Hermione's POV

Fixated on the bodies of the students, parents and teachers who died defending themselves against Lord Voldemort, there is a raging, uncontrollable monster inside the pit of my stomach, my eyes were burning and my chest felt heavy as if it were filled with lead. As much as I tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an outroar from my throat. Biting my tongue to try to hold in the tears that threatened to leave my eyes but I couldn't hold it back anymore, one small crystal bead escapes from my right eye. I can feel the warmth, sliding down my cheek, and rolling off my chin. Then another. And another. Until my eyes flood with them, coming like a rainfall. Beads of water started falling down one after another, without a sign of stopping.

Now red, tear-rimmed eyes stared back at me, with watery streaks falling down my freckled face. I smoothed my now chaotic hair and wiped the tears from my cheeks which were now blotchy and mottled. My whole face was now washed with a dull red, including the very end of my nose. My small mouth screwed itself around by my left ear; gradually, my round face wrinkled till it resembled a withered crabapple. Through the great heaving sobs, at the corner of my eye, I saw a figure approaching me noticing my blotched, mottled, puffy eyed face. Placing his arms around me, I buried my face in his chest listening to the pounding of his heart, his uneven breaths and the feel of his breath against my ear.

"I wish that it was me." I said to him, sobbing harder. "I wish that I was lying dead there instead of them."

"Don't ever say that, Hermione." Ron warned. "You don't deserve to die."

"And they did?" I snapped at him, incredulously. "Did they deserve to die, Ronald? Did Teddy deserve to lose his mom and dad? Did Fred deserve to lose his life?"

"No." Ron replied, feebly.

"He will never get the chance to know them." I said to him, looking directly at Remus and Tonks. "He's lost both his parents in this battle and now he is an orphan and has got nobody."

"No, he doesn't have nobody." Ron replied, comfortingly. "Teddy will know what his parents died for because we will tell him. We will tell him how brave they were, how loyal they were until the very end. He will have Harry, us, my family and his grandmother. Teddy's not on his own."

"I wish that I could swap my life for theirs." I said to him, resisting the urge. "He will be too young to remember them. They didn't even have the chance to hear him say his first word."

"I know, Hermione." Ron replied, caressing my cheek. "But we will be there for everything."

"What do we do now?" I asked him, wiping my tears. "Do we go back home, pretend that everything is okay and live the rest of our lives?"

"Is there anything else that we can do?" Ron asked me. "We can't go back in time and stop people dying, Hermione. We deserve a fresh start."

"A fresh start?" I replied, skeptically. "Where? Wherever we go and whoever we become, we are going to be reminded of this day. I don't want to constantly be relive this day, Ron. After today, I just want to forget everything that has happened here."

"Don't you think that it is what I want?" Ron snapped at me, irritated. "Hermione, I lost my brother today. I know more than anyone else what you are going through. All I want is to forget but I can't."

"I'm sorry." I whispered, feebly. "I had completely forgotten about Fred, how are you doing?"

"Not good, if I am honest." Ron replied, his head bent. "I expect him to come back here and start cracking up jokes to liven things up a bit in here. It is as lively as a funeral parlour in here."

"I'm sorry." I repeated, pulling him into a close hug. "I can't believe that he is really gone."

"Neither can I." Ron replied, tearing up a bit. "I don't even remember the last thing that I said to him. I guess that I wasn't prepared to lose him or anyone else. I thought that I wouldn't lose any members of my own family."

"No one is prepared to lose someone, Ron." I said. "But Fred wouldn't want us to sit here and be depressed. Come on, we should go for a walk and get away from all of this."

Grabbing my hand, Ron lead me outside towards the black lake. The light was already failing when we approached the lake. The surface of the lake was as smooth as black glass, as the stones skipped across the still water the radiating ripples caught the fading sunlight.

Ron replied, throwing the rocks that he was going to through in the black lake on the floor. "Hermione, I need to tell you something before it is too late or I chicken out."

"Tell me what, Ron?"

"I'm in love with you." Ron replied, looking anywhere but in my eyes. "I couldn't imagine my life without you in it and if you died today, I wouldn't know what I would do. I have known for years that I have feelings for you but I was too scared and too stubborn to tell you. Seeing all of this, it has reminded that we only have one life and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, taking care of you and be with you. I love you, Hermione Jean Granger."

Slowly, inexorably, he presses his lips against mine, the moment that he has probably have been dreaming for so long. They both knew it was coming. A shy look before he pulled her face closer and their lips met. I had expected fireworks, tingles and desire, but in the end I could only describe it as sloppy and wet. I had no more desire to come back for another kiss. His tongue had been something like a muscular eel worming it's way into my mouth and when we pulled apart I had to fight the urge to wipe his thick saliva from around my lips.

"I'm in love with you."

I stood there completely frozen for a moment before saying, "Ron, I'm so sorry but I don't feel the same way about you. I see you as a brother and nothing more. My heart belongs to another. I just want to be friends with you, Ron."

Ron stood there, clearly disappointed and heartbroken before replying, "Oh, okay then. I'll see you back there, Hermione."

I expected him to launch at me, cursing, screaming and begging but instead he just walked back to Hogwarts without even looking back at me probably too scared that if he looks back then he might crumble at the thought of me not returning his romantic feelings. When I started Hogwarts, I didn't have many friends but after the incident with the mountain troll, I was introduced to the two friends that I would cherish for life but I couldn't look at either of them as more than just a friend. To me, Ron is like an goofy, funny and kind brother but the thought of him being more than that is wrong because since the first year, I have had feelings for someone that I shouldn't have. I know that since day one that it was wrong for me to love him but I couldn't help it.

The whole truth is that I am in love with a pure blood but not Ronald Weasley.