A/N: Every time I sit down to work on the next chapter of Fated Chance, my writer's block suddenly returns. So, I figured I'd write this little one shot to maybe get the creative juices flowing. Did it work? I guess we'll find out.

Dream Catcher

Ron couldn't sleep. After seven years, he should have been able to ignore Neville's snores, but somehow, night after night, they invaded his sleeping mind and woke him in the ungodly hours of the morning. With a groan, he moved to pull the covers over his head. He froze. Someone had sneezed downstairs. Curious, and now completely awake, he rolled out of bed and crept downstairs to see who else was awake.

Hermione sat in one of the loveseats in the common room. The firelight washed over her, dancing in her wild hair and flickering lightly over her face. Ron stood at the base of the stairs for a while, watching how the inconsistent light wove shadows on her face, before silently joining her.

"Why are you up?" her voice was quiet and her eyes never left the flames.

"Neville snores," Ron's voice was equally soft. "You?"

"I had a nightmare."

Ron looked at her, surprised. "Aren't you a bit old for nightmares?"

"The oldest person can still be afraid of his mind."

Ron nodded, but he didn't think she saw. Her eyes never left the leaping flames. They sat in companionable silence for a little while, then Ron asked, "What was the nightmare about?"

She grinned wryly, "Why? Are you going to act motherly and tell me it wasn't real, go back to sleep?"

"I just wanted to know."

He didn't think she was going to answer. As it was, she was silent for two minutes before whispering, "Fire. It was everywhere, burning me. I tried to wake up- to stop it- but I couldn't."

"Sounds terrifying."

Hermione's eyes finally left the fire. She glared at him. "Are you mocking me?"

"No! I was just-"

"Being sarcastic, as usual. You don't change," she got up, and Ron thought she was going to go upstairs, but she only moved to a different chair.

"If you were trying to get away from me, wouldn't your dorm have been better?"

"Lavender snores," Hermione replied stiffly.

Ron chuckled and Hermione smiled lightly. He knew she wasn't really mad at him; it was just second nature to bicker.

They were quiet again. Ron, looking for something to do, grabbed some of her knitting wool and a pile of beads one of the first years had left lying around. Deftly, he tied the wool into a circle then began to crisscross other pieces or wool with beads strung here and there on them in the inside. After a few minutes, he offered the finished product to Hermione, who had been watching him curiously.

"What is it?" she asked as she accepted it.

"It's a dream catcher."

Her eyes widened with surprise as she moved back onto the loveseat. She looked at it for a moment before, quite unexpectedly, she hugged him.

Ron was grateful for the firelight. It hid the fact that his entire face had turned the color of his hair. He awkwardly hugged her back, wondering how he had managed to get such a reaction out of her.

She broke away from him and curled up against the arm of the loveseat, her toes barely touching his leg. She held the dream catcher in front of her, looking at it and smiling. "Thank you, Ron."

Still slightly shocked by her hug, Ron could only stammer, "Y-you're welcome."

"That was really sweet."

Ron didn't have a reply for that, but she didn't seem to be expecting one. She fingered a star-shaped bead toward the center of the dream catcher. "This is nice- getting along with you instead of fighting," she smiled at him. "I think I like you better at night, Ronald Weasley."

"You're not so bad yourself, Miss Granger."

She laughed quietly. "Night changes everything, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, would you have done this-" Hermione indicated the dream catcher, "-during the day?"

"Would you have had a nightmare?" Ron countered. He didn't bother listening to her reply. He was too busy thinking. Things were different at night. At night, he would do things that he might not get a chance to do during the day. He wasn't sure if the firelight had made him temporarily insane, but the next thing he knew, hew was taking advantage of the night. He leaned forward and kissed her.

Hermione looked at him in shock, one hand lightly touching her lips. "Ron," she murmured. "Wha- why- I mean-"

He grinned impishly at her, "You're right," he said. "I do like getting along with you." He expected a slap, or a sharp reply, or for her to stalk off like an angry cat. He certainly didn't expect for to start grinning as widely as he. "Don't be an ass, Ron."

He put his hand to his heart in mock sadness. "I try not to be, Hermione. I really do. The doctors, though, they say there is no hope for me. I don't believe I can ever be changed."

"I wouldn't want you to," she replied, changing positions so that she was leaning against him. He wrapped his arm around her, vaguely wondering how exactly this had happened. That type of thought didn't last very long. It was quickly overthrown by the sense of rightness he felt when holding her.

For the third time that night, they were silent, each awed by the effects the night had over them. Hermione began to drift asleep. She wasn't worried about nightmares. She felt safe with Ron.

For tonight, he would be her dream catcher.

A/N: Ok, yeah, I think it was corny, and Ron was a bit OOC, but as I said before- it's just a little oneshot to try and crack through the enormous writer's block I have. Or at least stick the chisel in it so I can work on cracking it later. Ah well, tell me what you thought!

ß Faerie