A/N – Ok this is only the prologue if you like it I'll keep posting… please review.

I do not own Harry Potter

Hermione Granger walked through the spider web of white marble hallways in that made up her family's old mansion. She walked slowly grazing her fingers along the dusty walls. The large estate seemed so empty and open. It was just as beautiful to her as it was when her father was there with her, when she was small.

Hermione came to the end of the corridor and into the unused ballroom that had been covered in a layer of dust ever since her father had gone. She put her arms up in the air, as if dancing with an imaginary partner. She twirled and glided around the great room with graceful steps. Dancing as she had then, without thinking she just let herself float across the floor. And then she was there again in her father's embrace, he was holding her like he did that last dance. It was perfect and she was 9 years old again.

She continued to dance through her past and over the memories she missed the most. She could remember all of the days that they had spent in the beautiful ballroom, her father teaching her to dance. She could she herself as clearly as if in a window looking through time, Spinning in circles with her arms spread wide and her head thrown back, laughing and smiling with the man standing in front of her.

Hermione slowed and put her arms down, sighing deeply. When she had laughed like that last, she didn't know. It had been so long since she had been truly happy. It had been at least 8 years since her face had been graced with that smile. It had been 8 years since the contentment she felt as a child had been replaced with emptiness. Every breath that she took after that moment was one more he wasn't. Every step she took seemed to put that much more distance between the present where she was alive and the place where she could finally be anything but left behind.

FLASHBACK:

"Hermione Granger?"

"Yes, that's me…" Hermione stood from her chair in the quiet waiting room and walked up to the nurse who had called her name

"Oh… h- how old are you? Did you come alone; your mother… is she around?" The nurse looked around the room and then down at her in surprise, obviously expecting to locate her supervision somewhere nearby

"Actually I'm nine today… my mother's busy, I just wanted to come and visit a few minutes… " Hermione tailed offalmost embarrassed at how pathetic she must sound

"Oh no…" The nurse muttered under her breath this time then focused back on Hermione "Where is your mother exactly?"

"She…well… she had some house work to do and said they would let me come for a little while. I come a lot so they recognized me…" Hermione stumbled over her words making an excuse yet again for her absent mother.

"Um…" the woman studied her again "I guess I haven't muchof a choice then, come with me." She turned and beckoned Hermione to follow.

Hermione could feel it, something was wrong. This time was different; they were going to tell her something. She followed the nurse shakily with a hesitant expression. The woman stopped outside her father's door and kneeled to her level.

"I…Oh God…I'm so sorry…It's even your birthday…your father…he, this morning he…" The nurse fumbled with her words then bit her lip in frustration Hermione could tell already, she saw it in the woman's eyes now. The look that everyone gave her when they found out her father was sick. This time though it was worse she knew this time it was the beginning of the end. A tear slid down her cheek and she turned her head nodding to show she understood.

"Can I see him one more time… alone, please?" Hermione still couldn't look at the woman in front of her for fear of seeing the look in her eyes again

"Of course you may…" the nurse stood and turned "you can go in its open, take as long as you like… I'm really very sorry…" her voice faded as she walked away.

Hermione opened the door slowly, she wanted to remember everything she could she wanted to always remember the last time. She stepped inside and looked around. The room was the same as it was since nearly a year before, the same as it had always been. The breeze blew the curtains lightly like flowing silk in front of the open windows. The fresh sent of spring floated around the room and sunlight played over the walls.

Hermione let the tears slide down her face as she stepped forward and climbed onto the bed wrapping her arms around the only person it seemed that had ever truly cared for her. She sobbed and buried her head in the man's side and held to him tightly. Maybe, she thought if she held on tight enough they could go back in time or maybe she just wished that he would take her with him wherever he was going it would be better there with him then it would be alone anywhere else. She stayed there for so long just waiting for something to happen, she didn't move for hours until the sky was pink, yellow and orange painted with the perfect sunset. She looked up and then back at her father.

"Look daddy, it's so beautiful. Perfect. But you're missing it. This one's even better than the ones we watched in the garden. It's the best birthday present I could ever imagine. It will never be complete without you though. " she brushed her fingers lightly across his cold cheek.

She looked at him and then up to the sunset and felt the tears once again rolling down her face, she could almost feel the wind cradle her in its arms. She knew it had to be her father; he was the only one who knew about the sunsets.

"My dream is over Dad, Life was to perfect it had to end. It couldn't have always be this wonderful…" she could hear him then, chuckling softly and he would lift her up like before and twirl around, she was soaring now; through her perfect hallucination. Then as soon as it had come it had gone and she was in the room again. She reached down and took his hand placing it over her heart and then pressed her hand to his chest and smiled.

"Remember Dad? Like we always do…" she squeezed his hand a little tighter wishing that she had had the chance to say goodbye for real.

"Goodbye for now…"she whispered and let his hand fall back to its resting place on the bed and drew hers back slipping off the bed quietly as if not to wake him, as if he was only sleeping. She looked back at the sunset one last time and then turned and walked slowly out of the room letting the door close behind her with a soft click.

END FLASHBACK

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