As Ron got up and stormed out of the house, Hermione's immediate reaction was to get up and go after him but as she stood up, she felt Ginny grab her wrist gently, preventing her from moving.

"Give him some time", she said softly. Hermione sighed sadly, giving Ginny a worried look before sitting back down in her seat. Molly sat awkwardly in her armchair as Hermione, Ginny and Harry searched for something, anything, to say. "He'll be alright, mum", Ginny sighed as she got up and sat on the arm of the chair where her mother sat. "You know what a drama queen he is. He'll skim some stones across the lake and be right as rain by tea time!", she tried to reassure her. Molly smiled gratefully at her daughter as she gave her a gentle pat on the knee.

"I better bring in the laundry", Molly suddenly said as she got up out of her seat.

"I'll give you a hand", Ginny offered as she followed her mother out into the Orchard. Hermione and Harry sat in an awkward silence for a moment as Hermione wondered where Ron had gone. She could imagine how he must be feeling. Although Molly had assured them that she and Arthur were not separating, the whole occurrence did seem rather worrying.

"Do you think I should go and look for him?", she suddenly asked Harry as she fiddled helplessly with the ends of her sleeves. "I made that mistake last time, didn't I? I didn't go after him", she sighed as she thought back to the time Ron had stormed out of their tent after his argument with Harry. Harry got up and joined her on the sofa, placing a caring hand on her knee as he sighed.

"This is different, Hermione. I think he needs some time to get his head around things", he told her honestly.

"Do you think we'll ever get back to the way things were, Harry?", she asked.

"The way things were?", Harry echoed. Hermione nodded.

"Normal", she said simply. Harry couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hermione, we were anything but normal!", he laughed. "The battles over now, and you and Ron are more than just friends. Things are going to feel different for a little while, but they'll be alright", he reassured her. Hermione smiled weakly at him as she hoped with everything she had that he was right. Later that evening, Ron still hadn't returned and Hermione had become restless. She had watched Harry and Ginny play a quick game of wizard's chess, read a few more chapters of one of her books and had even attempted to knit! But her mind would not ease. She wandered out into the Orchard for a while, pulling out shards of grass as she sat cross-legged in front of the lake when a small mobile her parents had gotten her began to vibrate in her pocket.

"Hello?", she answered.

"Hello, sweetheart", her mother's chirpy voice replied. "How are you?", she asked.

"I'm fine, thank you. How are you and dad?", she asked in return.

"Oh, we're alright", her mother sighed happily. "I was just calling to ask if we should be expecting you home this evening", she continued. Hermione couldn't help but feel guilty. It had been almost a week since she and her parents had returned from Australia and she had spent less than 48 hours with them. But whilst she felt guilty, she also knew that Ron needed her. The road to recovery was a long one, and she intended to be by his side every step of the way.

"Ron had some more difficult news today", she tried awkwardly to explain, hoping her mother would understand.

"It's alright, love. No need to explain further", her mother replied, sounding just as chirpy as she did before. "Send him our love, won't you?", she said.

"Of course", Hermione smiled warmly.

"Stay safe, Hermione. We love you", her mother said.

"I will. I love you too, give dad a kiss from me", she said before the pair hung up the phone. Hermione put her mobile back in her pocket as she gave a sad sigh. She was grateful that her parents understood that Ron needed her, but she wondered how long their understanding would last. Her main reason for staying at the Burrow was for Ron's sake and that was her choice, but she also dreaded the thought of going home. Not only had she not lived in that house for well over a year, but she was terrified of her parents discovering the true depth of her own damage. Hermione had always been a very brave child; she was never afraid of injections and never had a single nightmare before the age of 11. This was a side to her her parents had never seen. This was a side to her that nobody had ever seen. And she wanted to keep it that way for as long as humanly possible. She also thought that maybe by helping Ron overcome this hurdle she could, somehow, overcome it herself. She soon began to feel tired as the cool summer breeze blew through her bushy locks. Yawning, she wrapped her jacket around her as she made her way back to the Burrow. She said her goodnights to Molly, Ginny and Harry before making her way up to Ron's room, having been given Molly's blessing that morning. On entering Ron's room, she sighed contently, looking around at his belongings. His Chudley Cannons poster hung proudly by his bed and on his side table was a framed newspaper clipping of he and his family from their trip to Egypt and a framed picture of he, Harry and herself in their third year. She felt a little strange about crawling into his bed without him there so after brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed, she got comfortable in Harry's bed, resting her head against her hands as she slowly drifted off to sleep…

The floor was cold against her skin as she weakly looked around the room. She knew exactly where she was, and if it was anything like what had already happened to her, she knew she had to get out of there, and fast. But she could barely move. Her whole body felt as though it was being weighed down by steel as she attempted to move. She ached all over as she began to panic, each breath short and sharp as her eyes shifted quickly around the room. And as if out of nowhere, Bellatrix Lestrange was soon hovering over her, the stench of her breath causing Hermione to grimace as she gave her a wicked grin.

"What else did you take from my vault?", Bellatrix asked.

"I didn't – we didn't take it, I swear!", Hermione pleaded, her eyes swimming with tears. But Bellatrix was convinced she was lying as she stood to her feet, pointing her wand at Hermione.

"CRUCIO!", she bellowed. Hermione felt pain like she never had before. It felt as though piping hot fire was coursing through every vein in her body as she screamed at the top of her lungs, writhing around on the floor in excruciating agony. Bellatrix cackled loudly as Hermione continued squirm in torment. As Bellatrix finally lowered her wand, Hermione's body began to settle, her agony soon fading to a dull throb as she attempted to speak. But no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to form any words at all. Everything was blur; the sound of Bellatrix interrogating Griphook was nothing but a distant murmur as Hermione silently cried to herself. All of a sudden, she felt a strong force pulling her hair as she was dragged to her feet. With one hand tangled in her hair, Bellatrix stood Hermione up to face Ron's horrified face. Using her free hand, she held a blade to Hermione's throat, ordering Harry and Ron to drop their wands. The blade was so terrifyingly close to Hermione's skin that she feared she may slit her own throat just by swallowing. Bellatrix began to declare that the Dark Lord would arrive soon when she was suddenly stopped mid-sentence by a creaking noise from above. In a matter of seconds, Hermione had been thrown to the floor and a large glass chandelier had landed on top of her. The weight of the chandelier and the shards of glass that were piercing her skin caused her pain to intensify as she laid there motionless, sobbing heavily as Ron came to her rescue, his panicked expression lead to her sobbing much harder as he freed her from weight of the chandelier.

"Hermione", he spoke softly. But, Hermione continued to sob. "Hermione", he spoke again.

... "Hermione!", Ron's panicked voice woke her from her nightmare. Her eyes sprung open in fright, she sat up in bed, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to catch her breath. "It's alright! It's alright", Ron told her as he forced her into his embrace. Hermione allowed herself to collapse into his arms, grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt as she wept. "You're okay, Hermione", he spoke softly as he ran his fingers through her hair. A few short moments later, as Hermione composed herself, Ron had made her a cup of tea and had brought it up for her, sitting beside her on Harry's bed as she slowly took a sip.

"Thank you", she said quietly. Ron sighed sadly at her as she brought her knees up to her chest, placing her tea carefully on the small table beside the bed.

"I'm such an idiot", Ron suddenly said. "I've been so caught up in my own stuff that I didn't even -", he stopped as he sighed once more. "I'm so sorry, Hermione", he apologised.

"You've nothing to be sorry for", she told him. And she sincerely meant it. She didn't expect, nor did she want Ron to fuss over her after everything he had been through himself. Ron wrapped his arm cautiously around her shoulders as he shuffled closer to her. Hermione let herself fall into his embrace once more as the pair settled down on the bed. She wrapped her arm around his waist as she propped her head up against his chest, enjoying the sound of his beating heart as she stared blankly into space.

"Do – do you have nightmares a lot?", he asked. Hermione nodded.

"Some are worse than others", she sighed. Ron's tightened his grip on her slightly as he gently kissed the top of her head.

"Me too", he admitted. Hermione tightened her own grip around his waist as she relaxed under his touch, staring at the faint scars on her bare arm.

"Where did you go? Earlier", she asked sleepily. Hermione's head raised with his chest as he gave a deflated sigh.

"I went to see my dad", he told her.

"How was he?", she asked further.

"Same as he has been for the past few weeks", he told her honestly. "But, I don't want to talk about me. I just wanna lay here with you", he told her. Hermione couldn't help but smile warmly at his words as she slowly began to feel sleepy once again, her nightmares at bay as Ron suddenly reached for his wand. "Accio book", he said. Hermione's book shot out from underneath his pillow and landed in Ron's hand as he flicked through the pages, clearing his throat before he began to read; "As the weeks went by, I wondered whether the hospital employed such ungracious character deliberately". Hermione was soon sound asleep as she listened to Ron reading to her, just like she had done for him the night before. The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling the most comfortable she had ever felt with Ron's arm still wrapped around her snugly. She looked up at his sleeping face, her book still in his hand as he wriggled his nose. She smiled lovingly at him as she kissed him softly on the cheek. She slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake him before tiptoeing out of the room and making her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and have a shower. Her nightmare from the night before had clearly take its toll; her body ached as she cleaned herself. She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that Ron had been the one to see her like that. She wanted, more than anything, to be strong for him and she felt like she had failed. After her shower, Hermione got changed into some clean clothes before making her way downstairs. Molly had left a note to say she had gone out to have breakfast with Percy and that she would be back later. Hermione was the only one awake in the house. She sighed as she made herself a cup of tea, sitting at the kitchen table and flicking through the Daily Prophet. She was soon disturbed by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs when Ron, with his hair practically static, dragged his feet into the kitchen, smiling sleepily at her in his orange dressing gown. "Morning", he said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Good morning", she said sweetly. "The kettles just boiled", she told him as Ron made his way over to the stove.

"Where's mum?", he asked sleepily as he joined her at the table with a cup of tea of his own.

"She went out with Percy", Hermione told him simply as she continued to read the newspaper.

"How are you feeling?", he asked in a soft tone as he suddenly placed his hand on top of hers.

"I'm fine", she smiled, "How are you?". Ron raised his eyebrow at her as she looked at him with a perplexed expression.

"You know what I mean", he told her. Hermione sighed as she closed her newspaper and took a sip of her tea, looking for any excuse to not talk about her nightmare. "I know you want to look after me, Hermione. And you're doing a brilliant job! But – I want to look after you too", he told her, taking her hand within his own. Hermione looked down at her lap, scared of the tears that may fall if she dared to look at him. "This is a two-way street. Let me take care of you", he said softly, the palm of his hand meeting her cheek as she allowed him to catch a few stray tears. Hermione took a hold of his wrist gently, giving him a watery smile as she caressed the back of his hand with her thumb. She adored this side of him, a side of him she rarely saw as they were growing up but, she had decided that was a good thing, as it made these moments all the more special.

"What do you want to do today?", she asked chirply, sniffing as she wiped away her tears. Ron shrugged as he took a sip of his tea.

"Dunno. But, I'm getting sick of staring at the same four walls", he rolled his eyes. Hermione had a sudden idea, an idea she wasn't sure how Ron would take, but an idea she would like to put into practice.

"We could go and visit my parents", she suggested. Ron's eyes noticeably widened as he took another sip of his tea. Clearing his throat, he began to rub the back of his neck nervously.

"You sure you want me to come with you?", he asked awkwardly. Hermione nodded confidently as she took a sip of her own tea. "They'll think I'm a prat", he told her.

"No they won't!", she reassured him. "They have met you before, Ron", she chuckled.

"Yeah, but not as your – not since we – you know", he babbled. Hermione couldn't help but chuckle. She found it rather sweet that after all this time he was still nervous around her.

"It'll be fine, just be yourself", she told him as she got up from her seat, kissing him on the cheek before disappearing upstairs to get ready. Some hours later, Hermione had texted her mother to let her know they would be visiting and Ron and Hermione stood outside of the Burrow, ready to disapparate. Ron looked absolutely petrified as Hermione took his hands within hers. "Stop looking so worried, Ron. They already like you", she smiled sweetly.

"I hope they still do by the end of the day!", he said dramatically. Hermione giggled softly, giving him a kiss on the cheek before the pair disapparated with a quick pop. They had arrived in an alley way, not too far away from Hermione's family home as Hermione took Ron's hand within hers and lead him towards her house. She could feel his palms beginning to sweat as they approached the front door, warmly greeted by her mother. She held out her arms wide as Hermione let go of Ron's hand to give her mother a hug.

"It's so wonderful to see you, love", she said as she embraced her daughter. Hermione pulled away to let her mother say hello to Ron. "It's lovely to see you again, Ronald", she said sweetly.

"Lovely to see you too, Mrs Granger", Ron replied politely.

"Come in both of you! Your father's just upstairs putting the laundry away", she said as she invited them to follow her inside. It was a strange sensation, Hermione felt like a guest in her own home as both she and Ron sat awkwardly on the sofa. "Tea?", her mother asked. The pair of them nodded before Mrs Granger disappeared into the kitchen. They were soon joined by Mr Granger who boomed down the stairs excitedly. Hermione jumped up out of her seat and greeted her father with a strong and heartfelt hugged. She hadn't quite realised how much she had missed her father's hugs. He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, smiling sweetly at her as he took in her very presence.

"I was starting to think we were never going to see you again!", he joked. Hermione gave a chuckle as her father's eyes suddenly met Ron, who shot up out of his seat, standing like a stiff plank of wood as he met her father's gaze. "Good to see you, Ronald", he said, offering Ron his hand to shake.

"Good to see you too, sir", Ron replied politely once more. Hermione couldn't help but let out a little giggle. She had never heard anyone, other than the postman, refer to her father as sir. The pair soon sat back down on the sofa, joined by Mr Granger as Mrs Granger brought in a tray of tea.

"So, how are you, love?", her mother asked as she placed the tray on a coffee table in the middle of the room before sitting down in her blue armchair.

"Good, thank you", Hermione replied. She could feel Ron's eyes on her as she lied.

"And how have you been, Ron?", her attention suddenly turned to Ron. Hermione could see the terror in his eyes as he searched for something to say.

"I've been better, but I'm alright. Thank you", he said shyly.

"Ah, yes. We were so sorry to hear about your brother, sweetheart", her mother replied sincerely. Hermione could see Ron getting more uncomfortable by the second at the mention of Fred as she thought of another topic to talk about.

"Did you manage to sort everything out at the dental practice?", she asked. Mrs Granger nodded as she took a sip of her tea.

"They were quite understanding really", her father told her. The four of them spoke general chit-chat for a while as everyone finished their tea. Hermione was happy that Ron had begun to relax as her father had begun to tell him a little bit about the muggle sport, golf.

"So, all you have to do is hit a ball into a hole with a metal stick?", Ron asked. Mr Granger nodded as he grinned, looking quite amused by Ron's lack of knowledge on the sport. "Think I'll have to give that a try!", Ron said excitedly as Hermione chuckled.

"Well, I'll have to take you down to the golf course some time", Mr Granger smiled as Ron nodded eagerly. Hermione's heart melted as Ron and her father continued to bond. The pleasant visit soon ended as Hermione and Ron said their farewells to her parents before heading back to the alley way where they had previously arrived.

"Thank you", she said softly, smiling at him warmly as he looked around to make sure that they were alone.

"For what?", he asked.

"I know you didn't really want to come with me today, but – I'm glad that you did", she told him shyly, blushing as she rubbed her arm awkwardly. Ron suddenly took her hand within his as he kissed her gently on the cheek, leaving Hermione's heart fluttering in her chest.

"I'm glad I did too", he told her before they disapparated back to the Burrow.