A/N: For a disclaimer, see chapter five of Marauder Mania. This is based on my friend Ginny's prediction for the Harry Potter books. I was in a fairly depressed mood, and I wrote this.
Shadows of Yesterday
A slender, beautiful young woman stood alone in a cemetery. She wasn't dressed in black, but she didn't need to; still the atmosphere surrounding her seemed to pulse with her pain and sorrow. She stared at the headstone. It was elegant, made of smooth, black marble, and surrounded by flowers. The grass around it was trimmed short; it was one of the most well kept graves in the cemetery.
So much had happened, she had seen so much suffering; more than any human had a right to see. War always had its victims, and in a way she was just as much one as the bodies that lay buried all around her. She was scarred in a way that was harder to see, but just as painfully and permanantly. Still she stood tall and rigid, like a soldier, holding her head proud. Just by being she almost dared the rest of the world to challenge her. Her bushy brown hair blew out beside her, tousled and tangled by the wind; then same wind whose cold cut right through her, biting deep into her soul. She shivered suddenly. Her eyes were glistening with the tears she was holding back. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to find a tall man with vivid red hair beside her.
She showed no surprise at not having noticed his approach. "Ron," she whispered to him. "Ron, I love you. I always meant to tell you but I couldn't do it; I was too proud, but I want you to know I love you, I always have. I can't go on without saying it; I can't keep going without you beside me. I know we fought all the time, but I really do love you."
He smiled, softly, as though he was containing laughter, and shook his head. He spoke slowly, as though he was explaining something to a small child. "I know. It's okay, I knew. I love you as well. Don't cry; you have to keep going. You'll be fine, you always are. You always could get the three of us out of any scrape. You were the sensible one. And remember you're not alone, I'll always be here for you."
"Oh Ron," she repeated, as though she felt compelled to keep naming him, to make sure he was real. "Why did it have to happen this way? Isn't good supposed to triumph, and everyone is supposed to live happily ever after? It's not fair!"
"Yes, but it's worth it. And it can still be happy ever after; you just have to put this behind you. Life's not fair; you just have to make the best of it. Just remember, I love you, and you're going to make it through."
She turned and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder to hide the tears now streaming down her face, unchecked. She was ashamed of them, but couldn't help herself. He stopped smiling, and wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against hers. Suddenly she looked up and whispered to him, hardly daring to breathe.
"Ron, why did you have to die?"
~*~