A/N I want to clear something up. Although I do love Dramiones so much I could hug them (if they were tangible, kinda hard otherwise), this is entirely canon relationshipwise. I hope you like it, r+r, pitfit!

Hermione was not quite sure how she felt.

The bodies of the fallen were lined up in the middle of the Great Hall. The world felt very odd. It should have been peaceful and joyful after the death of Voldemort- yet it was like something had not quite gone as planned, and sadness battled fiercely with joy in the air of the Hall.

Hermione could hardly bear to walk over and look at them, but it had to be done, and she slowly came over to the line. Her hand came over her mouth when her eyes fell upon Lupin and Tonks, but she felt numb. She somewhat wished she could feel sad, but it was too hard to take in all the damage. The mind just would not receive that idea. Walking on slowly, she kept on seeing familiar faces…

Now Harry was much too exhausted and busy being fawned over or talked to to notice much of anything except Ron sitting down next to him.

"Why don't we go over with Hermione, maybe people will stop bothering you," he suggested. "She looks like she could use a couple of guys with her."

Harry looked up, and sure enough, Hermione was gazing gravely at the lines of the fallen. He nodded.

Hermione suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and looked around with a jolt, but it was only Harry and Ron. She gave them a weak little smile, but shook her head. A little introspection was in order, and her best friends understood entirely (or at the very least, Harry did, and had nudged Ron). They shuffled away again, though glancing back as they did.

It was a few minutes before something caught the very corner of Hermione's eye. She hadn't yet consciously realized what it was, but something in the back of her perception made her feel very uneasy. She glanced down…

Her stomach gave one enormous jolt, and dropped to her knees. It was the body of Draco Malfoy.

And suddenly, inexplicably, a hole ruptured in Hermione's mental bubble, which had previously protected her from sadness. The shock and horror came pouring through the hole like sand, slowly suffocating her in her rising terror- she could not tell why, but it hardly mattered as thoughts came fluttering about her head in all directions. And then it etched itself out for her.

Malfoy was dead. Nobody else she had seen lying on the ground affected her this way- because they were all her friends, some close enough to be family- because she had grown numb to that feeling, almost as a defense. But even her rival was killed- even his breath, pulled from his chest? Her mind had not yet been exposed to this view! Even this mouth would never speak to her again- never tease her; never provide an opportunity for her to slap it! A new perspective was normally welcome to Hermione, and for a split second she had been glad, in a bittersweet sort of way, that she was finally able to appreciate the tragedy. But after that split second- because Draco Malfoy had given her a terribly deep view of death, one that should have never opened to anyone- the the full brunt of this overwhelming tragedy had begun to suffocate her.

She knew that no one else could possibly feel this way, because no one else was suddenly dropping to their knees, tears thoroughly breaking any barrier of dignity and cascading down their face. No one had seen someone so differently. And no one was letting themself think about the reality of it all. But looking at an archenemy, Hermione couldn'tstop herself. A gleaming river of tears etched itself onto her cheeks as her thoughts came faster… faster…faster- faster-

And among her now swirling jumble of thoughts, from the very center of their orbit, emerged another. This was the final and breaking reminder that normalcy was no longer. Her life was forever changed- her lifestyle and her memories and even her relationships- everything was changing! She couldn't hold onto this very long as her rushing current of darkening concept and thought carried it away, but like salt dissolved in water, she could still feel it, and it made every thought all the more harsh- she wanted to run away, but could not tell if she was or not through her tears and terror. And even that view was starting to fade…

Harry and Ron were sitting in near silence to each other. The bereaved or thankful kept coming to Harry and engaging him in conversation- short, long, loud, very quiet. But during one of the moments where nobody was with him, Harry sensed Ron stiffening beside him.

"Something wrong, mate?"

Ron just bit his lip and stared at something in the distance, appearing to be trying to decide something. Harry followed his line of vision until he saw Hermione.

Kneeling on the ground, focused intently on something on the ground that he could not quite make out, but swaying back and forth ominously.

Ron suddenly launched himself off of the bench and sprinted over to her side. As soon as Harry could react, he did the same, reaching Ron and Hermione just in time to see him catch her as she fainted.

A/N I hope it was well done. I had been thinking about how I'd feel if Draco had died (I mean, who can't love the evil git?), and then I thought about how different it would be than looking at someone else. Please R&R with HONESTY! I want to improve... but if you do like it I like being fawned over too... ;-)

tiger-SAMBA signing off