Chapter 50
"Love Eternal"
I walk the maze of
moments
but everywhere I turn to
begins a new beginning
but
never finds a finish
I walk to the horizon
and there I find
another
it all seems so surprising
and then I find that I know
Chorus
You
go there you're gone forever
I go there I'll lose my way
if we
stay here we're not together
Anywhere is
The moon upon the
ocean
is swept around in motion
but without ever knowing
the
reason for its flowing
in motion on the ocean
the moon still
keeps on moving
the waves still keep on waving
and I still keep
on going
Chorus
You go there you're
gone forever
I go there I'll lose my way
if we stay here we're
not together
Anywhere is
I wonder if the stars
sign
the life that is to be mine
and would they let their light
shine
enough for me to follow
I look up to the heavens
but
night has clouded over
no spark of constellation
no Vela no
Orion
The shells upon the
warm sands
have taken from their own lands
the echo of their
story
but all I hear are low sounds
as pillow words are
weaving
and willow waves are leaving
but should I be
believing
that I am only dreaming
Chorus
You go there you're
gone forever
I go there I'll lose my way
if we stay here we're
not together
Anywhere is
To leave the thread of
all time
and let it make a dark line
in hopes that I can still
find
the way back to the moment
I took the turn and turned
to
begin a new beginning
still looking for the answer
I
cannot find the finish
It's either this or that way
it's one
way or the other
it should be one direction
it could be on
reflection
the turn I have just taken
the turn that I was
making
I might be just beginning
I might be near the end.
Enya, "Anywhere Is"
The air was cold and the sky was gray and sad. Clouds cluttered what they could of the once-blue sky. A bitter wind rushed from the north and through the land like an unseen lion through the dead branches of trees and shrubs. Fresh snow covered the frozen ground. A few snowflakes fell from the sky above. The area around was surrounded by a high, rusting iron fence. Many tombstones, many old and some new, graced the land. The only other color besides the gray sky and white snow was the long, black dress on a woman.
She stood over a new grave. Her hands were clasped around a single red rose that she held to her chest. Her cinnamon eyes were moist with fresh and old tears. Her soft pink lips quivered with silent sobs as her long, chocolate brown hair framed her sad, beautiful face. She tarred at the tombstone that had just been placed there as the snow gathered on top of it.
"T. M. Riddle" was all that was carved on it.
A tear ran down Hermione's cheek. She bit her lip and tried to hold back the urge to just break down and cry. Tom was gone. He was never coming back.
She held a small, quiet funeral for him earlier that day. The only people to attend were herself, Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and her parents. There were no words exchanged, no actions done, just the silence and sadness that lingered in the hollow air like an unseen veil. The coffin she had picked out for him was made of unbreakable metal and painted black. The inside material was silky and Tom's favorite color, emerald green.
Hermione remembered peering down into the coffin and seeing his face, so pale, so handsome, as if he were just sleeping and that he would awaken to hold he in his arms and tell her that everything would be alright. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and robe. A single red rose had been placed in his hands. Hermione kissed his lips one last time, just before Dumbledore and Harry closed the coffin and lowered it into the grave. Hermione watched as it sunk into the hole and later filled up with moist earth, wondering, would she ever see him again.
Harry walked up to Hermione and stared at the tombstone. She really did love Tom Riddle. He could feel her devotion radiate from her like a strong beam of light, something that would never dim or fade away into oblivion. He looked up her face, the sad face of an extraordinary woman and angel. He felt like in his own heart, maybe in some way, Hermione could move on with life.
Hermione closed her eyes as a tears slid down her cheeks. She could feel Harry's presence beside her.
"Hermione," said Harry, "I'm so sorry."
Hermione opened her eyes and turned her gaze to Harry and looked into his green eyes. Yes, they were green, but they didn't have that power Tom's had, or the mystery that lingered in them like a lost child in a storm.
"I know Harry," she said, her voice a bit shaky, "but I made him a promise to take care of myself. He said...he said he would look in on me from time to time."
She bent down and placed the rose on the snowy grave. She kissed her hand and touched the tombstone. She slowly stood back up and looked back to Harry.
"Hermione, you know I love you," said Harry. "And I will do anything to make you happy."
Hermione bit her lip and twirled her wedding band that Tom gave her around her finger.
"I know you love me Harry, and I love you, too," she said. "But no more than as a brother."
She saw the hurt in Harry's eyes. She turned to him and grabbed his hand.
"I will move on with my life, but I will take it slowly. I'm going to be a mother soon, and I must be ready for the challenges ahead, but just because I've locked myself in a room doesn't mean you have to, too. I want you to go out there and find you a nice woman who will love you and make you very happy. Get a nice house and raise a nice little family. I'll be okay on my own. Don't worry about me," she said.
Harry nodded his head. Hermione was right. He needed to move on as well. Still, though, in his heart, he loved Hermione as more than a friend. He knew he was walking away from something he had long ago had hoped for. He hugged Hermione.
"Write me as soon as you get settled in," he said to her.
Hermione wiped away her tears.
"I will," she said.
Harry turned and walked away from Hermione. Hermione looked up toward the heavens, placing her hands in her robe pockets, watching the snow fall from the sky.
"I will keep my promise. I love you, Tom," she said.
She heard a rustling in a tree next to her. She looked up into the bare branches and saw a red bird perched there. It opened its mouth and began to sing. Hermione listened to its song and saw that the tree that the bird was perched on had small buds on it. Even in this cold, harsh weather, the tree was still determined to grow its flowers and leaves and blossom into something more beautiful than its skeletal form. Through the dense clouds, a ray on sunlight broke out and shined down on her. Hermione knew what the tree was going through, but then she felt, that maybe through this storm she called her life, she could blossom into something more happy and beautiful than what she was.
She tucked back a loose strand of hair behind her ear and in some odd way, felt that Tom would somehow find a way back to her. She would do anything to bring him back, but how could you raise the dead? She had always heard that when someone dies and is raised from the dead, they don't come back the same person they once were, that they come back evil. But Tom was an evil man in his lifetime, so could he come back even more evil, or maybe, just Tom? Hermione shook those thoughts from her head. Bringing him back. How could she?
Tom wasn't completely gone. She had the memories they made and shared together still etched freshly in her mind. She could feel his presence radiating around her, reassuring her that everything is going to be all right. Then, she had their child growing inside her, reminding her what they had created together. The child would have questions about their father, but Hermione would never hold anything back. In a way, her and Tom's love withstood time, and will forever, be eternal.
Harry walked up to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was watching Hermione stand by Tom's grave and think silently to herself.
"I told her I loved her, but she told me she only loved me as a brother, and nothing more," he said sadly. "All the death eaters are either dead or in Azkaban waiting to be kissed, all traces of the things that happened have been erased from every muggle's mind, and Voldemort is dead. Almost everything has gone back to normal, but do you really think that this is the end?"
Dumbledore turned to Harry, his blue eyes glinting mysteriously. His face seemed to have grown older in the past few days then in the years alone. He looked back at Hermione, her hair blowing around her sad face as a ray of sunlight shined down on her.
"No," he said. "I am afraid...that this is only the beginning."
THE END
=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=
Author's Note
Thank you so much to everyone who has taken their precious time to read my story and review it. It has been a year and four months since I began the story and now, it has finally been finished. I never really expected it to take so long or to be so intoxicating that I truly wanted to make it great. I felt really connected to every character and wanted their emotions to ring out so that they could be heard loud and clear. I am sure the ending has angered many of you, but it happened for a reason. I am most definitely going to write a sequel to this story, but later on for I have other stories I have been itching to write that are as serious and in-depth as this one. I do write lighter, less-than-perfect fics that I can work on anytime, but I love writing stories that I feel are great accomplishments. The sequel is already being draw out and all. I do hope that everyone reads it when I start to post it.
I would also like to thank the following list of reviewers: Lyssa Tucci, stargazer starluver, Desolation Lilly, SilverWingPhoenix, Kimi, Pix A., JediKnight2, ShannonxXxBlackxRosexXx, Emma Laraliean, lunebeam, death-angel152007, DGloveangel, jean, not telling 2, Black-rose 23, Meghan, serenagoddess, tickle the dragon, iamwendybird, anime123, theophania, Poalque, kura52, RavenclawRegina, noname, Rushamble, Troi, Joy4eva, kalinda, Lucy, andy, sassw14, KeZzA, frosty-freeze, shsoccrgrl05, Lana Riddle, Soul-Dead-Dragon, andrea, jeemookee, twighunter, Emly The Strnge, chess, I-LUV-ILC, Samantha B., Ameri, dezdezi, Wytil, ashley48506, lgobgirlie15, Duff Man, MoonPanther, im sad, Ima Toad, ..., undergallowstomi, this is pretty good..., LillyaMalfoy, reader, angelslove, Dragonmaster Kurai, Maeri, pudding, Anna Dragon Malfoy, lady serenity, Lysaandi, Suisei, Dark], DevilPrincess, Raclswt, MidnightMoon, TweekerWeasel, francesca, DarkStormyNight, PriNcEsS-of-D-c, marymaria, geni5, keeper of the heart, CarEtoDreaM, Resurrection Resurrected huh?????, popularity100, gryffindor at heart, Tashilover, DarkLady, Isabelle Black, Lauren, Rachel Granger-Malfoy, jeangab057, InfectiousBunnie, kinkfest, Serena, bonnie, fred, lil-angel-chik, Rose of the Black Dragon, alyssa-farrell, gothicneelam, plz update, Mademoiselle Morte, TinuvielBrazilXXI, Jaquelle, StarlightAnmgeldust, mara, deathsoul-shingami, Kacey, Silver Kisses, Emily, everyoneluvsmalfoy, liz l, eth, irismoon, Ariana Althena Evergreen, eth, LadyKaresse, SpitFire06, anne, blahs, Kou Shun'u, I luv Tom Andrew Felton, Bellatrix, Silbara, Jessica-Black5, Lady Evanescence, Crystal frost, Crimson and Chrome 42, Elendrila, heaven, ClichéBrat, LadyLoca231, Forlorn Hope, The Kath, Pam, and Bogan.
For future readers & reviewers, thank you for both your kind and harsh reviews. If I left anyone out who did review, please forgive me. Once again, thank you for your time and patience with me.
Forever yours,
Miss Mina Murray. --}----