A/N: Hi Everyone!! This is the first time I am doing this on my own. So I am going to start with a little background for the story. I was listening to a beautiful ballad called "Y lloro" by Sin Bandera, and just thought that it could fit for a fan fiction, so I decided to give it a shot. This is not a song-fic, but the story is somewhat based on the lyrics of the song.
Mayor Thanks to Angel-Wing and my bro for encouraging me to do this and Another for being so kind to take the time to beta read this story for me. So I should stop my rambling…oh wait…none of the characters are mine they belong to JK Rowling. This said, on with the story!
"Y Lloro"
He let a tear run down his cheek; the cool breeze of the night gave him a shiver, but he did not turn to leave, not yet.
The night was still and silent, and standing on top of the Astronomy Tower, he gazed around at the Hogwarts grounds. The moon was bright and beautiful. The light of the stars danced in the reflection of the lake...such a romantic setting placed by Mother Nature. How ironic, he thought to himself.
He heard footsteps climbing up the tower; she was coming near. Over the years he had come to recognize her footsteps among others. He felt a pang in his heart, the moment was closer, there was no turning back now.
"Hey, you wanted to see me?" said Hermione as she climbed the last step to reach her best friend. He had his back to her, and as she got closer; she could sense that something was wrong, for he was silent, too silent; she felt a shiver run through her body. A few minutes went by like this, no one speaking. "It's cold don't you think? I mean, it's not supposed to be like this, this time of the year, but of course, there is always the rare cool night, like this one, right?" She knew she was talking nonsense but she could not take the silence anymore.
"Right, yeah." He knew that she was making an effort to break the silence but he could not help it, he could not say what he wanted to say, because if he did, that would make it real.
"So...pretty night, huh? I mean the stars and the moon. Oh! And look at the lake...." He could sense that she was getting close, too close.
"No," he said so suddenly that she stopped in her tracks. "Please don't come closer," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
"What's wrong?" She was confused. He never acted like this. Was he avoiding her? She felt a pang in her heart to see him like this. Now she noticed something that worried her even more. "Are you crying? Oh God! Are you all right? Are you hurt?" She raised her arm trying to reach his, but he reacted faster than her and shoved her and walked to a further end of the tower, never making eye contact.
"Please, don't touch me," he said, raising his voice; he knew that she was puzzled and hurt by his actions. "'Cause if you do, I won't be able to do this."
"Do what? You are scaring me! What is wrong? Why won't you look at me?" She was crying now.
"I can't turn around, 'cause if I look into your eyes, I would fail to do what I need to do!" he said more strongly, breathing hard, hating himself for being so weak, for letting the tears flow.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, clearly confused now.
"Please, you listen to me-no, don't say anything-just listen, please, I need to say this." He took a deep breath and look at the sky, wondering if he will be able to do this after all...he closed his eyes and let the moonlight fall on his skin.
"First of all, I guess, I need to apologize..." He opened his eyes, still looking at the moon; behind him he could feel her, feel her confusion. "I apologize for falling in love with you. I let this grow and then did not want to let it go, this was a new feeling for me, different, and it felt good. So I let myself fall in love for you, hoping that one day, one day...you would wake up, and realize that you felt the same for me." He felt something wet fall to his hands, at first he thought it might be rain, but he lifted his hand to his face and realized that he had started crying once more.
"I…"
"I am not done just yet, please," he said. He needed to let it all out. He would not be able to if she started talking, trying to reason with him, so once again, he breathed hard, trying to hold back those nasty tears that just wouldn't stop.
"For years, I have felt this way, and I've tried so many times to tell you this, but every time something came up and made it impossible to find the perfect timing. I tried to be your shining knight and protect you, tried to be there for you when you felt sad, tried to be there for you when you needed someone, but what I failed to notice was that you already had one." He heard her let a small sniff, so she was still crying. That hurt him even more, knowing that what he was about to say would kill him forever. "I saw you yesterday. I saw how you ran to him, how you were crying when he was about to leave, how you held his hand and pulled him close to..." He let the tears flow, he was having such a hard time finding his voice, it was almost over, and he could do this. "I saw you kiss him, and then look at him so lovingly...a look that I had always dreamt could one day be for me. And you know what I hate the most?" He was angry now, his voice was strong and he hit the wall of the tower with his fist. His knuckles hurt and he welcomed the pain, 'cause it was nothing compared to what his heart was feeling. "What I hated the most was that he looked back at you with so much love, so much love than I could ever give you."
"Ron, I never..."
He smiled when he heard his name and somehow felt like a weight was lifted from his soul; maybe just maybe this could work out. He turned around to face her, how small she was, he suddenly saw her as the little "know-it-all" from their first year. He blinked to wash away the tears, and found facing a beautiful 17-year-old girl, the girl he had fell in love, the girl who had fallen in love with his best friend.
"Hermione, you don't have to say anything. I know how you feel about him. And I cannot say that I've lost you, cause you were never mine in the first place." He walked to her and held her hand, looking at her brown eyes that were so red and puffy. "I love you more than you will ever know, and it would kill me to know that you are not happy. I saw you with him and I got to say, that I have never seen you so happy. So, once more, I apologize for loving you. I called you here to tell you that I am letting you go." With that, he felt relief wash over him. He felt her arms wrap around his body.
"Ron, I am so, so sorry! I should've known you felt this way! Oh, Ron! I am sorry! I did not want to hurt you!" She was crying hard while holding him.
Ron cupped her face with his hand and raised her teary eyes to face him. She was beautiful.
"Hermione, you don't have anything to be sorry. And I am glad it was Harry instead of "Vicky" he said with a smirk on his face. Hermione could not help but to chuckle at that.
"I will always be there for you." When he said this he heard someone climbing up the stairs of the tower.
"Hermione? Ron? Are you here?" said a familiar voice. Ron felt Hermione tense up a little in his arms, but he would not let his arms down, only a few seconds more and he was happy.
"We're here, Harry," she said.
"Hey! What is it? Why are you both crying? Is everything all right?" asked Harry with a look of concern in his face when he saw his best friends break the hug.
"I'm fine now. How about you, Hermione," said Ron, looking at his best friend.
She smiled and grabbed his hand to pull him close for a small kiss on the cheek, "Now, I am fine." She let go of his hand and looked at her boys.
"Professor Dumbledore wants us to be at the meeting to discuss the final plans for the attack," said Harry, now remembering the reason why he was out there looking for his friends. He knew that something had happened between them, but he felt that right now was not the moment to ask.
"Hermione, you go on, I need to have a few words with Harry," said Ron as she nodded and went to climb down the stairs.
"Harry, do you love her?"
Harry was taken aback by the bold question asked by his best friend, and looked down as if clearing his thoughts then shyly looked up to meet the gaze of his friend's blue eyes with an understanding of what might have happened. "I...Ron, I know how you feel about her...it just…it just happened. Mate, you are a brother to me..."
"I know, Harry," he said while softening his voice, he knew that Harry had never betrayed him, he had never said anything to Hermione in respect for him, he knew that. "I am asking you as a brother, do you love her?"
"Yes, I love her," Harry finally said.
"That is all I wanted to know," said Ron with a smile on his face.
"Come on, we've got to head down to the meeting. Otherwise Professor McGonagall might kill us before we get a chance to fight," said Harry as he was heading to the stairs.
Ron looked up to see at the beautiful moon and felt an immense calm fill him up. He had done the right thing, he had let her go and maybe one day, someone would love him back. With that new resolution he climbed down the stairs, ready to meet his new destiny.
- - -
So that is the end of my first fanfic, hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And all of you who are wondering about "All Alone" a new chapter will be out soon and we are already working on the other! Please review and tell me what you think!!!