Fading Regrets

Author Name: MythX
Author e-mail: k3nny@paradise.net.nz
Category: Action/Adventure, Romance
Keywords: Harry/Hermione, Voldemort, death, love
Spoilers: All four
Rating: PG13
Summary: In a world plagued with Terrorism, Harry Potter triumphs over evil once again, but at a terrible price. He knew this moment would come, and is prepared to die to stop his enemy. Hermione Granger is in the middle of a content relationship with Ron Weasley, with just one regret: That she didn’t choose Harry. After what seems like Harry’s final act, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Will he come back, smashing the wizard world’s philosophy about death? Will Hermione ever get to tell Harry how much he means to her?
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers include but are 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.

 Chapter 1:

 Vernon Dursley was leaving his home on a damp, cool morning to get to work. He knew that leaving his house for the day would take him from its sanctions, and his life would be at risk in the dangerous times that his world was facing. This problem that plagued the world was terrorism. This terrorism was coming from a dangerous and unknown enemy. The wizardry world, however, knew of this enemy, but chose not to speak his name.

He kissed his wife good-bye and fare-welled his son Dudley, who, like so many other students, had been sent home early from his school. He had known a terrorized life for 2 years now, and still no one was getting closer to answering the threat.

As Vernon Dursley started his car he wondered – as he did every morning – if he would return home alive. Vernon had to go to work – there were no other alternatives. He had to make money for his family. He was, at least, thankful that the boy was not home early from school.

There was one thing that nibbled at the back of this mind though, and that was that – those sort of people – were responsible for it. Some of the things that had happened were unbelievable – there just wasn’t any way of explaining them.

As he approached a traffic light he saw people in robes about. A sense of panic overtook him, as he knew that robed people had been spotted before terrorist acts before. Upon closer inspection, however, these robed figured didn’t look like they were up to something – no, if anything, they looked like they were partying. They had drinks in hand, and every now and then would raise them and say something. In the sky if you looked you could see the flashes and explosions of fireworks, but Vernon didn’t notice this as he sped past them to his work. A few of them were near Grunnings, his drill firm, so he had no choice but to walk past them. Parking his car, he got out, and noticed more of them. They were everywhere.

As Vernon neared, he started to catch some of their conversation. Abruptly, they all raised their glances in the air, and toasted, “To Harry Potter.”

Vernon Dursley fell over upon hearing that, which caught the attention of the group. To his shock, one of them walked up to him and hugged him.

“This is a very special day today, even for someone like yourself! Have yourself a glass and toast in recognition of Harry Potter – he saved us again!”

What Vernon Dursley did not notice was that the toast lacked something had been their last time. That something was the phrase “The boy who lived”.

Vernon then saw something he didn’t want to see – something he expressed a severe dislike in. He saw magic. The man made a goblet appear in his hand. He then offered it to Vernon. 

Vernon chose that moment to turn and run back to his car – he would not be attending work today! He drove home at full speed, screeching his breaks as he left, and muttering something about ‘that bloody boy’.

When he arrived home he knocked on the door, and a happy-looking Petunia emerged.

“Vernon! They’ve stopped the person behind the terrorism!” she shrieked.

“Great, isn’t it dad? Wonder who stopped him! I bet he’s famous!” Dudley said happily.

This pushed all thought of Harry out of his mind, as she led him into the living room. He was in time to catch the story on the news.

“Today the British Prime Minister has announced that the mastermind behind these terrorist attacks was once and for all stopped today, by none other than a 16 year old boy. Wait – we now cut to a live feed” the picture then cut to a picture of a short, stubby and bald man.

“-And it is my greatest honour to express thanks on behalf of Britain to the person who stopped these attacks, Mr Harry Potter.”

****************

Hermione Granger, like so many of the students at Hogwarts, was not out celebrating. She was still trying to get over the trauma she had just gone through a few hours ago, and overcome the shock of the event she had just witnessed.

The graduation feast was going well. It was being held at lunchtime so that the students could get to the train on time. Hermione was only a 6th year, but had been named head girl for the next year, and had an important role to play in the feast. The whole school was gathered, and so she stood to begin. Harry Potter, the head boy of next year, was due to come in part way through the celebrations, as he was busy. Hermione didn’t mind. She could handle the people by herself. She had been going out with Ron Weasley since the beginning of her 5th year now, and she felt that she was in love. She had just one regret. She had accepted Ron over Harry. Not because she loved Ron more, In fact, the exact opposite was true. She didn’t want to loose her friendship with Harry, because it was so strong. What she hadn’t been counting on was having no time to be with him. In fact, their friendship was almost non-existent now. She spent all her time with Ron, and Harry spent all his time doing other things. She was content with Ron; she had never been with anyone else. She honestly thought it was true love - well, she convinced herself it was anyway.

Suddenly, as she was part way through her welcoming speech, the great hall went pitch black. The enchantments on the roof to mirror the sky seemed to have stopped working, and the candles in the room all went out.

Everyone grabbed for his or her wand, but almost no one had brought them.

Suddenly, the great hall door burst open, and in came a group of hooded figures, which everyone knew to be death eaters. The students ran, but there was nowhere to hide. Soon the death eaters had herded them into a corner like sheep. To get peace in the room they had sent spells at anyone and everyone. Slytherins were being hit by curses just as much as anyone else. None of their curses appeared to be fatal however – they seemed to be waiting for someone else to do that. Hermione unfortunately knew who it would be.

Just as she had dreaded, Lord Voldemort walked through the doors to the great hall moments later.

Voldemort had a brief duel with Dumbledore, but all he did was stun him, so that, as he put it “Dumbledore could watch the destruction of his school and students”.

“It appears that the snakes will be eating today,” Voldemort said, chuckling as he looked at the students gathered in the corner.

A Slytherin student put his hand up – no doubt to try and explain he was on their side.

Voldemort pointed his wand at him and chanted “Crucio”. He lifted it quickly, but the Slytherin was on the ground withering in pain.

If Hermione hadn’t been so terrified she might have found it amusing that the Slytherins had suddenly all became terrified.

“Is Potter here?” Voldemort asked in his chilling, cold voice, all the while surveying the students before him with a disinterested hatred.

The death eaters shock their head.

“I guess we will just have bring him here then. Hermione Granger? Where are you my little mudblood?”

Fear flooded through Hermione, he wanted to single her out. Some of the Slytherins, in a last-minute attempt to save themselves, pointed at her.

“Ahh, time to meet your doom young lady. I wonder how Potter will feel then”

There was suddenly a loud ‘pop’ sound.

“Don’t touch her Voldemort.” A calm and composed voice said from the darkness. The death eaters all had their wands pointed at the students, so that they could see them, so Voldemort had no idea where the voice had come from.

“SHOW YOURSELF!” Voldemort commanded. 

Without hesitating, the person who had just entered did show himself. It was Harry Potter.

“This is between you and me. Leave them out of this.”

Hermione was shocked. Harry? How could he fight for them? He had only just completed his 6th year!

“I wondered if you might show up, Potter.”

“Well wonder no longer.” He then turned and pointed his hand – not his wand, but his hand, at the roof, and light spilled from it. The light that had come out of his hand seemed to settle on the roof, and the room was lit as normal.

Hermione had no idea he was capable of this, but then again, she and Harry weren’t all that close with Ron taking up all her time.

Harry turned back to Voldemort, and with one wave of his hand, like out of a Star Wars movie, the death eaters all fell limp to the ground, unconscious.

He also said “Students, do not try to leave. There is a magical barrier around you which should block curses.”

Voldemort snickered at this.

“Well, Tom, what are you waiting for?”

“DO NOT CALL ME THAT!” Voldemort screamed.

“Temper Temper…” Harry muttered joyfully.

Hermione couldn’t believe Harry was so composed at a time like this – He was facing the most dangerous wizard for as long as history can remember, and yet he made it sound like a game.

The two of them began screaming curses at each other. Voldemort’s vocabulary seemed to lack variety, because he tried almost nothing but the unforgiveables. Harry dodged the curses as though he were dancing and shot his own curses back as well. The two seemed to send their curses on a different route, however, and, thought Hermione didn’t know it, this was because of the Prior Incantium effect that neither of them wanted to get in the way of their duel. Hermione really had to hand it to Harry, he had such a strong shielding charm up that only the unforgivable curses could get past it. Was the person out there fighting the Harry Potter that she thought she knew so well?

Then the duel took a new turn. Voldemort turned to the students.

“Well, Potter, I’ve always wanted to kill you, and it seems that you will never kill me, when your afraid to use little stronger than a ticking charm, so how about we speed the process up by letting you watch the death of somebody... You care deeply about?”

Although Hermione was looking down at the ground in fear, she knew Voldemort was looking for her.

There was a sudden gasp, and everyone was looking at Harry. She turned and looked at him as well.

He looked composed, but it was possible to see the fury burning in his eyes. Harry was suddenly being surrounded with a golden light, which grew more and more bright, and it appeared to be merging with him. It was impossible to see where Harry Potter ended, and the golden light begun.

Voldemort had seen him too. He looked rather worried.

“You will not touch her” Harry said, still getting brighter, and the golden light getting thicker.

It was like a mist now; it was impossible to see his body because it had thickened up so much. The light was orbiting around him in a perfect circle. The ball looked perfect, but still it got stronger, deeper. How much strength did Harry have? How could he do all this? Hermione was in shock, so her brain didn’t process her question. She just stared, as everyone else was, in numb anticipation.

Voldemort seemed to have frozen in shock as well. He seemed to know something that the students didn’t; he seemed to know what it was that Harry was doing.

Hermione’s brain finally answered the question – he was transferring the power inside him to his body outside of him. While it was orbiting him, it was still powering him. But if he used it all he would--. Suddenly the power orbiting Harry changed its trail and flew full speed at Voldemort. Helpless to do anything, Voldemort stood and watched. The power ball surrounded Voldemort, and then got smaller and smaller. It shrunk until it was no longer visible, shrinking Voldemort to nothing as well.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Harry, whose eyes looked hollow. There was no sparkle of brilliant green, just a lifeless void where a boy had once lived. It was a fate worse than that of a dementor's kiss. He would loose his soul to worse than nothing - he would loose his soul to imprisoning Voldemort.

“Your safe now.” He said simply, keeping eye contact with Hermione all the while, before dropping lifelessly to the ground.

Hermione rushed by his side to check a pulse, but there was none – Harry Potter was dead.

She had witnessed the death of her best friend – a friend better than Ron would ever be. She felt terrible – while she had been having fun with Ron, he had, without complaining, been preparing for that very moment.

He had given his life without hesitating to save others – Hermione might have guessed that he would. It was something only Harry would do. Ron wouldn’t.

Hermione found herself crying again, not for the first time that day. Harry’s death proved to her just how much he meant to her. She doubted she would feel this horrible if Ron had died. The knowledge that he had died to save her and every other student present just, well, hurt.

Harry could have not used all of his power though, Hermione thought sadly. He summoned all that he had to his outside, and sent every little bit – he didn’t want there to be any chance that Voldemort would live on.

The pressures of society were all slanting towards him, and he carried his duty out without fail.

As she walked across the Great Hall floor, the only thing to be heard was her shoe tapping on the hard ground. As she took her place at Gryffindor table, it was replaced by total silence once again.

Professor Dumbledore stood to address the students. His eyes had no twinkle, his lips had no smile, and he looked as lost and sad as everybody gathered.

“Today, we witnessed an act of unbelievable courage. We witnessed bravery like we had never seen bravery before. Giving ones own life to save that of many others is a true sacrifice. Could we all please bow our heads in silence, in memory of Harry Potter.”

 Everybody did so, including the Slytherins. The thoughts going through their minds were the same as the students in the other houses: I would be snake food if it weren’t for Harry Potter.

Dumbledore eventually looked up – there had been so many good deeds or memories he had reflected on that it had taken 5 minutes. He had expected to see all of the students looking back, but that was not the case – they were all still reflecting.

Some 10 minutes later, Dumbledore decided it best to disturb the silence.

“Students, I’m sure you will reflect on what happened today many times in the future. Harry Potter will be kept preserved here at Hogwarts until you all return from your holidays. He will receive the order of Merlin first class for this act – something that only I have ever received to date. If Harry were standing here, he would be angry that all of you have such sad faces at his passing – he would want you all to enjoy your holidays. Please do that for him. School Dismissed.”

And with that, the students slowly stood up, and exited the Great Hall in a slow and orderly fashion. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.