A/N: Oh, am I tired. I shouldn't be, but I think I have some sort of gas leak in my house and it's making all of us extremely sleepy all the time. If it weren't trying to snow, I'd open the windows and see if it helped. Oh, well. If all of a sudden I quit updating for, oh, a week, someone call the police because we're all probably dead.
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Neither is the song Hermione is singing, I don't know who wrote it, but the remake is done by Dope. Not me. So there.
Hermione wandered the streets of London, lost in thought. What possessed him to come to find me? Why would he do that? I just don't understand it. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Why do I care? He doesn't deserve it. She didn't feel angry anymore; just... she didn't know how she felt. That was strange enough, let alone all the other emotions that ran through her head and body every time she saw him. Why? I just don't understand. She stopped. She didn't know why, but the streets felt familiar. She looked up and realized she had wandered into the part of town that she and Draco had stayed in prior to their marriage.
Hermione looked up and saw a light on in her old apartment... their old apartment. There was a figure walking around inside. Hermione looked at her watch. 12.00. I wonder who that is at this time of night.
She stood there and stared. The figure approached the window. She couldn't see his face, but she could see his aura. Lime green with silver. He still lives here? But why? He could have found somewhere else, surely? It's not like he doesn't still have the mansion...
She backed into the shadows, not wanting to be seen. A gust of cold, damp air suddenly passed through the streets. She shivered and tried to draw her cloak around her before realizing yet again that she did not have it. Dammit, I need that cloak. I'm going to get it. I don't care how many Death Eaters there are, I'll just... well, I'll think of something. With that, she turned around and hailed the Knight Bus.
XXXXX
Draco didn't know why he had looked out the window, but something had compelled him to. He couldn't sleep. He had been pacing the living room in his green silk boxers, trying to clear his mind of Hermione. Not that it worked, but moving around in the small apartment did make him feel calmer. He checked out the window again, but saw nothing. He went back to his bedroom and lay down. He laid there for what felt like hours staring at the ceiling.
XXXXX
Hermione jumped off of the violently purple bus, glad she could Apparate most places now. She didn't want to take the chance of Apparating inside Number 12, just in case it was still occupied or the Anti-Apparation Jinx was still on the house. Slowly, she crept up to the gate.
She thought of the words that Dumbledore had spoken to her all those years ago and the sidewalk for Number 12 suddenly appeared out of the darkness. She quickly hurried up the walk and tapped the door to unlock it. She heard seven locks, one by one, undo themselves so she could enter the house. Quietly, she pushed open the door and peeked inside. No one was there. She stretched out with her spirit to see if she could sense another aura in here. Nope, none. All right. Hurry up, get it, and go.
Hermione tiptoed up the stairs one at a time, stepping over the one that she knew squeaked even with her low weight. She crept down the hall to the last room on the right, the one she had been stuck in. She pushed the door open with the tip of her wand. "Lumos." Her wand tip ignited, showing all the corners of the room to be empty of human life. She quit holding her breath, realizing she was becoming light headed. Her eyes darted to the cloak, still hanging in the same position it had been left in.
She grabbed it and untangled it from the nail it had been caught on. She whipped it around to place it on her shoulders, and a faint scent escaped. Hermione caught her breath, savoring the smell of flowers and aftershave. Ron. Tears came to her eyes unbidden, and she couldn't help but let them fall down her cheeks and hit the floor. Oh, Ron, why did you have to leave? Why couldn't you just do as you were told for once in your life? She sank to her knees, clutching the cloak to her chest, a small sob escaping her throat. Hermione completely forgot where she was, that it was wildly dangerous to be here (especially by herself), and lost herself to the memories.
flashback
"Ron, you are injured. You need to rest. Please, just stay here for a few minutes, I will be RIGHT BACK. Do you understand me, Ron?"
"Now I know how Sirius felt," Ron said in disgust.
"Ronald, you need to quit flapping your lips. You will not be stuck in this house forever. However, you do not need to go to the grocery store with me. I am in Auror Training, I will be able to handle myself for ten minutes." Hermione was flushed. She had this argument with Ron every time she left the house. Didn't matter if it was for school, or work, or to change her clothes, Ron wanted to go with her. He wanted to protect her like he did when they went to Hogwarts. He wanted to shelter her, keep her safe from all the bad things in the world.
Hermione appreciated the thought, but she was grown now. She was a better witch than he was a wizard, even though he was about half a meter taller. Physical attributes don't always count, though. Ginny was a sight to behold in a temper, and she was only about three centimeters taller than Hermione.
Ron was about to argue further, but she simply gave him a Look. (A/N: Women, such as Hermione and Ginny, can give Looks out like there's no tomorrow, boys. If you don't know what a Look is, count yourself lucky and hope you never do anything bad enough to deserve one.) His ears turned red, but he wisely held his peace. He had gotten enough Looks to know when to quit.
Hermione was in a hurry and grabbed the wrong cloak. It was red, a dark red that complimented her hair nicely. It was Ron's, but since he wasn't using it, she figured she could just borrow it for a few minutes. He never seemed to mind. Besides, it helped disguise her figure. She actually looked like a small boy wearing it.
She stepped out of the house, keeping an eye on her surroundings. Voldemort and his stupid lap dogs were on the loose, and she refused to be caught unawares. Nothing happened except a bird tried to poop on her head. Hermione grabbed the milk, bread, and eggs necessary to make french toast for twenty people from the shelves of the grocery store. Luckily, she still had her inheritance from some distant great-uncle that she only dipped into when she needed Muggle money. She used her check card and hailed a cab to take her closer to Grimmauld Place.
Hermione was humming happily to herself when she stepped out of the cab. She tipped the driver, then pulled her bags out of the trunk. She watched him pull away and made sure he was out of sight before she shrunk the packages to the size of a small paperback book so she would be able to pull her wand at the front door.
"You spin me right round, baby, right round," she sang to herself. "Like a rec- OH MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?" Hermione screamed. The house was torn apart, chairs broken into pieces, paintings hanging off the walls. Panic rose inside her, threatening to take over until she heard a voice from behind her.
"Miss Granger, please calm down." It was Dumbledore. "Hermione, have a seat."
"Not until you tell me what happened. Where's Molly? Arthur? Remus?" Her eyes widened. "Ron? Where is he?" Hermione dropped her bags in the middle of the hall. "What happened?"
"A few of Voldemort's followers were looking for Ron. They knew he was injured, and they knew he was working for the Order. Apparently, they thought they could follow him and find out where we were located and find out other information for Voldemort." Dumbledore paused.
"How would they find Ron? The house is Unplottable, and so is anyone in the house..." Hermione got a far-off look in her eyes. "He wasn't in the house? What was he doing outside? I told him I'd be right back, not to come after... me..." She looked up at Dumbledore. "Where is he? I need to see him. How is he? How did this happen?"
"Ron is this way. Please follow me."
Hermione went up the stairs and to the last room on the right. Dumbledore held her in place before allowing her inside. "He's not going to be okay, Hermione. Everything happened too quickly." His eyes lost their sparkle and appeared a little glassy. "He wanted to say goodbye." Hermione gasped, and Dumbledore left her to bid Ron farewell.
Hermione opened the door. Ron was laying on the bed nearest the door, not bleeding, but looking very pale as though he had lost a lot of blood. His hair was matted to his head, and he had a fine sheen of sweat on his brow. He turned his head at the noise the door made, and his eyes slowly focused on her. "Hermione," he rasped out. Hermione held back a sob trying to escape her throat.
"Yes, Ron?"
"I'm going to go. I wanted to tell you I loved you, and will always remember you. I never had the courage to say that in life, but now..." his voice became a little stronger, "Now I realize how much time I wasted by not telling you. I love you, Hermione. I want you to be happy. Don't mourn me; there's been enough mourning in your life."
He closed his eyes.
"Wait! Don't go! Ron!" Hermione felt a tear escape and watched it land on Ron's face. He didn't move. "Oh, God, Ron, why couldn't you just listen for once in your life?" Hermione felt the grief well up inside her and wanted to let it out, but first she placed a kiss on his still lips. "Oh, Ron, I love you too." She crawled up on the bed next to his still-warm body and cried onto his shoulder. She felt his last breath escape his lungs and stayed there, feeling him slowly grow cold.
end flashback
Hermione rocked back and forth on the floor, weeping her frustration and hurt into the cloak she still clutched. She was so far gone into her memories she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her.
A/N: Ha ha, cliffy for you. Wow, that was long.
Well, hope this satisfied some curiousity about Ron.
I also wanted to say that Hermione doesn't just start crying every time she holds the cloak, but she was still a bit emotional over Draco and the flower, and then she was in the room Ron died in with his cloak. Her emotions got the better of her.
Well, go on, push the little button and tell me if you liked it.
Later,
-Kat
