She knew it was happening, but she couldn't fathom it. Her heart had been broken for months but she couldn't acknowledge it. She couldn't force herself to accept what was happening, because it honestly, it just couldn't happen.

She had never been in love before him, she didn't expect to ever be again. It was a long time coming, they had been enemies of sort for so long. When they came together in sixth year, it was as if her soul had been lit on fire. He consumed her thoughts. She knew this was "it". There was no one else that would ever fill her heart the way he did. He knew her inside out, and she knew him the same.

Today would be the end of it all. Today would mark the day that she knew she would not move forward. She wasn't being a defeatist, she just knew it in her bones. She knew it in the way she could recite Hogwarts, A History without missing a step.

She heard someone shuffling their feet outside her room. Harry. Harry Potter the boy who can face death with a brave face, cannot come up with the courage to knock on her door.

"Harry, I know you're there," she started, "you can come in."

She heard the knob turn clockwise and saw it creak open enough to let in a ray of light that let her see her reflection in the mirror across from her. She had to get out of bed. She knew she had to get ready to go. She wouldn't be late today of all days, but her body was refusing to move.

"Mione, I don't want to push you or anything, but we really have to start getting ready. I know you don't want to be late." Harry said all this very quietly, looking at his feet.

She croaked out, "I know, I'm getting up... I…. just…I'm coming I promise."

Harry nodded, his glasses sliding a little down his nose. He didn't want to add anything to the conversation, not wanting to make the day any harder than it was already going to be for her. Harry, the boy who cared so much, was devastated for his best friend. He shut the door behind him, allowing her to go back to sitting in the dark.

She sat up and slid to the edge of her bed. Tissues cascading to the carpet below from her movements. She walked to her bathroom, and turned on the lights, squinting at the light. She took into account the fact that no number of potions or concealers muggle or magic would conceal the fact that she had indeed spent the entire night awake, crying on and off. At least, she thought, that there was no possible way she could cry anymore. The well was tapped out, at least she hoped.

She filled the basin with water and started washing her face, trying to rub away the red that rimmed her eyes. Her fair skin showing the redness off even more, but in some way counteracted the dark circles from sleeplessness. She was determined though. She would not, under any circumstances break today. She would be brave. She was a Gryffindor, and today she would be the lion-hearted girl. She would be exceptional.

She ran her fingers through her hair as to not make her hair any more tangled than it already was. She pulled it up high above her head and tied it in place. Today would not be a day for vanity. She stayed in the shirt she slept in, a Gucci white button up shirt. It smelled somewhat like him, and she wanted to keep him close. She wouldn't change out of it even if it was essentially a dress on her. She pulled out the first pair of black skinny jeans from her closet, and pulled them on. She put on some socks, not checking to see if they matched, and pulled up her dragon hide boots. She adjusted the gold chain around her neck, that held a little golden heart with a M in the middle.

She walked back into her room noticing that the clock indicated that she needed to leave in ten minutes. She walked through her dark room, not bothering to tidy anything up like she normally did, and stood in front of the door. She braced herself. She knew that on the other side of the door was a cascading amount of emotional support, love, home cooked food, and her family. She loved them, and she greatly appreciated what they were doing for her, but in part she just wanted to suffer in silence today. She wanted it to hurt, because of how important it was.

She exhaled the breath that she had been holding, and opened the door wide. She was immediately enveloped red and gold. She inhaled the scent of lilac, and ginger as two sets of arms crushed her in a hug that was somewhat comforting as it pushed the air out of her lungs. They released her, Luna gazing at her face, trying to read for something no one else could see. Ginny grasped her arm as tightly as she could and pulled her to the kitchen table where sat the rest of her family.

She appreciated the extent of what they were doing for her. Molly had made breakfast, an exuberant amount, that could feed a small army, which at one point in time they all were. Around Hermione's kitchen table, that had been charmed to be enlarged sat Arthur, Neville, Fred, George, and on the other side with a seat between them was Ronald and Harry. The both of them watching her with wary eyes, both unsure whether to smile at her, or to hug her.

She was dragged over to her obvious seat between the two of them, and Ginny all but shoved her in the seat.

"Ginny, I don't have time to eat, we have to leave in 7 minutes," Hermione whispered.

"You will eat half of this muffin before you leave this table," Ginny proclaimed.

No one, it seemed, dare to talk, while Hermione was force fed a blueberry muffin. They all watched her with worry etched into their faces. Harry had put an arm on her shoulder, and Ron would occasionally pat her on the back awkwardly. The rest of them picked at their food, pretended to read papers, Luna looking around for creatures she knew. All of them waiting, but being there was enough.

She knew this wasn't easy for them. Molly was going through her kitchen cleaning it, and cooking more food, for who knew what. In the silence her timer went off, indicating that it was time for them to leave. The muffin she just ingested threatened to come back up. Harry reached down and gripped her hand, and with her left she braced the edge of the table to help herself up.

Standing she looked at all the faces here, that didn't even speak, but where there for her comfort. They came, not all of them understanding, but loving her enough to support her when she needed it. No matter their own personal feelings, they were with her.

"I want to thank you all, for being here for me…I can't express what it means to me…," she started.

Molly walked over and wrapper her arms around her. Giving one those hugs that only a mother can, one she'd never get from her parents again after the outcome of the war. Molly held her back and looked Hermione in the eyes.

"You know that you don't have to thank us, we're your family. We're not going anywhere," Molly stated.

Hermione nodded, taking a staggered breath. Harry, still gripping her hand led her to the door. Once outside the door. Ron shuffled up on her other side, taking her hand, and then the world spun.

Slamming her feet on the ground on the edge of the island that rests Azkaban, she gripped her two friends tighter. They wouldn't be able to go all the way with her. She knew the protocol. Just like the protocol that led her to this spot. It was one of the only times she could recall despising the rules that kept that magical world in motion.

Together they started to walk toward the entrance. The building had changed since the war. Since Kingsley had banished the dementors, and it was now habitable. Still, it was a prison, but it was no longer guarded by soul sucking creatures. Which generally helped the morale of the inmates, and the staff.

With a wave of their wands they were permitted to enter. She was flanked by her two aurors, and she was to meet the official. They'd go as far with her as the cell. People always gawked at Harry Potter, but when it was the three of us, it was harder to go in public. Thankfully the press couldn't come here.

The walk, it was shorter than she anticipated, made it outside a cell on the entry level. It was a holding cell. She placed her palm on the bars and they moved open for her magical signature. Harry and Ron stayed on the outside, nodding to the man that was at the table in the center of the cell. He was chained to the table, and his feet were bound together. The picture was enough to threaten the resolve she set for herself. Until he looked up and smiled at her.

For at least that moment, she breathed. She could feel all that tension and weight lift from her. When he smiled at her it reached his eyes, turning them from a storm to something that resembled a light rain. So, she smiled in return.

She could tell his hair had been trimmed. The white blonde locks were combed, his eyes shined brightly at her, and she felt happy. He was dressed in a gray uniform, but it wasn't tattered. It was clean and pressed.

She sat in the empty chair across from him. Chilled immediately from the icy chair. She leaned forward and grasped the hands chained to the table. She dared someone to tell her to let him go. Not that the aurors outside would. Harry and Ron turned their backs to the cell to give them the most privacy that they could under the circumstances.

His hands were ice against hers, but he rubbed his thumbs against the back of her hands to give her warmth. "I'm so glad you came," he breathed.

"How could I not," she started. "I'd never miss a chance to see you," she added.

She looked around the room, everything was a variation of gray, silver or black except for them. She was wracking her brain for topics of conversation, but kept coming up short. Everything felt so inappropriate for discussion. "I'm sorry, I wish I knew what to say," she said earnestly.

"No, no, you are not going to be sorry. This isn't a normal circumstance, not knowing what to say is okay," he exclaimed.

She looked into his face, and recognized how much he loved her. She saw how strong he was being for her. She would reciprocate no matter her feelings raging inside.

"Okay, okay, I'll promise to never be sorry," she laughed.

He laughed with her, his laugh was the sound she always assumed that silver bells would make against the wind. It created the peace in her that she needed to just be able to be with him in that moment. She was able to sit and not ponder about all the days to come. For the time being it was just them.

And they talked, small talk, about the weather, about the latest news, about Harry's children. They talked about Blaise and Luna, they were getting married soon, and Luna was creating a very Luna like wedding. They talked for such a small space of time, it felt, that before she knew it Harry's voice came through the cell. "Hermione, it's time to go," He said quietly.

She nodded, though she couldn't see him. Draco gently squeezed her hand, to reassure her that it was okay. She pleaded with herself that her face did not betray her and show how she felt at the prospect that it was time to leave. She stood up and backed up to the bars, always keeping her eyes on his. The cell opened and in came Penelope Clearwater. She became an auror herself after Hogwarts and after the war. She was to take Draco out instead of Ron or Harry.

"Good morning Hermione," Penelope said, "Good morning Mr. Malfoy."

She walked over to Draco vanished the restraint that held him to the table, instead it just kept his hands bound together. "It's time to go," Penelope said to him. Ms. Clearwater motioned for Draco to stand up and the bind around his feet enlarged to allow him to walk.

He was still looking at Hermione, but he nodded. Penelope led him from the cell with Hermione following behind them. Harry and Ron silently trailing behind her. She thought it was testament of how much they love her by how incredibly silent they had been. She had never known Ron to not have something to make a joke at. Instead gave nods of encouragement, and small smiles. They made it to the apparition point, where Draco turned to look at Hermione. "I'll see you in a just a moment," he promised her before there was a pop and the two of them were gone.

Harry and Ron, like before leaving her flat, took her hands, where then they popped to the point where Draco was taken.

This was where Harry and Ron would stay. They wouldn't be going any father to support her. Her body was threatening to break the promise she had made herself this morning. She was refusing to make this any harder than it was. Harry and Ron whispered quick words of comfort so Hermione could follow Penelope and Draco to the next location. She jogged to catch up with them as they walked down a little dirt path. The weather was chilly, but her heart was racing so much that she couldn't feel the cold. It seemed that they were in the middle of a forest, but she could see they were heading toward a clearing, that resembled a meadow. There were flowers that were in bloom, and it looked like a place that would make a perfect spot for a picnic on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Those flowers were out of season, giving the cold air, she knew this was a garden done by magic.

Upon catching up to them she grabbed Draco's hand and squeezed it. He turned his head to look at her, and gave her that smile that made her heart melt. The one that he reserved for her alone. She laced her fingers through his as best she could, and rubbed her thumb over his hand, as he had done with hers earlier. The smallest comfort, but knew he appreciated it.

They walked upon the clearing, the scenery would have been perfect under different circumstances. Penelope stopped them, and turned awkwardly. She had always been a kind person, and she had fought hard during the war. She was a person with a generous heart, and was someone Hermione had always thought highly of. Penelope looked at them both and said gently, "There are only two minutes, take all of it to say your goodbyes."

She gave them a sad smile, and vanished the restraints on Draco's hands. Hermione took no time at all to jump upon him, wrapping her legs around his waist, arms around him and burying her face in his neck. The resolve that she had had, left when she was faced with having to say goodbye.

"I c-c-an't," she sobbed into his neck, "this is something, I just, I can't do it."

He inhaled her scent of cinnamon and lavender. He squeezed her tighter to him. He took a shaky breath and told her, "You can, you're the most powerful person I know."

"No, no," she started, but she couldn't finish due to the sobs that were wrecking out of her body.

Instead she pulled back her head to look him in his eyes, that now resembled a thunderstorm in winter. Which, she supposed, this actually was.

She pulled herself together enough to put both hands on either side of his face, and she declared to him, "I love you."

Tears were falling from her eyes, but her words were strong, and her eyes were steel. She meant that with every fiber of her being, and she would make sure he knew before she had to leave him. It was at this point that the man who had remained so collected, could no longer stay so. Tears started to silently slide down from his eyes, as he looked at her and whispered, "I love you."

She pulled his face to hers, and kissed him most ardently. In that kiss she placed her entire being. She didn't leave anything left for herself. He reciprocated with the same intensity, he would leave nothing behind to keep for himself. She was the only person he needed to give anything to, would ever give anything to, and she would have it all before she left.

She pulled back reluctantly, when Penelope declared their two minutes was over. That Penelope gave them longer, Hermione didn't know, but her heart was broken for them. Hermione had pleaded this case, Draco's case, for months. Since the decree came out. Hermione, Harry, and Ron had appealed. They had appealed directly to the Minister, but Kingsley at long last could do nothing. There was an overwhelming majority rule, and this is the way it had to be. There could be no exceptions. Not even for Hermione, nor Harry, or Ron. It was the law now, and no special treatments were provided.

All death eaters, all that were marked, would not have trials. The scared twenty-eight was dismantled, and the laws were voted for by those voted in. Most of whom had lost so many during the war. They decreed that all those marked, would face a death sentence. They would all be executed in the same manner. It would rid those that did so many evils to innocents. The case that Hermione had made for Draco didn't matter, they had been firm, no exceptions. Draco, was the last one. Kingsley had given them as much time as he could. Harry had protested the death sentence as ardently as she. He had never believed that a life for a life would ever fix anything.

All her fighting had led her to loss.

She hugged him one last time before dismantling from him. He squeezed her back until the air was all but gone from her lungs. She grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles. "You, will find me, you will find me in the next life," she commanded, her voice as steady as she could make it.

"You will, promise me, that in the next life, you will find me," she said, croaking on the last words.

He looked at her with her face tear stained, not even sure he believed in the next life, but if there was one, he would find her in it. "I promise," he said, "I love you.''

"I will always love you," she promised.

She had to turn and walk back up the trail. Her heart clenching in her chest, but she had to keep going, she wasn't permitted to be there at the end. She knew though, what happened.

Draco was commanded to his knees. He would breathe trying to remain calm. Penelope would aim her wand at him, and Draco would close his eyes. He would feel like he was falling asleep when the spell hit him. He wouldn't feel any pain, that was of small comfort to Hermione.

She was walking to the top of the clearing, where Harry and Ron were. They stopped talking when they saw her coming, and started to come down to meet her. The pendant around her neck, rest against her breast was heating up. She knew it was coming when it felt like fire against her skin. It burned like the coals at the bottom of a roaring fire.

And then it was cold.

When the pendant no longer smoldered against her skin, she knew it was over. That pendant was charmed to keep her connected to him, now the connection was broken. Which effectively meant that she was as well.

She fell to her knees on path, and let out an earth-shattering scream.