A Rose Petal Fallen

"A rose petal fallen,

Is a whisper unheard.

A thing of beauty dying,

Nature disturbed.

A rose petal fallen,

A sad sight to see.

It's life diminishing,

Slowly destroying me.

A rose petal fallen,

Is a promise undone.

Deceit has conquered,

As love withers in the sun.

A rose petal fallen,

Is a war that can't be fought.

Nature and destiny prevail,

Leaving all remnants to rot.

A rose petal fallen,

Is an enigma at it's best.

Something lost and forgotten,

That has failed its final test..."

A Rose is a Rose-Chapter 1

"A rose is a rose", my mother used to tell me that. She got it off some writer, but I can't seem to grasp their name at the moment. I don't seem to be able to remember much anymore. But I do recall her telling me, to always live by that quote. "Everything is always as it seems, a rose will always be a rose" is what she used to tell me. I used to believe her, but now I see how foolish the quote really is. A rose will never be a rose, or at least not in my life. Maybe a rose is really a rose in the life of some perfect stranger, whom I will never have the chance of becoming. But in my reality a rose is nothing less than something seemingly beautiful that will undoubtedly harm you if you ever get to close to it. My roses have many thorns.

I remember when life used to be happy. Of course it was never perfect, but compared to my life now it was bliss. How I would relish to be back at school, with the two people whom I love most. Or I loved most. Both have been lost to me for some time. Just the thought of it all brings tears to my eyes. To even think about my lost ones brings back so many conflicting emotions that I want to scream. I refuse to even think about it. I have pushed it to the back of my mind for five years, and it shall stay there. As far as I am concerned that life of mine is over and completely lost to me. I am not who I used to be in any way, shape or form.

I lost myself approximately five years ago. Although I have tried to force myself never to think of this incident again, I find it is something that constantly haunts me. Everything began when Ron, Harry and I graduated from Hogwarts. I was the happiest that I ever have been in my life. I graduated as Head Girl and the top witch of my class. All three of us had received as many N.E.W.T.'s as we had wanted, and we were off to train to become aurors. For a few days life was exactly the way I had always hoped it would be. Everything seemed so perfect that I had fooled myself into believing that the inevitable would never happen. But of course it did happen and rather sooner that I had ever dreamed it would. Although I could never have imagined things would turn out as badly as they did.

It all happened three days after we graduated. Dumbledore had received a notice that Voldemort was planning to make his final move and try to kill Harry. Harry was immediately sent into hiding and naturally, Ron became his secret keeper. My fears were temporarily quelled and I dared to breathe. I was relieved for now, because at least while Ron was secret keeper Harry would be completely safe. I was determined to keep Harry safe no matter what the costs, but I could have never anticipated who the biggest threat was. I could not save Harry from everything, and I could never have fathomed that his best friend would ultimately become his downfall.

Four days after Harry had gone into hiding; I left our hideout and traveled to Diagon Alley to pick up a few potion supplies. I had only been gone for about twenty minutes when I apparated back to the entrance of our hideout. The second I had arrived, I knew something was not right. The front door had been left ajar and was creaking ominously in the wind. My breath caught in my throat as panic flowed through my body. I ran into the hideout as quickly as I could and was startled by the biting cold in the house. My breath cascaded before me fogging my vision, and I knew what must have been happening. I needed to find Harry.

My entire body was shaking from the immense cold and my breaths came in sharp blows. I pelted through the labyrinth like house, calling Harry's name desperately. Time moved oddly around me, seconds grew slowly into minutes and everything seemed to last an eternity. And then I heard the sound I had been dreading to hear the high shrieking cackle of Voldemort. I turned left and ran into the last room of the house, and saw the scene that had been haunting my nightmares for years. Voldemort had his wand pointed at Harry and was talking in a low, menacing hiss.

"This will be your end Potter. Finally after all of this time I will kill you. And do you want to know how I found you here?" Voldemort snickered malevolently, "you should thank your dear best friend, Ronald Weasley for that Potter. It was very kind of him to reveal certain information to me."

Suddenly, my mind had stopped working, utterly and completely. Yes, the famous Hermione Granger know-it-all brain was now completely blank and useless. Yet a single thought filled my brain: Ron could possible not have betrayed Harry or me for that matter. Ron couldn't-

A red light shot from Voldemort's wand straight at Harry's heart. The beam of light collided with Harry's chest and the room was instantaneously engulfed in thick smoke. I heard an ear-splitting shriek and was knocked forcibly off my feet and the entire scene began to fade away in blackness. All I could think, was how Ron could ever do such a thing. How could Ron be so evil?

Evil...who was evil?

Cold...why was it so freezing?

Pain...why did my head feel like it had been split open?

Light...

I slowly opened my eyes gazing around blearily at my surroundings. I attempted to sit up and comprehend where I was. My head was throbbing and I couldn't seem to remember what had just happened. I looked around my surroundings for an answer, and my gaze fell upon the body of Voldemort, who looked strangely empty. Then my eyes saw the body of Harry, lying rumpled in a heap by the corner.

Realization comes flooding back to me as I ran to Harry. His green eyes remained open and his check is still warm to my touch. His face showed a mixture of hatred and fright, and he still looks as if he could be alive. If only that warm glow in his eyes would return. But his eyes remained soulless and I knew he was gone. I shook my head in disbelief, incapable to process what had really happened. I couldn't move or avert my eyes from Harry's lonely face.

"Harry?" I whispered softly. My heart shrinks as I realized that I would never receive a response to my question. Silent tears slide down my face, my brain still not really realizing that he was gone. The battle is finally over. The prophecy was wrong, neither Voldemort nor Harry lived, rather they both died at each other's hands. I still can't believe it. My brain feels numb and oddly blank. This can't be happening...it just can't be.

Then I feel a warm hand on my shoulder and I look up to see the face of Ron. Suddenly, all my sadness is gone but replaced with a burning anger. I stare up at Ron's eyes finding it almost impossible to believe what he has done. I hastily stand to my feet, pointing my wand at him.

"You bastard. How could you? You killed Harry! You betrayed him...I thought you were his best friend! Look what you did! He is dead because of you!" My voice echoed eerily throughout the room leaving me quite unsettled. I glared at Ron, and to my surprise found that he was crying. I looked into his eyes and for a second I thought I saw misery in them. Contempt boiled inside me and I turned away from him completely appalled. He was probably crying over the death of his precious master Voldemort.

Ron spoke in a voice that sounded too gentle and caring to come from the monster he was, "Hermione wait-I had to...It's not like you think it-"

"ITS NOT LIKE I THINK IT IS?" I bellowed at him, my entire body shaking with anger. Tears of frustration flowed down my checks, almost freezing to my skin because of the temperature in the house.

" I know exactly how it is Ron. And it all makes sense too! Voldemort could never have come here had you not told him where it was! I hate you Ron. I can't believe-", I paused unable to even articulate my feelings. I just sobbed for a few seconds. Everything was just too horrible. Harry was dead, and Ron was a traitor. I had lost my two best friends at the same time. I had lost everything.

"Get away from me Ron! You...you..." I did not finish what Ron was because I never really knew myself. He was a traitor with no heart, yet for all of those years I was so sure I had loved him, and that he loved me. Ironic that my one true love was heartless.

For a few seconds we stood in silence so strong that it was palpable. My wand was raised to Ron's throat although I have no recollections of having even taken it out. Every inch of me yearned to hit Ron, or curse him, yet I refrained. I just stood gazing into his blue eyes for what seemed an eternity. I was absolutely disgusted, but subconsciously I knew that I was savoring my last few moments in the presence of my best friends. At that moment I knew that I would never see either of them again.

I tore my eyes away from Ron and gazed at the empty shell of Harry. I still could not believe that he was really gone. I just could not take in what had just happened, it just had to be a bad dream. I felt so lost...

"Goodbye Harry."

And then I ran. I bolted back through the turning passageways and flung myself through the open door. I was only semi-conscious that Ron was screaming at me. I neither knew nor cared what he was saying. He was lost to me now. All I knew was that if I kept running than I would be fine. Because once I stopped I would be forced to deal with everything, and I just couldn't. I ran away from the hideout, Ron, Harry and my entire wizarding life. I still am running...

I changed my name to Natalie Pender and performed a few complex charms to make sure that Ron or anybody else could ever find me. The only person, who may have been able to, would be Dumbledore, but he died two days before Harry did. Hermione Granger died the same day as Harry Potter.

Yet life goes on and I was forced to continue. So I transformed myself into a Muggle and enrolled in one of London's colleges. There I met someone who altered my plans for the future. His name was Jon Samuel. Jon was your normal, respectable Muggle majoring in business. He was neither very attractive, nor very interesting, which was exactly what ordinary girl Natalie Pender wanted. He was the man of her dreams. My dreams were slightly different but of course the man of my dreams had never existed. I knew I could live with Jon. We started dating in my junior year of college and moved in together once we both had graduated.

And now, we are engaged. It is time to make everything final. Perhaps now Hermione Granger will be officially gone and I can start living my new life. Maybe my past will just evaporate behind me and I will truly be Natalie Pender. Natalie really yearns to be happy yet Hermione's past haunts her bliss. In five days, maybe I can be truly happy as Mrs. Natalie Samuel.

Or maybe I can't...