Through all the chaos one thing of astounding beauty withstood; a boy in love held the hand of a girl in love. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding it the act in and of itself was still something of remarkable circumstance. However all of this was something that Harry had to ignore if he wanted to survive all of this. An explosion rocked a pillar in front of them sending debris scattering through the air and hitting the floor forming divots. A large marble chunk flew fast across the side of Harry's head. A large fountain of blood gushed from his temple and sprayed Hermione's face with crimson rivulets of blood. She gasped in shock, worried that he would fall before her feet.
To Hermione's amazement, and more so her worrisome nature, Harry didn't slow down. His blood soaked through his shirt and he felt it trickle down past his waistline. He knew that he wouldn't have much time conscious left, the pain in his head was way too intense and he could feel the blood seeping down his body way too quickly for the injury to be cosmetic. Something was going to happen to him tonight, something bad, he just had to hope, or perhaps push himself, to get Hermione to safety. With every spare bit of energy in his body he pushed himself across the floor, running full out.
Explosions rocked the ground all along the hall. Harry saw a jinx hit the floor before them. He threw himself in front of Hermione to protect her from the huge chunk of polished floor raising to meet them. He caught the piece of floor right above his right knee. The bruise he felt swelling there was a prelude for the fresh new injury. He felt the meat of his thigh tear as muscle loosened from bone and skin broke apart along a ridged line from his kneecap to inches from his groin. Blood was beginning to visibly seep into the fabric of his jeans, a long line of red wetness like a urine stain along his right leg. He tried to stifle a scream and managed to let out a low pitched groan. He caught the fear in Hermione's eyes for a second.
She seemed so small to him in that moment. So worried about him, so caring and loving. He didn't let his face fall, he didn't let it move. He merely stoned his face and let no emotion cross. With renewed vigor he pushed himself past the pain in his knee, he ignored the scrapping sounds, he ignored the blood as it poured it's steady stream from his head. He would hate himself more than he hated anything tomorrow. If he lived that long. He pulled her body closer to his and asked her very seriously.
"If you think for even one second about letting go of my hand we will both die." He stared into her eyes as she nodded slowly. Her confidence in him was absolute. He pulled her closer still so he could he her warmth against him. Something in him knew now, more than when he had even when he spoke to her, that he would get her away from this hellish place. He turned on a dime and ran for the door. The world seemed to slow as fire and blood and screams perforated his world.
After what felt like years he finally made it to the doorway. He turned to face the carnage and extended his hand toward the people racing around. He raised his hand to the crowd, he had to buy time. Hermione glanced at him with an odd look on her face.
"Harry, what are you doing?" She had a weird mix of awe and fear rising in her eyes.
"Quiet down." He winced, "I have to concentrate."
Hermione went into a stunned silence when she saw a slithering energy crawling through his fingers. He never uttered a word but a shockwave of massive power flared out from his palm. Time stopped. Everyone in the room but them stopped dead. Hermione could barely speak when she saw it. This was something unheard of in magic. Wandless or otherwise Harry was inventing something unseen by the wizarding world. She looked at him and asked the question burning holes in her mind.
"What was that?" She asked, the scholar taking a short precedence.
"I don't know." Harry gasped out, "I couldn't think of a spell. I just thought about what I'd like to happen." A small smile washed over his face before he lead her slowly from the ministry.
She was filled with questions on the elevator ride up. Who was this before her? How had Harry Potter, brave but only a passing student, suddenly a Wizard with few peers? How had he done that? Wandless magic? Where had he become proficient at wandless magic? When she turned to ask him she noticed his leg. Suddenly all the wonder at his remarkable deeds was flushed from her mind.
"Oh Merlin!" She half screamed half cried, "Your leg."
"It's not so bad." He grimaced.
"Harry, you shouldn't be able to walk right now." She ripped a shred of cloth from her robe and began to fashion a bandage out of it around his knee. As she twisted the knot in it she saw blood gush above it. The tear in his skin seemed to run up to his groin. Her bandage would do little more than speed his blood loss. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes as more and more his own features began to replace the foreign ones. The more she saw of Harry the more she could gauge his pain. She knew his face, she knew the contortions sever pain caused on it. Not even Harry in leader mode could hide his true feelings from her. Not now.
She stood up and hugged him. She was terrified to let go. She felt his blood soaking into her clothing and he felt her tears warming his shoulder. The two were one once more. Or perhaps they would be forever now. Neither could tell. They just embraced their unity with every part of themselves. Harry began to feel the fatigue hit him in great thundering waves. That last unknown spell he had cast was taking it's toll on his wrecked body. He fought off the blackout he felt coming. He couldn't hide it from her. He pushed her away from him just enough so she could see his face, read his expression.
"Dry your eyes, Hermione." He implored her, "You have to be strong right now." She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe and nodded. He kissed her forehead to show her his immense pride in her and her strength.
"I love you, Harry." She uttered with the smallest break in her voice, "I love you so much. Please just hold on, I can't… I can't make it through without-" He cut her off.
"I know." He said with compassion before continuing sternly, "I'm going to pass out. I'll be fine. I don't know when. I can't keep fighting it off." He paused as he fell back. He caught himself and pushed off the wall of the elevator. "You have to take us somewhere safe. Apperate us somewhere. Don't do it in front of muggles. Scan the area, make sure no one's watching and get us to safety" She nodded, but he wasn't done, "Then leave me there."
"NO! You need help, Harry! I can't just let you die!" She interrupted in the heat of passion. He raised a hand to silence her. His leadership was commendable, his charisma enough to silence her momentarily. Just enough time for him to explain himself.
"Ron." He said with waning strength, "He'll be waiting at the dinner. Leave me where you will. Go get him. I'll be fine. Just do what I tell you to. There's no time for arguments."
Just as she was about to debate the door opened and Harry's eyes rolled into the back of his head. He fell face first onto the London pavement with a sickening crack. His nose was probably broken. Hermione had tried to catch him but he was too heavy. She lost balance when he fell but managed to stay on her feet. She didn't even bother to scan the sidewalk like he had asked before she grabbed him and sidelong apperated him to a forest south of a hiking trail she had visited as a child. She had gotten lost in this deep forest as a child before her parents had found her. You couldn't get much further away.
She began to tear at his pants to get a better look at his leg. She felt pressure on her arm. She looked and saw Harry's hand holding her roughly on her arm. She looked to his face. His nose was definitely broken. His face looked like raw hamburger but his emerald eyes burned with hidden power. His scraped lips parted enough to make a raspy but audible word.
"Ron." He said rough but forcefully. She looked at him pleadingly but his fierce eyes never wavered. She swallowed the lump in her throat and bit back the tears before once more nodding to his order. Within moments she was gone. Harry lay on the floor of the forest bleeding and broken. His eyes felt heavy and his breath was coming in an unreliable rhythm. He tried to look around to get a feel for his surroundings but when he moved his neck the effort was too great and he soon was met with a sudden and intense pain before darkness overcame him. He lay unconscious in a forest he had never been to, bleeding and drawing shaky breath.
* * *
The sun fell across Harry's face and forced his eyes open. He tried to raise his hand to shield his eyes from the sun's bright rays but found the effort to much. He tried to part his lips to call out for her, but was unable to. A tear escaped his eye and moved down his cheek. A tear formed half by the sunlight and half by his feeling of helplessness. Soon the world was black once more.
* * *
Harry couldn't open his eyes. He screamed out to the world of darkness. He heard laughter in the distance. Cold, clinical laughter, like a surgeon's knife. It raked across his face. The laughter enveloped him. It told him he had nothing. Told him he was nothing. The ground quaked below his feet. He reached out in the darkness, only dimly aware of his own flailing limbs. He caught on something. He forced his eyes open briefly and saw in the frail hand of an old wizard with Half moon spectacles.
The wizard pointed to where Harry had come from. Harry followed his mentor's finger up to Voldemort pushing past a heavy wooden door with his wand held high. His forehead burned at the sight. The image wasn't quite two dimensional but it seemed to be on another plane. Harry seemed to be drifting in a void underneath the image. He looked at Dumbledore with the hope of understanding. The old wizard smiled his wise smile.
"You can't let him feel you watching, Harry. He doesn't know what lives in you." The wizard touched Harry's face in a fatherly way, "Don't lose hope. There is a greatness in you that even you do not see. Instead ask yourself."
"Ask myself what?" Harry said.
"I told you once that Love would be your greatest weapon. Remember who was there when you were at your best and ask yourself how you can win a war by yourself."
"I don't understand." Harry explained.
"Before now you could be a hero. Isolated incidents happen in a vacuum, Harry. A hero is what's needed to win. A war is much too large to be contained. You need to be more than a Hero, young man. A war requires a general."
"I miss you, sir." Harry answered.
"And I you." Dumbledore answered, "You will never know how much, but you mustn't lose hope now."
Suddenly everything went dark again.
* * *
Harry heard a fire crackle somewhere outside. He smelled food and caught voices he recognized. He couldn't make out the words. He strained to hear and only managed to slip into the darkness again.
* * *
Harry felt his eyes open. He was hungry. He tested his arm. He was able to move his arm without blacking out. He tried to sit up and fell back. He narrowed his brow and tried again. This time he met with success. He slowly, inch by inch, managed to get himself onto his feet. He had clean bandages around his leg and his head. He felt his face, it had been repaired. He squinted around the tent for his glasses. When he finally found them it brought the tent into view. He saw muggle newspapers around the room. A few days worth at least.
How long had he been out? He peered through the tent opening. It was dark out. He saw light dancing against the tent flap. There must be a fire outside. He listened for voices and heard exactly what he knew he would. Hermione and Ron were talking in hushed voices outside. He made his way toward them. As he got closer Hermione saw him first. She leapt to her feet and ran to him. As she got closer she slowed to a more cautious pace before she pulled him into a gentle embrace.
She blushed as she pulled away and lead him by hand to a seat by the fire. Ron chimed in first.
"I leave you alone for ten minutes." He smiled a sly grin.
"And to think I stage a coup and don't get messed up until the last few seconds." He returned Ron's smile and they shared a laugh that even Hermione joined in.
"So what's the plan?" Hermione enquired. Harry let a second elapse in deep thought when the tent flashed into his mind.
"I saw some newspapers in the tent." He offered.
"Hermione was collecting them from the nearest town." Ron chimed in, "She wanted to keep track of the days."
"I feel like if we analyzed those papers we could read between the lines." Harry began.
"And try to keep up with He-Who-Must-" Ron started before being interrupted by Hermione.
"Voldemort." She said.
"Exactly." Harry concluded.
"Not a bad idea, Harry." Ron chimed in before directing his attention to Hermione, "You want to tell him what you found out?"
"What?" Harry asked with one raised eyebrow.
"The sword, your sword." She said, "The one in the Ministry isn't real. Gryffindor's sword isn't in the Ministry."
"What?" Harry asked flabbergasted.
"It was in the research I did." She said with a bashful smile, "I was going to tell you but.."
"I was busy trying to die." He laughed. " Where is it?" He asked. There was a slight pause before she answered. She knew where he wanted to go the most in the world.
"Godric's Hollow." She answered.