Just like that, he was gone. All he left was a note. No good bye, no "I'll see you soon, Hermione", no "Don't cry, I'll be fine, Hermione", just a note. She knew Harry was eventually going to leave to fight Voldemort, but not this soon. Not now.

He, Ron, and she had all talked to Dumbledore about Harry's leaving, and Ron and Hermione assumed they were to go with him. Hermione knew she needed to go with him, but no.

He left.

Ice-age heat wave, can't complain.
If the world's at large, why should I remain?
Walked away to another plan.
Gonna find another place, maybe one I can stand.
I move on to another day, to a whole new town with a whole new way.
Went to the porch to have a thought.
Got to the door and again, I couldn't stop.
You don't know where and you don't know when.
But you still got your words and you got your friends.
Walk along to another day.
Work a little harder, work another way.

She sat in her empty dorm room on her bed, clutching her wrinkled, tear stained note in her hands. She knew she had to stay strong, for Harry. Always for Harry, but it wasn't so much his leaving that made her upset. It was never having the chance to tell him the truth before he left. The truth of how she felt.

Harry always thought she and Ron were going to start going together once this war ended, but frankly, she didn't care for Ron that way. She wanted Harry. She wanted to be with him, to hold him, care for him, tell him she loved him, help him in this fight. Hermione didn't want to lose him, and she didn't want the thought over her that he didn't know how she felt before he left.

Well uh-uh baby I ain't got no plan.
We'll float on maybe would you understand?
Gonna float on maybe would you understand?
Well float on maybe would you understand?

Hermione took in a deep sigh and read over the note for the seventh time that day:

Hermione,
I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to say bye, but this isn't for good, remember that. It'll never be "for good". You have Ron to fall back on and to help support you. You'll be fine without me. I'll be back, don't worry. I really wanted to say bye, but part of me felt that would have been too permanent, you know? There's so much I want to say to you, but I wanted to tell you to your face. That's my motivation to stay alive- to see you again. Stay strong, Hermione. I know I'm going to need you.
Harry.

"No, Harry, I won't be fine without you," she angrily whispered to the empty room. "I need to be with you, Harry."

The days get shorter and the nights get cold.
I like the autumn but this place is getting old.
I pack up my belongings and I head to the coast.
It might not be a lot but I feel like I'm making the most.
The day's get longer and the nights smell green.
I guess it's not surprising but it's spring and I should leave.

Days went by, and there was no sign of Harry's return. Hermione received owls from him. She got the feeling he wasn't coming back anytime soon.

I see what they say about war being a terrible thing, Hermione, but magical warfare is far worse. I cannot go into detail, but I am so relieved you are not here with me. I would not change things so I wasn't here fighting the Death Eaters, but I would change things so that I could be with you.
Harry.

Every letter he sent only made her cry harder. Numerous times, she and Ron went to Dumbledore, demanding why they couldn't fight beside Harry, and his response was always "This is Harry's fight."

I like songs about drifters - books about the same.
They both seem to make me feel a little less insane.
Walked on off to another spot.
I still haven't got anywhere that I want.
Did I want love? Did I need to know?
Why does it always feel like I'm caught in an undertow?

A month had gone by.

Voldemort was defeated. The Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban, but Harry did not return. Hermione sent owl after owl to him, asking where he was. A few weeks later, he finally responded to her.

I've seen too much, Hermione. Many terrible things, but I feel that's not the reason I can't come back. I just feel like there's something missing, and I just don't what. I'm looking for it, and I'm hoping I find it soon.
Harry.

Hedwig dropped his letter in Hermione's lap, and she quickly opened it. Her eyes welled up with tears, but they did not fall. She wrote him a short letter.

What's missing, Harry?

The moths beat themselves to death against the lights.
Adding their breeze to the summer nights.
Outside, water like air was great.
I didn't know what I had that day.
Walk a little farther to another plan.
You said that you did, but you didn't understand.

The end of term was nearing at Hogwarts. Hermione passed all of her N.E.W.T.s. exceptionally, despite Harry being heavily on her mind. He had not responded to her letter, which she had sent him two months before.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ron asked one night in the Common Room. "Your nose isn't buried in a book for a change."

Hermione was too preoccupied to retort. She only sighed and headed up to her dorm room. She put her pajamas on and went to bed. She dreamed of Harry, like she did every night. When morning came, she got up, showered, dressed and sat by the window, waiting for an owl, like every morning.

"What is it you're looking for, Harry?" she quietly sighed.

"You."

She jumped up and found him standing in her door way. Harry. There. She ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Harry!"

"I know what was missing, Hermione. It was you."

She loosened her grip on him. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, but a small smile crept onto his face. "I love you, Hermione, and...and I know it was you... You were what was missing in my life. You were what I was searching for."

She smiled and pressed her lips to his. "I love you, too, Harry," she said in an almost whisper. "Don't ever leave me like that again."

"I won't."

I know that starting over is not what life's all about.
But my thoughts were so loud, I couldn't hear my mouth.
My thoughts were so loud, I couldn't hear my mouth.
My thoughts were so loud.