AN: This one-shot was written in honor of the four freshmen at my high school involved in a tragic car accident last weekend. Two died, and two are still in critical condition. Our whole school is mourning for them, and praying for the other two. Please have them in your prayers. I did not know them personally, but felt the sadness and silence in the atmosphere at my school. I just had to vent it out, so I came home and took about an hour to write this.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
The halls were silent. Strangely silent.
Where there once was loud and merry chatter, there now was a solemn quiet, now and then broken by hushed whispers, and choked back sobs.
The day seemed to be reflecting the mood of the students. Dark grey clouds filled the sky, blocking out the sun, while a chill wind blew by.
Ginny Weasley rushed along the empty corridors. She was almost late- almost late for the ceremony. The quiet tap of her shoes along the cold stone floors echoed in the cold hallway. She shivered, pulling her black robes about her, and quickened her pace towards the Great Hall.
If one were looking down from the sky into the Great Hall, they would only see masses of black. For that was the only color that the somber students of Hogwarts were wearing. The color of mourning. All the houses, even the Slytherins, had come together. To mourn.
There was not a single sound in the huge room, and not a single smile. All faces were full of grief, and all eyes were full of tears.
Ginny quickly stepped next to a fellow Gryffindor. "Hello, Neville," she whispered, her voice trembling.
He merely nodded, his face passive. Then he took her in a big hug. "It'll be all right…" he said softly, while she shook with held back tears.
Last night, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had attacked, for the final time. They had been defeated, but with a great cost. Hermione and Ron had been killed at the scene. Harry and Draco were in the hospital wing, in critical condition.
The air was heavy, tense, with the stillness.
Dumbledore rose from his chair, clearing his throat, as all heads turned instantly to him.
"We are here today," he began in his deep voice, "to honor the two students we have lost in the fight against Voldemort, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The two were extraordinary students, as well as extraordinary people. They died for a brave cause, and will always be remembered in our hearts."
He motioned for Professor McGonagall to stand. Wiping some tears from her face, she started speaking in a quivery voice. "Miss Granger was such an intelligent, warm-hearted girl…a little eager at some times," she smiled through her tears. "But she was always so caring, especially towards her friends." She paused to wipe her tears again. "Ronald…oh, where should I begin? He was always a mischief-maker, like his brothers. But he would do anything…I mean anything, for Harry and Hermione. Yes, he was quite stubborn- in the Weasley genes, I suppose- but you could never find a more kind-hearted young man."
She sat down, barely able to control her emotions.
Fred was next with his eulogy. He motioned for George to come with him, but his twin had broken down, and had his hands covering his face.
"Well…I guess I'll just have to do this alone then," he said, trying to crack a smile. "Well…Ron…he was the best little brother in the world. Sure, he was hot-headed and had a temper- he was a redhead, but you had to really know him. He would really do anything to help Harry and his friends. Ron- he always felt like he had something to live up to, I guess us, his brothers. He always felt like he was useless and incompetent-" Fred stopped to brush away his tears. "And…I wish I could tell him now that he wasn't. He died to save all of us, and that is the bravest thing anyone can do…" his voice got hoarse, his hands were trembling. "Thank you."
Ginny breathed in deeply, closing her eyes. Suddenly Neville nudged her.
"What?" she whispered.
"Go up there!" He said, nudging her again.
"What?" she whispered again. "I don't have anything written-"
He gave her a look. "You know what you want to say. Go up there, or you'll regret it later. Go on, Ginny…"
With another push, she stumbled out in the aisle, where she caught Dumbledore's eye. He nodded slowly. Glaring at Neville, she made her way up to the podium. Was he crazy? She knew what she would say- How could you do this to me! How could you leave me! How could you have gone without telling me, without asking for my help! What were you thinking!
She trembled with emotion as she took her place at the podium, and Dumbledore nodded encouragingly again. Ginny looked out over the students. All their solemn eyes were on her. Neville gave her a thumbs-up sign.
Ginny began, taking a deep breath. "First, I just want to have everyone pray for Harry and Draco. They are in the hospital wing right now, and are in critical condition. I want to say that Harry is one of the bravest and most self-sacrificing people I will ever meet. He does everything for everyone else, and nothing for himself. All his life has been miserable, and I just hope this once he will get some happiness. And for Draco, I want you all to know that I was wrong about him. Everyone was. Everyone thought he was a Death Eater, he was on their side. But he wasn't, and I will tell him that, when he gets better."
"Everyone knows what happened last night. How Ron and Hermione sacrificed themselves so Voldemort could be defeated." Ginny slowly started removing her robe. Under it was a plain white t-shirt. In the middle was the letter HeRo, written in gold and red.
"Take the HE from Hermione, and the RO from Ron. That is what Ron and Hermione were. Heroes." Slowly, tears started flowing from her eyes, the first time they had since she had heard the news.
"Ron was the best big brother- well, one of the best," she caught Fred and George's eyes, trying to smile. "He treated me like a little sister…but now I realize that is how guys are. He was overprotective of me, especially about boyfriends, but I know it was for my best. At the time it was annoying…but now I am really starting to miss it…" her voice turned into a tiny whisper, as she gulped a sob. "I will never have him yelling at me again, or annoying me, or scolding me, or…loving me again."
"Hermione was like the big sister I never had. She was so smart, she knew everything, and she would side with me against my brothers. It was nice to have another girl in the house when she visited me. I could confide in her things I wouldn't dare tell my brothers. I remember us giggling at night when we couldn't sleep, just like sisters. I know," Ginny sniffed, "I'll never get used to having her not around. Never."
Ginny gladly took a tissue that Dumbledore held out to her. "I was mad at him, at first…why didn't he tell me? Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it have been me?" she said, her voice calmer. "Now I realize, he wanted me alive. He didn't want me to die with him. At first I wanted to die, just wanted to die. But Ron would want me to live. And if I lived, he could live through me."
She looked up, noticing that many people in the hall were sniffing, sobbing. Ginny bit her lip. "I'm done," she whispered to the headmaster, before rushing off the stage.
"Ginny," Neville called, as she raced past him, out of the Great Hall, and onto the grounds. Ginny ran faster, hair flying loose behind her, feet pattering along the ground, tears flowing freely. In her chest was a constricting feeling, tighter, tighter, until she almost couldn't breathe.
The tears had blinded her eyes, creating a blur, but she didn't care. She didn't care that Neville was chasing her, calling her name. She just wanted to run, run forever. Maybe she could catch Ron, catch him before he died. Faster, faster! Her heart thumped in her chest, harder and harder.
Ginny could almost see Ron and Hermione, in the distance. Was she imagining things? Probably. But she didn't care about that either. Quickening her pace, she sped after them, mouth salty from tears.
"Ron, Hermione!" she tried to gasp, but her throat was tight, it was closing. Almost there, almost there! She could almost reach them. I'm here! Turn around, turn around!
For a second, the figure- the hallucination? did turn for one second. Did he wave at her? Ginny wondered- she couldn't tell from the tears blurring her vision.
All of a sudden her foot caught a root, and she flew into the air, hitting the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her. No!
Her blood mixed with tears as they flowed down her dirty face. No! NO! Big brother!
She felt a warm hand on her arm. Ron? It felt like him. The arms pulled her into a hug, a warm, comforting hug. Ginny clung tight, as if she was falling. Her blurry vision made out a brotherly face. "Ron," she said quietly, sinking into the hug, closing her eyes.
Neville felt his heart breaking as he held the sobbing girl.
Harry and Draco did get better, eventually. Life almost got back to normal in Hogwarts. Almost. Laughter, noise, warmth, and musiccame back to the silent school. But it wasn't the same. For no life could be normal with Hermione and Ron. They were the heroes, the real heroes. They shall rest in peace, and they will be in everyone's hearts, and memories, forever.
AN (again): The HeRo thing was real. People really wore shirts that said that. Um, some people didn't really get that part. See, the boy's name was Robert, and the girl's name was Heather. So if you take the He from heather and the Ro from Robert, then you can make the word Hero. So that wasn't my idea. It just happened to work with Ron and Hermione's names. Sorry about any spelling or grammar errors. Spell check isn't working for me. So…did you like it? Find it weird? Have any questions? Please review!