Forever

He always loved her. Years of friendship tends to make you love some one. She loved him as well. They were best friends after all. Ron was their best friend too, but she loved him in a different way. The love she felt for Harry was so much more…

Harry. He amazed her. He was so powerful. Magically, he was a very powerful wizard. Emotionally, he was even stronger. She often thought to herself about how he handled everything that happened.

She wondered about Harry a lot. He was so… good. Everything about him screamed that he was not evil, in any way.

Even though he had been involved in so much horror, light seemed to radiate from him, from his beautiful eyes. Green wouldn’t be an accurate description. Neither would emerald, jade, lime or bottle green. No colour truly described his eyes.

There was maturity to him, something wise about him that didn’t come with age. It came with life experience.

There was darkness to him as well. Not evil darkness, but darkness nonetheless. Hermione supposed that came from facing Voldemort all those times. Even though there was darkness, it was always overruled by the light.

She compared her 2 boys a lot.

Harry was incredible. There was an aura to him. It gave out a feeling of innocence, yet so much guilt, the goodness about him, a magic so powerful it could overthrow almost anyone. He radiated love, courage, responsibility and strength, yet a terrible loneliness, remorse and sadness also seemed to surround him too. He was a true Gryffindor, brave and loyal to the end. There was a magic that was almost raw about Harry, uncontrollable even.

Ron was different. He was loud. Chaotic. He probably didn’t know the meaning of ‘silence’ He was poor too, and complained a lot. He hid his feelings more. Ron was loyal and brave too, but not to the extent that Harry was. He felt he was ‘overshadowed’ by his brothers. He had a short temper and let words get the best of him. He was a traditional side kick, always in Harry’s shadow and always hopelessly envious of what Harry had, even though his friend would have much preferred a life without the fame.

Friends forever.

That’s what they said about the trio. Nothing could break them.

Hermione was always different from the other girls. She was fascinated by magic. She was smart and worked hard. The other girls liked clothes and make-up.

The other girls changed boyfriends like they changed clothes. A new guy every week to toy with. Hermione never did that. She waited.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” Lavender asked her one day. That must have been the deepest thing that came form her mouth.

Hermione shook her head. “Love at first sight is impossible.”That was her reply. Lavender asked her why. She thought it was romantic.

How stupid. That was the first thought to enter Hermione’s head. But the truth was, Hermione had never believed in love at first sight.

No, love at first sight was something completely superficial. It based the love you ‘felt’ towards another person by one look. No talking and getting to know them, but just taking in their appearance.

She much rather liked the idea of knowing someone for years, being friends with them and one day seeing them in again, in a new light, realizing that there was more than friendship between them.

The bond between those 3 friends should have been unbreakable. But it wasn’t. The first crack was when Ron decided he loved Hermione.

Loved.

He didn’t love her; he didn’t even understand what love was. He desired her, but he didn’t love her. That was the first crack. Because Hermione knew she didn’t love him back, she couldn’t love him back in the way he wanted.

The next crack broke them. Slowly, but surely it broke them.

Because Hermione realized that she loved Harry. Not Ron, Harry. And Harry decided he loved Hermione back.

They hid it of course. They didn’t even know for a while and when they did figure it out, they didn’t want to hurt Ron.

Hermione sat in front of the fire. It made her feel warm, cared for, when Ron was giving her the cold shoulder after suspecting something between Harry and Hermione. How ridiculous. Harry sat down next to her. Without turning her head she leant on him. He supported her.

“Why?” there was no need to ask what Harry was talking about. Why was Ron acting this way? What gave him the idea that Harry and Hermione’s friendship was more than platonic? Hermione shrugged in response, still not looking at him. She was afraid of what she might see if she did. Hermione sensed an internal battle going on in Harry’s mind. Her curiosity won over. She lifted her eyes up to his.

“What is it?” she asked. He looked at her, his gorgeous eyes almost searching for something. He didn’t seem to be able to find it. But then he bent his head down and softly kissed Hermione…

That was the moment she realized her feelings for Harry. And that was the moment he realized his feelings for Hermione.

Hermione had never felt better, had never felt so complete until she was with Harry. Their dates as you’d call them were secret at first. They didn’t want to hurt Ron.

And for a while, it worked. Ron wasn’t the most perceptive person on earth. But he wasn’t completely blind either.

A quick glance. A friendly hug. A stolen kiss. He caught on.

They weren’t condemned to break just yet. It could have been repaired. Ron’s choice. Ron, who chose not to confront them, but to take vengeance on them. The Dark Side. Voldemort.

Suddenly, those seemed very appealing. He went openly. Nothing could sway him back. So they broke. The ‘Golden Trio’ was no more. The ‘Golden Trio’ was over, but Harry and Hermione remained till the end.

Until the very end, the final war, where things would be resolved forever. That was the day they were fated to be torn apart, forever. Ron died, was killed personally by his new master, who gleefully informed him that he had been playing Ron all along.

Harry killed Voldemort in the end, but didn’t survive to tell the tale. And Hermione was left alone.

Forever.

Edited repost as Forever on 2nd of April, 2005

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