A/N: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH - this chapter address the reasons why Ron and Hermoine filled the trunks with photographs and memories.

Thank you to all my wonderful readers and reviewers for joining me on this ride. This is the final chapter of the story and probably the most difficult to write because of the subject. There are two epilogues to this story: the poem and the letters … Keep reading 3

Full Summary: Hugo and Rose had come to clean out the attic of their parents' house. They expected to find old toys and discarded inventions. What they found instead was their parents' love story

Chapter 10: Fading Away

Pairing: Hugo, Rose, Ron x Hermione

Rating: T to M to E and back again (for the whole story)

Chapter Summary: Rose and Hugo have reached the final packet of letters. How will the last letters change the children's view of their parents' love story?

Papers filled with her memories

Lives lived and sorrows forgotten

Letting go her greatest adventure

Finding peace with him

Hugo and Rose stood in the kitchen, staring into the sitting room. "Are you ready for this, little brother?" Rose asked as she waited for the courage to enter the room.

"As ready as I will ever be," Hugo answered and grabbed her hand. "We know the middle of their story. I'm just not sure I want to know the end."

"Me either," Rose took a reluctant step into the sitting room. "Might as well get it over with. Did you bring tissue?"

Hugo reached into his pocket and pulled out two small tissue packs. "Anna made sure they were in my pocket before I left. Time to rip off the bandage."

Hugo and Rose walked over to their parents'' trunks. Hugo reached into Hermione's trunk and pulled out the last packet. It was tied with gold and silver ribbon. A note was tied in the ribbon.

"Well, this is different," Rose untied the note from the packet. "Why did Mum put this one on the outside? What was so important that it could not wait until we opened this packet like all the others?"

"I think we are going to need to sit down for this one," Hugo guide Rose to the couch and made she was settled before he handed her the packet from Hermione' trunk. "Let me get the packet from Dad' trunk and then we can sit together and read their last letters."

"Dad's packet has as note on the outside, too," Hugo took the note off the front of the package as he settled in beside his sister. "I don't know that I can do this. Are we brave enough to do this?"

"There is only one way to find out. Start reading." Rose opened the note from Hermione's package and began to read:

"My darling children,

This is our last gift to you. The part that we didn't let you see when it was happening. The hardest part of living and loving is letting go. Letting go will be easy for me. The reason your father and I created these packets was so that we could let you see how much we loved each other and you. Today was not a good day. Today we found out that my little lapses in memory are only going to get worse. I am going to slowly forget everything, including your father, our story and our greatest treasures, you and your children. Your father will act strong. Don't be fooled. I found his letters. He is the glue that has always held me together and he will be the glue that holds you together when I am gone. But you will need to be his glue. He is hoping that this little project will save my memories for a little longer. It won't but I am going to let him think that. He has spent a lifetime taking care of me and I have done the same for him. I love you both.

Remember me,

Mum"

"She wrote this more than three months before they told us," Rose looked a Hugo as the note fell from her fingers. "Why would they keep this from us for so long? We could have helped more?"

"Because it is the way they have always been," Hugo used a tissue to wipe the tears from Rose's cheeks. "Mum needed a plan before she could accept anything and move forward. Dad needed to let Mum plan so he could take care of her if things fell apart."

"I don't quite think Mum planned for Dad to leave first," 'Rose whispered. "I can't do this, Huggie. It feels like we are losing them all over again."

"Yes, you can do this, Rosie," Hugo hugged his sister tightly before settling her back on the couch. "Look at how much of them we have gotten back from their letters and photographs. We are not losing them again. We are finding them and keeping their memories alive for our children and the generations that follow."

"How are we going to do that?" Rose closed her eyes as she waited for her brother's answer. "How do we take this collection of letters and pictures and make it into something that makes sense? How do we preserve what we have found?"

"I think the answer is in Dad's letter," Hugo said, clearing his throat.

"My dearest Prickle Pants and Little Terror,

Your mother is not doing well. For only the second time in her life, a Healer has given her news she was not quite prepared for. Your mother is going to lose her memory and fade from us. This project is my way of helping her accept what is coming and hopefully keep her going when I am gone. I could not bring myself to tell her that I am going ahead to make a place for her. I found out two weeks ago that I have a tumor on my heart. It cannot be removed and it will soon cause my heart to fail. Take care of your mother. I have made arrangements with Flourish and Botts to have the contents of these trunks bound into books after you have read them. Just return the letters and pictures to their number bundles and take the bundles to them. Everything is taken care of.

Rosie, the cottage is yours. You are the historian of our family. Keep it alive here and add to it. I love you, Princess.

Hugo, the business is yours. I am so proud of what you have done to help George and me. Don't ever stop challenging yourself. I love you, my boy.

Mischief Managed,

Dad"

"He knew," Hugo felt his stomach drop as he looked over at Rose. "He knew he was sick. He never said a word. Two weeks after he wrote this, he told me he was going to take a nap in his office and never work up. He knew and he didn't tell us."

"Would it have changed anything?" Rose ask as she wiped the tears from her brother's eyes. "Would it have made it any easier? He knew it wouldn't. He was taking care of all of us until the very last."

"Why am I angry?" Hugo asked Rose. "In my head, I understand what both of them did but, my heart is breaking all over again."

"So is mine, little brother," Rose looked down at the packet in her lap. "But, look at the gift they left us. We are so lucky."

"We are lucky, big sister," Hugo played with the ribbon on his packet. "We have each other and the echoes of our parents. I guess it is time to be brave. On the count of three, we pull the ribbons … One … Two … Three …"

Scars map out his memories

Lives lived and sorrows forgotten

Letting go his greatest adventure

Finding peace with her

Hugo stared at the picture on top of his packet of letters. It was the picture that had been on Ron's desk at the lab. It was his favorite picture. Dad had taken the picture of Hugo with his mother and sister as they walked along the beach in Brighton the summer before his last year at Hogwarts. "These are a few of my favorite things," Hugo read the inscription of the back of the picture before he picked up the first letter. "I had no idea he had even taken this picture until I started working with him in the lab. He was always sneaking pictures of Mum."

"And she was always sneaking pictures of him," Rose showed Hugo the picture from the top of her packet. "She took this picture of us the day we both took the train to Hogwarts. I remember Dad pulling us into that hug and whispering to keep out of trouble."

"To bad we forgot to listen," Hugo began to smile. "I still remember Uncle Harry handing me the Marauder's Map. That map did keep us out of trouble."

Hugo looked closer at the picture. "Isn't this the picture that Mum kept on her desk at the Ministry? I think I saw it in every office we ever visited her in."

"It is," Rose picked up the first letter from her packet. "Who's going first this time?"

"I'll do it," Hugo's voice cracked as he started to read. "Mione, You are never going to believe what George and Hugo did today …"

Ron looked up from his desk when he heard the explosion. He was in his office at the lab so it was not unusual to hear a boom or two. What was unusual was George. He was covered in glitter. "George, do I want to know what just happened?" Ron eyed his brother with both concern and amusement.

"Not really, but it is all Hugo's fault," George answered with a shrug. "He wanted change the trigger charm on the Glitter Bombs. I think it may be a little too strong.

"Is Hugo still in one piece?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow as he saw Hugo peep around the door frame. "His mother and fiancée would not appreciate a loss of life or limb."

"I'm fine, Dad," Hugo shook glitter from his hair as he walked into Ron's office. "Just need to recast the strength charm before we recast the trigger charm. I didn't realize the difference two letters could make in a word."

"I thought your mum taught you that one before you were old enough to hold a wand," Ron chuckled. "Let's get this mess cleaned up and make sure there are no holes in the roof or missing technicians in the lab."

Ron, Hugo, and George spent the next few hours cleaning up the mess that had been made and reworking the charms so that little ones could work the small glitter bombs. The 'Baby Bombs' were released in time for New Year's Eve celebrations and were the first product credited to Hugo as a partner in Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. It was also Hugo's final test. George announced his retirement the day after Hugo's bombs were released. Ron was looking forward to a time when he could retire, too.

"Hey, Dad," Hugo called to Ron as he looked out the window into the night. "Mum's supposed to be home by dinner. Do you mind if Anna and I hang out with you tonight?

"As long as you leave the glitter in the lab, come on," Ron smiled as he answered. "Your mum is expecting a Buddhist pizza from Flying Pies. if you are late, there will be nothing left to eat."

"That explains how Mum knew about the 'Glitter Incident'," Hugo laughed as he set down his first letter. "She always kept a prototype of the Baby Bomb on her desk. I thought it was because it was my first success invention. Now, I am beginning to question her motives."

"She told me she kept it there to remind her the difference two letters make," Rose giggled at the reminder of her brother and uncle covered in glitter. "She was proud if the work you have done. It is still hard to believe that you are in charge of it all now."

"I can't imagine doing anything else," Hugo picked up a picture that had fallen out of the letter he had just finished reading. "How did Dad get this? I look like a disco ball and George is making a bigger mess than we already had by shaking glitter off like a wet dog. Dad must have taken this as we were walking back to the lab."

"Weren't Mum and I in Romania working with Uncle Charlie on Dragon Laws when the 'Glitter Incident' happened?" Rose looked through the letters from her packet. "It looks like most of these were written when they were separated for work."

"I think it was," Hugo set down the picture and looked through his stack. "Most of these have carry marks from owleries that I don't recognize. If Mum and Dad were in the same town they would have used Pig or one of Pig's children."

Rose searched through her stack until she found a letter with a date close to the date of the letter Hugo had read. "Looks like Mum sent Dad a letter around the same time Dad sent that one. 'My darling Ron, Charlie's' dragons are beautiful but I can't wait to be home ...

Hermione looked over the dragon sanctuary as she read the letter she had just received from Ron. She could not stop laughing. Leave it up to George to lead Hugo into his first lab explosion. The picture was even better. She did not think that glitter could cover anyone the way it had covered the 'boys'. Knowing her husband, he had gone to the lab with them after the glitter settled and helped Hugo with his first invention for Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. Both she and Ron were proud of the work Hugo was taking on. George was talking about handing over his part of the company to Hugo and enjoying retirement.

Hermione turned at the sound of footsteps behind her. Rose was walking up the path to Hermione's favorite spot at the sanctuary. Hermione had talked Rose into coming with her to see Charlie and Pansy while she finished the changes to some of the Dragon Laws. Pansy had agreed to design and make Rose's wedding dress, so now was a perfect time to get some wedding planning and 'girl time'. "What's up, Rose?" Hermione watched Rose pick her way up the hill.

"Aunt Pansy says dinner will be ready soon," Rose stopped beside her mother and took in the view. "We are almost done with the dress design. I love it and I think you will too."

"Not many brides get a Pansy Weasley original," Rose hugged her daughter before turning back towards the house. "I am sure it is beautiful. I got a letter from your father today."

"So, what's up in the world of novelties and protection?" Rose linked her arm with Hermione's as they walked down the path. "I know Hugo was working with George on his first invention for the shop. Is he still in one piece?"

"Yes, the boys still have all their limbs," Hermione started to giggle as she handed Rose the letter and picture. "But, I will never look at glitter the same way again. How did they get that much glitter in something as small as a Glitter Bomb?".

"Poor Anna," Rose wiped away the tears that rolled from her eyes as she laughed. "She will be cleaning glitter out of her flat for months if he goes to visit her looking like that. I have seen disco balls with les shine."

Rose and Hermione continued to talk and laugh as they walked back to Pansy and Charlie's cottage. Hermione had a feeling dinner was going to be a lively affair tonight

Rose could not stop laughing. "I remember that night. Uncle Charlie had Aunt Pansy sketch a dragon blowing the glitter off of you and Uncle George and sent it to Dad."

"Dad hung that picture up in the lab over my workstation as soon as he got it," Hugo laughed a little more. "I still have it . I had it framed the day after it came and I keep it as a reminder to find laughter in any disaster."

Hugo and Rose spent the next few hours reading letters their parents had sent to each other over the years of their marriage. Some we sweet and some were sad. Most were tiny pictures into the love that had only grown between Ron and Hermione in the years they had been together.

"It almost feels like they are here with us," Rose said as she picked up her last letter. "I don't really want this to end. These letters have been a gift I never knew I needed."

"I'm on my last letter, big sister." Hugo took a deep breath and began to read. "My love, I am never going to send this letter to you …"

Ron stood at the window and watched the sun set. He was going to break her heart. He thought nothing could be worse than watching her slowly fade away. But this was worse. His heart was a ticking time bomb and no one knew when it would stop. Hermione was almost done with her latest project, creating a pair of time capsules for the children to find when they were gone. She was using their old school trunks and creating packets of letters and pictures from their life together.

He had managed to tie a letter on to the first packet she had put in his trunk. She was packing the trunks in the reverse order of the way they had been lived. The final packet the children would read was the first packet she created. It was full of the letters they had sent each other over the last 40 years. Some of them were written when they had to be apart for work and some were written when the recipient was in the next room. There was one letter in his packet that had never been sent. It was the last letter he would write her and he did not want her to see it until he was gone.

He was going to miss this. But he was at peace.

Hugo took a deep breath. "How much courage did he have? To know he was leaving but keep it from her? He never let anyone know how much he worried."

"That is because he was the rock of this family," Rose answered the questions as they fell out of Hugo's mouth. "He was taking care of all of us. It was what he always did."

"I miss them, so much," Hugo got off the couch and began to pace in front of the fireplace. "Sometimes it feels like they are in the room with me. I know it is my imagination but the feeling is still there."

"They are never really going to be gone now," Rose pointed to the stacks of letter piled around the sitting room. "They are here, in their story. They will live on in the pages of the books Dad has already planned for."

"It was so hard to watch Mum fade," Rose whispered. "She would sit by the window and wait for Dad to come home. I never had the heart to tell her he was waiting for her somewhere else."

"Me either," Hugo sat back down beside his sister, "It was strange. I watched her have conversations with Dad in the last month. It was like watching relive conversations she and Dad had when we were kids."

"Enough putting this off. Mum's letter is not going to get any easier to read," Rose opened the parchment she had been dreading. "My darling Ronald, I know you are hiding something from me …"

Hermione's memory was slipping more each day. She was forgetting little things now. Like turning off the tea kettle or locking the door before bed. Ron was patient with her and held her when the frustration got to be too much. He was always there.

She had finished packing the trunks for Rose and Hugo last night. There was one letter in her trunk that Ron had never seen. It was the letter she had written last night as she watched him stare out the window. He had been to the Healer today and looked sad. She heard him talking to Harry after he got home, but they stopped talking when she walked in the room. She wasn't going to ask. She wouldn't remember his answer in the morning anyway.

It was a funny feeling to slowly fade away. Time didn't work the same anymore. Some days she knew everything and she knew someone was missing. Other days, she floated through the cottage like she was already gone. She couldn't find Ron anywhere. He was supposed to be home from work soon and a sweet girl named Rose helping her cook tonight. Tonight was special.

Hermione sat on her bed and waited for Ron. He had whispered to her last night. He was coming home. "I miss you, my heart," Hermione whispered as she fell asleep.

"I have missed you too, love," the ghost of Ron held his hand out to Hermione. "It's time."

"I love you, Ronald …"

Rose let the letter slip from her fingers. "How did they find the peace that is in these letters? They knew they were leaving each other."

"I guess they knew they would always find their way back to each other," Hugo carefully placed his stack of letters on the floor. To love and be loved like that is a blessing and a curse. I want it to always be that way for both of us"

Deep in the shadows of the sitting room, two whiffs of smoke formed and floated towards the quiet figures on the couch. Dancing around Rose and Hugo's' heads the smoke brushed tears from Rose's cheeks and Hugo's hair out of his eyes. As quickly as it appeared, the smoke disappeared and Ron and Hermione's voices filled the room. "Love is never a curse, children, it is always an adventure worth living. Never forget that and we will never be forgotten."

So here's my question: when you lose the most important person to you in the entire world, where is all the love – love you never even knew you were capable of – supposed to go?

Ted Michael, Crash Test Love