One Life for Another

It didn’t take long for Hermione to get back to the Order’s headquarters. When Molly opened the door and found her, Hermione was close to collapse. Physically, she was perfectly fine. A bit tired, but that was to be expected. Emotionally, however, she felt as though a piece of her heart had been broken off and left behind with Galahad.

Granted, her logical side said that it made no sense. She had known him for just over a week, but somehow during that time she had gotten so bloody attached that now she couldn’t function properly. It was as if their souls had become entwined by their very presence near one another, and any attempt to live separately resulted in a half life.

Explaining her absence was interesting. She considered lying, but instead went for a watered down version of the truth. “My leg was broken, and the bone in my ankle was close to shattered,” she told them. “I was surrounded by Death Eaters in the forest behind Malfoy Manor. I was close enough still that the anti-apparition wards were fully in place. I had managed to steal the Time Turner from the Manor though, and so I decided to use it. I went far enough back in time to find wilderness, staying there until I was healed. I returned today.”

There was no need to mention Nimue or Galahad. Not yet, and maybe not ever. Soon enough she would return to the Lake. She could feel it calling out to her, mourning the long time it had gone without a mistress. Now it’s mistress had returned only to abandon them once more. Yes, she must return soon, but for now she needed sleep.

As Hermione curled up in her bed at Grimmauld Place, loneliness overcame her. She didn’t let the tears fall. She refused to acknowledge how miserable she felt. Still, as she lay there waiting for sleep to take her, she allowed herself to imagine Galahad’s arms around her. She wondered if how they had spent their last night together was for the best. Logically, it probably wasn’t. But she couldn’t bring herself to regret it, and refused to push the memory to the back of her mind either. She knew she would be missing him regardless, and at least this way she had one more memory to keep her company.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Nimue took a deep breath and released it slowly, looking for calm and maybe a scrap of motivation. It was time for preparations to begin, and to start on them would be to accept reality. That in particular was something she dreaded. She was losing everyone. Lancelot was busy at court, her sister was busy as a priestess in Avalon, she had just sent the next Lady of the Lake back to the future, and soon she would lose Galahad.

Damned fate.

She refused to aid Galahad in what she knew he would pursue, but she knew he would find a way regardless and that it was not for her to prevent it. Oh well. Perhaps she could write him a letter as well. For now, there was much left to be said to Hermione. With a sigh she picked up her quill and finally began to write.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Galahad felt as though he couldn’t breathe, and had felt that way since the moment she returned to her own time. The morning after her departure, he went to Nimue with his questions. “What has happened to me?”

Nimue wore a sad smile that Galahad couldn’t help but dislike. She knew exactly what had happened. “Things must occur a certain way, Galahad, and with any prior knowledge the two of you would have sought to change matters. Besides, it is not as if I hid it from you, it’s just that I never said it outright and the two of you, both intelligent people, never put it together on your own.”

“Well now she is gone,” said Galahad bitterly, “so what is it you would not say before?”

“Hermione had no choice but to return to her own time, to her old friends,” said Nimue. “They are fighting a Dark Wizard as strong as any I have heard of, and a Lady of the Lake is needed to maintain balance. Without one, I see her friends failing at their tasks.”

Galahad found himself clenching his fists at the thought of Hermione having to face that without him, and finally he recognized his desire to protect her for what it was. “You let her go without me, knowing she needs me.”

“You could not go with her to the future,” said Nimue, “it alters time too much. If fate and the goddess are kind, which I believe them to be, then you, in a future life, will find yourself by her side and will be the Protector she needs. But you, as Galahad, cannot be that person.”

-x-x-x-x-x-

If Nimue, the Dame du Lac, was content to leave matters up entirely to fate, Galahad was not. She had taught him much, but much also had she withheld that she believed him not to need. He’d had other teachers though, and so he knew the last part of the truth, the part that Nimue was keeping from him.

Always Nimue and Merlin had been at odds, and so Galahad found it fitting that his answer would have come from Merlin. Years before, when he was just beginning to train as a Knight and he was surrounded by King Arthur’s court, Merlin had taken him as a student. Not to train as a wizard, but just to instill such knowledge as Merlin saw fit to share, that at least one Knight of the Round Table would understand their world beyond the tip of his sword. Galahad had loved the training, having itched for more magical learning ever since being taught to control his magic.

On one such day of training, Galahad learned of the Holy Grail. Many have heard stories of the Holy Grail, he remembered Merlin saying, but there is a higher truth beyond the stories. The Grail was once owned by the Christian’s god, Jesus, when he walked this world as a man. He used it in his last rite, which they call the Last Supper, and imbued in it the power to guide his soul in its afterlife. Upon his death, his soul went as his magic instructed it, and he was able to rise again. We are not gods, and so our magic will only do so much, but it is said that the Grail would guide our souls as well. We can choose our futures, but to do so requires blood sacrifice to bind it. Because of its power, the Grail will allow itself to be touched only by those of pure intentions. Some call you Galahad the Pure, so perhaps one day you will be the Grail’s keeper.

The keeper he was not, but Galahad was one of three knights with whom Merlin had entrusted the Grail’s location. And Merlin had spoken of him as though it was for Galahad to use the Grail. Had it been a careless comment, or had Merlin seen Galahad’s future to some extent? He couldn’t be sure, but there were many things he would do if it meant feeling whole again. This path, with all the danger that was sure to be hidden and facts that would not be revealed until it was too late, was more than worth it in his eyes.

Galahad left the Lake that day. He left Nimue’s territory, never saying a true goodbye for fear that she would see his intention. Riding straight for his goal, Galahad soon came to a small Christian church just outside of Camelot. Every day knights came from far and wide to worship the Christian God within these small walls, yet they were blinded by its simplicity.

Sitting on the alter between candles and a bowl of holy water there was a small chalice. It no longer shined as it had when it was first made, and neither was it of the finest materials, but it was of immeasurable worth. Passed over every day by those who could not see what was in plain sight, the Holy Grail was no such mystery to Galahad. He saw it for what it was. He felt the power it contained. And in the dark and lonely hours of the night, Galahad began his preparations.

It was old magic, and dark, but done with no mal intent in his heart. It was a simple process, but required the greatest sacrifice. Carefully Galahad took out his dagger and the lock of Hermione’s hair which he had saved. The hair he placed within the Grail, and the dagger he placed at his heart.

By love of all holy, by purity of heart,
I entrust my soul, in this my new start.

A river of warm crimson flowed down over his body, mingling with the Grail and his last tie to Hermione.

It was with a smile on his face that Galahad drew his last breath.

---

A/N: It's the early morning hours here and I haven't really gone to sleep yet. I just finished a few minor adjustments to the chapter and the ending kinda has me all emotional. lol. This is really a major turning point to the story, and I think it might be the clue everyone needed to figure out where the story is going. I hope that is a cause for excitement rather than disappointment. ;)

margaritama -- I couldn't resist adding the tie between the Lake and the Malfoy lands. It should be especially significant later on. :)

Gryffindor_Slytherin -- That was something I debated for awhile about the story, whether or not I would have them sleep together before her return. In the end I felt like it contributed more to the story this way, though I definately see why it wouldn't actually be the logical decision on their part.