Discalmer: I own nothing. Except the sleeping bags Hermione conjours. Those are mine.
A/N: Many thanks to both Padfoot in Purple and Luna and Lily my lovely betas. And while I'm sure you've heard of pointless fluff. This is pointless Angst. I mostly did this to explore the characters though.
The Final Summer
Hermione sat in the middle of 'her' room in the Burrow. She was crying. Not loud sobs but quiet tears that screamed a million words.
Through her blurred vision, she saw Ron peek his head in and watched as he continued his way in and sat down in front of her. He stared questioningly as she slowly met his gaze.
"What if they die," Hermione asked simply.
"Who?"
"Anyone. Everyone. Muggle, wizard, squib. What if I die? Or my parents? Or you. I don't know what I would do if you died. Or Harry. He's going after him soon. Voldemort I mean. What if Harry dies? He's always been there and he's always patched things up between us. Or what if, what if both of you die," she paused for a moment trying to imagine what that would be like.
"I dunno," Ron replied, struck dumb by what Hermione was saying to him.
"Or if Voldemort dies, another dark wizard will come to power, just likes happened before. I mean your family could die, Ginny. If Ginny died Harry would truly be lost in this world. What if they die," Hermione finished, repeating herself, slowly tears subsiding.
"Nothing. The world will go on. Someone new will take their place."
Hermione and Ron's heads jerked to the doorway to see that it was Harry who had spoken, his arm around Ginny's shoulders. They walked into together silently and plopped down next to Ron.
"Nothing," Harry continued. "Just like what happened with Dumbledore, Sirius, Cedric, and even my parents. A moment of silence maybe, a few tears shed if they're lucky. But, the world isn't going to stop. Not for anyone."
Ron finally found his voice and decided to make use of it.
"And they don't even have to die, I guess. It's like what happened to Neville's parents. Just not fully there. I don't know what's worse, that or death. Or even for Neville. Traces of his parents or none at all."
"None," said Harry simply.
"The strain is becoming huge," Ginny jumped in quickly trying to distract Harry from thoughts of his parents. "It's getting to everyone, this stupid war is. Especially mom. We had a boggart the other day and dad was at work so she had to take care of it. It was worse than two years ago. She sees you dead now, Hermione. Lupin and Tonks too. She was hysterical; I finally had to take care of it. It's really hard on her. It's hard on everyone. Even us. Especially us," she concluded grabbing Harry's hand and resting her head on her brother's shoulder. The latter was something she hadn't done since she was nine.
Hermione felt something catch in her throat and she smiled sadly and then leaned in to hug her three friends. Something she did very often. As they pulled apart she watched Harry check his watch.
"Eleven o'clock. Hermione, can we sleep in here? Just all of us for tonight. We might not get the chance…" Harry stopped suddenly leaving the two words 'ever again' unsaid.
Hermione nodded enthusiastically and conjured up four sleeping bags.
Ten minutes later after goodnights were exchanged Ron's snoring could already be heard. Seconds later Ginny and Harry's deep breathing joined the mix of night noise, their sleeping bags very close together, pleasing Hermione to no end. In her opinion, it was the best decision Harry ever made to remain with Ginny, even though it was only in private.
"This is it. This summer is going to be either the last or the first. I just don't know which," Hermione whispered to the heavy summer air around her before rolling over and closing her eyes.