Ten Thousand Roses

"Harry," she whispered.

"Mmm?"

His eyelids felt heavy.

"Wake up, Harry,"

Her hands shook his body with an urgency he had never known. He was slow to react, the muscles in his arms and legs were numb. Only his heart seemed alive. Once he opened his eyes all he could see was white. The colour engulfed every inch of his sight, closing in on him like a wet blanket.

"Walk,"

The voice was still desperate, now calling to him from a distance.

"I can't," he said, tears starting to stream down his face.

He couldn't move or see. The white was tightening its grip even more around his fragile state of mind. Harry brushed away the tears, realising his muscles had come to life.

"Walk," she repeated.

He stood up, the blood quickly rushing to his head, and took a shaky step forward. As he tentatively put his foot in down, one after the other, the white around it turned green, almost like grass. He tried to hold onto the colour, to make it last in his mind. But the memory would fade, only to return as he took another step.

He didn't know where he was going, or why for that matter, but the desperation could be felt in his veins, pulsing with a fervor. It was eerily silent until the girl began to sing, it was a soft song with no words, yet it meant something to Harry. The more he walked, the tenser the emotion inside him became, only climaxing when he finally saw her face, the contrast between skin tone and white was shocking. The robes that clung to her rippled in the homeless wind.

She smiled a sad sort of smile.

"Hello Harry," she said.

"Hello,"

His voice cracked with sudden anxiety. He knew her, but from where?

The untamed hair, the curves of her body. Even the big brown eyes looked familiar.

Her hand came up and brushed at his forehead, revealing his trademark scar and leaving a tingling sensation.

Lips parted, she began to sing once more, draining Harry of every horrible and sad emotion he had ever felt. It left him feeling naked and pure. The sudden stripping of emotion made him shiver, but he was grateful for what she had done.

After a minute or two, Harry was getting almost uncomfortable, staring at a girl he couldn't quite remember, while she sang the sweetest song he had ever heard. Tears started to form in her eyes and she smiled again, slowly retreating away from Harry. Though he was confused, Harry stepped forward to be nearer but she continued to walk away.

She glided backwards even further, making Harry break out in a run after her. His heart was beating as loudly as his feet. She couldn't leave him here alone.

"Wait!" he called.

But she wouldn't listen.

"Please," he pleaded. "At least tell me your name,"

It was the only thing he could think of to say.

"Hermione,"

And she disappeared.

As he slowed to a walk, the ground disappeared from beneath him and he began to fall.

It was like falling down a rabbit hole, further and further into the endless dark.

The sun shown brightly on the newly erected tombstone, how ironic for such beautiful weather to happen upon the small town on such a sad day. Perhaps the only thing befitting the feelings of mourners were the words Harry James Potter, which were glittering sadly in the light.

"So this is where it ends," a voice, belonging to a boy no older then 17, whispered.

He broke out in a fit of sobs, trying to hide his crying with his hands. Only his sister remained by his side, hugging him tightly while she cried herself.

"Ron," she said quietly. "Let's go."

Ginny pulled her still sobbing brother away, only stopping to lay a rose on Harry's grave, and another on Hermione's.

"Two star-crossed lovers, now laying side by side."