Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

In the Winter Darkness

After the war nothing had been the same. It was like our friendship had ended at the same time the war had. Our purpose had been fulfilled; we didn't need each other anymore. That was a lie, I needed them. I needed them to be my friends; I needed them to stand by me, I needed to stand by them. But I had to face it; I probably needed them more than they needed me. The winter darkness that had filled every inch of streets, every inch of the world surrounding, me made me feel more alone than I've ever felt before. I was alone in the darkness, no friends by my side that could lit up my days with their bare presence.

It had been six months since I had graduated from Hogwarts, six months since the Second War had ended, six months since I had last seen my best friends. At the moment, with Christmas coming up, I didn't wish for anything but for everything to go back to the way it used to be, the way we used to be. I missed everything about us, about how we had been a year back. I missed everything from their constant bickering to us staying up late, studying. I even missed their ruddy cuteness, them making up after their, always so stupid, fights. I just missed my best friends. You would too.

A few raindrops hit me in the face and interrupted my thoughts. It had rained every day this past week, I was getting sick of it. It wasn't supposed to rain in December, it was suppose to snow. So far it had been a snow less winter. Even though it was just in the middle of December I had stopped expecting it to snow. That way I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't, it's better to prepare yourself for the bad news, than the good ones.

I gathered speed and headed towards the nearest store in sight, which, to my defeat, was Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. By the time I had reached it, and discovered it, the rain was pouring down and I was in no mood for heading towards another shop. I'd rather spend some time inside the twins' joke shop than getting more soaked than I already was.

When I reached for the handle, to open the door, the door slowly opened on its own, and a small bell made a tingling noise, just like in old muggle shops. I stepped inside and sneaked to the back shelves, simply trying to avoid running into either one of the twins. It wasn't that I didn't want to meet them; I had always enjoyed their company. It's just that I didn't know how I'd act if I did meet them. What would I say? What would I do?

I shook my head in an attempt to get my mind on something else, as I turned to a shelf to my left. Being in here I could just as well see what the famous Weasley twins had invented since I had last seen them. They have a real talent when it comes to jokes and mischief; they're a legend at Hogwarts. I studied the shelves, what I saw brought a smile to my face. "Head swelling chewing gum; give it a second and thick-headed Snape won't stand a chance". I turned around to check out the contents of another shelf.

My eyes caught sight of the, a bit dusty, window, and it looked like it had pretty much stopped raining. I headed towards the door, shooting one last glance at the amazing products that covered the many shelves in the small shop. When I was just a few feet away from the door it opened. My eyes wondered from the door to the two people entering.

You'd think they'd look the same since it had only been a few months since I had last seen them. But you could clearly see a change in both of them. Ron, who used to have a playing spark in his eyes and a teasing smile playing across his lips, now, looked more mature than I've ever seen him before. There was sadness in his eyes and he had a protecting arm around Hermione's shoulders. His red hair didn't have the bright shade it had once had. Hermione's hair wasn't as bushy as it had been when we were at school, it had grown to fit her and make her look really pretty. She sent out the impression of being quite happy, so did Ron, but looking into her eyes I could tell that something was hurting her, something had happened. They had both had that look in their eyes, in their faces, ever since the war had ended.

I watched them as Ron removed his arm from her shoulders and took her hand in his. I studied them as they walked up to Fred, or maybe it was George, hand in hand. I leaned back towards a shelf behind me, not bothered by what I might be ruining. Ron gave Hermione a quick kiss before turning to George, no Fred. I felt like walking up to them, greeting them and giving both of them a quick hug. But I retained myself and continued to watch their every movement.

Then a sudden breeze ruffled my hair and turned to look at the door, from where it was coming. I swallowed hard and brought my right hand to my head. I pulled my hand through my hair and let put a shaky breath. My emerald green eyes were fixed upon her, the girl entering her brothers' shop. Her red, shoulder long hair flickered in the wind. I was transfixed by her beauty, I always was. Her hazel brown eyes wondered and for a split second they met mine. Gin always made my heart ponder, when her eyes met mine my heart raced.

I wanted to tell her how much I loved her; I wanted to spill my heart out to her. But there was a long time since Ginny and I had been and us. I don't know why we ended it; I don't think we ever did end it properly. It was just like with Ron and Hermione, it had ended along with the defeat of the Dark Lord.

I studied her. She had that same expression on her face that Hermione had. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping for days and beautiful brown eyes were red and swollen. This broke my heart, something was upsetting her, and it broke my heart. I stood up straight, hoping for her to notice me and just say a quick hello, giving me her amazing smile. If I just got to see her smile, it would make my day.

But she didn't see me, she walked right past me. Not even looking back, not even shooting a second glance towards the spot where I was standing. She just walked past me. A feeling of hurt and disappointment welled up inside of me. I buried my hands deep down in my pockets, looked at her for a second and shot one last glance at Ron and Hermione before I walked through the door. I didn't even know where I was heading. It had been like that lately; just walking, no goals, not heading towards anything, just walking.

I wondered the streets of Diagon Alley for hours. I had no track of time and it was getting really cold. It had rained twice but I hadn't bothered to look for shelter. My world was falling apart and I was realizing it. I had known that things weren't the way they used to be, maybe I was in denial, but now it was like I was allowing myself to believe it: my world was falling apart. I had no friends, my ex girlfriend; the love of my life, didn't even notice me, I didn't have anything left.

I turned into an alley and sneaked into, what I hoped, was The Leaky Cauldron. In all the smoke and the darkness I didn't really care. I walked up to the bar, stumbled across one or two feet, and caught hold of the counter. I ordered a butterbeer and paid the bartender a few sickles for it. With the bottle in my hand I looked over to a smoke filled table in a dark corner and at the front door. The door looked more appealing than the even darker corner.

I turned down the handle and stepped out into the fresh winter air. With the butterbeer bottle in my right hand I walked towards an empty bench far away from the famous parts of Diagon Alley. I sat down on the back support with my feet on the seat. I brought the bottle to my lips when I noticed it. I got up and placed the bottle on the seat and looked up in the sky.

A single snowflake circled down in front of my eyes. It was followed by another one, that one was accompanied by three more. A minute later, or two, thousands of snowflakes was circling down around me. It was snowing. I soon had a thin layer of snow on my shoulders and an even thinner, spread out, layer of the wet white powder in my hair. I pulled my cloak tighter around me and buried my chin in my knitted scarf that I had twirled around my neck.

When I looked up I got my second surprise in a small amount of time, which must have been a few minutes, five tops. What I saw was Hermione, walking towards me, smiling. She had snow in her hair and on her cloak. She looked at me and her smile grew wider, I grinned. It seemed like she had seen me, she increased speed and was almost running towards me. I just stood still, waiting for her to reach me. When she did so she slowed down and I opened my arms to hug her. But it was just like she walked right through me. Disappointment filled my chest and I turned around to see her being welcomed in a hug by Ron. He had been standing right behind me. I watched them as she kissed him sweetly, and I watched Ron smiling warmly as she hugged him back tightly. I looked down at my hands and then back up at my friends. Before letting myself stare out into the open, I let my eyes rest on my hands for a minute or so.

And then suddenly it hit me; they hadn't forgotten about me. They hadn't ignored me for the past few months. They hadn't stopped being my friends. I had died.

Author's Note: Don't ask me how I thought of it, I just did. I am quite pleased with it, probably could have been more so. But I hope you enjoyed what you just read. All opinions are welcome.