Hiding From You

Prologue

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

-Blackbird, The Beatles

"Ron! Where are you?!" Hermione Granger saw her fiancé run down a hallway, chasing a Death Eater. "Ron!" She ducked under a spell, and ran in the same direction which Ron had run. "Ron!" Hermione's voice was becoming a little panicked, now. Where was he?

Hermione sprinted down the path where Ron had went, her heart pondering in her throat, and only one thought in her mind. She had to help Ron.

She heard cries in the distance, various spells shouted out, ordering the wand to kill or to harm. Phoenixes had a grip around the remaining Death Eaters.

After Harry Potter had killed Voldemort in the last confrontation of all, he had collapsed, as a result of exhaustion, and was brought quickly to St. Mungo's for healing.

And now it was up to them to do the rest; to take the remaining Death Eaters. It wouldn't be an easy task to fulfil, but they had to try.

She heard voices summing in the other end of the hall and she knew she was trapped here. But she didn't care. "RON!" Her breath was heavy and fast, and a few curls had left the bun.

Hermione turned left, guessing he had run there, and was now becoming more and more afraid. Was he dead?

She thought she could hear quick footsteps behind her. She cast a quick look over her shoulder, but couldn't see anything, and ran further down the hall. "Ron!"

Her cries was making echoes, and repeating his name a thousand times more. But Ron didn't come to her nor did he respond to her shouting. He would have come if he heard her, right?

She sat down on the floor, not believing it. "No. He can't be dead. No..." Hermione started to sob, tears streaming down her face, and couldn't take control over it no more. "No... No." She couldn't stop the tears, and she wouldn't do it either. Maybe he would hear it if she cried. Yes, he was just hiding from the Death Eaters. When he heard it was Hermione's sobbing, he would come out from his hiding place and comfort her, tell that everything was okay, embrace her and stroke her hair.

But he didn't come from a hiding place. He didn't come to her at all. She got up, drying her eyes with a handkerchief she'd got when they still were at Hogwarts, and realised that no Death Eater had followed after her.

After she had calmed herself, and dried all of her tears and her nose, she started to go back. What should she say? That she couldn't find him? What would Arthur say? And poor Molly... She couldn't bear anymore, Hermione guessed. After the death of the twins, she had become reserved from the rest of them. Poor Molly...

She walked slowly up the same path she had run some time before, but now saw something she hadn't seen when she had run after Ron; the necklace she had given to him before the Battle started. "No..." she whispered, and took it up. She opened the medallion and saw the picture of her sitting under a beech tree outside the Burrow. "Oh, Ron... what has happened to you?"

She stumbled herself down the hall and up to the room where the duelling had been. Now all the Death Eaters were either dead, knocked out or fast asleep. There were a couple of Phoenixes lying on the floor, but all were alive. But not Ron.

"Hermione! Thank goodness, we have been so worried!" Arthur ran towards her and embraced her.

Hermione broke down, tears pouring down her face, and couldn't stop it. She dreaded to face Arthur, to say that his son was dead. But she had to.

"Hermione, dear, what is it?" Arthur looked worried, and embraced her again.

"Arthur..." she sobbed, trying to get herself under control yet again, "Ron... I didn't find him... I think he's dead."