Chapter 40 - Emotions, Acceptance & Battle I

Dumbledore was gone. The 7th year at Hogwarts wasn't going to happen and Harry already knew it. A few days were left till the end of the summer vacation. He used that time to train with the Elder Wand and make plans with the few trusted names.

Voldemort wanted a war and Harry had decided to give it to him.

"Are you absolutely sure, Harry?" Asked Hermione, pacing left and right across the living room at 12 Grimmauld Place. "This is too dangerous."

Harry shrugged at her worries. He liked Hermione but sometimes she wasn't always the best with advice, but he couldn't blame her. Nobody knew that he also had to die to truly kill Voldemort. It was only he who felt no fear for he already knew the end result.

"If not now, Hermione, then it'll be never. We've finally destroyed all the Horcruxes, and now only the snake and Voldemort remain." Harry explained as calmly as he could. "The past six years have led to this moment—this battle is inevitable. It's better to face it on our own terms."

"He's right." Ron chimed in all of a sudden. For the most part in the last two years, Ron had taken a backseat as he busied himself with his girlfriend, Lavender. "I'll stand right beside you, mate."

Hermione rubbed her eyes in frustration. "I understand how you feel, but we really need to plan this more thoroughly. What if he doesn't bring the snake with him? We can't afford to leave any room for him to come back."

"I've already taken care of it," Harry answered her worries. "I'll face him on Halloween this year... the very same day he took my parents from me."

"And you don't want to share what the plan is?" She asked back, arms crossed.

Harry shook his head defeatedly. "I can't, Hermione. Everything hinges on secrecy. The more people know, the greater the risk that someone will use Legilimency to pry into your minds."

"And what about her?" Hermione pointed at Narcissa sitting not far from them, reading a book in peace.

Harry glanced at her and met with her reciprocated gaze. He forced himself not to smile. The woman had been an amazing company in everything for the past few weeks. In bed, in discussions, and in planning against Voldemort.

"She's under an Unbreakable Vow. It's in return for protecting Draco." Harry revealed and continued on. "Azkaban is the safest place for him."

Harry was grateful that Narcissa had taken the news of Draco being caught kindly. Although his intent wasn't to let Draco go for years to come.

"She's been extremely helpful in planning the attack against Voldemort," Harry said, making it clear that she was on their side. "Both of you need to stop seeing every pureblood as an enemy. Some of them are true fanatics of the Dark Lord, but some are forced into it."

"What about me?" Bellatrix Lestrange walked into the living room just then. On her body was nothing but a very flimsy see-through, thin, black nightgown. She went ahead and sat down beside Narcissa, winking at Ron who couldn't stop looking at her.

"You too," Harry added.

He knew Hermione didn't like Bellatrix. Heck, even he was amused by his liking towards her even after she killed Sirius. But again, she was now carrying his next generation. "She's been helping me gain an advantage over Voldemort."

Hermione didn't like that one bit. "Are we the only ones who have no idea what you've been up to, Harry?"

You're not wrong. He couldn't say that out loud.

"They're under an Unbreakable Vow, Hermione," he repeated.

"Fine." Hermione straightened her arms and returned to her room.

Harry looked at Ron then. "The more you know the more danger you're in."

"I understand, Harry." Ron sided with him.

What's wrong with him? Harry felt confused by Ron's behavior. Normally he'd be even more angry than Hermione.

Ignoring Ron, Harry walked over to Bellatrix and whispered close to her ears. "Check if Ron's under the Imperius Curse."

Bellatrix keenly glanced at Ron and strongly nodded. If Harry's doubts were real then dealing with Ron was going to be messy. The only way to get rid of the Imperius Curse was by killing the caster or if the victim fights it off.

"I'll check it."

Harry thanked her and left for the basement to resume his training. Halloween was a few months away, but he only had one chance to kill Voldemort. He didn't want to relax now, only to regret it later.

####

Night fell and Harry was still training in the basement. After sweating so much he removed his shirt and kept going. The Elder Wand was efficient and responsive. But it also ate up a lot of magic since the effect of spells cast by it was high.

Panting, his glasses covered in droplets of sweat as much as his hair, he finally chose to rest by one of the walls in the basement. He sat down on the floor, resting his back and just thinking about the future.

"You've been doing this for a whole month?"

Harry looked at the stairs coming down to the basement. Hermione stood near the middle, looking at him with her usual face of worry.

"Slightly more than that," Harry replied.

She stepped down and walked over to him. Clad in her sleeping pajama pants and a loose t-shirt, her hair was still as bushy as ever. "I'm sorry. I was just… annoyed."

"I'm not angry." Harry gestured for her to come and sit beside him. "I'd have felt the same if I were you."

Hermione settled beside him, shoulder to shoulder. Her knees folded up to her chest while she wrapped her arms around them and nestled her chin on them. "The last two years have been wild."

"Too wild," Harry agreed. "And messed up."

Hermione blushed a bit and nodded. Harry took her virginity in that library that night, and for a long time, she hated it. She hoped for her first to be romantic, somewhere beautiful and warm. But she came to accept the incident and move on. Harry wasn't in his right mind at that time.

But it still hurts to see him with other women. The incident with her and Tonks together nearly broke her.

"Do you have any plans for after Hogwarts?" She asked, trying to avoid talking about the upcoming battle.

Harry froze at that question. He simply couldn't imagine anything beyond Halloween day. He couldn't imagine himself looking older or even alive. He had the bloody Horcrux inside his body and the only way to remove it was death.

"I'm considering a future at the Ministry," Hermione said thoughtfully. "There's so much that needs to change—house-elf rights, equality among wizards regardless of blood status." She then turned her attention to her friend with a knowing smile. "You're brilliant at Quidditch. Have you thought about joining a team? I think you'd become famous and exceptional in no time."

"I won't make it, Hermione."

Hermione stopped talking, her brows creased together and her thin lips squeezed tight. She turned sideways to look at him completely and focused on his face. "W-What do you mean, Harry? I'm sure y—"

"I'm the last Horcrux." He turned towards her too and looked at her face, a torrent of emotions and thoughts running through his mind. He rubbed one hand over his forehead and revealed the curse mark. "He knows."

Silence fell between the two.

They both stared into each other's eyes. Hers brown and Harry's bright green. Despite the lack of bright light, they both noticed the emotional spark. Only their deep breaths were audible—scared, saddened, discomforted.

"I've wronged you," Harry broke the silence.

"No." Hermione got on her knees and inched closer to Harry, her hands finding rest on his bare shoulders. "It wasn't your doing. It was all Voldemort."

"And he'll die for it." Harry proclaimed, having to look up at her face. He could see her inner turmoil through her eyes. Another long silence fell between them before Harry rose up on his knees. "Don't pity me, Hermione. I… I'm not the Harry you used to know."

"But I see the same Harry," she persisted.

"I'm evil now, Hermione!" Harry declared, gripping both her arms. "The things I've done in the past month for victory… You'll learn about them once I'm gone and you will hate me."

A silent trail of tears slid down Hermione's eyes. "N-No, you won't die, Harry."

"Dumbledore knew it. There's no other way to kill the Horcrux in me," Harry said and closed his eyes to stop himself from feeling too horrible. "It was all decided the night he killed my parents."

"Harry…" Hermione squeezed closer and hugged his chest while bringing her face closer to his, their lips separated by a mere inch. "There has to be a way… You don't deserve this."

Harry's hand, unwillingly, came up and caressed the side of Hermione's face. She had been his close friend, and then a lifesaver. "Sometimes I can't tell if I'm still Harry Potter. I've accepted this end, Hermione."

"But…" She tried to lean in and kiss his lips.

But Harry stopped her, keeping her distant by his grip on her shoulders. "No, you'll regret this."

He gently freed himself from her grasp and rose to his feet. Pulling on his t-shirt, he tucked his wand securely into his belt and turned to leave. "It's late. You should get some sleep. And please, don't tell anyone about this. The entire victory depends on secrecy."

####

Time went by fast. Harry made arrangements for the Dursleys to move somewhere safe and the Order of the Phoenix completed their battle preparation.

Three days before Halloween, Harry sent an official challenge to Voldemort in the shape of Rodolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy's dead bodies.

The official word was that they 'escaped' from the Ministry's confinement and died in the battle that ensued. But the Order members knew the truth.

It was a painless death with the killing curse. But their bodies were riddled with wounds from the torture they received during the interrogation.

As expected. Voldemort fumed when he received the bodies. His plan to break them out of Azkaban was now in ruins as nothing was left to break out. His most trusted aid were dead, and his most loyal woman was taken away from him. His only advantage on Harry Potter's mind had been countered. His horcruxes had been found, and he couldn't even locate them all.

"The boy challenges me?!" He raged in front of his leftover Death Eaters. "Harry Potter dares challenge me! Avery! Yaxley! Prepare for the attack, and summon the army!"

"My Lord, this could be a trap," Avery tried to be reasonable. It wasn't their style to respond to provocations.

"Silence!" Voldemort bellowed, looking at the bodies of Lucius and Rodolphus. "The boy has invited us to slay him, and so we shall!"

Nobody wanted to face the Dark Lord's anger.

"I understand, my Lord." Avery stepped back and left to do as commanded.

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