Chapter One
Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of the characters described in this story, nor do I own the Harry Potter world. All credit goes to J.K. Rowling.
It was all a blur- they were at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and then Grimmauld Place. Ron was breathing hard as he sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. There had been death eaters; first at the wedding, then in the cafe. How had they found them? Was his family okay? He felt Hermione sit next to him and wrap her arms around him as he realized he was hyperventilating.
"Shh. It's alright, Ron. You're safe. We're all safe. No one can get in here," Hermione said, lifting his chin so he was looking at her.
Seeing her face calmed Ron's breathing, and he eventually took her in his arms. He didn't know how to convey how glad he was that she was okay. One of the death eaters' killing curses had missed her by less than an inch- and this made him realize how devastated he would be if he lost her. He wouldn't be able to carry on without her. Tears were streaming down his face as he released her, and he wiped them away.
Harry, who had been staring out the window the whole time, finally turned around and asked, "How did they find us?"
Hermione shook her head, saying, "I have no clue. The cafe was in a completely random place, and they weren't following us down the street. I can't understand how they knew we were there."
"Well," said Ron, "at least we know they can't find us here. God, I hope everyone got away."
Hermione took his hand and said, "I saw Charlie take Ginny and your Mum and dissaparate right before us. And I'm almost certain Fred and George took Fleur and left as well. I'm sure your dad and Bill got away, Ron. They're very good wizards, and they had help."
Ron nodded, not saying anything. He felt better knowing most of his family was safe, and he had faith that his dad and Bill were strong enough to defend themselves.
"Thank God Kingly sent that patronus. I think most of the other guests got away before the death eaters even got there," said Harry.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Hermione got up and took three sleeping bags from her beaded bag.
"I think we should all sleep together tonight, in the living room," she said, laying them out so they were facing the door.
Harry and Ron agreed, and everyone was in bed before long. Ron was pleased to see that his sleeping bag was next to Hermione's, and he wondered if it was purposeful. Strangely, Harry fell asleep first, although it wasn't exactly a comfortable one. Ron glanced over at Hermione and saw her shiver.
"You alright?" he asked.
Hermione rolled to face him and said, "Yeah, fine. Just a bit chilly. This place is ridiculously cold for it being July."
Before he could stop himself, Ron pulled her closer until she was facing away from him and he had his arm around her torso. For a minute, he thought she was going to pull away, but she relaxed and pressed herself further against him. Their hands clasped as they fell asleep, each one smiling slightly.
Ron woke in the middle of the night to find himself hyperventilating again, this time sobbing as well. Hermione was sitting next to him, her eyes huge with worry. She had been trying to wake him for five minutes now. When he saw her next to him, he cried harder as he took her in his lap and held her.
Without letting go, Hermione asked softly, "Ron, what happened?"
He shuddered slightly before replying, "I was dreaming that the death eaters got you. I couldn't stop them. They tied me up and paralyzed me. Then they- they killed you. Right in front of me."
Not knowing what else to do, Hermione said gently, "It's alright, Ron. I'm right here. We're safe. I promise it'll be okay."
Ron gripped the back of her shirt as he nodded. "Okay," he said. "Okay."
They laid back down in the same position, and Hermione could feel him silently crying into her neck. Squeezing her eyes shut, she put all her energy into trying not to turn around and kiss him.
Hermione had been dreaming about their first year at Hogwarts, when she felt Ron jolt as he began to scream. Horrified, she jumped up to find Harry already trying to wake him. She knelt down beside him and took his hands so they would stop flailing. When Ron opened his eyes, he looked completely terrified. As he took in his surroundings, his screams died down and he lay there, breathing hard as he tried not to cry. Looking worried, Harry went to the kitchen to fetch him a glass of water.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I don't know what's gotten into me. You and Harry are keeping it together, why can't I?" he asked, putting his hands over his face.
Hermione said quickly, "No, no. Don't apologize. You can't help it. It's not your fault. It probably hit you harder, having your whole family there. It's okay, Ron. Really."
"I was dreaming about you. They took you and tortured you but I couldn't help," Ron said, his eyes filling with tears at the thought.
Hermione, although horrified, was slightly flattered. "I- um- I'll make you a sleeping draught for tonight, Ron. You won't dream," she said, stuttering slightly.
Harry arrived with the glass of water, handing it to Ron as he said, "Listen, maybe you two should rest today. I don't think I could sleep anymore, I've got too much on my mind. But it would be good for you two to take some time off. Just relax. I'm going to look around a bit."
Hermione nodded at this, and turned her attention back to Ron. "Do you need anything? I could make breakfast. Or do you just want to sleep?" asked Hermione.
"Thanks, but I think I'll try to sleep more. I didn't get much last night," he said, mentally kicking himself for being such a git.
He expected Hermione to get up and do something Hermione-ish, but she nodded and laid back down with him. Surprised but pleased, he buried his nose in her hair. She smelled like honey and roses. As he slowly fell asleep, he thought about how short life was. How uncertain their future was. He thought that, just maybe, he should tell her he loved her.
At last, Ron slept without having a panic attack. He slept for six hours, until about 4:00. Hermione woke up before him, but stayed in his arms. She relished the feeling of being so close to him. Even in their current situation, she couldn't help but let herself enjoy it.
Ron was dreaming about Hermione. They were out late at night, and he pulled her close and kissed her. Still asleep, he unknowingly caressed her stomach and kissed her neck. Hermione gasped at his touch, and turned around to see that he was still sleeping. She stared at him in disbelief until he woke up and she quickly turned around.
"What?" asked Ron, who caught her looking at him.
"Nothing- you were- you were just dreaming," she said, partially to answer him and partially to remind herself.
Ron blushed, knowing that he must have tried to kiss her. "Oh- uh- I'm sorry. Don't know what happened," he said hurriedly, averting his eyes.
"It's alright. It was nice," Hermione said before immediately turning bright red.
Ron smiled. He motioned for Hermione to come and lay down again, and she did so. Neither slept, though both thought the other was asleep. They laid there, enjoying each other's presence until supper.
A bang made Ron and Hermione jump up and Harry run into the room, hearts pounding, and they held their wands out towards the door. It opened slowly and each was fully prepared to curse whoever was behind it. They were surprised, although relieved, to see that it was Kreacher.
"Kreacher!" exclaimed Harry, as Ron and Hermione sat on the couch, clutching their hearts. "Don't sneak up on us like that, you understand?"
Kreacher nodded grudgingly, and turned to look in horror at Hermione. "Filthy mudblood!" he screamed, rage in his glassy eyes. "If my mistress knew the scum that was in her house..."
Ron jumped up and reached for his throat, Hermione restraining him. Harry commanded Kreacher to never call her that again, and to treat her with the same respect he treated Harry and Ron with. Kreacher bowed angrily, muttering under his breath. Harry turned to Ron and Hermione and told them of his discovery of R.A.B's room, and Hermione immediately remembered the locket they had tossed around in fifth year.
"Don't you remember?" she asked. "We all tried to open it but we couldn't. I threw it away, but Kreacher went through the rubbish bin!"
Ron and Harry exclaimed in excitement, and they proceeded to ask Kreacher about the locket. What they heard made shivers travel up Ron's spine. He could see the pain in Hermione's eyes and knew she wanted desperately to comfort Kreacher, but he wouldn't let her. He put his arm around Hermione and rubbed her back, wiping away the tear that had run down her cheek. Harry ordered Kreacher to find Mundungus Fletcher, and with another bang, he was gone.
The three sat in silent shock for a few minutes before Hermione got up and began looking for anything edible. The other two joined her, and they made an unpleasant meal of canned tomatoes and moldy bread.
"We're going to have to do something about this," said Ron in disapproval of the food. "We can go to the market under the invisibility cloak."
Hermione looked nervous at this suggestion, but Harry agreed. They decided that Ron and Hermione would go the following morning, and that Harry should stay home because it was too dangerous for him to be out in the open. Harry wasn't thrilled about the idea, but knew that the other two wouldn't budge, so he agreed reluctantly. They cleaned up from supper and tried to play a game of wizard's chess, but the mood wasn't right. Harry gave up and went to get ready for bed. Ron and Hermione sat next to each other, looking out the dusty windows. Ron put his arm around Hermione's shoulders, and she rested her head on him.
"You know," Ron said, "This will all be over someday. I don't know when, and I don't know if we'll all make it, but it is going to end. It'll be okay at some point."
Hermione sighed and replied, "But that's the problem, isn't it? Someday. There's a decent chance we won't even be alive to see it. I know it's selfish, but I can't stand that thought."
"I know. It's so stupid, the fact that we're fighting for something that might not happen for centuries. But you know, there is a chance that it'll happen soon. I don't know how well this whole looking-for-horcruxes thing is going to go, but I have a good feeling about it," said Ron, trying to convince himself.
Hermione looked at him and knew that he wanted to believe it, but he couldn't. None of them could. The way things had been going, they could all be dead by morning.
Wanting desperately to stop thinking about the hardships to come, Hermione said, "Um- I'm going to go change. Do you want your toothbrush?"
Ron, jolted out of his thoughts, nodded and said, "You're brilliant, Hermione. I can't believe you thought to bring everything. I don't know what we'd do without you."
Hermione looked a bit flustered as she smiled and left to change into her pajamas. Ron took his toothbrush and pajamas and opened the door to the nearest bedroom to find Hermione in her knickers, pulling her shirt on. He gasped and immediately closed the door, humiliated.
"I'm sorry, Hermione! I didn't know, I promise! Sorry!" he said through the door.
Hermione came out, fully dressed but looking quite red and said, "I know, it's alright. You can go in now, if you want."
Ron nodded guiltily as he walked in and closed the door behind him. He really was sorry, he hadn't known she was in there. He couldn't, however, seem to get the image of her half-naked body out of his head. As he pulled on his pajamas, he thought about how nicely her body curved, how smooth her skin was...
"Ron, you want a cup of tea?" shouted Hermione from the kitchen, pulling Ron out of his trance.
"Oh, yeah, sure! Thanks," he replied, shaking his head at himself.
He walked back into the room to find Harry and Hermione next to each other on the couch. He knew they were only friends, but he felt a strong urge to throttle Harry. Hermione smiled and moved over when she saw him, however, and he brushed the moment off. Everyone was in a better mood, and the three had a bit of a laugh thinking about how all the poor Hogwarts students would be taking exams all year. They sobered up quickly, however, when they remembered that they wouldn't exactly be on vacation.
"I'm exhausted," said Harry, yawning. "Blow out the candles when you turn in, would you? Kreacher would probably explode if they burned out."
Hermione nodded, and Harry made his way to the living room. Ron laid on the floor, his feet resting on the couch.
Hermione rolled her eyes and said scornfully, "You know Kreacher would kill you if he knew you had your feet on the upholstery."
"Yeah, well, the little git isn't here, is he?" Ron replied, smiling. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."
Hermione sighed and joined Ron on the floor. They stared at the intricate green-and-silver wallpaper in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. What seemed like seconds later, Ron awoke to find Hermione poking him in the shoulder.
"You fell asleep," she explained. "You should go to the living room. Your back will hurt tomorrow if you sleep on the floor."
Slightly disoriented, Ron nodded and took her hand, leading her to their sleeping bags. He unzipped his bag so it would cover the both of them, and cuddled her in his arms. Hermione was surprised, and knew that he was partially asleep, but she didn't resist.
The morning came without further events. Harry woke first, smiling slightly when he saw that Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep so close to each other. He knew they loved each other, and he was torn between wanting them all to remain nothing more than close friends and them being together. He decided to let them sleep, and went to the kitchen to find breakfast. He did his best to make tea and toast, and he siphoned most of the mold off the mugs. Setting everything out on the table, he went to wake Ron and Hermione.
Hermione sat up, stretching and glancing over at Ron, who had turned on his stomach and put his pillow over his head. She laughed and poked him in the ribs, which he acknowledged with a grunt. Finally, he turned over and looked up at her, both of them laughing. Hermione was caught off-guard for a moment; he looked so adorable first thing in the morning. His hair was sticking out every which way and he had dark bags under his eyes, but his skin was milky and smooth and his lips were a nice rosy color. They stared at each other for a moment before Hermione cleared her throat and stood up.
"Harry's made breakfast," said Hermione, smoothing her hair into a ponytail. "You should hurry up or he'll have eaten all the toast."
Ron smiled and said, "Yeah, well, it's not exactly gourmet, is it? I'll come in in a minute."
Ron laid back down and stretched his arms over his head, thinking about whether he should tell Hermione how he felt. It was getting harder and harder not to hold her hand or kiss her, but he was terrified that the feeling wasn't mutual. Shaking his head and sighing, he stood up and walked into the kitchen to find that a plate had already been prepared for him. He sat down and the three had a pleasant breakfast, filled with light conversation. Ron studied Hermione when she wasn't looking, and he loved her more every moment he saw her.