There are no happy endings
Part 3...
Even now with all the pain and the emptiness I still wear the diamond, it's a symbol, he may be dead now but I know he still loves me.
It was that Christmas in sixth year that Harry and I became a real couple, whilst Ron and Ginny were giving us the cold shoulder and being down right hostile at times, I can honestly say neither of us cared. We had each other and if they wanted to act like that then we would let them, sure we missed their company, though the Hogwarts six became the Hogwarts four with Neville and Luna running back and forth between Harry and myself and Ron and Ginny. And whilst we had our usual adventures surviving some plot involving Harry the sixth year ended almost anticlimactically with the four of us getting out of Hogwarts for the summer and refusing to talk to each other.
That summer was difficult for both Harry and I, we talked on the phone everyday and sent owls as often as we could, both counting the days till Dumbledore released Harry from his prison and let us both be together again. The time came and I was sitting patiently in the lounge of number twelve Grimmauld place when the fireplace exploded into green flame and Harry staggered out and landed on his ass in an undignified heap.
God even at his grave that memory makes me smile, for someone who could make death defying stunts on a two meter long piece of wood, he never could master the art of Floo travel. I didn't even give him time to get off the floor before I was off the couch and on top of him kissing him as soundly as I knew how. I had missed him so much and by the way I could feel his body reacting I knew he had missed me as well.
But if we thought that would get a cushy vacation for the month and a half we had till term started we were quickly shown otherwise, Harry and myself by default went through condensed Auror training, combat magic and medi witch training with Shacklebolt, Tonks, Moody and even Professor Dumbledore. It was hard and brutal and more than once we fell asleep in each others arms fully clothed, simply because we were far to tired to move. But in the end it was worth it, by the end of the summer vacation Harry could defeat most of his instructors and could hold Dumbledore to a stalemate. Myself, I was close to that level of readiness but found myself unable to last more than a few minutes against the Headmaster. Soon it was September first and we were on our way back to Hogwarts.
A lot of people never expected our friendships to recover from the sixth year bust up and as weird as it sounds we have Draco Malfoy to thank for us all getting back together as friends it was unfortunate that tragedy struck so soon after. Malfoy betrayed everyone, using a special ward created by Voldemort he trapped the teachers in the staff room while they were in a meeting and while Professor Dumbledore was at the ministry of magic he opened the gates of Hogwarts and let Voldemort and his Death Eaters into the castle. It was sheer fluke that at the time Harry and I were using the Marauders and we could see everything that was happening. Using the coins we made for the DA we called everyone and began the defence of Hogwarts.
We, the Hogwarts six, once more together, differences aside, and using Ron's strength at tactics and the Marauders map, found ourselves leading a group of twenty five students against twice as many Death Eaters. The battle was fierce and several students were badly injured, several even losing their lives, but we knew every secret passage and the castle it's self seemed on our side as stairs cases moved stranding Death Eaters in dead ends. Suits of Armour even came to life attacking the invaders, and soon like always it came down to just Harry and Voldemort.
God just thinking about this makes me want to just curl up onto of his grave and cry, he kissed me and while I was distracted, cast the body bind on me. Not expecting it I couldn't resist it's affects and I fell into his arms, he gave me a sad smile and looked at Ron a grim determined look on his face while Ron stood there like a gaping fish.
"Keep her safe" he said and Ron just nodded as Harry stood and went off to face his mortal enemy. We couldn't see the battle but we felt it, the whole castle felt it as it rocked and shudders from the power spells, enchantments and charms being cast, soon Harry's full body bind spell began to wear off. I managed to push myself up enough to glare at Ron almost demanding silently he say the counter curse but he wouldn't, and then almost as suddenly as it begun, all the commotion stopped.
Ron and I watched as on the Marauders map the black dot representing Voldemort faded from the page, but Harry's dot was flickering in and out of existence. In a panic Ron removed the last of the bind from me and I scrambled to my feet, my heart in my throat as I tore down corridors and stair cases till I got to the Great Hall. I stared fearing the worst, the huge aged oak doors barely hung from their hinges and what I could make out in it's dim confines was a shambles, tables burned and walls were reduced to rubble and there lying in a circular area free of debris were two figures.
I could make out Voldemort, laying face down in a rapidly expanding pool of blood, but the second figure had my full attention. I scrambled over broken chairs and past burning tables to get to him. Tears were streaming down my face as I took in the sight of him blood matted his hair and his eyes were swollen shut, I fell to my knee's at his side and very tenderly gathered him into my arms and cradled him again my heart.
"M-mi-mione...." He struggled from breath his chest barely rising and falling as I struggled to save him, casting every medi witch charm there was in attempt to keep him alive till Madam Pomphrey could save him. But none of them were working, he coughed and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and my tears fell faster. "Is-is he dead?"
I replied quietly my voice raw with emotion. "Yes Harry, you did it, he is dead, you stopped him Harry." I wanted to scream I wanted to kill Voldemort all over again as I held Harry in my arms feeling him slip away. "Shh Harry rest it'll be ok."
Harry went limp in my arms and his voice barely above a whisper replied. "I'm g-glad.... C-can't h-hurt me anymore.... C-cant h-hurt you...s-so tired Mione..."
I wanted to die as I felt him pulling away from me and sobbing desperately I clutched him tighter to my heart.
"Harry...Harry I love you, please, please don't leave me Harry"
"L-love you -m-mion...." He trailed off and his body went limp in my arms.
He died in my arms and even now six months on I can still feel his weight on my chest as I clutched his rapidly cooling body screaming for someone to help us, but no one could help him anymore. Harry Potter died that day, and in the Great Hall, Hermione Granger died as well.
I never attended his funeral, Fudge had taken it over and it was more like a circus than a funeral and I and just couldn't bear it, Harry was gone and all around me people were celebrating. So I found myself doing something I never thought I would ever do after I found out I was a witch.
I left the wizarding world.
And now six months after he died I finally found the courage to visit his grave and kneeling here in the mud at the side of his grave in the rain I find myself remembering a conversation we had during sixth year shortly after we got together. I called him my prince charming come to rescue me and he smiled. "Hermione, I'm no prince, and my life is no fairy tale, all I can offer you is right now, because in the real world there are no Happy endings for people like me."
Fin....
An: There ain't much to say cept I hope you enjoyed this little change to my usual writing and I hope you all ain't to disappointed by the end