Without You

His Ending

"Always."

The black ink in the crystal liquid swirled once more before everything faded to black, releasing the green eyed man from the haze of memories. Memories of a man he'd been wrong about for seven years. Memories of a man he'd entirely misjudged. Memories of a man who only had his best interests at heart.

"You were raising him like a pig for slaughter."

The words burnt their way through his mind, branding him painfully. He was meant to die, all of his progress, all of his pains and torments had been leading to this. Death; oddly enough, he had never been afraid of dying. Heck, they were even times he wished for it.

He supposed it was a fitting end to an otherwise miserable life. Sure, it had some bright spots such as his friends, but he couldn't help but feel as if he deserved an ending like this. He would have to walk down to Lord Voldemort's camp, head held high, and give himself over so that Voldemort could kill him. He found comfort in the fact that at least he could die on his own terms.

At a snail's pace, he turned back from the pensieve and bonelessly walked away. His body felt numb, his mind had no thoughts, and it was quiet enough such that he could hear his own heartbeat thump against his chest. He was looking but not seeing as the constricting walls of the Headmaster's office seemed to close in on him. It was unknown to him as to how he got as far as to exit the office before he finally crumbled on the steps, letting his breaths come out heavy and ragged.

It felt as if the very air had no intention of entering his lungs as he gasped and clutched at his chest. His eyes fell closed and, before he knew it, he was swept away in the sea of memories. This was exactly what he wasn't hoping for. He was content to walk his way to his death, to not turn back and allow himself to think about his life.

"You're a great wizard, Harry."

Against his wishes, the small beginnings of a smile came to his face. He memorized that night like the back of his hand. He was barely eleven, she twelve, up against circumstances beyond their control and they somehow found a way around it. He remembered her and his other best friend, Ron, as they fought against the darkness that threatened to creep into the school. That was the night they became bonded for life. She had told him he was a great wizard and, while he didn't believe it at the time, he knew she wasn't lying.

He was taken back to the images in the pensieve as his own memories swirled in front of him and he was greeted with the scene of her rushing towards him, the biggest of smiles on her face while shouting that he did it, and enveloping him in the tightest of embraces. Despite her being petrified for most of the year, she still managed to help him beat back the darkness that once again threatened to take the school. Their bond grew even stronger as a result.

A year later, he remembered them standing in front of him to protect him. Ron had firmly declared that any attacker would have to get through him in order to get to him. He felt his heart lighten at the memory before a sorrowful tear escaped his eye. He was foolish to call his life miserable because Ron and her were proof that it wasn't. For all the pain his life had brought onto him, those two gave him something worth fighting for.

Now, they were the two things worth dying for. Painfully, he rose from his seat on the steps and began his measured descent. The end was here, his end...was here. But, with his end, came their beginning. Once he was gone, they'd be able to finally kill Lord Voldemort and usher in a new era of peace. It pained him that he would never get to witness it but he batted away, resolving to keep going forward. That was all he could do now. He needed to keep moving forward. Forward past them, forward past Hogwarts, and forward into death at the hands of the Dark Lord.

He paid no attention as he took sedate steps through the castle he had called home for six years. It was desolate, dilapidated, and darn near destroyed but he kept his measured pace through it. He heard and saw nothing despite his ears and eyes still working.