A/N: This is a revised version of the original story.

Some years after Voldemort's defeat, life seemed to be perfect. Famous Aurors Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley had everything they could wish for. They had married the most amazing women in the world, and had amazing children. Harry and Ginny had two year old twin boys, and Ron and Hermione had two girls: the oldest, Isabelle, was nine; Annie was six.

Everything seemed to be normal. That is until one day, when Hermione started to feel sick. The healers at St. Mungo's did all the tests necessary to diagnose her condition. When the results came in, Hermione was in for a heart-breaking surprise: she had cancer.

She had both the wizarding and the Muggle procedures to cure cancer done (she didn't think it was necessary to try Muggle resources, but her parents had insisted). It went away. Two years passed. But a few months ago, it came back. When the healers performed a biopsy, they found that the illness had metastasized, leaving her with only a couple of months to live. She got very sick earlier this week, and tonight, Ron got really scared and took her to the hospital. When they arrived at St. Mungo's, the healers told Ron that he should call the rest of the family. It was most likely she wouldn't make it through the night.

---

"Hi," said Ginny, closing the door of Hermione's room behind her. "You look better."

"Oh Gin," she said, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks, "you know I'm not going to make it."

"Don't say that," she answered, trying to hold back tears. "You are going to make it. You will put up a fight." Hermione shook her head slowly. "You have always…" Ginny's voice trailed off.

"Gin," she continued, taking Ginny's hands. They were both sobbing uncontrollably now. "I want you to take care of - of my girls. I know – I – I know that you love them as if they were your own, and I know you'll love them very, very much when I'm gone. Promise me that they will always be loved. You're going to take my place -"

"I will never take your place, no one – no one could ever do that."

"Listen to me! I want you to remind them of how much I love them. Annie is just a little girl, she's – she's just six, and soon she won't remember me at all." There was a brief pause, and then Hermione said: "Gin, I want to see them."

---

When Isabelle walked in with Ron, she looked scared. Her mum lying in bed, waiting for death to take her, and powerless was a terrible thing to see. She approached her mum's bed and kissed her. Annie, who was in her father's arms, looked on the verge of tears, but she was trying to be brave, trying to hold them back.

"Isabelle," Hermione said, "I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you will take care of Annie. I had two girls so they could have a friend in each other, care about each other, and protect each other. I want you to remember that I love both of you with – with all my heart. You are two very brave girls, and I'm very proud of you."

"I love you, mum," said Isabelle, wrapping her arms tightly around Hermione's thin body and beginning to sob on her shoulder.

"Oh sweetheart!" Hermione said, as the dam broke and tears started to fall down her cheeks.

Annie crawled into bed and hugged her mum too. She was crying. Ron, who was standing next to the bed, turned away and went out of the room. It was too intense for him to see his wife dying and not be able to do anything about it. When he came out, he just slid down the wall and brought his hands up to cover his face as his body shook with his sobs. Molly hurried over to his side to comfort him.

The hall outside Hermione's room was full. Arthur was sitting next to Charlie, who had come all the way from Romania; Bill was sitting next to Fleur- they had left their son with Gabrielle (the Potter twins were with her too); Fred and George were really sombre- no one thought that they could get like this, since they were always the most cheerful members of the Weasley family. It was a depressing picture. Ginny was standing next to Harry, both of them with devastated looks on their faces; Ginny's eyes were red, and Harry had bags under his.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were also there; Mr. Granger looked grave, and Mrs. Granger's grief was beyond tears.

But no one, no one, no one could feel what Ron was feeling; a part of his heart was being pulled away. The love of his life was going away, and just the thought that he would never see her again destroyed him. There he sat, looking for comfort on his mother's arms, comfort he knew he would never feel again.

"Ron?" said Ginny after Ron calmed down, her voice sounding very far away.

He looked up.

"I think the girls should go over to Gabrielle's. They shouldn't stay any longer. It's not good for them." Ron nodded.

"I'll take zem when zey are ready," said Fleur.

Ron silently got up and entered the room. Isabelle and Annie had fallen asleep with Hermione. Ron went back and asked Harry for help. Harry went inside and exited the room with a sleeping Isabelle on his arms. Ron came out with Annie.

After the grandparents kissed their granddaughters goodnight, Ron, Harry, and Fleur Apparated to Gabrielle's place. They quickly came back.

When Ron entered Hermione's room again, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were hugging Hermione. As he was exiting the room, Hermione's voice called him.

"Stay, Ron," she asked.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger took that as their signal and went out of the room.

"I love you, sweetheart," Mr. Granger said, giving her a hug and a kiss in the forehead.

"I love you too, dad."

Ron went to sit on Hermione's bed. Without him noticing, tears started to fall freely down his cheeks. Hermione took his face in her hands and wiped away the tears.

"I love you with all my heart," he said, his voice barely over a whisper. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Then she started sobbing into his chest.

"I will never see them go to Hogwarts. I will never see them get married. I won't meet my grandchildren. I missed their lives," said Hermione, crying.

"I can't believe I'm losing you," said Ron.

"You're not losing me, Ron. You have Annie and Isabelle. I'm leaving a piece of myself in them. I'll always be with you."

Ron got into Hermione's bed and held her in a tight embrace. After a few minutes, both of them fell asleep.

She never woke up.