2. Hermione
She thinks of him all the time.
And it's just not fair that she can't be with him. Well she can, and he'd be more than willing, but she can't, not when there's a war going on.
Not when their best friend is in the middle of it. He needs them right now, and they can't be off concentrating on other things, less important things.
Not that they aren't important, but they can wait. Wars don't. Wars wait for no one.
She knows this, she's seen what's happened so far, and how powerful it is. It killed one of the greatest wizards of all time. And if it can do that, who knows what it will do next?
And she worries. All the time. She tells him this, and he tells her not to. It's not time to worry yet, everyone is still here and well and alive. He says to enjoy life while you can.
So she does, for a little while. That is, until the worry slowly creeps back into her, sneaking up quietly behind her, waiting for just the right moment to strike. And it reminds her that not everyone is well and not everyone is here and not everyone is alive. They can't be, not when there's a war going on.
And it's hard to enjoy life when there's a war going on, and after the year she's had, she hardly believes that she can. This was the year she nearly lost him.
She thought things had been going well, after all, they were going to go to Slughorn's Christmas party together. Were, as in, they were going to, but didn't. Because she happened.
She, as in She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, wanted him all to herself. And she got him. Of course, it's not as if anyone made him do it, he went willingly, and that was what hurt the most, especially counting the fact that they actually had a date planned.
When she first saw them it hurt. Bad. Like she had been stabbed in the heart over and over by Cupid's worst enemy, vowing to get revenge. And it hurt even worse when he came with her into that empty classroom she was in, where she had come to try to make sense of things. That was when she lost it. All of her fury and rage and disappointment and heartbrokenness came out of her. She sent those blasted birds at him.
She remembers when she first told her mum about Viktor Krum. She wrote to her about how polite he was and how considerate he was and what a gentleman he was and how she was so excited that he had asked her to go to the Yule Ball with him. She remembers how she hardly believed it. That a boy, no a man, could actually be interested in her. She had thought he was perfect.
Her mother had written back to her saying how happy she was that her daughter had her first boyfriend, and that he sounded perfect. But her mother had also given her some advice: Before you get in too deep with Victor, you must remember that you are only fifteen, and that love makes people do crazy things, so please dear, be careful.
She had known, of course, that she wasn't in love with Viktor. Besides, she had figured, even if she was, she was a sane person, and she wouldn't do anything stupid or crazy just for a boy. She would never stoop so low as to do that.
How wrong she was.
"Oppugno!"
And just like that, the 'She wouldn't do anything stupid or crazy just for a boy' went out the window.
And she knew that her mother was right, she's always right, as all mothers are about their children. And she knew that she would never do such a thing to Viktor. She reserves the stupid and crazy things only for the one that she loves.
But it didn't end there. She refused to talk to him for months. She told herself that it was the right thing to do, he deserved it. And if he didn't apologize, then he simply wasn't worth it.
But it killed her, and for many nights she cried herself to sleep with his face smiling that that smile he only used for her in her mind. Her days were lonely and filled mostly with classes and schoolwork and books, and books are no good when you can't concentrate on them because your mind is elsewhere.
Of course she had her other best friend, or really, he was just her best friend, she had no other. And she had fun with him and loved him like a brother, but he was always off with the headmaster and dealing with being 'The Chosen One' and toying around with that nonsensical potions book of his. She did feel guilty about making him have to bridge that gap between her and him. He would have to sit between them in classes and choose one over the other when she wasn't around. She knew all he asked of them was that they become the trio again.
She missed him. She missed his sense of humor, he always made her laugh. She didn't laugh much then. Especially when it happened.
He almost died. He almost died without saying goodbye.
That was when she knew it had to end. All of it. All of the pretending she didn't care and that she didn't love him when it was constantly on her mind. She had to fix it, she couldn't let things end like that. He couldn't leave without knowing that she would miss him.
So after standing outside the hospital wing for twenty minutes in a fierce battle against her wits, she walked straight in and told him that she was sorry and that she didn't mean anything about the birds and that all she wanted was for them to be friends again. And he said that he was sorry too, and he wanted her to know that when he drank the poison and he saw his life flash before his eyes, that she was in it far more than she was, and ever will be. He said all he wanted was for them to be friends again too.
And so they are.
But it is hard for her to 'just be friends' when she wants so much more, especially when there's a war going on.
But she knows they can't be, not now, not after their other best friend broke up with the girl he loves for the stupid war that's going on.
They are going to have to fight it, and it'll be hard, but that's just what fighting is. Especially when the opponent can't be beaten. Love. And in their case, it'll be strong, and they'll have to resist it. For now.
For now they'll just have to wait.