Hey! This is just a one-shot that I thought of while re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. So, that means that this is a spoiler for anyone who hasn't read the seventh book. Either that or you'll have no clue what is going on. But, if you have, then by all means read. Oh, and this starts in Hagrid's POV when he is taken by the spiders.
HAGRID POV
There were red jets of light shooting at the giant spiders that used to be my friends. I shouted to everyone in panic. "Don't hurt 'em, don't hurt 'em!"
I vaguely heard someone yell, "HAGRID, NO!" But my head was filled with dead giant spiders. They wouldn't harm a fly if people would stop the attack...
"HAGRID, COME BACK!"
But before I could explain what I was doing, I was attacked by thousands of spiders. "What're you doin'?" I tried to shout, but my voice was muffled by legs and furry bodies. I was being buried alive by my old friends, which I realized had turned foe. My umbrella... it was missing!
There were some distant shouts, which I know knew was Harry, but I couldn't do more than get one measly arm into the air. But it soon disappeared beneath another spider.
"Sorry, Hagrid," One of the spiders breathed, but he sounded merciless.
I struggled. "Stop it righ' now! OI!" But my voice had no affect on the swarm. I could tell we'd entered the Forbidden Forest. My heart pounded now over the sounds of battle, which meant we were nearing the deepest region of the forest.
After several minutes of being carried roughly through the woods, I began to lose consciousness. I hoped that Harry was still okay... I would never let myself down if he died. Or Hermione, or Ron, or any of the Hogwarts student body. The teachers included.
But I couldn't keep myself above the dark water that lapped at my mind. I fell into it like a safe harbor, and there was no more sound.
I woke up to feel myself on the ground. I tried to sit up, with my head pounding. But something pulled at my ankles, legs, and wrists. I was able to get in a better position, and examined where I was, panting. First I noticed I was tied to a tree. Then I saw the white figure, who stood with dignity. He looked at me as I moved, red eyes that contained no mercy.
"Rubeus Hagrid. Half-breed," he said thoughtfully. I had never seen the Dark Lord for myself, but he stood now, taking confident steps forward. Every instinct told me to flinch back from the approaching danger, but I had nothing to lose. I struggled against the ropes.
"Yer no match fer Harry! Yeh'll never beat 'im! He's a better man than yeh!"
Voldemort flicked his wand lazily, and silence bore upon me. "You are a fool. Why would you think that friends have stayed friends?" he asked, and took the last step that close distance between him and I. I was shaking with both fear and rage.
"You are a dear fool," Lord Voldemort repeated, then grinned in a disturbing way at me. "Bow to your new master. You will be a great guard, Hagrid," I stayed stiffly in my awkward position. But then he flicked his wand, and I was forced into an unnatural angle.
"Good," He whispered, closer than I had expected. I flung myself away.
"Yer a bastard!" I spat, breaking through the silence. Voldemort cocked his head to the side. "I think you need a lesson, Hagrid," He snarled. "Crucio."
My body immediately erupted in white hot pain, and writhed on the ground in agony. My hands were clenching and unclenching rapidly, and I felt blood coming from my nose.
Finally, the pain stopped, and I lay gasping on the dead, dry leaves. "Yer a bloody fool...," I gasped, and Voldemort's hiss pleased me for only seconds as I felt another wave of torture wring my body. I heard terribly screams, which came from me. They echoed through the woods.
When the pain stopped, I was limp on the ground, my mind buzzing as if electrified.
"I believe I have something to attend to," the Dark Lord said in his strange hiss.
I shook on the ground, trying to recover.
Then, his voice echoed around, which probably reached the castle. "You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish for this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.
"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately."
As he said this, black smoke flew in a circle around Voldemort, who sat now, talking into his wand like a microphone. "Bastard," I muttered testily, my great black beard quivering with rage. Voldemort didn't hear my insult.
"You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.
"I speak now, to Harry Potter, directly to you,"
My heart stuttered. I knew Harry, and this was going to play on his weakness if Voldemort was smart. All of Voldemort's Death Eaters looked wounded at least, and they sent nasty looks my way. I growled under my breath the best swear words I knew.
"You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
Voldemort took the wand from his mouth and looked around at his Death Eaters. "You have done well, killed many." He said slowly.
"My Lord," I recognized Bellatrix Lestrange, who stood humbly before her master. Voldemort nodded. "Why have you kept this beast?" She asked, rather impatiently. "Can I kill him myself, or are you going to do the job?"
Voldemort looked at me, and his red eyes seemed to glow with the idea of murder. Before I could suppress it, my heart began to pound loudly.
"I shall take care of it myself Bellatrix. You can play with him while we wait, but do not kill him. I am curious if the boy will react to seeing him here."
Lestrange grinned wickedly as she approached. I felt the pain before it was going to come. She knelt before me, her dirty, bloody face full of longing... to murder. "You ugly beast. Thought the spiders would actually help you, hmm?" She said, and kicked me square in the chest. The breath was knocked out of me, but I recovered. I gathered my courage, as she bent lower. "Poor, poor, hideous Hagrid, the odd one out of the family, the ugliest by far-,"
She was cut off as I spit, directly at her face. To my disappointment it missed, and hit her leg. She shrieked in anger. "YOU'LL PAY!" She screeched.
"CRUCIO!"
My body once again began to spasm in pain, and I shouted as it tore through my body, hurt my mind.
The last things I remember, were Voldemort's voice saying, "Enough, Bellatrix." Then I thought of Harry, with hope in my mind. I must have died, because the pain kind of faded as I again disappeared beneath a film of darkness.
I was so groggy and sore when I woke up that for a moment I was disoriented. I opened my eyes a slit, and then they opened to reveal the scene around the fire, where chairs had been replaced with standing men and women, and Voldemort, who looked somewhat angry.
"No sign of them," A Death Eater said warily.
"My Lord-," Bellatrix started, but Voldemort raised his hand impatiently.
"I thought he would come," he said distinctly, his voice filled with both surprise and disappointment. I was proud of Harry. It must have taken a lot of willpower to keep from coming here. Or a lot of concerned people who had forced him to stay put.
There was a deadly silence until Voldemort spoke again. "I was, it seems... mistaken." Damn right.
"You weren't."
I did a double take, as my eyes rested, horrified, on Harry, who stood in a dignified way facing the Death Eaters. He looked both unsure and sure, something only he could pull off. The Death Eaters stood more erectly, and there were whispers and laughs, even.
I finally felt myself able to speak again. "HARRY! NO!" I yelled fearfully. How could he have done this? He was our only hope, the one we were trying to protect... he could have still been the small kid I'd met at the old shack the Dursley's had taken to after an intrusion of letters.
Harry turned, and in the fire, his green eyes glittered with a hint of fear. I shook, trying to escape. A couple of branches from the tree cracked as I struggled. Harry wouldn't die. He couldn't. I would save him, I'd have to.
"NO! NO! HARRY, WHAT'RE YEH - ?"
"QUIET!" yelled a grubby Death Eater, and I was suddenly unable to talk. I struggled on. Harry, no, no, no, not Harry...
Harry had turned back to Voldemort, and all I could see was part of his face, illuminated by fire light. He was shaking ever so slightly, but his eyes remained firmly on his enemy. He had a look of determination.
My brain whirred with escape plans. I needed to save Harry! I couldn't let...!
But as I said that, Voldemort raised his wand, and there was a flash of green light that made me shout, breaking the silence charm. "NOOOOOOOO!" I thundered, but it was too late. I watched as Harry flew back into the air, and landed in a heap, facing my way. His mouth was agape, his eyes closed.
I began sobbing uncontrollably. "HARRY!" I called to him, hoping somehow he'd pop back up, unharmed.
I looked around at the Death Eaters, expecting a party. But they stared in horror down at Voldemort, who appeared to be... dead? He lay on the ground where he had fallen, and my heart stuttered. Was I missing something here?
But I couldn't think. My eyes turned back to Harry, who lay on the cold hard ground, never to wake up. "Harry... Harry...," My half-hopefull pleas were drowned out by the Death Eaters, who were murmuring, "My Lord... My Lord..."
Heaving sobs came and came, never settling. Finally, Lestrange turned and impatiently flicked her wand to silence me.
Although I couldn't speak, I still felt tears flooding down my face, as I looked at Harry. I dropped limply, unable to sit up.
Harry looked horrible. I finally took notice of his appearance – his hands and arms were blistered badly, a bruise welted his face and made patterns with the blood.
But underneath all of the damage, I saw Harry again. Now that he was... dead... I burst into fresh tears... he had lost the bitterness in his face. He looked again like the first year I had known long ago. His glasses had fallen off his face, and the innocence in his closed eyes was too much to bear. My sobs erupted, making the charm disappear.
So this was the end? Both Voldemort and Harry died. Harry hadn't even deserved it...
"My Lord... my Lord..." Lestrange was speaking urgently as Voldemort stirred. A stab of cold fear made me shake all over. Harry had died in vain then. Voldemort hadn't died like he may have expected.
He stood now. "That will do," he said, but his eyes locked on Harry, who still lay on the ground.
"My Lord, let me –,"
"I do not require assistance."
I watched, through streaming eyes, as Voldemort glared at another Death Eater. I followed his gaze to meet a fear-stricken one – Nacrissa Malfoy.
"You," Voldemort said, and sent an unnecessary red bolt at her. She yelped in pain. "Examine him. Tell me whether he is dead."
She snuck over to Harry with fear in her face still. For a minute, I hoped she would say, "He's alive!" But she bent down, and examined his heart beat. After a moment, she stood back up.
"He is dead!" She shouted to everyone. Another wave of grief made me tremble on the ground in loss. Everyone erupted in cheers and hoots, and a bunch of red sparks flew into the air, showering upon the Forest floor. I glared at them with pure hate.
"You see?" Voldemort called gleefully. I spit out blood on the ground, and watched in horror as he raised his wand to point at Harry.
"Harry Potter is dead by my hand, and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch!"
With terror in my heart, Voldemort hissed, "Crucio!"
I knew Harry couldn't feel pain, but I couldn't help but struggle as Harry's body rose in the air, flying around limply, and then land in a crumpled heap again.
"Stop," I breathed, but it was unheard by the lot of them.
"Now, we go to the castle and show them what has become of their hero. Who shall drag the body?" Voldemort looked for a willing volunteer, and there were some, but his devious eyes landed on me.
"No..." I moaned almost silently.
"No – wait -,"
My binds released me, and I crashed more into the ground, which was followed by the Death Eater's jeers. I stood shakily, and walked towards Harry. I fell to my knees, shaking madly.
"You carry him. He will be nice and visible in your arms, will he not? Pick up your little friend, Hagrid." Voldemort sneered. "And the glasses – put on the glasses – he must be recognizable -,"
Before I could pick up Harry's glasses, Bellatrix was there. She grinned at me before jamming the glasses on Harry's face. I glared at her through tears. I was sobbing again, and everyone waited expectantly as I gently put my hands under Harry, who seemed to weigh nothing, who stayed limp in my arms.
I felt as if I was holding the eleven year old Harry. My tears splashed on his face, but I held him tightly to my chest, as if to protect him.
"Move," demanded Voldemort, and I was forced myself forward, into the trees.
Harry, I'm sorry I didn't save you... I'm so sorry.
That thought replayed over and over in my head as I made my way through the woods. I wanted to turn back and punch every face in I could find. I didn't want to be helpless as I carried Harry Potter through the Forbidden Forest.
The rage built, until I caught sight of centaurs. One especially caught my eye. "BANE!" I roared. He turned his head, in utter surprise and horror as I stopped and glared at the centaurs.
"Happy now, are yeh, that yeh didn' fight, yeh cowardly bunch o' nags? Are yeh happy Harry Potter's – d-dead...?" I broke down again, my sobs heaving Harry around. I tried to settle, but it didn't work.
We continued to walk until we approached the edge of the trees.
"Stop," Voldemort ordered, and I felt my legs lock up with a spell Voldemort had cast.
He looked absolutely radiant and triumphant as he lifted his wand to his lips again. "Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you laid down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."
I looked back at Harry, who was still limp in my arms. He was a hero... Voldemort was a liar, and a coward.
"The battle is won. You have lost half your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in a new world we shall build together."
There was total silence following the Dark Lord's speech. My anger was not gone. I would fight, once Harry was safely in the school. I would fight until death, just to get revenge for Harry's death.
"Come," Voldemort said, walking ahead, but with a wave of his wand, I was moving against my will to the castle. Then it hit home. Harry wasn't coming back to save us, or to spread his selflessness. Now, he was dead. I hugged Harry closer as we neared the school. "Harry, oh, Harry... Harry..."
I watched as people came out of Hogwarts.
"Stop." I stopped, still clutching Harry close. The faces I saw were bloody, tear soaked, and scarred. But they contorted to horror as they saw Harry, dead in my arms.
"NO!" It was Minerva. Her face was absolutely mortified as she looked at Harry. She broke out in tears. Bellatrix laughed.
Then came Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, who pushed their way through. Ginny was the second to shriek. "No!" Ron's face paled, and he immediately hugged his sister close. "Harry! HARRY!" He bellowed, but Harry didn't answer this time.
"No!" Hermione sobbed, and she was also wrapped in the arms of Ron. His eyes streamed as he watched, and it made me cry even harder. The trio would no longer be the trio.
Then, everyone was screaming at Voldemort, using cuss words and insults. Ron's face was flushed with anger now as he shouted out every word in the book.
"SILENCE!" Voldemort screeched, and the crowd was magically forced into silence, though they still glared at him and the Death Eaters.
"It's over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"
I grudgingly lowered the fallen soldier to the ground.
I stopped there, but I hope it was still okay. I thought it was the sadest part of the book, and I was always wondering what Hagrid was thinking when he saw Harry die.
Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter, which includes the conversations taken directly from the seventh book. I only created the conversations in Hagrid's head.
ReViEw!