The Survivor

'Till there are dreams, there is treasure.'

Prologue

The Survivor

What do you do when you look up to the heavens and find no solace, no comfort? What do you do when you wake up to understanding only to find yourself thrust into the midst of a fame, a waking legend that you have no idea of how to handle? What do you do when you find friendships and yet are forced to forsake them just because your fate was already laid out before your feet? What happens when you face the devil himself and even with all the odds against you, you defeat him? What happens when you do that and yet are so pure in heart that you develop a guilty conscience that no one could ever understand? These are some questions that I think I shall never find answers to, for I am Hermione Granger, and I am only a survivor of the war, not the end of the war itself.

It began about half a century ago, when the meteoric rise of Lord Voldemort to the annals of power began, when he began an Order which for the next fifty years terrorized the people so much that their names are still a source of fear for all, even five years after their fall. It took a baby and a mother's love for him to overthrow Voldemort and vanquish him to nothing more than a spirit. Yet, the spirit of Voldemort had not lost any of its potency. The malice was still there as was the desire to rule all, to make every one subservient to him.

Eight years ago, he rose again, more powerful than ever and this time, it took that same baby, now a handsome young man to stop him, to defeat him and to rid the world of his evil, once and for all. So how do I know this? Is it because it is a common legend? No, I was there all along. I may be only a survivor of the war, but I am a survivor who fought, who fought and survived. Others died; others who I had known. But I survived. Maybe because I was destined to this fate, this constant waiting, hanging on to a glimmer of hope, in the hope of nurturing a new life, in the hope of wanting to see a beautiful life grow. I was and I think I shall always be a survivor only, nothing more, nothing less; unlike the one who ended it all; unlike the one who lived, survived.

I knew the one who ended the war once and for all. It was the same person whom I called my best friend for seven years. It was the same person who caused the lull in the war in the first place and it was the same person who ended it when it resumed thirteen years later. The beginning, not remotely, but certainly, he was, or shall I say, is the end of the evil that our world had to face and fear for so many years on end. Even today, people fear to speak the Dark Lord's name - the name 'Voldemort' still strikes terror into the hearts and minds of all. But speak of the one who ended his reign, and people gush forth with joy, happiness and reverence bordering on the limits of worship. For the one who vanquished the Dark Lord is Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived and the Man Who Conquered and the Man I Love even unto this day, even though it is five years since I ever heard a word from him.

Sometimes, I wonder if what the people say is true indeed. If Harry lived, not survived. I often wonder where he is and what he must be doing, whether he remembers any one in the old world that he left behind or if he has just forgotten everyone and started a new life, and really started living. Sometimes, I think maybe it is my job to wonder and think.

For I am Hermione Granger, and this is the story of my life, a life that began after the war for domination of the wizarding world ended, a life that began after Harry Potter vanished from our world and left me alone with the most precious gift he could have given me, my son, our son, Samuel Potter, my hope and my treasure.

To be continued...