"One Last Breath" is copyright it's authors and is performed by the band Creed. It is a very good song and if you haven't heard it, I suggest you do. Ok, all the usual things. All characters and settings, save the ones you don't recognize, are copyright J.K. Rowling. This story contains both straight and slash situations and insinuated suicidal thoughts. Ok, I think that's all… on with the story.

One Last Breath

He sat, staring off into the darkening sky. He wondered to himself how exactly he had gotten where he was right now. He had always been so strong, so brave. The rock everyone depended on, especially his friends. So why, exactly, was it that he was now sitting on the ledge outside the Astronomy Tower, contemplating what he was going to do next.

Please come now,

I think I'm falling.

I'm holding to all I think is safe.

It seems I've found a road to nowhere,

And I'm trying to escape.

I yelled back when I heard thunder,

But, now I'm down to one last breath,

And with it let me say,

Let me say…

It was only sixth year, and he had survived so far, but he wasn't sure if he would make it to seventh. He had lost everything. Everything he had held so dear and considered a safety net was gone now. No matter how hard he tried to hold on, it was all slowly beginning to slip away, he was starting to slip away. He didn't know himself anymore. Was he still the same person he was yesterday? Or had he changed over night, the way everything seems to change?

Scared and lonely tears began to fall from his eyes, like crystal raindrops from an emerald sky, and he longed to have a shoulder to cry on. He had no shoulder anymore, no loving arms to hold him, and no soothing voice to tell him it all would be alright. The only person he had to hold him was himself, and he slowly pulled his knees tight against his chest as slender arms came to hug them tightly.

Hold me now,

I'm six feet from the edge,

And I'm thinking,

Maybe six feet,

Ain't so far down…

Ever so slowly he moved to the edge of the broad overhang, looking down into the now moonlit courtyard below. A million thoughts were racing through his mind. Would it matter if he fell? Would anyone be at his side in the end? Would anyone miss him? These thoughts and many more tore at his ravaged brain. How had he let it come to this. He wrestled with memories of the past, wanting so much to just go back inside, but he knew he couldn't face the other students. Atop of all things, he was wondering if, by the end of tonight, The boy who lived would become the boy who died.

I'm looking down,

Now that it's over,

Reflecting on all of my mistakes.

I thought I found a road to somewhere,

Somewhere in his grace.

I cried out heaven save me,

But I'm down to one last breath,

And with it let me say,

Let me say…

He curled up into a small ball, tears now becoming uncontrollable. No matter what, he was alone, he was scared, and there was no one to blame but himself. Whether it be because of foolish pride, fear, or just sheer and utter stupidity, it was all his fault. That one thought echoed throughout his brain as the tears kept their steady flow. "All my fault… this is all my fault… this is all my fault…"

Hold me now,

I'm six feet from the edge,

And I'm thinking,

Maybe six feet,

Ain't so far down…

It was almost midnight now, and he shivered lightly against the cool autumn air. His crying had slowed to soft gasps, yet he still stayed in the fetal position, hugging his knees tightly. All he could think of now were the eyes of the ones he had hurt. Cho's eyes, Ron's eyes. Most of all Ron's eyes, those limpid pools of blue that held so much hurt. Those eyes he had betrayed. Those crying eyes were burned into his brain. Maybe if he apologized? No. How could there ever be any way to make up for what he'd done, what he'd said. Deep inside, a part of him still believed there was someway to fix things. Some way to take back what he'd said. To bring those crying eyes back to the sparkling, happy blue they had once been.

Sad eyes follow me,

But I still believe there's something left for me.

So please come stay with me,

'Cause I still believe there's something left for you and me.

"There's nothing left for me," His voice was surprisingly soft.

For you and me…

"How could I have been so stupid?"

For you and me…

He slowly made his way back to the wall and sat against it. He looked at the edge, a mere six feet from where he sat, and then began to remember vividly what had happened in the past couple of years, and began to try and deal with feelings he hadn't even known he had.

Hold me now,

I'm six feet from the edge, and I'm thinking…