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Harriet Potter is running for her life while desperately fending off Voldemort’s powerful dark curses. She evades most of them but there are certain instances that the spells narrowly miss her.
She is exhausted beyond the norm and her magic is nearly depleted. She knows that it will be the end for her if she doesn’t end this fight fast.
She needs to kill Voldemort. Soon.
Neville has already dealt with the last Horcrux Nagini and now it is up to her for the final killing blow.
Harriet Potter must absolutely win this war.
A lot of people depend on it – on Her .
She can’t afford a mistake when dealing with Voldemort.
However, Harriet is already getting tired and weaker with each passing minute.
It’s only a matter of seconds that she will slip and let a stray curse get her.
And it finally does .
A fiery spell shoots towards her.
The spell, which can only be fiendfyre , is heading her way and Harriet runs fast and tries to evade on time, but something is blocking her path ahead. A huge debris in the middle of the collapsed hallway.
“Shit!” she curses as she comes to a complete halt and turns around to see how far the fiendfyre has come.
There’s only a few meters away and the raging flames are in the shape of a huge serpent about to swallow her whole.
I’m going to die, Harriet thinks in despair. Her heart leaps to her throat while her stomach churns. She is petrified with terror. Yet still unwilling to die.
This is the end for me…She starts to mentally say as the fiendfyre grows nearer.
When she thinks it is over for her, she suddenly feels an electrical jolt run through her that originates from her chest, like she is struck by lightning. Her entire body tingles at the sudden sensation.
The next thing she knows there is a yellow flash and Harriet suddenly finds herself being held by a blonde-haired man in a white robe.
The spot above her heart throb with warmth and she instantly knows that her Protector Bond has finally activated after all these years.
He is finally here. She lets a out breath of relief. She also suddenly feels elated with her heart soaring with joy.
When her Protector Bond activated, information instantly flooded her mind. Every information about her protector, plus the reason behind why it took time for her Protector Bond to activate, came to her mind.
She finally knows the reason why her Protector Bond hasn’t activated every time she is in danger each school year and not even when she momentarily dies in the Forbidden Forest.
The condition of the Protector Bond activation was for her to die first and remove the horcrux from her curse scar.
The next condition is for her to be truly in danger that there is no way for her to evade impending death, which then activated the Protector Bond for the first time.
Now, Harriet Potter can only stare at the man, who holds her in his strong, muscular arms.
Namikaze Minato.
She finally feels safe.
“Daijōbudesuka?” (Are you alright?) the blonde asks her, and because he is her protector, Harriet can understand him despite him speaking in a different language.
“Yes, I am fine,” comes her soft reply as she shyly meets her protector’s beautiful azure eyes.
This is the man meant to protect me, She thinks as she gazes into his breathtaking pair of eyes. He is bonded to me... Our souls completely intertwined.
“So your protector has finally made an appearance I see...”
Harriet hears Voldemort’s remark and she turns around to see the dark wizard eyeing the blonde haired man beside her warily.
“Protector or not… He will die like the rest of those people who oppose me,” Voldemort states right before he brandishes his wand and aims at the blonde man holding her.
Harriet’s heart lurch with terror as Voldemort directs his full attention at her protector. She moves with the intent to defend but Minato stops her.
“Mazu kare to kōshō sa sete kudasai,” (Let me deal with him first.) The blonde man tells her. His expression cold and angry.
Just as Harriet knows everything about her protector when their Protector Bond activates, her protector also knows everything about the person he is about to save, which means her and what her situation is.
So with another yellow flash, her protector disappears beside her and only to appear behind Voldemort in less than a second.
He is extremely fast . Harriet notes in admiration, outright gaping at her protector. She knows that he is swift based from the information she received when their bond activated, but it is still quite surprising in how her protector -- Minato -- then uses a strange weapon to slash down and cut off Voldemort’s wand arm and even his other hand.
The Dark Lord isn’t able to evade in time and Harriet watches as scarlet gushes out shortly from Voldemort’s wound while his wand and severed hands clutter to the ground.
“AARRGGHHH!” Voldemort screams loudly the instant his hands are cut off, but his torment doesn’t end there because her blonde protector sweeps his leg forward, which causes Voldemort to fall to the ground. Then, the blonde throws more strange weapons at the Dark Lord and pin him into the ground.
Voldemort starts to writhe in obvious agony due to his severe wounds.
There is another yellow flash and her protector appears beside her again.
That’s when Harriet notices the thrown weapon on the ground where there is an attached paper wrap around the hilt with curious markings on it.
Her protector seems to always appear where this strange weapon is placed.
It must be his way to teleport around. She mentally concludes.
“Watashi ga kare o koroshite hoshī no ka, soretomo anata ga koroshitai no ka?” (Do you want me to kill him or do you want to do it?) Her protector – Namikaze Minato – inquires.
Harriet can see his uncertainty and concern for her. She understands that he doesn’t want to burden her with killing someone in cold blood.
However, Voldemort is her responsibility.
The dark wizard is her responsibility since the day he tried to kill her when she was a baby.
He is her mortal enemy.
She doesn’t want someone else to kill the bastard.
She glances down at the still writhing Voldemort. She hesitates for a second but soon steels herself for the inevitable act of getting rid of the most evil wizard of all time.
“No, I will do it,” she says, trying to sound confident, but she is actually uneasy about bloodying her hands.
“Yaritakunainara yaranakute mo ī…” (You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to…) Minato says to her softly. He reaches out to place his large hand on her shoulder and Harriet suddenly feels grounded and certain on what to do next.
Her protector makes her feel confident in herself. She feels like she has known him for years yet her fondness for him have grown only in moments when their bond activated.
“I know…but I have to do it. He is my responsibility,” she tells Minato.
“Wakarimashita… Sore o suru toki ni watashi ga shidō shimashou ka?” (I understand…Do you want me to guide you when you do it?” Minato asks her next.
“No, I can do it on my own, but thank you for your consideration,” she replies, smiling tenderly at him.
She feels warmth all over when she looks at her protector. Harriet knows Minato is kind and brilliant. She already knows everything that is to know about him since their soul bond activated. She knows him as well as he knows her to the point that there is no secret that they don't know of each other. She also knows where he comes from.
Konohagakure no Sato
Or the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
An impossible place located in another universe.
Her blonde protector gives her a gentle smile in return while he nods his head.
“Kochiradesu… Kore o tsukatte kudasai,” (Here…you can use this.) Minato says as he gives her a strange weapon. She can tell that it is deadly sharp and it is well taken care of. The weapon gleams with a polish shine.
“Thank you,” Harriet tells him as she accepts the dangerous weapon. She weighs it in her hand and notes that the weapon is well balanced.
Harriet’s hands become cold and clammy as the weight of responsibility settles on her.
I am about to kill someone, She closes her eyes and breathes through her nose. She tries to settle her thundering heart. Her blood is roaring through her veins at the realization that she will kill someone for the first time.
A warm pair of hands settle over her shoulders again and Harriet opens her eyes to meet Minato’s gaze. However, he doesn’t say anything but he does convey his worry through his brilliant azure eyes.
“I am ready,” She says with a bit of confidence.
Once more, she steels her resolve and looks down at the still struggling dark wizard on the ground.
Harriet can already see the blood pooling next to Voldemort’s bleeding arms. If she doesn’t kill Voldemort in a few minutes, for certain the Dark Lord will die of blood loss soon.
However, she doesn’t like seeing someone suffer, even if he is her worst nemesis.
So Harriet moves towards the Dark Lord with the intent to end his misery.
“Any last words, Tom?” she asks the evil man.
“Damn you, Harriet Potter! Damn you and your bloody protector!” Voldemort curses while struggling against the weapons that pin him to the ground, which simply aggravates his wounds even more.
It appears that Voldemort’s blood loss has weakened him to the point that he is not able think straight or use wandless magic. If the Dark Lord still has half of his power, surely he can remove the weapons pinning him to the ground with just the wave of his hand.
“I’m sorry, Tom…but this is the end for you,” Harriet tells her mortal enemy, who starts struggling again.
“This is not the end, Potter! I will return! I will –” Voldemort is saying but she interrupts him.
“But it is, Tom. This is our last duel…and I win with my protector's help. Most of your horcruxes are gone. You are the last piece. So this is Goodbye, Tom Riddle. May you think about all the horrible things you have done in limbo,” Harriet informs him right before she raises her weapon and plunges it down on Voldemort’s heart.
Voldemort screams in anguish and Harriet then watches when her mortal enemy slowly disintegrates into dust afterward.
For a long moment, she remains silent while she stares at the place where Voldemort used to be. She would have continued to stare at the spot if not for the hand that reaches for her in comfort.
“Kare wa towa ni inaku natta no yo, Harriet…” (He is gone for good, Harriet…)
She hears Minato say to her and she looks up to see the softness in her protector’s gaze.
“Owarimashita….” (It’s over…) He tells her gently.
“Yes…” Harriet replies.
Afterward, she can no longer hold herself and she starts sobbing. Not because she is sad, but because she is relieved that the war is over and won.
Voldemort is gone and she finally meets her protector for the first time since she reads his name etched on her chest just above her heart.
Harriet is still crying when Minato slowly wraps his arms around her and places her head against his chest.
Minato is so tall that the top of her head barely reach his chin. Yet Harriet can’t help but feel secure in his arms.
"I was so terrified...I thought I was going to die and fail in winning this war..." She cries out with tears pouring down her face and soaking into Minato's shirt.
"And I would have died if not for you, Minato..." Harriet swallows the lump around her throat as she continues to cry.
"Kimi o tasukeru tame ni maniatte yokatta, Harriet. Anata o ushinattara, watashi wa nani o sureba ī no ka wakaranaideshou..." (I am glad that I was on time to save you, Harriet. I wouldn't know what to do if I lose you...) Minato admits to her softly as he tucks her firmly into his arms with his chin resting on top of her head.
In response, Harriet presses her face close against his chest and listens to the beat of his heart. She tries to assure herself that Minato is real and he is there with her. Like him, she doesn't know what to do if she losses him. She also realizes that she would rather die than not see him.
Despite them meeting only in moments, their bond has made them understand each other at the deeper level. Every information about each other is shared between them through their Protector Bond when it activated. They can't hide anything from each other. Not even their darkest secrets.
It takes a while for her to stop crying. When she does, she slowly looks up and says to Minato, “Thanks for everything, Minato…especially for saving me…”
“Mochiron, anata ga kiken ni sarasa reru tabi ni, watashi wa anata no tame ni shinimasu, Harriet. Kun no tame dake ni…” (Of course, I will die for you every time you are in danger, Harriet…Only for you…) Minato assures her tenderly and a fresh sob escapes from Harriet’s throat at Minato’s words.
Unbidden, tears begin to pour heavily down her eyes again at the realization that she finally has a protector who will always be there for her when she desperately needs it.
I finally have someone who won't hesitate to protect me...She thinks, sniffling. After all these years of surviving with my friends, I finally have a protector who will always be there to save me when I'm in danger.
Harriet is so emotional that she can’t help but tighten her grip around Minato.
“I’ve waited so long… so terribly long for you …but now you are here….I don’t want to let you go,” Harriet admits to him, now crying silently.
She doesn't hesitate to tell him the truth because Minato is important to her now.
He is someone that is bound to her since the day she was born.
She can't easily let him go at all.
“Kimiwohanasanai yo, Harriet…Anata ga watashi o hitsuyō to suru toki wa itsu demo watashi wa soko ni imasu…” (I won’t leave you, Harriet. …I will always be there when you need me.”
“Promise?” she asks him as she inhales his intoxicating scent. The scent of ozone and petrichor.
“Yakusoku shimasu…” (I promise…) Minato vows to her.
At his promise, a rush of pure, unadulterated joy goes through her, which makes her feel warm all over.
Minato is here. I won’t need to worry over anything again, She thinks as she finally savors the sense of victory and peace that comes after defeating a mortal enemy and winning the Second Wizarding War.