Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all things you recognize. The girl's story is explained at the bottom.

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It was hard. Whenever I thought about her, my heart wrenched painfully, as if someone had stuck a knife in and twisted it in a circle over and over again.

She said yes. The reason she was not here right now was because of a simple yes or no question, and she had responded with the wrong answer.

Just to think that should could have been here with me, laughing with me, talking with me… and all she had done was say yes.

I could still hear her whispering my name. "Remus…" she would say. I loved the way the sound of her voice wrapped around my name in a way that no other girl's could.

I could still feel her soft lips brushing against my own. She was the only girl who could send massive bouts of electricity down my spine whenever she touched me.

I could still picture her smile, laughing at a joke. She laughed often – yes, me and my friends were good at making people laugh. Her smile seemed to light up a room, and her laugh was infectious.

She said yes! Oh, God, if I could go back to that day and save her, I would. I would risk my own life to save hers, for she would get much farther in life than I could ever hope to. She had so much ahead of her, such a bright future… and just like that: gone.

She was so understanding. Not once did she judge me or think of me differently because of my condition. She stood up for me, always. She stood up for everyone.

My mother and father adored her. She wasn't the first girl I had brought home from school, but she was still their favorite. It was clear why. She had so much charisma.

I never heard her speak ill of anyone. She had a way of seeing the good in every single person, including the Slytherins. Her beauty shone through her, and one could not help but feel comforted and happy around her.

I never got a chance to tell her how I really felt about her. I loved her, so much. I admired every single thing about her. She had been flawless.

But now she was gone.

I loved the way she walked. The way her hips moved gracefully from side to side, the way her long brown hair swayed and shined.

She was so brave, too. She stood up for what she believed in, for what was right. She probably had more backbone than the whole Auror department put together. She was too brave. That was why she wasn't with me any longer.

It was a Death Eater. More than that, it was one of our classmates. Roudolphus Lestrange, a Slytherin boy who she only spoke positive things about. She had never done anything to him.

I remember it as though it were mere hours ago. The Great Hall was in an uproar, spells were flying everywhere, and glass was raining down on everyone. James Potter and Lily Evans were standing back-to-back, fighting off Death Eaters and taking comfort in having one another close. Sirius Black was dueling two Death Eaters at once, and the Death Eaters were the ones coming off looking worse for wear. Peter Pettigrew was nowhere to be found.

With a cry, I sent a powerful Stunning spell at my Death Eater and he fell to the ground, unconscious. I saw a flick of long brown hair as she was being carried up to the platform where the teachers sat.

Lestrange did not have a mask on. He had her gripped by the hair, his fist knotted into her scalp painfully. Anger boiled inside of me, all I wanted to do was kill that bastard and make him get the hell off my girl.

My girl.

The battle seemed to stop and everyone looked up at him. Everyone in that room knew how nice she was. More than half of the Death Eaters in the room knew, deep down, that they could never in a million years harm her, no matter how much they wanted to. Killing her was like boiling puppies; it simply could not be done.

Lestrange held his wand up to her neck, licking his lips and smirking. She stayed completely calm, showing no fear.

"Do you believe in the Light?" he asked. The Light, the opposing of the darkness… the opposing of Voldemort. It was such a simple question, and every single person in the room who was not cloaked or wearing a mask believed… but she was the one who was chosen, the one who was called out.

She stood there, as bold as brass as she stated her reply. "Yes."

Lestrange grinned. "Avada Kedarva!" he shouted. The bust of green light connected with her neck, and she fell gracefully in the ground, as though in slow motion.

"No!" I screamed, running towards her. I knew there was nothing I could do, but surely someone could not die so easily.

The battle continued as I yelled out in pain, pushing past Death Eaters and students alike to the platform, screaming out her name.

"Remus, stop!" I could hear my friends calling out my name, but I ignored them. The pain was too much.

"Cassidy!" I yelled, willing her to come back to me.

Lestrange would have killed her even if she had said no. I would kill him. He hurt her. He killed her. And she had been nothing but kind to him for the last seven years.

She said yes. And now she was gone.

Looking back, I realize how much the people of Hogwarts admired Cassidy. There was no one who disliked her. People still talk about her, here twenty years later.

I was thirty-seven. James, Lily, Sirius, and probably Peter were all dead by this point. All my best friends, all my family… gone. All the people who mattered most to me, gone. And the one girl who could still effect my breathing and make my heartbeat stutter, even twenty years later? Gone.

Cassidy Bennett, the one girl who was brave enough to stand up to the Death Eaters, to Voldemort. Cassidy Bennett, the one girl who had captured my heart all through Hogwarts and beyond. I doubted anyone else could take her place in my life.

She said yes. The reason she was not here right now was because of a simple yes or no question, and she had responded with the wrong answer.

I now settled down on my couch in my living room, sighing grimly. What I had just done had not been easy. Lestrange had been difficult to catch; after all, he was an Azkaban escapee. But I had found him. I had found him, and I had killed him. There are other ways to kill a man without using the Unforgivables, and that was what I had done. He deserved it. He killed Cassidy.

And all Cassidy Bennett had done was say yes.

A/N: yeah, this didn't exactly turn out the way I had planned... but whatever.

So, this is somewhat based on a true story. Cassie Bernall was killed in the Columbine High School shooting when a gun was pressed to her head. She was asked if she believed in God. She said yes, and she was shot.

Sooooo yeah. Review and have a nice day.