the_debt_of_time

"I take it she's here?"
"Is everything all right, Harry? She looked right upset when she came through. Tried
asking her to stop in for tea, but she darted right off into the forest there," Hagrid said, his
eyes swimming with genuine concern. "We was just going to go in after her."
Harry frowned and looked from Hagrid to the headmistress. "We went to Godric's
Hollow," he said, and both the half-giant and witch signalled their immediate
understanding. "I'm really sorry about this, Professor... er, Headmistress."
McGonagall shook her head. "Nothing that could be done about it. She has to
grieve sometime, and grief is not a pretty thing. Still, is there a reason that you believe she's
gone into the Forbidden Forest?"
Harry nodded but kept tight-lipped, knowing that he had already told more people
than he should have about the Resurrection Stone and dropping it in the middle of the
forest. "She's looking for something."
"I hope she finds it, then."
Harry sighed and turned to walk toward the trees, whispering under his breath, "She
won't."
He slowly began his walk through the forest where he had—technically—died, eyes
raking over the scenery that was lit by the afternoon sun breaking through the branches of
the trees. The Forbidden Forest held so many memories for him. He noted briefly an area
where, as first years, he and his friends—and Malfoy—had been brought for detention
with Hagrid.
"The forest?" Malfoy said in shock. "We can't go in there at night! There's all sorts of things in
there... werewolves, I heard."
The memory made Harry chuckle to himself as he thought of the scared look on
Draco's face. Draco, who now, according to Hermione, was family. Harry never thought
he would live to see the day when he would be friends, let alone family, with Malfoy. Then
again, he had not thought he would live to see much past his seventeenth birthday.
"You've been so brave," his mother said as she approached him.
He went into the forest to die. To save everyone. And he knew he did not have much time because
he had stunned Sirius in order to get out without a fuss. Harry knew the moment his godfather came to, he
would be in trouble with the whole Order descending upon the forest to stop him from what needed to be
done.