Let Love Win

Disclaimer: All rights to JKR. I own nothing.

Chapter One - Together

Hermione's POV

It was all a dream.

It had to be.

There was no way that it was all over. Absolutely no possible way.

But it was. It was done. And it was all a bit anti-climatic really. I mean, one moment we're all battling with everything in us to secure a victory we needed to survive. To live. To be free. Then the next moment we had claimed that victory. Proof was lying on the ground in the middle of the Great Hall, lifeless, as human as the people he believed were so far beneath him, that they didn't even deserve to speak his name without paying the ultimate price.

But no matter how we won, we did. I still can't believe it. If I went back in time to a year ago, and told myself that we would win and I would still be alive, I would have fainted from complete and utter shock. Never in a million lifetimes would I believe that Harry, Ron and I, would have all survived this. And I thank whatever higher power that exists that we did. Because I couldn't live without my boys. My best friends. My family. They had survived.

But then I remembered, not all of them had. Not Remus, not Tonks, not Fred.

At the thought of that last name my heart dropped into my stomach. Fred. Fred Weasley. What are they going to do? What are we going to do? I can't bare to think of the pain they must be in. The happiest, most warm hearted family I knew, was currently in pieces, and breaking more by the second. It had been mere hours since it happened. The last time I saw them was in the Great Hall, after our meeting in the Headmaster's office, Harry had gone straight to the Gryffindor boy's dormitories for some much needed rest. Ron however, was not ready to go to sleep without seeing his family again first. He looked me timidly in the eyes and whispered "Please? Will you come with me?" while offering me his hand,I smiled at him, interlocked our fingers and quietly replied "Of course.".

When we arrived at the Great Hall, the full weight of grief came crashing down on our shoulders. We both joined the Weasley's where they were huddled in a corner. immediately engulfed us both in a bone-crushing hug as we all sobbed wrapped around each other. We stayed there for probably half of an hour before insisted we join Harry in the dormitories.

Once we entered the Gryffindor Common Room, we stood nervously in front of the two dormitory staircases. I glanced over at Ron. The tips of his ears and his entire face was so brightly red that I was sure that if we were outside, you would be able to see him from space.

That thought lightened the mood for me enough to think clearly again. It was then that I realized how truly ridiculous we were both being. I loved this boy for Merlin's sake! I had worked up the courage to kiss him just hours earlier! How the hell was this any different?! We deserved our future, deserved to work through our grief together.

I was about to tell him as much and voice my thoughts, but Ron beat me to it.

"I'm in love with you, Hermione." He said.

I was caught completely off guard. I mean, I knew he felt at least some of what I felt for him, he had kissed me back after all, hadn't he? But the way he had said it, he had sounded so sure of himself, as if he had never meant anything more than those six words in his entire life. And to add to his confident words, his blush had completely disappeared during his statement. His confidence was contagious, adding to my own as I responded (quite smoothly if I do say so myself) with; "What a coincidence, because I just happen to be in love with you, Ron."

He beamed at me, and I back at him, and then, suddenly, we were kissing. Snogging, quite vigorously, in fact. Lips moving roughly against each other, tongues dancing together, moans escaping. It was a good 5 minutes before we pulled apart.

Both breathless and a bit light headed, we had headed up the stairs to the boy's sixth year dormitories. Once there, we found Harry curled up on his old bed, glasses on, and wand clutched in his right hand, as if expecting an attack at any moment. After removing his glasses, I turned around to find Ron, already asleep on his bed. I smiled to myself and got in bed next to him, wrapping an arm around his torso and resting my head on his chest, falling asleep almost instantly.

And that leads me to where I am now, awake, and staring at the ceiling and thinking about all that had occurred. I have no idea how long i've been asleep. Probably a few hours, but it doesn't matter, time isn't something to worry about right now. What ,or rather who, I should be worrying about is currently snoring, rather loudly, on the bed next to me.

However, the snoring abruptly stops, and I look over just in time to see Ron's eyes fluttering open.

He looks at me and smiles a sad sort of grief stricken smile.

I mirror him.

"Hi" He croaks, voice cracking with exhaustion and emotion.

"Hi" I whisper

His eyes flood with tears and he buries his head in my hair, his body racked with uncontrollable sobs. I want so badly to take away all of his pain, as my own eyes begin to water, but I can't. So I do the only thing I can, I hold him. I stroke his hair and don't let my own tears fall, in order to be strong for him, to be brave, because I know that's what he needs right nowt. There will be plenty of time to cry together later, but right, I must be his rock.

When he finishes, he begins to speak.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't you dare apologize." I say softly, still holding him in my arms.

"Okay." he says

A few moments of silence pass, the air thick with emotion.

"It hurts, Hermione."

My heart breaks all over again.

"I know."

"It's just so unfair, so fucking unfair!" He shouts.

I quickly grab my wand from my pocket and cast a silencing charm to make sure nobody wakes up due to Ron's shouts.

"What the hell did my family do to deserve this Hermione?! Huh? What the fuck did we do, to deserve losing him?" Ron asked, tears pouring down his face. "I just…..I just can't take it...it's….it's too bloody much. Please, help me. Help me, Hermione, I….I don't know what to do. Please, Hermione….Please."

As hard as I tried I couldn't fight the tears after what Ron just said, I was openly crying as I cupped his face in my hands, forcing his red rimmed and puffy eyes to look deeply into mine, as I spoke softly yet firmly.

"Listen to me Ron. You and your family did nothing, nothing to deserve this. It is not at all fair that this happened, it's something terrible, something tragic. But do not believe for even a fraction of a second, that it happened because of something you or your family did. You all, are the absolute best people I know. You are the kindest, sweetest, most compassionate people it the world. And it tears me apart to see you hurting like this. But there wasn't anything any of us did to cause this. It was war Ron. War isn't fair. War isn't kind. It's simply just war. It's terrifying, horrible, and completely bloody mental. And it takes away the people we love the most. And even though it hurts, we won, we won the freedom to grieve, and we can take all the time in the world we want to do it. And I promise you, I will be right beside you and I will never leave as long as you need me."

"I'll always need you Hermione."

"And I, you"

After a few moments more of crying in each other's arms, we slowly drifted back to sleep.

Safe in our dreams, but ready to face everything head on when we wake up, together.