All the Stories Are True / Dramione

Chapter 5

Waking up the next morning feels a bit like a dream.

I didn't get any answers out of Pansy last night after she claimed a migraine and practically locked herself in her room.

I took the quiet time alone to start unpacking and making the space around me a little more like home before falling asleep as soon as I pulled the covers over me.

Sitting up in bed I can spot the picture frame on my bedside table of me and my parents in front of the Christmas tree the December before they left for Australia. Suddenly, I know what I need to do today.

If only I can manage to get out of the house before Pansy wakes.

After parking and getting out of the car I find myself on a trail that has haunted my dreams for longer than I'd like to admit. The first hint of fall can be seen as leaves are shaken from the trees around me and left to scatter throughout the grass.

Looking down at the flowers I picked out on the way over here I start to feel some butterflies wreaking havoc in my belly.

Who thought I would be this nervous to visit a cemetery.

As I walk, I pass different rows and alcoves made of shrubs and metal arches. Benches covered in moss. Spanish moss hanging from all of the trees.

When I was younger I used to think it was so magical when I would sneak a glance into the cemetery as we passed it. Taking this walk right now has it feeling a bit more ominous.

As I approach my destination I slow to almost a crawl as I spot the hunk of stone sitting in the only patch of muted sunlight to be found.

"Sorry I haven't been back before now." I whisper. Placing the flowers in front of the headstone before taking a step back.

"I thought about making the drive to come and visit so many times but just couldn't work up the courage to do it." I laugh softly as I say it, playing with my fingers.

I cross my arms across my stomach, fighting off the nausea that has just appeared. Looking around, I see the iron bench that Minnie and the rest of the library staff had donated right after the funeral. Taking a seat, I force myself to look at the names and phrase engraved on the stone.

Wendell and Monica Granger

To Whatever End

To whatever end. Well I know what end met them. A drunk driver on his way home from the bar caused me to become an orphan at 19. That's the end.

Only a month before they were due back home.

I've never allowed myself to feel anger over their deaths. I've never allowed myself to feel much of anything when it comes to their deaths actually. Getting the phone call about their accident was truly the beginning of the worst time in my life and I prefer to ignore it all and look forward.

It's worked well for me so far.

"You guys always taught me to be strong and independent but I think this may be taking the lesson just a bit too far don't you think?" I ask, wiping away a stray tear as it slides down my cheek.

I sit for the next half hour and tell my parents everything that they've missed out on since they left for the airport early that Saturday morning. Research projects, promotions, even Ron. I talked until I couldn't think of anything else to say and my voice was scratchy.

As I sit in the silence between me and the headstone in front of me, a rustle of leaves behind me catches my attention.

It wasn't until right now that Draco's 'Don't go anywhere alone' conversation comes back to me. Checking my pocket I realize that in my hustle to get out of the house this morning, I left my phone on the charger on my bed. Fuck. Pansy is going to be so mad if this is how I die.