And We All Fall Down

by NoShoesNoShirtNoSheldon

She should have seen the signs. She should have remembered. And now he was gone, and she would never see him again. Character death. RW/HG.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the song I used.

Key:

Dreams

'Talking'

"Thinking"

Author's note.

XoXoXoX

Hermione blinked in surprise when Ron shoved something under her nose. He was blushing darkly and looking away, and Hermione could smell the sweet fragrance of flowers.

'Oh, Ron! For me?' She murmured, taking the bunch with a smile. They were a soft pink.

'Yeah,' Ron smiled sheepishly. 'I-I'm really sorry for being such a jerk.'

'Oh, it's fine,' Hermione wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. When she drew back, she offered the flowers to Ron. 'Smell them. They're nice.'

Ron blushed and took them, burying his nose amongst the delicate petals. He drew in a breath, inhaling the sweet scent. 'Yeah,' he admitted. 'They do smell nice.'

Hermione smiled brightly. 'Did you know people call a bunch of flowers a poesy? In the-' She broke off at the look Ron was giving her. 'Uhm… Why don't we just go for a walk?'

'Sure,' Ron smiled.

XoXoXoX

The next day, Hermione walked to the Great Hall for breakfast alone. She had been unable t fall asleep the night before until 3am, as her mind was day-dreaming, and had slept in late.

She found Harry and Ron easily and sat in between them, laughing as she chatted to Harry and buttered her toast. She reached over to pick up the jam, and froze at what she saw. Ron had reached out for it at the exact same moment, and there was an angry red rash on the top of his hand. He seemed not to notice and grabbed the jam.

'Ron!' Hermione gasped, gripping his shoulder tightly. He turned and gave her a worried look.

'What is it?'

'Ron, you've got a rash on you're hand!' She pointed, and he studied it closely.

'Hn. Cool.'

'Ron!' Hermione squealed. 'You should get it checked out by Madame Pomphrey!'

Ron sighed and agreed, and he and Hermione stood. Harry, who had seen the whole thing, wished them luck and said he'd tell the teachers where they were. Hermione smiled and led Ron away. The urge to not miss a lesson was dimmed in comparison to the urge to make sure her friend was alright.

Poppy Pomphrey was busy that day, as there was a bout of Dragon Pox going around. But the two students only had to wait half an hour until she could finally see them.

'Right then! What's wrong?' She asked, gazing at them curiously.

'It's Ron, Madame Pomphrey! He's got a rash,' Hermione told her, taking Ron's hand and pulling up his sleeve. The rash was even angrier then before and had spread up to his elbow.

'Oh, this doesn't look good,' the matron tutted, pulling out her wand. 'I'm going to perform a series of checks on you, alright? Miss Granger, if you would kindly let go of Mister Weasley. I do not know if it is contagious.'

Hermione hastily dropped Ron's hand as Madame Pomphrey waved her wand. She was muttering under her breath and her eyes were unfocused. Finally, she stepped back with a frown. 'I can not detect anything wrong with Mister Weasley. He's got no known disease, magical or Muggle.'

'Well, I guess there's nothing wrong then!' Ron said brightly. 'Come on, Hermione, let's go to class!'

XoXoXoX

But the next day, it was terribly evident that there was something wrong. The rash had spread quickly, and Ron was now sneezing violently every few minutes.

'I must've caught a cold,' he'd say, and waved any concerns off.

'Ron, please!' Hermione begged. 'Please, you have to go see Madame Pomphrey!'

'Why? Hermione, she said it herself! There's nothing wrong!'

'Please,' Hermione was half sobbing now. 'Please, just go see her! For me!'

Ron, horrified at the thought that he made the girl cry, agreed to go see the medi-witch. Once again, the older woman could not find anything wrong, and resolved to keep Ron in the Hospital Wing, just in case whatever was happening to him was contagious. She then told a terrified Hermione she'd look up any old diseases and the girl told her she'd do the same.

After a useless search through the library's medic section, Hermione returned to her bed. She said nothing to anyone, refused to answer Harry's constant questions and cried herself to sleep, thinking about Ron and clutching the flowers he gave her to her chest.

XoXoXoX

Hermione was walking through a deserted town, staring around in horror. There was no living thing but her here, and that was the thing. There were plenty of others, but not living. Their bodies littered the ground at her feet, all of them somehow reminding her of Ron.

She was in an abandoned park now, one she didn't recognise. She jumped when she heard voices, and she followed them until she saw three girls playing skip ropes, and they were singing. Their voices sounded evil and made her shiver in fear.

'Ring a ring a rosey
A pocketful of poesies.
Ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.
We all fall down.'

They all fell to the ground in a heap, causing Hermione to scream. One of them stood again, and she saw that the girl had turned into Ron. His eyes were puffy and he looked terrible. The rash was all over him.

'Hermione,' he gasped, drawing closer. Hermione stumbled backwards in fear. 'Hermione, help me!'

Hermione sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and gasping for air. She knew she had had a nightmare, but she couldn't remember it for the life of her. Sighing, she stood and went to the bathroom, deciding to freshen up before she spent her Saturday in the library.

But worry for Ron stopped her as she walked past the Hospital Wing on the way. She paused, and then made her way inside. Ron was sitting up in his bed, reading a book on Quidditch. What she saw made tears trickle down her cheeks. The rash had covered him all over by now, and his eyes were red and puffy. Every now and again he'd sneeze, and then make a face.

A vision entered her mind. Three little girls, playing skip rope. They were singing, and although she couldn't remember the words, she remembered the tune. Pretending to be cheerful, she walked up to Ron, humming the tune along the way.

'Hello!'

'Hey, Hermione,' Ron greeted, putting the book down. 'How are you?'

'I'm great,' Hermione smiled weakly, fighting the urge to throw her arms around him and cry. 'What have you been up to?' She reached out to take his hand, but he jerked it back.

'I'm sorry,' he murmured, looking guilty at her anguished expression. 'Madame Pomphrey told me I wasn't allowed to touch anyone.'

'Oh,' Hermione looked down. 'I-I guess I better go then…'

'Yeah…'

As Hermione left, she glanced over her shoulder at the man she loved. Ron looked tired and fearful, running his hand through his messy red hair.

That night she cried on Harry's shoulder, while Ginny murmured comforting words to her.

XoXoXoX

Molly and Arthur Weasley arrived the next day, nearly knocking over a terrified Hufflepuff first year in their haste to see their son. Molly was in tears when she learnt she could not touch her son, and instead hugged her husband tightly. Arthur looked worried, patting his wife's head and talking to Ron about the Twin's business, trying to sound casual.

Hermione and Harry joined them after an hour, and they all sat and talked for a few more. Hermione was frustrated and angry by the end of it, wanting so badly to get to the library and to start searching again. Whenever she wasn't being spoken to, she'd hum the same tune over and over, trying to remember the words.

When she was finally let out, she raced towards the library, leaving a depressed Harry for Ginny to sort out.

XoXoXoX

It took a few days for Hermione to visit Ron again, but when she did, she wished she hadn't. He looked even worse, if that was possible, and he smelled funny. When she asked him about it, he pulled out a packet of rose petals from his pocket, explaining in an embarrassed tone that he was starting to smell bad.

"Ring a ring a rosey, a pocketful of poesies" Hermione couldn't help but thinking. She knew that term from somewhere. But where?

When Madame Pomphrey announced Ron would be transferred to St Mungo's, it took a very patient Dumbledore and a worried Hagrid to fall asleep on to calm her down.

XoXoXoX

Hermione kept having nightmares every night, but she could never remember them. She was no longer going to classes, just searching through the library every day. She could no longer remember why she was doing it, and she would hum the same tune restlessly as she flicked through books.

She no longer cried, barely ever ate, and hadn't seen Harry for weeks. She only bathed every few nights under Ginny's insistence. She was a hollow of her original self.

Eventually, Dumbledore had had enough. All of the teachers had, at some point, approached him to complain about Hermione's absence in their classes. Ginny and Harry had come together to explain their worries, and left with heavy hearts. With a sigh, he entered the library and searched until he found her.

'Miss Granger, what are you doing?' He queried, smiling kindly at her. The girl jumped, giving him a wild, caught in the headlights look.

'Pro-Professor Dumbledore! I…' she paused, frowning. 'I don't know what I'm doing.'

'My dear,' he laid a hesitant hand on her shoulder. 'Would you like to accompany me in visiting young Mister Weasley?'

Hermione looked up at him for a moment, and then gasped. 'Oh, Merlin! Ron! Oh, Ron! I forgot… All about…' She broke down, throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. His eyes widened, before he patted her head with a smile. He waited until she had calmed, before asking her again.

'Oh, yes, sir!' She exclaimed, nodding rapidly. They walked in silence to the grounds, before Dumbledore struck up a calming conversation as they headed towards the outside of the wards. Hermione answered distractedly, too focused on the task of getting to Ron to pay attention.

Soon, they had apparated into St Mungo's, and everything passed in a blur. She was on the first floor… The second… Going down a long hallway… Waiting as Dumbledore chatted to a Healer… And then, she was there. Ron was sitting in his bed, and Hermione gave a sob and ran towards him. His eyes widened and his hand flew up.

'Hermione, don't touch me!'

She skidded to a halt, tears running down her face. Startled at her heartbreaking expression, he hurriedly explained. 'I'm sorry, Hermione, but no one's allowed to touch me. They don't know what's wrong with me yet, but one of the Healers had a breakthrough earlier, and they say they nearly know.'

'Oh…' Hermione sat down on the chair beside the bed, running her eyes over him worriedly. 'Do you feel okay? Are you eating enough?'

'Gosh, Hermione, you sound like Mum!' Ron laughed. He looked her up and down, frowning. 'I could say the same for you, anyway. Have you been starving yourself? You look like a stick.'

Hermione let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. 'I haven't had much of an appetite.'

'Hermione…' Ron started. 'Please don't worry yourself over me. Uhm, how's Harry?'

'I don't know,' Hermione admitted. 'I haven't seen him in a few weeks.'

Shaking his head, Ron sighed. 'Why not?' But he never got an answer.

A Healer had just entered and was talking hurriedly in hushed tones to Dumbledore. The old man gave a groan and whispered something back. When the Healer shook his head, Dumbledore looked even more miserable. The Healer left, and Dumbledore approached them silently.

'What's wrong?' Hermione begged. 'Merlin, what's wrong?!'

Dumbledore didn't reply and instead sat himself on another chair and buried his face in his hands. Ron jumped up, threw himself out of the bed and stood over Dumbledore, glowering. 'If you know anything about my condition, you have to tell me!'

'My boy…' Dumbledore croaked, shaking his head. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He sneezed once, then clutched his head.

'Wha… What?' He whimpered.

'HEALERS!' Dumbledore shouted, standing suddenly.

'Hermione!' Ron gasped. 'Hermione, I don't know what's happening, but I have to say this! I love you!'

He was reaching towards her with one hand, and a vision flashed before her eyes. The same Ron, reaching towards her. She could hear him croaking 'help me!' and Hermione suddenly remembered the dream.

'Ron!' She screamed. 'The Black Plague! Oh, Merlin, no! Ron, I love you!'

She reached to take his hand, but Dumbledore grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. Ron was swaying on the spot now, and Hermione's vision was blurred around the edges.

'No! No, let me go! Ron! RON!' Her screaming filled her ears as she desperately fought to get to her love. Healers scrambled into the room, and Ron gave Hermione one last anguished look before his legs gave out and he sunk to the floor.

'No! Ron! Ron!' Hermione sobbed.

'He's… He's dead,' one of the Healers muttered.

The room was silent except for Hermione's soft crying, and Dumbledore let her go, turned her around and hugged her tightly. For one moment, they were not student and professor. They were not child and old man. They were allies, mourning over the loss of a friend.

XoXoXoX

The wind whipped her face as she determinedly strode up to the castle. No one stood in her way, and she ran quickly up the many staircases. Emerging in the Astronomy tower, she walked to the edge and looked down. She could see the little dots of people moving around, and her heart shrivelled in her chest. Hermione climbed up on the edge, drawing in a breath.

'Goodbye, I am leaving.' She whispered. 'I am coming, my love.'

And with a heart wrenching cry, she threw herself off, speeding towards the ground.

Once upon a time there were three teenagers that were nicknamed the Golden Trio. The first one died, and the next one committed suicide.

Once upon a time there were three teenagers nicknamed the Golden Trio. And now there is one.

XoXoXoX

Okay, how do you like that?

If you are wondering, Ron got the Black Plague. That's why Hermione was getting dreams with those girls singing. The "Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie" song is all about the Black Plague.

Pretty angsty. Please review.