money from it, so please Mrs. Rowling if you read this
don’t sue me. A comment or two would be welcome
though.
Please, if you read, take two minutes to review.
Chapter 14: Repercussions of Eternity
The cold December wind rattled the windows of the flat as Ron sat at the dining table. The relief of the Christmas holidays in two weeks that he had been dreaming about, was now lost to his mind.
You beat us, the voices said, still stunned after close to five minutes of staring at the chess board in disbelief.
He actually beat us, the second voice said unnecessarily repeating what he and the other two voices had just said.
There has to be another move we can make, his third replied still unwilling to accept the truth of what was in front of him.
Ron himself was still flabbergasted, he had first attempted this last January and after almost eleven months of trying, he had beaten the voices. There were a few times before this where he had come close to winning. One time he had even thought he would win, only to have his plan destroyed and lose. After that game, he had actually started to give up hope that he could win. The voices were him after all, and he was playing three against one. Ron opened his mind completely, melding it into one whole for the first time since he had started playing against the voices.
Is there anything you three could have done differently that would have changed the outcome? he asked them.
Ron waited while his mind raced through the game replaying each move and counter move that had been made. Finally the voices came back to him with the answer.
We made the best possible play each time. Once you took our queen’s side bishop, the only thing that could have changed the outcome would have been a mistake on your part. We could have tried a bluff of some kind, but who knows if it would have worked.
Ron contemplated the board again. It was all there, the black king was in check, every move that the voices could make left their king in check except one. That move was to take his queen’s side bishop. With Ron’s next move, he would then checkmate the black king with his queen.
“Set up for a new game,” Ron said quietly as he divided his mind again. Two hours later he had lost, but it had been close.
You made a mistake twelve plays ago, his second said quietly.
I know, Ron moaned. I’ve been trying to recover from it ever since.
I still can’t believe he beat us, his third grumbled as Ron stood up and headed for his and Hermione’s bedroom.
Ron undressed, and stood watching Hermione for a few moments before he climbed into bed as quietly as he could hoping not to disturb her. Hermione rolled over and snuggled into him sighing deeply as his arm wrapped around her.
“You said you would be right in, Love,” she murmured to him, half awake and half asleep.
“I’m sorry, Mione; I got caught up in the game,” Ron replied as he gently kissed the top of her head.
Merlin does she smell good, he said to himself.
“I just miss you, Love,” Hermione whispered before she fell asleep again. Ron smiled to himself as he laid there staring at the canopy of their giant four poster bed. All thoughts of the war and prophecies left his mind as he held Hermione close.
He could feel her heart beating against him and her breath rushing across his bare chest each time she exhaled. His own breathing and heart rate slowed matching hers as he drifted off to sleep.
Ron padded along the shore of the lake sniffing at the ground, drinking in Hermione’s scent. He turned and began to trail her through the woods. As he moved deeper into the woods he came to a stream and stopped, contemplating which way to go. He knew she would run in the water for some time. The question was, in which direction would she go, and which side of the stream would she decide to exit the water on? If he guessed wrong, the one to two minutes she was ahead of him would grow as he doubled back.
Ron headed to his left, keeping his nose low to the ground as he tried to pick up her scent again. After about two minutes, knowing he had guessed wrong, he quickly crossed the stream and headed back the other way. Halfway back to where he started, he came across a new scent that shook him to his core. Freezing in his tracks, with his heart pounding, Ron made sure he was correct before he took off running as fast as he dared after the new trail.
Ron slowed, knowing he was getting closer from the warmth of the scent filling his nose. As the woods thinned, his pace fell to a crawl. Moving with all the stealth and patience that a lion hunting the first meal it had seen in weeks possessed, he was less than a shadow as he approached the shack. As his ears rotated back and forth, he caught voices coming from inside and felt his blood turn to ice from fear in his veins.
“You have done well, Bella,” Voldemort hissed with sordid delight dripping in his voice.
“Thank you my Lord,” she replied, her voice hushed in deference to her master.
“I shall give you the honor of torturing her until her husband comes.” This pronouncement brought a squeal of school girl glee to the lips of Bellatirx Lestrange
“Thank you Master,” she answered, with barely controlled anticipation.
“Do not be too enthusiastic with her Bella, I wish for her to be alive and coherent when he arrives.”
Ron crept forward towards the shack terrified of what he would find. Whose wife had Bellatrix Lestrange captured? He was unconcerened with Bella; he could kill her before they new he was there. But then he would have to fight Voldemort alone in order to save this person, and him he could not kill, even if they fought for eternity.
Ron pressed his paw into the soft mud three times forming the pattern that he and Hermione had agreed would mean, “I thought of you at this time.” and steeled himself for what he was about to do.
“I know you would like to do more Bella, but will it not be more fun to kill her in front of her helpless husband?”
“You will allow me, Master?” she asked. Ron cringed at the insanity of the two inhuman creatures that were in the shack.
“Of course my pet,” Voldemort hissed at her. Ron’s heart skipped a beat as he caught a new scent mingled with the first two wafting on the air to him from the shack.
“GINNY!” Ron shouted bolting awake.
“Ronald!” Hermione gasped at him as she was thrown to the side in the bed from his sudden movement. Ron looked wildly around the room in the dim morning light, sweat glistening on his face and chest. Hermione reached her hand out and pulled his face around to look at her.
“Love, it was just a nightmare,” she whispered to him. Ron focused his eyes on Hermione. After a second, swallowing hard, he nodded slightly at her. He then looked around the room again.
Focusing on the door, Ron cast a proximity detection spell towards Harry and Ginny’s room trying to verify that she was there, he thought he could feel two presences, but wasn’t sure.
“Mione, can you feel if she is in the room with Harry?” he whispered anxiously.
“I can do better than that, Love,” she replied with a smile. Hermione turned to hers and Ron’s wedding picture.
“Hermione,” she said to the picture.
“What?” the image of herself asked.
“Go. See if Ginny and Harry are in their room. Tell me if they’re safe.” The image of Hermione left the frame, leaving the image of Ron standing there alone.
“Alright there, Ron?” The image of himself asked Ron.
Ron looked from the photo to his wife with his mouth hanging open. She smiled at him serenely.
“After Ginny ran off to save Bridgette, I asked Professor Dumbledore to show me how. He gave me the book, so I could figure it out.”
“Hermione,” the photo image of herself called to her.
“Yes?” Hermione asked the photo.
“She and Harry are….” The image of Hermione paused for a second.
“What?” Ron snapped at it.
“Erm….Well.... They’re ok,” the photo replied and then quickly walked out of the frame pulling the image of Ron with her.
“What does that mean?” Ron asked looking at Hermione. Hermione opened her mouth to reply.
“I….well….” she stammered, and then her face flushed, Ron’s eyes opened wide.
“No, stop,” he yelped. “They may be married, but I don’t want to know.” They both looked at each other uneasily for a second or two before breaking into sheepish grins.
“I think you need to explain how to be subtle to that photo,” Ron groaned, lying back down on the bed. Hermione lay back down on Ron’s chest, the comforting sound of his heart beating quietly resounded in her ear.
“Was the dream about Tom?” she asked after a few minutes, fearful that all of the searching Ron and Ginny had been doing of Ginny’s memories was so much, that now he couldn’t even sleep peacefully next to her.
“Yes, but it wasn’t from Ginny’s memories,” Ron replied quietly. He felt Hermione’s body relax slightly on top of him.
“It was just a random dream, Mione,” he continued. “I was hunting you, and came across a new scent. I followed it to this shack, and found Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. They had Ginny, and were going to use her to lure Harry there. I woke up just as Bellatrix was about to start torturing her.”
“She’s safe with Harry, Love,” Hermione whispered as she sat up and looked into Ron’s eyes, trailing her fingers across his bare chest and up to his jaw line.
Ron shuddered and he felt tingling sensations coursing through his body at her delicate touch. His eyes locked on hers, unwilling to let his gaze fall on the curves of her body that were only just hidden behind her nightgown.
“I know Mione, I’ll be ok now,” he replied holding her eyes in his gaze. They stayed that way for a few minutes with Hermione gently caressing his chest.
“Ronald, I don’t know how much longer I can go not making love to you,” Hermione whispered in an anguished voice. Ron closed his eyes, knowing if he looked at her he would lose the fight. He couldn’t fail her; the consequences of bringing a child into their world accidentally were too ghastly to think about. His face twitched as he struggled to control his emotions.
“I can make it through today,” he finally replied. Hermione groaned and collapsed down on his chest again.
“Thank you for being strong today, Ronald,” she said while silently cursing him. They were quiet for a long time before Ron shifted slightly under her.
“I have some memories if you want share,” he thought to her.
“Yes, Love. I do,” Hermione replied.
“I’m sorry Mione,” Ron said to her as he felt her tears wetting the bare skin of his chest.
“No, Love. I’m sorry for being weak,” Hermione answered clutching his hand in hers.
Hermione sat stewing at the table, unable to decide how she felt about what the photo had told her that morning. She and Ginny had talked many times about the vows they had each made with their husbands to abstain from making love. They had both been drawing strength from each other to keep that vow.
Ginny also knew about the wedding picture, she had helped Hermione with it. The photo of Harry and Ginny that hung on the wall in her and Ron’s bedroom was charmed too. It reported to Ginny. Along with making sure no one ran off when they weren’t supposed to, they had thought it would help both of them to keep their vow of celibacy if they knew they were so easily observed.
Apparently it had not been enough for Ginny. Now with her and Harry having finally given in, Hermione was scared that she wouldn’t be able to prevent herself from doing the same. If Ron hadn’t stopped her, she would have taken him in an instant this morning. But he wasn’t always going to be strong. In fact, the last time she had stopped him.
Has she been telling us the truth? the voices asked her.
What do you mean? Hermione replied.
Well, have they been….you know for a long time or was this the first? her second asked.
It better be the first, because if she lied to me I’ll kill her, Hermione answered angrily to the voice.
Hermione glanced up as Harry and Ginny came into the sitting room, and quickly looked back down at her porridge before either of them caught her eye.
“Morning, Hermione,” Harry and Ginny said brightly together.
“Mmmm.”
“Not very talkative this morning, are you?” Harry answered. Hermione looked up and smiled at him.
“Sorry Harry, I’m just thinking,” she said cheerfully to him. Even if she was angry with Ginny, there was no reason to take it out on Harry.
“Where’s Ron?” Ginny asked tentatively when Hermione had returned her attention to eating her breakfast without looking at her.
“He went to talk with Mark,” Hermione mumbled without looking at Ginny. Ron had no clue that Harry and Ginny had made the same vow he and Hermione had. It was not something he had thought about, nor had he and Harry discussed it. The information from the photo this morning had painted a picture in his mind that he hoped would fade soon enough. Ron had been more than happy to have had an early meeting with the Unspeakable today. Breakfast was a little to quick too face his sister and brother-in-law for him.
“Oh,” Ginny replied softly, stung by Hermione’s coldness towards her. They ate in silence for a while before Harry spoke again.
“Are you ok, Mione?” he asked her.
“I’m fine Harry, I’m just tired. Ron had a nightmare. And well, I didn’t sleep well either.”
“Oh, well what was it about?” he asked. Hermione looked up at him and glanced at Ginny.
This might actually be a way of bringing it up with out directly asking her, the voices said to her. Hermione focused on Harry.
“Tom and Bellatrix Lestrange took Ginny, they were using her to lure you out, and they were torturing her.” Hermione turned her face to focus on Ginny, who was watching her intently looking for some clue as to what she had done to have Hermione upset with her. Hermione’s eyes and voice took on a frosty tone.
“He was really upset, asked me to verify his proximity detection spell.” Harry missed the change in Hermione’s demeanor, but Ginny didn’t. She kept her eyes locked with Hermione’s for a second and then the color drained from her face as she realized how Hermione had made sure they were both in the room. Hermione got up from the table and went into her bedroom. Harry watched her go in surprise.
“What was that all about?” he asked turning to Ginny.
“I’ll tell you at quidditch. I need to go talk to Hermione,” Ginny said as she quickly kissed his cheek and then followed Hermione into her bedroom closing the door behind her. Harry sat there at the table shocked by the fact that he was suddenly alone.
“I will never understand either of them, no matter how long I live,” he muttered.
Neither will we, the voices replied.
“Just tell me that was the first time. That you haven’t been lying to me, Ginny,” Hermione said when the door closed without turning around to face her.
“It wasn’t what you think, Hermione,” Ginny replied.
“If it was the first time, I understand, Ginny, but don’t lie to me. We set those pictures up to tell everything. They were supposed to help us. How can I keep this up if the two strongest people I know couldn’t?” Hermione said turning around to face Ginny, her tears streaming down her face. “Ron had to save me this morning,” she finished desperately.
“I’m not lying to you, Hermione. Harry and I have not made love anytime before this, and we were not doing so this morning,” Ginny replied calmly.
“So the picture is lying then? You know that’s not possible,” Hermione snapped at her.
“Hermione, Harry and I were in a very compromising position this morning, in a state of undress that could easily have been misinterpreted. But we did not make love. What exactly did the picture tell you?” Hermione looked at Ginny for a second and then at her wedding picture. The photo images of herself and Ron were watching the conversation intently.
“What exactly did you see, Hermione?” Hermione asked the image of herself.
“I saw what Ginny told you and left. You told me to see if she was there, not to stick around and watch. You designed me to tell everything I see. When I came back to you and Ron, I was flustered. I knew Ron wouldn’t want a detailed description. I did the best I could not to upset anyone, but I had to give some indication of what I had seen.
“Ginny,” the image of Ginny in hers and Harry’s wedding photo said from the wall.
“Yes?” Ginny replied as she and Hermione turned to look at the photo.
“Am I free to speak?”
“Go ahead,” Ginny answered the image.
“Hermione, I was there the whole time. I have never been taken off the wall in their room since the day you and Ginny put the charms on me. You know I can’t lie, Ginny is telling you the truth.” Hermione turned to look at Ginny, she was still crying and biting her lip, but her eyes no longer radiated fear and anger.
“Ginny I’m….” Ginny crossed the room and took her sister-in-law in her arms holding her tightly.
“It’s ok, Mione. I would have been upset too,” Ginny whispered to her as they sat down on the bed. They sat together for quite a while before Hermione turned to face Ginny. Ginny reached out with her hand to wipe a tear from Hermione’s face.
“Harry had to stop me this morning too, Mione,” she said quietly.
“Ginny, I want him so much, sharing memories helped for a long time, but my heart aches to share my body with Ron. He was strong enough to stop me today, but he couldn’t look at me when he did. I wanted him to fail….Ginny, I cursed my husband’s strength today.”
“I know, Hermione. I did too,” Ginny sighed in reply.
“Ginny, I can fight evil everyday and never give in to it, but I have already failed fighting love more than once. Sooner or later, Ron is going to fail at the same time I do. I have one potion up here already, but there are others, some even for the man to take. I’m going to see Madam Pomphrey today. I need to take every precaution I can, because once it happens the first time there will be no going back. It will be impossible for me not to share myself with him. Ginny was quiet for a long time.
“I need to go too Hermione, will you wait for me? We can go after quidditch practice today.”
“Yes, Gin, I’ll wait for you,” Hermione answered, pulling Ginny into a hug.
“Harry?” Ron asked as he came up to the row of chairs outside of Madam Pomphrey’s office.
“Ron?” Harry replied, looking up nervously at his mate.
“Erm….what are you doing here?” Ron asked. “You didn’t get hurt at quidditch today did you?” Harry watched Ron carefully; he seemed to be as nervous as he was.
“No. You?”
“No,” Ron replied sitting down a few chairs over from Harry.
“Hermione’s not hurt is she?” Harry asked suddenly after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
“No,” Ron answered quickly. “Ginny?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“Hermione told us about your dream this morning,” Harry said after another uncomfortable silence. Ron stiffened. “She and Ginny disappeared into your room after that. She said they needed to talk, that was why she was late to practice today.”
“Uh-hun,” Ron replied, his ears turning red.
“Do you have any idea what they talked about? Ginny said she was going to explain it to me after quidditch, but then she and Hermione disappeared together.”
“Nope,” Ron yelped, getting up and starting to pace back and forth. He would have left, but Hermione had threatened to make him sleep on the couch if he came back without the men’s contraceptive potions.
“What’s the matter with you?” Harry asked, exasperated at Ron’s behavior.
“Me? Nothing, what’s wrong with you?” Ron replied stopping his pacing and turning to Harry.
“Nothing,” Harry answered, his face flushing red. Ron sat down grumpily in the chair again.
“So what are you here for then?” Harry asked. Ron stiffened again, then sighed.
They are married after all, the voices said to him.
“Look, Harry, after the dream this morning I tried to use the proximity detection spell to verify that both you and Ginny were in your room. I couldn’t quite tell if you were both there. I asked Hermione if she could verify it for me. She sent a picture in to check on you and Ginny. Hermione and Ginny talked later, now you and I are both here. I imagine for the same reasons,” Ron said quickly.
“Oh,” Harry said, his face turning purple.
“Yeah,” Ron replied.
“So you two know about this morning?” Harry asked after a minute.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ron yelped clasping his hands over his ears. Harry started laughing.
“Shut it, Harry.” Harry managed to stop laughing by turning away from his friend.
“What I don’t get,” Ron started after a minute, “is what you're doing here. I mean if you two have already….shouldn’t you have done this a while ago?”
“I thought you didn’t want to talk about it?” Harry replied.
“I don’t.” They both fell silent again.
“How come you haven’t done this yet?” Harry asked a few moments later.
“Because we haven’t yet you moron,” Ron said angrily. “We didn’t want to chance a child given that we are on Voldemort’s top five hit list. But it is getting too hard to control. I should think that you and Ginny would have thought of that before you started….”
“Ron, we haven’t either,” Harry replied defensively. Ron looked at him in surprise.
“But you said this morning….”
“Close Ron, but I managed to stop it.”
“You and Ginny really haven’t?”
“No Ron, but like you said it is getting too hard to control. Ginny stopped me a few weeks ago. I stopped her this morning, but sooner or later were both going to give in, so she sent me here.” Ron smiled slightly.
“I knew I could trust you with my sister.”
“You better be careful with mine, Ron,” Harry replied with a smile. They were quiet for few minutes again before Ron spoke.
“Harry, I haven’t talked with Hermione about it, but if we have a child, and we aren’t here to raise it, I want you and Ginny to do it for us.” A real smile came on Harry’s face at Ron’s announcement.
“Ginny and I have talked about it, and we want you and Hermione to raise our children if we have them and can’t raise them.”
“So that means?” Ron asked.
“Yes. Ginny and I will be the God Parents to yours and Hermione’s children.” Ron stood up and moved in front of Harry.
“Hermione and I will do the same for you and Ginny,” he replied. Harry stood up and they looked at each other for a second.
“Maybe just a handshake?” they said together.
“Yeah, Mate. A hand shake,” they both said laughing together.
“Harry, I don’t want to have a conversation about you and my sister ever again.”
“Me either, Ron,” Harry replied, flopping down in the chair again.
Ginny walked into the common area of the flat after storing the potions she had received from madam Pomphrey in her dresser. She sat down at the dining table and started in on her potions essay for Monday; a short while later, Hermione joined her.
“Did you send Ron to the hospital wing?” Ginny asked after a few minutes.
“Yes,” Hermione replied.
“So he and Harry are down there at the same time?”
Hermione stopped writing and looked up at Ginny. “Oh boy would I like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.” She giggled.
“What?” Ginny asked perplexed at the expression Hermione had used.
“Honestly Gin, don’t they teach you anything in Muggle Studies? It’s an expression, it means that I would like to watch a situation, or hear a conversation, and not be seen doing it.”
“Oh, I get it now. That would be interesting to watch wouldn’t it?” Ginny said laughing along with Hermione for a minute.
They went back to their homework for a while, before Ginny put her quill down again.
“Hermione, can I ask you something?” she asked, her voice turning solemn. “You don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.” Hermione looked at her sister-in-law curiously for a second. Ginny seemed to be acting like something was really wrong.
“I’ll answer if I can, Gin.” Ginny stewed uncomfortably for a moment or two and took a deep breath.
“Do you think I can die, Hermione?” she asked barely above a whisper. Hermione blinked in surprise. “It’s just that my animagus is the phoenix, and I have been dead twice already…. But I’m still here,” Ginny added a second later.
“Ginny, you have never been dead,” Hermione replied softly.
“Yes I have, Hermione, once in the Chamber of Secrets, and once when Cho collided with me on the quidditch field. Both times, after I recovered, when they thought I was sleeping, I overheard Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomphrey talking. Professor Dumbledore said I shouldn’t have lived either time.
“Hermione, I’m scared that I could live for thousands of years like a real phoenix. I don’t want to be here after everyone is gone.” Hermione reached out and took Ginny’s hand. Looking into eyes that had showed fear only a handful of times in the six years that Hermione had known Ginny scared her.
“Ginny, I know you can die,” Hermione said firmly, holding Ginny’s eyes with hers.
“How do you know?” Ginny asked her lip trembling slightly.
“Because I felt it in your memories, Gin,” Hermione answered, “when you thought Harry was dead this past spring after the fight with Tom. I felt you slipping away, Ginny. Your heart was barely beating I could feel it starting to flutter slightly, you were barely breathing, and I could feel your spirit fading. Have you seen Harry’s memories of this, of the time he spent in the Death Chamber, Gin?”
“No,” Ginny replied cautiously.
“I have, Ginny. I have gone back and run through them in my mind at the same time. Your heart beats and breathing are matched exactly, Gin. There is a point where Harry asks if he is supposed to go through the veil, when he does, both his and your heart and breathing stop together. And I feel something in your memory that chills my soul like a dementor.
“The instant his mother’s eyes fade away his heart beats and he breathes. Almost instantly after that your heart beats and you breathe. Then there is a voice in the chamber that tells him to go back, his heart rate and breathing pick up speed followed immediately by yours. The next thing he hears is your voice, Ginny, saying that you came back for him. When he recognizes your voice and turns to find you. He looks up to see the doorway out of the chamber starting to close and realizes that he left you in the field with Tom. His heart rate and breathing surge followed instantly by yours. When he wakes up in the field something happens in your memory that causes warmth to flow back to my soul again.
“I have done some research on people who had the eternity symbol show up in smoke at their wedding, Gin. Mark brought me the records from the Department of Mysteries; there have only been about three hundred eternity symbols recorded in England since they started to keep records of it almost two thousand years ago. Very few of the couples who had the symbol show up lived any length of time after their spouse died. The ones who did had very young children. Once their children become of age or marry, they die shortly after that.
“There are four records of couples who had the symbol turn black like you and Harry, always the younger person of the two had lived through something that the experts believed they should not have. In the first two records, the husband was the younger person of the couple, when their wives died there was nothing to keep them here, Ginny. They were both in perfect health, but they both died within hours of their wives.
“The third record, the wife was the younger of the two. As a young girl, she fell over a hundred feet from a broom. She was unconscious for almost a year but she lived, even though no one thought she would. She did, however, die giving birth to her first child. Her husband lived until the day their daughter married. There was nothing wrong with him. He was still young, only fifty-one, and healthy. He simply went to bed after the reception, and didn’t wake up the next day.
“The fourth record is you and Harry, Gin. When I am watching your memory of this past spring, and my soul goes cold, I’m positive I’m feeling your soul leaving your body. When I feel warm again, I’m sure it’s because your soul has returned to your body. Gin, there is no doubt in my mind that if Harry had gone through the veil this past spring, that you would have died too,” Hermione finished. Ginny smiled weakly at Hermione. Hermione thought she saw hope in Ginny’s eyes; strangely she didn’t think it odd to see a person hopeful at the prospect of their own death.
“Ginny, I really believe that you’re life is bound to Harry’s. I see and feel memories….no, not really memories, they are more like a ghost of a memory in your mind….that I swear are from before you were born, images that look like Harry’s mother and father, images that look like Harry as an infant and a young boy before he came to Hogwarts. I think they have something to do with Harry’s parents guiding you to him. Gin, you didn’t die in the chamber or because of the accident with Cho because Harry was still alive, not because you are a phoenix.”
“How come I don’t recall those images, Hermione?” Ginny asked tentatively.
“I don’t know, Gin. I would show them to you, but I’ve tried with Ron, and I can’t bring them to the surface. They are not like anything else I come across when I’m in your mind. They are so fleeting that they barely register.
“They are not memories unto themselves. They are buried in your other memories and are less than the flashes that we are finding in your memories of Tom possessing you.
“I’m really just guessing that they are memories from before you were born. Even that can’t be entirely correct, because it doesn’t explain an image of Harry when he is three or five or seven. I am, however, convinced that those flashes that are coming from Tom are the key to defeating him.”
“Thank you, Hermione,” Ginny said quietly.
“You’re welcome, Gin; I understand why you’re scared. I wouldn’t want to live forever either. Even though I think your life is tied to Harry’s, I’m sure there are ways that you could be killed that would not involve Harry dieing.” Ginny nodded at Hermione and gave her a feeble smile.
“How does it make you feel to think that your life may be tied to Ron’s?” Ginny asked after a moment.
“I first thought about it when I saw your memory of the fight, and felt you slipping away. That was when I asked Mark if there were records kept about people who had the eternity symbol at their weddings. I’ve thought about it a lot since looking at the records, and I’m fine with it.
“Almost always the person simply went to sleep and didn’t wake up again. A few were killed in accidents; some were murdered like Harry’s mother, all within days of their spouse. None of them went out and killed themselves. I might be able to live without Ron, I don’t know. But I would not be surprised if he died, to go to sleep and never wake up again.”
“Is there anything that might keep you here, Hermione?”
“I’m sure a child would, and maybe you or Harry….And you Ginny?”
“I would stay for a child….Harry would too, he would also stay long enough to fight Tom.”
“Yes he would, wouldn’t he?” Hermione replied with a smile. the two of them sat there for a few minutes lost in their own thoughts before they quietly returned to their homework while they they waited for Ron and Harry to come back from seeing Madam Pomphrey.
Author's note:
Obviously, I've streatched it a bit, but go ahead and type, broken heart syndrome, into the search bar on your internet browser. You will find that it is quite real.