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There's music in the sighing of a reed;
There's music in the gushing of a rill;
There's music in all things, if men had ears:
Their earth is but an echo of the spheres.
~Lord Byron
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AN: As I've said in the summary, this is a collection of stories that are inspired by songs. They're not necessarily songfics. That is, I won't necessarily use the whole song. There will be other fics where I'll just use a few lines as basis for my story. I've been wanting to write something like this for a while, but none of the stories I've thought of before this one seem appropriate as a starting fic.
This first one is a song fic and it's in two parts. It involves my two favorite couples--the two couples whose individuals, I firmly believe, should not be paired off with other people. Well, I won't say anymore. Please review guys. I would really appreciate it.
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"I'm sorry, Harry," she said, her eyes resting on everywhere but his.
"Why?" he demanded angrily.
But he wasn't angry at her, not really. He was irritated that she couldn't look at him. He was devastated that she wanted to end things between them. He was confused about her decision, he thought she was happy. She never gave any indication otherwise. He was angry at the fact that she had ambushed him with it, but he wasn't angry at her. And he was angry that he couldn't be angry with her. He should be, after what she just did.
"Look at me, Ginny," he said, trying to put anger instead of hurt in his voice.
She finally met his gaze. She hardly ever cried but she was crying now. Tears were streaming down her eyes and she was doing nothing to stop them. He'd never seen her look so miserable, and sorry, and guilty.
"I love him," she said. "I'm sorry."
She said something else, but he couldn't hear her words over his own breaking heart. He knew she was sorry, he knew she didn't mean it to happen. But it happened, and "sorry" isn't ever going to make him whole again. His world darkened.
I woke, dreaming we had broke
Dreaming you left me
For someone new
And you cried, drying those brown eyes
Crying you're sorry
Sorry won't do, but
Ginny woke up, finding herself halfway out of the bed. She rolled over and came face to face with Harry's sleeping form. She grinned. She loved waking up to him. Sometimes, she'd go to sleep excited about waking up because she knew he would be right there beside her when she does.
A few years ago, when Harry left to hunt for the Horcruxes, she was convinced that she had lost him. She had feared that he would find someone else. She realized now how irrational those fears were. Harry never left her, not really. They might not have been together for the greater part of that year, but they loved each other. And they love each other still.
She is probably the luckiest woman in the world right now. Voldemort's gone, everyone's finally starting to move on, she has the best job in the world, and she is living with the only man she could ever fall in love with. And he loves her too. He had saved her life more than once and he always makes sure to make her happy everyday for the rest of it. She really couldn't be happier.
He didn't look too happy at the moment though. It seemed to her that he was having a bad dream. She ran her hand through his hair then let it rest on his cheek. She lay there facing him, waiting for him to wake up, knowing that he loved waking up to her too. Whatever bad dream he might be having, she hoped that she could take it away. She wanted to make him as happy as he had made her.
This is the way I need to wake
I wake to you
And you never left me,
All that I'd dreamt had been untrue
He didn't open his eyes when he came to, fearing whatever it is that he would be facing. He wondered if she had already left, or if she had stayed to look after him. He didn't know which was worse. He didn't think he could take it if she was finally gone, but he didn't think he could bear gazing into her eyes either, knowing that their loving looks won't be for him anymore.
Something was off though. He wasn't lying on the hard floor as he'd expected. He was on a bed, a very soft bed. There was a pillow under his head. And he could smell her. He opened his eyes and saw her, just inches away from him. Her hand was on his cheek and she was wearing that loving smile, the one he'd like to call his own. Blood started rushing back to his head, allowing him to think clearly.
It had all been a dream! He grinned widely as the realization hit him. The hand that had been tightly squeezing his heart finally let go and he breathe an enormous sigh of relief. He felt like he had died and gone to heaven.
Open my eyes, I see sky
His eyes fluttered open and focused on her. He looked confused. She guessed that whatever he had been dreaming about was still gripping him. She waited for him to come back to reality, not taking her hand off his face. A few seconds later, he smiled at her with the smile that she'd like to think was for her alone.
He let out a contented sigh then surprised her by suddenly taking her hand in his and closing the gap between them. He kissed her full on the lips then wrapped his arms tightly around her, as though fearing that she might disappear if he let go.
He broke the hug after a while. He looked at her like he was drinking in everything he could see about her. She gave him a bemused smile.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Oh, oh, oh… you know
The way to keep me on my toes
He chuckled at the irony of her question after what he'd been dreaming.
"I'm fine," he replied. "I couldn't be finer, really. I'm great!"
He really couldn't be happier. But then, his dream returned to him, intruding into his happy reality. He knew it would never happen, but he couldn't help it. He just had to make sure.
"Ginny, please promise me you'll never leave me," he said seriously.
"What?" she asked, her expression a mixture of bemusement and incredulity. "What's this about?"
"Please… promise me," he said again. He looked pleadingly into her brown eyes, her stunning brown eyes that he was always in danger of sinking into.
"Harry, I will never leave you," she told him. "I promise."
Her voice was firm but gentle. She was looking tenderly at him and he realized then that her loving eyes and her beautiful smile will never belong to another guy.
"I'm fine," he said again, grinning happily at her.
I, I, I… will be fine
Just say you'll stay forever mine
Till we fall asleep tonight
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Ron knocked lightly on his and Hermione's bedroom door then opened it without waiting for a reply. She was lying on the bed, her back to him. He assumed that she was already asleep. It's just as well, they just had a fight and though he wanted for them to make up, he still didn't know what to say to her. He walked towards the bed then stopped in his tracks as Hermione turned to face him. Her expression was unreadable but he knew she wanted an explanation as to why he was in there.
"I'll just get my pillow," he told her, his tone as impassive as her expression. "I'm going to sleep in the couch."
"Yeah, okay," she said, still gazing at him.
He broke the gaze and went to get his pillow, then turned to walk out of the room.
"Ron," she called softly.
He turned back to face her with an expectant feeling bubbling inside his stomach.
"You forgot your blanket," she said.
"Oh, right," he said, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice. He took his blanket and walked out of the room, this time without Hermione calling softly after him.
It took him a while to finally fall asleep. The couch was uncomfortable, not to mention too small for him. The living room's temperature didn't feel right. It was a bit too warm without the blanket but a bit too cold if he didn't use it. Most of all, she wasn't sleeping next to him. There was something about the rhythm of her breathing that soothed him and put him to sleep. Sleep came to him more than an hour after midnight, and it wasn't a peaceful one.
Last night, we had a great fight
I fell asleep in
A horrible state
Sleep didn't stay too long with him though. It might have only been a few minutes after he drifted off when someone started shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and saw her standing over him. He sat up as she took a step backwards and sat on the small table. She was wearing a miserable expression and she looked like she was about to cry.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked her softly. It hurt him to see her so unhappy.
"Ron, there's something I have to tell you," she said in a tone that made him think someone had just died.
"What is it?" he asked worriedly.
She looked down at her shoes and chewed on her lips for a while. He waited for her to find her voice. "There's really no other way to say this," she finally said, her eyes still on the floor. Then, she looked up at him, her brown eyes meeting his. "I'm in love with Harry."
Ron felt all breath escape out of him. He felt his heart stop. He felt like he didn't have a heart to begin with. His arms and legs were shaking and he felt dizzy. He might have thrown up, but he didn't think it was possible. He didn't think he had a stomach. He didn't think he had anything inside his body anymore. He felt hollow. He felt like a Bludger just hit him on the chest. He felt his heart, wherever it was, being squeezed until it burst. He felt a million different things and none of them were good. He couldn't move. He didn't even have the energy to ask her how it happened.
"I'll just sleep in the bedroom for now," she said gently after a while when it was clear that he wouldn't talk. "I'll get my stuff and move out tomorrow."
She stood up and walked away. He wanted to stop her. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He wanted to demand why she was doing it to him. He wanted to know how it happened. He wanted to ask how she let it happen. He wanted to follow her and hold her arms and stop her from going. He wanted to beg her to stay. But he couldn't do any of those things. He couldn't even turn his head to watch her retreating back. He had lost control of his body. Her words had taken all the energy out of him.
Then dreamt that you loved my best friend
My heart would not mend
Seemed it was fate, but
Sunlight flooded in through the window and shone brightly on his eyes, waking him up. He sat up and looked around him, feeling slightly disoriented. He brought his hand to his eyes to rub the sleep away from them and felt wet tears on them.
Was he crying? He tried to remember what happened last night. He and Hermione had a fight, that explained why he was sleeping on the couch. Then he remembered being woken up in the middle of the night. She'd told him that she loved Harry. But that was just a dream, wasn't it? He couldn't be sure, it seemed so real. He shook his head, trying to drive all the confusion away. He didn't know where reality ended and his dreams began.
He stood up and headed for their bedroom. He wanted to see her, wanted to know whether he'd been dreaming. Somewhere deep inside his head, the rational part of his brain screamed at him that it couldn't be possible. Harry was very much in love with Ginny, Hermione loved Harry like a brother, and neither of them would never, ever betray him. But the part of his mind that was controlling him right now, the part that was stupid and crazy and caused him many disagreements with her, told him that it might have been real and he just had to make sure.
He opened the door to their bedroom intending to ask her right away about last night, but she was still sleeping when he got in. Looking at her calmed him and he closed the door softly, not wanting to wake her up. He stood over her for a while, wondering what he should do. He didn't want to wake her, she'd been so tired lately because of all her projects in the Ministry. He wanted to sleep beside her, but he didn't know whether she wanted him to. He still had that fear that everything that had happened had been real. He contented himself with sitting on the floor near her. He put his arms up on the bed and rested his head on them, waiting for her to wake up. He hadn't gotten enough sleep himself, however, and minutes later, he had drifted off in that position.
Hermione opened her eyes and saw Ron sitting on the floor with his head resting on their bed. She smiled at his sleeping form. She'd started getting used to sleeping near him years ago, even before they were together. When they'd been hunting Horcruxes, they always slept close to each other. Having him around always made her feel calmer, made her feel that there was at least one good thing in the world at that moment. Her heart broke when he fought with Harry and left them, left her. Every night since then, she'd cried herself to sleep until he finally came back. She'd slept soundly on his first night back, forgetting for a moment about everything that was going on around them. She was just happy that he was close to her again, his steady breathing putting her to sleep.
Last night, she didn't want to go to sleep thinking that he won't be there when she woke up. She had an irrational fear that their fight had made him leave again. But of course, as all irrational fears are bound to be, it never happened. Looking at him sleeping right there beside her made her realize that it would never happen. Whatever she might have done in her life, she knew she must have done something good because she was with Ron, her best friend and the only man she ever loved. And she knew he loved her too.
She smiled and silently thanked whoever (or whatever) it was that controlled their destiny. She ran her hand through his hair, wanting for him to wake up and look at her with those beautiful blue eyes.
This is the way I need to wake
I wake to you
And you never left me,
All that I'd dreamt had been untrue
Ron woke up but remained to shut his eyes, allowing himself a moment to enjoy the feeling of Hermione's hand through his hair. He opened his eyes a second later and saw her smiling lovingly at him. Then, just like that, all his doubts disappeared into thin air. Of course it had all been a dream! He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been a minute ago.
He smiled happily at her, knowing right then that his life couldn't be better. He had made many mistakes when he was younger but he knew that he must have done something right because she was right there in front of him. She was smiling at him, her beautiful brown eyes directed lovingly at his. He was probably the luckiest man in the world. He was in love with his best friend, and she loved him back too. He could be in heaven and he wouldn't know the difference.
Open my eyes I see sky
He smiled at her the moment he opened his eyes. She stared back at him, allowing herself to drown in his blue eyes that showed nothing but his love. They stayed that way for a while and she thought then that they could go on that way forever and she wouldn't mind.
Suddenly, however, he broke eye contact and lunged at her. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her hair.
"Hermione, I'm so sorry," he said, his voice muffled. "I'm sorry I snapped last night, I should have been more understanding. I just," he broke their hug and looked straight into her eyes and she felt herself drowning in his, "I just wanted to be with you."
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. When they'd been younger, he never expected him to be so sweet. But now, he always made sure to show her everyday how much he loved her. It was the least she could do to keep to their date night.
"No Ron, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I shouldn't have agreed to that meeting last night. Will you forgive me?"
"Of course," he said surely. "I forgave you yesterday."
Oh, oh, oh… you know
The way to keep me on my toes
"So we're okay?" she asked.
"We're fine," he said half-jokingly, remembering the lyrics to one of her favorite Muggle songs. And he was fine. Great, actually. He'd been in love with her since they were in second year and she was in love with him too. And that was all that ever mattered.
I, I, I… will be fine
Just say you'll stay forever mine
Till we fall asleep tonight
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AN: The song is "Sky" by Joshua Radin and Ingrid Michaelson. I strongly suggest listening to it. And if you haven't heard of Joshua Radin, I recommend checking out his songs. Listen to "Don't Look Away", it's a great song, my favorite among his songs, actually.
Please review everyone.