(A/N: Hey! I realize it's been another ridiculously long update but I'm very excited for this chapter! Things are nearing the end and I can't wait to get to the juicy parts! One general announcement however is that I've made the decision to shorten the lengths of all my chapters and update more frequently. I'm sure it must get tiring waiting so long for an update and I get annoyed with myself for fighting the length battle. So therefore the next chapter should be shorter than most previously and expect a much quicker update! Thank you all for being so patient and staying behind this story! Enjoy! Haystack)
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CHAPTER FOURTY-ONE: TILL DEATH DO US PART
When Ron came to, he was unaware of where he was. But it didn't take long as Hermione's terrified face flashed before his eyes for Ron to kill the three Death Eaters and start this stupid idea of running around the forest.
He felt like he was running in circles, never recognizing anything yet recognizing everything. One thing he knew was that he had to get back to Hermione and that they had to get to Voldemort fast.
We fucked this thing up, he thought violently. Harry would have never acted so rashly.
But just as quickly as the thought occurred to him, Ron took it back. No, Harry would be right next to Ron. Hadn't Harry always been the one who'd gotten them in trouble with his heroic midnight adventures? Ron found himself smiling slightly at the memory. It'd been a while since he'd been able to think about Harry without feeling weak in the knees as reality slammed into him.
But right now, Ron pushed all thoughts of Harry aside. He needed to think about Hermione. Not knowing who had taken her or where, Ron felt utterly hopeless. Turning left and starting down an all too familiar dirt path, Ron looked at the identical rows of trees. How big was the Forbidden Forest really? Ron felt like he'd spent half of his life in here. Realizing that Hermione would know the answer, Ron felt despair clutch hold of him as he wondered if he'd ever be able to see her again to ask. Tears pushing from within him, Ron swallowed the lump in his throat with difficulty. When he got her back…if he ever got her back…he'd make sure to ask her. That and a million other things that only Hermione would know.
Pushing himself harder forwards, Ron stopped in his tracks. Ever since he'd come to, the distant sounds of the battle had been audible. But suddenly everything had stopped. There wasn't a sound to be heard; everything was deathly silent.
Heart pounding, Ron moved quickly towards a nearby rock and crouched behind it. Something was going to happen…something bad.
It took barely twenty seconds for the explosion to occur. Far off in the distance Ron saw it coming, that red fireball headed towards him. It landed far enough away and gave Ron just enough time to squeeze his eyes shut as he grabbed hold on the rock with all the strength in his body. Even sheltered from the blow, the cool dirt pressed to his stomach, Ron could feel the heat. It was more than Ron had ever experienced; like standing in a furnace or burning hot coals covering his whole body. He screamed out in agony as the fire ate away at his hands that were clenching the rock.
Once the initial fire died out, the debris and smoke came, as if they were scavengers coming for the rest of those who had somehow managed to survive. Face buried deep in the grass and mud, Ron tried to breathe in all the fresh air he could, knowing that if he moved his face a mere centimeter up, his lungs would be filled instantly with deathly gas and smoke.
It took several minutes for the smoke to clear out enough to breathe. His eyes still squeezed shut, Ron concentrated only on breathing; something, Ron decided, he'd taken for granted too often. His lungs felt like they were on fire and Ron longed to suck in a deep breath, one that quenched his dire thirst for air.
Finally, desperate for any air he could get, Ron let go of the rock and stood up. The smell of smoke was still evident but it was thin enough to breathe. Slowly opening his eyes, what Ron saw almost made him fall back with shock.
Where Ron had been walking around the forest, not a soul in sight, suddenly there were people everywhere! Goblins and Giants, Elves, and Wild Creatures from the forest, Witches and Wizards and Death Eaters galore. For the time being, not much fighting was going on, everyone trying to escape the fire. Dead bodies lined the outskirts of the fire and Ron felt sickened as the hungry flames advanced over them; slowly eating them, alive or dead. Deathly screams filled the air, creating a musical sound of its own- a tune that would never leave Ron's head. Standing there with his burnt hands and smoke filled lungs, Ron immediately snapped out of his trance and began running towards the flames.
As he approached, he started recognizing people he knew. Ministry Witches and Wizards shouting orders at each other, some fighting off Death Eaters, some pulling victims from the fire. It was one big chaotic mess. As he continued walking, he felt a pull at his leg. Looking down he yelped in horror.
"R-Ron…" Its hoarse voice pleaded. "Help me p-please!"
Eyes bulging, Ron knelt next to the boy and cradled his head with his hands. "Ernie mate…what the hell happened to you!"
Ernie Macmillan's leg was cut off and there were scars of all sorts over his body. His body…looking more like a skeleton than anything, was obviously deprvied of food. It was a wonder Ron could recognize him…he looked more like a monster from a horror book than the friend and classmate he was. His other foot was on fire.
"Merlin!" Ron shouted as he did the first thing he could think of and began stomping on Ernie's foot to get the flames out.
"Don't worry 'bout it" Ernie said weakly, "I can't even feel it"
As the last ember died, Ron stopped, panting as he looked at his friend. Funy how Ron thought of him as a friend now. My friends are dying Ron thought bitterly, I don't have a ton of choices. Anyone from Hogwarts is my friend now.
"C-can you just get me away from here?" Ernie asked as his eyes darted back and forth
"Sure thing" Ron said as he grabbed Ernie under his arms and began dragging him away. No one was looking at them, no one was noticing. It was safe enough.
"Where've you been all this time?" Ron grunted as he continued dragging Ernie away.
Ernie winced in pain as his leg hit a branch, "I honestly can't remember everything. It seems like so long ago."
"Tell me about it" Ron said gruffly
"I went out with Hannah and Justin but we got separated real quickly. Next thing I know I'm watching Cho Chang being raped and then killed."
Ron felt a shiver run up his spine. "T-that's horrible"
"Yea… I'd rather not talk about it"
"No that's fine." He said quickly. That's three, Ron thought, three girls I know who've been raped.
"Then suddenly my leg's being cut off by Draco's father who--"
"Lucius?" Ron cut in, anger boiling in his veins.
"Yea him, because I watched him kill Draco."
Ron shut his eyes as his stomach tightened. He hadn't been expecting that. "Y-You saw Draco die?" The words sounded foreign on his tongue, having never referred to Malfoy as Draco before.
"Yea. Ironic but he was on our side the whole time. Can you believe that?"
"Yeah…"Ron said softly, "I can believe that."
"Well anyways, they were going to kill me for what I saw. But at the last minute Zacharias Smith steps in and kills them."
"Smith killed Lucius Malfoy!" He asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
"Saved my bloody neck." Ernie said appreciatively.
"Wow…" Ron said as he let go of Ernie. They were in a secluded area with lots of bushes and trees. They could still see the fire…
Then suddenly Ernie began grabbing at his leg. Unsure at the sudden change, Ron looked up at Ernie. "Ernie mate you okay there?"
Shaking his head back and forth, Ron began to panic. "What's wrong? What hurts?"
"M-m-my leggg!" He stuttered, holding onto the stub with a violent panic
"Your leg?" Ron repeated, kneeling down to look closer at it
"Aaarghhh! Make it stop!" Ernie cried out in pain
Taken aback, Ron looked around for help, "I-I don't know what to do mate!" He cried out. Ernie gasped as his chest began heaving in and out heavily. "Ernie can you breathe!"
Shaking his head miserably, Ron leapt up from where he was kneeling and propped Ernie up. Having no clue as to what he was doing, he took out his wand to conjure up some water. "Hold on" Ron said, as he turned away to perform the magic.
"D-Don't bother" He heard Ernie manage to choke out before he began coughing uncontrollably.
"Just hold on! Here's some water…do you think you can drink it?"
Ernie could only reply with more coughs, coughs that sounded painful coughs that were—Ron dropped the water.
"Y-You're spitting out blood!" Ron cried, his eyes looking at the unmistakable sight of blood all over Ernie and himself. Red splotches covered the dirt surrounding them.
"I know" Ernie said weakly
"You mean this has happened before!"
"Yea, I-I've been real sick ever since--"
"Ever since what!"
"I-I" Ernie moaned, his eyes looking to the skies.
"Ernie! Ernie!" Ron shouted, shaking the Hufflepuff
And with a final roll of his eyes, Ron felt Ernie's body go limp.
Too scared to say anything, words stuck in his throat, Ron sat perfectly still, hoping against all hope that he wasn't really dead.
A sob was preventing him from breathing, his eyes burned with the water built up behind them. But with that final shuddering breath Ron felt his own body weaken as the tears rushed from his blue eyes onto Ernie's body. Slowly gathering it up to his chest, Ron clung to him desperately; cursing everything he could think of to curse.
He hadn't known him that well but he was there. Harry wasn't, his family wasn't, Hermione wasn't…but Ernie was. But now he was gone and Ron really was alone. There were no more shining moments of hope in store.
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"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Hermione whispered, clutching Luna tightly to her as the girl began to sob.
Stepping back and wiping at her tears, Luna offered a watery smile. "No it's okay. I-I just haven't seen anyone since--"
"Here" Hermione said gently, searching in her pocket for something to wipe the mud off Luna's face. Pulling out a blood-soaked tissue she began wiping the mud slowly off the girl's face.
"T-Thanks" Luna said. "I didn't even realize I had something on my face. I don't think about things like that in times like this."
Hermione nodded, agreeing. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen herself in a mirror. The only clues she had as to her appearance were her being pale and skinny from Viktor and beautiful from Ron, which she was sure he was just saying. There was the one time she'd seen her reflection in the puddle of water when she and Ron were before Voldemort but that was so long ago…
"I couldn't believe I found you. I haven't seen anyone alive" Luna paused at the word, "for a long time."
Looking around her, Hermione did notice now that there was an unhealthy amount of silence surrounding them. "How long have you been here?" She asked
Luna shrugged. "Probably a few days, I'm not even sure."
Nodding, Hermione looked around them some more. There were the bodies, the debris from Hogwarts lining the ground, the absence of life…it didn't appear too different from other places Hermione had been in the forest.
"Have you been alone here?" Hermione asked, the question striking her. How had Luna survived this unbearable silence? The gazes of the dead?
Luna shook her head feebly. "No…Angelina Johnson was with me for a while. Neville too. But one day he went out looking for water and never came back. Angelina died soon after that. Ever since then, I've been alone."
"Neville's safe." Hermione said softly, "He came to us. Found the Order's hideout somehow."
"Are you sure?" Luna breathed, holding her breath with anticipation.
"Yes he's fine."
Luna let out a long breath and Hermione could almost visually see the relief sweep through her. "I-I was so worried. Angelina and I practically went insane."
"I didn't get to talk with him much" Hermione said quietly, suddenly regretting not spending more moments with Neville before the second war was sprung upon them.
Luna only nodded good-naturedly, almost like old times. She appeared to not have heard, or simply didn't care. Knowing Luna, Hermione guessed it was the latter.
But even despite that, Luna's change was dramatic. Hermione almost felt like she was a new person. Her innocent world of corksharnkers and wizzlebees was gone. Reality had finally gotten a hold of her, the one person Hermione would have never expected.
And with the realization, longing for the past swelled up in her almost immediately.
It was almost a painful aching. Change was one thing, Hermione had known that things would change once she, Harry and Ron were out of Hogwarts. But this…the changes made in such a short period of time. It hurt to reminisce.
Luna apparently had been thinking along those same lines as she asked softly. "Do you know what happened to Harry and Ron?"
Hermione looked to the ground trying her best to keep her face free of emotion. She didn't want to think about that right now. Recalling times of Hell simply took away from Luna's miraculous appearance.
"I almost didn't believe it was you. Not without Harry or Ron. I honestly can't recall a memory of you where you were without one of them. Except in the library of course." Luna said gently, a small smile gracing her lips.
The last comment at least got a sad smile out of Hermione as she looked up to face Luna. This wasn't going to be easy. How was she to go about this? Better quick and straightforward, she thought, Luna of all people can handle that.
"I'm looking for Ron right now. That's why I was wandering around. We got separated."
"So he's alive then?" Luna asked, trying not to press her for details, but obviously desperate for news.
Hermione soaked in the comfort of delivering good news. "Yes. He's very alive."
"And Harry?"
Hermione made sure to look her straight in the eye. Taking a deep breath to steady herself she said, "Harry's dead."
Why was it that the silence seemed so loud now? As Hermione carefully watched Luna's reaction she was surprised to see only a flicker of pain flash through Luna's eyes. Then a somber expression crossed her face as she nodded slowly, obviously trying to comprehend what Harry's death meant now.
Hermione thought she'd spare her. "Voldemort killed him. Ron and I saw. That's partially what this second war is about. We don't know who can defeat Voldemort now without Harry but we're giving it everything in hopes that something does."
Still nodding, Luna's eyes were darting along the ground. "T-That's good." She seemed unable to form complete thoughts.
Hermione, with nothing more to say looked at her hands, hating the silence. Luna was taking the news better than anyone so far. Maybe it came from her previous encounters with death, or maybe it was her simplistic view of the world; crafted by her constant belief in things others couldn't see, a lifetime of observations. But whatever it was, Hermione was grateful for it especially as Luna whispered, "I'm sorry" before taking her into a hug.
Hermione actually smiled as she hugged the dirty girl. Here was finally someone else who understood.
Backing away Luna's face was urgent. "But what about Ron?"
Hermione bit her lip, her emotions now turning their attention to the old panic and fear she'd felt earlier. "I lost him a while ago. I don't even know where to start looking, I keep getting lost."
"Who took him?"
"Death Eaters"
Luna paled. "He may not have much time then."
Hermione felt her heartbeat quicken having her fears spoken like that. "I-I know."
"Do you have your wand?"
"Yes"
"Good then. You keep a look out. I lost mine a couple hours into the first war."
And with that, Luna grabbed Hermione's hand as she began to run. Shouting over her shoulder she said, "I know the forest well now. If we hurry we might be able to find him."
Hermione breathed a small sigh of relief as she followed close behind.
She wasn't alone anymore.
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Ron could feel the war picking up speed. It was as if a new level had been achieved. Both sides were beginning to get frustrated and a new kind of killing was being evolved. It no longer mattered if you were fighting a Death Eater; you simply killed all of them in your sight. Unfortunately for the outnumbered Order members, that mentality worked both ways.
The screams as well reached a new level of intensity. They were louder, more anguished and there certainly were more of them.
Running in a crowd of Witches and Wizards, Ron cut through them fearing anything that could slow him down.
He'd left Ernie's body and the fire behind him. It had taken several minutes but as the fire approached, Ron knew he'd die if he stayed with Ernie. So using every bit of strength he had, he placed Ernie's head on the ground and began to run away, never once looking back.
And that was where he found himself now. Searching for Hermione. He was still running for something, but he was running from something as well.
With the screams and sudden panic of the crowd behind him, Ron looked back to find Death Eaters chasing them. Moving off the dirt road Ron tripped as he ran into the trees and bushes, landing with a hard thump on the forest floor. People were fleeing all around him. Pressing his face down, yet keeping his eyes open, Ron refused to move as he heard the crowd passing him by followed shortly by the sounds of Death Eaters catching up to them. Playing dead was the best way Ron had found in the past few hours to escape possible slaughter.
Hoping that they'd moved on, Ron cursed inwardly as he listened to the sounds of bodies hitting the floor and the dying screams of some of the Witches he'd been running alongside only moments ago. The Death Eaters had been too fast. Only a precious few feet away, Ron's now whole existence depended on his acting abilities. Holding his breath, Ron stifled a groan as a body landed a mere inch or two away from him, the man's leg whacking Ron's back.
Ron could hear the Death Eater's ragged breathing above him and his insides turned to ice. Where was his wand? Remembering that it was in his pocket Ron tried to locate it in his mind exactly, should the Death Eater lash out and Ron need to defend himself.
Instead he heard the Death Eater laugh as he walked away, shouting to his fellow comrades, "Look's like we got twins over there"
Waiting until he was sure the Death Eater's footsteps were retreating, Ron dared to skim his eyes along the forest floor. What had he meant? Who were twins?
"Where?" A gruff voice asked
"Over there" The same Death Eater replied casually, "Twins or something. Two bastards look alike."
Ron's heart was pounding uncontrollably. Twins…
"Dead?"
No, Ron's mind screamed. No, No, No!
The Death Eater laughed as his voice began fading away into the distance, "Dead as a mudblood."
Ron felt his stomach drop at the Death Eater's words. No, they couldn't be! Sitting up, Ron's eyes scanned around him. He couldn't believe what he saw.
The Death Eaters were gone all right. But the forest…it was almost unrecognizable. There were bodies all around him, in the road, on the other side of the road. Everywhere! Ron hadn't realized there were that many people in the crowd…
Standing up shakily, Ron began searching the faces of those dead around him. He had to find Fred and George!
It took only a few seconds for Ron to understand.
He stood paralyzed above him, a sob stuck in his chest, pain only matched by Harry's death searing through his body, through his heart as he stared at the body of his brother.
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Luna hadn't been kidding. She knew the forest well. Weaving and turning in places Hermione never would have guessed, she helplessly followed her, trusting her with this.
Ron, she prayed, please be alive for me
She didn't want to think about what would happen if her prayer didn't come true. Didn't want to go down that path…she'd been down it for what felt like most of her life. She couldn't go back there quite yet, not when there was hope.
But Luna had stopped. Hermione almost hadn't noticed. "What?" She whispered
Luna held a finger to her lips and breathed as quietly as she possibly could, "Death Eaters'll be here soon."
Confused Hermione looked around them. She didn't see anything or anyone. How did Luna know? "What?" She repeated "Why?"
Luna shook her head and grabbed Hermione's hand. "Come on, we need to go the other way."
"Wait no!" Hermione whispered, pulling on Luna's hand. "You said this was the fastest way!"
"It is." Luna said, "But it won't be safe."
"Luna…" Hermione said urgently, "We need to get there as soon as we can!"
"I know" Luna nodded sympathetically. "But we can't do that if we're dead now can we?" she asked, looking pointedly at Hermione.
Sighing she said, "I-I suppose not."
Luna smiled warmly, "It'll be okay. Its not that much longer. We'll take the main road. Much more scenic."
Hermione allowed herself to be dragged away by Luna but she couldn't shake off the feeling that the former Ravenclaw wasn't telling her something.
And Hermione had a hunch that it had everything to do with what was about to attract those Death Eaters.
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Shaking, Ron dropped to his knees. Reaching out his hand, he touched the familiar hands, robes, freckles, eyes and…
The tears came with simple touch of Charlie's red hair.
Shoulders shaking, Ron gently picked Charlie's head off of the ground, cradling it to his chest. Charlie here? Dead? No it's couldn't…they couldn't have…he couldn't be—
Charlie's blue eyes stared him in the face.
Ron crumbled to the floor, everything gone from his mind, every last trace of his old self, vanishing in a moment. He began to rock. Random thoughts pushed through the despair his brain had turned into. No…it's couldn't have gotten to that point. His family couldn't be dying. Not after everything…
Ron's tears burned his cheeks. He had never cried quite like this. Even with Harry it'd taken a while. Nothing had ever prepared him for this immediate surge of water that was seeping from his eyes. Certainly nothing had prepared him for the throbbing pain of his heart.
"No…." He moaned, pulling Charlie's body even closer to him. "No…"
It had been one thing when classmates died. Quite another when Harry died. But this—Charlie?
Ron's mind was flashing back to every memory he had of Charlie. Every fight, every Christmas, every Quidditch match, every…what was the last thing Ron had said to him? Ron cried harder. He couldn't even remember!
Lifting his head up to the sky Ron's body shook. "NO! NO!" he screamed
Somewhere above him lightning flashed. Ron didn't care, opening his blurry eyes to look onto the face of an earth he no longer knew.
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It was like a horror movie. Both girls frozen where they were they walked cautiously, avoiding fingers, toes…heads.
Smoke was rising from the ground, the smell of burnt skin lingering in the air. Tortured faces flashed in front of Hermione's eyes but the only thing she was aware of was the furious pounding of her heart.
They'd barely walked away from the previous route when they stumbled across this. Bodies unlike Hermione had ever seen…simply strewn across the ground, for as far as she could see in every direction.
It's like being lost in the ocean, she thought bitterly, an ocean full of corpses.
Luna's eyes were wide as she slowly led Hermione around the bodies. Hermione was sure, even in all of the days she'd spent in the forest that the young girl had never seen anything like it.
Looking down, the face of a young wizard met Hermione's eyes. She stifled a scream.
Catching up to Luna, Hermione tried to calm herself down. The man had looked like Ron…
The moment Hermione had seen the bodies the fear took over. There's no way, her head kept screaming at her, not with these odds. But that damn stubborn heart of hers just wouldn't listen, searching the faces of every victim they passed just to make sure her fiancé wasn't one of them.
Oh god Ron, she pleaded, please don't be here!
Wishing there was a survivor they could talk to, Hermione searched the horizon. Nothing. No one. Except…
"Luna" She breathed, trying not to get her hopes up. The girl didn't notice. "Luna!" she hissed, motioning for her to come over.
"What?" Luna whispered, not moving and sounding distant
"D-Do you see that person?" She asked pointing, her hand shaking
Attention grabbed, Luna made her way over to Hermione to look in the direction she was pointing. "Not really…"
"Over there" Hermione pressed. Maybe she was imagining things. Maybe she was going insane. Maybe she was so desperate that she'd resorted to—"Hey? Where are you going?" Hermione asked suddenly as Luna began to run off towards the man. "Luna! Luna! Come back!"
Following behind, Hermione ducked under thin branches, which got tangled in her hair. Cursing, she stopped to swat them away as she kept running, tripping over bodies and yet trying to ignore them at the same time, which proved impossible. Luna was far ahead of her…
What had the girl seen? What had been so important, so urgent to run off like that? Praying that they weren't running straight into another trap, Hermione never took her eyes off Luna, unable to see the person any longer, which was a concern.
Breathing heavily, Hermione jumped over a body to the right almost losing her balance. Balancing on her toes to regain her balance, she paused a moment to look up at Luna.
The girl had stopped. Still a good ten feet away from the person, who was obviously a man, Luna had simply stopped in her tracks. Unsure and confused as to why, Hermione looked at the man.
Squinting in the distance, the first thing Hermione saw was the vibrant red hair. And with that, Hermione's breath swirled around in her lungs no longer available for breathing. Ron! But the man wasn't alone…he was holding something…someone. Someone who also had vibrant red hair.
It was as if someone had kicked her in the stomach. Gasping at the harsh reality, the cruel twist of fate, the unbearable pain it all meant, Hermione felt herself growing faint.
Two Weasleys were there. One was dead. Who was Ron? Was Ron even one of them?
Now understanding Luna's dilemma, Hermione stood indecisive for a moment. Then suddenly making up her mind and running as fast as she could, Hermione leaped over bodies, tearing through the forest. She didn't want to play these games with her mind anymore. Her heart had to know.
Slowly down, Hermione could feel Luna's eyes bearing a hole through her back but she didn't care. She needed to know quickly, before she lost herself completely.
The man was hunched over the body, both heads concealed by him. Hermione's heart was pounding in her head. She knew she was shaking. The man was crying.
Looking away, Hermione mustered up the last once of Gryffindor courage she had left in her. With a small timid tone, she heard her voice break through the absolute silence that had been eating her away all this time. Slowly, she turned to look at the huddled man, "Who are you?" She whispered
Any answer would be better than the silence.
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Ron had heard someone coming. He'd turned away.
Gathering Charlie in his arms, Ron simply hunched over his older brother, prepared to die this way. What was the use? Hermione was gone, Harry was dead, Charlie's body was in his arms…no, he'd given up. The rest of his family would surely die, evil would surely win and Ron wasn't going to wait around for it.
With this decision, Ron almost couldn't stop the sobs anymore. His tears were wetting Charlie's face, and Ron could feel them burning his skin. Funny how tears burned more than fire…
Closing his eyes as the footsteps became hurried and rushed, Ron cringed, waiting for the blow. But as he waited his memories wouldn't let him go. He would never be able to escape from these goddamned memories till he was good and dead.
He was getting his Hogwarts letter…
He was kissing Hermione for the first time…
He was celebrating his first Quidditch win in the common room…
He and Harry were trying to find dates for the Yule Ball…
He and Hermione were consoling Harry over Sirius…
He and Harry were saying goodbye…
Seamus and Lavender were screaming their death screams…
Ginny was falling apart recalling her own memories…
He was losing Hermione…
Charlie's eyes were staring at him…
NO! He sobbed, his mind going insane. MAKE IT STOP! The memories were eating him alive, each one filled with pain. Even his Hogwarts letter…even the memory of a fucking letter sent the voices off inside his head. The voices inside his head…
They wouldn't stop; they were going in circles. He held tighter onto Charlie, his one sense of reality. But the voices were more powerful, egging him on, pulling him back, in control of his every move. Calling his name they came from everywhere. They were everywhere!
"Who are you?" The voice cut through them all, sending Ron tumbling back into himself. He knew that voice…knew her very presence. But the idea of her here, here while he committed emotional suicide…no she couldn't be here.
But the fear was in him now. Slowly lifting his head up from Charlie's, Ron turned around knowing only that he had to know…
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The man flinched at the sound of her voice. Hermione held her breath. But he began to move, turned around and opened his eyes.
The two simply stared at each other, blue eyes on brown, Hermione taking in his face and the face of the man in his arms. Charlie's face…
Ron was alive.
And without a sound, Hermione began to cry.
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(A/N: …and! )