AN: Yes, yes, when you thought it was almost impossible for me to go any crazier and actually dare write another songfic, here I come! This one, though is slightly different from my usual angsty DH, this is actually HH. *did I just hear you gasp?* ehehe…
Dedicated to Raf, the boy I will always remember.
Disclaimer: *koff, koff* I have absolutely no idea who the song I'm using belongs to, but Lea Salonga sang it, so… but of course everybody knows who these characters belong to! (so I can skip the blah parts?)
~*~ I Remember The Boy ~*~
Far away from that stately, old castle she once called "home", Hermione Granger jerked awake in her tidy little apartment in Horizont Alley. She blinked at the clock, unbelieving. "That cannot be telling me that it is 4 in the morning…" she whispered, but when the clock winked at her and grinned, saying in a teasing voice "Yes, it's exactly four in the morning, so I suggest you wake up, wake up, and put on your makeup!"
Hermione swung her legs over the bed, dragging the sheets with her. She glared at the mirror, smoothed her hair down and left the room, but not before throwing a quick word to the clock. "I don't wear make-up!"
Today I heard them play the song again
So she wandered around her modest kitchen, throwing together a few pieces of toast. But as she turned to the shelf to return the jar of marmalade, a simple song, playing on the radio, made the cool glass jar slip from her suddenly numb hands.
An old familiar strain from way back when
Four years… has it been that long? Hermione stared down at the shards of glass around her bare feet, mechanically whipping out her wand to clean up the sticky mess of marmalade.
Every note and every line
It's always been a favorite song of mine
Everybody loved that song… that's why it was being played over and over again at the Yule Ball, four whole years ago… Hermione sat down at the table, the glass jar repaired and restored onto the shelf. She cupped a steaming mug of coffee in her hands, warming herself up.
It used to haunt me so some years ago
Did it ever! Hermione smiled as she thought of the way she used to walk through the halls of Hogwarts, humming that sweet, sentimental song in spite of the shiny Head Girl badge. Four years doesn't seem so long ago, after all…
Reminds me of a boy I used to know
Her nostalgic smile faded as she remembered why she used to sing that song… because of Harry. Harry loved that song, and he used to smile everytime he heard it… She looked down into the swirling coffee, eyes suddenly sad. Maybe four years really is a long time… it's certainly enough time to change someone so severely… Harry, for instance.
And though the melody still lives on
The song continued its melodious refrains on the radio, filling up the well-kept kitchen, and bringing sad and sentimental tears to the woman who was sitting in it that very moment.
The memories and the boy are all but gone
Hermione got up from the table, bringing the cup of coffee and her cloak with her. On her way up the stairs, she passed a table, on which sat a small, framed picture. She paused and picked it up, tears flowing slowly down her cheeks.
It was a Muggle picture, and three figures were in it, smiling happily at the camera. It was a younger her in the middle, throwing her head back and laughing with all her might, showing off the pretty front teeth. Beside her, on her left, was a very tall red-head, freckles dotting his smiling face. And then, on her right, a young man, taller than her, but shorter than the red-head, a smile clearly shining in the bright green eyes behind his glasses.
Hermione stroked the picture's cool glass, smiling sadly. "The last year we were in love."
And while the song still brings that certain glow
She climbed the stairs up to the balcony, whispering a Tracking Sonorus charm so the music could follow her wherever she went. After all, she thought, clutching the magically warmed mug of coffee, it's not as if I'm still in love.
And the words still sing of love I know
It isn't quite the way it was before
She stopped at the door, breathing the cold morning air, watching the moon fade from the pinkish-purple sky. I loved him once, but I don't think I can ever love him again. She set down the mug on the ledge and pulled a chair over so she could sit down. He's changed, and so have I.
I remember the boy
Harry… Hermione rubbed her hand angrily across her eyes, chiding herself for making such a scene over a silly song. But as the music played on in her ears, she realized that she did have a lot to cry about…
He was so kind, so generous, so peaceful and… happy. She looked defiantly up at te sky, the fading stars reflected in her eyes. What happened? Why?
But I don't remember the feeling anymore
He changed so much… No one knew, but the last year that Hermione spent in Hogwarts was truly her most painful one. It was the year Harry changed. It was the year she stopped loving him. It was the year she found herself incapable of loving the Changed Harry.
I even stopped calling him Harry… I couldn't bear calling that… that person by the name of the boy I once loved.
The promises we made seemed easier then
He told he'd love me forever. He told me he was as real as the air we breathe. He told me he would love me as long as the stars shine up above. Hermione looked up and picked out the brightest star she could find in the lightening sky. "Tell me," she whispered angrily. "when did you stop shining?"
As if we knew our love would never end
Oh, but it ended. It ended too soon… Hermione touched the rim of her cup with her wand, refilling it with coffee. I thought it would go on forever, but I didn't expect he'd become what he is now.
But seasons change and time erases the tears
As quickly as the rivers disappear
"Selfish." Hermione suddenly sat up and spoke out loud, anger and hurt etched on her face. "Jealous. A liar. Possessive." She choked on her tears. "A flirt…".Covering her face. she leaned forward, whispering through the tears. "He used to be so innocent, shy and naïve about love, tentatively taking his first steps, but he was truly in love with me…" She tilted her face up, and one could see that she was once beautiful. "At least, that's what he said…"
So while the song still brings a certain glow
"But it is a beautiful song, you can't deny that…"
And the words still sing of love I know
"It's just… the memories… I can't stand them anymore…"
It isn't quite the way it was before
"He loved me, I loved him back… why did he have to change, take that turn for the worse,
and leave me broken-hearted? He swore he'd take me to every Yule Ball since fifth year, but on the seventh, he showed up with…" Hermione whispered Finite Incantatem, breaking the spell that sent the music playing in her ears. "He showed up with no one, but then he proceeded to ignore me for the whole night, and dance with every other girl there…"
I remember the boy
"We could have been so beautiful together… we were so in love.
To this day, it remains a mystery to me, why he became so different, why he became so cold…
a sad mystery, one I would turn time backwards just to solve."
But I don't remember the feeling
"Harry…" Hermione whispered, searching the dying stars for something that would help her…
"The real Harry… the one that knew how to love, the one that knew how to feel… please, come back to me."
I remember the boy
"Please… I still love you. Only you."
But I don't remember the feeling anymore…