Final Message

She ran from the scene, a long black cloak concealing her features and the bundle of cloth she held in her arms. The night was dark and the moon was absent from the star filled sky, as if it knew the evil that was about and was in hiding.

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath in the darkness of a nearby grove of trees before continuing. Everyone had assumed it was all over, no one had ever thought they would be so bold as to attack now, years after their defeat.

She looked back over her shoulder as she fled to see an eerie green glow cloud the horizon, the only real light in the sky. Fear rose up but she shoved it back down, no need for it now, it would only cloud her judgment and then they would both be as good as dead.

Finally, after over and hour of running, she came to a tiny abandoned looking cottage. She walked slowly through the opening that had once held a door and looked around with night ready eyes. Her foot felt along the floor for the slight tell tale rise in the wood that indicated the trap door. After a moment, she found it and quickly opened it and dropped into the hole it revealed; pulling it closed behind her.

Light flared up, illuminating her pale face and she moved over to the small oil lamp on the table that was now glowing upon her arrival. Then she looked around finding only the single table, no chair and a small moldy looking cot in the corner. She shifted the bundle she carried all to her left arm and took out her wand.

She whispered a cleaning spell and the moldy look of the cot was replaced with a dingy grayness instead. Wearily, she collapsed to the mattress and leaned up against the all, the bundle of cloth still held tightly in her arms.

She pushed aside a portion of the cloth to reveal a small head covered with silky black hair. She smiled and unwrapped the child further, even through the attack and the chase he had remained asleep, blissfully unaware how close he had come to death that very evening.

The child moved his head slightly and opened wide green eyes to look up at her sleepily. Then he smiled up and her and made baby noises. She laughed softly at the miracle that was her son and hugged him close. He wouldn’t understand why his mother had a wet face, or why he was not at home with her but her smiles and hugs made him feel safe, no matter where he was.

His eyes drooped and finally he gave himself over to sleep once more. She set him down, still wrapped in his blankets and then lay down herself next to him, placing him between herself and the wall. She would protect him no matter what. Finally, the light in the room dimmed and she gave herself to sleep.

She was jerked awake the next morning by some sound. She sat up quickly and grabbed her wand, ready to defend herself and her baby from whatever was about to attack when she heard soft giggles from next to her. She looked over to find her son wide-awake and sitting up, his sounds had been what had caused her to wake.

She stood up and grabbed the blankets he had abandoned and quickly used her wand to form a backpack of sorts with which to carry him. Then she put him in it; a transfigured banana from a twig on the floor was his breakfast and slung it efficiently onto her back. Then she reached up, opened the trap door quietly, and climbed out of the hole, her baby cooing happily on her back the entire time.

She stepped cautiously out into the sunlight and determined the area was clear. Then at a brisk pace, she set out north. Soon the sun was high in the sky and the air was hot. Her baby fussed and complained a bit before drifting off. Finally, by mid afternoon, she reached the next safe point, a cave by small hidden lake. She went inside and laid her cranky baby to rest in the cool shade of the cave while she gulped water greedily from the lakes edge. They would rest here until dark.

Darkness fell and with her son strapped into his makeshift backpack and a smaller bag around her front filled with food and a canteen of water, they set out once more. They traveled all night under the cloak of darkness and arrived at their destination, a large castle in the Scottish highlands where she had spent most of her youth.

Since it was summer, she didn’t expect many people to be around and was shocked when a woman met her at the main doors. Without a word spoken, she was lead to a large room with a bed, a bathroom and a crib. She laid the sleeping baby in the crib and the collapsed onto the bed, unconscious from her ordeal.

The next afternoon, rested and clean, she was dressing her son when she found a peculiar mark on his back. A small lightning bolt was resting calmly, like a tattoo between his shoulder blades. She reached out, touched it, and was shocked at the image that appeared in front of her and her son. Standing before her was her husband, Harry Potter. He smiled at her wide-eyed look and then spoke.

"My dearest Hermione. If you are seeing this message then I have been killed. As you know, I was called away not long ago due to suspicions of new death eater activity. I knew the mission would be very dangerous and I wanted to leave you this final note just in case. It is to have activated the moment you are alone with our son in a quiet safe location after my death.

"I know it is unfair to have left you the way I have and I can only hope that you and our son are safe. I also want you to know that I was not alone on this mission and that I hope someone will have survived to bring my body home to you. You know my wishes already regarding burial and such.

"I am aware this message by no means can make up for all I will miss in life but the spell is limited and only allows a short reprieve for those left behind. Do not worry, the lightning bolt on our son will fade when the spell runs its course.

"I have loved you deeply and will continue to do so for as long as I am able to Hermione. I only wish I had been able to see your beautiful face once more before I passed on and that of our son as well. You must raise young James alone now but I know you can do it, and there are always those around you willing to help when you need it, never forget that. And finally, I have left a pensive for your eyes only in our vault at Gringotts. It holds my most cherished memories of us and I do hope that one day, you might even show some to our son so that he may know how much I loved you and him." The image began to waver slightly.

"The spell is reaching its limits so I must end here. Goodbye my love, remember me and we shall meet again one day. I will wait for you always."

The image faded away and Hermione dissolved into tears. James looked at his mother with worry and toddled over to where she had run to the bed and collapsed. He crawled up onto the bed and patted her head with a chubby baby hand. She reached out and cuddled him close, while the tears and sobs continued to rake her body.

There was a knock on the door and someone entered, it was an older man with a long silvery beard and half moon glasses perched on his nose. He looked at the pair on the bed somberly and approached. She looked up at him with swollen red eyes and he realized she knew already what news he was bringing.

He said nothing then, sat on the bed, and held out his arms to her. She went into them, her baby still clutched in her own and he hugged them both close, murmuring soft words of understanding and sorrow into her hair. Finally, the tears slowed and she calmed a bit and he let her go. The baby was fussing a bit now, hungry.

He snapped his fingers and three house elves scurried into the room followed by the nurse from her childhood and they took the baby away. Finally, after they left he spoke.

"Hermione, how did you know that Harry was dead?" He asked, concern for her showing on his face. After a moment, she spoke with a shaky voice.

"He left a message for me that would activate after his death when I was alone and safe with the baby. It was in the form of a lightning bolt on James’ back." Professor Dumbledore nodded, it had never occurred to him that Harry would think to use such a spell.

"We received a message that your home in Godric’s Hollow was destroyed and that the three of you were missing, presumed dead because of the dark mark hovering over the rubble. Then someone sent word that Harry had been killed in a fight with the last few death eaters. But all of them are dead now as well. He performed a spell as they spoke the killing curse that caused it to happen to them as well. Ron Weasley was with him and witnessed this." He looked at her now with unspoken questions in his eyes.

"They attacked but I grabbed James and ran out the back way, under the concealment of Harry’s invisibility cloak. There was a blast after we got only few hundred meters from the house and the cloak was blown off. I didn’t bother picking it up, I just kept running. I used safe points from the war to hide in until I arrived here late last night." Then both stopped speaking and he lead Hermione from the room.

Ron came with Harry’s body later that same day and he wept with Hermione over the death of their best friend. Together, they went to Gringotts and retrieved the pensive and Hermione spent an afternoon skimming it before showing it to Ron.

The funeral was held a few days later and hundreds of people showed up at Hogwarts to mourn to lose of a great wizard and friend. As the body was lowered into the ground, Hermione stood with her baby and her best friend beside her, his arm around her shoulders, giving her strength.

A warm wind blew around them as the grave was filled in and she heard laughter, soft and warm. She looked around frantically, by now most of the gatherers had left to meet together in the Great Hall. Only Ron, Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin remained with her. Mrs. Weasley had come and taken the baby away just before the body was lowered.

Something soft touched her hair, lifting it slightly and she felt warm breath on her cheek, as if someone had dropped a kiss there. Then the voice came on the wind:

Then as quickly as it came, it was gone but she knew he had come to see her one last time and that he would be waiting as promised for the moment when she herself was no longer a part of this world. And with the knowledge deep in her heart, she left the gravesite with a smile on her face and followed Ron towards the castle and a new beginning.

A phoenix feather came out of nowhere and floated into the empty field before settling at the base of the stone that read: