Chapter V: Last Stand
Harry was standing in the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place, seething in anger. He took out his frustration on the troll leg umbrella stand, which refused to move, as massive as it was, despite Harry's assaults on it.
Harry sat down on one of the uncomfortable chairs, thinking hard about his current position. He wanted to die, desperately.
**
Hermione made her way along the dismal street towards the door of the ancestral Black house. She had ignored Remus' warnings, and wanted to talk to Harry on a personal note.
She banged hard on the door.
"Harry, open up! I know you're in there."
Harry was, in the meanwhile, writing a goodbye letter. He sighed, as he put his pen down and walked to the front door. He knew Hermione would show up at some point; she knew him too well.
He opened the door slowly.
"Hey, Hermione," he said.
"Harry, I was so worried," she hugged him tightly, but he didn't respond to her. "Are you alright?" Hermione asked him, as she pulled back.
"No, not right now. But I'll be," he answered with a grim smile.
"Don't speak that way, Harry," Hermione croaked, but her voice died completely when she saw what Harry was holding in his hand.
It was a coil of thick rope.
"You weren't going to…" she managed to say.
Harry looked down at his hand as well.
"I'm going back, Hermione. By any means possible."
"You cannot hang yourself!" she practically shouted.
"Watch me," he answered icily, and ran up the flight of stairs to the second floor.
Harry tied one end of the rope to a beam that supported the low ceiling.
"Harry! Please think about what you're doing!" Hermione pleaded, as she ran up as well.
"What is there to think about, Hermione?" Harry asked, as he tied the rope around his neck. "There's nothing for me here, so leave me be!"
"No."
"Yes. I don't need another miserable life."
"Use your brain for a second, Harry," Hermione said angrily.
"And so what if I do? Still doesn't change anything," Harry replied, as he swung his legs over the railing and sat on it.
"It changes everything, Harry. Do you want to leave behind more misery? Do you want to leave me behind?" she choked out.
"I fulfilled my purpose, Hermione. I think I deserve the peace."
"You haven't fulfilled our purpose, Harry," Hermione answered. "I still love you. I was bent on committing suicide after you died, just so I could be with you."
"So what stopped you?"
"The fact that life is given once, and you have to make the best of it."
"Really?" Harry smirked. "Well, if you like, we can go together."
Hermione was appalled by Harry's attitude. It's as if all this was a game for him.
"I would rather live here in this world with you by my side, Harry," she said seriously.
"And what exactly will be my purpose?"
"Oh, Harry, you can be so thick sometimes! A family. That's what I want, and that's what you wanted!"
"I have a family, Hermione. Up there," he said solemnly.
"It does no good to dwell on memories, Harry. I want to have a family with you, in this life. What would be the purpose of living then?"
"Hermione, you had two years to get over me. Why didn't you find some other nice bloke who would make you happy?"
"Because my heart died with you, Harry. I couldn't even look at anyone else," Hermione explained.
"Like that matters," Harry muttered, but only to himself.
Trouble is, Hermione heard him say that.
"How dare you!"
What followed was a slap, which echoed through the entire house, as her hand connected with his cheek.
That was a fatal mistake.
Harry looked at her with surprise, as Hermione watched in horror how the momentum from her slap carried Harry forward. As if in slow motion, he leaned forward, and as his center of gravity shifted, he fell.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted in panic and dove at the landing. Reaching down, she managed to grasp Harry's wrist, and attempted to pull him up.
Her slender frame could not hold Harry's weight. She felt his hand slip away…soon she was grasping just the fingers, and in the next second, nothing but air.
Thinking quickly, Hermione took out her wand and aimed it at the rope. Wordlessly, she directed a severing charm at the rope.
It worked. Harry, who would have narrowly reached the rope's full length, fell hard on the floor below. Seeing him crumble in a heap, Hermione rushed down the stairs.
"Harry, are you alright?" she said anxiously, landing roughly on her knees to look over him.
He turned on his back, a grimace of pain on his face.
"I think I broke my leg," Harry said through gritted teeth. "Ow, no, no, don't touch it there, it hurts."
Hermione uttered a second spell, this time aimed at Harry's leg, which stopped it from moving, and hopefully, numbing the pain at the same time.
He visibly relaxed.
"So, Harry, are you still bent on dying? You almost killed yourself as it is," Hermione said disapprovingly.
"You saved me, Hermione," Harry replied, in a completely different voice. It was no longer self-pitying and sarcastic.
"Well, if I didn't, I'd be weeping over your dead body right now," Hermione snapped.
"Thank you."
Hermione's visage changed instantaneously.
"What are you saying, Harry?"
"I've realized my mistake, Hermione. This is my second chance at a future with you. It's what I've always wanted, and you made me see that," he explained. "Near-death experiences do have the tendency to put you in the right frame of mind, it seems."
Hermione sighed in relief, and a small smile came to her face.
"Just don't do it again, Harry. I couldn't live without you," she said quietly.
They stood in each other's embrace for an indeterminate period of time, until a loud nose brought them back to earth.
The front door had been blasted open. Remus walked inside, followed by Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley bringing up the rear.
They stopped abruptly at the sight of Harry, the rope still around his neck, sitting up against the wall, and holding Hermione in his arms.
"Harry!" Remus said, "What happened to you?"
The Weasleys were speechless.
"I was about to go back, Remus, but Hermione made me see sense."
"So…so that means, you'll be around us then?" Mrs. Weasley asked, amazed.
"It does, Mrs. Weasley."
A collective sigh of relief.
"Well then, let's fix up your leg, Harry," said Mr. Weasley happily, and proceeded to perform a complicated bone-fusing spell.
A short-lived sting of pain, and Harry's leg was as good as new. He tenderly stood up, slowly favouring his newly repaired foot. Beside him, Hermione was to be found, a large grin hitched on her face.
"I love you, Harry," she said, finally doing something she had not the possibility to do for the longest time.
She gave him a kiss. It was not intense, just one that was slow and rhythmic. He responded in kind, smiling against her lips.
"With your help, I think I'll be fine, Hermione," he told her. "I love you too."
Hermione's grin grew even larger when she heard those words. Yes, she thought, their future certainly looked bright.
The End.
A/N Well, the end of the story…I hope you enjoyed it…please leave a review, and I shall see you soon on my next project…
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