Chapter 1:

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After Ron had destroyed Voldemort's last Horcrux, the snake Nagini, we went into hiding in Hagrid's hut. Harry hoped that the Death Eaters would retreat to the forest to protect Voldemort from us. Luckily, Bellatrix Lestrange and two other Death Eaters were hurrying into the forest.

"We better hurry before we lose them," I whispered to Harry and Ron. I started walking to the back door but Harry and Ron blocked my way.

"Hermione, I want you to wait here for us," said Ron.

This surprised me. " What? Why?"

Ron took a deep breath and then he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"We decided awhile ago that if it came down to this final battle then we don't want you to be apart of it. Ron's mostly afraid that you'll get hurt. You also have not been feeling well recently," explained Harry. I looked at Ron and he nodded in agreement.

"I'll be fine, Ron. I know how to protect myself," I said.

"I know you do, but I…I…I just can't have you be there. If you got hurt…" Ron's voice trailed off.

"But Ron-" my retort was cut off when my forehead suddenly went hot and I felt feverish. I grabbed a chair that was next to me to keep myself up as the brief hot flash made me dizzy. Unfortunately, this brief moment of weakness did not go unnoticed by Harry and Ron.

Ron sighed. "Please stay."

Regretfully, I agreed and they both ran after Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Honestly, I did feel a bit sick.

Only a few minutes had passed when I realized that I felt better. I didn't feel sick anymore. I stood up to look outside the window and that's when I saw two more Death Eaters walk into the forest, along the same path that Harry and Ron entered. I decided to go after the Death Eaters hoping that they might lead me to where Harry, Ron, and Voldemort might be.

I kept a safe distance from the Death Eaters, ducking behind trees and bushes whenever they turned around. Only five minutes had passed when they started talking.

"The Mark's burning," said one of the Death Eaters.

"That's probably a good thing, Marcus. Could mean that Potter's dead," replied the other.

"It's about time don't you think, Demetrius," said the one named Marcus.

"Yeah, it is. The Dark Lord has been after him for three years and now he finally has Potter cornered," replied Demetrius.

"What do you suppose they'll do with the Weasley boy that was with him?" asked Marcus.

"Use your imagination. What does the Dark Lord usually do with blood-traitors?"

"Hmmm…maybe they'll-" My foot got caught on tree root and that was when they heard me stumble. " Who's there?"

"Expelliarmus!" The curse hit Demetrius square in the chest. The other dropped his wand. I pointed my wand at him and said," Where are they?"

"I-I don't know. Please don't kill me," begged Marcus.

"Maybe I won't if you tell the truth. Where is Voldemort?" I asked again.

"Okay, okay I'll tell you but please don't hurt me."

"Like I said before. Tell me where they are." I heard people shouting from somewhere up ahead. Maybe about a hundred yards away. "Stupefy." Marcus fell limp.

It had started to rain lightly as I followed the shouts of voices through the darkening forest. The trees thinned out into a small clearing where Harry, Ron, and Voldemort stood dueling.

Bellatrix had run off into the forest the moment I arrived at the clearing. I stood at the edge of the clearing behind a large oak tree hoping that they wouldn't notice me. Then suddenly Voldemort knocked Ron's wand out of his hand. "Ron!"

He turned and faced me. "What are you doing here? Go, run Hermione!"

At the same moment Voldemort looks at me and smiles. "This is nothing personal, my dear. Just payment for what this young man has done," said Voldemort as he raises his wand at me.

"No!" I heard Ron shout as he started running towards me.

The next thing I hear is Voldemort say," Avada Kedavra," and then Ron is slipping in my arms toward the floor. I also shrink to the floor with Ron still in my arms as Harry curses Voldemort.

My eyes wander all over Ron's body, not looking at his face, waiting to see the twitch of an arm or the rise of his chest signaling that somehow that he was alive. Then I put my hand on his chest exactly over where his heart should be and feel nothing. No heartbeat, no pulse. Then I painfully look at his face. Ron's eyes are still open and his skin pale. I graze my hand over his cheek. His skin was cold, dead. Then Harry is kneeling at my side.

"He's… he's gone?" I mumbled.

Harry reaches towards Ron's face and shuts his eyelids. "He can't be…"

I pulled Ron closer to my body and let the tears fall. Harry wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer with Ron still in my arms. The tears continued to fall as I stroked his hair. His red hair was soft and damp from the rain.

The tears started decease when I heard Harry sniffle. I looked up at him and saw tears flowing rapidly down his face. I've never seen him cry. Even when Sirius died did I see him cry but I could tell he was sad. But I guess the loss of a godfather that he knew for two years doesn't compare to the loss of a best friend he's known for years. Harry and Ron were practically brothers.

The tears returned when I realized what I lost…the love of my life.

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