The Final Battle

Hermione Granger Weasley sat down. It had been 10 years today. She would finally return to where it all happened, to where the end had so viciously occurred.

Ron Weasley glanced down at her. He could feel her pain; it had been ten years since that fateful day. They put the inevitable aside for so long. They had to pay their respects to their great friend who seemed so far in the past, it was time to revisit the place in which all the horror and devastation had so long ago occurred.

The pair set out through the gate, not daring to brake the eerie silence that had befallen the grounds. The vast castle rose in the distance for the first time in 10 years. The grounds were quite deserted... classes no longer occurred there. The whole place was a memorial to the carnage that had occurred there long ago. They passed the lake, looking at it with sullen faces; the trio had so often sat there taking the sun, discussing what new adventure they would be partaking in. No one knew it was going to end this way; no one had any idea it was going to end in such tragedy.

"Ron," said Hermione fighting back tears, "why did it have to happen like this, it never should have happened like this." But Ron did not answer. He was going over the events in his head like he so often found himself doing. Who would have ever thought: His mind drifted back 10 years while his body remained in the present. He could tell, without even looking, Hermione had done the same.

*

The fire was crackling loudly and a familiar smell filled the air. Ron was back in the Gryffindor Common Room. He and Hermione were looking out the window as they so often did. He recalled Harry being up in the dormitory, thinking about what was destined to come. Ron was extremely sorry for him, he himself did not know what would be going through his own head if he was told that his fate lay in murdering someone as powerful as Lord Voldemort. The threat was becoming ever more apparent. They, along with the rest of the students, had lived this whole year in fear of him. There were countless murders occurring everywhere, but there was still hope: Ron knew Harry was upstairs trying to think of some way to overcome Voldemort, and he had faith in his son.

*

Hermione was once again 17. Her eyes were gazing at the grounds of Hogwarts. She was frightened, not even the school was safe anymore. Voldemort had been there just hours ago. She had looked him in the eyes and saw in the blood red pupils a glare full of a hate than she had ever experienced. He had to die. Dumbledore's death could not have gone in vain. He had sacrificed his life to save Harry, Ron, and Hermione. But now... The only one he ever feared was gone. What comfort did they have now? She trusted Harry would think of something; Hermione knew they were strong enough to get through this. Hermione tried in vain to help him think of a plan, anything they could do to help him, but soon faced the realization, that in the end, this was something Harry had to do on his own.

*

Together, Ron and Hermione both went over Dumbledore's dying words in their mind.

"You three have made me proud, extremely proud, but there is something you must do. I will no longer be able to protect you- the future is in your hands. Each of you will go through terrible ordeals this week, many men will fight but few will survive. If you use your strengths and realize the importance of sacrifice, the future will not only be saved, but also the past. Please, listen. Ron, you will show courage beyond anything this fortnight, and it is extremely important you do not let fear take you over. Hermione, your mind is hopeful, full of thought, don't let it fail you now because it will get you through the obstacles that will come. And Harry, Harry, you've become more than a son to me; you have shown me endless loyalty, boundless courage, and immeasurable faith beyond any. The future lies in you. Find strength in the sacrifices you parents made in order for you to be standing here before me," Dumbledore's eyes closed," they will show you they way, and only then can you live a life you have always dreamed of living, that I promise you, love will overcome hate. All will be good in the end. Your wand and Voldemort's wand, Harry, they are the key, ... to... saving...neither... could... remain...scars... connected... unleash... power... feather...heal...everything... which... changed..."

Harry collapsed in Hermione's arms. Ron let out a long sob. Hermione just stood there, overcome with so many emotions, too confused to express them. Voldemort was gone for now, but Dumbledore had left them forever.

They skipped dinner in the Great Hall that night in order to discuss what they should do, something that was terribly hard to do while trying not to burst out into the tears of heartache and fear that they were all holding back. They barely began speaking when Harry decided he had to go think for himself into the dormitory. They started after him, but both sat down. This was something Harry needed to do. All they could do was wait, they just sat there... gazing.

A noise at the top of the dormitory brought Ron and Hermione out of their trance; it sounded as if it was a squeal of delight. Next thing they knew Harry was running down the steps toward them. In less than a second arrived at the chairs in which they were sitting.

"I figured it out," he said in panting breath," my scar.. Voldemort.. one can't exist without the other... it could all be solved in our wands, it's all over everything's going to change, all you have to do is remember the wands because--"

Harry's face dropped. Ron and Hermione turned around. Their hearts fell. The whole of the Order of the Phoenix was outside on the castle grounds, along with a swarm of hooded figures fighting the man who was fear, Voldemort. The trio said nothing, for there were no words to say-they just got up and ran as fast as their legs could carry them to the doors of the castle.

There were already a slew of bodies on the floor, Hermione and Ron were in horror, but Harry seemed quite un-phased, quite determined, quite... proud. He ran straight up to Voldemort, darting amid the chaos all around them. They could hear Harry screaming something to Voldemort in the distance. The Death Eaters stopped moving. The Order stood staring. There was an understood silence, this was something both groups needed to hear, this was a battle they knew they had to stay out of.

"You're done now Voldemort, I finally figured it out, we can't exist with each other, and there's only one way to fix that... neither of us can exist. You made a mistake, you see, three years ago. You began a connection with me. I was like an open book to you, you could see my fears, my hopes, my dreams. The past days that connections been getting stronger, we're almost like one now aren't we. That was your mistake Tom, and a big one too. It's a shame you and me share that connection, that scar, because now you feel what I feel, and I'm about to feel great pain. You see I know you can't die, so what's the use in trying to kill you... too bad I'm still human, still mortal, and that's what makes all the difference. You see you had plenty of chances to kill me today, but you didn't, and it's because the connection was still too strong, something you didn't think I would realize. But it's over now, and your not going to be the one with the second chance, are you?"

And for the first time in any of their lives, they saw a look of fear in Voldemort's eyes. He seemed to realize the end had come.

"Avada Kedavra," Harry bellowed, but instead of the green light shooting at Voldemort, it flew at himself. Harry fell to the ground. The hollow look of death lingered in his eyes. And as if an afterthought, Voldemort too fell, lifeless as Harry.

**

Ron and Hermione drifted back to the present. Both of them were now staring at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where that final battle occurred, where they lost forever their best friend. Hermione's feelings were beyond tears. Ron's sobs were full of sadness. Hermione looked at him, but knew no words can make any of this better. They were staring at the memorial that had been erected where Hagrid's hut once stood. They had never seen it before, after the final battle they left Hogwarts in a desperate attempt to get away from all the sorrow that seemed to follow them wherever they went.

It was really a beautiful stone statue. Harry and Dumbledore stood there next to each other, both pointing to the sky. They were surrounded by a house elf and centuar, behind them stood the giant Hagrid. They were all beaming. Lying dead on the floor was Voldemort, the stone sculpture could not capture the evil gleam that his eyes always carried. Both he and Harry still had their original wands in their hands.

"Ron, they still have their wands," Hermione said choking back tears," do you remember what Dumbledore said, the wands would change everything and heal something, and remember what Harry tried to tell us about the wands, before he got cut off. Ron I think we need to do something with the wands." Ron's face twisted into an odd shape. Hermione could tell he was thinking extremely hard.

"Hermione remember when McGonagall told us about brother wands being destroyed together, that a power unique to that wand will be unleashed, Harry and Voldemort had brother wands, they had Fawke's feathers, Phoenixes heal things."

"Do you think that's what Harry and Dumbledore were trying to tell us, that if the wands are destroyed, than all the damage and destruction they caused will be destroyed to, and that we'll, we'll get Harry back, is that why Harry was willing to die?"

Hermione was too shocked to talk. They had gone over Harry and Dumbledore's words over in their mind for years not having an inkling as to what they meant, and now after all this time they finally found an answer

.

Neither one of them spoke as they went up to the statue. Hermione grabbed Voldemort's wand and Ron took Harry's . They stared in each other's eyes for a few seconds. Both of them mouthed the words "I love you to each other", then snapped the wands in half.

What happened next was both expected and shocking. The pair was engulfed in a beautiful yet terrifying white light. The song of a phoenix filled the air.

*

It was September the 1st. A young girl with bushy brown hair was on her way through an invisible barrier to start the rest of her life. She waved goodbye to her parents and entered a car on the maroon train that stood there. She missed them already, but was excited to begin her studies and make many new friends.

*

A red haired boy's mother was frantically strangling him in order to wipe a speck of dirt off of his nose. He was trying to squirm away from her, wanting to make a good first impression on his first day of school. He was able to wriggle out of her tight grip, kiss his mum good-bye, and set off for an empty cart in the train.

*

A young boy with jet black hair walked towards the train. He was ecstatic about starting at Hogwarts. All he ever heard were the stories from his father and mother about sneaking off in the middle of the night and going on wild and crazy adventures. His father even secretly gave him his old invisibility cloak while his mother was out for work. His face lit up when he emerged from the invisible barrier and came face to face with the train that would be bringing him to his new home. His godfather, a tall man with black hair, had brought him to the station since his parents had to work overtime today, after all being an auror and an unspeakable is not an easy business. The boy did not mind, he got to fly on his godfather's motorcycle very rarely. The tall good looking man patted him on the head just before he got on the train, and slipped him a piece of parchment with a letter. The tall man let him know that it would be absolutely invaluable to him, as it was to he and his father. He set off for an empty car on the train.

*

After several minutes of searching, the red haired boy found a cart with no one in it. He dragged his trunk in, and sat down, hoping someone would come sit with him. Almost as if they could hear his thoughts, two people, a boy and a girl walked in the car from opposite directions. They both seated themselves.

"I'm Hermione Granger," said the short puffy haired girl.

"Ron Weasley"

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter"

Ron Weasley stared around at this strange crowd, and even though he did not know them, they seemed eerily familiar. For some unknown reason, he felt like they had been his best friends for years and years. He wanted to express his fealings and said,

"You look familiar," and to his surprise both Hermione and Harry uttered the same exact words at the same exact time. At least he wasn't the only one thinking they were somehow connected to each other.

"Maybe we were great friends in some other life," chuckled the boy with jet black hair, laughing at the impossibility of the matter, until it hit him that for some reason the idea did not seem that far-fetched at all.

" I don't know why, but I have this feeling that us three are supposed to be good friends, that today was supposed to happen, that we were supposed to meet... if that makes any sense."

Ron, along with Hermione, hummed in agreement, for they too had these feelings. Deep down, they felt... they knew that this was a friendship that would last. The trio spent some of the train ride discussing their past, their future, and the strange de-ja-vu they were all experiencing; they clicked automatically. From that point on the three became best friends, the bond they shared was stronger and more powerful than anything, one that seemed like it had been years in the making. The three did not completely understand this feeling of great friendship, but one thing they did know... nothing could change that.