The morning sunlight streamed through the small window of the highest room in the Burrow. Beams of golden light bounced off the orange walls, bathing the room in a fiery glow.
In the corner of the room, a long, lanky figure sprawled out across the small bed crammed against the wall, snoring loudly. The man's red head stuck out of the orange covers, blending in almost completely with the bed sheets. His long limbs hung off the end of the bed by four inches.
A knock on the door echoed through the room, and the man stirred, groaning slightly. Another knock followed the first, and the door slowly opened, a short brunette poking her head in the room.
"Ron," she said, crossing her arms and striding over to the man in the bed, sitting on the edge. He simply groaned again, but continued to snooze. She placed a hand on his back and shook him firmly. "Ron, wake up, it's past ten."
Ron rolled over, now facing her. He cracked his eyes half open, and gave Hermione a small grin upon seeing her. "Hey."
"Hi," she said, returning the smile. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into bed next to him. He kissed her neck, hugging her tightly to his side. "Am I the last up?" he asked.
She shook her head, stroking the red bangs that framed his face. Her smile dropped to a worried frown. "George isn't up yet."
At this, Ron's spirit dropped to the floor. The Battle had left his mind for the night and he hadn't remembered until she mentioned George's name. Now he felt like he had aged ten years.
Of course, Hermione had noticed. She tilted his chin so his eyes met hers. Her brown eyes pierced his, assuring him that all his grief would eventually go away. "Ron, it's going to be fine. All you have to do is get through today, and then we'll be back in here tonight." She kissed his nose, and touched her forehead to his, closing her eyes. He stared at her in amazement, unable to believe that he had Hermione in his arms. She was constantly present when he needed her, and he needed her a lot lately.
He sighed heavily, his brain aching with the racing thoughts swirling inside. He gently kissed Hermione's forehead, and she traced her fingertips along his face in response, causing him to shiver with delight. She kissed him on his jaw one last time before wriggling out of his arms and struggling to get up. "We have to get up. The funeral starts at noon."
However, he grabbed hold of her waist once more and pulled her back down. She squealed and protested, but eventually, she gave in and allowed ten extra minutes of simply lying in bed.
Two hours later, Ron stood in his room, dressed in black dress robes while gazing out his window. Hermione had left to get ready and help prepare for the funeral. That was the difference between him and Hermione. While she busied and distracted herself during times of mourning and grief, he locked himself away and avoided contact with anyone else.
From his window, Ron had a full view of his relatives gathering in his backyard, all ready to honor Fred's short life. He spotted George, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here. He saw his parents, Mrs. Weasley already weeping and Mr. Weasley comforting her. His eyes settled on Harry and Hermione who were in the corner of the backyard, looking worried as they spoke quietly to each other. He watched as Hermione eyes glanced up to his window, and he immediately shut the curtain, but not fast enough. He knew she had caught a glimpse of his saddened face.
Ron turned away from the window, spotting a Ton-Tongue Toffee wrapper on his dresser. He picked it up and felt tears form in his eyes. Tears had become a trend in the Burrow, as well as the rest of the wizarding world. He knew he wasn't the only one mourning, but he felt ashamed that he couldn't look at anything that had once been Fred's without crying. Every time he saw a candy that Fred and George had created, he nearly started blubbering like a baby.
A knock on the door shook him from his reverie. He hastily wiped his eyes as Hermione poked her head in.
"Hi," she said solemnly. "Nearly ready?"
"Yeah, I was –" He cut off, and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I just want to get through this –" He pushed past her as he felt tears materializing in his eyes once again; he didn't want her to see him in this weak state…
However, Hermione gently grabbed his arm before he could flee and forced her brown eyes into his. Before he could say anything, she pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. He instantly wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her waist as he willed his tears not to fall.
After a long while, Hermione looked up at him and gave him a small smile. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, quickly and fully. "It'll be all right," she said, stroking his hair away from his face. "You'll get through this, we all will. Then we'll have the rest of our lives war-free."
Ron smiled a bit; he noticed she said "the rest of our lives" like they were already married and ready to begin their lives without interruption of Voldemort or worries about Harry.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her in close. She kissed his forehead and cupped his face in her hand. "We should go downstairs, the ceremony's about to start."
"I don't want to," he told her, feeling like a five-year-old again. He looked down at their feet, avoiding her eyes.
She tilted his chin up so his eyes met hers. "I know you don't." She kissed him once more and made to break apart after a few seconds, but Ron pulled her closer, wanting more. She gave in and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers threaded through his hair. As distressed as they both were, this kiss was a release for the both of them.
When they broke apart, they decided they could no longer avoid what was happening around them, and made their way out to the backyard. They sat next to Harry in the front row, and Ron saw his brother's final resting place in front of him for the first time.
Fred's black tomb was in the front of the crowd, in between hundreds of black roses in floating, golden pots. About one hundred people sat in the audience, a number of their relatives, and some Ron recognized from Fred's year.
Ron had prepared a speech, along with the rest of his family. It had been hard thinking of sentimental things to say about Fred, especially since he had been such a jokester. He had eventually gotten the speech done, but he feared it wasn't very good.
George was the first to speak, after the minister said a short introduction. He talked about some things Ron hadn't known about Fred, things only a twin brother would know. He recalled stories that Ron had forgotten, like the time Fred and Ginny had gotten into an argument before they had gone to Hogwarts, and in his premature anger, had caused ten gnomes to fly out of sight over the fence using uncontrolled magic. Despite the grave atmosphere in the crowd, this story did make a few people laugh. Most of the stories George shared were happy memories, and also made Ron feel slightly better. Next to him, Hermione squeezed his hand and smiled faintly at him. When George returned to his seat, Ron noticed tears forming in his brother's eyes.
The rest of his brothers slowly gave their speeches, along with Ginny. Most of them followed George's example by recollecting happy memories about Fred that made the crowd laugh. Percy was the only Weasley who burst out crying during his speech and couldn't pull himself together fast enough to finish. All the Weasleys knew he felt extremely guilty about his brother's death, even though it wasn't his fault at all.
Ron had chosen to deliver his speech last. As he stood up shakily, Hermione squeezed his hand and whispered, "Good luck, Ron."
Once in front of the crowd, Ron looked out at all the familiar faces and said, "Er – hi."
His heart was pounding as he began to talk about Fred. "When I was three years old, Fred turned my teddy bear into a huge, hairy spider because I broke his toy broomstick. After that, spiders became my greatest fear and I resented Fred for it."
Tears were beginning to form in the corners of his eyes, but he willed them not to fall. "In my third year, I learned that spiders were my boggart. I hated them, and I blamed my brother."
He could hear his own tears in his voice, but he couldn't stop. "But after Albus Dumbledore died and the war really took its toll, I knew that spiders weren't what I could be scared of most anymore. I knew this because what I really feared was losing my family and friends. I wanted to protect everyone I loved, because I couldn't stand it if I lost any of them." He met Hermione's eyes in the crowd and they shared a meaningful glance, both knowing he was talking mostly to her.
"So when I lost my brother after working so hard to make sure everyone I loved was safe…well…you all know how I feel." His voice broke and tears began to fall down his face. Soon, everything started coming out.
Ron started talking about every experience he had had with Fred through a watery voice, and once he started, it was hard to stop. It started to feel good, to share all his memories with others. He was talking faster, but his speech was the longest yet, even longer than George's.
Finally, he wrapped it up after twenty minutes. "Fred, you may have been a pain in the arse through most of my childhood, but bloody hell, you're a Weasley and a part of this family and I love you, mate." He conjured a white rose from his wand and placed it on the tomb, as his others brothers had done the same. The crowd applauded, and he burst into tears as he returned to a smiling Harry and Hermione.
Hermione took him into her arms and kissed his tears away, never letting go of him. She took his face in her palms and looked into his eyes. For the first time, he saw that she was crying just as hard as he was. "That was so brilliant, Ron," she told him, shooting him a watery smile. "You're so brave to tell stories like those."
Ron didn't think he was that courageous to be bawling in front of his family and friends, but he simply embraced her once again as they sat down and face the front again.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley delivered a speech together next, leaving the crowd in tears, especially with Mrs. Weasley's touching stories of Fred as a baby.
When the funeral was finally over, there were mixed emotions throughout the crowd. Some were in tears, the grief finally striking them, while others looked to be happier than they had before, good memories of Fred dancing through their head.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had instantly disappeared after the funeral, Ron having burst into more tears as the grief had struck him harder than ever. His two best friends had led him up to his room and comforted him as he cried buckets of tears.
Finally, Ron had calmed down enough to say to Harry, "Mate, I'm alright now. You can go find Ginny if you want."
Harry smiled a bit and gripped his friend's shoulder. "You sure, mate?" Ron hesitated, then nodded when he felt Hermione's hand on his other shoulder.
"Yeah, mate. I'll be alright."
Harry clapped him on the back and ruffled his friend's hair affectionately, grinning at him for the first time in what felt like forever. He left the room, closing the door behind him, and Ron and Hermione privacy.
He turned to her and felt like a child as he asked, "Is it over, Hermione?"
She didn't need to ask what he meant. She cupped his face with a small hand and led his face closer to hers. She turned her face to speak into his ear, her lips grazing his skin. "This war is officially over, Ron. I promise you, that you're never going to feel this kind of pain again. I won't allow it." Her voice was deadly serious, and he knew that she was right, because she always kept her word.
He wasn't quite sure that Hermione could keep him from feeling pain from Death. What if someone else he loved died and she had no control over it? This was most likely to happen, because it's rare when someone can stop Death from knocking. And what if she was next? He couldn't even fathom the idea of Hermione being gone from his life…
At this thought, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, causing her to squeak with surprise. However, she pulled him in tighter, stroking his hair.
He pulled away after a few moments and looked at Hermione through his unruly fringe. "I'm going to get better, Hermione, I promise. You're making me better, and you're going to get me through this. You're my life and you're worth living for, Hermione."
Hermione's eyes were welling with tears as she tackled him haphazardly onto the bed, kissing every inch of him she could reach. He smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in months. He knew his family and friends would get through the aftermath of the war, as he would, because they all had each other to get them through it. And for him, Ron Weasley, he especially had Hermione to get him through the darkest of times.