All right boys and girls, here we go with Chapter 6. I'll have all of you know that this is a record for me in getting chapters up. Normally there are weeks between updates, but so far the longest update gap has only been a couple of days. Anyway, sorry about the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter. I'll try not to let it happen again. And to the one reviewer who asked me to kill Draco Malfoy, no that will not be happening in this story. I need him. So anyway, on with the story! Review!
Harry felt Voldemort before he entered the Great Hall. When he did, black robes gliding on the cobbled stone floors behind him, a Malfoy on either side, a hush fell over the dueling witches and wizards as Voldemort looked up at the ceiling, laughed evilly and spread his arms. "Let the battle begin!" he exclaimed, pointing his wand at Fleur Delacour and uttering, "Avada Kedavra."
Harry met Voldemort's eyes over the crowd and the two bore holes in each other. Both registered the arrival of Ministry officials and Aurors alike, and the Voldemort spoke once again.
"Albus Dumbledore, I am not afraid. Come face me and meet your fate." He said, his voice magically amplified to make himself heard over the din of screams and bodies falling.
Hermione and Marie were separated as soon as they entered the Great Hall. Marie ran one direction to find Wood and Hermione the other to begin fighting the Death Eaters that were rapidly killing many students and the members of the Order of the Phoenix that Dumbledore had brought in. She skidded to a stop when she saw Ron crumpled on the floor, and felt bile rise up in her throat as she mentally prepared herself for the worst. Her fear was dissipated when Ron coughed and rolled over.
"'Mione, get Harry." He ordered. "Voldemort's gonna challenge Dumbledore and Harry is trying to stop it."
Hermione pulled her friend to his feet and then rushed off to find Harry. She found him moving purposefully toward Voldemort, who was already standing face to face with Dumbledore, who had magic electricity rolling off him in eaves.
"How dare you." Dumbledore said, raising his wand in a truly menacing manner. "How dare you enter my school and destroy my pupils. After I helped you so many years ago, Riddle."
"After you helped me? I think not, Dumbledore. You tried your very best to see me expelled."
"I tried my best to see you become good." Dumbledore said, stressing the good. Voldemort ignored him.
"Let's see if you managed to teach me everything you said you would, Old Man. We shall duel. And after I have killed you, I will kill your grandson."
"Leave Harry alone. He has defeated you as many times as I, and he will do so again if given the chance."
"Then it's up to you to make sure he isn't given the chance isn't it Dumbledore?"
Harry was getting ready to intervene when Hermione stepped in his way. "Don't." she ordered calmly. "It will do you no good. This is Dumbledore's battle, not yours. Your battle is helping us defeat the rest of them. Have confidence in him, Harry. He's the only one that Voldemort fears."
"Don't tell me what to do Hermione. I have no doubts that he could take him twenty years ago, or even ten, but the man is getting old. He is not in his best form."
Then, somehow, Harry heard Dumbledore speak inside his mind. "Ah, that is true Harry. I am old, and weaker, but I am not weak. Have confidence in this old man, son, and help Hermione protect everyone else. Today is the day that Voldemort will fall. And despite the losses we have suffered, and the loss we will suffer, this day is a great one. We will prevail."
The battle raged long into the night. Each time the former students of Hogwarts, Ministry officials, Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix thought that they had finally defeated the Death Eaters, a fresh batch, more vicious than the last would come to take their places, and thus the losses to the side of good became more severe.
Hermione looked around in despair. Bodies littered the ground, others were lying on the ground, in pain from the various pain curses that had been used on them, still others were under the influence of the Imperious Curse and could no longer control their thoughts or actions. And still, Voldemort and Dumbledore battled. It seemed that the battle was no where near over.
Lily paced around the room she and all the other children had been confined to, confused by the screams that she heard from outside the walls. She, at the moment was the only one awake. She had tried to sleep, but had found herself unable to without her mother. And her mother was no where to be found. Sighing in resignation, Lily sat down on the floor again and pulled her blanket up around her. Then, a spirit appeared in front of her. Of a man who looked remarkably like her father, and a woman with the same color eyes that she had.
"Who are you? Where are my parents?" Lily questioned the two people, who smiled at her.
"We are your grandparents. Your father's parents. We are here to help you, Lily. You must get out of this room and help your mother and father. The destruction of the most evil wizard in the world depends on it. Like your Daddy, you have a great amount of power. And some of the power of a very evil man runs through your veins."
"What do I have to do?" Lily asked in a serious voice much too mature for her small size and young age.
James answered his granddaughter. "You must leave this room and return to the Great Hall where you ate all your meals. When you get there, you will see a tall man wearing black robes and fighting with Professor Dumbledore. You will find a wand on the floor just as you walk in the door. Pick it up, point it at the man and say Avada Kedavra as loudly as you can. Then my dear, you must go to your parents. They will need you."
So Lily Alexandria Potter stood once more and, using a very clever charm she had learned from her mother, she unlocked the door and entered the hallway. She nearly cried when she saw dead people lying in the hallway, but took a deep breath and concentrated on her instructions. She followed the trail of bodies to the Great Hall where she did find a wand lying directly inside the door. She picked it up.
There. She spotted the man that her grandparents had told her about. Tall, gaunt looking, evil expression on his thin, cavernous face. Facing off with Dumbledore, who was looking rather tired and hollowed. She stepped up to the man, and let out a shriek that made even him turn to look. He turned slowly, looked at her with a hint of a smile and raised his wand. Lily saw her mother racing toward her as fast as she could, but Lily raised the wand she held, and yelled what her grandparents had told her to.
"Avada Kedavra!" she yelled and the man looked stunned, then fell to his knees. He looked at Harry and, with his dying breath, uttered two words.
"Avada Kedavra."
Then, out of nowhere, Hermione threw herself in front of the green light and took the spell head on, absorbing the magic into her own body, and keeping the spell away from Harry. She fell to the ground and looked up at Harry, who was immediately on his knees beside her, pulling the upper half of her body into his lap.
"Hermione?" Harry questioned, hoping that she would answer, but preparing himself for the probable reality that she would not. But her eyes opened and she looked up at him, no pain evident in the cinnamon colored pools that were her eyes.
"Killing curses only work on the person that they're meant for." She said, as Lily crawled into her lap. Then, she passed out, her head lolling into Harry's lap, as she became unconscious. Only then did Harry look up to find that, in the few seconds that he had been sitting there, the battle had ended. After seeing their leader fall at the hand of a six-year-old, the Death Eaters had fled, leaving a grisly battlefield full of bodies behind them. Harry looked around and saw many of the Weasley's and Wood and Marie beginning to levitate those injured in the direction of the hospital wing while the teacher's were bagging up the bodies.
Harry stood and scooped Hermione into his arms, her long hair swinging down toward the ground as he took his daughter by the hand and began the trip to the hospital wing.
The next morning, Dumbledore announced those who had died. Hermione and many others were still fighting for life in the hospital wing. "Samantha Vector, Severus Snape, Susan Bones, Braden Laramie, Robert Coffee, Melinda Anderson, Bethany Gillum, Colin Creevey, Mad Eye Moody, Dolores Umbridge, Cornelius Fudge, Marisa Thompson, Alexander Simpson, Bryan Canter, William Miller, Blaise Zambini, Reubus Hagrid, Melanie Carter, Sasha Andersen, John Queen, Missy Ratcliff, Professor Flitwick, Rianna Masterson, Parvati Patil, Padma Patil, and Sybil Trelawney."
Harry, Ron, Wood and Marie sat in the Gryffindor common room with all of the other Weasley's listening to the list in silence. All the children were off playing together with Professor McGonagall while the adults were given time to gather their thoughts and deal with the loss of their classmates in privacy for a couple of hours. Lily, however, and Alex, were with Harry, Wood and Marie instead of with all of the Weasley children. They were all waiting anxiously for news on Hermione, who still had not waken from the Death Curse that she had taken in Harry's place the night before.
"She'll be fine, mate." Ron kept assuring Harry as they waited. "She's tough, and she told you herself that the curse won't kill her. Only knocked her out for a little while. Everything'll be all right."
"I hope so, Ron. I only just got her back, I couldn't stand to lose her again."
Lily reached over and smacked her father on the back of the head. "Mommy isn't going anywhere." She announced forcefully, holding back tears of worry that Hermione wouldn't be all right. "She's just sleeping."
Harry stood up and scooped Lily into his arms. "Y'know what? You're right. Come on, I need your help with something. Ginny, can you come with me for a little while?" he asked the red head, who had just entered the common room, streaks still on her face from tears recently shed over Braden's death.
"Yeah, I guess." Ginny agreed, tying her hair back from her face. "Where are we going?"
"On an errand. I need to pick something up from the jewelry store."
"The one in Hogsmeade, or Diagon Alley?"
"Diagon Alley, I think. We can go by Floo powder. Lily have you ever traveled by Floo powder?"
"Of course, Daddy." Lily said patiently. "How do you think that I got here?"
Harry, Ginny and Lily made the trip into Diagon Alley quickly and without any problems. Once there, Ginny, who still knew the area better than Harry, led the way to the three jewelry shops that were there. After a quick look, Harry walked into the middle one. Immediately a salesperson was at his side.
"Mister Potter, sir, how may I help you?" he asked, guiding the three to a table and pulling out Ginny's and then Lily's chair. Harry sat down unassisted.
"Well, I would like to see all of your size six engagement rings."
"With all stones, or just diamonds?"
Harry looked at Ginny, who had caught on quickly. "Diamonds." She answered, and the salesman was off. Moments later, he brought over three trays of diamonds in every size, shape, and style imaginable.
"There you are, sir. If there is anything else with which you require assistance, I will be right over there."
"Thank you." Harry said, already engrossed in the decision making process. "What do you think, Gin?"
"What are you looking for in an engagement ring?" Ginny asked, eyeing them all expertly. "Are you wanting something ostentatious or delicate, something overly feminine, or more sturdy?"
"I want something Hermione like." Harry clarified, and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Okay. Then we'll do it the easy way. "Lily, what do you think that your Mommy would like?"
Lily stood up in her chair and studied the rings carefully. Finally, after a long five minutes of deliberation, she plucked one off the tray and handed it to Harry, who examined it.
The ring Lily had chosen for Hermione was set on a platinum band, with three square cut diamonds, the middle one being the largest. After he nodded, he handed it across the table to Ginny, who also seemed satisfied with the decision. She knew that Hermione would love the ring when Harry gave it to her.
"I think that Hermione will love it." Ginny said, feeling tears again welling in her eyes as thoughts of Braden crawled into her mind. Harry saw what was happening and reached across the table to pat Ginny's hand in a reassuring manner. Ginny squeezed his hand in a sisterly way and stood up. "I'll take Lily down to Honeyduke's while you finish up here." She said and then she and Lily were off.
Harry paid the salesman for the ring, and had it placed in a plain black box that he tucked in the pocket of his robes. He met Ginny and Lily outside Honeyduke's and then they all traveled by Floo powder back to the Gryffindor common room. As soon as they were on their feet and had brushed themselves off, Ron ran up to the three of them.
"Hey guys? Hermione just woke up and she's asking for you."
Harry picked up Lily and rushed to the Hospital Wing where all of the Weasley's, Wood, Marie, and many of the teachers were sitting around Hermione's bed. Harry walked up to the front of the group and sat Lily down on her feet. Lily promptly tossed herself onto Hermione and hugged her tightly.
"Hey there, Lily-bug. Did you have fun with Daddy while I was sick?" she asked, smiling at her daughter.
"Uh huh. He was good, but not quite as good as you. Especially at tucking in." Lily said solemnly, and everyone laughed. Hermione looked up at Harry.
"Hey there." She said quietly, extending her hand for him to take.
"Hey yourself. It's nice to see you awake. We were all worried about you."
"I told you, Harry, that a killing curse only kills the person that it was meant to kill. Therefore it was a calculated risk that all the curse would do to me was knock me out. And that's all it did."
"Now Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall scolded gently, "You know that what you just said has never been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Why it wouldn't surprise me if the curse hadn't killed Harry either. After all, the wizard who cast it was dying at the time. You are lucky that you were only knocked unconscious for a time."
Harry bent down and kissed Hermione's forehead. "I love you, 'Mione." He said, then, to the surprise of everyone there, Harry got down on one knee and took Hermione 's hand. "Now that that's been said, Hermione, will you marry me?" he asked, taking the ring box from his pocket and handing it to Hermione.
Hermione looked into Harry's emerald green eyes that, even after fourteen years of knowing the man, still took her breath away. Eyes that had shown her love and compassion. Eyes that told her that he truly wanted to be a part of her life as more than Lily's father. Eyes that told her that he did honestly love her and want to marry her. Eyes that told her that he wanted to be her husband and spend the rest of his life with her. Eyes that told her he wanted the same thing she did. Eyes that left her with only one choice.
"Yes." She said, and there was an uproar of cheering as Harry kissed her and then put the engagement ring on the third finger of her left hand. Then Professor Dumbledore spoke.
"Now then, let the wedding plans begin!" he exclaimed excitedly, "And Harry, there's something that I think I should tell you." He said, suddenly serious.
"What's that, Professor?"
"There was a reason that your father left his invisibility cloak to me after he died. And it was not only because he wished for you to have it, though that was his main intention. He left it to me because I am his father. Your grandfather."
Ohhhh! Another cliffhanger! Don't you guys just absolutely hate me? I know I'd hate me if I were you! Stay tuned for Chapter 7!