*A/N* this is just a nice little ficlet that popped into my head last night, so I thought I'd write it down. It takes place summer after 5th year. I made up the town "Catshire"—I doubt such a place exists in England. Happy reading!
The August night was warm and windless. The moon shone brightly in the starry, velvet sky. The occupants of the Burrow all slept soundly, even the ghoul in the attic. However, one person awoke from a nightmare around half past one, disturbing the sleepy placidity of the house. Hermione Granger sat bolt upright in her bed, her breathing rapid and tears streaming down her cheeks. After a few seconds she began to breathe normally, realizing she had only been dreaming and was perfectly safe in Ginny's room on a beautiful summer night. Still….her dream had seemed so real, and Hermione was unable to stop thinking about it. As quietly as she could, she pulled the covers off, got out of bed, and began to tiptoe towards the door. One of the floorboards gave a loud groan as she stepped on it; she looked around at Ginny, afraid she had woken her, but Ginny continued to sleep with a slight smile on her face.
Perhaps a glass of water would calm her down, she thought, so Hermione walked carefully down the stairs and into the kitchen. She wiped the tears from her face and sniffed slightly as she filled up one of the Weasley's glasses with water.
"Hermione?" someone asked groggily. Hermione nearly dropped the glass and stared wildly around. Ron was sitting up on the couch in the next room, squinting at her with furrowed eyebrows.
"Ron, what are you doing down here?" she asked in whispered tones.
"Well Harry must be exhausted because he's snoring louder than Neville, and I couldn't fall asleep with all the racket he was making, so I brought my pillow down here to sleep on the couch," he said, gesturing at his pillow. "Anyway…what are you doing down here? Ginny snoring too loud also?"
Hermione gave a small laugh. "No," she said, "I…well I had a horrible, horrible dream and couldn't take my mind off it, so I came down to get some water." More tears began to fall as she thought about her nightmare again, and she brushed them away quickly. Ron looked like he didn't know what to do.
"Er…do you feel any better now?" he asked. Then he realized that had been an idiotic thing to say; if she was crying then she was obviously still upset. Hermione shook her head as more tears made their way down her face. Ron was troubled by the sight and wondered how he could comfort her. "Er…" Ron began timidly, "Well…I…do you want me to scratch your back?"
Hermione stared at him, convinced she has misunderstood him. "Wh-what?" she asked blankly.
Ron began to turn a shade of crimson. Even in the dark Hermione could see the blush creeping down his face. "Well," he said, "when I was little, if I had a nightmare, Mum would scratch my back and it would help relax me." He looked up at her. "I just thought maybe…well never mind it was a stupid--"
"No," Hermione interrupted. "My mum used to do that for me as well." She stared uncomfortably at him, wondering if the invitation was still open or if she had ruined it.
"Oh…well then, do you want--?" he broke off as she put her glass down and strode toward him.
"Yes, please," she said. Ron noticed she was on the verge of tears again. He scooted over on the couch and Hermione gently lay down next to him, sniffing slightly but somehow knowing he would make her feel better.
Ron began to move his fingers delicately up and down her back and asked, "So what happened in this nightmare?"
Hermione took a deep breath and began to explain slowly. "We were at Hogwarts—sitting by the lake—and Lucius Malfoy and some death eaters suddenly came out of the water and killed you and Harry"—at this point she began to cry again—"and took me captive. And Malfoy said, 'Voldemort will deal with you,' and then I woke up shaking." Hermione shuddered, but she felt better after telling Ron.
"Hermione," he began, "you know that would never happen, don't you? I—I would never let that happen to you."
At his last words Hermione began to feel much calmer and safer, and the tears finally stopped falling. "Thanks Ron," she said warmly, "but the part that really disturbed me wasn't what happened to me; it was what happened to you. And Harry."
Ron stopped scratching. He was wondering what she meant by these last words. He gazed absently at the back of her tee-shirt. The words read, "Catshire Public Library: A great place for reading!" Ron laughed.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Only you would wear a tee-shirt with a library on the back, Hermione," he replied, grinning. He resumed his scratching patterns. "You know, I think we can learn one thing from your dream."
"What's that?"
"Anyone who enters Hogwarts by rising out of the lake is bound to be bad."
Hermione let out a laugh, realizing who his joke referred to. "Ron, Viktor is not 'bad'; he's a good friend of mine.
"Krum doesn't just want to be your friend," said Ron, losing his playful tones. Hermione turned around so she was now facing Ron.
"Well, I've made it perfectly clear to him that I only want to be his friend," she rebuked, in a conclusive manner. "Come on, don't drag him into this. I don't want another row about him—especially at two o'clock in the morning. I hate fighting with you."
Ron noticed she was getting teary-eyed again. What was he thinking? Here she was coming to him for comfort, and he was bothering her about Krum again. He must be the world's biggest prat. "Hermione, I'm sorry," he said earnestly. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It--it's okay," she told him. Not knowing what else to say, she turned over so that her back was to Ron again. He began to draw patterns on her back with his fingers. Hermione began to relax again. His soft touch was very comforting.
"Feel any better yet?" Ron asked timidly after a few minutes.
"Mmm hmm," she replied softly.
"Hermione, I promise I won't let anything from your dream happen to you. And nothing will happen to me and Harry either." Hermione let his words wash over her, and she wholeheartedly believed him. She let out a sigh of contentment and reached for his hand. She stopped him halfway through drawing a pattern on her back and brought his hand down in front of her neck where she held it tight. Ron was utterly surprised, but he took her lead and pulled her closer to him. He could hear her rhythmic breathing and knew she had finally relaxed.
"So…I guess this means I don't have to worry about Krum anymore?" he asked, half-teasing and half-serious.
"Ron, you never had to worry about him," Hermione whispered, squeezing his hand. Ron smiled into her hair.
"Goodnight then, Hermione."
"Goodnight, Ron."
And with that, both of them fell asleep, not worrying about what Mrs. Weasley would say when she found them cuddled together on the couch, not worrying about Voldemort or his death eaters, and not worrying about their future. On that warm August night, both teenagers fell asleep, content that they had resolved their issue about Viktor Krum and finally showed each other that they cared….
*A/N* yes, yes, nice and fluffy for you all. So, did you like? Write a review! Did you hate? Write a review anyway! Constructive criticism is appreciated. Xoxo
Quellie