Disclaimer: Potterverse is not mine.
CHAPTER 1: I love you. Goodbye.
Hogwarts lay in ruins. Pieces of statues and walls surround them. People were either shocked and unmoving, or celebrating. Voldemort is gone. Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, has just ended the reign of terror, and life of the Dark Lord.
After the final confrontation, he made his way towards the Great Hall, or what was left of it. He wanted to be with his friends, his family. Instead, he only made it past the entrance hall. It seemed like everyone bombarded him, offering him congratulations and thanking him. Strangers and acquaintance alike hugged him, or hogged if you were particular about it.
She also wanted to be there for him, to comfort him, for she knows it was what he actually needed at the moment. She stayed a few paces away from him, waiting for the chance to talk to him. To her, he looked dazed. He did not appear to have an idea who the people around him were.
The situation went on for minutes. Harry was now being led away from the Great Hall to the revolving staircase. Some Aurors were doing their best to give him some space. The Weasleys would have done that for him had they not been grieving for their own.
She saw him march sluggishly, as if life had left his body. Yet, the people still tried to approach him without consideration.
The gap between the Entrance Hall and the revolving staircase was trivial but the damage done was vast. No matter where you looked rumbles of cement or piles of destroyed objects could be seen. Dust would spike up with every step. It all seemed surreal. All these she noted as she followed closely behind Harry.
When the Aurors finally managed to prevent the people from following, she observed Harry silently treading away from the view. She tried to side step the onslaught of people only to end up facing an Auror she did not recognize. Luckily, he recognized her and let her through.
She easily recognized the form slumped beside a broken stairwell once she was gone from the view of the people. She could see with the way he was sitting - back hunched, elbows on his knees, hands covering his face – all the burden he was carrying. She stopped on her track, knowing that she was about to bring him more pain.
She had convinced herself it was the right decision. She must leave. She was no longer of much use to Harry, and her feelings would only get in the way of his happiness.
"Harry…" She whispered. He turned to face her.
"Hermione..It's over we have won," he said, looking at her tenderly.
The pain and sadness she was feeling must have shown in her face. He stood up, closed the gap between them until they were merely a foot apart.
"Something wrong, Hermione?" Even in his own state of tiredness, he still worried about others before himself. Her tears fell down.
"Harry, I…" Steeling herself, she met his eyes fiercely. "I love you."
It was barely audible but she was sure Harry heard it clearly. His eyes widened and his mouth opened in shock.
"Hermione, w-what?"
Hermione collapsed in front him but his seeker's skill allowed him to catch her. They were still standing; or rather, Harry was still standing supporting all her weight through his own body. She placed her head in his shoulder and encircled her arms around his waist. She let herself feel him for possibly the last time.
"I don't know when it started but when Ron left and I didn't go with him, I felt no regret. I may have not seemed like it but I was glad I had your company. I realized then what I truly f-felt for you," she whispered softly, tears never stopped running down her face. "But don't worry, Harry. I won't be a hindrance to your relationship with Ginny. All I want is for you to be happy. She could do that and help you heal." More tears leaked out from her chocolate brown eyes.
Mustering all will power and strength she had, she pushed away herself from the warmth embrace of the person she was in love with.
"I love you, Harry. Goodbye." She let herself fall down, disapparating with a soft pop right before she touched the ground. The damages Voldemort did to Hogwarts allowed her to leave her treasured school.
Harry Potter didn't have any chance to register what she was about to do. Right there and then, he lost her best friend.
"HERMIONE!" his shout echoed throughout the destroyed halls of Hogwarts. His shout, however, could never bring her back. He was too late, way too late.
As the sensation of apparition consumed her, Hermione was thinking of the life she had in the wizarding world, with her friends, with Harry. And then, she was thinking of what Harry's life was going to be without her, with Ginny. The pain she felt was strong enough to make her pass out.
- Line Break -
THUMP!
A young man landed chin first to the ground because of the weight that fell on him. He shoved whatever it was aside and brought his wand out, checking for any possible danger. When he was sure that there was no threat, he kneeled beside the person who fell on him. He could not see her face because she was lying on her front, but with the mane of hair and body figure, he could definitely say the person was a she.
The blonde man attempted to rub his chin in thought only to feel pain and see blood on his thumb. The fall must have been harder than he thought. Shaking himself back to the matter at hand, he couldn't get rid of the feeling of familiarity while looking at the woman in the ground.
Saving himself the trouble of figuring out why, he turned the woman gently. He whipped his wand as he moved back, prepared for battle. He smacked himself mentally after remembering that she was unconscious.
"Granger?" He nudged the woman unceremoniously with a spell.
When he was absolutely certain that she was out cold and would not wake up, he stood up deliberating on what he should do. Damning everything to hell, he crouched down and carried the woman deeper into the forest. What possessed him to do that was beyond him.
A/N: So what do you think? Do you recognize it? If you do, it's because it is what the title says. Also, next chapter of Just the Girl is already done. But I only sent it to my beta (who is taking a break for health purposes) a few hours ago... so update would probably be next week. (which is why I decided to post a new story instead). ^_^
Leave a review. :)
