Disclaimer- Basically I own nothing, include the poem snippet.
AN- This just sort of poured out of me last night, so I figure I will post it and see if anyone likes it.
DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From "Together", a poem by Dan Brown:
We are together, together as a cloud,
Standing out to each other in the worldly crowd…
We'll hold hands together, on the path to the sky.
The dark summer air swirls through the hills, singing melodies of renewal while they are accompanied by blowing trees and purring animals.
Hermione hums silently along while she is perched on a tall hill, the soft light of the comforting house stretched out far below her. The grass, already moist with the cooling summer air, sticks to her bare thighs. The only article of clothing on her lower body remain her small demin shorts, having been put there early in the day to avoid the heat as she helped dig a memory garden for the lost souls of war. Her arms are covered by the soft green of the hooded sweatshirt her mother sent her for Christmas two years ago, before life had been brought to a stand still. She brings her legs up to her chest, hugging them with her cotton clad arms.
The cool summer breeze whips her hair backward as she stares at the moonlight sky, void of any sparking stars; fitting for her current mood.
Her calm and somewhat troubled demeanor does not change as she hears footsteps approach her; she knows who it is before he makes a sound, before he appears in her line of sight.
He sits down next to her and follows her gaze into the dark sky. They sit like this for what seems like hours, but the wind keeps in tempo reminding each of them it has really only been minutes. They have done this often throughout the past two weeks; words have been scarce after war. Yet this feels right, comforting even; the aura of two connected souls tangling together beneath the moon.
Slowly Hermione looks across him, his gaze to the heavens unfaltering. His long legs stretched out far before him, unable to feel the tackiness of the grass due to the rough denim protecting his legs. His torso is wrapped in a trademark sweater, and 'R' screaming across the front.
Her eyes are drawn down to his hands, large, rough, calloused, but somehow just as beautiful as any painting or flower she has ever seen. They hold him up as he leans backwards, still staring at the blissful sky.
She reaches out to touch his hand without thinking, without needing to think; softly she grazes her fingers over his numerous times, before finally grasping his hand and looking up, silently asking for him to look at her.
He obeys, at the same time giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"It's late," he states, his face solemn.
"I know, I just needed to think," she gulps.
"About what?" he asks, truly concerned.
"Ron, I…" she stumbles across her words, something she cannot remember ever doing in her lifetime, "I have to go find my parents."
He nods simply at her, looking down at their entertained hands as he speaks.
"I know, I was wondering when you would finally go."
"Soon, I think," she responds as he brings his face back up to meet her eyes, "I really just need to put everything behind me, finally."
"I know how you feel," Ron states, once again dragging his gaze from hers.
Hermione feels utterly horrible for her declaration of going off to find loved ones, when the boy next to her has just lost someone so dear. She does not comment on it, however, for his demeanor tells her not to.
"Well, that's good right," Ron begins his voice a new tone of happy, "you going and finding your parents?"
"Yes," she replies genuinely, "yes, very good."
"Then why," he begins, trying to read her face and coming up empty, "do you seem so sad. You are coming back here when you are done right?"
A smile makes an appearance on her face, though it is a small, sad one.
She looks down at the grass beyond them.
"Yes, of course," she pauses. "I just don't want to go alone I guess."
Ron begins to move his lips but Hermione glares at him and holds up a hand to stop him.
"No, I know what you are going to say. You are going to tell me you will come with me..."
"Well, yeah, pretty much," Ron interrupts.
"You can't Ron," she begins as his face falls, "you have people here you need to be with. They need you, after, after everything," she finishes lamely.
Ron does not speak, just studies the small hand wrapped around his.
"I was going to invite Harry," she says watching his frown deepen. "But well, but I don't really want to."
Ron smiles as he looks up at her.
"You don't want to?" he says, asking her to elaborate.
"Well, not really," she too smiles, "I don't know how long it is going to take, and I don't know if Harry and I can handle another lonesome hunt. Plus, he has Ginny here."
"And you have me," Ron states, "so without you here I have no one."
"You have your family, they need you."
"And I need you."
"Ron, please," Hermione sighs.
"Listen Hermione, I'm going insane here, I can't handle the grief under such a large microscope. I barley get to talk to you, or anyone. It's too quiet here; this isn't how I'm going to get over anything."
"But Ron,"
"Look, Ginny has Harry, Bill has Fleur. My parents, Chalice, Percy and George," Ron gulps at the lonesome twins name before continuing, "they will be there for each other, that's what they need, each other. But I, I need to leave here for a little while; I need to be with you. Otherwise I will never be good for anyone."
"Really?" she asks.
"Yeah, I think so. Unless…" he stutters. "Unless you don't want me."
"No," she says quickly, "no I want you with me."
"Then it's settled, you and I will go off to find your parents, as soon as you would like."
She smiles at him almost sheepishly and a blush creeps onto his face.
"And then I'll have to get them settled back in at home," Hermione starts, "so maybe if you wanted to stay with us for a while, you've never seem my house, never really met my parents. Just for a little while," she justifies, trying to make her words seem nonchalant. "Then you can come back here, be with your family while I'm with mine."
Ron gulps again, saddened by the thought of them spending any time at all apart.
"Just for a little while," Hermione giggles, brushing Ron's hair teasingly away from his face.
"Then you will come back here," he smiles, "so we can both figure out what we are going to do with out lives."
"Of course," Hermione says. "There is no way I'm staying away from this world, from you, longer than I have to. Not after I feel so at home here, not after I just fought a war for it."
"I want to start my life with you," Hermione says when all Ron does is smile at her, her tone now serious. "You know that right?"
He nods at her knowingly, "me too."
They are silent for a moment more, neither looking into the others eyes, before Ron brushes off Hermione's hand to move closer to her.
Softly he places his hands on the sides of her face, bringing her close so he can kiss her, while her hands remain wrapped around her knees.
"I love you," he whispers.
She moves her hands to grip his face too and they sit there for a moment as she presses her nose against his, their eyes closed, breathing in each other.
Slowly she kisses him. Softly, but passionately at the same time, something that is so Hermione Ron cannot help but want to tell her how much he loves her in more than words.
"I love you," she says as she pulls away. The lacking, normal 'too' at the end of the sentence making it seem as though she said it on her own accord, which in reality, she did.
"Ron," she says, opening her eyes before he can lean in for another kiss.
"Yea," he responds.
"Will you lay here with me? We should sleep under the moon tonight, just you and me."
He kisses her one last time and smiles.
"Of course," he replies, lying down on the damp grass, his back flush with the floor.
Hermione adjusts her head on his chest as he wraps his arms around her tightly.
Her legs and bare feet are cold in the night air and she lets out a little shiver involuntarily. Ron's arm releases itself from around her and draws his wand, with a flick a large quilt lays itself gently over the two of them.
She knows then that it will always be the two of them; Ron and Hermione, Hermione and Ron. Through everything they will be a pair, a couple, one endless soul running through two bodies. There will be many people who change their lives, who will be a part of the duo; Harry, Ginny, the Weasleys, but the significant and lasting factor through it all will always be the two of them. He will protect her with every ounce of strength in his mind and body, and she will do everything in her power to make him see the beauty in all things. They will always be there for one another, infinitely, and neither of them will ever think about asking for life to deal them anything different; neither wants it any other way.
Hermione has never been so warm in her life.
I would really be extremely pleased if many of you would be kind enough to review!