Keep In Touch

A story about true love and understanding…

jussylynn

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nada. And for those who don't take grade nine Spanish, that means, "nothing."

Always

The Hogwarts Express came to a screeching halt, and with that, Hermione Granger awoke from her deep, dreamless sleep. She turned around to look at Ron, who was very pale. His red hair seemed to be sticking up, and from his eyes, Hermione could tell that he had been crying.

Ron's blue eyes turned to meet Hermione's brown ones.

"So, this is it." He said.

"I suppose it is."

"I never really thought that I'd leave Hogwarts without—without—Harry and Ginny sitting in this compartment with me and you…"

Hermione's brown eyes, which were usually lively, seemed to be still. "Yes…"

"Ginny put up a good fight before she died, didn't she?"

"Mmm…"

"And Harry—Harry gave the Wizarding World the best gift of all—defeated Voldemort…right before he died, didn't he?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Hermione snapped viciously.

"I'm sorry…"

"Oh, Ron, don't be sorry! I'm sorry…I shouldn't have yelled. I just don't want to talk about the bloody war…the violence…the deaths of half the people we knew at Hogwarts…Harry's death…Ginny's death… …Percy's death…" Hermione counted the people off on her fingers, and then burst into tears. "I'm so sorry…I'm just trying to be strong, Ron…strong! As you'll soon discover, I'm never strong, and I haven't once been truly brave and strong and courageous in my life!"

Ron wrapped his arms around Hermione, comforting her as the tears ran down her cheeks.

"We should go now," Hermione pulled away from Ron a few short minutes later. "I'm sorry, Ron. I shouldn't have cried like that."

Hermione got up, pulling The Daily Prophet out of her seat and sticking it into a carry-on bag. Ron straightened his shirt. Hermione wiped her eyes with a hanky that Ron had given her one Christmas...

As they stepped off the Hogwarts Express, Ron gave Hermione a smile. Hermione hadn't seen his smile since the war broke out. She quickly turned away; at this time, she couldn't manage to smile back.

"Hermione?"

Hermione slowly turned to look Ron in the face.

"It's okay to cry. If you ever need to cry on someone's shoulder…you know where to find me…"

"Uh—thank you, thank you, Ron. Keep in touch?"

"Always…"