Summary: Hermione reflects on all of the sacrifices that she must make in order to accompany Harry on his dangerous search for the remaining horcruxes.

This is set in the summer of Deathly Hallows, sometime before the ministry was overthrown and Hogwarts was taken over by death eaters. At this point muggleborns still have the option of attending Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the most beautifully talented woman in the world, and I would never dream of trying to take credit for her work. Everything belongs to her.

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Of course she would go with him.

Now that his mentor was dead, Harry had to destroy the remaining five horcruxes alone. She wanted to cry and laugh and scream at the absurdity of it, the unfairness of it. That a 16 year old orphaned boy had such a burden to bear. That her best friend would almost certainly be led to his death.

Of course he could never know how much she doubted him. He was only human, after all.

Harry needed as much love and support as he could get, which is why she volunteered to go with him even though she so desperately wanted to go back to Hogwarts. She knew that this mission was so much more important than her wants, her dreams. So much more important than her life.

She was just an insignificant little girl in the grand scheme of things, but she loved Hogwarts more than anything else. She loved to read. She loved to learn. She loved all of her friends, not just Harry and Ron. Six years of her life had led up to her seventh year. Her NEWT year. The year that she would get head girl.

But she knew that she could not attend.

She could never tell Harry how much she hated him for the burden he bore. Of course she knew it wasn't his fault, and she could have walked away a long time ago. But even through all of her hate, she still loved him as though he were her own brother, a brother that was born from the same flesh and blood. But the sacrifices that she would had to make were huge. The sacrifices that she had already made for him were huge. How much more could she cope with without inadvertently taking it out on he who she loved so much?

But in return, he had done so much for her. She felt terrible for the deep resentment that was swirling around the depths of the most tightly sealed vault within her heart. Harry was her friend. She knew without a doubt that had the situation been reversed, he would certainly do the same for her.

He was Harry Potter, after all. Her best friend.

The day that Harry Potter had risked his life in order to rescue her from that troll in their first year was the day that Hermione Granger knew that she would give her life for him any day.

It was a sacrifice that she was willing to make, after all.

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Word count: 422

I've always wanted to look into Hermione's side of things. I feel like it's a topic that hasn't been breached enough. She's such an amazing character, and I wanted to explore how she felt about sacrificing her golden year for Harry. Because it's true, Hermione was brilliant, and she would have had every opportunity presented to her. But she sacrificed it all for Harry.

I might do a similar drabble focusing on Ron if there's enough of a response / if I feel like it later on, but tonight I just felt like focusing on a Hermione/Harry friendship piece with no romance/Ron interference whatsoever.

Drop a review with your questions/concerns/comments!