Authors Note: Okay, so you may have noticed that I deleted chapter two. The reason being that I was getting a lot of reviews saying that another author had a similar chapter. I had not intended to steal any ideas, and I had not read that chapter before writing mine. After thinking long and hard, I thought taking down the chapter would be the best thing to do, just to avoid confusion and explaining myself to a bunch of reviewers over and over. Kind of disappointing, I really liked that chapter.. but oh well, what can you do? :P

So anyways, waking up to a bunch of people telling me "I don't use my own ideas" made today a perfect day to put up a chapter that actually isn't my idea. I got a request/suggestion from XoxMountainGirlxoX to do this chapter, and I was happy to write it! So here you are, hope you enjoy! (Oh, and I tried to respond to your message, but it said you had private messages disabled.. sorry!)

So, here it is:

And Then He Understood

Harry was used to the sound of screaming in his dreams. He had heard the sound of his mother being murdered more times than he could count. He was not immune to the sound, but more used to it. It hurt, but it did not surprise him when he woke up with the sound playing over in his head. This time was different though. The screams were not from his mother, but rather his best friend. The sound of her being tortured, of being put through unbearable pain was what haunted him tonight.

He was back in the cellar at Malfoy Manor. He could hear the horrible, drawn out screams above him. He could feel Ron tugging at his side, trying to break free of the ropes that bound them together. He knew he had to keep his head. Tugging at the ropes and screaming for Hermione wouldn't help them, and right now they could not waste any time… Bellatrix could decide to murder Hermione herself, or she could just simply give up and die from the pain…

Harry snapped when he heard another bone chilling scream. He needed to save her, he needed to take her somewhere safe, he needed to make sure she would be all right… he needed to kill Bellatrix Lestrange.

Then he saw her body, unmoving and lifeless, thrown on the ground like a piece of trash…

"Harry! Harry, wake up!" he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him roughly out of the dream. His eyes snapped open, somebody handed him his glasses.

Ron was standing over him, his hand still on his shoulder. Hermione was perched on the edge of his bed. Both pairs of eyes were full of concern.

"Er.. we heard you screaming out for Hermione" Ron said awkwardly "I'm guessing it was a nightmare about-"

"Yeah, don't worry about it guys -I'll be fine- just go back to sleep.."

"Harry, you're shaking" Hermione whispered, she sounded anxious.

"Hermione, I'm oka-" she had grabbed his hand. Harry saw Ron flinch a bit.

"Harry. What's wrong?" She asked him firmly, but gently. She was staring right into his eyes, hoping to help him let all the monsters out.

Harry broke the eye contact, and looked down. He sighed, and started.

"When she was torturing you –hearing your screams- I felt so guilty. I said the name, Hermione.. me. It was my fault that you were brought there. It was my fault that she was hurting you.

"Oh, Harry!" She exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms. "It wasn't your fault, I don't blame you at all.." She had her face buried in the crook of his neck. He glanced up at Ron, who looked about ready to throttle him. He gently pushed Hermione away.

"Hermione, you should go back to bed. You still aren't 100 percent well again, you need your sleep. Besides, I need to talk to Ron for a bit." He told her with a small smile.

She opened her mouth as if to argue, but turned around and headed for the bed right next to his.

Harry stood up, and grabbed Ron's arm. He led him downstairs into the small sitting room.

"What is your deal?" Harry asked "Is she not allowed to hug me anymore now that you fancy her?"

Ron stared at him for a moment, and then answered. "It just seems like you two have something that's… I dunno, more than friendship. And you know how I feel about her, I just wish you would tone it down a little."

Harry sighed, knowing where Ron was coming from. He and Hermione had a special bond, but it wasn't one of those 'more than friendship, less than romance' relationships, because he cared about Hermione just as much as he cared about Ginny, if not more. He loved them both equally, just in totally different ways. Ginny knew this, and she seemed to understand, why couldn't Ron?

"Look." He started "I don't love her… at least in that way. I love her like she's my sister, and I love her like she's my best friend. I care about her so much; I can't bear it if anything hurts her. And you're right, we have a bond that you will never have with her; that I will never have with Ginny. Think of it this way: we are both only children, both raised in the muggle world. You and Ginny… you always had siblings. You always had someone to take care of you, always had someone to take care of. And then when you left.. she didn't."

Ron nodded, but had a confused look on his face. He still didn't understand.

"I saw my parent's grave for the first time with her" he continued "I saw the place where I beat Voldemort with her. I connected with her in a way that I never will with anybody else. I want you to know that though I will never love her in a romantic way, I will always love her more than a friend, because she's not my friend anymore… she's my sister."

Ron looked dumbfounded. Harry guessed that he had never really thought about it in that sense before; that he'd only really thought about competing with Harry for Hermione. He'd never thought of a possibility of such a strong platonic relationship.

"And I know she feels the same way about me, I've told you before -she cried for weeks when you were gone." Harry added

Ron nodded, not needing to reply. He extended his hand to Harry.

Harry shook Ron's hand, and pulled him into a hug, which Ron returned. Ron clapped Harry on the back, and they broke apart.

They headed back upstairs to the bedroom that the three of them had been sharing. When they opened the door, they heard Hermione's voice call to them.

"Can one of you stay with me tonight? I just had another nightmare about.." she trailed off.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, and nodded in silent agreement. Harry picked up his wand from his bedside table and pointed it at Hermione's bed.

"Engorgio" He muttered, and the bed grew so that it could hold the three of them.

Ron climbed in one side, and Harry in the other. They both wrapped an arm around their damaged friend, moving close together. Almost instantly, they all felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.

Harry, with his last bit of energy said quietly "It's okay Hermione, we're here now, you're safe."

He felt Ron's hand move to his and squeeze. Harry knew Ron finally understood. He hugged Hermione tighter, hoping Ron would be everything she wanted.

So, what did you think? I'm looking forward to some positive reviews this time.