Love Is Like a Battlefield

Harry felt like a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The battle he had been fighting for the past seven years was finally over… Lord Voldemort was dead. The only problem now was that Hogwarts would need some serious renovations. The tremendous fight that had occurred here today had definitely done a number on what Harry liked to call, his home.

Continuing to look around, Harry saw a mixture of different emotions. He saw happiness, from those who had been fighting for their lives. He witnessed relief, for those who survived with all of their loved ones intact. Then he noticed the grief from the ones who had lost those dear to them. This was the emotion, Harry hated the most. Everyone who was killed here today was entirely his fault. Voldemort and the other Death Eaters had come here for him, nobody else. It was the weight of guilt that replaced the weight of the war before.

Moments later, Harry realized something out of the ordinary. George, Percy and Mr. Weasley were the only ones who remained by Fred's body. So, where were the rest of the Weasleys? He thought that they would have all been here to console George, or at least grieve over the loss of their son/brother. Unless…

"Harry!"

Harry turned around to see Ginny running towards him. Tears were streaming down her face. "Ginny, what's going on?"

Instead of replying, Ginny grabbed his hand and pulled him with her as she ran towards the Great Hall.

Once inside…Harry's entire world came to a standstill.

Mrs. Weasley was hunched over someone sobbing uncontrollably. Bill and Fleur were there trying to comfort her, but it was to no avail. Harry had never seen her so upset.

He wanted to walk closer to see who it was and what exactly was going on, but Harry felt as if his feet were rooted to the ground.

He couldn't stand the thought of losing anymore friends or family…

Still holding hands, Ginny slowly led Harry over to Mrs. Weasley.

"Wait Ginny… I don't want to go over there," said Harry releasing her hand.

"Harry," she said looking desperately into his eyes, "You have to."

Harry looked around the room trying to come up with some sort of excuse. It was then that he saw what appeared to be Hermione. It was hard to tell at first because she had her head in her lap surrounded by a bushy mound of hair. Harry almost wished it wasn't her, because she was trembling to the point where he knew she had to be crying… but that's when it suddenly hit him…

"Ron!" Harry rushed over to see his best mate lying dead on the cold stone floor of the Great Hall. He was furious, devastated, and in denial all at the same time. Ron couldn't possibly be dead...it just didn't make sense. Sparks of magic flew from the tip of Harry's wand from all of the mixed emotions surrounding his heart.

"Harry, please hold your-self together. I brought you here to help…please," said Ginny shaking him by the shoulders.

Harry turned around and looked into her eyes as if questioning how he could ever be alright. Ginny hugged him, as if he had spoken aloud.

Several minutes passed as they held onto each other and cried. It was their way of trying to calm one another down…just as they did when Dumbledore had passed.

Harry could've sat there with Ginny forever, mourning the loss of Ron…but the sound of Hermione's cries snapped him out of it.

Ron wasn't just his best mate, he was Hermione's lover. Whatever Harry thought he was going through, she was going through it ten times worse.

Reminding himself of that, Harry made his way over to her. Before leaving, Harry kissed Ginny on the forehead and wiped some of her tears away. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Ginny simply nodded her head and walked over towards her mother.

"Mione?" Harry slowly knelt down beside her. "Hermione, everything's going to be okay…"

She looked up at him in disbelief. Through her tears, she spoke in a broken voice, "H-how could y-you possibly know t-that?"

Harry took her hands. "Because, we've been through so much together, Hermione, and if we could make it through all of that, we'll make it through this. You have to believe me when I say that this isn't the end…it's the beginning." Everything he was saying to his best friend were almost the exact words Dumbledore had always told him whenever he had lost a loved one. And it was these words that helped him carry on every time.

Hermione shook her head. "B-but without R-ron-" She started to cry harder.

"Ron wouldn't want you to be like this and you know that." Harry squeezed her hands tighter.

She put her head back into her lap, "I'll never be able to get passed this," she choked out a sob.

"Look, Hermione," said Harry gently lifting her head back up, "You have to be strong, even when it seems as if everything's gone wrong."

"You sound like Dumbledore," she was beginning to cheer up.

Harry laughed, "I just know Ron wouldn't want you to be upset over what happened…he would want you to be happy and move on with your life… You just have to remember that he will always love you, nothing will ever change that. Not even death."

Hermione looked at him, hope gleaming in her eyes. "You promise?"

He pulled her into a comforting hug. "I promise."

Nineteen years had passed since that day…and Harry would still never forget it. He missed Ron, but he had learned to eventually move on, as Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys had.

Harry was now married to Ginny and had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter. With the exception of the loss of his best mate, his life had never been better.

Hermione ended up marrying Viktor Krum. She seemed to love him a great deal, but Harry knew it would never be as much as she loved Ron. Nonetheless, the two still made an excellent couple.

As far as their family goes, Hermione and Viktor had one child: Veronica. She had Viktor's dark black hair and Hermione's chocolate colored eyes. Everyone called her 'Ronnie' for short. It was always a small constant reminder of their lost friend, but it was in a good way

On occasion, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley family would visit Ron's grave. They vowed to never forget him. ...it was almost comforting to know that their best mate would always be watching over them.