AN: Hi, all! Welcome back(:
This story was given to me as a prompt for the Soulmate Rare Pair Fest hosted by the FB group: Hermione's Nook. This will be a unhappy ending, so please be aware that if you do not care for those it is okay to bypass this one xoxo

This story is unbeta'd at the moment, if you notice anything needing tweaking please do not hesitate to let me know!

Without further ado here is my story, Poenitet!

Read, Review, and as always Thank you for spending your time with me!

Flashes, flashes of who they were and what they had flitted beneath her eyelids.

'This must be it' she thought.

Her chest was beginning to feel heavy with the anxious weight of what she would relive in just a moment, which was not an unknown sinsation for her as her body had been experiencing an array of problems over this past year.

Growing up she had heard whispers of what the people close to death saw, what they whispered from their lips as they descended towards the unknown. The dying were rumored to have clarity where they reflected on their lives through someone else's eyes.

As the words tumbled from their lips they were convinced that the person whose memories they were witnessing were their soul mates. The majority of the rumors were of stories about whispered i love you's and moments of gratefulness as it was confirmed they had spent their lives with the right person. In other lives the moment was used to express regret, wishing the universe had allowed them to be with their mate.

Hermione had always wondered if there was truth to this phenomena with mild belief, curious if there was any truth to it or if it was similar to numerous religious beliefs in muggle culture. Thinking of your loved ones would be a comforting way to process the fear of dying, or wanting an easy way to atone for your regrets. It was only after she had spoken with ghosts, a delightful element of the job she had held for the past twenty-years as a unspeakable, when she was given proof and testaments that the universe gifted you with the opportunity to relive your life with your soulmate, through their perspective.

She was internally angry that there was not an easier way to be sure of who your soulmate was prior to death. For example, having matching marks on your body or having their names written down somewhere in a book or on a contract, like the universe was setting up an arranged marriage. That way you would know your time with who you loved would not be wasted and you could be content with the knowledge you had made the right decision. Alas, life was not fair and just because she lived in a world of magic it did not change the fact that sometimes you were dealt bad cards. Or in her case, sometimes you just made bad choices.

In the foreground of her senses she could hear the sounds of a lively hospital. The medi witches were working on someone, someone important if she had to guess from the army of photographers outside of her room window.

No, they were not for her.

The photographers lost interest in her and the rest of the trio after they became settled in their lives. Raising children and going to work was not as interesting as defeating The Dark Lord. Even as she laid here on her deathbed she was certain there was someone more interesting.

Especially, she thought, since she made sure to have had the staff sign non-disclosure agreements before she agreed to start her treatments here.

She was dying on her own accord, from her own mistakes.

The only people who knew were her husband as she didn't have the heart to face Harry and tell him what she had done. Hermione was certain that Ron would inform the rest of the Weasley brood once she had gone, if he hadn't already. Lately he didn't really care what she wanted with her life and if she was being honest with herself her decisions hadn't ever mattered to him.

She had filled a hole for him and he was safe for her. Ron would mourn her as a friend, she knew but it was not unknown to her that he had already begun a liaison with another witch. For his reputation's sake, he was keeping it under wraps until she passed and she was simply shocked that he had waited this long. Once the honeymoon phase ended and their jobs began they were like ships in the night, which was okay for her. After ten years together no one expected them to have children anymore and now she was dying.

Hermione began to reflect on her life and although she mourned the loss of her who she would be and what she once had, her friends- she was at peace with her decision not to fight for treatment, to not fight to prolong her illness.

Of course love was not the only thing worth living for but in her mind, there wasn't much left for her. The truth was that she had already had one great love in her life and she was tired of trying to recreate it.