Just a sweet little Ron/Hermione oneshot, post Deathly Hallows but pre epilogue. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I might actually have a life. But sadly, I don't.
"Harry! Harry Potter! Over here! Mr. Potter, a moment of your time, perhaps?"
"This is madness, Hermione," Harry muttered as they pushed their way through the throng of Daily Prophet reporters still swarming Hogwarts in the aftermath of Voldemort's downfall.
"What do they want from me?" he said in exasperation, running his fingers through his already messy hair.
"I imagine it might have something to do with the fact that you saved the wizarding world from the most evil forces it has ever seen, but I could be mistaken," Hermione said with a gentle laugh.
When there was no reply, Hermione turned to see that her friend was no longer standing beside her.
"Hermione, help!" Harry had been cornered by at least a dozen reporters and was desperately trying to push his way out.
"What am I supposed to do without getting caught in there too? Just say a few nice things and they'll leave you alone. I need to go find Ron."
"Hermione!"
"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed gratefully, "Would you be a dear and go rescue Harry from that pack of wolves?"
The redhead girl smiled and disappeared as Hermione walked outside into the fresh air. She scanned the shore of the lake for the flash of red hair belonging to her, well, the word boyfriend seemed too juvenile, childish and temporary, not at all describing the way she felt. He was just-
"Ron!"
The boy looked up, startled, from where he was sitting under a tree.
"Hermione!" he said brightly, "Come and sit."
She flopped down on the grass beside Ron, enjoying the quiet and gentle lapping of the water on the shore.
"How's your family holding up?" she finally asked, somewhat hesitantly.
Ron sighed. "We'll, get through it, I guess, somehow. It hasn't really sunk in yet, you know?"
Hermione nodded, and sensing Ron's discomfort with the topic, she changed the subject. "What are you reading?" she asked, indicating the newspaper at Ron's feet.
"Nothing…it's stupid…" he muttered, trailing off.
"What is?"
"You're going to think I'm an ungrateful git."
"For what?"
"Nothing."
"Just let me see!" Hermione said, snatching the newspaper out of Ron's grasp. She flipped it open to find a picture of Harry, Ron, and herself, taken just hours after Voldemort's demise.
"Caption. Read the caption," Ron muttered.
"Harry Potter, also known as the Chosen One and the defeater of Voldemort, pictured with his two sidekicks," Hermione read softly, "Oh, Ron."
"I told you you'd think I was a git! I mean, Harry did defeat Voldemort, and he was the real hero, and with everything that's happened I should be thinking about more important things, but it didn't even show our names. I guess…I just don't want to be Harry's nameless sidekick forever. We've done our part too."
Hermione reached over and squeezed his hand. "I know that, and most importantly, Harry knows that. He'd probably switch places with you in a heartbeat, the way he's getting mauled by reporters right now. Besides," she continued, indicating the top of the article, "Rita Skeeter never gets anything right anyway."
Ron gave Hermione a small smile. "Thanks, 'Mione. You make me feel like less of an idiot."
"Ron, you've done more than your part in this fight." She took a deep breathe. "Remember at the Malfoy's?"
Ron grimaced. "How could I forget?"
Hermione winced as though the memory still pained her, absentmindedly fingering the scar on her neck. "The Cruciatus Curse…it's impossible to describe…even when you've gone through it. It's beyond pain, it's-it's-" she struggled to find words.
"I wanted to die Ron. Die or go mad, at that point I didn't care which. I didn't want to feel anything ever again." Hermione was shaking slightly and beginning to cry, and Ron put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. She gave a small sniff, then continued.
"The pain was blinding, I couldn't think about anything else, and then out of nowhere I heard my name."
Ron's mind flashed back to the cellar where he desperately screamed Hermione's name again and again, the only thing he could try and save her with.
"I realized it was you, and I knew I couldn't give up. I had something, someone, to live for. You saved my sanity, and my life." Hermione smiled, then leaned in and kissed him, softly and unhurriedly. The desperate and frantic times were behind them now.
She pulled away so just the tips of their noses were touching. "The Daily Prophet may call you Harry's sidekick," she whispered, "But you're my hero. And that's why I love you, Ron Weasley."
-Fin-
I've had that idea stuck in my head for months, so it was nice to finally get it out on paper. Virtual paper, anyway. In order to exit this window, you must press a button on the bottom of this page beginning with "R" and ending with "eview." If you don't, this page will self destruct. 10…9…8…7…