Without You

Her Ending

"I'll go with you."

The words were out of her mouth before she could attempt to stop them, not that she wanted to stop them anyway. Truthfully, she had suspected the truth for a while but she dearly wished it wouldn't be so. When he stepped down from the Headmaster's office and she saw him again, she knew it was over. She knew his ending was near but it felt like her own ending was coming as well. She couldn't allow him to face his death without her but he told her to kill the snake and left them after a long hug. She watched his frame disappear out of sight, feeling like a part of her soul was being forcefully ripped from her with each of his heavy steps.

Ron and her were alone now. There was no Harry anymore and after the events in the Forbidden Forest, there would never be a Harry again. Somehow, even with Ron right next to her, she felt hopelessly alone. Everything in her body was telling her to chase after him, to be with him in his—their—final moments but, by some unfortunate miracle, she managed to hold herself back.

An eternity passed as her eyes kept themselves glued to the castle's entrance, desperately hoping that he had changed his mind and was committed to find another way. She knew her hopes were irrational and that they were impossible to be granted but she kept them close to her heart regardless.

"Herm-Hermione, we need to talk." Ron's voice drew her from her sorrowful thoughts and she was grateful to him before the gratefulness changed to slight confusion when she turned to look at him. His face was serious, which wasn't at all surprising, but his eyes were filled with resignation.

"Why did you say that?"

She knew what 'that' was but she couldn't, for the life of her, understand why Ron was asking her why she said it. Did he not know that Harry was going to die? Did he not understand that she had to be with him?

"Do you even understand what you just said?"

She felt affronted when he asked her that. Of course she understood the weight of her words and what they implied. She meant all of it, down to the letter.

"Do you even love me?"

Her affronted look transformed into perplexity in the blink of an eye. She couldn't believe that he was asking her this, that he chose this moment to try to make her feelings clear for him. Surely he must have understood that Harry, their best friend, was on his way to his death. Her anger knew no bounds and she shot him a hard look for even daring to bring up a topic such as that.

"How could you even think of that right now? YOUR BEST FRIEND IS GOING TO DIE." She was breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring in barely contained rage at the decided lack of concern Ron showed towards the man that gave them so much.

"AND YOU WERE WILLING TO DIE WITH HIM THAN SPEND ANOTHER MOMENT LIVING WITH ME."

Ron's yells were always far louder and more aggressive than anyone's she knew but that wasn't the reason she recoiled back in shock. His words were clear and they quickly imprinted themselves in her mind and heart, playing themselves on repeat as she tried to parse their meaning.

"How do you think I'm supposed to feel about that? How am I supposed to feel about the fact that the woman I love would rather die with him than live with me?"

His words lashed at her like hot chains and she nearly crumbled to her knees in torturous anguish when they branded her. She searched her mind for any answer to him but found none. She could feel Ron slipping away from her with each passing second and she tried to hold onto him, tried to hold onto his security. If he left, then she would have no one.

"I do love you, Ron," Hermione whimpered before an unexpected feeling hit her. She knew that feeling, it was the feeling she got when she told a lie. She was lying to Ron, she was lying to herself.