Initium Novum [Fremione] || WATTYS 2018 Shortlist

1 - An Unforeseen End

There were cheers and screams. The sound of victory filled the halls of Hogwarts and a wave of great relief washed over every single member of the resistance against Voldemort. The Dark Lord had finally fallen, the battle had been won and the fight had been worth it.

All eyes were on Harry Potter at this moment. He was The Boy Who Lived, the one who had conquered evil and freed the Wizarding World once more.

Hermione Granger, however, had her vision set elsewhere. Her eyes darted around the crowded hall in search of one person in particular. That person, her main hero of the night.

Every time her eyes caught sight of the iconic Weasley ginger hair, her heart skipped a beat. But not one time was it justified, for she could not see Ronald anywhere. Panic stricken, she ran out into the Entrance Hall, her heart beating ten times faster than it ever had in her life. Where was Ron? She was with him before all the chaos broke out when Harry "came back to life." Yet somehow she had lost him in all the drama, and now her worst fears were flooding every corner of her mind.

In that moment, a hand grabbed her from behind and she pulled out her wand immediately. As she whirled round, she saw Harry, and she sighed.

"Hermione? Are you okay? Where's Ron?" Harry interrogated.

She just blinked at him, before tears began to well up in her eyes. "I don't know. I lost him."

She saw Harry's green eyes flash from concern to genuine fear in a matter of seconds. He glanced down at his shoes, before gulping and looking back into his best friend's eyes.

"Okay, he's got to be around somewhere. It's a big school. Where did you see him last?"

"Out in the courtyard before the fighting restarted," Hermione recalled. "I don't even know which direction he ran in."

Harry nodded. He looked quite a bit paler under his sweaty, mud-stained face than he had several minutes ago. "We'll start there then," he instructed.

The pair of them hurried across the entrance hall, checking every body which lay on the ground. She felt horrible for it, but every face that wasn't Ron's gave her renewed hope. But they had only checked three, so she was sure they were far from concluding their search just yet.

Hermione followed Harry as he descended the steps into the courtyard. The sun was now half risen in the sky; the new day was now fully begun, and it was odd for them to hear the innocent songs of birds as they gazed at the scene in front of them.

Corpses were scattered around, no more than several minutes old. These were fresh from the combat inflicted prior to the death of Voldemort. People who had died for no reason. Hermione caught sight of Harry bowing his head in shame, as if it had been him who had killed them all.

"This isn't your fault, Harry," Hermione said honestly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Harry turned to face her, and stared at her blankly, a weak smile appearing on his face, as he walked forward before Hermione could argue with him.

They both went on to continue with their body checking. Just from visually sweeping the scene, Hermione felt like Ron wasn't there. The worry was eating her up inside, though, and at least this was keeping her occupied.

She ended up by the edge of the courtyard, where the view of the Hogwarts grounds were visible. In the distance, she could see the Quidditch stadium, or what was left of it. The turrets were charred black and smoke was emitting from the scene. She thought of how upset Ron would have been to see such a sight, but a voice in her head was telling her to hope he could see it now from somewhere, sitting very alive and thinking if she was okay. It was an image which fuelled her hope.

It only took Hermione's gaze to shift to the muddy pathway below for that fire to be extinguished immediately, however, as she witnessed the sight she had been dreading to see. It had been a flash of orange which had caught her eye, and at that point her heart sank.

"Harry..." she stuttered, as she half-leaned, half-fell onto the wall to get a better view of what she hoped was not what she thought she was seeing.

His pounding footsteps echoed behind her, until she felt him by her side. She pointed, unable to look anymore.

For a minute there was nothing but the sound of their breathing, getting heavier and heavier with the horror that was slowly building inside them.

"Is it him?" Hermione finally dared to ask.

"We're going to have to find out," Harry muttered gravely. She could tell he was still hanging to a small thread of hope, and he stood up straight, and began down towards the path.

Hermione wasn't sure if she wanted to follow, but knew she had no other choice. She anxiously took a step, then another, and before she knew it, she was replicating Harry's movements down the muddy steps which led down to the lake.

It didn't take long before she saw that body again, and is it drew nearer and nearer, her refusal to believe what she was seeing was becoming less and less plausible. They didn't stop for a second until the body was sitting just in front of their feet. Hermione dropped to the ground, not even needing to see his face to know it was him. His knitted sweater, his scruffy hair which hadn't been cut properly for the whole year they had been away, the way one of his shoes had a hole in the bottom. There was no denying it anymore. Ron was dead.

Sobs escaped her as the realisation came over her. She turned his body over, desperate for any sign which would tell her it wasn't real. His hand did not feel so cold, but as she leaned her head against his chest, there was nothing. His eyes were wide open, pointed towards the sky but seeing nothing.

Hermione snapped her head around to look at Harry, hoping he would have some explanation about what had happened. But he continued to stare at his best friend's lifeless body, his hand resting on the back of his head.

That very moment marked the end of an era. The end of the Golden Trio. The death of Ron Weasley struck a massive blow to both Harry and Hermione, and they knew their lives would never be the same without their ginger best friend.

The two of them were fixed in their positions for what felt like forever, before Harry finally spoke. "We need to take him to his family," he stated.