The Lonely

1087 words

Rating: K


2am, where do I begin
Crying off my face again
The silent sound of loneliness
Wants to follow me to bed

I'm the ghost of a girl
That I want to be most
I'm the shell of a girl
That I used to know well

ooo

Just like every other night since Hermione had received the invitation in the post, midnight had announced its presence hours ago and yet she found herself walking through her empty house.

Alone. Lonely.

Ever since the announcement had been made in the Prophet, she felt like an Inferius. Not evil, just simply not alive. A body that acted like a puppet; going through the daily motions without thought or care.

Her right hand held a crumpled tissue…tonight hadn't just brought loneliness, it had brought tears.

Her left hand held the cause. This time tomorrow she would have lost him for good.

It was all happening so quickly.

They'd broken up so many times before…and yet they'd always found themselves getting back together. Words of forgiveness whispered in the form of soft kisses and caresses.

Their last fight had been horrible. Worse than any before it. Angry words purposely aiming to cause maximal hurt…which they had. Household items being thrown to draw blood…which they had.

Hermione winced at the memory. He had always teased her on what a rubbish throwing arm she had. What a time she'd picked to make her debut in actually hitting her target.

But despite all of it: the words, the jabs, the tears, Hermione had expected them to get back together.

Their relationship had been branded "unhealthy" by so many. Those who called themselves her closest friends and family.

But they didn't understand.

Hermione needed him.

Just like he needed her.

At least he had.

But not anymore…Her left hand tightened into a fist unconsciously.

ooo

Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again

ooo

Just like every other night since Hermione had received the invitation in the post, she found herself halting in her useless wanderings around her house.

The doors to the empty room were closed and Hermione knew that when she opened them, she would be inundated with memories of the time they'd spent together in it.

Her house was her one extravagant possession. When she'd first brought the home and invited her friends over to view it, she had merely smiled at the look of shock on their faces at the vast space.

Despite everyone who had ever met her thinking that she would be the homely cottage type, Hermione had always longed for a large house.

For in her mind, a large house meant it could be filled with a large family.

Being an only child with very few cousins scattered around England, she had always longed for a busy, interfering family like those she had seen on television or in the movies.

Buying the house was the first step in achieving that.

He had been the second step. Expect now he was gone.

And she was left to fill her huge, empty, lonely house alone.

When she had told him what she'd hoped the empty room would become in the future, he had taken her in his arms and danced with her, his mouth close to her ear so that his softly sung words, a Wizarding lullaby that she'd never heard before, embedded into her heart and soul.

The words of the lullaby whispered over Hermione's mind as she opened the doors and stepped into the room.

The spot where they'd danced was lit up by a square of moonlight shining in through the window and Hermione was helpless but to walk over to it.

The moonlight bathed her.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in tightly and began to sing the words softly. Her body swaying from side to side, first slowly and then with more gusto as she twirled around.

If she thought hard enough, she could feel his arms around her. The warmth of his body seeping into her skin. His whispered breath brushing against her neck.

She didn't feel so lonely anymore.

ooo

Too afraid, to go inside
For the pain of one more loveless night
For the loneliness will stay with me
And hold me till I fall asleep

ooo

All too soon the song ended.

Hermione swayed one last time before her mouth stopped singing and her eyes opened. Her hands had half risen in the air, as if he was actually there with her and she was holding him close to her.

But he wasn't…and her left hand still held the invitation.

Her hands fell limp by her side. Breathing in another gulping breath, she stared around the room blankly.

The empty space seemed to attract quiet solitude. A shiver raced up Hermione's spine and she walked back towards the door.

Stepping through them, she closed them gently behind her.

Her legs seemed to have a mind of their own as they delivered her back to her bedroom.

She sat down on the edge of her bed listlessly. The fingers on both hands opening and the tissue and invitation slipping to the floor.

Hermione lifted her legs onto the bed, slipped them under the duvet and fell backwards until her head met her pillow.

Sleep refused to come for an age.

ooo

Broken pieces of
A barely breathing story
Where there once was love
Now there's only me
And the lonely...

ooo

When the first creeping sunlight spilled into the bedroom, Hermione had been asleep for only an hour.

Her dreams filled with a forever lost world where they were together. A world where their children ran around their feet. A world where they grew old together.

She'd fallen asleep on her side, a position in which tiredness had finally overtaken her as she stared at the cream card that lay on the floor a few feet below her.

In the darkness she had only been able to make out the outline.

But now the silver lettering sparkled.

Lettering that announced the once upcoming but now here wedding of Draco Malfoy to Astoria Greengrass.

The pureblood marriage of the year.

A marriage in which Hermione had always believed that she would be the bride…

ooo

Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Let you go and let the lonely in
To take my heart again...


Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been concentrating on Deceit but now that I've managed to update the story, I can get back to Meus Contraho for a little while. I know this oneshot was depressing and I wasn't planning on writing it but I had a horrible day today. I went for lunch with a friend who until five years, was married to my cousin. Today I told her that he was re-marrying and though it's been a long time since they've divorced, the look on her face was awful. Unfortunately for you guys, my mood translated into my writing. The song lyrics are by Christina Perri and I take no credit for writing them. Until next time, Curiositykils

(P.S. I've been asked by quite a few of you if I have a tumblr account? I have to confess I don't have a clue what that is so the answer to your question is no!)