Fears: Part 2

Harry walked along that street. The clouds above hung low and dark, ready to rain. Harry pulled his wand out of his back pocket and held it out.

Immediately, the Knight Bus pulled out in front of him.

"Hey, Ernie, It's 'Arry-"

"Shut up, Stan," Harry cut-in. "Take me to the Ministry of Magic."

"Sorry, 'Arry, but we can't take underage wizards-"

"Take me there, Stan," Harry ordered, shoving a handful of galleons into his hand.

"The Ministry of Magic, Ernie," Stan said, counting the gold.

Harry sat down on an empty bed and stared back at the house he had never called his home for the past sixteen years. He could still make out Hermione's figure in the window before the Knight Bus shot off with a bang.

Harry fell back onto the bed and fell asleep, the picture of Hermione's flawless face glued to the inside of his eyelids.

~~~~~

Several hours later, Harry woke to Stan repeatedly shaking him. "'Arry, wake up, this is your stop!" he yelled into Harry's ear.

Harry rose groggily to his feet and made his way to the door.

"Stan, don't tell anyone about this," Harry added before he got off the bus.

"Sure thing."

Harry stepped off of the bus and watched as it sped off and disappeared. Harry stepped inside the telephone booth and thought about the last time he had been here. He slowly punched in the numbers 6, 2, 4, 4, and 2.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business," the woman commanded.

"Harry Potter, here to defeat Lord Voldemort," Harry said promptly.

A pin dropped out of the coin chute.

HARRY POTTER

DEFEAT OF HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED

Harry pinned it to his shirt and stepped out of the booth as it reached the Atrium. It was disturbingly quiet. The front desk was deserted.

Harry knew this was his only chance to make it to the Department of Mysteries, so he quickly and quietly dashed down the halls, remembering exactly where to go. Everything from last year, everything thing from his dreams, and everything from the horrible nightmares, came flooding back to him.

When Harry reached the shelf of prophecies, he sat down in front of it. There was nothing left to do but wait; wait to kill, or wait to be killed.

~~~~~

"Potter, your time has come at last," a familiar voice said. "It's time for you to die, and for me to finally take over!"

"You have one thing to get past, Voldemort, and that's me," Harry sneered.

"You have nothing to live for. You've lost everything," Voldemort said coldly. "You've lost your parents, you godfather, and the Mudblood you love."

"No he didn't!" a girl's voice yelled from the corner.

Harry spun around to face her. "Hermione! No!" Harry yelled as she ran forward.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort yelled, waving his wand at Hermione. With a flash of green light and a scream that would stay in Harry's mind forever, Hermione fell to the floor.