Never Forget
Pairing: Fleur/Hermione
Rating: PG-13
Song: "Story of Us" by Sarah Fimm

Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own any of these characters – J.K. Rowling does. I also do not own the song. All I own are the ideas. Teehee.

Listen up
You don't want to hear this.
Ignore me if you must.
But I am trying to tell you something about
the story of us.
Another one born,
Another one dies.
What's the cost of one man's life?

The war had taken its toll on us all, both physically and emotionally. We had all lost something close to us, vital to our very beings. Harry had lost all feeling in his right leg; Neville had lost his mind- succumbed, in the end, to the Cruciatus Curse as his parents had before him. Not that he hadn't fought bravely to throw it off, no. In the end it just boiled down to the cold, hard fact that exhaustion crept in at the edges… After days of being tortured, there was only so much strength one could muster to fight off death for one more moment. Everyone understood this.

Ron had never quite forgiven himself for Neville's loss of sanity, placing the blame on no one but himself. He was the one who walked with Neville when both of them were suddenly ambushed… and the Death Eaters had captured and thrown both of them in a dark and dank cell in a dungeon somewhere, torturing them for hours on end. Only a select few of us knew exactly what had happened down there; we were those who Ron would confide in. But there was nothing we could do for his dreams, except give him a potion which even then only worked occasionally.

And Ginny…! Oh, poor Ginny. She had lost Luna, her best friend, confidant, and lover all in one. I heard her loud sobs late at night, as she tried desperately to choke them back – unsuccessfully, of course. I wanted to rush over to her and hug her… hug her until she stopped crying. And tell her that even if she didn't, everything would be all right in the end. Because it was better to let it all out than to keep it in. But I knew if I went in there I would only be rebuffed; I didn't understand her pain, I could not possibly comprehend it, even though she might appreciate my gestures.

After all, I had never lost anyone.

As our differences divide us…
Must I listen here in silence?
To what is becoming, what never was
It's the story of us.

The war was almost over when it happened, and I never would've seen it coming – I never fathomed that such a thing could happen to someone so close to me. Or, well, I just never thought it would happen to her. She was invincible in my eyes… Still is – and always would be. The day I received the news, Harry had sent an owl to me and requested my presence at a café in central London. He'd claimed he had something of utmost importance to tell me, and I had warily accepted, knowing that there was not a chance of him giving me any good news.

But what he had to tell me… I never would have expected. Till this day, I still find it hard to believe. It came as a shock, her beautiful name on his lips, his delivery was heavy and he had regarded me with sadness, but I could tell he had his guard on – for what, I was never very sure, but perhaps he expected me to yell, scream at him.

I don't know.

When I didn't react, he cautiously continued. He told me that she, as well as a few others on our side, had been engaged in a fierce battle with several Death Eaters who had decided to stir up trouble down in Diagon Alley. One of the killing curses that had been flying around had accidentally hit her, and no one knew whether it'd been a curse fired from our side, or by their side.

But it didn't matter now.

She was gone.

And I felt empty.

No one knows who started the war
No one knows what we've been fighting for
Watch our history unravel thread by thread
Watch us all go down in the end
What will become of what never was
It's the story of us.

I could still see her in my mind's eye, her beautiful, wavy blonde locks being swept back by the breeze as she turned to me, her face alight. She laughed as she leaned down and gave me a quick, chaste kiss on the tip of my nose, and only giggled even more as my arms came to circle around her waist, settling on her hips as I drew her in for a kiss.

It was wonderful. Our lips met first, softly, and soon I felt her tongue slipping into my mouth. A moan was uttered – whether it was hers or mine, I didn't know… but that wasn't a concern, as it was swallowed by my lips upon hers, hers upon mine. Chills ran up and down my spine as she wrapped her arms around my form, and I remember feeling safe and warm. Like nothing could happen to me as long as she was with me, as long as she held me in her arms like this.

That was last November, when we visited a friend in Prague. Time had flown by since then, passing us by. There were so many memories that cluttered up my mind that it seemed impossible to keep anything straight. But somehow I did. After a while they all began to blend and mix together. Memories of friends.


Six degrees is all it takes.

Memories of her. Memories of me.

Buildings and bridges
Connect all the dots
What's the cost of one man's life?
Watch the mystery unravel thread by thread
Watch it all go down in the end
What will become of what never was
It's the story of us.

Memories of me and her.

Crying. Laughing. Fighting. Making love.

She was amazing – not just a wonderful lover, but also the most amazing person I had the pleasure of ever knowing. She was kind, witty, charming… She was polite, but only when she wanted to be. She always laughed; she had the most infectious laughter, and it sounded like the world to me. She had always been there for me… especially when I needed her most, and I could only hope that I had done the same for her.

I closed my eyes, and for the first time since I had heard the news weeks ago, I cried. The tears rolled down my cheeks and I didn't bother wiping them away. I never really grieved for her; I had still been too shocked to do so. I was still in a state of shock, I think, but the fact that she was never coming back was now just starting to hit me. And for the first time in my life, I could fully appreciate how Ginny had felt when she lost Luna.

I couldn't believe she was gone.

Water and power,
Power and land.
What's the cost of one man's life?
I'll bury it inside my capsule
and open it in fifty years.
Maybe then there will be some answers there.
As to what has become, what never was…
The story of us.

I thanked the last person, and watched as he walked off. The funeral had been… well I don't really know how to describe it. It wasn't the first I'd ever been to, but it was the first in which I was literally a family to the deceased. People walked up to me, told me how sorry they were – that we made a good couple, that she had always been happiest with me. They said they could see it in her face whenever she set her eyes upon me. They also said how kind she had been as a person, how she had always been happy to lend a helping hand. They were sorry to see her go.

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Everyone was sorry.

Sorry wasn't going to bring her back.

I took one last look at her pale form in the coffin; it seemed so large for her. It seemed as though in death, she had shrunk by a few feet, become a lot smaller somehow. Maybe that was what happened to everyone – I don't know. Her face looked as it did whenever she was sleeping: So restful, at peace. I took one last mental picture of her, and shut the lid.

Placed a lingering kiss on her coffin.

I would never forget her.

Fleur Delacour.

Love of my life.

Six degrees is all it takes.
Six degrees is all.

A/N: So. Never done a songfic before… Good? Bad? Let me know whatcha think.