Rest In Peace

[ficsbydeenas]

Title: Rest In Peace
Rating: G
Words: 473
Summary: When one leaves, two are left to comfort one another.
Author Note: Written to honor the memory of simons_flower and for madam_minnie and tqpannie. Also, I've taken liberties to loosely write in The Dungeon Universe.

Rest In Peace

Ron stood with his mouth open, tears streaming down his face and his heart felt as if it'd stopped beating. He reached his hand back and immediately found the strong warmth it had been looking for. Harry squeezed the hand in his as the two men watched their wife being covered by a white sheet and levitated onto a stretcher.

Hermione was gone.

She'd been ill off and on for a few months; pneumonia and cancer had attacked her body and finally won. When things got to be too much for Ron and Harry to handle at home, they brought her here, to St. Dymphna's Chronic Care Center, where she appeared to be recovering. But this morning, they received an emergency Floo call from the mediwitch.

"She's fading fast, Mr. Weasley. You'd better hurry," the sympathetic woman had said.

Dropping his garden trowel on the carpeted floor, Ron turned to flee the room, running full on into Harry.

"Wha--?"

"She's…she's dying. We…we need—"

"To go."

Minutes later, they appeared at Hermione's bedside, each of them holding one of her hands. She had opened her eyes when they arrived but hadn't since then; she was heavily sedated. Ron and Harry spoke quietly to her, reassuring her that it was alright if she was tired and needed to leave, telling her they'd be all right without her. Neither of them believed the words.

Her eyes had opened wide and she took a deep breath, appearing lucid.

"Keep on…loving each…other," she had said in a strong voice despite her weakened state. "I'll be fine. Mum…Dad."

One last, ragged breath had escaped her lips, her eyes had drifted closed and she was gone.

Harry stood and watched as the attendants arrived and attempted to revive her. Minutes passed and time stopped while she was pronounced dead. They held hands as she was taken away.

In a fog, they made their way through the rest of the day, making calls and soothing each other between bouts of tears. Neither of them felt like eating or drinking anything, even when their daughters' pleas reached decibels only dogs could hear.

"Please, Dad," pleaded Bridget, "you and Ron need to eat."

"We will, sweetheart. But right now, we just need each other. We'll be fine," Harry reassured her.

When Bridget was gone, Ron raised his head and met Harry's eyes.

"I don't know what to do without her, Harry. She kept everything…she held us together for so long." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Harry put an arm around Ron and pulled him close, resting his head on a shoulder.

"I don't know, Ron, but we'll figure it all out. Maybe not tomorrow, or even a dozen tomorrows. But we will, somehow. She'd want us to."

Ron nodded. "I miss her already."

"Yeah. Me, too."