A/N: Wow, it seems as though I'm always posting these in the wee hours of the morning. I spend the whole day writing and don't get done until 1:00-2:00 AM. It's a good thing I'm a night person and I'm still on summer vacation. I have a special message from Emily (aka: The Pusher)! She says that she loves you guys too, and she'll keep on pushing me to get the latest chapter finished. I love how you're all so manipulative of me… it's great. You get to see the Sailor Moon inspiration in this chapter! For those who don't catch it and/or are curious as to what it is, I'll post it as a note at the bottom. The last thing I want to say is that I have a question to ask. I've been working on two soundtracks for this fic; one with songs that inspired the story, and the other a score (like epic music to play during certain scenes that totally fit the mood). I was wondering if you would want me to post it after they were finished? It would be a link to my Livejournal page and there would be download links there. Is it a good idea or should I bag it?
Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. I'm sure that if it was you'd all be pretty damn happy with the ending-and so would the children. Albus Severus would have his comeuppance!
Enjoy!
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Not Without You
The room would have been silent if it wasn't for the distant banging sound that Hermione could scarcely hear. She had an inkling of what it could be, but the thought was too frightening to think about. How could the Dark Lord be here already? It seemed like only a few minutes ago that she was writhing on the forest floor in pain. But then again, he never used to waste time when Harry was involved. He had always been, and will always be, set on killing him until he succeeds. It wasn't until now that she realized how pitiful his life was-revolving around a seventeen-year-old boy. It didn't matter that it was Harry. Well, that had some part in it, but even if it was someone like Neville Longbottom it would still be just as pointless. Who would be so pathetic as to let their lives be controlled by someone other than yourself?
"How did he get in?" Harry's voice broke her trance.
Remus shrugged his shoulders lightly, "Same way he did before. He somehow got past the anti-Apparation wards and is now trying to break into the castle. Luckily he hasn't found a way to get in here other than by physical force, so we have some time to come up with a plan."
"There's no need." Harry said, veering his eyes to the window that had a good view of the castle entrance. "I know what he wants."
"Harry…" Remus tried wearily.
Harry continued to stare out the window, as if in a whole other world. Hermione wanted to reach out and touch him, but knew she shouldn't. It was too dangerous. He craned his neck to look at the lycan and spoke in a monotone. "He won't leave until I'm dead or I kill him. It's always been that way and it will stay like that unless I just hand myself over."
"Harry you can't just give into him! There must be another way…." He trailed off.
"No, Moony, there's not." Harry said sharply. "You can try to come up with a plan to distract the other Death Eaters but in the end it's just going to be me and him. There's no use dancing around the truth."
There was a small pause before Lupin chose to speak up again. "At least allow me to alert the Order. They can help with securing the students and fighting off the Death Eaters."
Harry nodded shortly. "Go ahead. But when they get here, I'm leaving to go fight him."
Remus walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. They looked like a dramatic picture taken before a battle was to commence. "I understand that you've come to terms with your destiny Harry. But that doesn't mean that you need to act as though you're going to die. You're a very powerful wizard in your own right and no one should allow you to think differently."
Harry remained silent and Remus took that as an initiative to leave. He removed his hand from Harry's shoulder and disappeared into Madame Pomfrey's office where Hermione assumed a connection to the floo network was located. When he left Hermione knew that Draco was going to make a comment before he even spoke. A selfish part of her wanted to know what he was going to say so she didn't stop him. But that part was easily squished when he opened his bag fat mouth.
"I think you should just let him kill you."
Both Harry and I snapped our necks over to where Draco was leaning up against the stone wall with a smirk plastered on his face. Harry seemed too passive on this comment and Hermione saw that he wasn't planning on defending himself. She decided to take action; if anyone would be able to break Draco, it would be her.
"How dare you?!" She hissed. "You don't need to be so insensitive!"
Draco seemed somewhat surprised at her outburst and cocked an eyebrow. "You're actually defending scar head?"
Hermione bit her lip before answering, "So what if I am?"
Draco narrowed his eyes and stepped towards her. She knew what was coming before it hit her and gulped softly. There was no escaping this without confrontation. "And what exactly does he have that I don't? We've known each other our whole lives! There isn't a thing about you that I don't know."
"Obviously that's not the case if you can't accept that I would rather defend Harry than throw him into the clutches of the Dark Lord." She said more calmly than intended. In reality she was fuming but didn't want to let it show.
"We would be better off without him." He said bitterly.
"Oh and why is that?" She questioned, crossing her arms.
"You're asking me why we'd be better off without Potter?" He asked carefully. Hermione nodded, not really grasping the pleasure he took in the order until a smug grin formed on his face. "Well first off, the world would be an all-around better place without him preaching about how we can fight the Dark Lord if we only believe in ourselves. His constant ploy of `the world always has to revolve around me' would finally be rid of. We would be saved from witnessing his mediocre handle on a broom every time there's a Quidditch match that is most likely rigged. The-"
"Shut it, Malfoy!" Harry suddenly interrupted.
Draco seemed to be unphased as he turned to face Harry. "Hit a sore spot, did I?"
"Of course not, ferret, I just enjoy yelling at you." Hermione couldn't tell if that was sarcasm or if he was actually telling the truth. It was unnerving, really.
Draco looked to be getting slight color in his cheeks. Hermione knew it was because he was thinking of something to say. Unfortunately, Draco was never gifted with a sharp tongue. The only time she really recalled him coming back with an actual non thought out witty comment was when he was around her. She had never seen him argue with Harry before, so her suspicions were confirmed. She really brought out the best in him. Or, the worst.
"You sure you want to do that, Potter?"
"Do what? Outwit you until you drop dead?"
"In your dreams Potter"
"Don't think for one moment you have any influence over my dreams, Malfoy." He said dangerously.
"I wouldn't dream about it." Draco jeered.
"Your lack of suitable comebacks is astounding." Harry said in amusement, obviously gaining some weight in his head.
"So is your lack of brain cells."
"I'd rather have a few than none at all."
"Ouch, that one hurt." Draco clutched his chest, "Especially from someone whose name could easily be confused with something three-year-olds use to take a shit."
"At least I don't have it pouring out of my mouth."
Before Draco could retort, they heard a commotion in the office behind them. It sounded as though a coat rack or something of that sort came crashing to the floor. Then, as if on cue, a woman with bubblegum pink hair stumbled out of the door, looking as if she had just come off of an out-of-control broomstick; terribly off balance. She looked quite young and that was confirmed by the t-shirt beneath her robes that read "The Weird Sisters" in bright pink font. When she set eyes on the three of them, a wide grin spread across her face.
"Wotcher, Harry!"
Harry nodded at the woman, "Hey Tonks."
The woman she now knew as Tonks brushed off some floo powder off of her robes as she stepped away from the door. While she was busying herself with that, another few figures stepped out into the wing. One looked like something out off a thriller novel. He had grizzled, dark gray hair and was wearing muddy brown robes. But what made him rather intimidating was the large blue eye that stood out against his tiny brown one. It whizzed around quickly and she immediately knew who this man was. She was in the same room as Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody, the man who put a large portion of Death Eaters she used to work with behind the bars of Azkaban.
The few others that entered through the door weren't as easily distinguishable as the first two, but she knew from first sight that they were all Aurors. The last to enter was Remus and he went to stand in front of the crowd of newly gathered people. There was no need to tell everyone to quiet down, for they were already silent upon arrival.
"We all know why we're here so there's no need for frivolities. I need half of you to get the students into the Room of Requirement and the other half to help fend off the Death Eaters from entering the castle." He instructed.
"What about the D.A.?" Harry asked.
Remus turned to Harry, "What about them, Harry?"
"They should be able to fight. They've been training for this."
"Harry, we can't endanger the lives of kids to-"
"I'm a kid, too." Harry interrupted, "I'm a kid, and I have to face Voldermort. If I'm allowed to fight, they should be to. They're ready for this."
"It's true." Hermione added. Harry gave her an odd look, but she pressed on. "He's helped train them himself. I've seen what they can do and it's phenomenal."
"I don't know…"
"Come on, Remus." Tonks stepped up and tugged on him forearm. "Let them help. We could really use it." Hermione could see the reluctance in his features and apparently so could Tonks. She ran her hand up and down his arm in a caress-like motion and he took in a deep amount of breath. Seeing that her job as done, Tonks stepped back with a mischievous smile. "They can help. But only inside the castle."
Harry nodded, "Alright. Well, now that that's settled, I'm off."
He began to walk away to the door and Hermione's stomach began to clench. "Harry!" she blurted before she could stop herself. He stopped and turned around, which surprised her seeing as he hated her now. "I want to come with you."
"Forget it, Hermione. You've already died once and I don't want to risk that again." Her face lit up at the caring words. Maybe he did still care. "You're staying here where the Order can keep an eye on you. For all we know, you could turn against us at the face of your master." The bitterness in his voice made her shiver. Guess I was wrong… he doesn't care about me at all.
He exited the wing quickly and Hermione felt a weight drop down on her shoulders. She could see Remus's face soften at the exchange and wanted to tell him that it was fine, but Draco interrupted her. "And so he walks to his death…"
"Shut up, Draco!" she yelled at him, storming over to her bed and sitting down heavily.
"Alright you lot, go to your posts!" Remus instructed after a pregnant pause. Everyone quickly dispersed out the same door Harry exited.
Hermione vaguely felt someone come to sit next to her. She was cracking her individual fingers and staring out the window towards the forbidden forest, trying hard not to cry. She knew that no one would judge her-but she would judge herself for being weak. Now she understood why she never wanted to let love be a part of her life. There was too much risk of it breaking like a glass vase in a rotating room. Too bad it was too late to put that view into her mind. She was in love and it hurt like hell.
"Hey."
She didn't turn to look at him. "Go away Draco."
He was silent for a moment before speaking up softly. "You don't love me, do you?"
That caused her to crane her neck towards him. The smugness of his composure was gone and replaced by a melancholy frown. "Draco you know I do. Just… not in the way I should. You're my best friend and that's as far as my feelings go."
He bowed his head, "There's nothing I can do to make you want me more than him is there?"
"No. I'm sorry." She sniffed and wiped at her nose. He pursed his lips and looked her in the eyes. Oddly enough, there wasn't a trace of bitterness in them anymore. All that remained was the warmth. Well, as much warmth as silver-gray eyes could provide. "You're still going to keep fighting with him, aren't you?"
"Yep." He said simply. "The bastard stole you away from me."
She let a small smile escape. "No one could ever steal me away from you, Draco. You're my best friend."
"That's all I'm ever going to be…" He said sadly. Hermione wanted to console him in some way, but she didn't know how. Fortunately, he spoke up and saved her. "But we did have a good run, though."
She snorted. "Yeah if you could call it that," He laughed as well and she knew at that moment that everything between the two of them was settled. But she wanted to get one thing straight first before she could consider things between them perfect. "You'll find someone one day who loves you, Draco. Someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved. They're out there and waiting for you."
He slowly nodded and she quickly enveloped him in a short hug. When she let go, she kissed his cheek chastely. The tender moment was interrupted, however, by a loud bang that sounded outside. Hermione quickly got up and looked out the window she remembered Harry going to. She could see a large group of Death Eaters shooting spells of different colors and sizes at the entrance. Some were conjuring trees and throwing them at it as well. The door rattled heavily with each blow and Hermione feared it would collapse. But suddenly, the spells stopped and the doors began to open slowly. Hermione could see Harry's dark figure stepping out onto the grounds. He was alone. Why was he alone?
"Why is he alone?!" She yelled.
She felt someone come up behind her followed by Remus's soft voice. "Don't worry, Hermione. The Order will be there in a moment."
Hermione held her breath and hoped that he was right. She could see Harry staying still. He must be talking. Either that or the Dark Lord was talking to him-degrading him. He was buying time. It seemed to work, because she soon saw members of the Order come in behind him and begin to shoot curses. Soon, a full out brawl was taking place and it was all Hermione could do not to scream. She saw too many green beams of light shot at each other. She had never feared the Avada Kedavara before now. Now Harry was out there. Not to mention she had lost track of him within moments. Her fear heightened as she saw a flood of students pour onto the grounds. She could easily see Ron and Ginny's red hair standing out in the crowd. She could even see Luna, seemingly dancing through the Death Eaters and shooting out hexes as if it was her profession. She wanted nothing more than to join them.
She looked over at Remus to see him already looking at her. "I know. Go on."
"Really?"
He nodded and she beamed.
"Go? Go where?" Draco said worriedly.
"To fight obviously." She said, grabbing her wand from the table beside her cot.
"Fight? I don't think so!"
Hermione stiffened. "Excuse me?"
He smirked. "You're not going out there without me."
Hermione relaxed and smiled a little. She began to walk out the door with Draco on her tail before she suddenly stopped. "Remus are you coming?"
He held up a hand, "I'm going to stay here for awhile. I have to check in with the Order at the Room of Requirement."
"Oh, alright then. Wish me luck?"
He smiled warmly, "Good luck Hermione."
She grinned and turned to exit. On the way down the stairs, her heartbeat began to increase. Draco grabbed a hold of her hand and she squeezed it back in appreciation. With his support driving her, she quickened her pace. They both began to jog as soon as they got into the entrance hall. She could feel the cool breeze graze her skin as they quickly approached the double doors. She paused to take in the scene that was laid in front of her. There were people dueling inside, trying to keep the Death Eaters at bay, and some were succeeding whist others were wobbling about hurt or unconscious. She didn't want to think them anything but unconscious. Vases were smashed on the marble floor, portraits had long tears on them, there were puddles of blood pooled on the floor. She had to repress the urge to vomit as the coppery scent made its way into her nose. She had never observed a battle scene before. She had always fought on the side with the long dark robes and skeleton masks. Now that she saw the torture that they were inflicting on the Order and D.A. members, it was surreal to think that she had been a part of that. It was savage.
She could only observe for a short amount of time before the curses were aimed at her and Draco. She blocked them easily, but knew that they were the sign that she should go. She had to find Harry and help him. She didn't know why she still wanted to after they way he treated her. Guess the old stereotype was right: Love did crazy things to people. Crazy things like going to help someone who hates you.
She saw no sign of him anywhere; only groups of people dueling and bodies falling. She could see many more members of the D.A. dueling high-ranked Death Eaters and was amazed at their skill. She had never really seen their full potential until this moment. When she defended Harry's command to allow them to fight, it had really only been out of instinct. She didn't exactly know what kind of instinct, but it pushed her to speak up. Now she knew what it was: faith. These were her friends, her acquaintances, her classmates. She had never known them as anything else until now. They were warriors. Age didn't seem to be a barrier to anyone but the Death Eaters who laughed at the small figures daring to challenge them. She knew that if she was still on their side, she would have done the same. If a third year had come up to her and challenged her to duel, she would have laughed in their face. But now she thought completely parallel. Now she was scared shitless of these people she had once only known as her friends.
Ginny and Lavender were fighting a Death Eater by the name of Simon Jugson. He had a mean Cruciatus Curse and never failed to make his opponent bleed. It was a sort of trademark of his. Each one of his victims would die of a blood-related injury whether it be by curse or physical punishment. Unlike other Death Eaters, he also trained his physique. After a Muggleborn wizard had broken his arm, he had sworn to be the best of every possible type of fighter. Hermione also suspected he had a fascination with blood. She had caught him bottling some of his victim's blood before. She didn't know what for, but she saw him do it a few times at a raid. It had always freaked her out a bit. She liked bloodshed as much as the next Death Eater, but to keep the blood was disturbing.
Ron was battling Fenrir Greyback, a well-known lycan on the dark side. Killing for him was like reading for her-a simple pastime that he did whenever he felt need to, in other words, for leisure. He could never go out in public as often as the rest of them because of his wolf like appearance. He was a somewhat powerful wizard, but his forte was transforming children into werewolves. She hoped that Ron would avoid this punishment. She would never wish that fate onto anyone. But Ron seemed to be holding his ground well enough.
She had caught the attention of a Death Eater she remembered as Nathan McClellan. Probably the one Death Eater she could never stand. He was cocky, arrogant, not to mention horribly unattractive. A complete ass that never failed to make her insides boil. She took a sick pleasure in shooting a curse his way after his mouth opened wide as though he were going to reveal that she was alive. The last thing she needed was to be bombarded after she had come back from the dead. It was a simple body bind curse, but as she marched over to him, she made it much more than that. She stomped on his nose and heard an audible crunch as it broke. She smirked as she saw the blood fall down his face. She left him there, knowing that someone would come along and carry the body to where they could properly dispose of him. Azkaban in her mind was heaven compared where she really wanted to send him, so she knew that she shouldn't be the one to decide his fate.
She tried her best to remain unseen so she could avoid anyone else spotting her. She ran to the edge of the forbidden forest and hid behind the trees as she traced the perimeter of the battle. A part of her wanted to help her fellow allies, but she knew that she had to find Harry before it was too late. It became harder to bear as she saw bodies begin to drop down like flies, sometimes not distinguishable. There were so many voices shouting spells that it was hard to tell who was winning. She hoped that it was them.
Suddenly, she snapped her head over to the black lake as she heard an inhuman scream. Feeling adrenaline begin to pump through her veins, she ran. Draco had already immersed himself in a battle with a still masked Death Eater, so she didn't need to worry about telling him where she was going. But after today, she had a feeling he already knew. He knew and he didn't try to stop her. He didn't try to stop her because he loved her. Not in the way that she loved him, but love nonetheless. She would always hold a special place in her heart for him. Even if most of it was already taken by a certain bespectacled boy-man.
She arrived at the lake to see Harry immersed in a full on battle royal with her former master. They seemed to be unaware of their surroundings, so she was safe for the time being. She still chose to hide behind a tree just in case. After standing there for a few moments, she discovered that every time they directed a spell at each other, their wands would connect. Sometimes the spells would simply bounce off each other to random places on the grounds, but others would form a line of connection between the two wands. She remembered the Dark Lord saying something about this after he had returned from his prolonged absence. The same thing had happened when he battled against Harry after he was resurrected. Priori Incantatem. Their wands were each other's twin and neither could cast a spell at the same time or else no one would come out victorious. It was a beautiful sight to behold until they disconnected and she realized that this wasn't the time to admire the linkage.
The Dark Lord cast a purple curse at Harry and knocked him back on the ground. Hermione flinched and held onto the trunk of the tree, digging her nails into it. She knew now was not the moment to emerge. If she did, she would most likely be killed. She didn't really feel like dying a second time, so she instead strained her ears as she realized that he was speaking.
"So this is it. You, on the ground as you should be. And I, honing in for the final kill."
Harry spit on the ground as he looked him in the eyes, "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Tom."
"STOP CALLING ME-"
"Stupefy!"
Harry shot the hex at the unsuspecting Dark Lord and caused him to collapse into a large boulder a good ten feet away from him. Harry hastily got up and walked closer to him, mocking him. "You really should talk less. It's your weakness you know. Instead of talking about it, you should just kill them."
He narrowed his red eyes at him and waved his hand to create a light shield around him as he began to get up. Harry tried to break it with a few weak curses, and then some stronger ones, but none penetrated it. Harry was too busy trying to break it that when it was finally lifted the Dark Lord had already charged a curse and fired it at him with a force so strong he collapsed on the ground breathing heavily but never screaming. He never screamed. Hermione bit her lip to keep from screaming out to him.
"You should take your own advice, Potter But now you've given me no choice but to act upon what I've been planning from the beginning. I was just going to kill you the easy way but now you've given me the motivation to act upon my original plans. Unfortunately for you, it means you'll have to wait a bit longer to see your Mudblood traitor of a girlfriend again. Pity." Harry didn't answer and the Dark Lord smirked. "Portus Fulsi!"
Hermione saw a white beam begin to form out of midair and panic set into her stomach. Now was the time to act. She began to run to Harry just as he was lifted into the portal. He was dangling as if being drawn from an invisible string. She quickened her pace and screamed at the top of her lungs, "HARRY!"
She caught a look of shock on the Dark Lord's face, but ignored it as she took a chance and jumped into the beam of light. Harry immediately saw her and a look similar to the one she just saw spread across his face. "Hermione no! Go back now!"
"No! Not without you!" She screamed back at him.
His hand was dangling a few feet from hers and she tried to reach it. She groped for it as she extended her arm as far as it would go. There were only inches between them and if he extended his arm as well, she could grab it. She looked up into his eyes to see something shine in them. She didn't know what to expect as she continued to strain her hand, hoping he would extend his hand to her. "Please" she whispered.
Hermione didn't know whether it was because of her plea or pity, but he extended his hand to hers and she latched onto it. She pulled hard and made their bodies collide with each other as they drifted higher towards the clouds. She kept his hand in hers as she wrapped the other around his waist, burying her head into his chest. She hated heights and didn't want to see what was beneath them. But if she did look down, she would have noticed the look of smugness that the Dark Lord had as he saw them lift higher into the air. Harry wrapped an arm protectively around her, as he did notice the look, and she tried to enjoy this moment as best she could, because this could very well be the last time she would ever be close to him.
That was the last she remembered because at that moment, as soon as their bodies were nearest to the clouds, the world went dark.
~*~
Alright so the inspiration was the beam of light that Serena and Darien are sucked into after one of the battles. I totally forgot which one and what episode-but for the truly hardcore fans, you'll know what I'm talking about ;)
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