It's a beautiful spring day and Harry, Hermione and I sit at the edge of the lake at Hogwarts. It's warm out, so we're dangling our toes in the cool water. Hermione giggles as little fish swim past, occasionally nipping at her toes. Everything is how it should be.

"Ron," Harry says, but I don't hear the rest because I'm too caught up in Hermione.

I've been in love with her since third year, but I never dared to mention it. Now that the war is over and things have begun to normalize, I feel like it's finally safe to tell her how I feel. Leaning over, I brush a few strands of hair out of her face and smile as she blushes. The tension between us permeates the air.

I'm just about to lean in and kiss her when Harry interrupts by rudely shaking my shoulder and shouting, "Ron! What in the bloody hell are you doing!"

Annoyance rushes through me and I shoot him a glare that clearly says go away. "Think you could give us a couple of minutes alone, mate?"

Hermione coughs lightly and my attention is drawn back to her. Our faces are so close that I can feel her hot breath on my cheeks. A flush creeps up my neck and I find myself suddenly self conscious. Just a slight movement forward would close the distance between us, but I feel as if I'm frozen.

Harry's voice rips me away from her once more. "Ron, come on! We have to go!"

My blood is boiling. I can't understand why he keeps interrupting me. As long as I've known him, he's always encouraged me to go after Hermione, but now that I'm attempting to do so, he seems insistent on keeping us apart.

"Sod off, Harry. Can't you see I'm busy?" I cry. The frustration in my voice is evident, but it does little to stop him.

Harry claws at the front of my robes and tries to drag me away from Hermione. I stand up and shove him away with all my might. It seems he's caught off guard and he goes flying through the air. I hear him wince as his body connects with the ground.

Once more I turn back to Hermione and let myself flop down on the ground next to her. Her eyelids flutter and she leans towards me. Her body presses against mine and she looks up at me adoringly. I can't resist anymore and close the distance between us.

My lips meet hers and I feel like a thousand fireworks have started to explode in my stomach. Intensity drives me to deepen the kiss and soon her chest is heaving against mine. The passion that I feel between us is indescribable. Nothing in my life has ever felt so right. It's everything I'd ever imagined it to be and more.

A rough push against my back jolts me and my forehead slams into Hermione's. My eyes water from the sudden pain.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing, Harry?" I scream as I reach for my wand. I'm so mad I could hex him.

"Ron, Hermione is gone! We have to go!" shouts Harry

I try to hear what he's saying, but the words don't seem to make sense. Hermione is lying on the grass, sleeping. I can see her chest rising and falling. Occasionally, her eyelids twitch as if she's dreaming.

"Ron, she's dead. You have to let her go!"

"Petrificus Totalus," I shriek, but nothing happens.

Harry grabs at my arm roughly. "You don't have a wand. It was taken when we were captured. Please, try to remember."

"But…but….but," I stutter as my mind works to process what he's saying. "Captured? What do you mean captured? We're at Hogwarts, Harry. Are you having some sort of weird flashback from the war?"

Tears glisten in Harry's eyes. "Please, Ron," he pleads. "Try and remember what happened. Hermione's gone. I know it's hard for you. I know how much you loved her, but we have to go. If we don't leave now, we might not get another chance."

Fragments of memories flash through my mind. Hermione screaming, Death Eaters, dementors. Hermione screaming, Death Eaters, dementors. Hermione screaming, Death Eaters, dementors. It all swirls through my mind until the pieces click into place.

Horror and revulsion fill me and I collapse into a heap on the floor. "Oh, Merlin. Hermione. Her soul. It's gone. The dementors. I couldn't stop them."

I crawl to where she lays and press my forehead to hers. "I'm so sorry Hermione. I'm so sorry. I couldn't save you. I tried and I couldn't."

Sobs rack my body. I feel as if I'm being ripped apart piece by piece. Everything in me is shattered and I don't think there's anything that could put me back together.

Harry bends down beside me and vaguely I realize he has wrapped his arms around me. "I know, Ron. She knows too. You just about killed yourself trying to get to her. It wasn't your fault. You did everything you could. She wouldn't want you to die here. She'd want you to escape and move on, so please, I'm begging you, come with me. She's beyond our help now."

I stare down at the empty shell of Hermione's body. My will to live is gone. Nothing could move me from this spot. The world begins to spin and I shut my eyes as if this will stop it.

When I open them, I'm back at the lake. Harry and Hermione sit next to me. A cool breeze ruffles through Hermione's hair making her look almost ethereal for a moment. I plant a kiss on her lips and smile. Things are exactly as they should be.

Hi there!

This story was written for The Dark Turn Challenge and the prompt I was assigned was Ron and Hermione's first kiss. I won 3rd place in the challenge! The object was to take that normal scenario and twist it into a horror story.

In my opinion, there's nothing more horrific than the idea of dementors and having your soul sucked out of your body, so that immediately inspired me to write this. It took quite a bit of writing and re-writing, but this is where my mind took it.

Thank you as always for reading and feel free to leave some feedback if you have a moment!

~Kaitlin/TreacleTart