TITLE: Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go To Sleep

I don't own the characters or the title idea; characters belong to Queen JK Rowling and not her lowly servant (me), and the title is that of a children's book that I used to love. Read, enjoy, and please review!

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She was running…running from everything. Fire spurted to her left, lashed over her small frame, but didn't burn.

He ran behind her, chasing her into a realm of darkness, his hair flying in the wind. He was familiar.

"Hermione," he said, quietly. "Hermione…I'm leaving."

She cried out to him, she didn't want him to leave. Why was he going? She grabbed the transparent wrist; He was disappearing already!

"No!" she cried. "No, please, stay here with me!" But he was gone.

She needed to run again. Tripping, she got up and began to sprint. She was aware of footsteps behind her.

"Hermione…" It was his voice! He had returned! She turned to welcome him, only to find that he had been consumed by a burst of fire.

"NO!" she screamed. She began to run; the flames were pursuing.

She ran and ran. The footsteps came again. He was back! She turned, expecting to hear his voice, but when she turned, he was pointing to his throat. He would not speak her name, much as he tried. She wept bitterly, and invited him to run with her. Their gripped hands swayed as they ran on…and on…and suddenly he was gone, just as he had appeared.

"NO!"

Hermione Granger woke up, in her room at the Burrow. She reached up and felt her forehead; There was sweat coursing down her cheeks. No, no, that wasn't sweat. Hermione became vaguely aware that she was crying hysterically.

"'Mione?" came Ron's voice. He knocked at the door.

"C'min," she said, through her tears.

He entered her room, with lantern in hand. It illuminated his fiery red hair and made his cobalt eyes shine.

"'Mione, what's wrong? Don't cry," he set the lantern down on her bedside table and sat on the bed next to where she was still sobbing profusely.

"Bad…dream…" she gasped, her body wracking with sobs.

Ron smiled, "Must've been pretty bad." Hermione nodded and began to hiccup.

"Y-y-you…kept –hic- d-disappearing, and –hic- I kept c-calling for you but –hic- you w-w-weren't there, and –hic- when you came b-b-back the first –hic- time you were –hic- c-c-consumed b-by f-fire and I –hic- d-didn't know what to –hic- do, and then you –hic- came back again b-b-but you –hic- couldn't t-talk to me and –hic- I didn't know w-w-why…oh, Ron it was awful…awful…" She began crying even harder.

"Oh, 'Mione, I would never leave you, ever," he whispered softly. He held her gently while she cried into his chest. After all of Hermione's tears were gone, he still held her, until she said,

"Ron?"

"Mmm?"

"Ron…tell me something happy before I go to sleep."

Ron wracked his brain. "Well, do you want a time that we had together, or a time that just I experienced?"

Hermione looked up at him, like a child imploring for a fantasy tale. "Just…something happy."

"Okay," he began, "Once, it was the summer, and I accidentally got up really early. I decided to go outside. Well, I went exploring, and I found a little clearing down by the pond. The sun was right at the angle in the morning when it makes the water really sparkle. The sight was breathtaking, and I felt really peaceful."

Hermione sighed. "It must have been really beautiful."

"Just like you," Ron said. Hermione snuggled deeper into his chest.

Ron had a sudden idea. "You know, 'Mione, we could go down and see it when day comes."

"Sounds…" Hermione yawned, "…fantastic…" she trailed off. Ron held her until she fell asleep, then tucked her into bed and left her room.

Hermione awoke to Ron shaking her ever so slightly. "'Mione…come down…there's something I want to show you."

Hermione stood up, wiped the sleep from her eyes, and pulled on her light blue dressing gown. She took Ron's hand and he led her down the stairs and outside. He covered her eyes with one hand and guided her with the other. The sound of sloshing water told her they were by the pond. Ron carefully led her into his discovered clearing, and then sat her down on a little tree stump that served as a chair.

"Okay, Hermione, open your eyes."

She did, and gasped. The sun's morning rays glinted off of the soft waves on the pond, making the water sparkle with reds, blues, pinks, and purples, in every hue known to man.

"Ron," she sighed, "It's beautiful. This is definitely something happy, it's just as I imagined it, only prettier." He sat down next to her and grabbed her hand. She laid her head on his shoulder, and the two of them watched the sunrise until they could hear Mrs. Weasley calling them for breakfast.

Fin

(A/N: Soooo how was it? Quite fluffy, no? I was rather depressed before I wrote this and I needed happy fluffiness… (Gaaah, choking on fluff!) Anyway, the little purple button is hungry. All flames will be used to roast marshmallows, and all reviews shall be rewarded with…you guessed it, a roasted marshmallow! And graham crackers and chocolate, for s'mores sake! If you don't like s'mores, you can just have the marshmallow. Or the chocolate. Or the crackers. Your pick. So, my fabulous readers, that's all, folks!)