The Last Small Comfort
She paced up and down the long corridors of St. Mungo's. Her thoughts were jumbled and frantically moving about in her head, causing it to throb painfully. All her energy had been consumed as she had been pacing the same hallway since she received word of his condition earlier that day.
Her limbs felt as though they had become lifeless and her thoughts resolutely shut down as numbness seeped into her head. She saw a Mediwitch approaching her; the latter's face impassive for this part of her career.
She was led into a side room by the Mediwitch. All layers of her defense were completely shed and the only thought that found a way into her mind was Don't let it be true. Don't let it be true. She was then told the words that no one ever wants to hear; she had lost her true love, her only light in this world.
Losing him forevermore was not something she could easily fathom, and the very thought of continuing on without him shook her to the core. To lose him was a fate beyond terrible, especially considering everything that had successfully encountered together before he passed away. Her thoughts became distraught and a terrible weight settled itself in her stomach.
The weight in her stomach unsettles her, making her feel ill, while the truth of the matter finally sets over her, crumbling the last of her resolve. She crumples to the floor, the weight of the emotions coursing through her becoming too much to bear, and allows the tears to stream down her cheeks, while the Mediwitch pulls a chair over by her and pats her back consolingly.
She tries to release every emotion that is pounding through her body, vainly hoping that it will in some way allow her to be free from this terrible nightmare. This day has tested her beyond all means and has caused her world to overturn. And that one little thought pulls at her, mocks her, and pushes her to burst.
Hours later, though the time has gone by far too fast for her, she is left drained, with no more tears left to spill. She exits St. Mungo's knowing that she will somehow have to find the strength to face the world and learn of way to cope without the one and only man she has ever loved.
Months later, she is sitting at their…her kitchenette table, still thinking of him. She has tried to move one, but she still cannot think of him without tears stinging her eyes. But nevertheless, she still puts on a smile, what has seemed to become a permanent disguise for her.
She see the looks that people give her when she is out in public. They pity her, yet they tell her to move on. Those people are not the ones that can truly understand what it feels like when someone you love with your whole heart is taken away from you all too soon. The chance of ever recovering from something of that that caliber is really quite slim, but everyday she gets out of bed and puts on a brave face for him.
There comes a knock on the door. She opens it to see her brother-in-law standing there with a timid smile playing at his lips as he ruffles a hand through his long red hair. She looks up into his clear blue eyes which remind her so much of her husband's and remembers that the man in front of her knows what it feels like to experience the kind of pain that has overtaken her life.
"Hi Hermione." He speaks to her in the same somber voice that he has spoken in since the Final Battle. "I was just wondering if you might want to grab a bite with me in Diagon Alley. I don't think either of us have really left our apartments for quite some time."
He let out a humourless laugh and looked at her with eyes so hopeful that she feels ashamed of herself. All this time she had been pitying herself, thinking that no one could possibly understand what she was going through, when there was someone right in front of her that did.
She had lost her husband, but he had lost his twin. As she nodded her affirmation to her brother-in-law and locked the door behind her, she felt an inexplicable relief flood over her. She was no longer alone in her pain. They could talk through their issues and hopefully become better friends through that. And that one small comfort was able to keep her sane.