A/N: Re-reading this chapter, I realize that it seems…romantic almost (the situation) between Harry and Destany. I just want to say for the record: I am a Harry and Hermione shipper. Always have been, always will be and I will not get Destany and Harry together. I created Destany to give Harry a friend so I did not have to put up with Malfoy; I find his character difficult to write. I would also like to note: I am currently writing chapter 20. I finally got to the 'good part' and I hope the next couple of chapters leading up to it are not too lame. They were kind of a way to waste time. I had this time line of events on the dates I wanted them to happen on or around and I finally gave up and bumped up my timeline because I was running out of ideas for chapters lol.

Stella: I hope you didn't figure the next few chapters out…that'll make my job too easy J ;) Hope you enjoy this chapter

And now, onto the story!

Chapter 15:

"Wow." Harry said, looking out at the view. They had left the building and walked through the woods for what seemed like an eternity. But the walk Destany led him on was worth the view that was displayed through the parting trees. The trees had ended just before a cliff which jutted out over a lake.

It was a calm night. The water barely moved and the sky was in the middle of a perfect sunset. The golden sun was half hidden by the horizon which created glittering light on the top of the water, making it seem as if it moved when it was perfectly still. The sky was in colors of blue, gold, red, and orange and had no clouds in view.

"I know. It's beautiful. I come out here almost every night, just to watch the sunset." Destany commented, her voice sounding far away.

The new found friends sat down at the edge of the cliff, feet dangling over the edge, just watching the sunset. There were no sounds except for the occasional hoot or howl. Once in awhile, a rustling of tree leaves, but then all would be silent. It seemed that here, at the cliff, time itself stood still. There was no confusing thoughts, no worries, absolutely no thought of the outside world. It was as if civilization itself did not exist and if it did exist, it didn't matter here. The outside world was not able to see or intrude on this moment.

I wonder if this is how the ancient people felt every night. Harry thought. All he knew was that he did not want to leave this place. All expectations of him were gone, all the secrets, the frustration, the truths which he thought maybe lies, none of it mattered. As if he had stepped into an alternate universe were these problems did not even exist.

He watched as the last sliver of sun disappeared behind its nightly hiding place and looked back up at the sky. It was now a dark velvety blue towards the top and got lighter as it approached the horizon which still glowed from the suns lasting light until it finally gave in and changed to the same velvety blue as the rest of the sky. The stars had begun to show and the half moon shone brightly in the sky.

Destany sighed and stood up, stretching her arms over her head.

"I know why you come out here. It's not only beautiful, it's as if the whole world just…"

"Slips away." Destany finished, and they smiled briefly at each other. "Come on, we have to get out of here now or we'll never find our way through the woods." Destany added and she started to walk back into the trees. Harry stood and took another glance at the horizon and followed her reluctantly back to reality.

At The Same Time

Hermione sat outside the Potter home. The memorial service had ended and most of the guests had left already or were inside. She sat on the soft green earth in the middle of the spacious yard, watching the sunset. It was beautiful. One of the best she had seen in a long time. She felt a pang in her heart as she watched it.

I hope wherever Harry is right now, dead or alive, he can see this magnificent display of natural color. She thought. She found the tranquil-ness of each sunset fascinating. No matter what problem you had, watching the sunset, it was as if it did not exist during that time. For those moments, the pain and confusion end, only to re-appear when the darkness falls along with the dreams. She heard the back door slam shut and did not turn to see who it was. She knew it wouldn't be the one person she wished it was the most. The one person she needed to see. The footsteps approached her slowly, as if unsure and came to a stop next to her. The person then sat down.

"Hey." Hermione turned and looked into the concerned eyes of Ginny Weasly.

"Hi." Hermione said, glancing back up at the sun painted sky.

"It's beautiful." Ginny commented. Hermione nodded. "Are you ok?" She asked, and Hermione turned to look her friend in the eyes, surprised at the amount of concern she found there.

"Saying no would be lying. I just miss him Ginny. I keep expecting him to walk out that door any second. Or any time I receive an owl, I hope that it is him telling me he's ok and he's trying to come back to us." Hermione said, and Ginny looked back at her sympathetically.

"We all do Hermione. But…I just worry about you." She said.

"I'll be fine." Hermione insisted, trying to convince herself more than Ginny.

"Why don't you come stay with us for a couple of weeks? We could have some fun and get our supplies for school." Ginny suggested, hoping she would agree.

"I don't know. I'll have to ask." Hermione said, knowing being with her friends would probably help, but she didn't know if she could.

Ginny nodded in understanding and Hermione looked back up at the sky. The sun was already down and the darkness was beginning to creep over. Is that what's going to happen now? She wondered. While everyone fighting for good is mourning; is Voldemort going to make his move? Ginny shivered next to her and Hermione noticed that the air was seemingly colder.

"Come on, let's go inside." She said and the two girls stood up and walked back into the house to get warm.