You Never Forget Your First Love
She looked out the window onto the quiditch pitch and watched the army prepare. There were hundreds of people down there. They were all preparing for war. Many people were already dead. People who had been killed in their homes or betrayed by people they had thought were their friends. The ministry finally had to take notice. They could not ignore all the deaths.
All those who could and would fight for the cause had assembled at Hogwarts, the safest place for them to be. Most of the students were still at school. Some had gone, been taken away by their parents, to join other circles. The school was still trying to educate students the best that it could and the seventh years had just finished their NEWTs. Hermione, of course, had got a record number. Harry and Ron had both done extremely well.
Now they were preparing to attack. Dumbledore had decided that, this time, they would not sit in their homes waiting to die. This time they would march on Voldemort themselves. They were going to leave the next day. All the seventh year graduates were going with them. The rest of the students were staying at Hogwarts supervised by those who were to old to fight. Those with wizard parents stayed because their parents were going off the war. The muggle-borns stayed for fear of drawing the death eaters home to their parents.
Hermione took one more look around the room that had been her home for seven years. She sighed and picked up her bag, She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she gathered her courage and walked out the door. She walked down the stairs and went up to the seventh year boys' dormitory. Harry was the only person left in there. He was sitting on his bed looking intently at a book in his lap.
"Harry," she said quietly.
"Oh," he said startled, "Hermione, have you finished?"
"Yes I have," she crossed the room the room and looked over his shoulder, "what are you looking at?"
He looked at her and smiled, "The photo album, the one that Hagrid made for me first year and you and Ron added to for Christmas last year."
"I remember" she said as she sat down next to him, "that was a lot of work."
"It was the best present I ever got."
"Oh, Harry," she said quietly, "How did our lives ever go so wrong?"
"Destiny," he said, "mostly mine."
"With or without you, I am sure there would have been war in our lives," Hermione responded.
"But you wouldn't have been so rapped up in all of this horror; you would have gotten to be a kid instead of fighting evil all your life."
"I chose to, Harry, you didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to do. Ever!"
Harry stood up and walked to look out the window. After a minute Hermione stood too and started to walk up behind him.
"Come on Harry," she said, "we really should go."
Harry sighed and began to turn around. "Hermione, I-"
She was shocked to see tears in his eyes "Harry what is it?" She said.
"Hermione, I don't want you in this war" he said.
"It's too late Harry, I'm already in it. I'm leaving with everyone else."
"NO!" He shouted, "You can't, I won't let you go, I won't"
"Harry it's my life, I'll do what I want to with it." She said angrily.
"No, you can't, I want you to stay here, I want you to be safe." He said.
"I've always gone with you; I've always been right by your side, in the thick of it, since we were eleven. What makes now different than any other time?" She asked.
"Because Hermione," he said, "because now I'm in love with you."
Hermione just stood there looking shocked for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, I know you don't feel the same way about me, but I'm tired of hiding things." Harry said a few moments later.
"God, Harry" she said sinking down onto the bed, "You are an idiot."
"What?"
"You are an idiot!"
"I don't understand." Harry said, hanging his head.
"You are so blind Harry, didn't you ever realize that I have loved you since the day I met you on that train? You never noticed that you were the most important thing in the world to me? You were even more important that school! You were everything to me. Always!" Hermione stood up and hugged him. "I love you."
Harry pulled away and looked at her, "I love you too, Hermione but-"
"No Harry, let me say one more thing, no matter how much you love me you cannot stop me from going to this war, it's still my life, Harry and you have to let me do this."
"I know" he said, "but Hermione, I would die to save you."
"You won't have to;" she promised and kissed him.
"That is such a sweet story," said Allison, a bushy haired teenager, "Is that how you and dad met?"
"No," Hermione said, "that was my first love."
"What happened to him?" Said her oldest son James.
"Have you ever heard of Harry Potter?"
"Of course we have!" Allison said, He only saved the wizarding world!"
Hermione leaned back and sighed, "He was my first love."
"Oh my god," James said.
"And he died to save me."
This story is dedicated to first love everywhere. To how sweet it is. To how much it hurts when it leaves you. To how you only realize when you look back on it that it never could have lasted. You only have one first love. Treasure it and never forget it.
This is a prequel to Alone with the Dead
Please read and review my other stories!
I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it. I do own this plot line. Please do not sue or copy.