Hermione POV

The battle was over, they had won. Harry has killed Voldemort. So why did she feel so numb? For nearly a year they had been on the run, finding Horcrux's, destroying Voldemort's soul and now it was over, the world was safe. She had helped. She couldn't celebrate though, nobody could, not yet. There was too much rebuilding emotionally and physically before celebrations could start.

Hermione was sat on the steps outside the front door to the castle looking out towards the lake. Not even taking into account the fixing of the castle there was so much to do. The quidditch pitch had to be rebuilt, the forest looked like it was still on fire in places and Hagrid's hut was completely gone. All the greenhouses were smashed and the bridge had collapsed in places. She wondered if McGonagall was going to organise some teams. Maybe she and Ron could head up a team together.

As Hermione sat she could hear her tummy grumbling. What a time to be hungry, she thought idly. Though thinking about it she hadn't eaten since Alberforth had brought those sandwiches which was...she couldn't even remember when that was, so much had happened since then.

"I don't even know what day it is." She said to herself.

"Me either. I know I'm hungry though, feels stupid really, to be hungry. All this has happened, the castle is in bits, we have lost so many people and yet I'm still bloody hungry." Ron said wearily as he sat down on the steps beside Hermione taking her hand in his.

Hermione looked at Ron and smiled. She could see his face was badly bruised. He had a split lip and a big cut through his eyebrow which must have been where all the blood down the left side of his face had come from. Hermione wondered if she looked as bad as he did.

"I was just thinking the same thing actually." She squeezed his hand and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Feels weird, doesn't it?" he said quietly. "That we have to carry on now, that the war wasn't the end of everything and that we have to rebuild a life out of all this chaos. Have a normal life; I don't even know what a normal life is."

"Me neither, but we will do it, together. We owe them that much." She replied.

"I don't think I'm strong enough Hermione, I don't know what to do." He whispered into her hair.

"You are the strongest person I know Ron."

"I'm not. I'm not strong at all. I left you. I left harry. I didn't care about saving the bloody world I just wanted to hide from everyone."

"But you came back Ron, none of that matters now, you came back and you destroyed a Horcrux that what makes you so strong. You came back."

"I never came back to help with destroying the Horcrux's though, I didn't even come back for Harry, I only came back for you. I never said anything because I thought you wouldn't want to know me but now after everything I can't lie anymore."

"You only came back for me?"

"Yes, do you hate me?"

"Why would you think I'd hate you for that?"

"Because...you gave everything up to help harry and make sure that the job got done no matter what and so did harry, I didn't, I didn't even care I just wanted to be near you."

"Ronald, look at me." He lifted his head but wouldn't meet Hermione's eyes so she lifted his chin until he did.

"After you came back you did so many things that people twice our age can't even comprehend, you killed a Horcrux, saved Harry's life, saved my life, broke into Gringotts, fought off more death eaters than I could count, looked out for us both. the fact that you did those things even though you didn't want to be there means you are far stronger than Harry or me. It proves that once you have found something you believe in, even if it's not what everyone else is, you will follow it to the end of the world. I cannot believe I'm lucky enough to be that one thing you believe in." Hermione had had to say the last few of words through tears which were now freely falling down her cheeks, leaving trails in the ash and dirt accumulated in the battle.

"Don't be daft Hermione, you're amazing, the best, and I should have told you sooner. I wish I had told you sooner. I'm so sorry I left you Hermione. I really am." He said whilst wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb.

"Like I said, you came back and that means more to me than you leaving in the first place."

She smiled at him and started rummaging in her bag which was amazingly still in one piece. Once she had found what she was looking for, a rag and a bottle of water, she closed the bag up again and wet the rag. She turned to Ron and started to wipe away the dirt and dried blood of his face, once she had finished as best she could she siphoned off the dirt with Ron's wand and re wet it and handed it to him. He started to do the same to her face. He did it with such gentleness she almost started crying again, she could almost feel his love for her pouring out of him.

"There, you look like you again." He said happily. "Will you come with me, I want you to get checked over by Madam Pomfray, that's actually why I came looking for you. I need to know that you are okay."

"Have you been checked yet? That cut is quite nasty."

"Not yet I've been getting the family sorted and now you, and then Harry if I can ever find him, then I'll get looked at."

"Okay." She said to him whilst getting up from the steps. She couldn't quite believe how much Ron had changed in the past year. It was nice to be looked after, especially by him.