A/N: I don't know what possessed me to write this.

Shipping: Ron/Hermione

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A Walk Down Memory Lane

He took a deep breath before stepping into the serene white room of the hospital.

The smell of anesthesia entered his system and he prepared himself mentally for what he was about to see.

There she was. Her head was no longer bandaged and she was conscious for once. There was the girl he loved sitting right there across the room from him. Yet she never seemed so far away.

For once all he saw was a stranger: a stranger with unkempt hair, pale skin and circles under her eyes.

Her bed was against the windows with the curtains occasionally rising and falling to rhythm of the wind. Her head was turned away from him and she made no movement to look at him.

"How are you doing?" He asked off the top of his head. She turned her attention to him. Her pupils dilated as if processing his appearance and familiarity before turning blank and confused.

"Hello," She decidedly replied after awhile. "Are you another life changing person that I should remember, but don't?" She asked with a tilt of her head with childhood innocence she never seemed to have lost. He laughed good humorously, yet sadness tinted his eyes.

"You could say that." He moved to sit on the chair beside her bed. She eyed him carefully as he did so, as if questioning his motives. He held up both hands as if to tell her he meant no harm. Quietly she dropped her gaze and looked back out the window. They were quiet for a long time. He took this time to survey her blank, scared eyes, eyes that used to be filled with life and love.

"They say I'm hopeless," Her voice was raw.

He whipped his head up to look at her sudden outburst but otherwise didn't speak. "Look at me, I can't even remember own parents." She laughed bitterly, shaking her head.

He continued to gaze intently at her as she sorted herself out.

"Everyone says I can do it, that I'm stronger than that," She gripped the white blankets of the hospital bed tightly. "But I'm not. I'm not." Her eyes momentarily teared up.

Wordlessly, he leaned over and dried her tears with his sleeve.

"Hermione," He said under his breath. He didn't know what possessed him to say it. The doctor was keen on the fact that she needed time to sort herself out before trying to recover lost memories.

"What?"

"Hermione," He repeated. "It's your name."

She mouthed it a few times before saying it out loud as if trying it out.

"What a peculiar name."

"Well you were a peculiar girl." His voice dripped with fondness almost as if he was reminiscing old times. She squinted in curiosity.

"Peculiar in what way, May I ask?" She brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. He chuckled lightly.

"Well they didn't call you the brightest witch of our age for no reason." He grinned. Her hazel orbs on the other hand, clouded in doubt.

"Witchcraft? Don't be silly, that's nonsense." She replied logically her eyes shimmered disbelievingly. His smile never dropped.

"You never change." He stated more to himself than to her.

Suddenly as if she seemed to have registered something she turned her full attention to him.

"And who are you?"

"I'm Ron." A flicker of recognition flickered across her line of sight for a split second. And then it was gone. She awaited a longer answer.

"Your friend." He added.

Of course he wanted to tell her they were more than friends. That they fought their way through many life or death situations just to make sure they end up back in each others arms. That he has loved her since as far as he could remember. But for now, he just kept that well mannered smile on his face.

She nodded seemingly satisfied with the answer. She took an interest to playing with her fingers.

"So what'd we do? You and I," She asked. "Did we battle dragons? Save the world?"

"All of that actually," He leaned closer to her. "Except they were trolls and not dragons."

He could tell she didn't believe a single word he said. Her response had been the raise of a skeptical eyebrow and a murmured response.

"I don't recall."

He smiled sadly.

"I thought you wouldn't."