Chapter 1

He's dead…

Hermione Granger stood stumped, leaning heavily against her metal guidance. Her breath came out in huge puffs as she struggled to even continue breathing. Her eyes stung and pricked with tears, threatening to fall off the brim of her eyes. She hugged her woolen jacket closer to herself. Finally, the euphoria settled in. She could feel warm tears flowing freely down her cheeks. They slid down her chin and clung to its tip for awhile before falling gracefully and leaving the smallest of dents on the fast falling snow. Her auburn eyes were glazed over and looked hazel. They swarmed over the Weasleys, huddled in a group. They exchanged weird glances and spoke in hushed, worried voices, their eyebrows raised. Suddenly, she felt a comforting arm around her shoulders. She felt the warmth rush through her body, spreading through her flustered cheeks. "It'll be ok. Viktor will never truly leave you. He would never have wished for you to cry. So grant the man his final wish…..send him off happily with grace…." She heard Ronald Weasley whisper soothingly into her ears.

"But he must have…for he left me…" Hermione replied.

She nodded her head as if in a trance as she cast her eyes off the Weasley and looked into the air. The heavy snow fell hard on her face and bit into her skin. "O heavens! Why did you separate my Krum from me? Brought him to yourself, hugged him tightly and refused to let him go. Is this fair? Answer me. Heavens open and reveal. Spill the truth!" She commanded.

This was how it had been for the past three days. Krum had died during the war against evil. Hermione had watched his devastating death. Her parents fell ill soon after with a mysterious disease. With her boyfriend and companion dead and her parents grievously ill with an unknown disease, Hermione had had nowhere to go. She had felt abandoned in a lonely corner of her dark and gloomy house. Harry Potter and the rest of the Weasleys had gone on vacation to recuperate and take a break from the war, leaving Ron behind to care for her. Left alone, she began on the first step to loose herself. She moaned and groaned in angst as darkness grew inside and outside of her. Her mind clouded over with the dark thoughts circling in her head. She could feel her sanity leaving her, tearing away from her more like. And soon, she was left all alone, an empty shell muttering away to herself. Her parents had gotten worried and sent her over to spend the rest of her holidays with her friends in the hope that she would forget about the tragedy.

hermione hugged her knees close to herself and rocked backwards and forwards slowly. The darkness enveloped the room and eerie shadows were cast against the wall. The air smelled musty and was hot and humid after days soent without open windows and proper ventilation other than the occasional opening of the door by Ron. Hermione herself had gone pale, her skin having been deprived off sunlight for too long and her hair lay loose and unkempt as wiry strands sprawled across her face. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. A vision of blinding light appeared in front of her eyes, accompanied by a body falling on the floor with a sickening crunch. She opened her eyes, screaming. The loud noise pulverized the stillness of the room.

The door burst open and she stopped. "Hermione?"

It was Ron. Attracted by the noise, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley followed, rubbing their eyes groggily. Harry ruffled his already tousled hair, making it worse and asked," What just happened?"

Ron raised an eyebrow and wearily answered, "That's exactly what I wanted to know. Hermione screamed, I suppose."

Ginny Weasley cocked her head. "We'll leave. She has been screaming a lot lately…it's getting a bit boring, isn't it…"

Ron silenced with a look. Sister she might be, but she had dumped him before for Harry. Hermione had always been fair.

Ron watched as the door closed. He closed his eyes and sighed slowly. "What's wrong?" He asked, bending down on his knees. He stroked her hair lightly and asked, "Come on, let's go out for awhile-get some fresh air! Shopping? I know you like it. I'll go muggle shopping for you…" Ron tried.

Hermione shook her head slowly. It was heart wrenching to see her like this. He looked pleadingly at her and clutched her hands close to himself. Hermione buried her head on his shoulders and put her arms around his neck. She inhaled his cologne deeply. They sat there silently, wrapping each other with the other's presence. Finally, very slightly, as if it had not even happened, Hermione nodded her head.

Ron turned in surprise. He shot her a quizzical look. "You sure?" He asked disbelievingly.

Hermione croaked something incomprehensively. She cleared her voice and rasped, "Ok…but…ll…will….will you bring me to Kr-Krum's tomb first…"

She left the question hanging. Ron swallowed painfully and nodded. Hermione's eyes began to brim and Ron place his hand tenderly on her chin to lift her face so that her eyes were staring into his. He used his free hand to wipe away her tears.