DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!


Sweet Dreams:

"Can I explain later?" Harry asked, as the three of us fell onto our favorite well-worn couch in the Gryffindor common room. The giant room was empty now; all the people were sleeping in the dorms or at home, grieving in various corners of the castle, or celebrating downstairs somewhere. Surprisingly, the fire was still crackling in the fireplace; it had kept burning throughout all the fighting, as if it could feel that there was something important was going on downstairs and it should keep going.

After the uncountable amount of 'thank you' that we had received, the three of us had finally made their way up to the common room. We trudged up the stairs, drinking in the damage that had been thrown upon our beloved school. The walls were breaking and broken, the paintings torn and thrown around, the suits of armor battered and strewn around the halls.

It was very comforting to be entering our old common room again. It was strange seeing a place that was so familiar since we had spent months and months in places that we had never seen before, never been to, never felt comfortable in. The contrast from being in the middle of nowhere to being in a place where there were so many memories that we had made together was astonishing.

I had looked around at the big squishy armchairs and felt for the first time in almost a year, that we were all finally home again, and that we were finally safe.

"Of course, mate." I replied, as slung my arm around the back of the couch. Hermione collapsed in front of it and Harry on her other side, looking as tired as I had ever seen the both of them. Harry gazed at us with a dependent look, borderline helpless.

"But the two are you are staying with me," Harry said, looking us both in the eye, panic in his own, "You aren't allowed to leave. If you do-" his voice cracked, "Well I won't know what to do. You have to stay."

I watched Hermione peer at Harry, and nodded along with her. I could tell that we both knew after all this time together we weren't sure if we could ever really be apart from each other, or from Harry.

"I'm tired." She said softly, rubbing her cheeks and eyes as she looked into the fire.

She looked it, too. The pure exhaustion, the fatigue that the past months had bestowed on them, was evident on her face, as I was sure it was on Harry's and mine. Her lips were parted slightly and her body was slumped against itself, a sign that she couldn't muster up the energy to keep herself in an upright position.

She looked at me and gave a defeated, tired smile. I returned it with a small, sad smile of my own. She yawned, and I was struck with how adorable she looked. Her head then fell into Harry's lap and she lifted her feet up into mine. I picked them up and carefully untied her shoes as Harry brushed her hair out of her face with his fingers.

Her eyes fluttered closed with one last yawn and within a few moments, Hermione's slightly irregular breathing had slowed to a deep, steady pattern. I rubbed my thumb back and forth along her shin, covered in her jeans, taking in every part of her anatomy as she slept.

"Ron," Harry's voice said, breaking the comfortable silence with a quiet tone, "Think she'll be up any time soon?"

I looked at her sweet face resting along the dark fabric of Harry's denim and shook my head.

"Not for a couple hours," I replied. I glanced at Harry's face and saw the same look that had been on Hermione's, except Harry's was one that made him look ten years older then he was. I looked with melancholy at my best friend. "You should sleep too, mate." Harry nodded, still stroking Hermione's hair, much like a brother would his sister's.

"I will," he said quietly, "But I don't know if I'll be able to."

"You could go find Ginny," I suggested gently. I had given up the internal battle with myself long ago, and I decided to let it go. Harry's eyes snapped up and his hand froze. He raised his eyebrows, asking the wordless question. I nodded, silently letting him know of my surrender. "I think she's in the Great Hall; she's probably weary too." Harry gave me a huge grin and I saw years of anguish and sadness melt off his face, making him appear a ton closer to his actual age.

I knew I had done the right thing then. If the capitulate of mine could get that look of weariness and lethargy of the young man's face, it would be worth it.

"Thanks, Ron," he said, his eyes full of a joy that I hadn't seen a very long time, "You don't know how much that means to me."

I looked down at Hermione as she slept.

"I think I do," I replied, smiling as I kept my eyes on her face. I could feel Harry's eyes on me as I continued watching her. He smiled and gently lifted her up, placing her carefully onto my lap. Her arms curved around my middle as she snuggled up against me. Harry gave us a knowing smile and then walked out the portrait hole, closing it quietly behind us.

Hermione buried her face deeper into my shoulder. I pulled her closer to me, enjoying the feeling of her body so near mine. I looked down at her face, red and swollen, bruised in some places, marked in others, the sparkling dark amber eyes that were always alert, covered by her eyelids. Under her eyes were dark, lined circles of black etched into her ivory skin. They were the sign that showed how little she had really slept over the last year.

She had sacrificed more then the rest of us, I'm sure. Well, more then me I'm positive. Harry hadn't had anything left, so what could he have sacrificed? Everything that he was, everything that he had, everything that he had ever had was put into the defeat of Voldemort. What more could he had given?

And she certainly gave more then I did. What did I give up? Home cooked meals? A warm bed? I'm not positive whether she, or he, even had that to begin with. I'd never been to Hermione's house, so I couldn't be sure with her, and I know Harry didn't at that bloody dump that his relatives put him in.

And it didn't matter even if I did sacrifice anything. It's not like I stuck around long enough to actually feel the pain of it. I didn't suffer any. Hermione was the one who had to put up with Harry's cold shoulder and my temper tantrums. She was the one who provided food for us the whole time. She was the one who had to put up with everything that us boys had thrown up at her.

She had to deal with me walking out on her, leaving her practically alone in a situation that she never should have been in in the first place. She wasn't only the person who sacrificed the most, but also the one who I hurt the most, who I treated the worst, who had to deal with everything that I threw to her.

She was so strong. No matter what she went through, with… the, err, the Malfoy Manor incident and the aftermath of the torturing, and the battles and the adventures and the horror and the death and just, just everything! It's so hard to believe that she's actually okay, that she's all right, that she's here.

I'm going mad right now. I'm only looking at her and I feel like I'm about to go crazy, like I'm going to fall of my rocker. Not only from her, but everything. From, oh Merlin from Fred. I really can't believe he's gone. After, Merlin-

She stirred in my arms. Her eyes fluttered open and looked up at me.

"Ron?" she murmured hazily, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

I hugged her closer and whispered in her ear.

"How did you know I wasn't sleeping?"

"I just knew. Go to sleep," she urged.

"I can't here." I whispered. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I'll wake you up in a few hours."

"You can't sleep here?" Her eyes looked so innocent, still half-closed from her nap a few moments ago. "Well why not?"

"Because it's a couch. When have I ever been good at sleeping in somewhere other then a bed?"

"Fine then," she said, standing up and brushing off her clothes. She still looked exhausted. "We'll go to the dorms."

"Huh?"

"Honestly, Ronald. You can't sleep down here, and frankly I can't sleep without you. And I'm too drained to not sleep, as I'm sure you are too, so we need to go to your dorm so you can sleep, and in turn, so can I." I didn't fully understand what she was saying, but I went along with it anyways. I realized that I was so tired that I wasn't thinking or comprehending anything rationally.

Not that I think rationally very often anyways. But that's beside the point.

I took her outreached hand and felt her pull me up. When did this turn into her taking care of me? I heard her grab her shoes and pull my hand towards the stairs. I tripped over them ungracefully, again and again grabbing her hand tightly, depending on it to pull my body up from the ground when I fell.

Her hand was comforting in mine. Our fingers weren't intertwined; like I saw Ginny and Harry's on countless occasions, and our pinkies weren't linked like I saw Mum and Dad do while they walked. We were just holding hands, like a brother and sister would do. Except for the fact that we weren't brother and sister. Not even close.

Before I knew it, she had opened the door and we had fallen haphazardly onto my old bed, a flailing pile of mass and limbs, entangled in each other and not really caring. Every part of my body was touching hers. Her arm against my stomach, my leg against her thigh, my wrist against her neck. It felt heavenly. A warmth wiggled through me and sent a slow, pulsing shock up and down my spine.

Before I knew it I had woken again. I couldn't even remember falling asleep. All I knew was I her loud weeps. Her sobs were whipping against my ears, a piercing sound of agony that pushed through the barrier of her hair. I pulled her closer and just looked at her red-rimmed eyes that were pushing tears out. It was hard, but I did it anyways.

I had gotten used to her dark eyes smiling silently at me when I teased her, or glaring at me when I didn't do my homework. But now the tears silently poured. And it was breaking my heart. How was it that her skin still looked clean? I wondered randomly as I held her. I must look like hell right now and here she is, still perfect.

She had a cut on her chest, I noticed. Maybe a hex that had seared through her tee shirt and cut the soft skin below it? Maybe sent by a rogue Death Eater, or a floating pierce of shrapnel?

I looked at her hair, the bushy, frizzy curls that had tantalized me for so long. The tips of them were singed, probably from Gringotts, or maybe from another hex. I knew she had had a million of them thrown in her direction. It was a miracle she wasn't more seriously injured – a miracle from the Gods.

But her hair still looked good, even after a huge battle. I was sure mine was greasy and dirty, but hers still seemed like it did every other day: shiny, big, and gorgeous. I loved how I could take my finger and stick it up the center of the curl, and it would wrap around my finger.

No, now wasn't the time to think things like that. I wrapped my arms around her waist yet tighter still. I tried to drain everything bad out of her head, only leaving the good thoughts. I tried to wipe out all the guilt, the fear, and anxiety.

I knew it wasn't going to work, but it was better then nothing. It was better then thinking that I couldn't help her at all. Perhaps she would be less miserable than if I had not been here?

My mind wandered back to our kiss somehow. The way her lips felt on mine, moving against mine, pressing against mine. The way she tasted was incredible, intoxicating, irresistible. I could only imagine tasting her again.

She eventually fell back asleep, and consequently, so did I.

I wasn't supposed to be awake yet. I was still supposed to be sleeping, wrapped up in my blanket, erasing the black circles that had been resting beneath my eyes. My head was supposed to be filled with pointless dreams, nothingness that strolling lazily across the field of my mind.

I was supposed to be sleeping, my heart beating in a set pattern, a steady pattern, and my breathing regular. I was supposed to feel warm, encased in a shell of comfort. I was supposed to feel caressed by the deep red curtains that I hadn't slept in for such a long time. I wasn't supposed to be awake.

But I was. The bright light had snuck and had taken away the peaceful slumber, replacing the relaxing feeling with one of great grief. It was an odd feeling, being woken up by the sun. I never used to wake up from the sun. It used to take much more to wake me.

But used to be no more. Not since the Horcrux Hunt, sleeping lightly in order to wake in case of an attack.

Old habits die hard.

"Ron," I heard a soft voice, almost like an angel, whisper "Wake up."

It wasn't the sun. Hermione had come to wake me up, shake me from the peaceful dreams of nothing.

"No," I replied stubbornly, almost moaning, "'S too early."

"Ron, honey. Wake up," she urged, "For me?"

She ran her fingers along the sensitive skin of my arms, where the scars that were caused by the brains laid, where freckles from the sun resided. I shivered slightly, against the self-control that was desperately trying to be held on by the strings that attached to the back of my mind.

"No." I replied into his pillow, my eyes still closed, trying to ignore the fact the she was now running her open palm along my chest lovingly, silently urging me, wordlessly begging me to get up.

"Not even for me?" she asked softly.

I could hear the slightly seductive undertones in her voice and had to will my whole body not to get up for her. It took a ton of effort, but it was doable. I shook my head again, burying my head further down into my pillow.

"Please?" she said, softly and slowly. The tones were getting stronger now, scratching away at my willpower and creating a pulling sensation towards her body, like a magnetic being pushed towards its attracting pole. Her hand was rubbing slower and lighter now, affecting me even more drastically. If I didn't have morning wood, I certainly did now.

"No," I repeated as before, "'S too early."

"Ron, please?" she asked, her voice becoming slightly desperate. I shook my head again. "Please?" Her voice was begging me now. "I felt like I haven't seen you. I miss you. Please?" Her voice cracked.

I looked up at her with one eye open and saw her eyes at the beginning of tearing up again. I thought she would have been done after last night. The thought occurred to me that I hadn't even started. So I gave her a little smile and pulled her into bed next to me, snuggling her up against my body. I sighed at the content feeling of being warm with her heat, and pulled her closer, her curves snug against my body.

"I'm awake," I whispered in her ear from behind, determined to affect her like she affected me. I wanted to make her lose control beneath me. I leaned down near her face as she twisted around to meet it.

It was the lightest brush of our lips: the smallest contact of pink skin, intensified by the heat given off by our mouths. It reminded me of when Ginny and I used to touch eyelashes – A butterfly kiss.

Her brunette eyelashes curved along her freckled skin as I looked down at her. The clear eyes entranced me momentarily; I had to shake my head to make myself focus.

"I love you." I declared, no longer embarrassed or afraid for what was to come.

"Ron," she breathed, her voice slightly dreamier then normal, almost like Luna's tone. Her eyes traveled down to my chest, covered in the well-worn and now soft material of my favorite navy blue tee shirt. It had been my favorite for a while, ever since Hermione had told me that it brought out the color of my eyes a few months ago.

"Ron," she repeated, her voice steadier this time. "I love you too. For a long time I have." My heart swelled with joy and I kissed her softly again.

"We've been stupid," I replied, with a smile.

"Well that's basically the proper adjective to describe the both of us," she giggled, burying her face in my chest.

"Maybe," I replied teasingly, "But I think it better describes you then me." She laughed and I could feel the vibrations throughout my limbs.

"Okay, Ronald. Keep telling yourself that."

We sat in silence for a few moments longer.

"Hermione, can I go back to sleep now?

"Yes Ron, you can go back to sleep."

"Sweet Dreams, Hermione."

"You too, Ron."

A/N: This is the beginning of the missing! I've had a recent obsession with Post-DH/Post-War/Pre-Epilogue fiction, and decided to tackle it myself. I might add more chapters that will come before this, and I will definitely add more after this.

I'm so so so so so so sorry about my huge absence. It's been six long, dreadful months, and I'm really sorry. I've been going through a lot, which pretty much sums it all up shortly, but I'm back for good.
HUGE thanks to my amazing beta, RHr4Eva. Go check out her stories, she's amaaazing !

What did you think? Review :)