Disclaimer: HP not mine!

"Hermione… Hermione what happened?"

Hermione looked up at Harry through tear stained eyes.

"They're taking him off the potions."

Harry's shoulders sagged. "Hermione no… You said you wouldn't!"

"He's in pain, Harry."

"SO! You just killed him!" Harry bellowed.

Hermione stood up, glaring at him. "Do you think I wanted this to happen?! I love him too, Harry!"

"This isn't about you, Hermione!"

"You're right. This isn't. It's about Ron and right now…"

"Hermione… you don't have to kill him…"

"Letting him live would be worse… he should have been awake by now… Could you really have let him just lie there, completely aware of everything but unable to do anything about it. In pain."

"He's in pain now!"

Hermione looked away. "I… Ron deserves peace… He deserves to be released from everything I put him through," she whispered.

"But killing him…"

Hermione looked up at Harry and the look in her eyes completely broke him. She looked lost… helpless…

"Is that what I'm doing? Killing him?" she asked in such a quiet voice Harry had to strain to hear her. She continued to stare at him. "Then I'm responsible… just like I'm responsible for my disappearance and for abandoning Aphrodite… I'm the reason he's dying now… It's been my fault the whole time," she whispered, her eyes blank and staring.

Harry shook his head. "No… no, it's Malfoy's fault not yours, Hermione," he said, kneeling down in front of her and taking her hands. "None of this is your fault."

"Mrs. Weasley…"

The two looked up to see a healer standing there. "Would you like to say goodbye?" the man asked softly.

"NO! Hermione don't you dare do this!"

They all turned to see the whole Weasley family running down the corridor, headed by Molly Weasley herself. The woman marched right up to Hermione and glared at her.

"How dare you! You have no right to end this!"

Hermione glared back, wiping away the tears and standing up. "I have every right to do this," she snapped.

"Ron deserves to live!"

"And wake up not being able to speak?!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Mrs. Weasley screamed.

"I know that the chances of him waking up are one in a million!"

"It's happened before!"

"Sure, but that doesn't mean he'll be normal!"

"So that's it! If he's not normal you're just going to kill him!"

"That's not what I meant!" Hermione retorted.

"If I remember correctly, you're not that normal either for a muggleborn!"

Some people gasped at Mrs. Weasley's comment, surprised that she would say something to bold.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Hermione screeched, her heart constricting painfully at the hurtful words. "Ron's in pain! He's in severe pain! I can't live with that!"

"So you're just going to kill him painfully!" Mrs. Weasley accused venomously.

"You don't understand what he's going through! What I'm going through!"

"What about us, Hermione?! We're his family! We deserve a say!"

Mr. Weasley glanced between the two and raised his hand.

"May I say something?"

"NO!" the two women screamed, glaring at each other hatefully.

"You have no right to take him off those potions!" Mrs. Weasley continued.

"He's a vegetable! He's not going to wake up!"

"Why are you so convinced that he won't wake up? You act as if you don't want him to wake up! Like you want him to die!"

"HE WANTS TO DIE!"

"A true wife wouldn't do that to her husband! If she loved him she'd let him LIVE!"

In that moment, Hermione cracked. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor sobbing. She could not take it any more. The pressure. The pain. She wanted to disappear again. She wanted to go away and forget it all and never return. Grabbing her wand she disapparated before anyone could say anything.

Appearing in the Burrow, she stumbled up the stairs and into Ron's old room, slamming the door behind her and locking it before going to the closet and pulling out boxes. She found the one she was looking for. Pulling out the old albums she sat down on the floor and opened them, wiping her eyes and sniffling as she flipped through. Letting out a sob, she threw the album at the wall and staggered over to the bed, falling down upon it and curling up, pulling the pillow to her. Breathing in deeply, she could smell the faint cinnamon scent and she cried harder, praying to God that Ron would some how come back to her.

Hermione looked up as Harry entered the room, glancing around to see the discarded albums. She wiped away some more tears and looked out the window.

"I'm assuming he's still resting in pain," she whispered.

"Hermione… what she said-"

"Don't Harry… she had every right to say those things… she's probably right…"

Harry went over to her. "That's not true, Hermione. You love Ron."

"I was just about to let him die," she countered.

"That doesn't mean you don't love him."

"Then what does it mean?" Hermione asked. "What does it mean, Harry?"

"I… I don't know…"

Hermione looked down at her hands, biting her lip. "What if he never wakes up, Harry? What if he just stays like that? Alive… listening… but not able to respond… What type of an existence is that?" she asked.

Harry sat down on the bed beside her, looking out the window as well. "I guess there are worse things than death," he whispered.

Hermione looked over at Harry. "Death doesn't have to be that bad… Some people get to go to heaven…"

Harry looked at her. "Some people?"

Hermione nodded. "Not everyone goes to heaven, Harry," she whispered.

"How do you get to heaven?"

"You have to believe," she whispered.

"Do you?"

Hermione remained silent for a long time. Before her eyes flashed a life that had crashed down on her so fast. Was there still something left to believe in?

"I don't know anymore," she answered softly.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

A/N: I am sooo sorry about this! I was planning on updating earlier but the stupid thing wouldn't let me upload my files so I had to wait! I'm really sorry about making you all wait for so long.

JustAnotherReader: I'm really glad you like it!

OzDust: It's a sad cycle of events...

laura truewood: I like happy endings also, but if you read most of my stories, the prequels for some, you can see that I don't like writing happy endings.

Ashsmee: Well, Ashy, I hope that verse gives you some encouragement. It helps me get through many obstacles in my life.

Mandy: I believe someone said that patience is a virtue!

cellogirl: Sorry it took so long.

xXxRon HermionexXx: In times like these I say, "Keep a stiff upper lip and never say die!!"

Cynthia Cacciola: His daughters? He's spent some time with them already. I'm rooting for the Ron/Hermione thing!

sballLuvr5: I'm not normal and neither are my stories.

charma10: See, you and I would get along very well. You believe that people have to die eventually, but you go through it logically. There has to be an explanation and it cant be the cause of a loved one.

MR4EVA: Well, Mr. 4EVA, no one lives 4 eva!

Chapter Tease: (Because I haven't updated in a long time!)

Hermione kneeled down in front of the grave, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry..."