Upon their landing on the beach near the shell cottage, Hermione collapsed against Ron and had he not been quick to grab her, she would have fallen to the ground. Without a moment's thought, he put his arms under her and picked her up. She felt so frail, he thought. He couldn't let Hermione wait, even though he heard Harry sobs and cry out the houseelf's name. He began walking the short distance to the cottage where Bill and Fleur had come out. Seeing Hermione in Ron's arms, Fleur rushed to them and then stopped, with a horrified look on her face.
"Is she…is she…?" Fleur couldn't finish the sentence.
"No. She is just unconscious. She was…" Out of nowhere, hot warm tears started to fall from Ron's eyes. "She was…subjected to the Cruciatus curse by that monster Bellatrix Lestrange. I couldn't do anything." More tears came and Fleur put an arm around his shoulders.
"She is safe now. You can carry her up to one of the rooms upstairs. I will soon come and help you."
Ron nodded and continued walking toward the cottage. Bill was waiting near the front door with a frown. He opened his mouth to speak but Ron spoke first.
"I can't speak right now. I need to take her inside. Go to Harry. Dobby, he is…dead."
Ron felt tears coming again and hurried past inside. He noticed that Dean and Luna were sitting on the sofa in the living room but walked past them and up the stairs. He found an empty bed in one of the bedrooms and laid her down. She started to move a little and he knelt down next to the bed. She seemed to be in a lot of pain because she grimaced whenever she moved even a little. She opened her eyes and starred unfocusedly on the ceiling. Ron felt his heart make a jolt of anguish when he saw that she looked terrified.
"Ron…" Her voice was feeble.
"Schhh…we are at Bill and Fleur's. You are safe now," he said in a voice he hoped was reassuring and calm. He didn't want to make her feel how miserable he felt when he saw how she struggled.
Her face and body immediately relaxed though and the look of terror was replaced by instead. Ron felt that he would break from seeing her like this. Back at the Malfoy Manor, it had been horrible to hear her scream from upstairs. He had felt like he was being tortured by being incapable of doing anything to help her. It was of course nothing compared to the pain she must had endured. He wished he could say how he felt toward her but now was not the time nor the place. There was so much to say, to explain. There were however more important things to do. He wondered when the time would come when they could sit down and talk but it was useless to speculate. He was interrupted in his reverie by her calling his name again.
"Ron." She was looking at him now, with tears in her eyes. "I am sorry. I could not resist, I could not…" She went silent.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." He reached for her hand and took it in his big ones. "You were very brave. It is I that should be sorry. I… we…could not be there, were not there for you." He bowed his head.
"I heard you." Ron looked up and saw her smiling feebly at him. "I heard your voice and it gave me strength, even though I felt like dying. You were there for me, I felt it."
"Harry kept telling me to stop shouting, but I hoped you would hear me. I couldn't think of anything else but you up there with that monster…" He was lost for words.
"She will get what she deserves someday." Hermione closed her eyes. "I just feel so tired."
Ron let go of her hand and caressed her hair.
"You need rest. I will go down and make myself useful. Fleur said she would come and look after you. Sleep well, my l…" The word had almost escaped his lips but again he felt that something told him that it was not the right moment. If Hermione had heard he did not know because she seemed to already be sleeping. He walked out and closed the door silently behind him. He was about to go downstairs when someone barred his path. He was about to reach for his wand before he saw that it was only Fleur.
"Fleur! You scared me," he whispered.
"I am sorry! I wanted to tell you something, "Fleur whispered back.
"What?"
"When are you going to tell her, you love her?" She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "You are obviously very much in love with each other. So romantique!" Her thick French accent was shining through her cheerfulness.
"Not now. I can't. She has been tortured and when she recovers, we have to move forward with our mission."
Fleur frowned. "But now must be the perfect time! When the world is so uncertain, love can help through tough times. Just look at me and Bill! Had I not been there after he was attacked by Greyback, we would not have been married. You need to tell her!"
"No. Harry would want our minds cleared for the mission. We can do that later, when all has calmed. No Fleur." She was about to interrupt him, her beautiful features contorted by irritation. "Thank you. But this is better."
He shook off her hand and rushed past her before she could say anything more.
As he walked down the stairs, a rush of regret surged over him. How he wished he had made a move sooner, they could have years of happiness! He thought that it had probably started with the Yule ball. Perhaps it has started sooner but it was only then he had started to feel that Hermione was more than a friend. He recalled when he had seen her walk arm in arm with Victor Krum, he had been so jealous. He would probably not understood the feeling at the time but he could understand it now. It was he that should have hold her arm in his, he that should have danced with her, he that she would looked at with adoration and happiness. Instead, he had acted like an idiot and made her so mad with him that they had not spoken for weeks. He would gladly have used a time-turner and returned to invite her before Krum. It was a nice fantasy but as it was only a fantasy, he decided to stop ponder about the past and return to the present. Someday, they would be together, he knew it.