A/N: Oh my gosh, again, guys, crazy amazing response I'm getting, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed and alerted, you're all awesome and I appreciate every single one! Thanks again:)
"It's okay, Ron." she hissed, tightening her grip before he had a chance to pull the wand out all the way. For a moment, he moved as if to shove Hermione off of his arm, but then froze.
"Weasley, Granger, I thought I told you to return to your dormitory." McGonagall looked genuinely surprised at their being there.
"It's my fault, Professor!" Hermione said quickly. "I wanted to see...see Marie. I asked Ron to come with me." Hermione glanced at Heath, whose head seemed to be bleeding, and felt a surge of gratefulness towards Ron.
"Out of bed this late at night?" Snape demanded.
"Quiet, Severus." Professor snapped. "I'll be taking them back to their common room."
"Weasley, you should keep a better eye on your friends." Snape sneered. Heath snorted at this comment.
"It's not his fault!" Hermione shouted, and then attached herself to Ron's arm, heading off any other retaliation. She stood on her tiptoes and put her lips next to his ears. "Please." her voice quivered as she whispered. "Ron, come with me."
He suddenly relaxed and Hermione let out a sigh of relief. McGonagall also looked thoroughly alleviated.
"Well, come on then you two." McGonagall said, walking back towards the doors. "Severus, I am sure that this boy will be taken care of."
Ron was the first to move, pulling Hermione behind him, creating a wall between Hermione and the other three. Again, Hermione was quite grateful for this, ever since Heath had entered the room, she felt as though she was going to be sick. The Professor led the pair down the hall, Hermione not letting go of Ron. They arrived at the portrait of the fat lady in no time.
Professor McGonagall let Ron and Hermione in, not saying a word, save for a grim nod at them both, and shut the portrait behind them.
"Ron." Hermione said the moment the portrait clicked closed. "Why did you need to talk to me?"
"I'm sorry, Hermione." he replied.
"That's not an answer." she said. Ron shot a look at the staircases leading to the dormitories, then pulled Hermione to one of the couches, and they both sat down. Hermione's head was reeling, the bruise on her face pounding dully in her ears.
"Hermione, I feel, like, something is going to happen. Something is going to happen soon. With Harry talking to Dumbledore all the time...Dumbledore telling him things about Voldemort...something is going to happen."
"I know what you mean." she admitted.
"Thing is, I feel like I can't go in this alone."
"You have Harry." she said, then added, as an afterthought, "Lavender."
Ron shook his head very slightly, then put his face in his hands. Hermione regretted bringing her up immediately. Two moments ago she had felt closer to Ron than she had in years, possibly, ever. Now there was a chill in the air, not even warmed by the crackling fire just feet away from then.
"She's not going to be there with me, Hermione, when this happens, whatever this is." he said after a moment. "But you are. I wanted to tell you that. That's why I went looking for you."
Hermione sat quietly, looking at Ron, his head still dipped in his hands.
"'Mione, when I saw you...when..." he took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. "I couldn't sleep, Hermione, I've been thinking so much. You weren't in here, and I asked Harry if he'd seen you go to bed. He told me you'd probably be in the library. So I went looking for you. And by a stroke of absolute dumb luck, I found you just in time." he took a deep breath, and continued.
"You know, something I've always admired about you, Hermione, is that you don't get scared for yourself. The only other times I've seen you scared it's been for Harry...or me, or someone else you care about and I can't remember you being truly scared just for yourself. And then I saw you tonite, before I knocked out the bastard, and your eyes terrified me more than I think I've ever been in my life. It was pure fear, 'Mione, and if there is one thing that I want...it's to never see that look in your eyes again."
He finally looked up at Hermione and was startled to see tears in her eyes. She took a shaking hand and covered her mouth and hiccuped. Ron looked at her stupidly, not sure what to do. Suddenly, Hermione leaned forward and threw her arms around his neck and squeezed tight. Ron closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. They sat like that for a moment, and then Hermione pulled away.
"I'll try and stay out of trouble." she said and Ron smiled. "Thank you again, Ron." she touched his cheek, and her eyes flashed with another emotion that Ron was surprised to see.
"I'm going to keep you safe, Hermione. I promise you that." he said. Her chin quivered and she stood.
"You have no idea how much that means to me, Ron." she whispered.
A/N: There it is! Next chapter within MOMENTS! I'm going to jump right on it. Review, PLEASE:)