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Ron was curled on a ball in his room. He was gripping his knees tightly against his stomach, and biting his lips. His eyes were shut tightly as he began to rock back and forth rapidly, nervously. The pain had returned, as bad as last night, as the moon was still full and fresh on the sky, laughing at him. Sweat was falling down his skin, and hair was growing on his arms and legs, as well as claws. Ron was trying not to scream, not wanting to alert his room companions, who were confidently asleep believing they would be safe.
When the bones began to stretch and change, the time his face became a furry muzzle, the burning pain was so terrible the werewolf could not hold himself back any more. A sharp spasm shook his body, the muscles tensed stretching him to his full size. A loud, piercing howl of pain echoed in the room. Lights turned on, gasps and yells were heard in the room, and inquires were questioned between the other four students.
The curtains of his bed were pulled away, revealing an exhausted looking, red humanoid wolf. Ron looked up, on one side was Harry looking worried, while on the other were Dean, Seasmus and Neville, all pale and all frightened as they gazed at the young wolf.
"Oh…Hi?" Ron looked at them and grinned a fanged smile.
"Ron!" Harry complained when the other three boys yelled and backed away as if Ron was the basilisk in person.
"What? It's full mooun!" Ron noted, pointing at the window, where a full moon was glimmering strong.
"Get out! Get out!" Seasmus and Dean began to bellow fearfully, while Neville sat on the bed, apparently on the verge of fainting.
"I wount bite you!" Ron said looking hurt, not even allowed to rest his sickness in his own bed.
"Ron, you better go for a walk, I'm going to speak to them!" Harry placed a hand on the wolf's furry shoulder, while he stared defiantly at the three boys.
When Ron stood up sulkily, Harry patted him on the shoulder and nodded at him, sharing the mind note that everything would be fine. The wolf retreated outside as he could, since his large hands were almost unable to hold the door hinge.
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Hermione paled. Her skin was drained of all colour, and her stomach shrank when she was able to see her hands clearly. A pale, silvery glimmer had appeared on her finger, the twisted threads of metal became the symbol of infinite. It sparkled illuminating her eyes, glowing like a lost star in the infinity of the universe. That might have startled her, but magic had odd ways to work. It was her hands what frightened her until her blood froze like ice, and her breath vanished until she mouthed like a fish out of the water.
Suddenly her hands had become see through, slightly transparent, almost hazy like a spectre. The woman pulled back the sleeves of her robes, fearfully, and saw that her arms were also loosing their matter, becoming ethereal. The girl didn't need to check another part of her body to realize that she was becoming something close to a ghost, or worse.
"I'M VANISHING!" the girl, stricken by panic, yelled loudly, glancing with fear at her transparent hands.
The wolf heard her yell. Loosing no time, the animal had leapt down the stairs and had ran on his four towards the girl, who was sitting on the sofa, in front of the burning coals.
"Herrmee?" Ron growled gently, staring at her with worry.
"Ron…" the girl pleaded, staring at him fearfully, her hands extended before her, showing the glimmering pendant and their transparency.
"What is happening?" the young werewolf barked worriedly, holding her hand with a clumsy paw.
The girl stared at the paw, placed so lovingly, so worriedly over her hand. The wolf looked at her, his brown eyes were so sombre, there was so much fear hidden in them, so much worry and so much concern.
"I'm vanishing, Ron!" the girl sobbed, feeling as if a doctor had told her she was dying, for she ignored where this would end.
"Doun't leave mee…" Ron whimpered sadly, holding the girl's hand tightly and looking at the woman sadly, as if by releasing his grip she would disappear completely.
"No! Not without a fight!" Hermione, recovered from the initial shock, stated determined, glancing at Ron with strength and standing up.
"Werre arre you gouin?" the wolf inquired, seeing the woman tugging at his hand.
"Let's go see McGonagall!" Hermione smiled and nodded, leaning to touch the wolf's cheek, "everything is going to be ok!" Hermione reassured upon seeing the hesitant gaze of the boy, and the way his tail and ears lowered.
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Professor McGonagall was looking at the duo with a glance of utmost disbelief. She was dressed on a white, silky, sleeping gown that reached her ankles, and covered her hands with delicate stripes of wool work. The woman was sitting before them in her office, sitting on her chair, hands strangling each other thoughtfully, and eyes staring back and forth through the thick rim of her square glasses.
"Ok, let me sort this out!" the woman's raspy and severe voice said after a long while, and a rather noisy clearing of her voice.
Ron was sitting on a chair, shifting uncomfortably, and shaking rather nervously, looking timid and shameful at the Headmistress. Hermione, on the other hand, was holding Ron's paw and staring calmly at the old and strong woman before her.
"A werewolf (whom I have a nasty idea of who he is), and a transparent girl wake me up in the middle of the night, to tell me what?" the woman was rather annoyed at the interruption of her sleep.
"I have figured something out!" Hermione began calmly, yet extending her hand over the table to show the ring.
"Tell me!" Headmistress McGonagall urged calmly, seriously.
"I had a life before this one, right?" Hermione threw the question at the woman rather sharply.
"Yes, I believe so." The Headmistress sighed and shook her head, the turning to look at the young wolf, "What has it got to do with him?" she inquired finally.
"Ouh, I just came tou accoumpany herr!" the wolf boy explained shamefully, shifting again and trying to find some comfortable position on the chair.
"Weasley! What a surprise!" Headmistress McGonagall said, shaking her head and muttering something about going crazy.
"Well, I want to know, what happened to my life, and what is happening to me!" Hermione was now full of contained frustration, and was drawing it all out fiercely.
"Very well!" Professor McGonagall sighed clasping her hands together and looking suddenly very old and weary, "Hermione, you had a life, and you are not real!" Headmistress McGonagall explained calmly, yet she was visibly shaky.
"What do you mean 'not real'?" Hermione inquired sharply, yet her voice was weak.
"I mean something happened to you, that brought your spirit here, to this world, without any memory of yourself. Now that you have become conscious of your situation, it's time to return to your old world and your old life!" the old woman explained with exhaustion, staring at the girl sadly.
"But I have a life now! Isn't there a way to stop it?" Hermione was now gathering her thoughts desperately, trying to find a way to reverse the process, perhaps bring her body here.
"I'm sorry Hermione, there were various cases like yours, and none ever returned." Professor McGonagall explained sadly, shaking her head and staring at the woman with sympathy.
"You have to help herr! You can't let herr gou!" Ron, who had been listening attentively, stood up furiously and slammed his paw on the wooden table, yelling at the Headmistress with demand.
"I can't do anything, Ron!" the Headmistress says shaking her head sadly, staring hesitant at the large, flaming wolf before her. "It's the way it has to be!" the woman finished sadly.
Hermione felt her mind going numb, her senses were fading along with the solidness of her body. She felt weak, light like a feather and heavy like plumb at the same time. She was fading, vanishing, disappearing. It was worse than dying, since she didn't have the security that she was going back to a life that was completely alien to her. Finally her consciousness flew away, and the girl collapsed against the floor with a loud slam.
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Weakly, her eyes fluttered open. Before her was a young face with short, spiky hair, worried brown eyes and a look of utmost surprise. Although her vision was blurry, her mind recognized the figure only feebly. The soft, silky touch of young hands gripping hers hit her senses furiously, like a flame placed under her foot. The woman was becoming very aware of the beeping sound, the boy's presence and the sensations of warmth, cold, touch, smell, etc.
"Hermione?" the boy leaned closer, inquiring curiously, attempting to reach her gaze, and the most surprised gaze was crossing his face.
The girl sighed and sank back into a deep slumber, yet this time it was not so profound.
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"Hermy? Hermy!" a clear, familiar voice was calling desperately, while a rough hand tugged at her own, silky skin.
The woman woke up faintly, feebly. She saw a human Ron smiling delighted, while the girl became aware of her presence at the Gryffindor common room, at Hogwarts. The sun light was illuminating her face, and as she stood up, stretching and recovering her orientation, she saw how transparent her skin was. She looked like a true ghost.
"McGonagall doesn't think you'll pass the night!" Ron said sadly, staring away from Hermione to focus his teary gaze on the interesting grey and old, mouldy stones that formed the castle's walls.
"McGonagall is wrong!" Hermione stated severely, looking more determined than ever.
"What do you mean?" Ron looked at her, a tear had escaped his control, but he felt more interested in the woman's words now.
"Let's go to the library, there must be a way!" Hermione was almost pleading to herself, yet looking firm on her decision.
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The three friends were glancing through the books, every book they thought could be related to Hermione's problem. They even had a book which spoke about aromatic magic plants, just because one of the plants was used to dye invisibility cloaks. Ron was breathing agitatedly, sometimes he simply was on the verge of tears, while most of the time he was simply growing frustrated. There was a third night of full moon and he was not eager to spend it alone.
Hermione was at shelf. She had found a very interesting book on mysterious vanishings, and decided this might just give her a hint about her situation. As she dragged the book outside of the shelf, the large, heavy weight slipped through her hands, landing with a rather loud thud. The girl kneeled to pick it up, but the book slipped through her fingers once again. Then she realized, the book hadn't slipped, it was that her flesh was no longer consistent enough to hold, or even feel matter.
This time, Hermione cried, and she did so with the greatest grief and despair she had ever felt. Harry heard the woman's sorrow and approached her. He tried to rub her shoulders, but his hands could not find anything to hold, only the subtle and ethereal image of the ghost Hermione used to be.
"Come on!" Harry urged Hermione, trying to drag her away from the corridor.
"Harry…" the girl sobbed worriedly, wanting so much to hug him for the last time.
"Come on, Hermione, lets go to your room!" the boy said, trying to hold her shoulders as accurately as he could.
Ron flinched when he saw the girl being dragged outside the library. She was leaving faster than he imagined, and he had never told her what a great friend she had always been. Instead he had always been aggressive, ferociously cruel, frustratingly annoying and the biggest asshole he had ever met. She had always helped him, she had always been there for him, and had gathered the courage to come close to an enormous werewolf, seeing not the wolf, but her friend. What have been the points of all the fights? Loosing the precious time, when they could have spent it together, enjoying it and having fun, instead of sulking and yelling, and doing everything to hurt each other. What a terrible loss of time, of the precious time that vanishes through our fingers like threads of foggy mist.
He kept searching. This would not be the end of their time, nor the end of their story. He was going to save her, and then he would tell her all of this things he should have told her long ago. Things such as "Want to go to the ball with me?" on time, and "You are looking gorgeous" when she came to visit them at the table. The boy began racing through every book again, and again, and again, until the first pangs of pain began stabbing his bones. Harry came into the library again.
"Ron…" Harry said gently, placing a pair of shaky hands on the boy's trembling shoulders.
"Hush!" the boy said severely, deeply concentrated on his lecture.
"Ron, let it be, there is no way!" Harry tried to say it as calmly as possible, swallowing several times since a lump had formed in his throat.
"You're wrong!" Ron said huskily, still reading the same paragraphs over and over, "there must be a way!"
"There isn't…" Harry began saying desperately, in a profound whine.
"There must be a way!" Ron roared standing up furiously, gripping the boy's shirt and making him look straight at his face.
Fangs and claws had grown, released by the anger he was feeling. That's when he saw himself, reflected in the large, round spectacles, a boy with flaming hair, furious eyes, sharp fangs and red fur sprouting on his arms. Gasping frightened with himself, Ron released Harry rather abruptly.
"I'm sorry…" the young werewolf said softly, whimpering like a solitary pup.
Ron kneeled on the ground and broke completely, allowing his fear and his sorrow to flow along with his feelings, opening his heart and releasing all sentiments accumulated inside. He cried like he had never cried before, his body convulsing, shaking furiously with each strangled whimper. Harry hugged Ron and allowed him to cry on his shoulder, to free his soul and to relax his heart by drowning his despair in tears.
"Go see her!" Harry urged, "She's in her room!"
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Ron entered the girl's room and sat on the young woman's bed. He had used his wolf strength and agility to evade the magic spell situated on the stairs, only because he wanted to say goodbye. Hermione looked at him sadly, yet managed to curl a weak smile on her lips. She was so transparent, fading rapider and night fell, yet her brown eyes were so vivid and lively.
"Ron…" Hermione breathed with joy and happiness.
"Hermione, I…" Ron felt his words strangled by his sadness, seeing her like this was harder than I thought.
"Shh, don't be sad… I'm not dying!" Hermione said with a bright smile, yet it was apparent that she doubted her words.
"But I'm not seeing you ever again!" Ron whimpered, letting several tears fall down his cheeks.
The girl shrugged lacking words of comfort to say. The boy, seeing her hesitation, grabbed her ethereal hand, feeling it as a rippling tickle that spread through his fingers, so gently and so comfortably.
"I can feel you!" Hermione gasped tensing her muscles, letting herself enjoy the boy's touch.
"What are we doing now?" Ron inquired sadly, staring at the woman and smiling pleasantly.
"Just live, I guess!" Hermione shrugged at the comment, considering returning to her former life one whole new adventure.
"Hermy, promise me something!" Ron suddenly became very serious, very sorrowful, gripping the woman's hand tightly.
"Tell me…" the woman urged, seeing how she was becoming very faint.
"Don't forget me, Hermione!" Ron pleaded beginning to cry, letting rivers of tears flowing through his face.
"I'll never forget you!" Hermione reassured, letting herself feel emotive by allowing some tears dropping from her eyes.
"I wanted to tell you… that you have been the best friend I ever had. I'll miss you a lot!" Ron whimpered while staring at the girl, now becoming almost invisible.
"I'll miss you too, Ron…" Hermione sighed deeply, and her head dropped, a smile on her face, profoundly asleep as she progressed to her former life.
Ron began crying more exaggeratedly. He let go her hand and walked towards the desk. Picking a quill and a small piece of parchment, he scribbled some rapid words. Hurrying he introduced the folded parchment inside the robe's pocket, which was basically faded away. Somehow the parchment managed to merge with the almost ethereal structure of the girl's presence. Ron sat down on her bed once again, and resumed picking her hand, or the brief spectre of it. He was suffering and intense pain, but resisted it just to be with her as a man, for this was the last time they would see each other.
"I love you…" Ron whispered suddenly, when Hermione was only a luminous trace in space.
Seconds after, he could no longer feel her hand, and since he could not see her, the boy knew she had gone, forever. Ron cried desperately, letting all his pain and sorrow break him from inside. What hurt him the most is that he never hand time to show her how much he loved her.
To Be Continued…
AN: Poor Ron. Poor Hermy. What will have been of each? This is not the end, there is still one more chapter to go. I hope you are enjoying this story, because it is turning out to be one of my favourites. Obviously no story will ever pass Human Spirit, which's end was so fantastic, but this story nagged me so much while I worked that I had to get to work it. Well, keep enjoying it, and on with the last chapter.