Wild Child

Wild Child

Hermione Granger looked out at the calm lake; the squid was no where in sight, if it was still alive after all of this time. A breeze caused the trees to slightly sway, back and forth, and the grass rippled softly like an endless sea of green.

Above, the sun was shining, surrounded by white fluffy clouds; clouds that children spent hour upon hour gazing at in wonder and awe. She smiled to herself, remembering her fond memories of herself growing up here, with Harry and Ron. But that was back when the world was separated into many sides: Dark and Light; Magical and Muggles; Good and Evil.

Ever close your eyes
Ever stop and listen
Ever feel alive
And you’ve nothing missing
You don’t need a reason

The world had changed so much since then, and she had only graduated 10 years ago. Harry had finally defeated Lord Voldemort, and lived to tell the tale about it. Ron and so many others, however, had not.

It still brought tears to her eyes as she remembered Ron, jumping in front of the group, giving himself up for a new world. She never would forget the look he had on his face, or the strength he gave off, or the look of determination that was in his eyes.

Let the rain fall down
Everywhere around you
Give into it now
Let the day surround you
You don’t need a reason
Let the rain go on and on

At that instant, Harry Potter changed forever. He fought harder, as if it would bring Ron back, and that in turn made everyone else fight harder. At other times, Harry seemed moody, his emotions ranging from the thought that they were winning to confusion, on why every one that he had grown close too were falling, to depression, on why he couldn’t save them all.

The Harry that she knew so well died with Ron. She knew that Ron was like a brother to Harry, but Ron had many troubles earlier on in the war. Percy, was murdered in his office, and Ginny…Oh poor Ginny! The Death Eaters kidnapped her, in the first few months of the war, and the Ministry of Magic squad that had been sent out to find her had only found her head. Fred and George made it out of Hogsmeade when the deadly raid hit it, barely alive, but they were with them today. Bill and Charlie were alive: Bill was sent on missions that took months and years to do, and was underground; Charlie had to capture more dragons, to make sure that they wouldn’t be used in the cause by either side.

What a day
What a day to take to
What away
What a way
To make it through
What a day
What a day to take to
A wild child

“It was then,” she muttered to herself, as she continued to gaze at the lake from the window in the tower, where the Gryffindor Common Room was when she attended school there. “I probably realized what the costs of the fight for freedom where,” she said, softly.

She was lost in her thoughts, and it brought her to a memory of a couple years ago. It was a memory that haunted her nightmares.

“Harry, duck,” cried Ron in one of his last battles.

Harry rolled on the ground, and was back up in seconds. That was Ron’s last battle, and they fought like it was the end, and unfortunately it was far from it.

Only take the time
From the helter skelter
Everyday you find
Everything’s in kilter
You don’t need a reason
Let the day go on and on

Hermione bit her lower lip, a habit that she’d formed as a nervous teenager, at the memory of that last one, and couldn’t do a thing as another memory consumed her.

She walked beside Harry down a long corridor. On his other side was nobody other then Severus Snape, and beside him was Draco Malfoy. She knew that they shouldn’t have surprised her, after all this time, but they did..

They had lost many over the year, they had battled nearly every week, and sometimes even more then that; but this would be the first time that she and Harry would be fighting side-by-side as one of the ‘teams’.

“Potter and his friends are here, what a surprise,” an oily voice said and emerged from the shadows. Lord Voldemort. As he emerged, hundreds of Death Eaters also emerged, all of their cloaks swaying in unison, as if an invisible wind was hitting them. They had been recruited from all over the world to rid the last supporters of the light.

Hermione spoke out loud, as a narrator of the memory, “Harry and I had fought together, but not on the ‘teams’, and we had practiced earlier, so we knew what to do. But Severus and Draco were each others’ original partner, the only original team left.

“With wands out, we prepared ourselves for the fact that we could die in a second, or watch another one fall,” Hermione then paused, and the tower was quiet, except for a faint sound of breathing, and the sound of foot-falls down a couple of corridors. Hermione didn’t remember the battle, exactly, she just knew that that it was over, and all of the years and the bloodshed were over with it.

Every summer sun
Every winter evening
Every spring to come
Every autumn leaving
You don’t need a reason
Let it all go on and on

Everything that Hermione wanted, she had, except for Harry and Ron back, now. That was why she was here today, to say her last goodbye to Harry. A new set of tears sprang forth and fell down her face. Harry, her best friend and companion, was now gone, forever.

She had spoken with Harry only two weeks ago, over lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, and now, she would never be able to do that again.

“Hermione, you don’t have to be ashamed of anything.”

“Harry,” Hermione said, with the desperation in her voice evident.

“Not wonder boy, but I guess it’s close enough.”

“Draco…”

“I’m here for the same reasons, and to make sure that he’s not just pulling Severus’ and my old trick.”

“Like what?”

“You ever wonder why we were the only team to have both members survive?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s simple. We call down, shut down body systems, shallow breathing. It’s saved our arse every single time we were losing out there.”

“Coward.”

“Not quite. If we hadn’t, it’d only be you and Potter in that last one, if both of you had survived without backup in the other ones.”

“Why are you really here, Draco?”

What a day
What a day to take to
What a way
What a way
To make it though
What a day
What a day to take to
A wild child

“Hermione, you need to quit jumping to conclusions.”

“I am not! Besides, this is coming from the person who sent every one in 7^th year that black box that emitted the Dark Mark with the fro and the peace sign.”

“Don’t forget the cigarette that it was smoking.”

“Not funny, Draco.”

“It took me months to pull all of that together.”

“Draco, really, I’m not in the mood for this. What is Severus doing?”

“The usual. He doesn’t want to make a fool out of himself by crying, so he’s down in the dungeons, making potions and looking at the DADA applications, and cursing Harry with every single breath.”

“He’s here then?”

“Naturally.”

“How much longer is it till, the…it starts?”

“’Bout half hour, enough for us to pull ourselves together.”

“I doubt that, I really do.”

What a day
What a day to take to
What a way
What a way
To make it through
What a day
What a day to take to
A wild child

Silence passed over the two, and neither one seemed to notice the other.

“I’ve always wondered Draco… why did you join our side?”

“I always knew that you Gryffindors were lacking in the time department. Hermione, why are you just now asking me that?”

“ Just answer me.”

Draco rolled his eyes and looked at her. He and Severus were practically inseparable, as was she and Harry. “Well, I guess I didn’t want to become my Father. Your turn.”

“Well, everything was nuts, you know that.”

“Oh.”

What a day
What a day to take to
What a way
What a way
To make it through
What a day
What a day to take to
Da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da
What a way
What a way
To make it through
Da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da
What a way
What a way
To make it through
What a day
What a day to take to
A wild child
What a day to take to
A wild child

The rest of that half hour was full of them telling the other what they had done recently, and awkward silence when Harry was part of it.

Outside, Severus was watching the elves, wizards and witches finish setting everything up and preparing for all of it. He looked up when he heard the doors open, and Draco and Hermione were walking towards him.

“They’re almost ready,” he told them.

Awkward silence was swallowing Hogwarts in one large gulp.

The three members of the light looked down the grass trail, to see a casket, which contained the infamous Boy-Who-Lived.