Author's Notes: After my last oneshot, "Masks", I wanted to try my hand at something more… angstier? Is that a word? Probably not but here's the oneshot nonetheless! Also, before it confuses you, there's some inner dialogue that will be expressed through the italic form. And no, this does not have a happy ending.
This is part of my one of two dark oneshots.
A Thin Line
It was a beautiful day.
A bright sun illuminated the blue sky and warmed the earth beneath it. The chirping of birds along with the buzzing of insects resumed when moments ago everything was deathly still. There was even a soft breeze that cooled the sun's strong rays, the warmth permeating through her clothes.
It was just a beautiful day.
Somewhere, a child was being born. Somewhere, a couple must have married. Somewhere, lovers embraced one another.
Hermione could easily imagine those happening, after all, it's a beautiful day and why shouldn't it? Moments like those always happen on a beautiful day just like today. But she could not allow herself to admire the natural beauty for the sight before her penetrated her thoughts again. Like an open wound, she was forced to tend to it.
Six feet from where she stood laid Harry's body and not far from his was Voldemort's former self.
Harry's body was scorched, his glasses strewn near his head. His open hands laid face-up and his broken wand nearby. The distinguished mark that marked him was scorched with crimson blood. His emerald green eyes were lifeless and stared up into the sky. Her nose caught the whiff of burning hair and she gagged as she instantly covered her lower face with both hands.
'They call it an implosion, an implosion of what? Magic?'
Both were powerful wizards in their respective ways yet one power easily overshadowed the other. One forged his own path, while the other through the connection that was made. They might as well have fought with their reflections.
It was an implosion.
'It is rare; I'm seeing something rare…'
"Hermione."
'The two must have used the same spell, but neither was stupid enough to take it.'
Hermione dropped down onto her knees, her sight not leaving Harry's dead form.
'There was a name for it…..'
Her fingers attempted to dig into the hard soil, could sense the dirt moving under her nails.
'I should have told Harry about it. Didn't he tell me that something similar happened back in the cemetery in our Fourth year?'
A metallic taste filled her mouth; her teeth had bitten through the thin layer of her bottom lip but she didn't care.
Couldn't care.
"Hermione!"
'That smell… it's not the burning flesh of an animal.'
A pair of hands took hold of her shoulders, but she shrugged them off.
"Let's go."
'Ron, why didn't you do something?'
The same pair of hands firmly set themselves on her shoulder before she was enveloped in a hug, unaware that the person behind her was trying his best to pull her away from the sight before her. She grunted as she struggled against his grip. "Let me go," she uttered as she took hold of the arms of the boy behind her, her dirty fingers digging into them.
"Hermione, please!"
'Why didn't you do something?'
"Someone, help me!" He yelled.
Hermione twisted herself around to face her captor, scratching at him as she tried to pull away from his grasp. Her face contorting with anger as she repeated those same words:
"Why didn't you do something, Ron? Why didn't you do something, Ron? Why didn't you do something?"
The frantic red-haired young man tried to pin her arms next to her moving form but her strength was unprecedented and he didn't dare overpower her unless he wanted to hurt her.
"Ron!'
Taking the opportunity of him turning away, Hermione quickly slipped from his grip and crawled towards Harry's body. She grasped onto Harry's arm expecting him to move but groaned as she felt the still-warm body.
'I'm here Harry… I'm not late. You know I had to go tell them Harry; I could not let you go without notifying them.'
Her hand gingerly touched his chin, her fingers trembled towards his lips. They were parted and she could see the whiteness of his teeth. The red crimson color that trailed from the corners of his mouth drew her attention and she gingerly wiped it away with her fingers.
'They'll be here Harry; I can hear them coming.'
She felt a pair of strong arms taking hold of her as they picked her up from the ground. This time she didn't bother pulling herself away just as long as she could still see Harry's face.
'No, no… that's not it. It's our fault… It's my fault for letting you go alone.'
"Hermione, please, child!"
"Cover the body for chrissake!"
"It's my fault," she whispered to herself as she stared at the covered body.
"Hermione?" a dark-haired man came into her view, his dark eyes staring into her own.
Hermione stared back but her mind drifted back to Harry's burnt flesh. His scar burned away with a trail of blood left behind. She instantly closed her eyes, wincing as she recalled the details of his dead body back into her mind. Burned flesh, open wounds, blood…
"It's my fault, my fault… I shouldn't have left him," she whispered more to herself than to anyone as she slumped down onto her knees. Her shoulders hunched forward, her chin pressed against her chest.
"She must be taken to St. Mungo's."
"Look at her face; she's not–"
"Why are you bloody standing there?! Do SOMETHING!" was the last thing Hermione heard before she dropped herself from the outer world and cocooned herself into her own.
'Why… why couldn't you have waited?'
Fin
