Right In Front Of You

Disclaimer: This fanfiction is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

In one day, our lives changed forever…

Harry's Point of View:

It was my seventh year at Hogwarts, and the times were bad. The rise of Voldemort had a devastating effect on the entire wizarding world, and no one was safe - not even at Hogwarts. All of the muggle-born wizards in England were being targeted, and one by one, they were being killed off. There were reports everyday of yet another attack. Dumbledore was very concerned; even though Voldemort hadn't taken any students yet, he knew that it was only a matter of time before Voldemort would strike Hogwarts.

And he was right. Three months into the school year, it happened - the first strike. The moment that I found out about it will forever be seared into my memory. Professor McGonagall shook me and Ron awake late one night, telling us to follow her, and that something terrible had happened. I remember the look on her face as she woke us. Words couldn't describe the absolute terror that was reflected on McGonagall's face - she looked absolutely smitten with fear. We immediately followed her downstairs and then upstairs to the girls' dormitories. She brought us into the seventh years' dorm room and pointed to the wall over one of the beds. All of the girls in the dorm were shrieking in fear. My eyes followed McGonagall's pointed finger to the wall, and I saw what all the commotion was about.

On the wall was a message, a message written in blood. It read:

“Hogwarts' brightest Mudblood - at the mercy of Lord Voldemort. You'll find her at the Riddle House.”

My eyes welled with tears, and I began to tremble. I screamed out in disbelief, and Ron was simply frozen with shock. I read the message over and over again. I couldn't lose her! I had left too many things unsaid - a part of me would die without her! I knew what I had to do, so I turned to Ron. He looked back at me, and without words, we reached a silent agreement. I looked back at Professor McGonagall. I think she knew all too well what I was going to do, and that nothing was going to stop me. She just nodded slowly and turned her eyes away. With that, Ron and I made our way out of the dorm. We went back into our dormitory, changed out of our pajamas, and grabbed our brooms and wands. We went outside of the castle, mounted our brooms, and cast a spell on them - a spell that directed them to bring us right to the Riddle House.

Once we got there, we were faced with a group of Voldemort's Death Eaters. They outnumbered us 2 to 10, and they easily overpowered us. They cast full body binds on us before we had a chance to shout out our counter-curses, and leaving Ron, they took me to a very large mountain behind the Riddle House.

They threw me in a barred cave deep within the mountain and left me there. It was pitch black. I couldn't see a thing - not even my own hand outstretched in front of me. I was shivering, sitting on the cold, hard surface of a mountain cave carved out of rock. Just then my scar began to pound with pain. I knew that he was near, very near. It was only a matter of time before I would be in the presence of Voldemort.

Life

It can twist your heart

Put you in the dark

I was cold and lonely

My scar was now racking my forehead with pain, but I was more concerned with what had become of Hermione. What had Voldemort done with her? Was she okay? Would I ever get the chance to tell her how I felt? My heart gave a sickening lurch as the thought of finding her dead body entered my mind.

Doubt

It can close you in

Build the walls within

I let fear control me

Suddenly, I heard a loud cackle from below me, and the cave's floor started to shift underneath me. I grabbed onto the iron bars imprisoning me as the rocky flooring gave way and crumbled. I was now dangling freely from the bars, and when I looked down over my shoulder, I realized that I was hovering over a huge, deep pit - a pit that seemed to have no bottom. Voldemort was standing near the pit, staring up at me.

“Well, Potter, it looks as if you're not going to be able to see Granger's corpse before you die. Too bad, she's an awful sight to see,” cackled Voldemort. He had a look of pure evil settled on his face.

“NO, NO!!! HERMIONE!!! WHY HER?!” I exclaimed as I struggled to hold onto the bars. Tears welled in my eyes once again as the thought of Hermione's dead body entered my mind. I couldn't hold onto the bars any longer. There wasn't anything that I could do. My hands slipped off of the bars, and I began my descent into the pit.

I let go

Didn't know

Where the answer would be

All of the sudden, I heard a voice shout out “Immobulus!” and I was immediately suspended in midair. I then heard the same voice shout out another spell, “Accio Harry!,” and I was jetted away from the pit and towards the spell caster.

“Harry!!! Are you alright?!” exclaimed the voice.

I finally recognized the voice…it was Hermione! My heart did a flip inside my chest. She was alive!!! And she just saved me!

I was brought to Hermione and set on my feet right in front of her. She was looking at me with tears in her eyes. She looked like she had been through a lot - her pajamas were torn and tattered and she had bloodstains and cuts all over her body. She leapt forward and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“HERMIONE!!! I thought you were dead!! I thought that I had lost you!!!” I trembled as I said this to Hermione. The thought of ever losing her made my stomach ache. I hugged her tightly to me, afraid to let her go. Somehow I knew that my feelings for her were changing, that they were morphing into something different than before. It was more than something left unsaid now - it was something much more powerful than that. Before I could even think it over, I said what I felt. “I-I love you too much to lose you.”

Right in front of you

Right in front of me

We were looking

But somehow, some way

We couldn't see

That the love was always there

It's been around us everywhere

I had to fall to finally see

That you were right in front of me

Hermione's Point of View:

My heart did a flip. My best friend just told me that he loved me! “Harry—” I began, as I pulled away to look Harry in the eyes, but I was interrupted by Voldemort's shrill voice.

“How touching, but I'm afraid that this sweet reunion will have to be cut short,” said Voldemort in a rash tone. “It's time, Potter, to show me what you're made of.”

Harry turned around to face Voldemort. I put my hands on Harry's shoulders. “You can do it, Harry, I KNOW you can. I have faith in your abilities,” I said to Harry reassuringly. He turned and looked at me. He nodded as a slight smile tugged at his lips.

Faith

It can lift you up

And we've got enough

To reach a new beginning

Harry turned back to Voldemort. Voldemort rested his gaze on me as I let go of Harry's shoulders. Harry must have noticed this, because he then spoke to Voldemort in a tone that I had never heard him use before - a tone that had the marks of pure threat laced within it. “Leave Hermione out of this.”

Love

Can withstand a storm

In the final hour

We'll find the joy in living

“I won't touch her,” smirked Voldemort. He moved his gaze from me to Harry, then back to me again. Then, before I knew what had happened, I saw a bright stream of light jetting towards me. Once it hit me, I was immediately lifted up and thrown backwards through the air.

Harry's Point of View:

Before I knew what had happened, Voldemort had pointed his wand at Hermione and sent her flying backward towards the hard cave wall. She hit the wall with a loud thud and then collapsed to the cave floor, hitting her head on a large rock on the way down.

My heart gave a lurch as I saw Hermione crumpled on the floor, not moving. I screamed her name as I ran over to her side. Tears were falling freely from my eyes as I knelt beside her. I could hear Voldemort cackling madly in the distance, but I was not ready to face him yet. I was too concerned about Hermione. Looking at her face, I noticed that a pool of blood was forming around her head on the cave floor.

“HERMIONE!!! NO!!!” I screamed as I put my arms under her and lifted her into my embrace. “DON'T LEAVE ME!!! I CAN'T LOSE YOU!!! I LOVE YOU!!!”

Don't let go

`Cause I know

Pretty soon you will see

Hermione was still motionless. I brought my hand up to her face and placed it on her cheek. Now crying uncontrollably, I rested my forehead on hers. I shut my eyes, and a single tear fell onto her face. Just then, Hermione's body began to glow. I lifted my head up from hers. A golden halo enveloped her entire body, and, as I watched on in pure amazement, all of the cuts and gashes on her body began disappearing - even the blood stopped flowing out of the back of her head. Once all of her wounds had vanished, the golden halo dimmed and slowly died out.

I now concentrated on Hermione's face, looking for signs of her awakening, as I heard Voldemort laughing distantly in the background. “Hermione, come back to me. I need you…I need you by my side. I love you.” I leaned my face back down to hers as I said these words, and closing my eyes, I placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Hermione's Point of View:

I heard Harry sobbing, and I felt his warm embrace around me. My body felt like it was weightless, like I was floating. I didn't feel any more pain. I then heard Harry begin to speak, and the words that he said changed my life.

“Hermione, come back to me. I need you…I need you by my side. I love you.” My heart leapt at his words. Then, unexpectantly, I felt his lips touch mine in a gentle, soothing kiss.

I felt a jolt of excitement course through my body. He said he loved me - again. But this time…this time something changed when he said it. My perception of his words had changed.

After seven years of friendship, Harry and I had become very close. We had gone through some difficult battles, and we were always there for each other. We had a certain `love' for each other - a friend's love. But just then…when I felt his lips touch mine for the first time ever, I realized that there was another kind of love between us, a love that had been there all along, lying dormant.

Right in front of you

Right in front of me

We were looking

But somehow, some way

We couldn't see

That the love was always there

It's been around us everywhere

I had to fall to finally see

That you were right in front of me

My eyes fluttered open as Harry pulled away from my lips. He opened his eyes, and as he met my gaze, I could see the mixture of amazement and joy in his eyes.

“Hermione!!! You came back to me!!!” Harry exclaimed as he tightened our embrace. I put my arms around him and squeezed him tightly. It felt right being in his arms, and even though Voldemort was present, still laughing maniacally, I felt safe in Harry's embrace.

You are my tomorrow

There's safety in your arms

Harry's Point of View:

She came back to me - finally, she opened her eyes. I felt a sudden wave of relief wash over me. Hermione was going to be okay. She pulled back from our embrace and brought her hands up to my face. She wiped the tears off of my cheeks with her thumbs and brought her eyes up to meet mine. A smile tugged at her lips, and seeing her smile made me smile too. And then she said the words that I had been longing to hear - the words that would change my life forever.

“I love you, Harry. I'll always be right by your side.” As she said these words, tears started to well up in her eyes, and she brought my face down to hers and kissed me. The kiss was full of meaning for the both of us. There were no reservations - we knew how we felt about each other, and we were able to express it in a mutual kiss for the very first time.

As the kiss came to an end, we embraced once again. My tears turned from tears of grief to tears of joy, and I felt that I had finally found true bliss.

“Hermione, I'll always be by your side. I love you.” As I said this she hugged me tighter to her, and we stayed that way, revelling in our warm embrace.

Where you go, I'll follow

`Cause you're the world where I belong

“I can't take any more of this - it's like watching one of those muggle soap operas! Let's get on with it!” snarled Voldemort with an evil grin.

Suddenly, I had an idea. It had a good chance of working, but I needed Hermione's consent to make it happen. I turned my head to whisper in her ear. As we parted, she nodded, and I helped her to her feet. We both reached into our robe pockets and retrieved our wands. Wasting no time, we pointed our wands at Voldemort and shouted in unison, “Avada Kedavra!!!”

Just then, two bright green streaks of light emanated from our wands, rocketing towards Voldemort. Before he knew what hit him, Voldemort was struck by both curses simultaneously. He instantaneously dropped to the floor. He was dead.

I turned to Hermione, and we shared a moment of contemplation. We did it - we vanished Voldemort. He was gone, and we were free.

“You did it, Harry!!! He's gone, he's really gone!!!” shouted Hermione as she threw her arms around me. I put my arms around her and responded. “WE did it, Hermione!!!”

Just then, someone entered the cave. “Harry!!! Hermione!!! You're okay!!!” It was Ron. I couldn't have been any more elated - Ron was okay too.

“Ron, how did you manage all of those Death Eaters by yourself?!” I questioned, amazed.

“It was simple, really. Once they put the body bind on me, they threw me into one of the Riddle's bedrooms. The bloke who cursed me must've had a faulty wand, because the spell wore off in minutes. I snuck out of the bedroom and launched a full out attack on them, using the house's mirrors. They didn't know where the curses were coming from, so before they figured it out, I had a full body bind on them all. Then I summoned Hedwig and sent a message to Dumbledore about the Riddle House being full of detained Death Eaters. He should be on his way as we speak,” finished Ron. He looked quite pleased with himself. He then looked over my shoulder and noticed the fallen Voldemort. His mouth fell open. “H-how did you manage that?!”

“Hermione and I cast the Killing Curse at the exact same time, and it overpowered him. He could survive one dose of it, but not two,” I replied.

Just then, wizards from the ministry arrived and questioned all three of us. Even though the Killing Curse is a curse punishable with a life sentence in Azkaban, the ministry was not in any way interested in pressing charges - after all, this was Voldemort we were talking about. After they had finished, they dismissed us, and went over to examine Voldemort's body.

“Well, let's be getting back to Hogwarts,” stated Ron as we watched the ministry wizards gather around Voldemort's remains.

As we began to make our way out of the cave, Ron leading the way, Hermione stopped and took my hand. She brought me in front of her and held my hands in hers.

“Harry, I love you,” said Hermione, a smile playing on her face.

“I love you, too, Hermione,” I replied, a wide grin forming on my face. I leaned in and kissed Hermione, this time more passionately than before.

“Did I…miss something?” inquired Ron. Hermione and I pulled away and looked over at Ron, who was grinning. Hermione and I exchanged glances as Ron chuckled lightly. “Well, it's about bloody time. It took you two long enough. Now, come on, let's get you two lovebirds back home.”

Hermione and I laughed too, and, taking her hand in mine, we left the cave, embarking on a new beginning together.

***

Our lives changed forever that day in seventh year. It's funny how life works sometimes - something can be right in front of you for the longest time, and you can look right at it and never see it, but it takes only one pivotal moment in your life to realize that it's been right there in front of you all along.

Right in front of you, in front of me

Somehow we couldn't see

Right in front of you

I had to fall to finally see

Right in front of you

Right in front of me

We were looking

But somehow, some way

We couldn't see

That the love was always there

It's been around us everywhere

I had to fall to finally see

Right in front of you

Right in front of me

We were looking

But somehow, some way

We couldn't see

That the love was always there

It's been around us everywhere

I had to fall to finally see

That you were right in front of me

I finally see

I had to fall to finally see

That you were right in front of me

A/N - So, what did you think? This is my favorite H/Hr song. This song, “Right In Front Of You,” is on Celine Dion's CD “A New Day Has Come,” in case you were wondering. Please leave a review - I LOVE feedback! Thank you for reading and reviewing!