Authors note- First off, I own nothing to do with Harry Potter, that is all down to the legend that is JK and I am merely a massive fan that loves her characters.
This is my first attempt at writing fan-fiction so I'm just testing it out to see how it goes! I love Ron and Hermione and I'm always imagining what their life would have been like once the war was over and before the epilogue. I don't really know where I'm going with this yet, I'll just see how it goes but in the mean time I'd be really grateful to get some feedback on this chapter so I know how I'm doing! Even if you think it's terrible please let me know, thank you in advance :)
If you don't like the way this is written, i.e too long paragraphs then please bare with the first 2 chapters. I've sorted this out now and have aimed to make it more readable with shorter paragraphs! I will update this and the next chapter to look the same as soon as I get a chance :)
Reality
It had been three nights since the end of the war. Three nights since Harry had finally killed Lord Voldemort and put an end to it all. The wizarding world, after years of horror, suffering and pain could finally begin to rebuild itself and become what it once was. He still couldn't believe it. It hadn't sunk in yet and he wasn't sure if it ever would. They were finally safe thanks to Harry. Of course he and Hermione had played a huge part in it all too. The three of them had already been approached by the Daily Prophet for interviews. 'Don't you want to tell the world your story? You three are heroes! You'll go down in history! If it wasn't for you we would all be doomed!' Yes, these were the words they had been met with when they protested against the idea. It still angered him to think that after only three days the Daily Prophet felt that it was the right moment for them to act like some sort of celebrities. Well he certainly wasn't ready to relive it and nor were Harry and Hermione. He never wanted to become famous for this. The past year had been the most horrific, terrifying and painful period of his life and he wasn't about to sit and tell some bloody nosey reporter all about it just to please the Daily Prophet. Just thinking about it all gave him shivers. He couldn't escape it all, even in his sleep. He was constantly waking up in a cold sweat having had a very vivid nightmare. He shuddered as a vision from the previous night came back to him… a blood curdling scream while he was locked up, unable to help her, looking on as she was tortured. The girl he loved and he was going to watch her die because he was too weak to save her…Hermione's screams had continued until they woke him up and he realised that it was him that was screaming and shouting. Drenched in sweat and violently shaking he had thrown up over the side of his bed before he realised that it had been a dream. Yes, Hermione had been tortured just days ago and the memory was still very strong in his head, but she was safe now and unharmed, asleep in her bed.
The sound of a floorboard creaking brought Ron out of his reverie and as he looked up his heart melted. If there was one good thing to come out of this whole horrific ordeal then it was this. After 5 years of fights, jealousy and heart break, he and Hermione had finally shared their first kiss on the night of the battle. He had never been entirely sure that she had felt the same way as him and that blasted locket certainly hadn't helped, constantly feeding his insecurities and making him feel worthless. But when she'd thrown herself at him in the room of requirement three nights ago, suddenly all his insecurities where gone, the world felt whole and he was the happiest man in the world. That was of course until Harry had abruptly brought him back to Earth and reminded them that they were currently in the middle of a battle.
As he looked up at Hermione now he couldn't quite believe his luck. The war was over and he finally had the girl of his dreams all to himself. She looked beautiful, wearing a simple black dress and heels as she walked towards him with a strange look upon her face that he couldn't quite place. Her eyes were wide and she had the smallest of smiles on her face but it wasn't a happy smile. On the contrary she looked as if she was on the verge of tears but was trying to keep it together. He reached out his arm to her and she sat next to him with her head resting against his chest.
'What were you thinking about?' She whispered.
'Just about how lucky I am to have you' he replied as he kissed her softly on the forehead.
She smiled at him, a tear forming in her eye, 'Ron, don't be silly, it's me that's the lucky one.' She paused then, staring at him, 'it'll be okay you know. It's not going to be easy but we'll get through today together, I'm here for you.'
At her words it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. Shit. Today was Fred's funeral. It wasn't like he had forgotten, there was no chance he could forget that. More like until that point he had been trying to block it out, trying to think of anything but this moment. He had tried so hard to distract himself for the last 3 days, seeking Hermione's company whenever he could, anything to avoid being alone with only his thoughts for company. This morning he had gotten ready in an almost dream like state, never truly thinking about what would happen once he was ready. But now as he looked down at the black dress robes he was wearing (he barely remembered putting them on), at his family gathering in the living room with varying looks of emptiness on their faces, as he saw the clock on the mantelpiece chime 11 o'clock and the noise of the knock on the back door he realised that this was it. Time had run out. He could no longer put it off, could no longer distract himself with other things or tell himself that it was not real, that this was all just a nightmare that he would wake up from. He couldn't find words to answer Hermione with so instead he took her small, warm hand in his and with a sense of determination and resolution he stood and walked towards the door. It was time for him to face up to the reality and lay his older brother to rest.
