****Well the time has come. This is the end of the story. I'm so sad to end it, but I know that I'll have a new story up in no time. Thank you all so, so much for the follows, favourites and reviews, every one of them has truly made an impact. I appreciate every word you have read and ask you to please check in for future stories! I really hope you have enjoyed it thus far, please leave a big ol' review full of feedback. Thanks again, write again soon. Xx****

The tips of my fingers caressed the coarse, cool stone. Each tiny indent, every bump and crack drove a spike through my chest. I couldn't feel the droplets of saltwater crawling down my cheek, all my awareness was focused on this slab of stone, stuffed roughly into the lush grass. I knelt before the headstone and traced the letters of her name.

Hermione Granger;

She will forever be remembered as a hero of Wizarding history.

The sweet smell of flowers graced my nostrils and I frowned in disgust. Flowers, the epitome of beauty, should not have to endure my presence. My loathsome, repulsive self. Yet here I was inflicting myself upon them. White, red, yellow, pink, all colours imaginable, surrounded her.

My shoulders shook and my chest heaved. I chased the oxygen into my lungs, but it was hard to catch. My hand dropped away from the stone.

It should be me. My name carved. My body buried.

A low moan escaped my lips. I wanted to scream, scream until my throat burned and my voice was gone. I wanted to die, to let go of the pain that bound me to this wretched stone. A release from this anguish. I fought for breath.

You don't deserve to escape. You deserve to suffer.

Leaning against the headstone, I drew my knees up to my face, propping my chin and wrapping my arms around my shins, rocking gently.

Why did she follow me? Why did she care?

These questions had haunted me for countless hours. Every breath was a breath undeserved.

She followed me and she died. I killed her. She's dead because of me.

Sleep was no release. Nightmare upon nightmare of Hermione's death possessed my mind, I woke in a cold sweat, tears wetting my face. Even the happy memories; our first date, first kiss, her skin against mine, were tainted by her death. I couldn't bear to think of her but I would never let myself forget.

How could I ever forget?

Her untamed hair, her smooth skin, her dancing eyes, her lips, her love, her passion, her everything. All that made her, all that was her, was imprinted so deeply into my mind I knew no memory spell could ever remove them. I wanted to experience her again. I needed to feel her touch, to hear her voice, smell her scent, to simply revel in her presence, one last time.

Just once more. Once.

But she would never be again, and there was no one left for me. No one left to love.

No mother, no Hermione. They were lost, and I was too.

I needed to say goodbye. I needed to show her some sign that I had been loved and felt love.

I pulled my wand from my robes and pointed it at the cool, unfeeling stone. A small hole carved itself into the rock and I placed a delicate gold band, embedded with a sparkling gem, into the opening.

I had bought the ring the day before I had asked Hermione for her future hand. The day everything changed. The day my world lost hope.

Waving my wand, I sealed the ring into the stone and ran my fingers over the abrasive surface.

Goodbye, Hermione.

My tears splashed onto the dirt, absorbed instantly by the dehydrated soil.