I own nothing. Except for my truck. And my shotgun. And my rifle. And my other rifle. And my other...Ooohh...a new rifle...

Beyond All Reason

Wednesday, June 19, 1996

The hospital wing at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was rather crowded, considering that it was nearly the end of term and the inter-house Quidditch matches had finished some weeks ago. Seated around a small table talking quietly amongst themselves was the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts Minerva McGonagall and Medi-Witch Poppy Pomfrey, along with students Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom. At the table with them were Arthur and Molly Weasley and two people who were somewhat of an annomaly at Hogwarts, as they were both non-magical. They were Charles and Sabrina Granger, the parents of Gryffindor student Hermione Granger. Hermione herself, along with the object of their vigil, was seated a short distance away next to the bed that was reserved for Harry Potter. Harry was currently unconscious and had been for the last 18 hours, following what was already being called the "Battle of the Department of Mysteries" and the death of one of the worst Dark Lords of all time, Lord Voldemort.

Their conversation stopped momentarily and all of those gathered looked to Harry's bed as they heard the young girl speaking quietly to Harry.

"It's all over now, Harry. It's all done baby. You finished him for good. You can get on with your life now, Harry, it's all done."

Minerva and Poppy both smiled at hearing what Hermione was saying while Charles Granger silently mouthed the word "Baby?" to his wife. Sabrina smirked at her husband and shook her head. Charles could be so blind when it came to his Princess.

"Professor McGonegall," said Charles, "could you please explain to me again exactly what happened last night? From everything we've read about magic over the years and from what Hermione has told us, what happened last night shouldn't have been possible."

Before the Head of Gryffindor House could answer, another voice was heard. "That's precisely what was so amazing about last night, Dr. Granger. What happened to your daughter at the Department of Mysteries wasn't possible, yet it did happen."

Everyone looked up as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stepped up to the table and conjured himself a chair to join them. "As to exactly what happened, I believe I have an answer for you. After reviewing the memories of your brilliant daughter, along with these other outstanding young people here, I have pieced together the events that took place."

All of those present stared at the aged Headmaster as he absent-mindedly prepared a cup of tea from the pot on the table and took a sip. Finally McGonagall lost her patience and said, "Well Albus, are you going to enlighten us or do we have to go and review the memories ourselves?"

Dumbldore looked up quite surprised and said, "Hmm? Oh, my apologies." The old man then went on to explain the preliminaries behind why the teens were at the Ministry of Magic and how they had arrived. After detailing the obtaining of the Prophecy and explaining the contents, (which was now a moot point), his voice became quieter as he described the extraordinary events that took place next.

"At this point, the group of six split up so as to better escape the Death Eaters, as they believed themselves to be out-matched. In one group was Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood. The other group was Mr. Longbottom, Miss Granger and Harry. Harry's group had reached an sub-room off the Death Chamber when they came upon a Death Eater known as Antonin Dolohov. Dolohov then hit all three of them with Impediment Jinxes. As he began to alert the rest of the Death Eaters to the location of Harry's group, Miss Granger attempted to silence him with the Silencio charm. However, Dolohov blocked it and hit Miss Granger with a curse I've not run across before. The spell attacked not only her body, but her magical core as well. Before anything could be done, Miss Granger succumbed to the dark magic and died."

Seeing the horrified looks on the faces of the two elder Grangers, not to mention the other members present, he continued. "This is where it gets really interesting, where the impossible took place, where the Potter Factor came into play."

Flashback

Harry looked on in total disbelief. Hermione had been hit. She was just laying on the floor, not moving. He couldn't move. He couldn't look away. He couldn't even breathe. Even worse, he just couldn't believe it. Hermione had been hit. He stood there, frozen in place. In his mind, he suspected that he was going into shock. It was Neville's words that broke him out of it and put him over the edge of sanity. "Harry, I can't find a pulse! Oh no, no no no! I think...Harry, I think she's...she's dead!"

At this point, Harry had his first involvement in an out of body experience. He could see all around himself, including himself. His body was just standing there, staring at Hermione in total shock. He observed his body being hit by flashes of light and realized that it was Dolohov casting curses at him. None of the curses were having any effect, including the Cruciatus and the Killing Curses. They all just seemed to be absorbed by his own magic.

He noticed his head and his mouth had begun to move. He had was slowly moving back and forth and his mouth was silently saying "No No No No." It was when he threw his head back and screamed the word that he was abruptly drawn back to his body and to reality. He ran, unknowingly, to Hermione and knelt beside her. He picked her up and cradled her to him, still chanting to himself that single word. The words turned to sobs as he rocked them both back and forth. A blue nimbus of light appeared around him as he held her and cried. He looked into her unseeing eyes and again threw back his head and screamed out his anguish. He then kissed her on the lips and gently lay her body on the floor.

Harry stood up and looked around himself. He saw that Neville had fled as Dolohov had been joined by Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix LeStrange. The two men were staring at him in astonishment. Harry's eyes were unnaturally wide and were literally two emerald green flames. If the two men had lived through the night, they would have characterized the feeling of having Harry's eyes on them as if he were seeing their naked soul and finding them unworthy of living. All the while, Harry was still shaking his head and saying over and over, "No No No No", while the insane Bella was throwing Killing Curse after Killing Curse at him, all of which were being absorbed the by the blue nimbus that still surrounded his and Hermione's bodies.

Harry once more looked at Hermione's body and then, with an inhuman cry, screamed out, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" With his left hand clenched in a fist next to his left breast, he reached out with his right hand and grabbed...something. Whatever he had a hold of could be seen by neither the three Death Eater's nor anyone else who later viewed his memories. What happened due to his actions, however, was one of the most amazing things ever recorded in the annals of magical history. Harry Potter pulled and, in doing so, reversed the flow of time itself. The tremendous strain showing on his face, Harry pulled his fist all the way back to his chest and, when he was done, Hermione Granger stood next to him, healthy, whole and Safe.