The Way Things Almost Were | Harry Potter Drabbles

If Tomorrow Never Comes (AU)

Authors Note: For those reading this aside from the people who know my plans, these drabbles were meant to take into consideration that everyone was alive. This chapter will focus on the deaths of several characters. Because I have deemed that J.K. R*wling no longer owns the canon, all the characters canonically live, making this an au. 

tw: death, blood, mentions of death, general angst 

iykyk: i'm sorry. 

"if tomorrow never comes, will she know how much i loved her?"  - if tomorrow never comes; garth brooks. 

Draco Malfoy

She saw the flash of green light before she heard the source of the voice in came from. It had been aimed at her, she knew it, couldn't shake the feeling in her bones as she saw the flash of a Death Eater disappear. She didn't know whether to stay or go, didn't even see the person who had so deftly blocked her from the weight of the curse and it wasn't until she turned around, eyes wide in horror as she sank to the ground. He had been killed. She screamed, she cried, she couldn't tell whose voice was her's, all she could hear was the rushing in her ears and her heart beating out her chest. His ice blonde hair was getting long, she thought, brushing some of it aside, wiping the soot off his face, cradling his head against her hands, feeling warm and cold at the same time, the way his eyes stared blankly ahead, never seeing another sunset or the way he noticed her at the top of a staircase, moments before she began to taunt him.

She watched as they placed his body with the others that had died. She watched as they covered his once animated face with a ghastly white cloth. A cloak of death. Where were his parents now? Disappeared now that the Dark Lord had perished? Gone. Long gone by now, without their son by their side. And where was she but to pick up the pieces. She guarded his body well long after the dust had cleared and people had gone home to rest. There was no rest for the Gryffindor. There would be no rest again. 

Cedric Diggory

She was absolutely buzzing in anticipation, waiting for him to come back to her. She sat there, practically with open arms at the entrance of the hedge maze, Amos Diggory next to her. She had replaced her traditional Slytherin robes with one of his scarves, it was unusually cool, despite being towards the end of the school year and he had gone into the maze over an hour ago. Before he had they had, the two had spent the entire day together, discussing everything but the Tri-Wizard task ahead. They knew how dangerous it was, and yet, she let him go willingly, it was what Cedric had wanted. 

She pulled herself out of her thoughts as a bang echoed through the transformed Quidditch pitch and the band struck up the jovial tune that had played when the champions first entered the maze. There was a pause and then the scream that rocked her world. She rushed down to greet him, but was stopped in her tracks, watching Harry Potter hover over his lifeless body. Time stopped, but it sped forward and she was there, sobs ripping through the still air as Amos came down the stairs, screaming. She could not tear her eyes away from his own lifeless ones. She didn't know how long time had passed, but it felt like an extension of herself was missing. The way he would not smile at her from across the crowded Great Hall or the way he would not brush hair out of her eyes when they would study together. She was pulled up by someone she could not see, someone she could not hear, as they took his body away. She already could not remember the way his warm hand felt in hers. 

Fred Weasley

She was not with him in his final moments, even when she wished more than anything that she was. She did not hear until much, much later that his last moments were spent thinking of her. But, she had arrived in the Great Hall, searching for him, knowing the Battle was not yet over and they had not won, but none of that mattered as she saw Molly Weasley on the ground staring down at his lanky, still body. Her heart shattered and she shook uncontrollably, as she sank to the ground next to Molly, hands outstretched, clutching his messy clothes, "Shh, darling," She heard Molly say quietly and it wasn't until she did that she was screaming, loud piercing screams that echoed throughout the hall. She knelt next to him, not knowing what to do with her hands, forcing them over her mouth as she watched how lifeless his body was. 

The jokes they had shared, the plans they had made, all thrown out the window, "You were his last words," She heard Percy Weasley next to her, "He said he wanted you to know that," And she stopped him. She couldn't hear it. Maybe in time, she would want to hear it, but not now. She wanted this entire thing to be over. She wanted to scream and cry, she wanted to fight, she wanted to hold him until the sun exploded. She wanted to die, at the old age of 102 with him next to her. And she would not get that. 

George Weasley

It had been far too long. The rest of the Weasley's had arrived back at the Burrow, but George had not. And she paced around the Burrow, waiting for Remus Lupin and George to come back to the rendezvous point. When Remus Lupin opened the door, she expected George to follow behind him, alive and well. Remus Lupin destroyed her with two words, "I'm sorry." None of it made sense. Where was George, where was he? Why had Remus Lupin been the one to deliver the news when she just knew he would walk through the doors at any moment? Except, when he didn't, when the family grieved around her, she shut down. 

She felt numb, she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. She wondered how she could go on without him by her side. And she wondered how she was going to make it through this war alone. There was silence. Nobody had said anything to her as she stared emptily around the space. It wasn't until she had gone upstairs, locked the door in George's room and let herself feel the emotions like a tidal wave. She yelled in anguish, throwing pictures and knickknacks across the room, stripping the bed of his sheets and crying out all her frustration. She had finally wrapped herself in a quilt that still smelled like him. He would not be coming home, he would not walk through the Burrow doors again and it...it should have been her out there, she should have gone along instead of staying home. She would regret never being able to say 'I love you' just one last time. 

Neville Longbottom

There was so much blood. She could not tell what was his and what was the snake he had slayed, now lying lifeless upon the floor. But so was he, poison coursing through his veins and there was not enough time to save him, "I'm sorry." She whispered, wiping the blood from his face, careful to avoid where the snake had bit him, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, my love." She wiped the hair out of his eyes, but it was no use. He was gone. Her hands stained red against his sweater, as she propped him up in her lap, the tears flowing freely. She was quiet in her misery.

How many times had he warned her not to touch a dangerous thing or get too close to a deadly animal? How many times had they gone through this year wondering if one of their newly instated professors would kill them for insubordination or would find them in the Room of Requirements, making plans for when a final battle would happen? So much had happened in the past year, so much that she wouldn't give up for the world, but so much she had looked forward to the future. She was angry, she saw red. She stood up, watching as he sunk lower onto the ground, blood on her jeans and her shirt, covered in it. There was a sound akin to a sonic boom and rocks tumbled before her, away from the walls, crushing several discarded items. A piece of the castle flew forward, hitting a Death Eater square in the chest. She would fight to her death for his honor. She always would defend him. 

Oliver Wood

She had been searching for him since she found out he was at the Battle of Hogwarts, having come back from his professional quidditch career. And their reunion was meant to be a happy one, she was going to tell him, for once and for all that she could not stand another day without him. And it wasn't until he saw him, surrounded by Death Eaters, broken and bruised, by the Quidditch pitch as it burned around him. 

"No," She cried out, circling down to him, casting a patronus charm, a hawk flying from the tip of her wand, sending the dementors out around him before they had the chance to take his soul. And as she hit the ground, sprinting to him, his breath was ragged and weak, "Oliver, love, I'm sorry." He gripped her arm tightly, "Darling," He called out softly, "You made it." His face was paler than she had ever seen it and she nodded softly, "I'm here, I'm here." She kissed his cheek, "We'll get you help, we'll get you better." And he shook his head, chuckling softly, "End of the line here." He muttered and she sat back, open-faced as he coughed, blood forming at the corners of his mouth, "No, not end of the line." Tears stung at her eyes, "I love you, I've always loved you, Oliver Wood." She held back a sob as his eyes shut, "Don't leave me, dammit!" She hit the ground, "Not like this, not..." But she stopped. His breathing had stopped and she was quiet. She had suffered far too long.