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Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter. The characters belong to the great J.K.Rowling. I only own 3 cats and 2 dogs, and only 2 cats and 1 dog are really mine. Noises from the basement? Pay no attention to those…
A/N: Ok, dear readers, I am co-writing this with a friend of mine, pen name of lily-james-4ever010. We're probably going to chapter bounce, one me, one her, one me, one her… you get the idea. This one's by her.
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Looking Beyond
Chapter Two:
By: MadameMing and lily-james-4ever010
Hermione sobbed into her pillow, trying not to remember that dark, cold night when everything changed. The night her world turned upside down.
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Harry, Hermione, and Ron had heard from the Order that Voldemort was currently located in Godrics Hollow. They all knew that this was it. The final battle with Voldemort. They apparated to James and Lily's old house, and explored the neighborhood, searching for Voldemort. They finally found him in the graveyard where James and Lily were buried. Harry rushed forward, to curse Voldemort, Hermione and Ron at his side, but suddenly, Death Eaters surrounded them. They ran back to the shadows, knowing they couldn't take on all the Death Eaters at once. Suddenly, Ron spoke (as loud as he could without Voldemort and the Death Eaters hearing him). "I'm going out there."
"Ron, you CAN'T, there must be another way!" shrieked Hermione. She and Ron had been dating for about a year, after finally admitting that they loved each other.
"Ron, NO!" said Harry, under no circumstances allowing his friend to die for him.
"It's you that has to go on, Harry. Not me, not Hermione, you."
"Ron, NO! Don't do this to me! You can't!" Hermione sobbed, grabbing Ron's arm.
"Hermione, I must! Would you rather me die, just one person, or millions of innocent people? If I don't do this, Voldemort will kill you or Harry, and live on! We have to defeat him, Hermione!" Ron turned to Harry. "Harry, I'll distract him. He'll think I'm you, until I'm dead. When he says the killing curse, you do the same to him, alright?"
"Ron! I can't let you do this! You're my best mate!" said Harry desperately.
"Exactly, Harry! I'm your best mate. Let me do this! Please."
Harry realized this was Ron's last wish, his final order. He sighed, and then nodded at Ron. "Alright."
"HARRY! What are you doing? Talk him out of it, Harry, please! PLEASE! Ron, don't do this! We can figure out another way! Don't!" Hermione sobbed. Ron tried to pull his arm out of Hermione's grasp, but she wouldn't let him.
"Hermione, let go of me! I have to do this! Petrificus Totalus," Ron said, putting Hermione in a full-body bind. "Please understand, 'Mione. Please. It's for your own good, so you don't get hurt trying to save me! I love you, Hermione. I'm sorry, but please understand. Never forget me." Ron turned to face Harry. "Harry, do you understand what you have to do?" Harry nodded. "Alright, here I go, then," Ron gave Hermione a quick kiss, told her he loved her, and sighed. "Harry, you're my best mate. Take care of her while I'm gone, alright? And take care of Ginny too. And-and tell Malfoy what I thought of him, alright?" Ron grinned weakly. "Bye, mate. Thanks for choosing to be my friend all those years ago, instead of Malfoy's. I love you, 'Mione," he said to Hermione again. Then he closed his eyes, and gulped, turning quite pale. He stepped out of the shadows, and moved so that Harry and Hermione could not see him. Harry looked back at Hermione, who was quite pale.
"VOLDEMORT! COME AND FIGHT! I'M HERE!" said Ron, in a very convincing Harry-ish tone.
Suddenly, Voldemort stepped out behind a tombstone, lunging towards Ron, apparently not realizing that he was not Harry at all. Harry swallowed, and took a step forward. This was it.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" shouted Voldemort and Harry in unison. Harry and Hermione heard two screams; a cold, high-pitched scream, and a loud, frightened, and bloodcurdling scream coming from Ron. Harry covered Hermione's eyes, seeing as she couldn't do it herself. They then heard two loud, chilling thuds, Voldemort's and Ron's bodies falling to the ground. Harry turned to see if Hermione was still frozen, full of hope that perhaps Ron had survived. But Hermione was moving again. Ron was dead. They rushed towards the lump that was Ron's body, completely ignoring Voldemort's body for a period of time. The death eaters seemed too shocked that their leader was dead to do anything about Harry and Hermione. Hermione sobbed, and flung her arms around Ron's cold, still body. His eyes were still wide open, and his mouth was stretched as if it were screaming. His skin was paper white, and his hands were already starting to get cold. Harry gasped in alarm. Ron's body was directly on top of his parent's, James and Lily Potter's, grave. "No," Hermione cried. "He's-he's…really gone."
Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and tried to comfort her. "It's what he wanted to do, Hermione. We couldn't stop him. No one could ever stop Ron when he wanted to do something."
Hermione suddenly flicked a spider off of Ron's body. "He…he hated spiders," she said. "He wouldn't have wanted spiders all over him when he died." Harry nodded. They sat there next to Ron's body for what seemed like hours, crying silently together, and reliving happy memories of when Ron was alive.
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Hermione's body shook with rage at Voldemort, for ever being born, and at herself for allowing Ron to sacrifice himself. Her face was stained with tears, and as much as she tried, she could not stop crying. Ron was gone. He was really gone. Hermione would never forget his chilling, terrified scream, the second he died. She could never forget the terrible thud of his body falling to the ground, which made her shudder every time she thought about it. And as much as she tried, she could never forget Ron Weasley.