A/N: First of all, I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed my last fanfic, This is my truth, tell me yours. I was overwhelmed (to say the least) and for that reason, the sequel has been a bloody nightmare to write. This isn't it, but I may post it soon. I may not. Because it's shit.
This is yet another song fic. This is set to the fabulous Kate Bush's song Watching You Without Me, from the album Hounds Of Love.
Please enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: Bloody annoying, these are. I mean, is anyone out there so out of touch with reality that they think I'd presume to lay claim to any of this??
Watching You Without Me
You can't hear me
You can't hear me
You can't hear what I'm saying
You can't hear what I'm saying
To you
It was over almost as suddenly as it had begun. The screaming, the explosions, the dull thuds of men and women falling to the cobbled streets, dead. The pain and confusion and elation and adrenaline. It just stopped.
And for a second, everything was still and quiet. And all that could be seen and heard was the, now chillingly and disgustingly familiar, sound of a body falling to the ground beside a heap of blindingly white ash. All that could be registered in the minds and eyes of the fortunate fighters still standing was the blurred colours, blurred in the way that only slow motion can.
The white of the ash. The pitch black of the hair on the face that was pink with exertion. The face that hit the stones with a sickening crunch. The vivid green of the eyes that slammed shut on impact. The mesmerising colour of red that was the blood that flowed from the fallen fighter's broken body.
It all happened in a heartbeat. It happened in the amount of time that it took Harry Potter's life to flicker and die. It happened too quickly for his stricken comrades to draw breath for the anguished screams that erupted almost without their consent.
And the calm that was his death was shattered, and the battle continued.
___________________
'Hermione'. I walk to stand beside her when she doesn't answer. I wave my hand in front of her face, perplexed.
'Hermione, can't you hear me?' More hand waving.
I really don't know what's going on here. Hermione is sitting in her chair by the fire in the house we bought when we were married. Her legs are crossed on the footstool in front of her. Her hand is resting protectively on the small bump on her abdomen. This is how I've found every day for the past fortnight on returning from work. She's reading. How typical. I smile at her frown of concentration.
But I call her name and she doesn't answer. She glances at the clock from time to time. Each time the worried crease between her eyes deepens. She bites her lower lip in worry.
I don't know how I got here, this evening. I just seemed to appear here beside her. The last thing I remember is…
Oh, no… no…I can't be…
You watch the clock
Move the slow hand
I should have been home
Hours ago - but I'm not here
I've got to talk to her. I must. Something inside me is telling me that this is my last chance. But I know she won't hear me. I just know.
'HERMIONE'.
I screamed it this time.
'HERMIONE, PLEASE!'
Nothing.
I put my hand close to hers. Close to our baby. And I lower it gently onto her hand. She doesn't flinch.
I can feel her hand. I can touch it and feel the warmth of it. But she doesn't…. she can't ...
'Oh, Merlin… Please… no!'
You can't hear me
You can't hear me
You can't feel me
Here in the room with you now
You can't hear what I'm saying
You don't hear what I'm saying
To you
She's getting agitated now. It's getting dark. She knows that I'd let her know if I was going to be late. But she doesn't know that today was the day.
I didn't know. It was a surprise attack. We always knew it would happen eventually, but when I left her this morning… I didn't know it would be for the last time.
Oh, God! What's she going to do when she finds out? Who'll tell her?
If I could talk to her one last time. If I could just tell her again how much I love her. If only I could still protect her and touch her and hold her again.
Can't let you know
What's been happening
There's a ghost in our home
Just watching you without me
It just registers in my grief stricken mind. It lends my mind clarity and it gives me agony.
I can hear footsteps in the front garden.
I can hear the sobbing of my best friend as he forces his feet to carry him up the garden path to do what he knows he must by his two best friends.
I know I don't have much time left.
I bend and kiss my wife on her quivering lips and for just a fraction of a second, I swear I can see recognition and unbearable understanding in her eyes.
There is a sharp tapping on the door.
She knows it's not me. She glances at a photograph on the mantelpiece as she rises from the chair. It's a picture of us on our wedding day, not even a year ago. She casts her eyes downward.
I can feel myself being pulled away from her as she realises what's happening. I know that everything I know is coming to an end. She knows it too, at this stage. She walks slowly to the door and opens it with shaky hands.
Ron is standing there. My best friend. The man who stood beside me at my wedding. The man who will have to be a father to my child. He's leaning on the doorframe for support. A bolt of anguished understanding hits Hermione like a fist and she falls.
I can't bear to watch.
You didn't hear me come in
You won't hear me leaving
A/N: Another chapter soon, but it will be very short. Please review- it's my only motivation!