Never Let You Go
Authors Note- I'm glad everyone liked the first one, and the sequel is just to try, I'll take it down if
it's a flop. But give it a chapter or two to get going. There are a lot of surprises, you'll just have to wait
and see. For the record, this is after the following summer and into the next school year. Hermione and Ron graduated
and are back working at Hogwarts.
Default Chapter
The hard end of the eagle feathered quill glided along the parchment paper without leaving a single mark. Hermione, or
Professor Granger to anyone in the room, wanted it to be that way. She wanted the quill to be empty, because that's
exactly how she felt. Empty. Empty to the core of her bones. It felt like an eternity, when really it was only a few
months.
The second he died, that very heartbeat, she couldn't stand being there. Leaving Ginny Weasley and the once Harry Potter on the roof, Hermione had to get away. Far away. Anywhere that wasn't Hogwarts. But on the other side of those castle doors, was Professor Dumbledore. He had returned immediately upon realizing that three students were missing.
She spent the next day in the hospital wing, Ginny was brought in a few hours after, still shaken. Not surprised, she spilled every detail first chance she got. To be honest, the only thing she left out was her attempted seduction in the bath, and Harry's dying words being ' I love you'. When Hermione was questioned she admitted nothing more than wanting to help. And she was never going to say she failed, in a way, that was the truth. He could have been saved, he could have been protected, maybe that's not what he wanted. Afterwards, Hermione was not to be permitted into the hospital wing for a few weeks, not like she cared.
In present day, all the rumors of that night emerged and spread like wild fire, always taking on something new by each person. The boy who lived was now the boy who lost it. One was actually that a clone Harry killed the real one, then Colin and Neville. Hermione was quick to distribute detention to the slightest joke. One student was expelled for running into the Transfiguration classroom with a pocketknife. It was her classroom, that very same room as.
Nights were especially hard on her, not one went by without seeing him. If she closed her eyes, there he was smiling at
her. And he was fine, just perfect. But the one's that scared her the mist, she knew she was awake. He was laying
right next to her, literally, she could feel him. His soft hair, his warm skin, right there in her arms. But by the
time she sat up, it was all gone. Still, she'd never let go. Somewhere, in some way, he was alive. She just
didn't know where.
The quill continued it's journey across the parchment, that's not how Hermione saw it. Instead it was a knife,
enclosed in Ginny's hand. She stabbed him, there was very little to it. He told her, Harry told Ginny to kill him.
He didn't want to, the extreme guilt in his conscience. Two wrong don't make a right, no matter how wrong it
may be. Harry was insane, Hermione admitted that (Ginny did so once, very briefly) it's what turned him to murder,
something he couldn't control. He was the one who said in the option to turn back that his body went forward.
Overall, he did it for her. He took two innocent lives out of a jealous rage of love. It only added to the
heartbreak.
In her lack of attention, Hermione knocked over her bottle of ink. She didn't see the ink ooze across her parchment
sheets, she saw blood. Harry's blood. It covered her hands the night he died, the rain didn't wash it away.
Neither did Hermione. The red color stained her skin for a month. Call it crazy she wouldn't care.
There was a certain limit Hermione could take each day, the ink seemed to break it just then. Her students were copying notes from the blackboard (some days, she couldn't find the will to speak) they didn't notice her rapid departure. The Charms classroom wasn't that far.
Ron, obviously the new Charms professor, became use to her appearance in his doorway during class time. He always left for her. Harry was still his best friend, despite the attempted murder of his sister.
" It's happening again!" she cried when they stepped into the deserted corridor. He couldn't understand what any of this was like for her, only what he was told.
" Hermione, it hasn't been that long, you just need to relax".
Hermione shook her head, " no, it's not going to end. There's something, don't ask me what".
" What?" typical, he asked.
" I said not to!" her yells echoed off the brick walls, " it's this, now I won't ever get over him!".
Ron was becoming frightened by her tone. " Hermione, you're not making any sense, and it's scary".
Tears were pouring down her cheeks, " I'm sorry" she whispered, leaning against Ron.
He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back, " it's alright, it's going to be alright".
She wanted to believe him more than anything, almost anything. But she had the evidence for herself and anyone that asked. Deep in her heart and resting in her stomach.