. He didn’t want another case with what happened to Ron. Never would he split up from his friends again.
“HERMIONE!” Harry screamed. He could see people running in fear, or shouting out for their loved ones. He pushed past some girls and ran towards the other group of burning tents. People were screaming and shoving, pushing him in their mad rush to escape from the Death Eaters. These people were not soldiers, they were refugees, and Harry and his team had been staying with them while the others prepared for battle. Now, because of them, these people were being slaughtered.
Harry looked about wildly, until finally he saw the familiar bushy brown hair. Beautiful relief swept through him, and he ran towards her.
“Harry!” Hermione shouted in relief and crashed into his arms, her face burrowing into his chest. Harry held her against him, glad at feeling the solidness of her body which told him they were still both alive. He cradled her in his arms, hugging her for dear life. For a moment he had thought he had lost her.
Something flashed past him and Harry broke away from Hermione and glanced about. He saw the figures of the Death Eaters moving towards him and looked at Hermione. She nodded, her brown eyes flashing with her Gryffindor courage. They were both going to fight this time.
“Don’t let your guard down.” Harry whispered. Hermione merely nodded her head and gripped her wand.
They clashed against the Death Eaters, both sides sending spell after spell, until all the camp was lit up with bright lights and sparks. Though the Death Eaters were stronger than them, Harry and Hermione weren’t just fighting for power. They were fighting for freedom, and that seemed to give them the strength they needed.
Harry watched as one of the Death Eaters fell to the ground, and felt a boost in confidence. They were winning, they were going to beat them. He glanced at Hermione and noticed she had everything under control. Relaxing slightly, Harry locked on with two more Death Eaters, fighting them with all his strength. He defeated them and took a deep breath, his eyes shifting back to Hermione. He watched in horror as a Death Eater stood up off the ground beside her. Looking back now, he wasn’t sure why he did not call out and warn her. All he knew was as that moment time seemed to slow down as the Death Eater raised his wand, the green light of the killing curse moving towards Hermione in a horrifyingly slow movement. She stopped and looked at him, her eyes meeting his. He could see the love shining through her eyes, and knew that she did not know what was about to happen. Tears slipped down his face as he watched the curse hit her in the back, her body jolting slightly from the impact. Her eyes, which only seconds before were so full of life, now seemed to dull, as her body swayed towards the ground.
Harry screamed out in fury, his mouth forming those two deadly words before he even had a chance to realise what he was doing. The Death eater collapsed to the ground as the spell hit him, and Harry felt a grim satisfaction in knowing he was dead. He quickly ran towards Hermione and collapsed to his knees by her body. He turned her over and felt tears sting his eyes as he saw the hollow expression on her face. It was too late, she was cold, lifeless, gone….
Everything he had fought for, his last link to his life had died. If he was supposed to be the Wizarding World’s saviour, then he knew Hermione was his saviour. But now that she was dead, what hope did he have in winning. He had no one left to turn to. No Hermione to hold, no lover to love him.
Harry wiped away his tears bitterly and touched Hermione’s face, his hand shaking slightly from the emotions of sorrow attacking him as he closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry…” Harry whispered shakily. “I love you…”
“Harry?” Hermione said in a worried voice.
Harry sniffed slightly and looked away so she would not see his tears. “She was murdered.” he said shortly and continued to walk though he forest. Hermione frowned slightly, but knew not to push him for answers. She quickly ran to catch up so that he would not be walking in darkness.
Harry found himself at a fork in the path and frowned. Which way should they go? He stared down the path to the left and felt the familiar pull in his chest. Was the Harry of this world trying to tell him where to go? Harry placed a hand to his chest and gazed back down the path. He nodded his head and glanced at Hermione.
“We go this way.”
“How do you know?” Hermione asked in surprise.
“Because I can feel him.”
Hermione frowned but didn’t say anything, for which Harry was glad. He really didn’t want to explain his strange connection with the Harry in this world. Harry gestured for Hermione to follow him and started to walk down the path. Somewhere down there, Harry was waiting for him; waiting to take him back home.
Text from the Wayback Machine's capture of the site, 15 January 2008.