A Fred/Hermione Songfic to Facing West by The Staves
A/N: This fic takes place while the trio are at shell cottage after escaping Malfoy manor. Alas, I do not own these wonderful characters J.K. Rowling Does. If you enjoy the fic or hate it please don't hesitate to click that review button!
Facing West
Hermione looked out of her bedroom window at Shell cottage at the scene unfolding before her. It was late afternoon, and the rich purple sunset made a startling backdrop for the Boy-who-lived's current exploits. His small frame was now barley visible in the large hole he insisted on digging for the small elf, he had not entered the cottage since their arrival that morning, and Hermione watched with a mixture of worry and understanding. She knew the hole was not just for Dobby, along with the innocent elf Harry was burying the innocent whose funerals he never got to attend, whose families he hadn't apologized to. She understood that he was burying Cedric, Seamus, and countless other schoolmates they had lost in recent days. He did not speak, or imply that others should join his burial; Ron thought it was quite ludicrous actually, but Hermione had never been more proud to know the man named Harry Potter.
It was almost dark now, the stars were beginning to twinkle and reflect of the sea of velvet below, and Hermione saw Harry pause in his work. He threw the shovel to the ground, and looked skyward. After a few moments he seemed to throw himself at the grave, now scraping away at the sand with his fingers. Perhaps she should intervene...No. This was exactly what he needed. He is cleansing himself before the battle to come; the one he thinks will bring the end.
Hermione has half a mind to go join him, and she turns around as her bedroom door slams open.
"I came as soon as I heard." He was breathless, shaking, and seemed to be assessing her condition from afar. She certainly was assessing his, it had been almost a year, and she barley recognized the man before her. Guilt began to settle in the pit of her stomach, but it was overthrown by surprise. He was here. He had come for her.
A noise halfway between a moan and a sob exploded from her lips, and she threw herself into his arms.
"Fred." she buried her face in his shoulder.
"'Mione." he held her as tight as he could, pinning her to his body, but she was in no hurry to escape.
The redheaded boy Hermione left some months ago seemed to have vanished. Fred looked older, his body felt sharper (had he been eating enough?), and he looked grimy and tired. When she pulled back though, Hermione was glad to see the spark in his blue eyes; at least that was the same.
"I've missed you." He seemed to be in physical pain as he said it, drinking in the sight of her.
She reached out her small hand to caress his cheek, "I've missed you too, Fred."
He grabbed her hand and held it against his face.
"Ron's told me what you've had to do."
She stiffened and wrenched her hand from his grasp,
"Your brother doesn't know anything! He has NO IDEA what I've se-se-" Hermione stopped walking away and swayed alarmingly on the spot, the colour drained from her face. Fred was by her side in a flash, "
"'Mione? 'Mione? Shhhh...it's gonna be alright..."
He scooped her into his arms and carried her over to the bed, alarmed at her near-collapse and feather-light weight. What the hell had happened to her? Sobs wracked her small body, and Fred rubbed circles on her back until the only light in the room came from the stars outside and her breathing returned to normal.
He lay down beside her.
"Darling I want to help you, can you tell me what happened?"
Her eyes reflected the starlight outside, making them seem even bigger than normal,
"A-Another time, another place. Right now, all I need is you. Hold me Fred." Hermione thought her next demand might sound selfish, but she, they, had seen too much, heard too much, she was going to be selfish while she could. "Hold me, and never let me go."
So he did, and for a while the only sound was their even breaths, the proof they both needed that they were alive and together.
"I don't know if I can do this anymore, Fred. But I have to find a way."
He kissed the back of her neck, and nuzzled her hair. He looked up at the stars outside and whispered,
"I don't know about you Hermione, but I am fighting for future I may never see. Children whose laughter I may never hear, pranks I may never see pulled, first kisses I will never hear about. That's okay though, because if I fight to the end, I know I've done my best to make sure those things will still happen after I'm gone."
She turned around to face him, their faces and eyes sparkling.
"And we might as well give it everything we've got 'Mione, because whether it's tomorrow, or in 20 years, no one is gonna make it out of this battle alive."
Hermione looked at Fred, and Fred looked at Hermione, and in that moment, together for what would be the last time, the full understanding of sacrifice washed over them, and they willingly gave what little they had left to each other, in exchange for a few stolen moments of peace.