The Knight.

Author's Note: This is a bit of a sadder piece than usual for me. I hope you enjoy it. I took the original story line and wrote it as if Ron had fallen during the Battle of Hogwarts. Please let me know what you think!

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me- that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The world was blurry around the edges. He lay on his side, staring at the chaos around him. The battle was raging on around him, with no one taking notice of his predicament. When he fell, time didn't stop, the battle didn't stop. Everything was still continuing on as it had been before.

He could hear people screaming spells and see the bright lights of both curses and protective enchantments. He could see the huge leg of the Giant nearby, swinging his club at random. He could see all of these things, but everything had a blurry edge to it. It was as if his world was under water.

Ron didn't even know what hit him. It could have been a friendly fire for all he knew. He didn't get his big dramatic show down. He wasn't jumping in front of his family or friends to save their life. He wasn't sacrificing himself on the chessboard. One moment he was running behind Hermione, keeping his focus on the back of her head, following her as she chased after Harry. Harry was leading the way towards the Whomping Willow so that they could get to the shrieking shack and go after the snake.

The three friends ran, with him bringing up the rear, keeping a look out with his peripheral vision in an attempt to keep both Hermione and Harry safe.

Then something struck him and he fell to the ground. His midsection was burning. Even after he gathered up all his strength and courage, he could only tilt his head down slightly. But it was enough. He could see the blood pooling around him at an alarming rate. As struggled to draw breath, he looked around for her. She wasn't there. Perhaps she hadn't known he had fallen. As his world faded from blurry to black, he whispered her name. "Hermione"

They came to an abrupt halt in order to dodge a spell that was thrown toward them. Hermione's eyes met the eyes of her attacker, and actually let out a low growl in anger. It was Scabior.

"Hi Beautiful. Ditched ginger, have you? Ready to learn what a real man can do?" he directed towards Hermione in what was supposed to be a seductive tone. She waited for Ron to curse the man to oblivion, but the curse didn't come. Nor did any retort from the fiery redhead she loved so much.

Then it clicked. 'Ditched Ginger'

She looked wildly around her.

"HARRY! Where's Ron?" She yelped. Scabior took advantage of her distraction to fire another curse at them. Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way as she quickly fired a blasting curse toward Scabior. He was blown into the air and landed with a sickening thud almost 15 yards away.

"He was right behind us!" She said, panicked now. Harry too looked terrified, looking around manically.

"He must have gotten caught up in the fray." Harry said. Hermione knew he was too scared to think of the alternative. The alternative was too terrifyingly likely. Ron would not have left them again on his own volition.

"Look, I need to go… I have to kill the snake. It's the only way." Harry said, although he clearly looked unsure and strained by this decision. "Find him, Hermione." Harry pleaded with her. "Find him, and stay alive."

"We'll meet you at the Fat Lady's portrait. In two hours," Hermione told him. Giving a time and a location made her feel better. It made her feel more in control. In just two hours they would all be together again soon.

Harry nodded and the two friends split ways.

For the first time in months, since the Horcrux hunt began, Hermione was alone. She was terrifyingly alone. It didn't help that she felt as though her heart was frozen in sheer terror for Ron's safety.

She ran back up toward the castle, retracing her steps, as if she was looking for a lost earring.

There was chaos all around her. Spells were flying everywhere. A troll spotted her, and she was forced to divert her path and dive behind a pile of rubble to avoid his club.

"RON!" she screamed, in desperation now. The grounds were a disaster. His usual vibrant hair would not stand out among the fires, explosions and spells.

"RON!" she screamed again. Nothing. No response. Terror gripped her. He wouldn't have left her again. Not after that kiss. Not after everything they had been through.

She needed a different tactic. She darted across the courtyard to the side where the rubble had built up the most. She crawled to the top of the rubble, which gave her a slightly elevated view of the destruction. She scanned slowly, from left to right, pausing at each fighter to ascertain it wasn't him, all while ducking and keeping herself as hidden from view as possible.

Her eyes caught sight of a mound, partially hidden by rubble. A mound wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt that she was very familiar with.

"no.." she whispered. Without another second of hesitation and without a moments concern for her own safety, she took off, sprinting towards him.

When she reached his side, she reacted without a seconds thought. All that mattered was getting him out of there so that she could help him. She wrapped her arms around him, scooping up his upper body in hers and turned on the spot.

She was up in the Gryffindor Common room. The battle was still going on all around the castle. The portraits in the common room were staring at her and Ron as they whispered amongst themselves.

"Ron…" she whispered, hoping he would open his eyes and look at her. There was too much blood. It was everywhere, soaking his shirt clean through.

He stirred feebly and his eyelids parted slightly to look up at her.

"Herm.." he started her name, but it was too much for him.

"Shhhh… save your strength. I'm going to fix you Ron. I'm going to fix it." She gripped his hand in hers and with her free arm, she pointed to the beaded back. "accio dittany!"

The bottle flew up at her, but she realized in horror there was almost nothing left, used up from their blisters and burns from the escape from Gringotts and the dragon ride.

Ron seemed to notice the bottle was empty too. Or perhaps he realized he was far past dittany's help.

"Her.. mi…one…" he struggled out her name, and she held his hand tighter and looked him in the eyes.

"You hang in there, I'm going to disapparate the hospital wing. See what I can find and be back before you know it." She whispered. She only then realized that she was crying when her tears splashed onto Ron's face.

"N..no. S..Stay" Ron whispered.

In one heartbreaking second, she realized he was saying goodbye.

"No. No. Ron, you can't, you can't leave me," She cried. "Please. Please don't" she was in hysterics now. The tears were pouring down her face. The explosions and screaming outside didn't matter. The rocking of Gryffindor tower as the castle was being blown to shreds didn't matter.

Blue eyes met brown.

"You promised you wouldn't leave me again, Ron," She whispered.

A small smile graced his lips.

"I l-love y-y-you" he whispered looking up at her.

"Oh Ron, I love you too. I always have." She sobbed. She had known he had loved her, how could she not? How could she have wasted so much time? How could she not have said something earlier?"

"Harry… L-love h-him too. S-stay w-with him, t-till the e-end." Ron whispered. How could he know what she was thinking? There wasn't a life worth living without Ron. Ron was her future. Redheaded bookworm children. That was her future.

Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She kissed him, for what would be their second and last kiss. She kissed him with enough passion for the lifetime they wouldn't get to share.

And then he was gone. The light had left Ron Weasley's eyes.

Hermione let out a heartbreaking sob and collapsed with her back against the wall staring at Ron's body. Soon her sobs were uncontrollable and her body convulsed and shook. She couldn't bring herself to join the fight, find Harry, or find the Weasley's. All she could do was crawl so that lay next to Ron's broken body and sob, her head on his chest, her hand still intertwined with his.

She barely registered Voldemort's voice vibrating through the castle. Telling them how they had an hour to turn over Harry. Telling them how he would hunt them all down. She didn't care. She couldn't care.

She was going to die tonight, but not yet. She was going to stay with Harry until it was over. She would keep her last promise.

And that was how Harry found them. He burst through the portrait yelling her name. When he saw the two of them, his knees went weak and he collapsed on the other side of Ron.

"Oh, no" was all he managed to squeak out. "no.. no... no…" Hermione raised her head from Ron's chest to look at Harry. If there were any pieces of her heart left to break, the horror on Harry's face broke the rest of them.

With her free hand, the one not still holding Ron's, she took Harry's.

"I promised him I'd stay with you." She whispered. "We are going to end this."

When Harry watched Snape's memories in the pensive, the ones which explained everything too him, including that he would die by Voldemort's hand, he didn't bat an eye. It didn't matter anymore.

Hermione watched the memories with him, and upon the conclusion she turned to him, took his hands in hers and "I'll stay until the snake is dead, until Voldemort's dead. Then I'll see you again." She reached her hand up to the side of his face and they looked at each other. All Harry could see in her eyes was grief. The spark of Hermione, the clever knowing spark, was gone.

Harry didn't even have the heart to talk her out of it. Instead he put on the invisibility clock and trekked mechanically down to the forbidden forest. He tried to comprehend the gravity of what he was doing. He was going to die. He was never going to see Ginny again. He was never going to grow old or have children. His heart was going to stop beating.

As he walked toward the forest, his extremities felt cold. Ron was dead. Ron was dead. His body was going into shock to comprehend it. But it didn't matter, because he would be dead soon, too. He would be dead soon and Hermione would be dead soon…

As he approached the edge of the forest he thought vaguely of Ron's battle with the locket. Ron, who never realized how important he was. Whose biggest fear was that he was the least loved.

Without him, what were they? There was nothing to fight for. For Hermione, there was no future without Ron, and for him? There was a life half-light. Ron loved both Hermione and Harry unconditionally and he was the glue that held them together, protected them, and kept them laughing even in the darkest of times.

Without him, they were nothing.

It was Ron, Harry thought of, when he whispered to the golden snitch. "I am about to die"

It was Ron, Harry thought of, when he turned the resurrection stone thrice in hand.

And it was Ron that appeared before him, smiling sadly but looking cleaner and healthier than he had during their Horcrux hunt. Harry looked at him, and his heart broke again. He had never truly told Ron how much he meant to him. It was just an unspoken bond between the two.

"It's bout that time, isn't it mate?" Ron spoke first.

"Ron, I…" Harry started, intending to apologize.

"Don't Harry. It wasn't your fault" Ron interrupted. He knew Harry's guilt complex better than anyone.

"I wasn't even there for you." Harry said, in horror, admitting it for the first time to himself. He didn't know when Ron was hit, but he and Hermione had kept running. They had been completely oblivious to their friend's predicament.

"You were always there for me" Ron replied, his smile looking less sad and more like the carefree grin that Harry had known for so long.

"Hermione…"Harry started, not knowing exactly what he planned on saying. That she would be with them soon? That she loved him?

Ron frowned a bit. "I wondered if she would be with you. I wanted to tell her to go back to the castle. Not to marry an arse." Harry's eyes winded a bit. "I wanted to tell her to live" Ron finished.

"Does it hurt?" Harry asked. The gravity of what Ron had said kicked in. He couldn't go back to the castle. He was going to join Ron.

"It's like falling asleep." Ron reassured him.

"Let's finish what we started." Harry whispered.

"Together." Ron finished.

Harry began walking towards the clearing, with Ron by his side; the walk to meet Voldemort didn't seem quiet as bad.

END

Sorry for some of the darker themes. I was truly just thinking about a "what if" scenario. Let me know what you think!