"You see the stars, Granger? Someone you love will always be looking down at you from one of those,"
She nearly scoffed. Yeah right. They were only balls of highly compressed air that will burn out one day. But she didn't say that to him. Nor did she ever thought that the Head Boy would be a believer of something like that.
"I've never thought you'll be the type to believe in things like that,"
"You just don't know me Granger,"
She didn't. But she knew that he will look at the stars late every night for so long that it will be seldom for her to hear him go to bed from her next-door room. She knew that whenever he looked at them, he seems to be at peace. She knew that sometimes, he...
"I talk to the stars sometimes, you know. You can say I'm losing my marbles or something but it helps. It's like I'm talking to her and she can hear me. And if I close my eyes and listen carefully, I can hear her laughter. I can feel her touch on my cheek although it's only the wind."
His voice was melancholic and to her surprise, she felt her eyes burning with tears at his monologue. She blinked her eyes furiously and instantly felt sorry for him. For his loss.
"You really miss her, do you?"
His eyes were full of sorrow and his smile was tinged with sadness as he nodded. He did. Terribly. It has been about two months since that day. The day he loss the one he truly love.
"She was the one who told me about the stars. I was only five when she made me sat in her lap beside the window. At that moment, I thought she was the most beautiful and wonderful mother in the world,"
She felt a pang. He was the only one to experience such loss at that moment, even before the Final War. None of the others had to go through with what he did. The news of her death had been in the Daily Prophet and few days later, after the funeral, he had shown up at Hogwarts. He wanted in. He was tired of the other side. They had took her.
"Weaselette thinks I'm going crazy. She caught me talking to the stars the other night. Do you agree with her, Granger?"
She didn't.
"No. I think you're perfectly sane. Better talk to the stars than shagging like rabbits,"
There was bitterness in her voice that she couldn't keep out. She of course had thought about Ron and Lavender. The couple was in fear of losing each other that they could be found constantly having a romp in different locations of the castle... But ... why should she care?
"You're right, Granger. 10 points to Gryffindor,"
For a short moment, there was a trace of his old sarcasm, a small smirk on his face. She had to smile that, realizing that she actually missed part of his old self. But then, it was gone. No more of the old cocksure him but there was only sorrow on his face. He looked back at the stars and let out a long tired sigh.
"I wish I can see her again just for a short while. Do you why, Granger? I want to tell her how much I love her. I've never got the chance to tell her that. Which teenage son will tell their mother that? But ... unlike Weasley who can tell his mother now, it's too late for me."
There was such a painful emotion on his face that she decided to slipped her hand into his. She squeezed it softly and smiled at him.
"I'm sure she knows that you love her. She can hear you from the stars, right?"
He looked at her for a moment and smiled back. Her hand was giving him strength and comfort. He tightened his hold on it as he leaned closer to her, his lips brushing against her cheek.
The two of them spent the night at the spot under the tree beside the lake, his arms around her as they looked at the stars. He had his eyes closed, listening to his mother's laughter.
"You see the stars, Harry? Someone you love will always be looking down at you from one of those,"
Harry's hand held hers tightly, as if fearing that she will lose control but she won't. She looked at her best friend with such sadness in her brown eyes when it should have been shining with joy. The Final War had ended victory on their side but they had obtained it with a price for her.
"He told me that Harry. He told that if you close your eyes and listen carefully, you can hear their laughter, feel their touch on your cheek,"
Tears were brimming her eyes but she blinked them away, looking at the flowers in her hand. A stalk of white rose and a stalk of black rose. To her, he that. He's a mixture of both. Like the white rose, he was beautiful and everyone could see it but like the black rose, she was the only one who knew how powerful the beauty in him was. They both stopped at a spot under the tree beside the lake. It was his favorite. Harry looked down at the hand in his. For the first time, he saw the simple silver band on one of her fingers. There was a design engraved on it. Of a rose and a dragon. She managed to smile at his surprise.
"He gave it to me in the middle of the war; he even got down on one knee. He said he will get me something fancier after the war ends but ... I like this one better,"
Harry's heart broke for his best friend right there. She had been the only one to experience the loss of their love. Ginny and Lavender is still alive but...
"I'm sorry, Hermione."
She shook her head and looked up at the stars again.
"He told me that he talked to the stars and his mother could hear him. I think so too. I talked to him last night,"
She bends down and put the two roses on the fresh earth. A drop of tear trickled to the ground. Harry stood back, knowing that it is a very private moment for her. She closed her eyes, her sadness almost overwhelming but she didn't have any regret like he did when his mother had died. He knew that she love him. Very much. She had told him that before he went to battle. She could still taste his lips on hers when she got the news of his demise. The same day they won the war. She touched the earth and looked at the stars once again. She knew that he was up there, looking down at her, listening to her.
"I love you so much but you know that, right? I know you're with your mother right now. Have you told her that you love her?"
She can feel the touch on her cheek as if it was his hand but it was only the wind. She closed her eyes and could hear his laughter before opening her eyes again. Her cheeks were wet but she had a small smile on her face. It was time for the news.
"I'm pregnant, you know. I wanted to tell you that morning before you left but something made me put it on hold. I'll tell our child that you'll be looking at us from the stars. You'll hear whatever we say and will be smiling down at us. I'll tell our child all about their brave father and the stars,"
She stood up, her hand on her slightly bulging stomach. She was already three months pregnant. Harry held her hand once again but before she turned away, she touched the tombstone that had been done in his honor and read the engravings.
Draco Lucius Malfoy
1980 -- 1998
"I love you Draco,"
And when she closed her eyes and listened carefully, she could just hear his voice
"I love you, Hermione,"
A/N: okay? How was it? I decided to do this when I was looking at the stars last night. Personally, I like it. How about you?