It Could Have Gone That Way; A Harmione Fanfiction

Chapter 74: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry thrust his arm upwards, trying in vain to break the thick layer of ice that was above his head. He was trapped in the frozen lake, wearing nothing but the locket and his underwear. Severe chills shook every inch of his body, and Harry could feel the chain of the Horcrux trying to twist itself tighter around his neck. Blinking away the water, Harry slowed his struggle. He took one last fleeting glance at the sword of Gryffindor before giving into the searing pains that had overtaken his chest, closing his eyes for the final time.

There were voices swimming through Harry's brain. They were familiar voices - though he couldn't identify all of them - but each and every one of them was telling him not to give up, not to give in. Harry pushed them out of his mind and clutched his numbing chest in agony. His hand closed around something else. It was quite thin and soft, but strong at the same time; it had to be strong, for it was, Harry soon realised, pulling him out of the freezing water. Harry gasped for air and rolled over onto the snowy ground, head touching the pile of clothes he had been wearing that day, and blacked out.

"What is wrong with you?" Someone yelled furiously.

Harry opened his eyes groggily, head throbbing. He was in the exact same spot in which he had passed out, but he was now fully clothed once more, and wrapped in a familiar cozy blanket that he knew belonged to Hermione. Harry sat up quickly.

Hermione was pacing the ground in front of him, drenched from head to toe and shivering uncontrollably. "Why on earth," she dangled the Horcrux in front of Harry's face,"didn't you take this off before you dived?"

Raising a shaking hand to his throat, Harry felt the place where the locket had cut into his flesh. Hermione had cut him free. Harry clambered to his feet, pulling the blankets tighter around himself. Hermione must have dressed him again and wrapped him up in her own blanket, but how in the world had she found him? Harry didn't care; he was just infinitely grateful that she had come to save him. He put his blanketed arms around her to stop her from shivering; she was only wearing a thin cardigan over her t-shirt.

"Are y-you all right?" Harry asked, pulling the blanket off of himself and wrapping it around her instead.

"M-mostly." Hermione's hair was stuck to her face with wetness, and she looked exhausted.

"You saved-d me." Harry whispered, scraping some of her hair off of her face.

Hermione have him a shaky laugh,"Th-that always s-seems to happen, d-doesn't it?"

Harry's hand stopped on her cheek. "Yeah, it does." He leaned towards her as she leaned towards him, both relying on each other for warmth. As he kissed Hermione, Harry felt a surge of heat flood through him, and could only hope that she was feeling the same.

"Bloody hell!"

The pair broke apart and spun around. Ron was standing a little way in the distance, mouth hanging open.

"What are you d-doing here?" Hermione asked breathlessly, gripping Harry's hand tightly.

Ron's ears went red,"Well, I've - you know - I've come back. If-if you...er...if you still want me, that is." His eyes fell on a patch of ground a little way away from Harry. "Bloody hell," he said,"you've got it!"

Harry followed his gaze to see the sword of Gryffindor propped up against a rock. He spun to Hermione,"You got it?"

"Y-yeah." Hermione nodded.

"You need to kill it."

Hermione's mouth dropped,"No - what?"

"You got it out of the lake - you need to be the one who destroys it." Harry told her.