The End

Disclaimer: HP characters obviously aren’t mine, they belong to our Goddess JK Rowling… Neither is the song, it belongs to Clouseau: Afscheid van een vriend

So, since my first attempt at a song-fic went so well, I decided to sequel ‘The Truth’ with this one… and I know it’s a Dutch song… again… The translation is still right beside every line! You know, I’m trying to spread a bit of Dutch culture to the world out there…

The song before was by a famous singer from the Netherlands. And though us Flemish guys from Belgium like him very much, you should know that there are very talented artists in our little part of the world also… So this fic’s based on a song from Clouseau, and I think it’s safe to say they are one of the most famous bands here in West-Europe… (well, one can always dream…) Anyway, this song may not be one of their greatest hits, but it has been proven that when performed on stage not a cheek in the concert hall stays dry. It’s one of the most simple but moving songs I’ve ever heard to say goodbye to a friend…

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Afscheid van een vriend (Goodbye to a friend)

Ron paced the Hogwarts’ Hospital Ward. Currently, his two best friends were lying there… It had already been a week.

Cursing the day he let himself befriend those two, he couldn’t help but feel what seemed a big hole where his heart should’ve been.

He felt like his world would end right now. Which was ironic when you thought of it, really… since the whole of the magical community was still celebrating the saved world right this instant… Curse them all! They didn’t care about the sacrifices made!

Ron had stood by Harry’s side for such a long time, and yet, in the end, it hadn’t been enough. Though Ron had lost everything he thought was important before, by knowing Harry, he’d lose even more by Harry dying… Ron had lost his blind faith that the good would always win, his first love, his chance at shining out amongst theirs, and a lot more by being close to Harry. But Harry had given so much more in return, and he’d been oblivious to the real preciousness of their friendship for so long…

He supposed he should have been ready for this to happen. Being friends with Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived was supposed to be risky that way… But now he realised more then ever, that even if your head knows that you could lose this friend, it will never prepare you for what your heart feels the instant you do…

Alles is voorgoed gedaan Everything’s forever over
Als jij er klaar voor bent If you’re ready for it
'k Heb aan je zijde gestaan I’ve been by your side
Mijn God, ik heb je graag gekend My God, I’ve loved knowing you

The Healers had lost hope, Harry Potter wasn’t supposed to have survived the spell he’d cast in the first place… It was a miracle that he had been living this long, already. A miracle? It had been Hermione’s doing… As for living? Ron didn’t call what Harry had been doing this past week living.

They told him he should go on and say his goodbyes…

What did that mean anyway? Harry wasn’t conscious, how could he be hearing anything Ron said? And what was he supposed to say? Have a good trip on your next great adventure, mate!?

Cursing again, he ran out of people and other entities to be angry at…

Luna had once said that the people that died resided just behind the veil, that they were waiting for all of their loved ones there. Ron had joked around and said he’d see Harry there when one of Trelawny’s foretellings would come true. Was that real? Was he to meet Harry there? Would Harry be waiting for them there?

Ik blijf nu hier jij gaat naar daar I’m staying here now, you’re going there
En daar is niet zover van hier And there is not so far from here
We spreken af, ik weet niet waar We make an appointment, I don’t know where

En daar ontmoeten we elkaar And there we meet each other

How could he survive this? How could he just say goodbye? He wasn’t ready; he still had to yell at Harry for keeping him in the dark. Dumbledore had told him everything: Harry knew he was going to die. He knew and he hadn’t told him…

How could Ron say goodbye when Harry hadn’t? How could Ron ever let go? Enough to be able to say goodbye?

And Hermione? How was he supposed to console her?

Damn her for her intelligence. She had seen it… too late, but she’d still read through Harry’s lies, just before the inevitable happened… And she…

Ron couldn’t help the angry tears that escaped him. Hermione had not accepted it. She never was one for Divination, and she had fought it. Not by falling on her knees sobbing and begging Harry to stay safe. No, that wasn’t Hermione, she had ran to the library, knocked over Pince in the process, and then…

Nobody was sure how she had managed it, since it was rumoured to be impossible, but she had transferred her powers into Harry. Nobody knew how she had known which spell Harry was going to use, and how she had managed to send her strength to him to keep him from dying on the spot. And Hermione wasn’t telling. All they knew was that Harry had destroyed the very essence of Voldemort, somehow surviving his own lethal curse because of something Hermione had done.

Hermione, Ron loved her despite her choosing Harry. Of course, once he saw how much they loved each other, he had realised he could never love Hermione the way she deserved… That didn’t stop him from threatening his friend with a good walloping if he ever hurt her! Come to think of it, Harry better never wake up, because after what he put them through, he was going to get a serious ass-kicking!

Ron looked at the time… Why didn’t time stop? Or slow down? The bloody world’s saviour was about to get kick out of this life and all time could do was going on? Was that what they were supposed to do? Accept and move on?

It wasn’t fair! The world would be changing now! The dark menace was gone, and everything was being rebuild. Harry more then anyone had the right to live now!

He should be living! Getting to know what life was without the constant threat of getting killed the next minute! Damnit, why couldn’t he just get up! Why did he of all people had to die, now that… Now that…

Ron angrily wiped his at his eyes with his sleeves.

Zonder jou tikt de klok even snel Without you time goes by as fast as always
Maar de tijden veranderen wel But the times do change
Dus ik neem afscheid, jij moet nu gaan So I say goodbye, you have to go now
Weet dat je in m'n hart altijd blijft voortbestaan Know that in my heart, you’ll go on existing

They had tried to explain it to Ron: Harry deserved peace. He had earned the right to rest. They were going to take of the Healing spells because they weren’t helping, they only caused him to battle with his own body…

Ron didn’t understand all the medical crap, he only knew this: Harry was going to die tomorrow and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it!

Fighting the urge to go to Hermione, he put his hand on the door handle. They had decided to wait until the last moment to tell Hermione. She was still recovering from her spell, and they didn’t want to upset her, yet… Ron shook his head deeply saddened: it wouldn’t matter when they told her… A part of her was going to die anyway, just like a part of him was crumbling that right moment.

Finally he walked into the private room. Harry was there on the bed. It frustrated Ron that no matter how still Harry lay there, unconscious, he was still not at rest… Harry seemed… troubled, even if there was no physical sign of his unrest, it came off in waves from his body…

Slaap zacht, je hebt het verdiend Sleap soft, you’ve earned it
Je vocht tot aan je laatste zucht You fought ‘til your last sigh
En ga, ga nu m'n vriend Go on now, go my friend
En droom voor eeuwig opgelucht And dream, forever relieved

Seeing Harry like this brought many memories. Countless times he had been there, at the bedside of his mate. If it wasn’t in the aftermath of yet another encounter with Voldemort, it was after a Quidditch game, or an encounter with some Dementors, or worse slimy Slytherins.

But there was one big difference now: Harry wasn’t going to make it. He and Hermione would have to be finding out how they would overcome this, deserted by their rock… The one who had always been true in his friendship. Even if he’d lied to them, Ron knew Harry never betrayed them in his heart… The blasted bloke wasn’t capable of that…

And Harry would go on… To where? Behind the veil? Did he have his parents waiting for him there? And Sirius? Somehow Ron couldn’t deny Harry would manage just fine, like he always did… He would be loved there, he had always been loved by the people who were waiting for him there, even through the times that he was neglected by the Dursleys…

Harry wouldn’t be needing his and Hermione’s help where he’d be going. He’d be welcomed there, taken in, cared after, at peace…

Net zoals vroeger kom je wel terecht Like always, you’ll manage
Ik weet je vindt een thuis heel gauw I know you’ll find a home very soon
En ik herhaal wat jij me ooit hebt gezegd And I repeat what you’ve told me once
In m'n hart blijf ik je trouw My heart will always be true to you

Ron stood there, looking at his best mate, his brother… Harry had become more of a brother to him then even his own by blood… It was just something about the boy, no man… Harry had always been the sum of all contradictions to him. Fragile, and yet stronger then anyone he’d met before.

Hermione… the two of them had always seemed to complement each other in their friendship for Harry. Where Ron had understood Harry, in a way only two blokes understood each other, Hermione had always been able to get Harry in a way that still escaped him…

For that matter, the same applied to him. Despite her exclamations that he didn’t make any sense to her, sometimes she just got him, often when he didn’t even make sense to himself… She just was that way, and it’s how she managed to keep Harry from dying time and time again…

Zonder jou tikt de klok even snel Without you time goes by as fast as always
Maar de tijden veranderen wel But the times do change
Dus ik neem afscheid, jij moet nu gaan So I say goodbye, you have to go now
Weet dat je in m'n hart altijd blijft voortbestaan Know that in my heart, you’ll go on existing

Letting go of his anger, Ron let the tears fall free now… Anger had kept him from feeling what this was about: the goodbye to a friend…

Regret, sorrow, fear, pain… It all came crashing down on him. The emotions were so strong it hurt physically, so much… Harry’s life had never been fair. Why should his end be?

En ik weet, ik zou dankbaar moeten zijn And I know I should be thankful to you
Maar precies daarom doet het zo'n pijn But that’s exactly why it hurts so much

‘Thank you for your friendship, Harry’

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