-Crack- "Crucio!"

-Crack-

-Crack- "Expelliarmus!"

-Crack-

-Crack- "Avada Kedavra"

-Crack-

-Crack- "Stupefy! What, scared of me Tom?"

-Crack-

-Crack- "Crucio!" "Protego! Why are you apparating all over the place?"

-Crack-

-Crack- "Why can't you fight like a man Tom? Why do you have to apparate to get away from my spells?

-Crack-

-Crack- "Sectumsempra!"

-Crack- "Missed me Potter! Looks like the mudblood was apparating to your rescue and you hit her instead. Ha!"

"Hermione no!!"

"Crucio!"

"AHHHHHHH…" Then, something snapped in Harry (and not because of the curse). He forgot about his wand. He lunged at Voldemort. Harry was punching every inch of Voldemort he could reach. "You fucking bastard! This is all your fault! You are going to rue the day you messed with me and my family friends!! I'll fucking kill you. I'd kill your whole fucking family if it weren't for the fact that you don't have one. I want you and your reign of terror to end." Voldemort was severely bruised before Harry remembered his wand. Harry grabbed it. "Good bye Voldemort. AVADA KEDAVRA!!!!"

Harry ran to Hermione's side. She was still awake. Just. "Don't worry Hermione. I'll get you help. You will be alright." Harry was trying to make his voice be a cool hard rock that Hermione could grab on to. It didn't help that his mind was still cursing with rage but he wanted to be there for her and not caught up on Voldemort.

"Harry, I wa…"

"No Hermione, save your strength. You are going to need it. Do you think you could apparate?" Hermione shook her head no. "Then I'll do side along. Come on. Stand up. You can do it. There you go, now I'll get you to the safe point.

-Crack- Harry was holding on tight but halfway through Hermione went slack. Harry held on tighter and managed to pull her through. They arrived in front of Grimmuald Place.

-Crack- "Shit, she passed out." Harry picked her up bridal style and carried her to the door. Once he got inside he met Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh my god! What happened to her. Is sh-"

"I need Professor Snape and a blood replenishing potion, stat." Harry's voice was still calm. It was better that way. Don't need to let everyone know what happened yet.

"But, Harry-"

"No buts. Get them now. I'll be in the drawing room." Harry carried her into the drawing room and placed her on the couch. Then he did the best he could to try to revive her and clean her up. It wasn't easy. She just kept bleeding. Soon the couch was red with blood. Finally Snape showed up. Along with everyone else.

"What happened Potter?"

"I was fighting Voldemort. He was apparating all over the place and someone apparated behind me. I thought it was Voldemort and aimed the Sectumsempra curse behind me but it was Hermione not Voldemort." Harry was fighting hard to keep the emotion out of his voice. He needed to be strong for Hermione.

"Okay I'm going to need to be alone with her. Any distractions will mess this up. Get a blood replenishing potion ready."

Harry was preparing the potion when Snape walked in. "Harry I am afraid to say that she didn't make it. She lost too much blood."

"Oh, okay." Harry got up. He extinguished the fire under the cauldron and walked out the door. He just kept on walking. He took a beetle out of his hair. It was just Rita who was a registered animagus now. She was up there to get the truth on what happened during the battle. He knew what Rita would make this into a juicy story. He made it out the door and to his car before he started crying.

He woke up the next morning in his car to a bunch of owls pecking at the door. He made it home at least, though he didn't know how. He must have cried himself to sleep in the car. He unrolled his window enough to let the smallest owl through. Pigwigden could barely make it through. He was carrying a huge package.

There was a tearstained note from Ron and the morning paper. Harry didn't get the morning paper so he knew it was important if Ron was sending it to him. Harry read the note from Ron first. It was a good idea.

Harry, Don't read any mail unless you know the person who sent it personally. And even then be careful. Something bad appeared in the paper this morning and you should judge who's letter you want to open very carefully. -Ron

P. S. I still go by your name for her. That Rita Skeeter is a cow.

P. S. S. All the family knows you wouldn't do anything like that. We all know you loved Hermione more than life itself. It was a wonder Ginny didn't tell her.

He was right. The article in the paper Ron was refering to was 5 pages long. It started on page one:

You-Know-Who is Dead: My Front Line View Through Harry Potter's Hair!

Harry skipped right over that and found a article about half a page, starting on page 6. It read:

Harry's Blunder: Did He Intentionally Kill His Best Friend?

Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet's star reporter has some shocking news about someone we all thought we knew. Harry Potter, 17, has jet black hair (I should know, for full details read You-Know-Who is Dead: My Front Line View Through Harry Potter's Hair!) and green eyes. He is 5'9" and every girls dream date. He is on the good side but we all know that. What we don't know is if he has a darker side. Does he?

On October the 31st (exactly 16 years after the death of his parents) Harry's best friend, Hermione Granger died of suspicious circumstances. It was near the end of the battle (for full coverage on the battle, see pg 1), when Harry was fighting Voldemort, that it happened. Harry turned around and saw Hermione. He shouted some unheard-of spell. It sounded like Tescum pius. Blood just started spurting out of Hermione.

And then turned around and started muggle dueling with You-Know-Who. Of course, You-Know-Who being pure-blood, did not know what Harry was doing and could not fight back. For all of those out there who does not know what muggle dueling is. It is where you hit people with your hands and feet instead of using your wand.

Hermione died later that night despite the valiant efforts of Professor Severus Snape, potions master and Defense Against the Dark Arts expert for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to save her. Nothing is known about how Harry is taking this latest blow (if the accident really was an accident).

Harry read the article twice before realizing what it said. "Shit. I'm screwed now."

He then got to his "fan" mail. Everything from his friends showed support and sympathy. He didn't open anything else. He started crying when he was packing up, finding all the stuff that Hermione gave him, and everything he was going to give her after the war (love letters, jewelry, etc.).

The funeral was a week later. Everyone was crying. Everyone went. Including Harry, who was in disguise. He didn't even make it past the door before Ron and Ginny walked up to him. "Who the hell are you and why are you here?" Ron asked, thinking it might be reporters.

"I'm so glad to see you, but where is Harry Potter? My name is Harold. I'm sure Harry's here in disguise is he?" Harry said the two sentences he had been practicing for the last hour. Ron (not surprisingly) didn't catch on.

"I am not sorry to say that we are not accepting report- " Ron was saying until Ginny stepped on his foot and then whispered something into his ear. Ron's face went slack and then rearranged itself. He attempted to greet Harry again.

"We are so glad you could make it Harold. Did any buggy reporters follow you?"

"No. I'm going to go up and give my last respects to Her- her." His voice cracked and tears started leaking out of his eyes again. He walked up to her coffin.

Harry held her unnaturally cold hand. It was something he just had to do. He didn't know why. He couldn't believe this was going to be the last time he held her. He was telling her everything he never did. Everything he should have told her before. Everything he was waiting until after the war to tell her. He was still crying. He hadn't stopped since that day, over a week ago.

"Hermione, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to do it. I never wanted to hurt you, let alone what I actually did. I should have told you before now, but I was waiting until after the war. I suppose that if you were here you would have said something like 'it's never too late to say so' but now you're dead and it doesn't count anymore. I love you. I love you more than life itself. I love you more than I love myself. I hate myself. I know you would say something like 'Don't blame yourself it was an accident' but now because of me you can't. It is all my fault. I should have told you I love you a million times a day. I don't know how I'll get on without you. I don't even know how I'll live with myself. I am so sorry."

The funeral went on. It was now time for Harry's eulogy. Except he was talking as Harold. Even though it was his friends and family there he still couldn't show himself. Some of them believed Rita Skeeter's version of events.

"Hermione was the smartest person I ever knew. She was warm, bright, fun loving, a book worm, and there could never have been a better friend than her. She knew everything about me, and knew how to cheer me up when I was sad, how to occupy me when I was bored, and when I needed a friend or just needed to be left alone. I know I would never know how to do all those things for her, but I helped her when I could. I loved Hermione more than she ever knew, and was waiting for the right time to tell her. That time has passed me now, so I am telling all of you instead. I hope that wherever she is, she is looking down upon us and smiling, knowing that we will never forget her. I am sorry Hermione."

Harry was crying the whole time he was speaking but everybody heard and understood what he was saying. For someone that they didn't know (excluding Ron and Ginny), he had described Hermione better than they ever could.

The funeral moved on and "Harold" was a pole bearer along with Ron, Neville, Mr. Weasley, Victor Krum, and Mr. Granger. He had "filled in" the spot that Harry was supposed to have. They buried Hermione in the Granger's burial plot. Next to her mother's fourth cousin's uncle, who was twice removed, Hector Dagworth-Granger.

It was raining out but nobody noticed. The raindrops danced with the tears on their faces.

He stayed at the gravesite long after it had been filled in and everyone had left. It was still raining and Harry was soaked to the bones but he took no notice. He had stopped shivering from the cold an hour ago.

Finally he decided he better go and pay for the ruined tuxedo. It was long since due. He went and paid for the tux and then finished gathering his things an moved. He moved far away from London to a city on the coast of England. He hoped it was far enough away where he knew he could get away from the reporters and hopefully away from the memory of Hermione altogether.

Before he moved he went back to Hermione's grave just long enough to say 4 words. "Good bye my love."