Second Chances

Second Chances

Chapter 1: Restless nights, Weary days

I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

You used to captivate me
By your resonating life
Now I'm bound by the life you've left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along

-from My Immortal, Evanescence

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"HARRY!!!" The scream pierced the chilly night, as well as Harry's heart, freezing his very blood with fear and dread more potent than the foul powers of a hundred dementors.

"Harry can't save you, you foolish girl. Soon he will be dead, and you with him." The voice was barely more than a whisper, but every hissed word that left Voldemort's lips sent chills down Harry's spine. Cold red eyes flicked dispassionately across the bound form of a girl in Hogwarts robes. Her face was covered by a mass of curly brown hair, but Harry knew who it was. Hermione.

"You're wrong V..V..Voldemort, Harry will come for me...and he'll beat you like he has every time before."

"Yes, he will come for you, of that I am certain. Much like when he came to save his godfather, but this time, he will not escape with his life. And like Black before you, the one who means most to Harry Potter, will die."

Harry could take no more. He stepped out from under his invisibility cloak, wand trained on Voldemort's chest. "Leave her alone...it's me you want."

Voldemort looked up, his eyes dispassionate, cold. "Yes, it is you I want, but the time for dealing is past." He raised his wand. "EXPELLIARMUS!"

Harry, who had chanced a look at Hermione's tear streaked face was caught unaware by the disarming charm and watched his wand fly away to land some feet on the other side of Voldemort and Hermione.

Voldemort glided across the ground, to stand between Harry and Hermione. "It's time to die, Harry Potter. But first..." He whipped around and pointed his wand at Hermione's heart and with a shout of "AVADA KEDAVRA," a jet of green light flew from Voldemort's wand. A strangled yell tore itself from Harry's throat, incoherent and agonized as he took a few futile steps towards Hermione...

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" By the time the jet of light hit Hermione, Harry was even with Voldemort, and the seconds seemed to stretch an eternity as he watched the green blast hit Hermione, spread across her chest until it surrounded her body in a glowing green aura. Harry could hardly take his eyes from her face, the look of hope and love she had worn as Harry stepped out of the cloak, giving way to shock and fear. Time seemed to be speeding to make up for the elongated seconds as Hermione's body slumped to the ground and the green aura faded. Harry turned his face back to Voldemort who seemed to be just realizing that Harry was right next to him. He raised his wand again, pointing it at Harry this time.

"Avad--.." Harry had abandoned all thoughts of magic. The incantation was cut short as Harry threw himself into Voldemort's thin frame. They both fell hard against a tall stone grave marker. Harry's scar was burning, but he was already in agony, his heart and his head were both screaming in disbelief at what he had just seen such that the pain in his scar was hardly noticeable.

One hand around Voldemort's wrist, keeping the wand pointed away, His other hand was in a fist, a fist that pounded into his enemy's pale skull like face, again, and again, and again... All the while a voice was screaming, hoarsely, in terrible, heart-ripping, unbearable agony...

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"HERMIONE!!!!"

Harry sat bolt upright in his bed, his scar no longer aching, but the memory of it doing so in the time from his dream, making him unconsciously rub it anyway.He rubbed his eyes in a vain effort to bore out the image of Hermione glowing in that green light. He finally dragged his hands from his eyes and felt around the bedside table for his glasses. Sliding them on, he turned to look at the clock. 3:36 am. He didn't have to go in to work until seven, but he could not sleep after what he had just re-lived in his nightmares. Instead he took his glasses back off and threw them across the room, hearing them crack as they hit the wall and the pieces littered the floor, but he didn't care. His face was buried in his hands; he couldn't help but relive the rest of that horrible night.

How he had pounded Voldemort into unconsciousness, then taken his wand and performed the curse that had been developed solely for this purpose. A curse worse than Avada Kedavra, or a Dementor's Kiss, because it was something like the two combined.

There were two parts. After the first half had been cast, Voldemort's body glowed with a crimson, blood red aura, which then compressed in on itself into a tiny red spark. All the while an angry hiss issued from somewhere between the spark and the body. Before Voldemort's essence could escape, Harry performed the rest of the curse, stripping the will of self, and all the wizarding power from the spark. The tiny streams that flowed from the essence of the most powerful dark wizard in a century: all his dark power, all his thoughts, in every sense accept the literal, his life, seeped away, into the wand in Harry's hand. When the essence fell back into the body, it was nothing more powerful than an animating force, such as one might charm into a foot stool to make it run around the sitting room like a dog. With the task done, Harry had thrown Voldemort's wand. It fell into the grass somewhere. He didn't care where, Voldemort was now no more dangerous than a store mannequin.

Harry's shoulder hitched as his body was wracked with silent sobs as he remembered what happened after that. He had blindly wandered over to Hermione's body, picked it up and clutched her limp form to his chest. For how long he didn't know, tears running unchecked down his face and into her wavy brown hair, incoherent whispers of "I love you," and "I'm sorry," escaping his lips innumerable times as he sat in the darkness of the graveyard from which Voldemort had returned to power, and now where his power had been completely stripped. He could no longer remember how long he sat there, holding the body of his best friend, his confidant, his love. It must have been several minutes, but eventually wizards and witches started to arrive, apparating out of thin air and taking in the scene, and taking Voldemort away. Those standing around Harry were unsure whether to intrude on his grief. Finally, an old wizard in half-moon spectacles stepped forward and laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. Dumbledore looked down, his expression one of sadness but understanding.

"Let her go Harry...she is gone, there is nothing you can do." Harry could only look up at Dumbledore, as if he had been hoping that if no one had said it, it would have become untrue.

Harry lifted his face from his hands and looked around before remembering he'd thrown his glasses. He fumbled around on the night table for his wand and ignited it with a muttered, "Lumos", waving the beam around until it settled on a pair of black frames and various pieces of lenses. Harry muttered a charm he'd not heard or used in a long time ("Occulus Repairo") and remembered with a pang of sadness that the first time he'd heard it had been Hermione casting it on his glasses. With an almost whispered, "Accio glasses," he retrieved them and put them back on.

It was far too early to even think about going to work, but Harry went into the kitchen of his flat and made a cup of coffee. Setting it on the table, he sifted through the folders of parchment each containing a fact sheet of one of a dozen witches and wizards who had gone missing. An average missing persons report wouldn't have warranted the attention of the Auror's Offices where Harry worked, but these were particularly gifted experts in several fields. Individually their disappearances would have been cause for concern; together it was cause for swift and efficient action, which is why the files had arrived at the in boxes of half a dozen top Aurors. Harry looked down at the nearest sheaf of parchment. It had a wizarding picture of a man with a thin face but solid jaw, dark hair and slightly round shoulders. 'Smethins, Dr. Warren: Department of Mysteries, Time Office.' Taking a draught of his coffee, Harry shifted the folder aside and looked down at the next one. 'Pentry, Dr. Pamela: Charms Institute, Development Division.' Harry read this a few times, his mind returning, as always, to Hermione. Hermione was studying to join the Charms Institute.

He looked at the wall above the table where a picture of his Hogwarts graduating class looked down at him. Some of the students looked as though determined to enjoy the day despite the recent tragedy. Others didn't even bother with the pretense. A few of the Slytherins looked supremely unconcerned. Harry looked across the third row from the bottom, as he had so many times before, to rest his eyes on him and Ron, standing side by side. But on Harry's other side, where Hermione should have been standing, was emptiness, then Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. A plaque was sitting to the fore of the picture. In Memory of... followed by a short list of names of students who had been killed by Voldemort or his Death Eaters. Harry's eyes traveled over the list and looked back up into the rows of people noting where the missing would have been standing with their friends. Those standing around the gaps looked the saddest of all. It was hard to believe that Hermione had been gone for a whole week and a half when that picture was taken. She nearly made it. Everyone in that picture would be smiling down at him: himself, Ron, and Hermione standing together in the middle, if it were not for Voldemort. He had taken nearly everything from Harry: his parents, Sirius, and then Hermione.

Harry tore his eyes away from the picture but not without a glance at the calendar. It was four years to the day since Voldemort had been defeated for good. Most of the wizarding world celebrated. Harry, however, mourned the loss of one of his best friends, and the one it had taken him seven years to realize he loved, only to lose her a few days later. He finally pulled his glasses off, dropping them unceremoniously to the table before scooting back and burying his face in his hands. He was suddenly tired, the nightmare, followed by his renewed thoughts as he tried to work, made him nearly as exhausted as he had been that night four years ago. Sometimes it was just all too much. He got to his feet, leaving his half cup of coffee and his glasses sitting on the table with the open files and wandered back to bed, sobbing heavily into his pillow before drifting off into a quiet, if not truly restful, sleep.

Harry woke again at 6:30. Nobody would know by looking at him that two and a half hours ago he'd been woken by a nightmare and cried himself back to sleep over thoughts of Hermione. He stood in the shower for a few minutes with his head against the wall, letting the water run over him. He finally finished washing and got out, and went to his room to get dressed. As he pulled on his shirt he glanced at his dresser and let his eyes linger on a photo in a little frame. It was a double frame, much like a book or a piece of paper folded in half so that it stood open with two pictures behind the silver framed glass. On one side was a picture of himself, Ron and Hermione from their sixth year. On other was a picture of him and Hermione from seventh year. It had been taken by Colin Creevy in the common room a few days before Voldemort had attacked. It showed a happy couple snuggled side by side in a big squashy armchair by the fire, Hermione leaning against Harry. As he watched the seventeen-year-old Harry leaned over and kissed the young Hermione-the only Hermione-behind the ear, causing her to burst into a short fit of giggles. He closed his eyes and turned his head, so he would not be looking at it when he opened them again and finished dressing. Normally he liked to see that picture. It was a great memory, normally. But not today.

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A small man with an air of servility about him, though technically of decent stature within the organization, scurried down the hallway towards the door through which his superior undoubtedly sat waiting. He'd requested a report on the progress of the witches and wizards toward the goal, and Doush hated giving reports...mostly because there was very little to report since last time. If there was anything that...annoyed their leader, it was lack of progress.

I don't know what he expects them to accomplish in 2 or 3 days between reports. It's not like he's asking them to come up with a spell to fix his coffee in the morning. This is a very complex procedure. These people are the experts and they're not even sure it's possible. Oh well.

Doush knocked on the door twice waiting for the cold harsh voice of the one known only as Vaulder. He didn't have to wait long.

"Enter."

The voice offered no argument, not that anyone would dare argue with Vaulder anyway. Doush opened the door and stepped in, immediately bowing slightly, his eyes on the cold stone floor beneath him.

"Report."

He looked up to see the form of Vaulder, cloaked and hooded, with his face obscured. Doush quickly began to recount what the various researchers had told him.

Vaulder listened dispassionately while Doush reported that there had been little progress. He had not really expected there to have been, but he liked to keep the researchers thinking that they were under a tight constraint. Which in truth they were, if there was no further progress was made, he would be sure to have one of them killed and replaced. For motivational purposes. The fear is much better when they know it's coming, but not to whom. He interrupted Doush's report and stepped forward. The shadows of the room lightened around the bottom half of his face, so that Doush could see Vaulder's mouth move as he spoke, in a smooth, measured voice.

"Doush, I want you to return to the researchers, and tell them that if they don't have something useful to report to me in a week's time, one of them will be killed. I want results, not excuses."

Doush bowed slightly and backed out of the room. "Yes, m'lord," he said, shutting the door after him.

Vaulder finally allowed the grin to creep slowly across his face. Yes, they would be motivated by that. Those goody goods always are when it comes to the lives of their fellows. Vaulder was convinced it was possible, he had gathered all the experts from the right fields. If it could be done, they would do it, or they would die and he would get the next expert, and so on and so on, until he got the results he was looking for.

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Harry apparated into work and received voluminous applause as he headed to his office. It was like this on this day every year. He had of course defeated Voldemort and everyone knew it, so on this day particularly everyone wanted to shake his hand and clap him on the back. Finally reaching his office through the small crowd that had milled around hoping to catch him, Harry set his briefcase down and pulled out the files. He stacked them moodily on the corner of his desk and glanced at his in-box, heaving a sigh. There was still some paperwork from Saturday's mission to do. He opened his desk and pulled out a quill and ink and pulled the stack of parchment to him. Just another day at work.

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Harry had long since finished the paper work, and was left with nothing to do but scour the reports on the missing research wizards and witches. He tried to piece together their last known locations in an effort to get an idea of their last day before vanishing. He wasn't making a whole lot of progress when he heard a knock on his door

"Come in."

Harry looked up as Harvey entered and closed the door behind him.

"What can I do for you, Harv?"

"Some of the guys and I were going to head over to the Leaky Cauldron after work, have a few drinks to celebrate the day, you know. Just wondering if you wanted to come along this year?"

Harry looked from the file he had been reading to Harvey, then out the window before replying.

"No.... Sorry guys, I have...other plans."

"You can't spend the rest of your life mourning her chief...I know she was your friend all through school, but you have to move on."

"What makes you think I was gonna sit around and mourn my friend? Do you think I have no friends anymore? I'm having dinner with the Weasleys, if you must know. Now go on, I've got a lot of work to do!"

Harvey threw up his hands in front of him and walked out of the office, leaving Harry to sit there and wonder why he'd gotten so mad. Harvey had a point. He couldn't mourn Hermione forever. Oh yeah, why not? She wouldn't have wanted me to sit around today every year stretching the hole in my heart where she once resided. Thanks to Voldemort I'll never know what she would have wanted. Let the other's celebrate his downfall. I wish he'd never existed.

Harry found he couldn't concentrate, and so piled the folders back into his briefcase and set off back home as soon as he reasonably could justify. He wasn't expected at the Burrow for another couple hours. He threw his briefcase down on the table and went into the sitting room where he sat down in a chair and stared at a bookshelf morosely for several minutes until once again he found himself not seeing the bookshelf in front of him, but a shelf in the library at Hogwarts, as Hermione pulled down a book and came back to sit at the table across from him. Ron had been in detention that night, so he had went with Hermione to do some work for professor Flitwick's essay. That had been a couple weeks before she had been killed. Even then he remembered staring at her, struck by how beautiful she seemed, even hunched over her roll of parchment, scribbling notes as her hair fell in a cascade from her shoulder, making a shifting curtain across her face. He couldn't help himself, he'd reached out and smoothed it back over her shoulder. When she'd looked up at him questioningly he'd mumbled something about a bit of feather from her quill and looked quickly down at his parchment but soon found him self looking at her again.

Harry shook his head and realized that his hand was sticking out in front of him, as if he'd really just stroked her hair back from her face. He put it down quickly but couldn't sit still for long. He finally picked himself up and went over to his desk, opening a drawer and pulling out parchment, ink, and the very quill Hermione had been using in the memory he'd just had. It was nearly five years old, but aside from its use in Hermione's hand, it had only been used three times, soon to be four. He dipped it in the ink and held it over the parchment for a moment before finally starting down on a letter.

Dear Hermione,

I'm so sorry. (He always started them this way.) If I'd only been more careful, if I hadn't screwed up, maybe you'd be sitting here with me. Perhaps you'd be at work, and I'd be sitting here writing you a sappy love letter to tuck under your pillow or into the pocket of your cloak after you got home, so you could find it and read it at work. Perhaps we'd be married, or maybe we'd just be friends again. Is it horrible that I don't care which? I just wish you were still here. I miss you so much. Ron misses you too, we all do. I'm going to have dinner with Ron and his family tonight, to celebrate my defeat of Voldemort, and to remember those like you and Seamus. We almost made it. You would have been first in the year. Dumbledore told me and Ron, you'd gotten Outstanding in all your N.E.W.T.s. Dumbledore sent your diploma to your mum and dad.

What have you missed this year? I got promoted again. I'm now head of Unit 3 in the Auror Offices. Neville recently joined, can you believe I?. Neville, an Auror. Guess the D.A. paid off for him more than any of us would have guessed. Ron has a girlfriend now. You'd never guess who. Luna Lovegood. He didn't even recognize her when he asked her out. He met her at the Three Broomsticks when we went for a butterbeer after the reunion last year. We were sitting at one of the tables in the back, when she came in. Ron looked up at the sound cause it was raining outside and every time the door opened you could hear the pattering of the rain. You should have seen the look on his face. He just excused himself from the table and as I watched him go up to her I thought she looked familiar. A few minutes later he came back and said he wouldn't be able to go back with me cause he had a date with Luna. I looked from her sitting at the bar to him and I said "You have a date with Luna Lovegood?" He nearly choked on his butterbeer and looked at her again. All he could says was "Blimey, she's changed." It was about the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Apparently the realization of who she was though didn't scare him off, because he was almost bouncing when I talked to him the next day. It's been a year now and they still seem happy. Her and Ginny get on great.

Well, I'm running out of time. I'm supposed to be at the Burrow in a few minutes, so I'll finish this up now. I just wish you knew how much I miss you. I'm sorry I never told you, but I was afraid. Afraid of how you'd react, afraid you'd say it was too early, or that we were too young to know, but I love you, Hermione. I'll never forget you.

Harry

He folded the parchment and put it in an envelope, he sealed it and then dated it. He put away the quill and the ink. Then he took out a key and put it into the lock on the bottom drawer of his desk, turned it three times then tapped it with his wand, and opened it. Inside were three envelopes, each dated with the same day, but progressing in year from the year after he had graduated from Hogwarts. He placed the new letter in the drawer and shut it, turning the key and putting it back on the chain around his neck. He stood up and went to the front door, pulling his cloak off the peg by the front door and onto his shoulders. He stepped out and dissaparated.

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Vaulder sat in his dark study, his fingers steepled at his lips as he read from the ancient tome before him by the light of a single floating candle. He did not even look up when there was a knock on his door. He waved his hand and the candle extinguished itself and floated down to the desk, He spoke as he lifted his hood and turned to the door.

"Enter." It would be Doush.

Doush came in, bowing his head as always.

"What is it? I did not ask for another report until Thursday."

"One of the wizards is getting suspicious."

"Oh?"

"Yes m'lord, he asked why we wanted to reverse engineer the Unforgivable Curses."

The wizard Vaulder had kidnapped was a formidable expert on the curses, which were never to be used, but he was far too curious. Indeed Vaulder only needed to reverse engineer one of the three to put his plan into effect, but to keep the wizard from knowing what he was doing, Vaulder had demanded the specifics on all of them. Still, apparently this wizard was more trouble than he was worth.

"Which of the curses has he already provided specifications for?"

"He has revealed the Avada Kedavra and the Imperius; he was halfway through the Cruciatus when he began asking questions. Said the Cruciatus was effective enough without being revised or reworked."

"True, very true. He has outlived his usefulness to us."

"Shall I take care of it, m'lord?"

"No. I think I shall show our workers how we handle those who ask too many questions."

Vaulder got to his feet, muttering a spell while pointing his wand at his face. When he stepped from the shadows of his study his face was still covered in darkness beneath his hood. He proceeded down to the labs where they were being kept and approached the wizard who had so unwisely questioned his purpose.

Vaulder raised his wand and pointed it at the wizard's back. He was apparently absorbed in his work.

"CRUCIO!"

The wizard instantly fell off his stool and began twitching on the ground, his cries echoing through the lab causing the other researchers to look up. Some were crying, afraid that they might be next, or that Vaulder wouldn't stop. When he finally raised his wand, the wizard continued to lay twitching on the floor, sobbing softly.

"Yes, Doctor, I do believe you are right, the Cruciatus curse is quite effective. Let's see about the others."

Vaulder pointed his wand at the nearest researcher, a fair witch with brown ringlets and glasses.

"Imperio." Her eyes unfocused momentarily then she looked at Vaulder as though she'd like nothing better than to obey his every whim. "Kill him"

The other researchers looked frightened and some let out small gasps, but the Imperioused witch simply raised her wand and pointed it at the still slightly twitching wizard and muttered in a slight monotone, "Avada Kedavra." A jet of green light swished forth and the wizard's twitching ceased. Vaulder raised his wand again and whispered a quick counter curse, releasing the witch from the Imperius's control. When she looked to where her wand was pointed, her arm still raised, she dropped her wand and covered her face with her hands, crying softly, appalled at what she had done.

Vaulder looked from the witch to the faces of the others.

"You see what happens to those who question my purpose or methods. If you wish to survive you will make yourselves useful and you will not ask questions."

On that ominous note, Vaulder turned, motioning to Doush as he left, who immediately rushed forward with a couple of other black cloaked wizards and dragged the body out of the room.

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Harry appeared outside the front of the Burrow, then walked around to the back where he knew he would find the others. He was only a few minutes late, but he knew Molly would already be setting out the big tables for dinner.

"Oh, Harry dear, could you go inside and let everyone know dinner is ready, they should all be in the sitting room."

"Ok."

Harry walked in through the back door and hung his cloak as he walked by the front door on the way to the sitting room. He stood in the doorway for a moment just watching the various Weasleys and their activities. Arthur was sitting in a chair in the corner, reading the Daily Prophet. Fred and George had their heads together murmuring at each other over a piece of parchment, probably a plan for their newest joke product. Ginny was in a chair facing, and chatting animatedly with Neville, who had been invited by Harry earlier that week at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's urging. He had been their friend as well since school. Ron was sitting on the couch; Luna snuggled up beside him, giggling fit to burst. Harry couldn't tell if it was because Ron had just whispered something funny, licked her ear or if it was because Crookshanks was rubbing around her ankles. Percy couldn't make it, as he'd been held up at the office. Bill and Charley were both on assignment in the thick of their respective jobs. When Mr. Weasley put the paper down he looked up and saw Harry standing in the doorway.

"Harry, glad you could make it. I suppose Molly's about got everything ready?"

"Yeah, she asked me to tell everyone dinner is ready."

Everyone seemed to rise as one and en mass, they all went out back to the tables and as one they sat down as Mrs. Weasley came out the door, dozens of dishes of excellent home cooking floating out behind her coming to rest on the table. Nobody moved to touch anything as Molly sat down, but this was expected. Arthur stood and raised his goblet, instantly receiving everyone's attention.

"This is a historic day in the wizarding world, widely celebrated as the end of You-Know-Who, and we have Harry here to thank for that."

Everyone raised their goblet to Harry with a small but sincere token of praise.

"This is also the day," Mr. Weasley continued, "that we all lost great friends and loved ones. They will be greatly missed, but we must go on, for that is what they would have wanted, and surely what they would make us do if they were here."

Around the table goblets were once again raised. Harry raised his too this time as a somber chorus of, "Aye," rang out.

Everyone ate silently for several minutes. The quiet murmur of voices was very slow in the uptake, but gradually rose until everyone was chatting and catching up with everyone else's comings and doings. Even Harry managed to avoid being completely morose and chatted with everyone in turn. He got to Ron last and was pulled aside into the garden. Ron looking nervously he moved a little closer to Harry and his tone was secretive and almost conspiratorial. He was pulling a small box out of his pocket.

"Harry can I ask you something?"

Taking a guess what was in the box Harry stifled a laugh and said, "But Ron, we're just good friends."

"Sod off Harry, it's for Luna...I just...wondered what you thought."

"About what? If you make each other happy I've got nothing to do with it."

"I meant about me asking her tonight...I know you still miss Hermione, and I didn't want to seem like a heartless git by asking today when..."

Harry looked away for a minute. He heard Ron shuffling around and figured he was putting the ring back in his pocket.

"Never mind Harry, I'll just...I'll wait for...."

"No Ron...wait...listen, you go ahead. Merlin knows you need something to be happy about along with the rest of the wizarding world today. I know you miss her too."

"Are you sure, Harry?"

Harry looked back at Ron with a small but determined grin on his face.

"You go out there and propose to the woman you love while you've got the chance. If there's one thing I've learned from Hermione..." Harry fell silent for a moment, "it's that you have to take the chance you are given. If you don't you might regret it for the rest of your life. You don't always get a second chance."

"You mean it?"

"If you don't get out there and do it now I'll run out there and do it for you."

"Do what for him?"

Harry and Ron both looked around wildly, coming to settle their eyes on Ginny and Luna peaking around a bush and smiling in their own conspiratory way.

"How long have you been standing there?" Ron was starting to turn red and looked more than a little worried.

It was Ginny who answered. "Oh Ron, take it easy. We just came over cause mum wanted to know where you'd gotten to. She just brought out some pies."

Sighing with relief, Ron followed Ginny and Luna, and felt Harry prod him in the back and whisper, "Go on," then walked past him.

Harry's right...if I don't do it now I could end up like him in 4 years...I know he loved her, and he regrets it every day that he never said the words.

Ron reached into his pocket and sprinted past Harry who, to Ron, looked suspiciously as if he were about to wander over and start chatting with Ginny and Luna.

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Ron's proposal showed all the signs of carefully planned words nearly forgot with nerves, but when Luna whispered, "yes," the whole Weasley crew cheered and each offered their congratulations to Ron. Fred and George's congratulations were by far the most memorable though. Harry and Neville had been chatting off to the side a little to give all the Weasleys time to give Ron hugs and congratulate him, but as they approached to give their own congratulations they couldn't help but hear Fred followed by George.

"Good job little bro, looks like you got a good one."

"Yeah, you know what they say; the quiet ones make wildcats in bed though they look like tame little kitties."

Luna had blushed profusely and Ron glared fiercely. Harry thought for sure his friend's eyes would jump out of his skull and start attacking the twins like bludgers.

"Good job mate, looks like I didn't have to do it for you after all." Harry smiled.

"Oh, so that's what you two were talking about hidden from everybody in the garden." Ginny had just turned up with a piece of pie each for Ron and Luna.

Neville laughed and Ron grinned slightly before letting out a few nervous chuckles of his own.

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Doush and his minions apparated with the dead wizard's body, and dumped it in the river. Then disappeared as quickly as they had appeared with a small crack. Their hoods had been up and it had been dark. No one would be able to identify them. Upon returning Doush went to Vaulder's study and knocked twice.

"Enter."

"It is done, m'lord. His body is in the river. We put a hole in him with one of those muggle contraptions...gums, I think."

"Guns, Doush, continue."

"Right, one of those, and we took all the muggle money he had on him. The muggle enforcers will probably put it down as a robbery."

"Excellent, the ministry of magic will undoubtedly discover his whereabouts as soon as the muggles find his body. You're sure you left no evidence on him from his stay here?"

"None, m'lord."

"Good...all is proceeding according to plan."

"Won't we need to replace him?"

"No, his job was done. Make sure the others continue as planned."

"Yes, m'lord." Doush backed out shutting the door after him. Vaulder turned back to his desk and sat down, steepling his fingers in front of him and smiling into the darkness. Soon...

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It was getting late, and Harry congratulated Ron once more before going back in to find his cloak before apparating home. As he passed by the sitting room, however, he saw Ginny sitting alone on the couch, shaking slightly. He put his cloak back on the peg and slowly stepped into the sitting room. When he was about halfway to the couch he spoke softly.

"Ginny?" She didn't seem to hear him, so he said a little louder, "Ginny, what's wrong?"

She looked up at him. She had been crying. "I just wish...Hermione could have been here...I'm sorry, Harry, I know you miss her a lot. I'm just sure she would have loved to see Ron so happy..."

She hiccupped a little and Harry sat down beside her, drawing her to his shoulder, which she immediately sagged against. Of course. I'm not the only one who misses Hermione...all these people were her friends. Surely I can take a moment out of my mourning to comfort someone else in theirs.

"It's ok, Ginny...I think you're right. Hermione would have loved to have been here. You sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to remind you of it, Harry."

"It's alright, Ginny, I will never forget as it is..." He slowly got up and after a quick hug turned and left, grabbing his cloak and dissaparating from the Burrow, to appear moments later at home.

Harry put his cloak on the peg and picked up his briefcase, dumping the files on his table again and pouring a fresh cup of coffee. He pulled the nearest file open and started reading about 'Marvins, Dr. Chester: Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Unforgivable Curses Expert.'