The Last Year

A Heart of Cold

  The streets of London were blanketed in snow, and it continued to fall at a record pace, adding to the already mounting piles that covered the ground. The windows of Number 12 Grimmauld Place were frozen over from the cold outside, but the fires that lived within the fireplaces kept the home feeling warm and cozy.

  If only it did not also feel very lonely. Harry had arrived two days ago via the Hogwarts Express, much more alone than he had planned. Now, he sat in the same spot he had been for two days now, directly in front of the fireplace, staring into a world unknown. 

  This Christmas was supposed to be special, the time when Harry would claim Hermione for the rest of his life. But all that had shattered just days before the end of the first term. As he stared blankly into the fire, the memory of that night returned, despite his best efforts to ignore it.

  "Harry, we need to talk."

  Harry grinned up at Hermione as she closed the door, but upon seeing her face, his smile quickly disappeared. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose ran, and her face was covered in streaks left by large, heavy tears. He immediately rose from his bed and cupped her face in his hands, desperate to understand her emotional state. 

  "What's wrong, has something happened?"

  Hermione just shook her head, her body shaking as she began to sob again. Harry pulled her to the bed and held her as she cried into his shoulder. He lovingly rubbed and patted her back, trying to get her to breathe and explain what was wrong. 

  After several moments, Hermione pulled back. At that moment, Harry felt an odd tension in Hermione's body, and she withdrew herself completely from him. Her eyes cleared, and though her voice broke, she pushed the words through. 

  "I- I have been doing a lot of thinking." She stated.

  "Okay?" Harry said confused.

  "We have made a lot of decisions, we have been together for a while now, but almost everything we have done, it has been under duress and under this threat of war with Voldemort. But now that we are past that, I don't feel the way I used to feel. There are things I want to do right now, and once I have left Hogwarts. I want to do remarkable things, and a relationship would get in the way of that."

  "What do you mean, even great people still have relationships and are able to get things, remarkable things are done."

  "Maybe, but they have relationships that aren't dead-ends. They- They love their partners, I- I don't. I can't be in a relationship with someone I don't love and expect to do the amazing things I want to do."

  Harry felt an arrow pierce his heart. He couldn't breathe, and his voice left him. His eyes filled suddenly and he began to experience a strange sense of Deja Vu, memories of the night he found Ginny with Dean. 

  But this didn't make sense. She had told him she loved him before. Many times. It made no sense that she would suddenly feel this way.

  "Yes, you do. What's going on? Look, I can help you, but this doesn't make sense. It's not possible that you just woke up and decided you no longer loved me."

  "That's exactly what happened Harry."

  "I don't believe you."

  "It's true." Without another word Hermione left.

  "Master, would you like some tea?"

  Kreacher's voice snapped Harry from his trance. He looked over at the old house elf for a moment. 

  "Yes please, that would be great."

  Kreacher poured him a cup of steaming tea before bowing extremely low and walking back to the kitchen. Harry took a small sip of the drink before returning to the memory.

  Harry sat on the bed for a few moments, trying to process what had just happened. Quickly he jumped from the bed and ran to catch up to Hermione. He reached the Gryffindor common room door just as the painting was closing. He quickly offered the password and ran through the hole. The scene that met him would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

  Just a few feet in front of him, stood Ron pressed against the wall, Hermione kissing him as roughly and deeply as she could. Harry watched as his girlfriend, the love of his life, snogged his best friend. She pulled back, a string of saliva connecting them for a moment before breaking. 

  Harry stood, staring at her for a few beats, before sprinting from the room. He ran as hard as he could down the stairs, across the entrance hall, through the front doors, and down the hill. Harry ran for as long as he could, not looking at where he was going. He found himself at the edge of the Forbidden Forrest before falling to his knees and allowing a heartbroken, gut-wrenching scream to leave his lips and pierce the still night air. 

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Oh no, this, this is not good. 

Hope you enjoyed!

Until Next Time,

  -JRich