Freefalling

By dazed*kitten

Part 11: Futile

Hermione sat at the desk, reading the first letter.

       Dear Hermione

I will probably be home now, with you again. I guess I'd better explain how I got home…

Hermione read and read, until her eyes were sore. When she had finished, she read it again. She looked down at the other letters, wondering what they contained. She didn't try to open them, though. They would open at the appropriate time. Hermione lowered her head to the table to cry. She had lost a friend, and confidant to the ravages of time.

#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#

Ron read his letter, open-mouthed at the contents. He read it again, just to be sure. He looked out the window, his mind racing. Nothing could have prepared him for this. Nothing at all. Ron decided that he would believe what the letter told him, and that it was his fate. He didn't know if he would have done it otherwise, but with forewarning, he decided. He would do it. For the world he loved, and the girl he loved too.

#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#

Harry read the letter with trepidation. What could this enigmatic girl want to say to him? He read the letter, and its details of the final battle. He shuddered a little at the graphic details, but he accepted it. Otherwise everything would fall away, freefalling into darkness and despair. Harry, determined, went to go and talk with Dumbledore about strategy. He paused in the common room, and went to collect Hermione on the way through. She had red eyes from crying, but waved off his questions.

"I just miss her, is all. Now I have to do something to get my mind off it, ok?" So they went to Dumbledore, and planned the final strategy.