"A Tout Le Monde" is copyright Dave Mustaine and is performed by the band Megadeth. All the usual things apply. All characters and settings, save the ones you don't know, are copyright J.K. Rowling. This story contains heavy angst, death, and instances of suicide. Also, as with all of my fan fiction, there are slash instances. If you don't like any of this, don't read it. I don't appreciate Flames, so don't give me them. Constructive criticism is fine however. Alright then, on with the show…..
A Tout Le Monde
The castle was cold and dark as he climbed the long ascent into the school's highest tower. A shaky hand reached up to wipe the salty tears that stained his face. He had been putting this off for too long as it was. No matter how high his fears were, he had to do this tonight.
Don't remember where I was,
When I realized life was a game.
The more seriously I took things,
The harder the rules became.
Long, lonely nights had been spent laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking back on his life. A series of still photographs and sad memories would flash before his eyes. In all of his loneliness, he could never see any of the happy memories, only the hurt and pain. Now as he was making his way into the room at the top of the Astronomy Tower and out onto the ledge beyond the window, he was numb. There was no pain, no feeling. Only eternity awaited as he looked down over the edge, shivering against the cold night air.
I had no idea what it'd cost,
My life passed before my eyes.
I found out how little I'd accomplished,
All my plans denied.
One final tear was shed from closed eyes, and he took that final step. As he plummeted towards the school ground below one thing remained in his mind. A pair of haunting emerald eyes were burned into the core of his brain. It was with these eyes burning behind his own that he hit the ground with a final, resounding thud. All of his pain and torment finally was ended. Ron Weasley was dead.
So as you read this,
Know my friends,
I'd love to stay with you all.
Please smile when you think of me.
My body's gone, that's all…..
It was late in the morning when Harry awoke. He sat up and looked around the empty dormitory, wondering why everyone else was gone but he was allowed to sleep. He stumbled out of bed and changed his clothes, stopping momentarily at his mirror to try and tame his eternally unruly hair. No luck, as usual. He slipped out of the dorm room, thinking it odd once more that Ron had not awakened him that morning. If he had stopped to look at his bedside table, the boy would have noticed a note, written in Ron's neat hand. Although it was written in French, the meaning behind the words, along with the tear stains on the parchment, would have said what was needed to say….
A Tout Le Monde,
A Tout Mes Amis,
Je Vous Aime.
Je Dois Partir.
These are the last words,
I'll ever speak.
They'll set me free…..
……….. And following was only Ron's Signature.
The sight that greeted Harry as he came to the wide entry hall was a grim one. All around were his fellow classmates with horrified looks on their faces. Most of the girls were crying, as well as a few of the guys. Seamus Finnigan was in a corner, losing whatever breakfast he had eaten, poor Neville had fainted. Even Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looked upset. Harry, dumbfounded slowly made his way over to Hermione, and asked her in a soft voice what had happened. She slowly looked up at Harry and promptly burst into tears, burying her face into another student's chest.
As Harry stood, even more confused than he was before, he felt a gentle hand come to rest upon his shoulder. As he turned around, he found himself looking up at the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, who was joined by both professors Mcgonagal and Snape. Dumbledore's face was as white as a sheet and he wore a grave expression. "Harry," he said, his voice very soft and gentle, "Something most unfortunate happened last night….."
If my heart was still alive,
I know it would surely break .
And my memories left with you,
There's nothing more to say.
As Dumbledore told him what had transpired the previous night, all of the color slowly drained from Harry's face and his legs gave out. He collapsed hard onto the stone floor beneath him. This couldn't be true. There was no way that what they were saying to him was the truth. "H….he can't be… dead…." He murmured in a voice that was utterly broken and defeated.
The headmaster bent down and slowly helped Harry to his feet. The poor boy looked up at the old wizard, tears welling up in his emerald green eyes. "I think," Said the headmaster, "It would be best if you went back to your dormitory and rested, Harry." And he looked up to the rest of the traumatized throng. "Classes are hereby cancelled for the rest of the week. I suggest we all take a bit of time to remember."
Moving on,
Is a simple thing .
What it leaves behind is hard .
You know the sleeping,
Feel no more pain,
And the living are scarred…
Harry made his way into his dormitory scarcely able to see. His eyes were so badly welled up with tears. He took a seat on the edge of his bed, looking over to the empty one beside his, the one that had once been the home of his best friend. The bed Ron would never sleep in again. It was then that Harry found the small scrap of parchment upon his bedside table. He picked it up and slowly began to read, and although he didn't speak a word of French, a voice inside his head spoke softly to him, translating his best friends dying words….
A Tout Le Monde, (To All The World,)
A Tout Mes Amis, (To All My Friends,)
Je Vous Aime. (I Love You.)
Je Dois Partir. (I Have To Leave.)
These are the last words,
I'll ever speak.
They'll set me free .
He stood on shaky legs and made his way over to Ron's bed, falling onto it and burying his face in the red-head's pillow. How was he going to manage without Ron? Why did Ron have to leave him? At the moment, everything seemed in vain. The battles with Voldemort, his years with the Dursley's, every Quidditch trophy he had ever won, were all worthless now. He'd trade anything he had just to have Ron back again. "It's not fair…" His voice was a harsh whisper amidst the sobs coming from within his chest.
So as you read this,
Know my friends,
I'd love to stay with you all.
Please smile when you think about me.
My body's gone, that's all…..
A Tout Le Monde,
A Tout Mes Amis,
Je Vous Aime.
Je Dois Partir.
After about an hour, the sobs that had painfully wracked his body began to subside and his tears slowly dried. Now he just lay there, as helpless and weak as a newborn child. He moved his hand up underneath the pillow his head was on and found something hard.
These are the last words…
"What's this?" his voice was soft, weakened by the sobs. He slowly sat up, pulling the object in question out from it's hiding place. It was a leather bound book, a bit tattered as it looks like it had been previously owned before it came into Ron's possession. It didn't take Harry long to realize that what he held in his hands, was Ron's Journal.
I'll ever speak….
He slowly turned the book over in his hands and wiped away at a few fresh tears that were running down his cheeks. Slowly, he opened the cover of the journal and was greeted with a picture of he and Ron, standing outside the Hogwarts express on their way to school. The figures in the picture smiled happily and waved at him. With a sad smile he halfheartedly waved back.
In the vain hope that the journal may lend a bit of insight as to why Ron had done what he did, Harry settled back into Ron's bed, turned the page to the first entry, and began to read.
They'll Set Me Free.