Disclaimer: I do not own any characters.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

From the moment Ron heard that anguish-filled scream, the next events that took place happened in slow motion.

He felt the shove, a shove that only a female could have produced, but with enough force to make him fall to the ground, his feet already unstable on a mount of hidden objects.

He had heard the curse, but had not turned around in time to know that the Killing Curse was directed towards him, and how, very slowly, in his mind, the beautiful girl gave a scream then ran towards him, pushing him out of the way, then sinking towards the floor.

Ron was confused. He made his way towards the limp body, and saw bushy brown hair, and a face wearing a beautiful smile, as if she was satisfied with something that had just happened.

He reached out a hand to touch her. Her cheek was still warm, although it was getting colder and colder with every second. Then, he knew.

He knew that the girl he loved had just saved him from death. He knew that she had sacrificed herself in order to save her life. He knew that Hermione Granger, the person who he knew he absolutely couldn't live without, was dead.

He tried shaking her shoulders, knowing in his heart that it would be useless. He stared at her, and didn't know that tears were falling from his eyes until he saw a tear dripping onto Hermione's beautiful face.

He couldn't believe she was gone, that he would never be able to hear that beautiful laugh or see that shinning smile, or see the sparkle in her eyes when she accomplished something new in class. He would never be able to argue with her about cats and rats, about famous Quidditch players, about anything that could be argued about. He would never be able to ask for her forgiveness everytime he had upset her. But most of all, he couldn't believe that he didn't get to start the life that he always imagined with her. He would never get to marry her, see her in white, get to soothe her when she had a fustrating day at work, never be able to see her belly grow as she carried around their child. He never even got to tell her that he loved her.

He slowly bent down, with tears now racing down his face, and kissed her cold lips.

"Hermione, I love you," he said softly, and started crying harder for he knew that she would never be able to hear him.

"RON!"

He heard someone scream his name, but made no effort to move, for he was next to Hermione.

RON, THE FIRE! WE HAVE TO MOVE!" The voice was right. There was a giant fire racing towards him and Hermione, who would never know that her body was about to be burned to ashes by Cursed Fire.

He would have stayed there to die if he wasn't worried about Hermione's body. Still wanting to keep her safe, he scooped her up in his arms, and made a run for the door, exiting the Room of Requirements.

Still carrying Hermione, and never-ending tears still falling from his face, he saw his best friend's face fall as he realized what had happened to their best friend. He saw his expression turn into pure anguish, looking back and forward toward Ron and Hermione, tears falling down his own face.

"Wha-what happened?" Harry asked, his voice shaking.

Ron didn't reply, for with a cry of pain, he sunk to the ground, against the wall, and started sobbing, all of his pain showing in his face. He was clutching Hermione's body close to him, squeezing her tightly, as if he could squeeze the life back into her. It was no use.

Suddenly, there was curse aimed right above Ron's head, which snapped up, tears still streaming down his face.

"Ron, let's go!" Harry yelled, while aiming curses.

They both ran toward an empty classroom, and closed the door behind them, everyone unsuspecting that they were in there.

Ron was seated in the teachers desk, his face covered in dirt and a bit of blood. His features were crumpled up with pain as he sobbed into Hermione's hair.

"Mate," Harry started to say, wiping his own tears. "We've got to go on. We need to destroy Voldemort, and make sure she doesn't die in vain. She wouldn't want us to just stand here, crying over her, when there are innocent people out there, dying, and risking their lives. Let's take her to the Great Hall. When this battle is over, we'll go back to get her."

And sure enough, after Harry feigned death, after he defeated Voldemort, and after they had celebrated, they went back into the world filled with pain and loss. Hermione, Fred, Tonks, Lupin, and many others had lost their lives in the battle. It was time to mourn.

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