A/n: this IS what happened before the last chappie…

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter…

000

We were nearing Voldemort. I can feel it. My scar was throbbing.

Sirius, Luna, Neville, and Ginny were left behind, dueling with some death eaters.

Beside me was Ron and Hermione, both afraid…just like me.

We were stopped by Lucius Malfoy.

"Avada-"

"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted from behind me and Lucius was sent flying to the wall. He stuggled to get up.

"Looks like you escaped from your Azkaban tower, Rapunzel!" Ron shouted tauntingly.

"Go Harry! Kill voldemort!" Hermione ordered me.

"But I can't just leave you here!" I cried.

"You can and you will! Now, go!" She cast more spells at Lucius and he blocked almost all of them with a counter spell. "Me and Ron can handle him!"

"But-"

"GO! JUST GO! We'll be okay!" Hermione said, though she felt extremely uncertain.

"Bloody Hell, Harry…JUST GO!" Ron screamed.

"I CAN'T LOSE YOU GUYS!" I said. "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"

"You won't! Just go!" Hermione shouted frantically. She grabbed me by the collar and pulled me to a soft kiss. "I love you…" She whispered.

"I love you too…" I whispered.

"Go, Harry! You have no time to lose!" Ron shouted now. He didn't seem to notice what had just happened.

"I PROMISE I'LL COME BACK!" Harry shouted…running toward the entrance of the graveyard.

"Alive or Dead…" I whispered.

000

I woke up on the Hospital wing, wrapped in bandages. I looked around to see everyone; I saw Neville, with his leg in a cast; Ginny, with both her arms in bandages; Sirius, with a neck brace; and Ron, with just a neck brace and a leg cast, walking toward me.

"How you doin' mate?" he asked me, with something stuck in his throat.

"Okay…except for the scars, of course." I answered with a smile, though he didn't seem to smile back.

Sirius walked over to where I was lying.

"I have good news, Harry," he said. "Dumbledore explained everything to the ministry…I'm free."

"Sirius, That's great!" I smiled.

"Though…uhm…" Ron's eyes started to tear up. "Something…hck…happened…back there…" he sniffed.

"Harry, I'm terribly sorry." Sirius said.

I looked around to see that Hermione wasn't anywhere in sight. Though, beside Ron's bed was another bed, but it was covered in a white curtain, that Madam Pomfrey puts to give the patients some privacy.

"Where is Hermione?" I asked, afraid to know the answer.

"Harry, Hermione is over there." Sirius pointed to the covered bed, and signaled for Ron to go and clam down.

"Is she…" I panicked.

"No, Harry…she's alive. But she can't move her body anymore. She won't be able to go back to school, so they're sending her back to her muggle family first thing tomorrow. Her body aches, I assume, but she can't do anything about it. She can only talk, …and move her eyes. She can barely even breathe." Sirius looked at the covered bed.

"WHAT? ISN'T THERE A SPELL THAT CAN HELP HER? ANY MEDICATION? I CAN PAY FOR IT WITH THE MONEY I INHERITED!"

"Clam down, Harry. There is no cure." Sirius said. "Her life may be a living hell."

I cried my eyes out. Hoping I can do something for her.

000

The day turned to night and Hermione was to be sent home tomorrow.

I grabbed my crutches and made my way to her bed.

I pulled open the curtain and it revealed a beautiful girl, lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. There were numerous wires all over her body, and scars around her stomach and arms. Her face was tearstained, but she was still beautiful.

"You came back." She whispered.

"Yeah. I did promise I would come back." I replied.

There was a minute of silence between them. I could not bare to see my tortured friend, or maybe she was even more than a friend. I felt…responsible for this.

"Harry…do you really love me?" she asked me, looking deeply into my eyes.

"Yes." I replied, holding her hand.

"I need you to kill me." She said.

"WHAT!" Harry shouted.

"Shh…I need you to kill me." She struggled to push out the words form her mouth.

"HERM…Hermione, why would I kill you?"

"Because my life is now a living hell." Tears started to run down her cheeks. "Harry, if you really love me, you would kill me right now. Do you really want to see me like this?"

"No. But I don't want to see you dead either."

"Harry, being like this, I'm better off dead."

"No, Hermione. Don't say that."

"Harry, you know me…I know what I'm saying. I think about my words. Read my lips, Harry. I- Want- to- die."

There was another moment of silence between them…yet it seemed like an eternity. They could only hear the soud of Ron's snores, and Neville mumbling something about bunny rabbits.

"What do you want me to do?" I can not believe I'm saying this. First, I got her into this mess…now I'm killing her. What a good friend I am.

"Harry, don't you dare feel guilty about what you are doing." Hermione said, as if she were reading my mind.

I thought for a second, to breathe in some air.

"Okay. What do you want me to do?"

"Cut out my oxygen…remove the wire from the pumper." She said, her eyes filling with tears.

I put a tight grip on the wire, closed my eyes…and pulled the wire. The mechanism suddenly stopped…and Hermione managed to whisper a thank you to me.

She closed her eyes…not even trying to gasp for air.

Her heartbeat stopped. She died.

000

"ALBUS! She has passed away…" Madam Pomfrey cried, motioning to Hermione's bed.

"What has happened?"

Madam Pomfrey explained the scene.

"It looks like someone has a grudge against our Ms. Granger. A very big grudge…enough to kill her."

"Or maybe Ms. Granger just has a very good friend. Don't worry about telling Potter…he can take it. Worry about telling Weasley." Dumbledore said.

"But I was told that Mr. Potter fancies Ms. Granger…that was what I have heard from Ms. Parvati Patil."

"Trust me…Harry can take it." Dumbledore said. I could feel his eyes upon me.

I heard the entire conversation. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep, not wanting to be reminded of Hermione's death…or murder.

I can hear Ron's curses…more frantic than his reaction when Hermione was just paralyzed.

I decided to get up…heard the news from Madam Pomfrey…had no reaction.

I'm better off dead.

000

AUTHOR'S NOTE: hope you liked that one. Review please!