"What about this one?" Hermione asked as she took the dress out of the closet. Ginny popped a Bertie Bot's Every Flavor Bean into her mouth and plopped on the bed. Ginny made a face. "Ew." She said "What, you don't like it?" Hermione said. "Because I thought it looked pretty nice and it is a formal date and it's the first, "Hermione" and its Ron, and- "HERMIONE!" "Yes?" she answered "I didn't say I didn't like it…." Ginny started, "I had a rotten egg flavored Bertie Bot's Every Flavor Bean in mouth, so I was saying that it tasted gross." "Oh." Hermione laughed "Sorry. It's just that it's the first date and I want everything to be perfe- "HERMIONE!" You're at it again." "Sorry. I'm just nervous." "It will be fine." Ginny said soothingly. "Ron's crazy about you. You're crazy about Ron. Just remember to- "Hello Ladies." It was Ron's older brother George. Like Ron and the rest of the Weasleys, he had red hair and freckles. He was a little shorter than Ron, and a little more muscular. Hermione had always secretly thought that he and Fred were very attractive boys. But lately, George hadn't been himself. He wasn't laughing, smiling, or playing pranks. Actually, Hermione was surprised to see that he was out and about. He usually stayed shut up in his room except for mealtimes. Of course, Hermione knew why. About a month ago, Fred had died in the Battle of Hogwarts. George hadn't been the same since. She knew it was a risk in asking, but she said "George, what brings you out at this time of day?" "I bet you thought I'd be in my room right now, didn't you?" he said sternly "Well..."Hermione said. Ginny nodded "So did everyone else." He said without a hint of anger. He put on a high pitched voice "Oh George could you do this, Oh George, take this to…" That's why I have to take this paper from Percy to give to Dad, give these drinks to you two from Mum, and pass on the message to you, Hermione, from Ron, to make sure you know the date is still on." George snorted. Hermione smiled slightly, and took a sip of her pumpkin juice. "As if he isn't listening to your every word using extendable ears, or looking in the peep hole in Percy's bedroom." George said, smirking. Hermione spat out her drink. "He's WHAT!" Hermione exclaimed. Ginny laughed. George suppressed a grin, and for the first time in a long time, Hermione heard him laugh. "I'm only yanking your wand." He said above the laughter. "He's in the shower right now, but he's singing "I've got a date with Hermione, I've got a date with Hermione." Even Hermione laughed this time. "Well, I better take this report to Dad." He finished. Hermione said thank you and went back to her preparations for the date, looking at the wall between Ginny's and Percy's bedroom just to make sure the coast was clear.
* * *
Hermione walked down the stairs of the Burrow, feeling more confident then ever before. She was wearing dress robes of magenta, and her hair was straight and sleek. Ron was waiting downstairs, looking at her with his big, beautiful, blue eyes. He was wearing the new dress robes Fred and George had bought him, instead of the horrific ones from the Yule Ball. "Are you ready?" Hermione asked. "I've been waiting for this for a long time." Ron replied. "Where are we going? How are we getting there?" Hermione questioned. "Shhh…" Ron put a finger on her lips. "I'm not going to tell you, so we'll have to do side along apperation. Grab my arm." He said reassuringly. Hermione put her hand into his, there was a faint POP and they were off.
"Wow" Was all Hermione could say as they walked into the fancy restaurant. "Table for two?" The waiter asked. "Uh, yeah, it's under the reservation "Weasley". The waiter led them to their table. On their way they saw Luna and Dean a few tables away. "Oh look, there's Luna and Dean!" Hermione exclaimed "Let's go say hello." "You go. I'll stay at the table." Ron said. She gave a quick hello, and came back. When she came, Ron was already looking at the menu. "Hmmm…. There are so many things to choose from. He said. "I know." Hermione replied. Leave it to Ron to talk about food, she thought. Hermione tried to change the subject. She look around the expensive, fancy restaurant. "You've really outdone yourself, Ron. He held her hand. "Just promise me you'll be with me forever." He whispered. Hermione leaned in, and their lips met. When they parted, Hermione whispered back "I promise." "I have something for you." Ron said. He reached inside the pocket of his dress robes. "Hmmm…" He said "Oh, it must be at the Burrow. You know what, I'll go back and get it- "You don't have to." "You won't be saying that once you see what it is." Ron winked at her, walked out the door of the restaurant, and disapperated.
Ron seemed very satisfied with the gift. She couldn't wait to see what it was. She took a sip of her drink while she waited and wondered. All of a sudden, she heard the low, fearful, recognizable scream that was Ron Weasley's. She looked outside, at the big scenic windows, and was shocked at what she saw. Ron was being held by a masked man. There was another man standing next to him. There was a flash of green light by the holder, and then instant darkness. Still in darkness Hermione ran outside, and the light came back, but it was too late. Ron's body stood eagle-spread, motionless on the ground. Blood was all over him. Tears ran to Hermione's eyes. All the air had gone from her lungs. He couldn't be dead. Hermione ran to his side. "Ron!" she cried. "Ron! Ron! Wake up!" she sobbed even harder. A crowd began to come, including Luna and Dean. Luna was crying into Dean's shoulder. "Somebody call a doctor!" Hermione cried "When people looked puzzled, Dean came to the scene, right in front on Hermione, followed by Luna, and said "A Healer!" Someone get a Healer!" "I'm a Healer!" A middle- aged wizard said. Hermione couldn't take it. She couldn't bear to watch it. She ran away from Ron's mangled body, but she couldn't see through all the tears and….
She was back at the Burrow. She had had a horrible nightmare. But it couldn't be true, could it? Hermione looked out the window. It was about midnight. Ginny wasn't in bed. Hermione swung the door open, and ran downstairs. Her stomach lurched. She couldn't breathe. The tears were coming back. It was not a nightmare. It was all true. There were the Weasleys, and Harry, all around Ron's body. When Hermione came down, everyone gave a sigh of relief. "W-wh- what h-happened?" Hermione asked, though she knew the answer. "Ron…" Harry started "Is d-dead." George croaked. Hermione ran to her dead boyfriend's body, and laid across his chest. She was getting more bloodstains on her new dress robes but she didn't care. Harry was about to run up to comfort her, but surprisingly George came first. "How did it happen?" Bill asked faintly. Hermione sobbed even harder. "Pl-please t-tell us dear." Mrs. Weasley said. " W-well..." George took a handkerchief out of his pocket and gave it to Hermione. "We were on the date. Hermione started to tell the story…."So I told him he had out- out done himself, and he said " I'll be r-right back." He d-disapperated, outside, because you weren't allowed to inside. And I w-waited. And then- "I saw him." Percy said suddenly. "I was about to ask George if he gave my report to Father, when I saw Ron. He had a grin that resembled Fred and George so much, I did a double take. Before I could ask what he was doing, and if something went wrong, but he had already went upstairs. He came back less than a minute later, clutching something small in his hand, and disapperated. "That's when I heard his scream, I knew it was his, so I r-ran outside. I s-saw his b-body, lying on the ground. A h-healer came, I r-ran, and f-fell and…. Hermione didn't know what happened next. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Fleur were crying. Harry, George, Mr. Weasley, and Bill were looking pale and shocked. Hermione started crying again, too. "You hit yourself really hard." Mr. Weasley said. "How did I get back here?" Hermione asked. "Luna and Dean took you back." "W-we thought you might have died." Harry put in. "It was a pretty nasty fall. Bill added "And you have a big bump right here." George said, and lightly touched the side of her forehead. Hermione touched it too, and it hurt. "Zat es why we were so glad too see ` were relived." Fleur said. "He had something for you." Ginny said quietly. "Sorry?" Hermione said. "I said he had something." Ginny repeated. "Here." Percy got up and handed it to her. It was the small, red, velvet jewelry box. Hermione opened it. Fleur gasped. Hermione smiled, and then cried again, for it was so lovely and beautiful. It was a necklace, with two hearts linked together. One said Ron, in tiny red rubies, and the other said Hermione in the red rubies. "N-no w-wonder he w-was so excited about it." Hermione said, and started sobbing again. George put an arm around her, and Hermione cried into his shoulder. "It's beautiful." Ginny whispered. "Let me help you put it on." George said, and Hermione handed him the necklace. "It's g-g-gorgeous." Mrs. Weasley said through her tears when George had fastened the necklace. "Then what happened, Hermione?" Bill asked tentively. "I w-waited for r-r-Ron to come b-back, and then I w-was looking out at the windows, and I h-heard r-r-Ron's scream, and, and, Ron w-was then being held by a masked m-man!" As everyone gasped in shock, Hermione sobbed some more. "Go on." George said soothingly. "There were two men." Hermione said, taking a deep breath. "And the one h-holding him t-took his w-wand, p-p-pointed it at r-r-Ron, and a jet of g-green light erupted from it." Harry was looking pale and sick, and tears were swelling in his eyes. Mrs. Weasley only sobbed harder in Mr. Weasley's shoulder, and he too was crying. "A-and then, instant darkness came to the outside. And I and I ran out to save him. The l-light came back, and t-there was r-r-Ron's b-b-body. And there w-was b-blood a-all over it, and h-he was, he was…" But Hermione couldn't dare to finish the sentence. She couldn't believe that Ron couldn't possibly be alive. Nobody seemed to want to finish the sentence. They just nodded. "A healer came, and I- I ran c-crying, and fell and, n-now I'm here. "Do they know what killed him?" Percy asked his father. "No." Mr. Weasley said shakily. "There are some cuts across his chest, but that's about it. That's where all the b-bleeding came from, and although the cuts don't look that deep, that's the only conclusion to what, what, what k-killed him." Hermione opened his shirt, and looked at the wounds. Mr. Weasley was right, they didn't looked deep, but they were long, and the amount of blood that had left his was probably deadly. Hermione flung her body over his chest and started crying. The rest of the family watched and cried too, and the echoes of their tears could be heard all through the night.
When Fred Weasley had died around a month earlier, the Weasley house (and Hermione could not blame them) was a very dismal place to be. The Weasleys had never had to cope with a death before. The house, although the same as usual, had seemed 10 degrees colder. Mrs. Weasley had taken down the Weasley clock because she could not bear to look at it and see Fred's hand under 'deceased.' And although Hermione had just started dating Ron, she could since a change in his personality at times; when he was relatively happy he got very sad. Sometimes, she heard Ginny crying in the night, and other nights, she could see her eyes still awake. Whenever a mention of Fred's name everybody's eyes would well up with tears, and sometimes, a member of the family would just start crying randomly. Instead of living in the flat above Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, George had moved back into the house. Fred and George's room had stayed exactly the same, nobody dared take away any of Fred's things. Of all the members of the family, George had obviously taken his death the hardest. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes had closed down months before because Fred and George (like the rest of the Weasley family) had had to go into hiding. George had reopened the shop (with Ron as his new partner) two weeks ago. Whenever George was home, he usually kept to himself and stayed in his room. The only one he would really talk to was Ron, for they now had a closer relationship, but nothing nearly to the closeness of Fred and George. Sometimes George wouldn't come down for meals, his mother would send them up to him, and when he was at the table, he wasn't laughing or joking, and not talking much at all. This atmosphere was the same and probably even worse, with the death of Ron. With the Weasleys still mourning over Fred's death, they now had another death to cope with, in such a short time. Also, it came as a greater shock, because with the war over, everyone felt safe, but Ron was just murdered. And who did it? And what was the reason? The Weasleys did not know.
Hermione had been to 3 funerals before Ron's. At Dumbledore's, she remembered crying, and then Ron taking her, letting her cry into her shoulder and her stroked her hair while she sobbed. At Lupin and Tonk's, which was a joint funeral, Ron comforted her again. And at Fred's she remembered sobbing into his shoulder, then looking up at him and realizing he needed the comfort more than she did, and she held onto him and let him cry into her shoulder, and she stroked him and told him everything was going to be okay, and told him how much of a good life Fred lived (many examples were given were personal accounts with Fred and other were taken from the magnificent masterpiece of a speech George had given). But this funeral was different. Since it was Ron's, she had nobody to comfort her. There was nobody's shoulder to cry on. When Ron's coffin was brought down the aisle, Hermione walked down it with the family, with nobody to look to Harry was taking Ron's death also very hard. Harry had lost many people, his parents, godfather, headmaster, owl, and friends like Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Cedric, but none as dear as Ron. Harry was sitting on her right, but he and Ginny were comforting each other. So Hermione cried to herself.
Harry was the one who did the speech. Hermione saw a tear or two run down his cheek, but other than that he was strong. But Hermione sobbed all the way through it. It was very well written, and started from when Ron first met Harry, till his last days. Harry talked about Ron's friendship, his love of his family, his sense of humor, his all around personality, and he did talk about his love for Hermione. It was an excellent speech. Hermione sobbed and sobbed through all of it. Her eyes were all puffy and red and blotchy, and each breath she took was a gasp for air between sobs. She felt so pathetic and alone, sitting there crying. Then a hand enclosed around hers. Hermione looked up, and saw the person holding it was the person on her left, George. Hermione and George had always been friends. Though she being a goody two shoes and he being a break all the rules prankster, they hadn't always seen eye to eye. It seemed unlikely that he would be there to comfort her. But there he was, motioning her toward him. And Hermione took the gesture, still holding his hand, and leaned her head on his shoulder. And she let it all out. Every so often she'd look up at George's face, which had tears running down his cheeks. When in was time for the recession, Hermione held onto George's hand as if she was hanging on for dear life.
