Diana Buitrago Normal Diana Buitrago 2 2 2003-08-09T07:04:00Z 2003-08-09T07:04:00Z 3 1539 8776 CSULB 73 17 10777 9.2720
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter but I don't and therefore don't make a penny out of the 436 million dollars that J.K. Rowling makes so…don't sue me because I have an imagination.
A/N: This is my FIRST fanfic ever!! Don't be Harsh but PLEASE R/R to know if I should continue writing.
Within a few minutes Harry Potter would finally be 18. The agonizing years that he had spent at the Dursley's would all be coming to an end early tomorrow morning. Ten minutes to go and he would finally be old enough, by muggle standards, to move out on his own and commence his life. Alone.
Harry thought about that fateful day when his first Hogwarts letter came via owl post. That was seven years ago. The years that followed had unforgettable memories. However, there were some that he wished he could erase. Those memories were the ones that pained him the most.
The heart-wrenching ones were those of Cedric, Neville, Dumbledore and Sirius. Both Cedric and Neville had died at the hands of Voldemort. Both had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dumbledore and Sirius on the other hand died saving him. During the last battle against Voldemort, Professor Lupin, and the others that made up the Order were knocked out cold. The only two-left standing, more like sprawled out on the floor aching, were Dumbledore and himself.
*******Memory*******
Harry lay on the floor. Flashes of pain raked his body. He could barely stand, barely move, it was all he could do to keep his eyes from closing into eternal darkness.
"Mr. Potter! Finally I can be rid of you. Meddling child!" said Voldemort in an evil chilled voice.
Harry glanced at the vile face and winced at the pain coursing through his scar. Looking into those red serpent eyes Harry felt like he had disappointed everyone. Dumbledore…he looked over to see him crouched, nursing his badly wounded wand arm.
"Dumbledore!" Voldemort said. "I will give you the pleasure in seeing your prodigy die before your eyes!"
A shrill laugh escaped Voldemort's lips, sending chills down Harry's spine. He saw Voldemort raise his wand. The energy in the room circulated around them. The electricity was thick with the profusion of negativity. Harry glanced at Dumbledore. Those eyes of his, they always glinted in a mysterious way. Dumbledore then cracked a small sad smile. He moved his badly injured wand arm over his heart. Harry could see him muttering some words to himself. One last glance from Dumbledore told Harry that it would be the last he would see his Professor alive. Harry then closed his eyes and felt a comforting warmth surround him. He had felt this before. But when? Where did this feeling come from? Where did he feel this before?
In the background Harry could hear Voldemort laughing.
"I can't let it end this way!" Harry murmured. But what was it that was surrounding him? Then…it hit him.
Love! What he felt…it was love! His mother, sacrificing herself for him, that's where he had felt this feeling before. With renewed energy Harry stood. He raised his wand.
Voldemort's laughing ceased. Voldemort couldn't believe what he was seeing. A moment ago Harry was lying on the floor on the cusp of death. Now the boy stood, strong and angry! Voldemort quickly started to mutter the death curse.
"Avada…" Voldemort never finished those words.
"This is for Dumbledore!" A flash of bright gold light and then there was nothing.
*********
Harry had awoken 4 days later with bandages wrapped around various wounds. His friends and family had surrounded him with smiles and tears. But one face had been missing. Harry later found out that Dumbledore had died the moment that Harry had defeated Voldemort. The feeling of love that Harry felt was the love created over the years by Dumbledore himself, feelings that he had harbored for Harry as if he were his grandson. The transfer of power had eventually killed the old man. This memory was one Harry feels most guilty for.
Harry looked about the room. All his personal belongings were all packed. The next stage of his life would be here soon. He glanced down at an open box. It had yet to be sealed by his handy dandy spell-o-tape. Before sealing the box shut he looked through its contents. It contained so many memories. Rummaging through the box he found a picture taken of him and his friends fast asleep on the couch after an all night study session before taking their O.W.L.S.
Ron Weasley, his best friend and closest confidant, sat on the left side of the couch, curled up with an arm draped over the velvet armrest. He had obviously been exhausted; the drool all over his robes spoke volumes. Ron had always been funny that way. Ron's motto remains 'eat and sleep, the necessities in life.' Through the years Ron had always been a bit bull headed and defensive. But a greater friend you couldn't find. He was ingenious when it came to chess and his thirst to prove himself over his brothers had taken him far.
On the opposite side of the couch, within the picture, lay Hermione Granger. Her hair dropped carelessly around her shoulders and armrest. Clutched close to her chest was what looked like to be a copy of Hogwarts, A History?
"I swear. That girl should have that book memorized by now!" said Harry with a loving smile on his face.
Hermione was the least likely of the three to fall asleep but fall asleep she did. One hand hung loosely over the side of the couch and her long slender legs draped carelessly over Harry's lap. Harry blushed slightly as he realized that in the picture his hand had been dangerously close to the hem of her skirt. In the picture he had also fallen asleep. His body bent in a rather awkward position and his hair ridiculously more messy than usual. Those large round glasses of his were all askew and slowly inching down the bridge of his nose.
Closing his eyes Harry vaguely remembers Hermione screeching to them that they had slept to long and that they needed to study more. Study, Study, Study. That's all they had done during that Easter vacation. Thanks to Colin Harry had this embarrassing picture. More than once he had used it as blackmail against both his friends.
Amongst the other things in the box Harry found one of his quidditch trophies. Under its base was a note from his quidditch captain.
"Bloody Hell Potter!!
What were you thinking when you pulled that Wronski Feint? Cutting it a little close don't you think mate? I thought I would have to rake your body parts off of the grass! But you should have seen Dracos' face! That was priceless! If you feel the need to terrify me again just make sure that we win the quidditch cup again, because then I'll be able to forgive you!
Your best friend and captain,
Ron
P.S. Thanks Mate! Without you I….er…the team wouldn't have made it this far."
Harry smiled as he remembered Ron's horror stricken face after he pulled of that excessively dangerous move. Ron had been named quidditch captain after Angelina Johnson had graduated. Ron's performance as keeper fifth year had set him apart from the rest. According to Harry, Ron deserved the spot more than anyone he knew.
Delving with more interest into his box of memories, Harry found a thick stack of envelopes tied loosely by a thin dark blue ribbon. All the envelopes varied in size and weight. Each contained a separate story, a different memory. They were all cards that he had received for events such as his birthday, Christmas, even some as a get well soon, and a few for Valentines.
Harry shuffled through the cards and came across a rather small envelope that had a tattered green wax seal on the back. The postmark dated it a few days before his 16th birthday, about two years ago. Slowly he opened the letter and read over its contents.
My dearest and only Godson,
If you are reading this then obviously I didn't survive the trials that I was set forth to combat. I'm sorry for leaving you alone all those years in your youth and I'm sorry that I have left you alone with your future. Know this…I many not be with you in the physical and mortal world but I will always be close, watching over you. Enclosed in this letter is something that I know you will treasure. Within this envelope are concealed the wedding bands that unified your parents in marriage under God. They spoke their vows into them and sealed their love within the inscription that is now engraved on the inner part of the rings. Within the Potter family, these rings were of greatest importance. They are the symbol of your heritage. These rings are the foundations of your bravery, your courage, and your strength. The rings date back many years, thousands if my memory serves me correctly. And every single marriage that those rings have witnessed has locked and preserved the love of each couple till all eternity. When you love Harry, make sure it's for someone worthwhile. Make sure that she is the one you will love eternally because that is your destiny. The rings already know who it shall be, you just have to find the right one. Through love anything can be accomplished and love will inevitably feed your strength to carry on. Know always that your parents loved you very much Harry. You will see them again some day and then you'll know just how much they cared.
With deepest love,
Your godfather,
Sirius
Harry closed the letter and placed a hand on his chest searching for the chain around his neck. Untucking it from his shirt he gazed at the two rings that glittered in the waning lamplight. He looked more closely to what he believed was his mothers ring. Squinting closely he read the inscription.
Though loves be lost, love shall not, and death shall have no dominion.
Tucking his necklace back in he sighed heavily and returned his memories back to its box. Stacking the boxes neatly in a row against the wall he turned to lie on his bed.
"Someone truly worthwhile?" Harry whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep dreaming of a beautiful young witch with long brown wavy hair and warm chocolate brown eyes. As visions of Harry's true desire ran through his dreams he unknowingly gripped the wedding bands around his neck. At his touch the rings glowed with warm gold light, the inscriptions fading, revealing a hidden message within each ring. Within the male ring the name Harry Potter glowed bright. Within his mothers ring the name that burned to the surface was none other than Hermione Granger.