Disclaimer- Am I JK Rowling? Let me check⦠Nope. So I guess I still don't own Ron or anything else. Pity.
January 2nd
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"Come on Ron! We need to collect the herbs before sunrise, or they won't work!."
"Blimey 'Mione, why'd I have to come? Couldn't you have brought Harry or Neville or someone?"
Hermione and Ron trudged through the bleak Forbidden Forest, just before dawn on January second. Ron, having been dragged out of bed and threatened with the jaws of life, agreed to come with his girlfriends to gather herbs for a particularly difficult potion.
"Please Ron! It's only a little further!" Hermione berated herself for her lack of judgment. Surely Ron would soon realize that there was no Leaf of Mortmost, and if there were, it certainly wasn't used in potions. Of course, this was Ron. It would be hours before he caught on that this was no ingredient hunt. If he ever caught on that is. Regardless, the task at hand should be accomplished swiftly before they aroused suspicion from anyone still in the castle.
Hermione glanced over into the thicket beyond the clearing and a small smile played on her lips as she spied a dash of black against the glistening of the morning snow.
"Ron, I need to go use the loo. Can you wait here a minute?"
Grumble. "Fine I'll just wait here."
Ron stood in the clearing, completely oblivious to his surroundings, as Hermione hastened into the thicket to meet a certain dark clad figure.
"Malfoy."
"Granger."
After a slight pause, the blonde boy smirked and pulled the girl into a kiss. She reluctantly pulled away, giving a small nod to the redhead standing in the clearing. He was gawking at something. For a brief moment, Draco was afraid they had been spotted, but then he realized what the boy was staring at. A stag peered out from behind a tree, some thirty of so meters away.
Malfoy rolled his eyes, amazed at how some are so easily amused. Turning his attention back to the girl in front of him, Malfoy wondered what she had ever seen in Ron. Maybe she was drawn to his innocence. Yes, some girls liked a boy who hadn't been with many girls. It probably made them feel important, to be their first. Or maybe she was upset that she didn't have a chance with Harry, so to spite him she went out with his best friend. No matter, she admitted her one time infatuation with him was over, and she was now completely devoted to her future husband.
Yes. Future husband. Who knew the Gryffindor know-it-all was so capable of leading a double life? She had simultaneously been wooed (with varying success) by Misters Malfoy and Weasley. In the end, Mr. Malfoy had captured her heart.
The only problem was what to do with Mr. Weasley. He never caught on that Hermione was dating another person, and it would cause a scandal if he even did. Therefore, it was decided that Ron must die.
"You got the bow?"
Malfoy didn't reply, but held up a perfectly crafted, well used crossbow. The arrow, made of ice, was specially charmed to stay frozen until the heart was pierced, then to melt, leaving no trace of malice.
Ron was still standing in the clearing, looking as clueless as even, when the blonde boy stepped out from behind a tree.
"Hello Weasel. I don't believe I ever wished you a Happy New Year." The arrow whirled through the air toward Ron at an alarmingly rapid pace, but for Hermione it seemed to happen in slow motion. Out of the bow, a flash of fear in Ron's eyes. Into the thicket, a brief moment of eye contact, betrayal, hurt, and more fear. Closer and closer, surprise and loneliness. Into his chest, no more emotion.
Ron's light blue eyes went dead.
Now, Hermione wasn't completely heartless, she turned away from the corpse, leaning into Draco's chest. She had made her choice. There is never any knowing whether a choice is the right one, and Hermione was already feeling the pangs of doubt.
In the east the sun rose. It peered over the grounds of Hogwarts. It half an hour, Hermione Granger would run, sobbing and panting, clutching her boyfriend's dead body, into the hospital wing. She would tell Madame Pomfrey the lie that she had rehearsed for months. Just before dawn, she had gone into the Forbidden Forest to gather herbs, bringing Ron with her, and he had been attacked by a centaur.
Tensions between the centaurs and the wizarding community were high, and the tale would likely be believed. Furthermore, why would the Head Girl admit to being in the Forbidden Forest, knowing it was off limits, if she wasn't actually there? Detention would be served, profuse apologies would be made, tears would be shed, but in the end forgiveness would be granted.
Of course, the engagement would be postponed. Hermione would become a robot, feeling nothing for years, to gain pity. Then, and a savior, a knight in shinning armor, Draco Malfoy would appear. He would take Hermione out of her grief, and no one would even care that her had fought for the Dark Side in the final battle. No one would care about the mark burned into the flesh, just as no one would care who his father was, or where he planned to live with Hermione once they where married. All that would matter was 'Mione's happiness.
Yes, the plan was flawless. Draco would leave now, so as to be in bed when Hermione returned to the castle. With a final kiss good-bye, he turned and strolled back to the school.
With a sigh, Hermione began her charm work. The blood was cleaned up, using a simple evanesco spell, and bruises were planted on his body, as evidence of a struggle.
Looking down at the face of her former friend, a thought came into Hermione's head.
Nothing is free. Even love has a cost.
How true that was.
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