Harry x Hermione Short Stories

Sacrifice

There it was. His most prized possessions – a picture of a young lady dressed in a beautiful periwinkle blue gown and a stack of letters written in her familiar elegant script. All of his memorabilia of Hermione Granger were stored in a special drawer that he'd spend hours perusing whenever the pull to be with his best friend would enamor him once again.

He had lived a lie for almost thirty years. He had to deny a vital part of himself just so he could keep the one woman who had saved his life so many times alive. He needed to take all the pain just so she could live. He needed to hide his pain.

In the darkness of the night, these stolen moments, he just wanted to lose himself and let go of the burden of lies. The one lie that kept him away from attaining true happiness.

"I fucking hate Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange," he said with gritted teeth as his thoughts drifted to the past.

oOOOOo

'I see your heart and your mind Harry Potter. You are weak. Your love for her makes you weak. You cannot even protect her and yet your heart longs for her... Some hero you are.... I will kill her, Potter. I will kill your ace. I will torture your savior. I will end her life in the most painful way before I will kill you. You will be a broken man before you die at the end of my wand,' Voldemort's sinister voice would whisper in his head over and over again. He was not sure if all of this was caused by the locket Horcrux. Or maybe, it was because of Voldemort's weird connection to him. Whatever it was, Voldemort was right.

He loved Hermione Granger with every fiber of his being but he couldn't do anything to protect her. In fact, without her help and support, he would never have gotten this far because he was not prepared. He also didn't know what he was doing and he was certain that without Hermione, he would have been dead years ago.

Ron made the right choice for leaving. Hermione should have followed his example. If she went with Ron, she would be safer than being in this hellhole they were currently trapped in.

Even from his position outside the tent, he could hear Hermione's sobs of pain. It was very hard for her to accept the fact that Ron had left them. It was just the two of them now. Harry and Hermione against the world. They had no plan. They lacked supplies. They had no hope. They only had each other.

'Whatever happens, I only wish that Hermione will survive this war. I only wish that she'll live a long and happy life.' Harry thought as he buried the sound of Hermione's crying by staring at the Marauders' Map over and over again. He wasn't even sure what he was looking at. It was just something that took his mind away from the important things. He needed to do idle things or he'd lose his mind.

oOOOOo

Hermione was shouting in pain. It was like a dagger being pierced straight to his heart. He could only imagine the horrors and tortures that she was facing right now. Ron wasn't helping the situation. His best mate's anguished screams were just distracting him as he tried (but failed) to think of a plan.

He needed to get Hermione away from this place. He needed to save her. He fumbled about in his pockets and then he remembered the dimensional store Hagrid gave him. He groped inside it until he found a mirror. It was his last resort but he had to try.

And then, by some sort of miracle, he saw Dumbledore's face. He was confused, surprised, and he could feel a swell of hope rising in his chest.

When Dobby appeared, he wanted to cry in relief. But no! He couldn't do that. They must save Hermione first. If Hermione died, his heart would die with her.

oOOOOo

"Hermione?" Harry gently knocked on Hermione's temporary bedroom at Shell Cottage. By some sort of miracle, Dobby came and saved them all at the expense of his life. While Harry's heart broke due to another death that he indirectly caused, he felt relieved that at least Hermione was still here. She was still alive.