Picking up the Pieces

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. And the character Clarice. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Company.

Chapter 7

Mysterious Truth

Harry awoke late in the morning to find that Hermione was not in bed. He turned over to her pillow and saw a note lying there. He was hoping that she had just written that she went back to get her belongings. He never thought he was about to read that she had left for good.

Harry,

I'm so sorry. I don't regret what happened between us. I'm too much of a coward to face you and tell you the truth. From this moment, I will never look back. I've found my place, and that's what scares me the most. I love you. I've always been in love with you. What I felt last night, was the most wonderful feeling I could have ever felt. Truly from the heart. Please forgive me. Maybe someday we will meet again.

Yours Always,

Mione

As he laid there reading the letter over and over, he couldn't believe it. The one person who he had given everything to had walked out on him for good. His heart shattered into a million pieces. He had to find her. He knew he couldn't live like this. He went to every place that he thought she might be. No luck.

Hogwarts. That's where she has to be. That's the only place that she has ever felt like was home. Headmistress McGonagall will know where she is.

Harry apparated outside of Hogwarts grounds, opened up the gate and quickly sprinted up to the castle. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the phoenix statue. "DCFC!" He yelled while still halfway down the hall. The phoenix began to move, revealing a spiral staircase. His chest was burning, he only had to go a few more steps. "Open." And the headmistresses door swung open. "Headmistress, have you seen Hermione? She was at my place this morning, and now she is gone. She left me a note, I've searched everywhere for her. I don't know where she has gone." Was all he could spit out.

"Mr. Potter, to answer your first question…No, I don't know where she is. Second hand me that note. Maybe I can figure out where she went." She said surprised.

"Do I have to? It's kind of personal." Harry asked reluctant to hand her the note. Harry always felt intimidated by her. He felt like he was a school boy again.

"Potter, if you would like to find her than, yes I suggest you hand it over." She said sternly.

"Can I just read it to you then? I promise that I won't leave anything out." He replied back.

"Mr. Potter I think I can read it for myself." She said while holding out her hand. Harry reluctantly gave her the letter. "Oh. I see something was finally done about you two then. Tell me, what all happened."

Harry bit down hard on his tongue. I really don't want to tell her what happened. She doesn't need to know everything. Bloody Hell!

"Okay. We were doing some shopping for her and Ron's wedding. We went to The Three Broomsticks for lunch. I saw Ron there with another woman. Let alone did she know that Ron had been cheating on her for quite some time. There was a confrontation between the three of us. Which I'm sure you already heard of. She stayed the night at the Leaky Cauldron, went back to get her things the next day and…" Harry trailed off.

"And?" McGonagall looked at him questioningly.

"Well, Ron came home drunk, raped and beat her up pretty badly. I knew something was wrong. So I went over there and found Ron passed out on the bed, and Hermione curled up in the corner. Ron confronted me, and I told him that I would kill him if he didn't lower his wand. He snapped out of what ever state he had been in and allowed her to leave, and never return. Ron had confronted her about being in love with me. Though she denied it all to him, that is how she confessed it to me. Right there." He said while pointing at the letter. "She felt as though she had been a coward. But I don't want her to be scared of what she feels. Well anyways, I took her back to my place and got her cleaned up. I told her that she could have my bed, and that I would sleep in the guest bedroom. She didn't want that. Feeling as uncomfortable as I was already, I crawled into bed with her. We started talking, and I told her that I was in love with her. Well, you can kind of guess what happened then." Harry's face turned beet red. "Then I woke up this morning and found that letter on her pillow."

"So your telling me that what happened between you two was a mistake?" She asked him.

"No! By any means NO!" McGonagall could hear the frustration in Harry's voice. "She has never been one to walk out on anyone. She's always been the strong one. I've always leaned on her for support, especially when I needed it the most. She has been my world. I knew from the get go that she was marrying the wrong man. I just wish that it didn't happen the way it did. She's been through hell the last few weeks, and she finally broke. Headmistress, I wasn't there to protect her when she needed it the most." Harry walked over to the chair and sat down. His once bright emerald eyes were now cold as stone. He would pay. Even if it would be the last breath he would take. He hurt the one person that Harry vowed to protect. As the anger raged through Harry's body, he began to get the one urge he hasn't felt since the fall of Dumbledore. Ron would die. Even if it meant that Harry spent the rest of his living days in Azkaban.

"Harry, this is no means your fault. Hermione couldn't help what happened." McGonagall said softly. "Please Harry, look at me. It wasn't your fault."

"You don't understand. Something that Dumbledore told me in my sixth year before he passed on. He told me that I would have to protect her. She was the other half of the chosen one. Before we were ever reunited here at Hogwarts, the night that my parents died, our souls were torn in two and combined separately. Our journey for the next eight years after Hogwarts would be to find the love that has bound us for eternity. If we don't find it, we will lose eachother forever. Headmistress, We can't let that happen. Everything we've ever fought for will disappear. Our spirits soar together. I don't love her for any of those reasons I just stated above. I love her for the person that she is, and the person that she will become. I don't love her for her looks, I love her for what is genuinely inside. She's the one person who makes me who I am. Do you understand now? We have the next seven years to learn to love eachother completely, and if I don't find her I'll lose her forever." Harry explained while rubbing his hands through his jet black hair.

"Harry, what you're saying is impossible. This hasn't happened since Merlin. How did Dumbledore know?" She looked at him questioningly.