A/N: Here's the third part, which I made longer than the other parts (finally)! This part isn't in the past, it's the present (re-read the other parts), so don't get too confused. On with my lowly creation…
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The First Goodbye: Part Three
By Heather Michelle
Not again… she thought. The dream always occurred around this time of year. She had tried her best, so why did it haunt her so? Maybe she tried too hard and ignored his warnings, but he couldn't just let him leave. It hurt too much.
The taste of salty copper filled her mouth as she tried to control her tears. She didn't need to wonder why it happened; she knew the cause was inside her. She huddled a blanket around herself, in a half attempt to recreate a sense of warmth that had left her a long time ago. How long had it even been? 10 years? 20 years? she questioned herself. But she knew that it had only been five. A day without him appeared to equal years to her.
Thinking about it only made the pit of her stomach churn with a feeling she could not describe. She glanced over at Ron, arms flailed and red hair askew, sleeping in bed across the room. She almost laughed, forgetting her previous thoughts. He loved her so much, but Hermione had never dreamed that things would end up like this. Oh, she had always wanted to marry her best friend, sure; but she had imagined a different one.
They had just gone to see Ginny and her new fiancé, Scott, a younger associate of Bill's from Gringott's. She looked suprisingly contented, even after all that had happened. Hermione, no doubt, had shaken her nerve by being there, but it was important that they all stick together in this time of crisis.
Running her fingers through her hair, Hermione thought about what might have happened if he hadn't switched over. She had pictured them together millions of times- the house, the kids, a world free from Voldemort. There had once been a time when his name couldn't be mentioned, but another had overtaken his status by force. The boy that the prophets said would save the world now condemned its existence altogether.
Hermione shook her head as if she were in denial. As far as she was concerned, Harry was dead. The Harry she had loved was dead. The small light of hope left in her soul after that last day had all but burnt out. Psychiatrics did nothing but made her delusional. She'd even felt his eyes burning through her from an unknown place, possibly her own introspection had led her to create the things she loved the most about him. One of the things had always been the way he looked at her; a slight glimmer in his eye and an expression that made her tingle, even five years later, sitting at her bedroom window.
That was the reason that she couldn't face him. She knew her status as the most powerful witch in the world. It had been no surprise to her, considering her blood's energy source. Ever since he knew he loved her, she felt him surging through her every now and then. She had perceived the pains of loss, suffering, abandonment and fear that had once overtaken his quest to defeat Voldemort. She had also known of the good things, and some of them only she used to retain. Hermione let puddles drip to the floor as she slowly walked back to bed, thinking Ron was still asleep.
He wasn't. He knew that she cried, and how she wished that everything would be better if she hadn't messed it up. Ron knew she thought of him as a brother, even though they had gotten carried away more than once. He knew that it was out of loneliness that she was with him, but in a way he didn't care. As long as she was there, he was happy. He held her sobbing body close as she wound herself in his arms, almost dreaming that he was someone else.
No words needed to be said. They both knew what was on its way, but he wanted the rest of the time he had with her. Maybe they'd be together after this was all over. There was a time when they had been in love, so it was possible. Ron sighed as he remembered everything while holding a now sleeping Hermione. How many times had things like this happened in the Gryffindor common room? She'd be angry, sad or frustrated, and Ron would be there to make sure she felt better. Harry was always off training. Some good that did, he thought. Ron could only hope for the best in the future since he couldn't fix their mistakes in the past. He knew that Hermione hated herself for what she had done. When he came, Ron wondered what Hermione intended to do. He knew about the pact they had made, and how she wouldn't follow through. She knew how much hurt she had caused the world by breaking that promise, but he almost didn't care. Hermione didn't talk about her feelings a lot since that day, but to Ron, she didn't need to.
Hermione didn't go to the Ministry, it came to her. Mrs. Figg and the other members of the fight against the new Dark Lord came to the Weasley household for meetings, so as not to make Hermione feel the pressure of her loss. She enjoyed the company while it lasted, but when they left, Hermione and Ron were left by themselves again, awaiting disaster. Most of their days were spent in silence, having truly grieved in the first year after the incident. Other than that, Ron and Hermione played a wonderful pair to the outside world, including to Ginny, who had seen them tonight.
Everyone knew that Hermione was the one Harry would probably want to get rid of first, seeing as how she was the most powerful witch in the world because of him. But why had waited five years? That was the only thing Hermione didn't know
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It was a force. Only a force with flashing lights. What was wrong with his power? He could do anything he pleased in his position, but not kill a simple girl. He had done it hundreds of times, so what was wrong? A glowing would fill his vision every time he came within sight of her, and he would be so debilitated by pain that her lost all control. Something he had wanted to kill for a long time would resurface and weaken him to the point of suppression.
How long this happened depended upon how long the glowing light lasted, each time growing more intense. The inside weakness was the only thing that stopped him from
There would be no more games. Whatever was weakening the new Dark Lord was going to be destroyed, along with that girl, although it was taking him more time than he originally thought.
Love me? Hate me? Wish to comment in any way? I need some imput into how I'm doing/writing. PLEASE REVIEW! I'll love you forever!
SPECIAL THANKS TO: shana, Bertie Bott, Morgaine, *J*E*N*, Nice, Harpo, Weasley Girl, and Valkyrie for reviewing Part Two!
SEE YA NEXT TIME! TOODLES!
-Heather Michelle