FROM LOVING YOU

19-year-old Hermione Granger was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. She hadn't been to the school since she had graduated, and she hadn't seen her friends, Harry and Ron, in such a long time. She would never see him again. Hermione had kept in touch with Harry, but she had lost contact with Ron. Draco Malfoy had proposed to Becky Potter on the Hogwarts Express at the end of their 7th year. Yes, they had each other. Hermione used to have someone, but now...

~~*~~

Hermione ran through every last corridor of Hogwarts, calling his name. As she was running back to the Gryffindor Common Room in tears, she crashed into Ginny Weasley. "Tell me it isn't true!" she said in a pleading voice, "Tell me he didn't!" Ginny looked at her friend pityingly. "Hermione..." "NO!!!" she shouted. With that, Hermione ran into Gryffindor Tower and threw herself onto her bed, where she cried until she had no tears left to shed.

~~*~~

'It's not your fault,' she told herself for about the 100th time. He had left her. But he hadn't left her with nothing...

~I had you, I had everything I ever needed

~From that first look I knew

~I'd found heaven in your eyes

~But who was to know the way it would go

~I have no regrets

~Glad I let you in

~Wouldn't have missed one single moment

~I would do it all over again

***

Hermione stepped into the Great Hall on September 1st to see Harry talking hurriedly to Dumbledore. Harry saw her walking towards them. "Hermione!" he shouted. He nearly kissed her, but he knew that would bring back painful memories. So he nearly hugged her to death instead. "Harry, you oaf, get off me!" she cried, gasping for air. He let go, grinning at her. "Sorry, Mione, guess I over did it." Hermione laughed. "That's a bit of an understatement." She suddenly turned serious. (Sirius-- "What did I do?") "Have you heard from..." Harry shook his head. "Hermione, you know as well as I do that he hates me. And you also know that wherever he is now, he still loves you." "I know. I just miss him so much. I wish he had never left."

~Coz I was loved

~I was touched

~And I learned what love is

~And I learned what love is

~I was blessed, so blessed

~Coz I learned what love is

~I learned what love is

~From loving you

***

It was the holidays. Hermione sat in her office, grading Jordan Malfoy's (he's my younger brother. Remember, this is the future, so he's a 4th year now) paper, when there was a knock on the office door. It was Bill Weasley. His daughter, Natania, was a first year. "Hello," she said uncertainly. She didn't like the look on his face. "Can I help you with something?" Bill looked at her nervously. He took a deep breath and said, "Hermione, I don't know how to tell you this. They caught him. He's in Azkaban." Hermione stared at him. He held up a copy of the Daily Prophet. "MINISTRY CATCHES ANOTHRE DEATH-EATER" was the headline. And underneath it was a picture of him. She looked up at Bill and asked, "Is he getting a trial?" Bill shook his head. Hermione put her face in her hands, trying to hide her tears from him. But he knew she was crying. "Hermione, I'm sorry. But there's nothing we can do about it." "I know. Thank you for telling me." Bill left Hermione so that she could cry without feeling ashamed of herself. And she did just that.

~I held you, I held everything I ever dreamed of

~With that first kiss from you

~All this world seemed all so right

~But who was to see the way it would be

~I'll never forget

~The heaven we shared

~And I'll thank G-d for every moment

~Every moment that I had you there

***

It was breakfast on February 17, three years later. An owl flew down In front of Hermione. It dropped a letter in her lap. She recognized the handwriting. "How?" she asked herself, "Unless... Oh, g-d, oh g-d..." She opened the letter with shaking hands.

Hermione, I know that you know who this is. Meet me in "the cave" at 2 o'clock on Saturday. I'll explain everything then.

Hermione didn't say anything. She folded up the letter, smiling inwardly. She was happy, probably for the first time in years.

~Coz I was loved

~I was touched

~And I learned what love is

~And I learned what love is

~I was blessed, so blessed

~Coz I learned what love is

~I learned what love is

~From loving you

***

It was Saturday. Hermione said she was going into Hogsmeade for the afternoon. But when she got to the town, she kept walking. She walked to the edge of the town, thinking about him all the way. She reached the foot of a small mountain, and started climbing. 'G-d, I hope he still loves me.'

~Some people search their whole lives

~Never find what I found in your eyes

~Glad I got to get the chance to have you in my life

~I won't be sad when I look back

~Coz I was...

Hermione found the cave entrance. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. "Hermione?" someone asked. Her eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness, so she could not see who had spoken. "Yes." As her eyes adjusted, she saw the person she had been longing to see for years. She added, "And I feel like I'm dreaming." He walked up to her and looked into her eyes. "Is it really you?" she asked. "Yes, Hermione, it is. And I'm back." Then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. 'Yes,' she thought, 'My Ron is back.'

~Coz I was loved

~I was touched

~And I learned what love is

~And I learned what love is

~I was blessed, so blessed

~Coz I learned what love is

~I learned what love is

~From loving you