Her body was numbed as if it had been on ice for the past few days. She did not know of any survivors nor did she look around to see them. The eyes that once held such happiness and joy were empty and dull as they remained transfixed on the bit of rubble in front of her view. She couldn't bear to look around. In her mind she could see bodies strewn across the grass, most separated by two feet, other piled carelessly on top of each other. Her eyes glazed over and the numbing sensation was spreading. She tried to move her hand but it remained dead and on the pile she was lying on. Darkness overtook her as her final thought flashed across her head, "What am I to become?"

The days passed by slowly and an overbearing sense of death still clung like smoke in the air. Those who survived were haunted with images and vivid dreams. No one wished to speak of their nightmares as they tried to fall back into the routines that would not work for their lives anymore. Those who lost their lives were given proper burials that the Ministry accounted for. Many wasted away by these coffins, crying until their skin was dry and cracked. Few deatheaters were given proper funerals, but those that were had a low attendance because many of their kind had fled with the Dark Lords murder. They were probably trying to rekindle the old feelings of hatred and disgust for the force of good.

The Daily Prophet covered almost every aspect of the battle with headlines proclaiming the Dark Lord was dead on the 4th of December in 1997. While many in the wizarding world were celebrating this memorable occasion, the students at Hogwarts were in a state of mourning and despair. Harry Potter's life had been taken in the process of vanquishing the Dark Lord. This was a hard punch to many who did not witness the battle. They had always expected that he would survive simply because he was "The Boy Who Lived." Lives were shattered as well as bodies and souls. Yet, the two who had loved Harry the most, knew nothing of his death.

Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger were in St. Mungos fighting for their lives back. Doctors were constantly shoving antidotes and potions down their throats in a desperate attempt to bring them back to consciousness. Little did they know, they would not fully recover for quite some time.

Flashback

Golden crystals of light burst into the air as the brother wands connected for the last time. Voldemort sneered defiantly at Harry and whispered menacingly, "There's no turning back now. This time you cannot run away."

Harry's scar burst with a searing pain unlike those of the past. Voldemort had taken over his body and was determined to lower his guard and wand arm. Harry shut his eyes trying to keep the blinding light out of his view. But it was to no avail, the blinding light was in his head. Whispering was overlapping inside his head. He could not take it; Voldemort was trying to drive him to insanity. He was not going to die like this.

Emotion surged through his body. He was going to fight for his life. Fight for the friends and family that have passed away because of Voldemort's mission to reign over the wizarding world. This time, even if it cost him his life, it was going to end tonight. This was for his parents who were killed at Voldemort's hands. This was for Hermione, Ron and the Order. This was for Sirius, his godfather and friend whom he loved. Voldemort's influence left his body and Harry opened his eyes to the scene again. It was the same as before except Voldemort's eyes were a deep black instead of a menacing red.

Voldemort took another turn into scaring Harry to give up. "You're weak. I bet you're arm is throbbing. You will never be strong like me as long as you have emotion. Join me Harry."

He was right. Harry's arm was throbbing painfully but it was going to take more than that to make him give up. Emotion radiated from his body and the intensity of the connection heightened. Just like all things go up, they must come down. The curse shot from the circle in mid-air and instantly hit Voldemort and Harry in the chest. Harry's body went rigid and he felt his life slip away so slowly...

End of Flashback

The body is a complex system. It does not last forever. Once it is worn and old, the embers of life will gradually slip away. But while it is young but tortured, it tries to regroup and grow again to bring new life to what once lived before. For Hermione Granger, this theory was true. Her body gradually developed more strength and the doctors were sure color was flooding back into her cheeks. But Ronald Weasley grew worse in his small bed. Sickness overcame him and slowly he drifted away. The pain he underwent during his last hours was too much for his body to overcome. It was December 27, 1997 when his body finally shut down despite the battle given by the doctors.

The Weasley family was broken and sad. Even Fred and George could be seen crying over their brother's bed as his heart slowed to a stop. Their final hopes of having a survivor within the Golden Trio rested on Hermione. Even though she was not a blood relative, she was still considered part of the Weasley family ever since her parents were killed at the hands of Lord Voldemort.

A week later, Hermione gained consciousness. She heard a variety of sounds around her bed. There was a constant crying sound, the sounds of heavy breathing, and the sound of someone saying "Dear Merlin, let her be the one to live." Struggling, Hermione desperately opened her eyes to see the world around her. Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, and Ginny sat in chairs around her bed looking at various objects around the room, trying to find a shred of happiness that use to be in their lives.

She tried to say something but choked on her words as the emotion that was thick in the room overcame her senses and forced her to tears. Everyone looked at her once they heard the noise and Molly immediately started fussing over her asking her if she was okay and then sending Arthur to get the doctor.

Hermione noticed two people were missing, Harry and Ron. Quietly she said, "Where are Harry and Ron?" Tears welled up in Molly's eyes and she knew immediately that they were gone. She buried her head in the flimsy blanket that was covering her and tears poured out of her eyes. No one could offer her any solace. If they tried to touch her, she would merely shrug them off. She remained like this until the doctors came in and forced a dreamless sleep potion into her mouth. Now that she was awake, they had tests to perform to make sure she was in good health.

Three days later, Hermione was released from the hospital with an evident frown on her face and no hope within her brown orbs. Dumbledore thought it was best for Hermione to have some time off before returning to school to finish her studies and graduate. At this time, she didn't care about her studies. Guilty thoughts plagued her every waking moment. She should have been the one to go, not Harry or Ron.

The Weasley's opened their home to Hermione. She was welcome to live there as if she were one of their own children and for this Hermione was grateful. She felt comfortable in the Weasley household and the familiarity of Ginny's room. It brought back a cozy feeling, if only for a moment. She settled herself on a bed adjacent to Ginny's and stared at the ceiling with a dark and far-away look in her eyes. She wished she was with them right now, but she knew it was impossible they were gone. She rolled onto her side and the tears rolled down her face and sobs racked her body.

The door to the room creaked open and one of the twins popped their heads in. "Can I come in?" he said with concern in his voice.

Reluctantly, she said yes and told him to shut the door behind him. Fred sat down next to her and asked her how she was.

Anger bubbled inside of her at these words. "How could you ask my how I am? I'm bloody miserable thank you very much. I should be dead not them. It should be me!" she screamed. Her face was red and her hair was all over the place. Fred wore a calm expression on his face as if this was what he expected to find.

"I should be dead, but I'm not. I'm here and there's nothing I can do about it. I wish I was dead." The last part was so inaudible that Fred almost didn't hear it. Her anger had subsided and it turned into a wave of sadness, guilty and betrayal.

"I should have been there Fred. I should have saved them but I wasn't. I'm a bad friend and a horrible person. How could they do this to me and your family? Why are they gone? I should be gone not them."

Hermione started crying with more intensity and as tears streamed from her face, Fred tried to comfort her with his arms. She buried her head into his chest and grabbed onto him as if she would never let go. "It's not fair," she kept whispering.

"I know," Fred said trying to comfort her. "I know."

Yes. That is all for now, but this is merely an introduction. The better stuff is yet to come. :wink:Oh, please review. I would like that. Give me your honest opinions on it. What you liked, didn't like, where I could improve, etc.

Until next time,

SlytherinRoyalty