1."Hermione!"

Who was calling her name? All she could feel was pain, pain coursing through her body. The only people there were people who hated her, wanted her dead. Harry and Ron had been led away to be taken down to the cellar. It was up to her to make sure Bellatrix didn't find out it was the real sword.

"Hermione, please!"

She felt someone's hand on her shoulder; she pushed it away, curling away from her captors and into her own body, which was growing weaker by the second.

"Wake up, Hermione. Please, wake up."

Ron pleaded with the sleeping girl's form, watching her writhe on her bed. He placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, but she pushed it away and curled into herself, shuddering. His voice broke as he tried once more. "Please, Hermione. Please wake up."

The girl's eyes finally shot wide open. When she saw the red hair and blue eyes she broke down into tears. Ron gathered her into his arms, soothing her quietly, afraid to wake up their best friend sleeping in the next bed.

"What happened?" He asked gently, raising her face to his.

"It-it was terrible." She gasped, burying her head into his chest, soaking it with more tears. "She was there and I couldn't get away, and I didn't know where you were, and she was hurting me." She finally stopped, knowing she couldn't continue. He understood.

"It's alright. She's gone. They're all gone. It was just a dream."

Hermione nodded her head slowly as memories of the previous 24 hours flooded her brain. Escaping from Gringott's on the back of that dragon, returning to Hogwarts through the Hog's Head, going into the Chamber of Secrets to get the basilisk fangs, stabbing the Horcrux and bringing them one step closer to killing Voldemort for good. Then, the kiss. And then, the battle, seeing Harry's limp body cradled by Hagrid and finally, at long last, the two blasts of light, one red, one green, that ended it all. She saw herself and Ron running towards their best friend of seven years, launching herself into his arms and feeling Ron's around them both. Hearing the rejoicing of the crowd gathered in the Great Hall, and the sobs of family's who had lost loved ones, the Weasleys included. It all came back to her in an overwhelming second and she broke down. Out of relief that it was all over and sadness at their monumental losses.

Ron's arms continued to hold her until she relaxed, close, once again to slumber. As he shifted to let her lay back down, she asked him the most pressing question on her mind at this moment. She didn't care what she should be thinking about, this was what she wanted to know, while she was here in his arms. "Did you mean it?"

"Did I mean what, Hermione?" He responded, looking slightly confused.

"The-the kiss." She looked at her intertwined fingers, twisting them mercilessly. He gaped at her. "Well…" he began.

"Ron- if you didn't, that's okay." Well, no it's not, she thought to herself, but she wasn't about to say that to him. "I was just wondering."

"Of course I meant it Hermione." He looked worried. "Didn't you?"

"What could possibly have made you think that?" She asked, angrier with herself than with him.

"It's just that…" he began angrily, but soon paused, thinking. "I don't know…" He trailed off yet again, unsure what to say.

"Look at us." Hermione giggled in spite of herself. "We're not even together for two minutes and we get into a row."

"Are we?" Ron asked, wide-eyed.

"Are we what Ronald?"

"Are we together?"

"Well, yes…I mean, I thought… If you don't-" It was Hermione's turn to trail off. Ron interrupted her confused thoughts with a hopeful look on his face.

"Hermione, would you be my girlfriend?"

She nodded. "I would love to be your girlfriend, Ron." With this she snuggled deeper into his arms and promptly fell asleep.

The next thing she knew, light was streaming over her tired body, forcing her eyes to squint as she opened them. Once she was awake enough to appreciate her position, she smiled. She lay on her side, curled into Ron's body with her head resting on his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She heard the door behind her open slowly and a voice murmuring "it's about bloody time" before coming into the room and closing the door. She smirked into Ron's chest and closed her eyes, wanting to go back to sleep. This was not what the other occupant of the room had in mind, however.

"Wake up sleepyheads." He said loudly. "I'm wanted downstairs and if I'm going you two bloody well have to go too." Ron groaned and tightened his arms around Hermione's body, but his eyes were open. Through her sleep hazed eyes she could make out the messy black hair of her other best friend standing at the foot of her bed. She dragged herself out of bed and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Hermione took in her appearance and winced. She looked a fright. Barely having had time to change out of her dirty blood-stained clothes and into a pair of pajamas from her bag, she had collapsed into bed without showering or brushing her mane of bushy hair.

"Can we at least get cleaned up first?" She asked Harry. He nodded. "We have half an hour before Mrs. Weasley comes up here herself to fetch us." This spurred them into action. The thought of Mrs. Weasley's scolding was enough to make anyone get out of bed. Twenty-five minutes later three washed and redressed teens were leaving the Gryffindor dorms and heading to the Great Hall.

As they reached the doors, Harry took a deep breath and smiled weakly at his best friends. They both smiled back and all three stepped into the large room.

What little chatter was going on died as soon as people began to notice who had just entered. When it became clear that neither Harry Potter nor Ronald Weasley nor Hermione Granger appeared to be at all interested in small talk and were walking purposefully towards the other end of the room, interest began to die down.

The trio made their way over to the large group of redheads sitting at what used to be the Ravenclaw table. All looked sad, but there were varying degrees of misery on their faces. Molly's brightened slightly when she realized her youngest son had appeared with her two surrogate children and pulled them all into a bone crushing hug. "Mum. Stop. You're strangling us." Ron managed to gasp, forcing her to let them go.

"Oh my dears." She sobbed. Her husband patted her on the back, trying to calm her down. Both Harry and Hermione had gone quite red being addressed as such.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm so sorry. You know, about Fred." Harry said.

"Don't be silly dear, it's not your fault. He died fighting for what he believed was right. It was how he would have wanted to go." The woman's voice wavered a little before gaining strength. "In fact, had it not been for you, this could have gone on for ages, and who knows how many more we would have lost."

"But, Mrs. Weasley…"

"No. I don't want to hear a word out of you about this being your fault. It's not." She glared at him, forcing him to nod weakly. "Now, Harry dear, I think it's about time you started calling me Mum." Hermione chuckled at the look on Harry's face.

"But…" he began.

"No buts, Harry dear. You're as much a son to me as Ron or, or any of the others." She turned to Hermione suddenly. "Dear, what about your parents?"

"My-my parents?"

"Yes, Hermione dear. Are you planning on leaving them in Australia for the rest of their lives?"

"Well, no." She answered, slightly ashamed that she hadn't thought about them before. "I guess I had a lot on my mind." She responded sheepishly.

"It's quite alright. I understand." She turned to face the three of them. "Now eat, all three of you. You look like you haven't had a decent meal in months."

The day passed slowly. Harry, Ron and Hermione spent most of it on their own, talking about the events of the previous battle. They returned the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb and repaired the damage done to it by Voldemort. Harry explained his conversation in King's Cross and while they were unfailingly polite, all three tried to keep admiring witches and wizards away. This was easier said than done, for besides being heroes, the three of them had changed over the year they were gone.

At least, Ron and Harry had, Hermione thought bitterly. Both of them had continued growing and each towered over her now, Ron by almost a foot. Their meager diet had gotten rid of any excess weight and their continual movement had made their Quidditch muscles even more prominent. But besides all that, they had matured far beyond their years. They had all seen and experienced things most people never have, before leaving their teens. There was gravity to their characters now, a seriousness that hadn't existed before. This made them quite attractive to the hordes of people still hanging around Hogwarts. Hermione felt uncomfortable with the looks some of the girls were giving Ron. He must have sensed this, because as they walked, he placed his arm around her waist protectively. She never noticed the scowl on his face or the flash in his eyes when she received looks of her own, because she never noticed the looks. She was too caught up in her own thoughts.

"Harry?" She asked early in the evening. "What are you planning on doing about Ginny?" Ron's face darkened a little at this, but a poke in the ribs was enough for it to vanish.

"Ginny? What about her?"

"Well, last summer, we talked a lot, and she misses you, Harry. She misses you a lot."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione cut him off.

"She understands why you had to leave, but that doesn't mean she likes it." She pointed out firmly. "Her face when she saw Hagrid carry you out of the woods was devastating Harry. She still loves you. And I know you still love her, so don't even think about denying it."

"I wasn't going to." Harry said quietly.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'll talk to her, I promise. I don't want to intrude on anything."

"Mate, if you're talking about Fred, I think she'd do a lot better with you than not." Ron pointed out. "It's a lot easier knowing you have someone who's there just for you." He smiled at Hermione as he said this, making her blush. He wrapped his arm closer around her waist and kissed her temple.

His lips found their way to hers and their kisses grew deeper. "Oi! I'm still here!" Harry yelped when their tongues began to dance.

"Then leave." Hermione managed to gasp as Ron's lips moved to her neck. "Go talk to Ginny."

"Fine." He huffed, but stood up and headed toward the castle.

Ron and Hermione remained oblivious to the rest of the world for quite some time.

The next day they all woke up at nearly the same time, dreading what they were going to have to do. The funerals were today, and as the heroes of the war, were expected to be at as many as possible. Harry had made sure that he was going to be able to attend both the funeral for Fred and Colin Creevey as well as the one for Remus and Tonks before agreeing to go to any others. He also insisted that Ron and Hermione stay with him at all times. Truthfully, no one was willing to say no to Harry Potter, the Chosen One, but Harry tried to ignore this. As he told Ron and Hermione before they headed to the first service, he was tired of being treated like a hero. He wanted to be free to live a normal life, without the constant scrutiny present under the public eye. Ron and Hermione wanted this as well, but as they had not actually been the one to kill Voldemort, they weren't quite as worshipped.

Not that they didn't have their share of publicity. Now that the initial shock of the battle had worn off, all three were being hounded by reporters and cameramen trying to get them to open up about their year in hiding, their relationship with each other, their future plans and, most irritatingly of all, their love lives. After Harry left to find Ginny, they had made up and while they weren't officially a couple again, most could see it was only a matter of time. Ron and Hermione were trying to keep their budding relationship under the radar as well. They both knew that their many quarrels and disagreements would be pounced on as lover's quarrels and while they both knew their arguments weren't serious, not everyone did and they didn't need the extra stress.

About two weeks after the battle, having done all they could to help Hogwarts recover from the calamity that had befallen it, the Weasley's and Harry and Hermione began to think about leaving. Harry would be going to the Burrow as he had nowhere else to, not wanting to live by himself in Grimmauld Place. Hermione wanted to bring her parents back from Australia but had had little headway in figuring out the best way to do it.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister of Magic, approached Hermione with a solution one night soon before they intended to leave. "Why don't we send a couple of our people down there to sort everything out and bring them back here?" He suggested over dinner the night before the Weasley's were going home.

"That's very kind of you Minister, but I was hoping that I'd get to see them, and I could do with a bit of a vacation. Australia would be ideal." Hermione responded, trying to be respectful. He chuckled.

"First of all Hermione, I would be honored if you would call me Kingsley, everyone in the Order does. Secondly, I can understand your assertions, but let me give you my reasons. Perhaps we can compromise."

"Alright, I suppose that's fair."

"As you are obviously aware, seeing as you yourself performed the spell, the Memory Charm your parents are under is quite strong. Were you to lift it too suddenly, they could become violent and confused, thinking that you are taking away what they see to be their real lives." Hermione nodded her understanding.

"I have no doubts in your ability as a witch to successfully counter the charm, but you're being such a close relation does cause problems. I am unsure that you would be willing to put your parents through the necessary process to remembering their old lives, and I am sure you can appreciate that it would be hard for you as well."

Hermione nodded once again, her eyes filling with tears. "I understand. But this is something that I feel I need to do on my own. I don't mean to be rude, but -" she stopped, on the brink of tears. Ron's hand appeared on her back, stroking it slowly, reassuring her.

"I understand Hermione. If this is something you wish to do on your own, we will, of course respect that." Kingsley relented. "If there's anything you need help with, be sure to let us know."

"I will. I really do appreciate the offer. Thank you for wanting to help me."

"No Hermione, thank you. And of course Ron and Harry as well." He said nodding to the two boys on either side of her. "I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you three that you will be receiving Order of Merlin, First Class awards later this summer when things have settled down a little."

The trio was speechless. "You can't be serious." Ron said disbelievingly.

"I most certainly am. You three performed a great deed this past year. We would like to recognize it officially."

All three nodded dumbly as Kingsley turned to say goodbye to the remaining teachers before striding out of the Great Hall. They turned to each other in disbelief. "Bloody hell!" Ron said finally. "Order of Merlin, First Class."

The next day they all left for the Burrow. Hermione was staying there until the arrangements could be made for the trip to Australia. Not that she was complaining. As much as she wanted to get her parents back, she needed time with Ron to work on their relationship. They had already discovered that while they had been best friends for nearly seven years, they were entering new territory and wanted to be careful not to mess it up. Their days were spent mainly by themselves, talking about what they wanted for their futures and what direction they saw their lives taking in the next few years.

Hermione knew she wanted to finish her education, and had already spoken to McGonagall about returning to Hogwarts in the fall. She wanted to fight for house elves rights, continue with S.P.E.W., something Ron rolled his eyes at, earning him a punch on the arm. Ron, on the other hand only knew that he had no real desire to finish school. Although he had received an invitation to begin Auror training with Harry in the fall, he didn't think he wanted to jump right back into chasing dark wizards. He admitted to Hermione that although he would eventually want to join the Auror ranks, the timing wasn't right. This meant of course that for 10 months while Hermione was at Hogwarts they couldn't see each other every day, as they had for nearly a year. Neither of them was looking forward to the separation, but knew that they could handle it. Theoretically, anyway.