Disclaimer: JKR knows what she's doing.

"Hermione…"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"If it's about Ron, no."

"Hermione, seriously."

"No."

"You can't keep avoiding this."

"No."

"You love him."

"Drop it, Harry!" she snapped, rolling over to face him. Her eyes were welling up and she was biting her lip so as not to start sobbing.

Harry stood up and took her hand. "Damn it, Hermione. How long are you going to do this? How long are you going to torment yourself and Ron until you end up back in that safety room? I can't begin to tell you what this is doing to Ron," he whispered.

Hermione laughed mockingly. "I'm sure he's told you everything," she grumbled.

Harry grabbed her face furiously, making her look at him. "Do you love him?" he demanded.

"Harry," she pleaded, trying to pry herself away.

"Answer me," he growled.

Hermione bit her lip again then her shoulders started to shake as the tears poured over. "I love him… I love him so much," she sobbed.

"Then why are you doing this?" Harry asked, letting her go.

"Because, Harry!" she shouted. "I… he… he wanted to marry me! He wanted to… start a life together… have a big family… grow old together," she murmured.

"You can still do that! You can still have the family you wanted!" he exclaimed.

Hermione shook her head. "No… that disappeared the moment I agreed to give myself away…"

"That doesn't mean you have to push him away."

She turned to him angrily. "Why should I hold on? Why should I pretend not to feel the shame I do whenever he's around? Why should I pretend not to see that look in his eyes? That look that says he will never forget what I've done even if he tries! Why should we be forced to pretend that it's ok when everything has fallen to pieces?"

Harry took her hands. "Because, Hermione. We have to believe that even through all this that there's still something worth living for," he whispered.

Hermione glared at him. "There is nothing worth hanging on to," she growled.

Harry's shoulder's sagged. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, Hermione would not change her mind. But that was the problem… he didn't want to see Ron's look when it finally hit him that Hermione was not going to change her mind. "Please, Hermione… if not for you, do it for Ron…"

Hermione closed her eyes. "I've stopped caring, Harry… I stopped caring the moment I found out I was pregnant…" she whispered.

Ron looked up to see Percy sit down beside him, looking out to see the damage the storm had caused. Ron watched his older brother for a moment then turned back to the small lake.

"She wants to give up," he whispered.

Percy jerked slightly, not expecting him actually start talking. Turning to examine his brother, he frowned.

"Is that what she said?" he asked.

Ron shook his head.

"No, but she didn't have to… I could see it in her eyes… she can't do it anymore," he answered.

Percy looked down at his hands, not really knowing what to say. He didn't really know much about the relationship between Ron and Hermione to say anything deep. But he could see how much it was eating away Ron. He knew that everyone was hoping that things would turn out alright and things would go back to normal, but he knew better. He had observed enough to see that the situation wasn't improving.

"Ron… I know this is that last thing you want to hear… but… maybe you should just…" he trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his words without completely enraging his brother.

Ron turned to Percy.

"Maybe I should what?" he asked.

Percy pursed his lips and then looked away, standing up. "Maybe you should give up as well… Pull out before she hurts you again. You've forgiven her and tried to make her see reason, but Ron… You need to realize that she might not come back…" he whispered before walking off.

Ron watched him go then sighed, looking down at his hands. As much as he wanted to get mad and tell Percy that he was wrong and that Hermione would change, he knew that his brother was right. He had to face the horrifying reality of the situation. Hermione was pushing him away for both their sakes…

"What are you thinking about?" Hermione asked, twisting a lock of his bright hair in her fingers as she watched the fire.

Ron opened his eyes and looked up at her from his place on the couch.

"Nothing really… just… life after Hogwarts," he answered groggily.

Hermione smiled. "You think that far ahead?" she teased.

Ron rolled his eyes, lifting his head off of her lap and sitting up straight. "Really… I was just thinking about what it would be like to…" He suddenly got red and stopped talking.

Hermione, instantly curious, turned to him. "What? What it would be like to what?" she asked insistently.

Ron shifted awkwardly then sighed. "I was thinking about what it would be like to… to get married, not that I'm planning anything soon," he added quickly, his ears turning that famous Weasley red.

Hermione stared at him for a minute then smiled. "What were you thinking?" she asked.

"I don't know… just stuff…" he answered, clearly not wanting to delve any further into his own thoughts.

Hermione grinned and rested her head on his shoulder. "When we do get married I would like a small wedding," she whispered. "Just close friends and family. With lilies and a beautiful arch that we stand under."

Ron looked down at her. "You've been planning our wedding already?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, not our wedding, but my wedding. I didn't exactly know who the groom would be at the age of eight you know," she answered.

Ron rolled his eyes. "So I'm just the last minute detail?"

Hermione grinned and kissed his neck, snuggling closer to him. "Be lucky you're invited," she whispered.

Ron snorted, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer, kissing her brow. "I love you, you know," he murmured.

Hermione looked up at him. "I know," she whispered.

The two stared at each other for a minute. Ron reached up and caressed her cheek, smiling as her eyes fluttered shut. He leaned in and kissed her soft lips.

"When do you want to get married?" he asked.

Hermione looked over at the dying fire. "When the war's over," she whispered. "And when we're out of Hogwarts… promise me you'll propose," she implored, turning to face him.

Ron kissed her again, this time taking his time to convey his feelings for her. "I promise," he whispered against her lips.

Hermione woke up, not wanting to see anymore. She closed her eyes, wiping the sweat from her brow as she tried to steady her breathing.

She remembered that night… She had been so surprised that Ron had actually considered the option. Sure, she had thought about marrying him, but she hadn't really thought that they would last the war. The moment he started talking about marriage, her heart had soared…

But now… oh but now…

All her heart wanted was to forget the pain… to forget all that had happened in the past months and move on. Be given a second chance…

Ron deserves to move on, she thought.

Ginny looked up from her tea to see Ron enter. She watched him move across the kitchen silently, not aware of her presence. His eyes were red.

Had Ronald Weasley been crying?

That alone made her shiver. Something was happening to him.

Was he letting go?

No, she thought. Not that fast… Not now…

She watched him some more. She watched how he would occasionally rub his arm as he searched the cabinets. She sighed. They hadn't really talked since Hermione had gotten out of the safety room. He'd been so caught up in trying to see Hermione and she had been so busy in trying to avoid Harry that they never saw each other. She sighed. Maybe it was time they had a chat.

"Ron," she whispered.

There was a crash, swearing and then he turned around. "Ginny? What are you doing up?"

Ginny bit her lip and stood up, taking out her wand to help Ron with the mess he had created. "Sorry… I didn't mean to startle you," she apologized. Before she could repair the cup though, he had already gotten a bag and was placing the broken shards inside. Ron then opened the small closet at the side of the kitchen and took out a broom. He started to sweep it up the smaller pieces. Ginny watched him, her heart starting to drop. Ron was doing manual labor…

"Ron… you could use a wand," she whispered.

He didn't seem to hear her.

"Ron!"

He stopped and looked up. "What?"

She just stared at him, at a loss as to what to say. She walked over to him, looking over his suffering blue eyes and his sunken features. Ron was withering away.

"How do you wake up in the morning?" she asked.

He watched her for a moment then set the broom down and turned to leave.

"Screaming."

A/N: Here you go.

Mione-Girl.x: There somethings you can't put back together.

sballLuvr5: I like it to. I just wanted someone for Blaise so that he could keep his mind off of everything else.

Dani: Well, this is Hermione we're talking about, after all those things that have happened to her, Harry's in the same ball park with Ron, only he's all the way in the out field while Ron's the stubborn pitcher that won't move even when his arm hurts. Hermione's not hitting anything over to him so he doesn't know what to do. Harry doesn't want to do anything to put Hermione back in that saftey room and that includes not messing with Blaise. For her sake.

NairobiDawn: Blaise is such an interesting character.

GTKari-123: You'll see Lex's purpose soon enough. She's actually just there to do what Blaise can't. Deal with the muggle stuff he can't deal with.

connieewing: Thank you for bearing with me.

Wesker888: Well, their good anyway.

Chapter Tease:

Hermione looked up at Harry and took the bag. "I heard he was injured. Ran into a tree," she whispered.

"It was raining."

"He was angry."

"He wasn't trying to kill himself."

"That's not what I said."

"That's what you meant."