Title: Perfect Existence
Author: cope
Summary: Hermione has to come to terms with her life after the love of her life is taken from her
Rating: T for mature themes
Pairings: HG/OW, HP/GW
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the amazing J.K.Rowling, a truly amazing woman if i have ever heard of one.I simply express my freedom to manipulate the characters that she had created and bend them to do my bidding.
Perfect Existence (1/1)
If anyone were to be admitting to not being perfect, it would be Hermione Granger. Though she tried to be the best person that she could be, there was always that certain element about herself that made her want to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.
She may have been the Head Girl during her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and have received perfect scores on all of her NEWTS finals, and she may have had the perfect relationship with the love of her life, Oliver Wood, until he died during the Quidditch World Cup three and a half years ago by taking a bludger to the head and falling twenty stories to the ground, dieing upon the impact of the ball, it causing his neck to break.
That had been the beginning of her spiral into herself. Since then, Hermione Jane Granger, now only 24-years-old, had bushy hair, having tamed it in the years previous, but the upkeep had fallen to the wayside, and she had gained the weight that she had fought so hard to keep off her small frame. This resulted in her body, being only 5'5 to begin with, looking slightly overweight, to say the least. There was that constant pudge of stomach that threatened to hang over the waist of her pants, the incessant jiggle of her lower body, especially her but and thighs. All in all, the perfect look that Hermione had strained for in her years of adolescence was lost to the abysmal darkness that had cloaked the girl since Oliver had been lowered into the ground.
Their relationship had started out after Harry joined Oliver's team following their graduation from school. Hermione had decided t further her education to become a transfiguration teacher, already gaining the placement at her beloved school once McGonagall retired in a few short years.
It had really happened one year after Harry had started playing, during a weekend trip that Hermione took to visit him, her studies now being completely finished. Her first night there, she had gone out for drinks with him and a few of his team mates, Oliver included, and had had a little too much fire whiskey in too short of time.
To make a long story short, she ended up in Oliver's bed the morning after with her memory glossed over, patchy at best, but with the knowledge that she had been fully pleasured and wanted more.
After that, they were inseparable. Hermione took a job as financial advisor to the team so that they could always be together, until, of course, the Hogwarts job became available for her. Then Oliver would take a short leave from his career to help raise their children and to pay attention to his needy wife in the bedroom. It was all planned out for the two of them. All of their hopes and dreams were sure to be played out, along with every one of their fantasies.
Sadly, that had all ended the afternoon of the eleventh of August, the morning of the Big Game.
Oliver and Harry's team was playing against Bulgaria for the World title. They were ahead by two hundred points as well, thanks in large part to Oliver's exceptional abilities as Keeper. It had just begun to rain, nothing serious, but enough to make it difficult to see perfectly and for gloved hands to become slippery on the broom.
That was the main problem for the Beater who hit to fatal ball. Hit grip on his bat was not all that it should have been, and the intended hit towards the Chaser that was doing the majority of the scoring against his team went wrong. It went directly towards Oliver, hitting him before he even had a chance to react.
Hermione had been sitting in the top box with the team owner and other special guests, Ginny Weasley being one of them. They had been discussing the flower arrangements for Hermione's wedding, Oliver having proposed at dinner the night before. They only just witnessed the hit, catching it if almost by some horrible joke played by fate. Hermione had promptly feinted, the shock that she having just been dealt being too much for her to handle. Ginny had covered her mouth with her right hand as she gasped in horror and started to choke on her tears.
Harry caught the snitch only seconds after that, two seconds too late. His team had lost more than they could have ever won.
Years later, Hermione would still run through the 'what if's' of the situation.
'What if Harry had caught the snitch earlier?'
'What if the rain had help off until after the game?'
'What if Oliver had been paying more attention to everything that was going on in the game?'
'What if Hermione herself had been paying attention?'
It was the last 'what if' that made Hermione cry every day. She was the greatest witch to ever graduate Hogwarts, she should have been able to save his life. It was her fault that he wasn't there with her now. That they weren't married, weren't parents, weren't living the perfect existence.
"Oh Oliver." She sighed, drawing her eyes away from her ever depleting reflection and settling them on the picture of him that always sat on her bedside table. It was her favourite picture, him wearing a pair of grey pants and a blue jumper, his old Gryffindor scarf thrown around his lovely neck haphazardly. "What am I going to do without you here with me?"
The picture just grinned back at her, Oliver blowing kisses at her and smiling with such love in his eyes that it made hers cloud over once again.
"Ok Miss. It's time for your medication." Chirped the cheery voice of the nurse on duty. The skinny woman had been taking care of the poor woman ever since she was admitted into the hospital three years ago.
The next thing that came from that woman's mouth was a blood-curdling scream that brought all other nurses in the ward running, each worried for the worst.
When they got to the room, the first thing they saw was the copious amount of blood that decorated to floor and the hospital bed. It made many of the retch and dry-heave, but there were the few that were able to stomach the sight. The few who were able to stay standing there noticed the second and third things, each making them smile a small, sad smile.
The second was the picture that was clutched in the patients small hands. A picture of her fiancé and her. He was wearing grey slacks, a blue jumper and a striped scarf. She was wearing blue jeans and a red jumper. In the picture, they had heir arms wrapped around each other and were staring into each other's eyes, showing their love without words.
The third was the strangest of all. There was such a look of harmony and serenity on her face, as if the torture in her life was finally over. It almost looked as if she had finally seen the thing, or person, that she needed to see, and was able to go with him in peace.
The newspaper came out with her death as the front page headline the next morning. The celebrity status that she had gained throughout her years made it hard for such a thing to be kept truly quiet. That was why the words simply read that she went peacefully in her sleep, a smile gracing her face after so many years of sorrow.
Only those who were truly close to her, and those who were there the night it happened, knew the entire truth, free from falsehoods.
The entire wizarding community mourned the loss that had been bestowed upon them. They had lost such a powerful witch, but they knew that it was probably for the best, the loss of her lover being publicized years earlier.
Harry Potter and his wife Ginny were sitting at their kitchen table when they heard the news, the head doctor from the hospital interrupting their morning meal.
Both started to cry with all of their hearts, knowing that Hermione was better off now because she would be with Oliver again. But the shock of the inevitable was too much, especially for the eight month pregnant red-head.
They immediately contacted every other member of their extended family, which was more than fifty people due to recent marriages and births. The Order was notified as well, each member apparating to the Potter residence to take care of the matters surrounding the necessary funeral.
It was finally agreed on that they would have the flower arrangements that Hermione had wanted for her wedding, Ginny remembering every detail of that particular conversation, and that Hermione would be buried next to Oliver so that they would be sure to be together forever.
The funeral itself was decided to be an intimate affair, the press kept at bay by none other than Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape.
Guests numbered somewhere in the hundreds, each person once having a close relationship to the deceased. There were, however, two uninvited guests that managed to get by all barriers that blocked other people. They stood a the back of the crowd, not being seen by anyone at all. They stood there in silence for the entire ceremony, holding hands and staring lovingly into each other's eyes as if they had all the time in the world to be together forever.
Of course, they did.
AN: Any feedback would be wonderful, whether positive or negative.