Hermione Granger leaned back in her chair, fingering the charm she had gotten from a childhood sweetheart five years ago. She remembered it clearly like it was yesterday. It was a sad memory, a sweet memory, and a memory that would linger in her mind forever.
It was seven days after Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord, five minutes before he would disappear from her life, and it would be four years until she would see him again. The train station was cold, despite the fact it was a warm summer afternoon. The graduates of Hogwarts said goodbye to one another making false promises, and crying empty tears. Ron had already taken off with Ginny back to the Burrow; their goodbyes were easy because she knew she could see them again. Now the station was even colder, more unfeeling than before. How could it possibly know what this moment would do to her? How this place, this memory would haunt her for many years to come.
“I owe you so much Hermione, I could have never have done it without you,” said Harry meaningfully. This was more than Hermione could bear but held back the tears. She didn’t want to say goodbye, she wasn’t even sure if she could. She wanted to tell him she loved him, that he couldn’t leave her alone. Tell him that he was done saving the world, that she was sick of watching him go off into danger. She wanted to tell him that behind her brave façade, she was scared for him. She wanted him to promise that he would come back to her. All she could do was nod, choking back the tears that wanted to come.
“I’ll come back, this won’t be the last time we see each other. You know without Voldemort the Death Eaters will be easy to clear out,” he said reassuringly, giving her a smile she could see through instantly. She knew he might not come back. She coughed, trying desperately to get rid of the choking sensation in her throat.
“Goodbye Hermione,” he said placing his hand on her shoulder and walking away just giving one glance behind him as he disappeared from view. Her strong persona of understanding disappeared the second he walked away. She morphed into a confused little girl, wallowing in her own tears. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think of answers to any of the questions that plagued her. She felt so lost; something she could never have claimed to feel before this moment, because she knew there was always an answer. How could he leave her alone, to wonder about him? Will he ever think of her more than just a best friend? More than just a sister? Was this a foolish love, wanting something she could never have? How could she return to Hogwarts without him? What if he died? All these were the questions with no answers; she couldn’t bear to think anymore. She wished for once she didn’t know anything, because it simply would be easier that way.
She wanted to be alone, and she didn’t. She wanted Ron or Ginny, anyone just to be there. She also wanted to drown in her own tears hoping that it would take her away from this uncertainty. Though when she looked up she was still in the middle of the train station, people moving about her. No one seemed to notice her standing there, luggage in hand, crying her heart out. Maybe that was because there were many other former seventh years standing around crying, or maybe it was because they simply didn’t care. Whatever the reason was, she still stood alone, in the middle of the train station wondering if life would ever go on from that moment.
Life did go on, but some things wouldn’t and couldn’t be the same. For four years, Hermione hadn’t heard from Harry Potter. The news reported he was missing in action, and after three years they said he had died, yet no body had been recovered. She knew how bad the news was, and her common sense told her he was never coming back. Yet something buried underneath the facts and evidence waited patiently for an empty promise, a lost dream, or something not to be expected.