Epistle

Vanilla

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 6
Published: 20/07/2007
Last Updated: 20/07/2007
Status: completed

Harry leaves to fight Voldemort leaving Hermione behind. He finds a special letter in his pocket with the three simple words 'I love you'. This letter helps him defeat Voldemort, only to discover it's not from who he thought it was.

Chapters

1. Epistle

1. Epistle

The night is dark. The ground is soggy from four days of solid rain, and the blood of honorable men. The stench of rotting flesh and mire fills the air. Faint cries of suffering and curses can be heard in the distance. Harry Potter slouches in the deep trench that travels for miles across the blackness of the dark field. He is panting heavily. Blood flows freely from his brow mixing with the tears that stream from his exhausted, pain filled eyes with the mud caked to his worn face. Harry knows he is coming.

In his hands he holds the key which will bring the world the peace. He clutches the letter tightly in fists as more tears plunge down his face. He reads the words on the creased paper. `I love you,” it says. He holds it close to his heart. He can feel himself filling with love and the determination to destroy Voldemort. He knows he has to do this for her. She gave up everything for him. He owes this to her!

//\\

The night is silent. Hermione is sitting at her writing desk, watching Harry sleeping peacefully in the large bed. She sighs and turns her head back to her desk.

She knows he is leaving tomorrow. She knows he won't tell her. She has known for weeks. She has seen it in his eyes. Felt it in his touch. Tasted it in every kiss. Her heart is breaking. She wants to go with him. But, she understands this is something he must to do alone.

She shifts her body and hovers over her writing desk. Before her a black piece of parchment, and a quill lay. She picks up the quill, letting it hang over the parchment as it dangles from her fingers. She trembles as a lone tear falls down her cheek. She quickly glances over at Harry's sleeping form in the bed, and then turns back to the desk. She is going to write him a letter.

//\\

The sun has not yet risen. Harry opens his eyes and is filled with a sense of dread. He must get up and leave to find him. He pulls on a shirt and grabs his wand off the night table. It's time for him to go. He turns back to Hermione and sees she is sound asleep on the bed. Harry thinks she looks like an angel the way her hair is spread across the pillow and the way the moonlight is cast on her.

He holds back his tears and leans forward. “I love you, Hermione Granger,” he whispers. He places a sweet kiss on Hermione's lips. “Goodbye.”

He pulls away and walks to the bedroom door. He rubs Hedwig's beak affectionately as a way of saying goodbye. She hoots gently. He looks back at Hermione and lets a lone tear cascade down his cheek. He prays he will return to her.

He grabs his green jacket off the back of the door and apparates out.

//\\

Hermione bolts up right in her bed and realizes it's now morning. Harry is the first thing on her mind. She looks around and sees that the room in empty. She throws back the blankets and raced out into the kitchen.

“Harry!” she cries.

Silence.

“Harry are you here?” she cries out again.

Silence.

He really did leave without saying goodbye. Her hands come to rest on her hearts, and hot tears sting her eyes.

“Harry…” she whispers.

The tears consume her and she crumples on the floor in a heap of sobs.

//\\

“Avada Kedavra!” a voice calls out.

Harry sees the flash of the unforgivable green light then hears the slump of a body falling. Another innocent is dead. A sound he has heard over a hundred times tonight. Harry dashes along the shadows and sees a form on a dark cloak approaching him. It's a death eater.

“Avada Kedavra!” Harry cries.

The death eater slumps over in the vast green light.

Harry slides down into the trench to grab his breath. He shoves his hand into his pocket to grab the flask of water but instead feels the rough edges of a coarse parchment. He pulls it out and sees an envelope with his own name written on it in a fancy green scrawl.

He opens the envelope and unfolds the parchment. Three simple but very powerful words are written on the parchment.

I Love You

Happy tears prickle his eyes and he reads the words over and over again. He holds it close his heart and he can feel himself filling with love and strength.

Screams echo across the field. Harry knows Voldemort is coming. He can sense it.

//\\

Hermione lies on the bed and screams out into the darkness. She can sense something bad has happened but she doesn't know what.

“Harry,” she keeps whispering.

Darkness comes over her heart and she fills with pain. She prays to god that Harry will be okay. She fuses her eyes shut and lets the tears racket her body.

“I love you,” she whispers.

The darkness fades. There is hope.

//\\

Harry looms over Voldemort's dead body like a hawk circling its prey. His body has been rocked by pain, Voldemort hit him with the cruciatus curse, how many times, he doesn't know. All knows is that he remembered the words from the letter and was filled with such love and now Voldemort was dead and he was alive.

The surviving members of the order stagger up to him, there bodies just as tired and sore as his, and kneel at his feet like he's there king.

A light cleansing rain begins to fall, washing away the blood of those who have fallen.

Harry reaches for the letter and reads the words again.

I love you.

“I did it, Hermione,” he whispers into the night. “It's over. The war is finally over!”

//\\

A thousand miles away Hermione feels something rise in her chest. Something she can't explain, but it's good. She steadily walks over to the window. It's raining lightly, and everything appears calm.

Harry's voice rings through her head.

She smiles.

It's over.

“I know, Harry,” she says.

//\\

Hours later just as the sun is beginning to rise, Harry is still standing in the open field, soaking wet from the rain that has now stopped.

“Harry!”

He turns and sees Hermione running towards him with a huge grin on her face, tears in her eyes. Kingsley Shacklebolt is standing behind her grinning proudly.

Harry opens his arms and she rushes into them planting a loving kiss on his lips. He feels so relieved to have her in his arms again.

“You did it!” she says happily.

Harry smiles. “I did,” he says. “Thanks to you.”

Hermione pulls away. “Me?” she gives him a perplexed look. “How?”

“Your letter,” he says. “I found it and it gave me the strength I needed.”

Hermione's eyes go wide. “Harry I did write you a letter, I put it in the pocket of your blue jacket, but you wore your green one. So you didn't get it.” She pulls the letter of her pocket to show him. “See?”

Harry is confused. He pulls the letter he found out of his pocket and shows Hermione. “You didn't write this one?”

Hermione glances at it. “No.”

They both stare at Harry's letter.

“Then who?” Harry questions.

A strange feeling builds up in the pits of their stomach they both know who it is. They look up towards the sky.

Harry closes his eyes as happy tears run down his cheek. “I love you,” he whispers in the morning sky.

//\\

Somewhere in the heavens above Lily Potter was smiling down.

“I love you too, son.”

**********

The End

I hope you enjoyed it!

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