Ron entered the dormitory quietly, smiling as he noticed Harry out cold. The Boy-Who-Lived-Again-and-Would-Never-Live-It-Down, or whatever they were calling him now, had been sleeping for what felt like days. His glasses askew, clothes torn, sheets rumpled, he seemed dead to the world, and Ron hadn't the heart to waken him. He ruffled his red hair for a minute. So much had happened today. Fred was…gone. Fred and George had taken the mickey out of Ron since he'd been born, yet the second Ron had needed them they had been there. Called him a prat, winked at Hermione, bowed before Harry, all in the name of brotherhood, but still there. And now it was just George, who was devastated. There would be no more looking over his shoulder for pranks, or having to hear two voices chime in about girls and kissing and Hermione.

Hermione…Ron had tried not to think about that kiss. He hadn't even meant what he said, not really. It wasn't like he'd been worrying about them all day. It had just struck him, in the Room of Requirement, that people would be dying. He hadn't meant Fred. He hadn't.

"Ron," A voice hissed. Ron turned, and the ghost of a smile flitted across his face. The mask had cracked, albeit painfully. Hermione stood behind the partially closed door to the dormitory; a sliver of her face white and nervous looking. Ron knew why. Most of the Hogwarts students had simply dropped into their dorm beds by instinct. Hermione shared her dorm with Lavender Brown, his ex girlfriend, who'd fallen off the staircase and almost attacked by Fenrir, only to have Hermione blow him away with her wand. He didn't blame Hermione for wanting to get out of there. Lavender had never been her best friend, and an injured and angry Lavender was even less pleasant to deal with.

And also, a part of him really hoped she'd come to see him because she wanted to. He wanted to assume that, anyway, since she had kissed him, but it could have been spur of the moment. Or maybe she just wanted to be near Harry. They'd been literally inseparable for almost a year.

He didn't answer her, just turned and waited. She stepped in softly, closing the door behind her. Seamus, Neville, and Dean were all in the seventh floor corridor, seeing if the Room of Requirement was alright. Ron hoped it was. He'd kissed Hermione there.

He kissed Hermione there.

Without a word, he crossed the room with two long strides and drew her towards him, trying not to grin when she huffed in fake annoyance- the way she did every time they bickered, the one that meant, Honestly, Ronald, as only Hermione could ever mean it. She nuzzled into his shoulder and drew her arms around him.

"Oh…Ron," She said softly, and Ron felt tears dripping down the back of his long nose and into her bushy hair. Grief overcame him now that she was safe in his arms, and he could cry for Fred again. Hermione just helped him do the right thing. "I didn't want to be alone," She admitted in a tiny voice. Ron snorted. It was so like Hermione to be strong and unfailing on the outside until you forgot she was still human and vulnerable inside. Well, Ron always knew she was human, he just doubted she could have…nice emotions…for him, sometimes. But that kiss…

"Do you wanna talk about the kiss?" He asked hesitantly. Hermione drew back in surprise.

"What?" She asked in a low, raw voice. Ron knew he should get mad, but there was something about the wild look in her eyes that made him chuckle.

"Always the tone of surprise," He murmured, stepping closer to her again. She gulped- visibly. Ron bit back his grin. "I wasn't surprised you could do it, you know," Hermione mumbled, "I was surprised you'd done it."

"What does that even mean?" Ron exclaimed as loudly as he could while still being quite for Harry. The hunt for the Horcruxes had certainly changed him. Hermione knew she loved this new, considerate enough to keep his voice down in a fight Ron, but she was scared that the new Ron might not like her.

"Well you're always so unsure of yourself…you weren't really confident until you came back and then you were and…" Hermione was tearing up now, a vision of Fred's body swimming before her, only it was Ron's blue eyes staring back at her, and then she was full out sobbing, "and I was horrid to you and you could have died and I never told you-"

"I left- and I shouldn't have, and I felt so bad, and then you were mad and I wanted to give you time and show I could handle being mature but then you were tortured and I thought you were going to die and I hadn't told you-" Ron continued for her, and both of them were spilling things they'd been holding in for years, still holding each other. "And I hate Viktor Krum because he…I thought you chose him over me and…"

Hermione was talking over Ron now, "And when Lavender came around and you…you chose her but I was there, I'd asked you to Slughorn's party…"

"And I thought you meant as friends and Ginny brought up Krum and said everyone was snogging someone but me and I thought you wouldn't want to, and then you chose Cormac…"

"When you were poisoned Ron I thought I was dying too, and then Lavender was there and wondering why I was…like she thought I had no reason to be there…"

"…When you were petrified I, I was so scared for you, and McGonagall came for Harry not me and…"

"When you asked me to dance at the wedding Ron, I,"

"When we kissed…"

There was silence. They'd brought up the kiss. They were treading on dangerous territory now, and neither quite knew what to say.

"Hermione, I know I have the "emotional range of a spoon", or whatever, and you're a lot more…grown up than me and all, but d'you, d'you think, maybe, you could stay at the Burrow and we could, you know…" He cleared his throat. Normally Hermione would finish whatever he couldn't say for him, because she knew him so well, but he wanted to be the one to do this, and she understood that, and so she waited patiently.

After a minute, Ron shook his head. "I can't- tonight," He amended quickly, before her face could fall. "I know you know what I mean but I want it to come out right."

"It's okay, Ron," She murmured, resting her head on his arm. "We have all the time in the world."

"Right." Ron sighed in relief. "Do you- do you wanna stay here tonight?"

"Yes," She breathed, looking up at him thankfully.

"With…er…with me?" Ron croaked, his ears a maroon color. Hermione flushed too- they seemed to have skipped several steps, but it was so…Ron.

"If you're okay with that," She said quietly, looking down the floor.

"Yeah," Ron said, far too eagerly. He winced. He didn't want her thinking he was some kind of…Cormac, trying to get in her knickers. "I mean, yeah, if you want."

"Okay," She said quietly. They were both silent for a second.

"Good night Ron," Hermione said a few minutes later, coming out of the bathroom in a clean shirt and the blue striped pajama pants she never wore except for Christmas at the Burrow. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before slipping into his bed. Ron chuckled; he wasn't even sure why for a minute, but then he realized it.

"You'll see me in a minute, Hermione, I'm coming right back."

She didn't say anything, and for a second he thought he'd made her mad, but then he realized she was embarrassed. "I'm not complaining," he said quickly, "far from it. I just…thought it was…funny."

He'd literally taken two steps towards the bathroom when an unexpected –but nastily familiar voice- made him change direction quickly.

"What?" He asked roughly, wrenching open the door to the room to reveal a white-haired former classmate.

"Easy Weasel, it's over," Draco said, holding up his hands in a show of being unarmed. "I just have something for you and Granger."

"Me and-" Ron looked at him suspiciously. "Is it cursed?"

"No," Draco raised his eyebrows. "It's not."

"Poisoned?"

"No. No slugs either," Draco said, the hint of a smirk crossing his face. "It's your wands. I saved them…just in case."

He held out two familiar pieces of wood to Ron and then stepped back.

"Thanks…" Ron said, completely unsure of what to say.

"You're…" Draco honestly tried to get the words out, but then he looked at Ron exasperatedly. "This is too weird. I can't…"

"Me either…" Ron said in apparent relief. "Thank god."

Draco shook his head and widened his silver eyes as he walked away, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened either. Ron almost crawled right back to bed then, but he imagined Hermione the next morning, covered in battle grit and dust from him, and headed to the bathroom with a sigh.

He crawled into bed five minutes later clean, refreshed, excited to be with Hermione, and completely afraid of what was about to happen. Needless to say, he had no experience with these types of things. He breathed a sigh in relief when he found Hermione was fast asleep, breathing much slower and peacefully than she normally did.

Ron hesitated for a second, then leaned forward, before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. He breathed in relief when he realized how easy it was.