Tears of Love and Sorrow
Hermione Granger sat on her bed staring at the wall. The wall was the only thing she could look at without being pitied. Every person she looked at, every face she saw, they all pitied her. She sat there, not sleeping, just thinking about the traumatizing events that took place forty-eight hours ago. Ron, her best friend through all of these years, the one she had always considered her brother…had died. The one that she had always corrected when he was wrong, the one who never took anything seriously, the one who was always there for her when she needed him…was gone. He was gone forever, and she couldn't come to face the fact that he wasn't coming back. Hermione knew that she needed to face the facts, be a big girl and take in reality and the world around her. That's what her parents had taught her to do, but their advice had died with them. Ron was gone…gone from everything included in this torture chamber everyone seemed to think was life.
He had taken them away. It was him who had caused her all of this misery and bereavement. It was HIM who had caused the people she loved to die. One still lived however, but he was as bad off as she was. Harry Potter, the `Boy Who Lived,' the one who had to defeat him was still alive…at least physically. She hadn't seen Harry since he had defeated Voldemort, but at a terrible cost; a terrible cost that distorted the lives of everyone around her. Harry and Hermione were in the same house, under the same roof, in the place where Ron used to live…the place that she called a second home. His own family was also under that tattered old roof, planning the…the funeral. She couldn't even bring herself back to reality because she was so caught up in memories, good and bad ones. She remembered the first time she had met Ron, on the Hogwarts Express. That memory itself brought tears to her eyes. Even more tears came as she reflected on the time she had spent with him…even the tiniest memory of her checking his astronomy homework made her shut her eyes before an ocean of tears came falling down onto her blanket. She sobbed and sobbed, until she was sure all of the water in her body was sitting in a lake beside her bed and her pillow was so wet that she could have held the contents of a bathtub.
She got off her bed and staggered. Her legs were so weak from not being exercised that she could barely stand. She used the table beside her bed for support and looked over at the picture sitting on it. She stopped breathing when she saw the picture. It was of Harry, Ron, and Hermione…at Hogsmeade in their fifth year. It was only two years ago, only that long had passed. All Hermione could do was pick up the frame with trembling hands and stare at it. It was a magical photograph, which meant that the people inside were waving up at you, smiling. She couldn't stand it anymore; she didn't know what to do. Suddenly, the picture slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor with a clatter. She gasped and picked it up with quivering hands and set it on the table face down so she wouldn't have to see it again. She felt tears escape her eyes and she sat down on her bed and stared at the wall once more. She had now forgotten what she had gotten off her bed for, but it couldn't have been anything important. She sat there breathing heavily until she heard a soft knock on her door. She couldn't speak, so she just sat there, ignoring the knock like she always did. She saw light pour into the room almost at once, and looked towards the door. She saw a masculine figure standing there, with a solemn look on his face. Harry came into the room and closed the door behind him.
"Hermione?" he asked quietly, turning on one of the lamps that Mr. Weasley had collected along with a plug. She realized that he was wearing a white undershirt and flannel pants… He was so muscular now, and she was feeling something towards him she had never felt before…maybe you'd call it physical attraction.
"Harry," she gasped. He nodded his head and sat down next to her. He could see the shimmer gone from her eyes and the pink gone from her cheeks. Only one thing could have caused her pain like this…and it was all because of him: Harry.
"I haven't seen you in days," said Harry. Hermione shook her head slowly as she continued to stare at the wall. "Hermione listen to me when I say that I-"
"I don't need to listen to you Harry," said Hermione with no emotion whatsoever. "I've listened to so many people the last few days; I think I've done enough listening for now…" Harry frowned as he stared at his best friend as his eyes filled with burning tears.
"Please listen to me Hermione," pleaded Harry as he brought his eyes to meet hers. "I know that you think it's my fault that Ron died. It was because of me that everyone has had to go through all of this... I know that you think it's my fault that your parents died. And you're right. But I'm here right now, asking you to-" he watched Hermione as tears fell down into her hair. "To forgive me. Forgive me for everything that I've done to you. For all of the horrible grief I've caused you. I'm sorry." At that, Harry's voice had been quivering and he let out a sob as his own tears began to fall, and he put his face in his hands. Hermione put her hand on his back and massaged it gently
"Harry, it's not your fault," she said in her firmest voice possible. "It was Voldemort's fault. He's the one who caused everyone all of this pain, all of this grief and suffering. And guess what Harry? He's gone. Gone from everyone's lives and stopped from taking more lives. Harry, you're the one who saved more lives from being lost." Harry looked up and stared into her beautiful brown eyes. He didn't know why people said that Hermione was just an ordinary girl, when she was the most extraordinary person Harry knew. Hermione couldn't escape the urge anymore; she wrapped her arms around Harry and sobbed into his shoulder, while he did the same.
"Hermione," he said as he pulled back after a while. He was having a very strong calling to do what he'd wanted to do since the day he met her. She looked at him questioningly until he touched his lips to hers. She stiffened out of pure shock, but came more immune to the kiss after Harry brought her closer to her so that there was so space between them. The kiss became much more heated in time, but Hermione had to breathe. She pulled away reluctantly and gasped as she touched her lips which now had a strange tingling feeling to them. Harry was out of breath too, and he sat there staring at her wondering what was going to happen next. Hermione lay back on the bed, and Harry came up to lie down next to her. She leaned against him and felt a hand brush the stray hair away from her face. She looked up at Harry and grinned for the first time in weeks.
"I love you Hermione," Harry breathed against her neck. Hermione shivered and replied, "I love you too Harry." Harry put his arms around her stomach and she leaned against his chest which was heaving. She sighed as she tangled her legs with his and feel relaxed for the first time in years. Harry carefully put his glasses down on the table and fell asleep, with Hermione in his arms.
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The End.
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