I got the idea for this fic after listening to the CD of the songs for the young voices concert I'm in in December. It immediately brought this scenario to mind. It isn't quite how I wanted, but it works. Please read and review.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the song, which comes from Toy Story and is called 'When She Loved Me'.
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Hermione stared at the funeral pyre, disbelieving of the truth, even after a week to get used to the horrible truth. Minerva McGonagall was dead, and no amount of tears and wishing could bring her back.
When somebody loved me everything was beautiful.
Every hour we spent together lives within my heart.
And when she was sad I was there to dry her tears.
And when she was happy so was I
When she loved me.
It had been the biggest cruelty of the war so far. During the final battle the Professor had been cornered by Death Eaters, and although she had fought bravely, taking nearly 2 score of them with her, sometimes numbers can overcome the best fighter. The Order had arrived in time to rescue her body, a fact Hermione was grateful for.
Through the summer and the fall we had each other that was all,
Just she and I together like it was meant to be.
And when she was lonely, I was there to comfort her,
And I knew that she loved me.
Hermione had realised her feelings toward her professor near the end of her sixth year, when the war had just picked up. Both of them agreed that the war was taking so much from them that it was better to have a few happy weeks or months together than none at all. Hermione just hadn't realised how much it would hurt to be separated so suddenly.
So the years went by, I stayed the same.
But she began to drift away, I was left alone.
Still I waited for the day when she'd say
"I will always love you".
That had been nearly three years ago. The war had taken its toll on everyone, slowly whittling away at the forces or the light. Hermione was still a bookworm, but now spent most of her time researching new ways to defeat Voldemort. It had been her who discovered how to meld the killing curse with the binding charm to trap Voldy's soul for good.
And now the young woman wondered whether it was worth it. Sure, the Dark Lord was gone, but so was her only love. Half of her heart had been lost on that fateful night. Luckily Dumbledore understood what she was going through, and let her take a minor role in the funeral service. Wizards still used the old tradition of burning the bodies of fallen warriors, believing them to live on in spirit rather than in flesh, and Hermione had been unhappy at the idea of losing the last physical reminder of her love, but she had come to terms with it. That didn't make it any easier to deal with.
When somebody loved me everything was beautiful,
Every hour we spent together lives within my heart.
When she loved me.