See You Again

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Everything felt numb and silent. She lay there for who knows how long before the first sense came back. Dirt. She could smell the dirt of the forest floor she was currently lying on. Then her heart began to beat faster, returning to regular pace as she inhaled a sharp breath. Feeling was next. She could suddenly feel the wind on her exposed skin as well as the twigs and rocks that lay beneath her body. Then a ringing in her ears began before the sound all came rushing back. Taking a deep breath, she slowly forced her striking, mismatched eyes open. Everything was a blur, but she could make out her hand next to her face and something red dripping onto it. Tingling. Her fingers began to tingle as she tried to move them while her vision slowly began to clear. After a few more minutes went by, she felt a sudden rush of pain all over and realized that the blood dripping on her hand was coming from her scar on her forehead. Why did dying hurt so much?

It took everything she had in her to slowly rise up from the ground and come to a stand on her feet, albeit a bit wobbly. She stood there in silence as the memories all came rushing back to her. Every part of her just wanted to collapse into a ball and weep, because she should have been done by now. But she couldn't, for she had made a deal. There was no time for weeping, no time for collapsing or grieving; she had a job to do. Just one foot in front of the other, she repeated over in her head like a mantra as she stumbled her way out of the forest. The Horcrux was still there in her scar but it felt...different. Was it because she was aware of it now? No. She suspected it for a while during the whole hunting Horcruxes excursion. Maybe it's because she finally gave in to whatever the hell she is.

Stumbling to the edge of the forest, she came to a sudden halt. In front of her was Hagrid's hut exactly as she remembered it. Before the war. Before Death Eaters set fire to it. Her gaze lingered for a few more moments before slowly drifting up towards the castle. Home. It was her home for so long...it hurt to see it destroyed in the battle, but now it stood just as strong, warm, and inviting as ever. She could faintly feel the magic of the castle pulling her gently, as if begging her to return home. Who was she to deny it? Ignoring the pain in her body as she hobbled up the hill and made her way through the corridors, hopefully the students haven't returned yet or she's gonna look like a mad woman. The thought itself made her snort as she came to another stop just outside the doors to the Great Hall. She could faintly hear clapping and cheering, which no doubt meant that the first years were being sorted.

A sudden feeling of panic began to rise within her. Just behind these doors was Albus fucking too many names Dumbledore. Just behind these doors were the younger faces of no doubt the many people she'd just spent a year running from, or possibly fought and killed. Just behind these doors was her father; she'd be seeing her father for the first time looking like an absolute maniac. Remus, her uncle Moony, would be there as well. And - and Sirius. Just the mere thought alone made tears suddenly slowly spill out of her eyes. How was she supposed to face them? How was she supposed to look at the people she loved most who died because of her mere existence? But she has to. It's why she's here. It's why she made the deal in the first place. To save them, to save them all, prices be damned!

"Well, time to go be a dramatic ass bitch," she quietly mumbled to herself. She quickly jumped on the spot a few times hyping herself up, which was clearly a mistake because Merlin! When the hell did she twist her ankle? Then before she could talk herself out of it she burst through the doors in what looked like a panicked sprint, holding her wand? Wait a minute...when the hell did her wand get in her hand? And how? It was destroyed. It seems her real confusion just added to her dramatic ass performance as everyone's eyes were wide and staring at her in shock, confusion, and...fear? She went with it anyway as she began spinning around pointing her wand out in defense as if anyone was about to jump up and attack her.

She didn't see him, yet she didn't need to. She felt his magic that surrounded him as he walked closer to her, and the second he gently put his hand on her shoulder, it took everything she had in her not to burst out laughing or ruin her performance, as her magic reacted defensively and flung Dumbledore across the Great Hall. Shame he landed on his arse instead of his neck. It would have done more good than harm, but alas, life wasn't fair.

Spinning around and keeping her wand pointed at Dumbledore who was slowly standing up, adding a little tremble to her hands because she's a Potter for crying out loud. If she's gonna do a dramatic ass performance, she's gonna do it right! Time for the big finale. "A-am I dead?" she whispered shakily as a tear wobbled down her cheek, then she rolled her eyes back and fainted. Ow! Falling on the Great Hall floor clearly is not the best place to faint, but gotta say! She did it a thousand times better than Quirrell.

There was a moment of complete and utter silence as Dumbledore, along with two others, slowly approached her body. At this point, her performance was done and she was just hella tired...dying really takes a lot out of a person, so she let herself drift off to sleep. She deserved a nice long nap; then she'll deal with everything else later.