Chapter One

Hermione Granger sat in a window seat of her modest two bedroom home in muggle London. Snow was falling softly on the couples that strolled hand in hand as the holiday lights twinkled in the quiet of the night. She sighed and closed her book, her mind had stopped focusing on the words and she had reread the same line for the past half hour, she sipped her still warm tea and decided it was late enough she could go to bed. Silently she stood up and padded over to her kitchen, but paused when she saw Crookshanks, he was laying on the top of the couch staring intently at the front door.

"Hey baby, what's the matter?" She asked in confusion at his odd behavior. He glanced at her before standing up, stretching, and jumping off the couch, she followed him as he silently moved to the door and scratched at it. Hermione quickly brandished her wand before opening the door, the first thing that struck her was the cold wind that blew snow into her entry, the second thing she noticed was that there was something on her front step, actually no, it was an unconscious person!

"Oh Merlin!" She yelped before rushing out barefoot into the snow. Quickly she turned him over and immediately fell back into the snow in shock, Ron Weasley was unconscious on her front step, her ex best friend, and her ex boyfriend who had walked out on her 3 years before, and she hadn't heard from him since. "How did you end up here?" she wondered out loud, before Crookshanks meowed, reminding her that she should bring him in and alert the Auror department.

She levitated him into her house and placed him on the chocolate color couch none to gently before stalking over to the fireplace to make a fire call. "HARRY! Its Hermione, it's an emergency!" She yelled through the flames. It took two seconds for her best friends face to appear on the other side.

"Hermione!? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Now I'm calling you because you're head of the Auror department and I'm assuming Ron is your partner?"

"Well yeah but what's that have to do with the emergency, if you're wanting to talk to Ron, which I 100% support I want to add, he isn't here, he is out on a call, apparently there was some suspicious activity down in muggle London, actually quite close to where you live, maybe I should have him drop by to check out what the problem is?" He asked she had to fight to roll her eyes; he was always trying to get Ron and her to talk after the split.

"No Harry, the problem is Ron is here, unconscious on my couch, showed up about 10 minutes ago on my doorstep!" She exclaimed.

Harry's eyes grew in size, "Back up, I'm coming through, and I'm bringing a few more Aurors." He told her, suddenly making the switch from friend to professional.

Hermione backed up to wait for him to get the team and come through; she picked up her cold tea and sat in the arm-chair across from the unconscious red-head. Her heart longed to touch his face, he looked the same, if not more handsome, merlin she had missed him.

Her attention averted to the fire as it turned green and Harry stepped through, he immediately ran to Ron and starting doing diagnostic spells as the room filled with more people. After deciding Ron would be alright Harry turned to his team.

"I want you to search the area, check out anything suspicious or anyone and for the love of Merlin go in teams! We don't need another unconscious person!" The people dispersed out her front door as Harry sat down in the other chair and turned towards her. "Now explain again how this happened, I have to write a report." He told her indicating the notepad and quill floating in the air.

"Well I was reading and had just decided to go to bed when I noticed my cat, who is part kneazle, staring at the door. Now normally most people would ignore this, but I know my cat and he knows things I don't. So I walked over to him and as soon as he saw me he got up and led me to the door where he scratched at it. I wasn't sure what I would find so I pulled my wand out and opened the door, and found Ron laying in the snow unconscious, so I levitated him to the couch and fire called you." She explained.

"Did you see anyone else? Anything suspicious?"

"No sorry Harry, nothing..." She answered embarrassed that she hadn't actually looked around.

Harry nodded and let the quill and pad drop into his lap, then looked at her, "You're not going to like what I'm about to tell you."

She looked at him through suspicious eyes and raised her eye brow, "And what would that be?"

"Well, someone has been after Ron for a while, I'm not sure why, but he keeps almost getting killed or accidents happen that injure him. He begged to go out tonight after being stuck on desk duty for two weeks, he said it was just a muggle area, no big deal, and I let him." Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I've decided I'm putting him in a safe house under the fidelius charm, and I think this would be the best place for that, he knows you, you're in a muggle area, and you'll be perfectly safe." He explained.

"No absolutely not." She immediately answered.

"Hermione, this person who is after Ron, he knows where he works, he know where he lives. Ron's hurt, I can't let Molly see him like this, he would kill me! He needs someone to help care for him; you have healer experience, please? For an old friend help him out?"

She glared at him but knew that she would cave; she could never turn Ron away, no matter how badly he had hurt her. "Fine, but he steps one toe out of line I'm sending him straight to you!"

"I know he hurt you, he regrets how it ended you know? He misses you. The fight was bad, I…."

"No don't say you know!" She snapped her emotions running high, "I caught him kissing another girl! I waited for him to get home and then when I confronted him he denied it! When I told him I saw it, he said she had kissed him and he couldn't push her off! But then he decided that if I couldn't trust him then we weren't meant for each other, and just like that he left me Harry! Just gone, poof, 7 years of friendship and a 3 year relationship over just like that because it was my fault for being worried when I caught him in a lip lock with Lavender fucking Brown!" She snapped.

Harry sat quietly before quietly telling her, "He's dating her now."

She felt the tears fill her eyes, and took a deep shuddering breath to calm herself, "Well good for him, I'm dating someone too, so we are both good. I have a spare room, you can throw him in there and I'll tend to him tomorrow. But for now I'm going to bed goodnight Harry, let me know the phrase for the charm so I can get back into my house when I decided to leave, I'll see you soon." She muttered before going to bed, dreams of what her future could have been with red-headed children and laughter haunting her through the night.