The Last Year

A Decision is Made

  Hermione sat on the cold floor for a few moments, not trusting her legs to hold herself up if she were to stand. She couldn't believe the situation she had gotten herself into. Tears slid down her face, her chest heaved, and her nose ran as she sobbed gently in the empty corridor. There was no way she could have known she had been involved in this outlandish plot for weeks due to the nature of this spell, but she still felt as though she should have been able to fight it somehow. 

  Now, not only her life but Harry's life also was in danger, and this James Rabnott was the source of it. How could this fourth year be so powerful? Yes, he was older than the typical fourth year and was exceptionally talented and intelligent, but even then, this still seemed way ahead of his abilities. But it wasn't.

  Hermione thought back, to when she felt the first drop of the love she now felt for Harry. That horrible night in the Ministry of Magic, the night Sirius died, and the knowledge of Voldemort's return became public. That was the moment that her friendship with Harry began to blossom into their great romance, watching as Harry writhed in anguish as his Godfather died and his nemesis tried to possess him. 

  Hermione finally risked standing, and as she stood, she found herself able to stay upright, but very shaky. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. As she exhaled, she took her first step, but this time, instead of walking towards the Headmistress' office, she started to move towards the Head Boy's chambers. 

  As she nervously took her second step, she tried to remember that terrible summer after. She did not get to spend much time with Harry after that night, and she was quickly whisked away to her home. There, she obsessed for weeks about what she had felt as she watched the internal struggle of her best friend, and what it meant. It also forced her to evaluate her relationship and feelings for her other best friend, Ron. 

  She had reached the end of the corridor and took a sharp right turn, the staircases stood still a few meters in front of her. She tried to focus on each step, taking them one at a time, trying to make each step last as long as possible. 

  Halfway through that summer, she returned to the burrow, followed closely by Harry. As they prepared to celebrate his birthday, she prepared herself to discuss her feeling with Harry, but Ginny beat her to the punch, kissing Harry in front of everybody, to Hermione's horror. 

  Hermione was now halfway down the staircase, and she could see the landing for the fifth floor, where the Head Boy and Head Girl Chambers were located. Each step seemed to echo throughout the castle louder, as did her heart with each beat. 

  The beginning of the school year was appalling as she tried to manage her schoolwork and tried to convince herself she did not like Harry even though she was falling for him and was extremely jealous of Ginny. The start of term was composed of long classes and long nights of crying. 

  She had reached the fifth-floor landing and could see Harry's door at the end of the long corridor. She took another long breath before taking the first step down the hall. 

  Then, after the first quidditch match, Harry found her alone in a classroom sobbing, and despite the fact that Ginny had just broken his heart and cheated on him, he took the time to care for her. That night, they shared their first kiss, and that was the night Hermione knew she loved Harry. 

  She was almost to the door now, and every step made her heartbeat twice as fast as the beat before. 

  They had fights, they had almost broken up, only to reunite after Dumbledore's death. They had left Hogwarts, gone on the run. They had escaped death together, defied the odds, and defeated Voldemort, together. They narrowly escaped death, together. 

  She stood now, facing the door. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, she felt as if at any moment she would shatter, or melt, or both. 

  They had survived all that together, why not this?

  She knocked and opened the door to his side of the chambers; Harry was sitting on the bed. He grinned widely as she stepped through the door.

  "Harry, we need to talk." 

  The door shut.

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"Oh My Gosh! I can't believe you did that! Another Cliff Hanger?"

Yes, yes, I know. I have a problem. Yes, the power is getting to my head. Yes, I have been watching too many TV shows LOL. 

If you can't tell, this chapter was supposed to imitate a TV Episode full of flashbacks. I felt now was a fun time to review where we have been, as we start to step into the future.

Don't worry, things are only starting, and much more is yet to come.

I hope you enjoyed this bonus chapter, watch on Friday for the usual Friday release, and yes, I am going to try and stick to that better than I have recently. 

Feel free to leave comments, concerns, opinions, or ideas!

Until Next Time,

-JRich