A/N: Wow. I didn't intend for this chapter to be so long... it just sort of happened. I hope you all enjoy it :)


Chapter 12 - Home Sweet Home

May 20, 1998

By the time Ron and Harry had returned from training, they were both too exhausted to do anything but eat and collapse into arm chairs. Ron leaned his head back and allowed his eyes to lazily drift shut. Harry let out a strangled sigh somewhere to Ron's right.

"Could've been worse," Ron joked, his eyes still shut, a grin quickly forming as he listening to Harry breathing raggedly next to him.

A pillow suddenly slammed into Ron's face, clearly thrown roughly in his direction by Harry. Ron jumped slightly and let out a surprised shout, tossing the pillow back to Harry, still grinning. But Harry ducked and the pillow sailed over the back of his chair, landing with a soft thud on the floor behind him.

Ron glanced at his watch, something he had been doing every few minutes since arriving at the Burrow.

"I know what you're thinking," Harry said, narrowing his eyes wearily in Ron's direction.

"What?" Ron asked, trying to sound clueless. Harry stared pointedly at him and lowered his voice before he spoke next...

"You want to go into town to call Hermione again."

Ron's ears and neck turned a bit pink, but he shrugged.

"So?"

Harry chuckled.

"No way I'm fit to Apparate in this condition."

"I can take y-" but Harry shook his head, silencing Ron.

"You don't even technically have your license," Harry pointed out in a sharp whisper. "I'm not in the mood to risk my limbs at the moment."

"You don't have your license either, Harry," Ron said.

"But it's different going side-along, isn't it," Harry countered.

"We're really going to need to take our exams soon," Ron sighed, looking put out. Harry nodded. "Fine, we can walk," Ron added.

Harry glared at Ron.

"Fine," Ron said again, glancing towards the kitchen where his mother was still putting away dishes. Ron lowered his voice and leaned slightly towards Harry. "But you've got to make sure she doesn't find out where I've gone." Harry's eyes widened slightly.

"You're still going to go?"

"It's not that far," Ron shrugged, his face and ears flushing again as he looked away from Harry. After a long moment, Harry nodded.

"Okay," he said. "But you'd better be quick."

"Can I borrow a bit more-"

"Come on," Harry interrupted, knowing immediately that Ron was asking about Muggle money. "I'm sure I have enough in my trunk."

"Thanks, Harry," Ron said as he followed Harry up the stairs.

"Sure, mate."


Ron walked quickly, eager to get to the payphone. His legs were tired and a bit sore and he was pretty sure he had pulled something in his shoulder blade at training earlier, but he couldn't really find it in himself to care about any of those things at the moment. He smiled happily as he spotted the payphone up ahead. It had only taken him twenty minutes to reach town. It usually took closer to half an hour by foot, but he had a purpose tonight.

The streetlights were already on and the sun had almost completely set on the horizon ahead. Stars were beginning to peak out, and the sky behind Ron was already deep blue.

Ron hesitated only for a moment to be sure he remembered what to do before lifting the payphone from the hook and dialing the numbers on the back of his hand. Harry had already given him the exact amount of money that he needed to put in to make the call. Harry had remembered the amount from the night before. But Harry had also given Ron a bit of extra change just in case he wanted to try to continue the call, and Ron had put the extra money in a different pocket so he wouldn't confuse it. But the money Ron had now was all Harry had had left. Ron knew that after tonight, he'd have to change some money for himself at Gringotts in order to continue contacting Hermione until she returned at the end of the month.

He listened to the woman on the line telling him how much to put in, but he didn't really comprehend it. He dropped the coins Harry had given him into the slot one by one, then waited as the line went silent briefly...

The first ring sounded suddenly and Ron felt his heart beat faster and his stomach begin to churn excitedly. The mere thought of hearing her voice in a moment made him feel so blissfully nervous. It was a strange thing to explain, the way she could make him feel... the way his blood seemed to move too fast through his veins... the way his breathing quickened with anticipation.

He smiled and held his breath as the third ring sounded, then the fourth.

"You've reached Wendell and Monica Wilkins," came Mrs. Granger's voice. Ron opened his mouth, ready to ask for Hermione... "We're not in at the moment. Please leave us a message and we'll get back to you. If you have a dental emergency-"

Ron furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Hello?" he said tentatively.

"-please contact our office at-"

"Mrs. Granger?" Ron tried again.

Ron had never heard anything like this before. But it was starting to become clear to him that the voice on the other end of the line was a message of some sort. He wondered if it was similar to the way the Wireless worked, how people could announce songs but not really be there for you to say anything back to. The one thing that was very obvious was the fact that no one appeared to actually be picking up the phone on the other end. As the message finished, Ron hung up the phone, feeling frustrated. He heard a rattling, followed by the clink of his Muggle coins being released back to him. For a moment, he simply stared, confused, at the payphone. But as he scanned the printed text on the payphone, his eyes landed on a little metal slot at the bottom of the phone base where, according to the sticker on the phone itself, your money would be returned to you if your call did not go through. Feeling a small amount of relief to have the money back, Ron reached his finger into the slot and slid the coins back out into his hand.

He wasn't sure what to do now. He could wait and try again later, but it was getting late and Harry would only be able to hold his mother off for so long before she'd become suspicious. He knew she wouldn't be happy about his decision to walk to town by himself at night, even though he was an adult now and an Auror in training. She would want him to get his rest, and he didn't think she'd completely understand his desire - no, his need - to hear Hermione's voice every single day... He hadn't even told anyone in his family that he and Hermione were together. It was sort of strange, thinking about what he'd say to his parents. He hadn't really given it much thought, and honestly, it made him feel a bit awkward to imagine it. He hoped they'd simply catch on eventually... He wasn't even entirely sure that they didn't already know something was going on. It wasn't like he'd tried to hide it, and over the years, he was sure he had been more see through about his feelings for her than he'd like to admit...

But now he just needed to hear her, to talk to her. And it was looking unlikely... He sighed and picked up the phone again, dialing her number and dropping in the coins. He was shocked briefly as he realized he hadn't even had to look at the numbers on his hand this time. He had read and reread her phone number so many times since she had written it there. He felt some sort of link to the numbers, like he could still feel her fingers against his skin where she had touched him while writing it, like looking at her handwriting could bring her closer to him...

After four solid rings, the message began again and he hung up the phone, waiting for his coins to be dropped back down into the lower slot. He pulled them out in a annoyed way, running a hand through his hair as he considered his options again.

He spent the next ten minutes alternatively pacing in front of the payphone and leaning against it before trying Hermione's number again... but once more, there was no answer. The sky was now a solid navy, stars beginning to shine brightly above him, the moon light glowing against the gravel of the small road that ran through town.

"One more time," Ron muttered, and he resumed his pacing... But after fifteen minutes and another attempt, Ron was tired, frustrated, and let down. Pocketing Harry's money, Ron hesitated only for a moment before turning his back on the phone and beginning the journey home.


Hermione's mother steered her gently through rows and rows of medicines and vitamins, searching for something...

"Mum," Hermione began, "I told you already. I'm fine..."

"Hermione, you've woken your father twice now in the middle of the night," Mrs. Granger said in a concerned tone, "and you know he's not a light sleeper."

"But Mum, this isn't going to-"

"You don't know what's going to work or what's not going to until you give it a try," Mrs. Granger interrupted. "I just don't like to see you in so much pain..."

"Mum..." Hermione felt terrible for waking her parents. She hated her dreams, that was true, and it scared her that they seemed to be getting worse now that Ron was back in England, but she didn't want her parents to worry.

"Just try a mild sleeping pill, maybe some vitamins. Your great aunt Mary used to swear that certain supplements really could have an affect..." Mrs. Granger continued as she stopped to examine a bottle.

"Okay, I'll give it a shot," Hermione said, trying to feel optimistic...


Ron crept quietly through the back door and spotted Ginny and Harry chatting softly in the living room. He passed by them without a word and headed straight into the kitchen for some tea. He had decided to try the dreamless sleep tonight. He knew his mother kept a bit in the back of a cupboard. He slowly made himself a cup of tea, pouring a generous amount of the potion into the tea and sipping. He leaned against the wall, feeling very disappointed by his inability to reach Hermione.

After a moment, his eyes moved to the doorway into the living room where he could see Harry and Ginny. They sat close to each other on the couch, smiling and laughing softly as they continued their quiet conversation. Ron felt a twinge of jealousy for their happiness, wishing more than anything that he could be with Hermione...

As Harry leaned closer to Ginny, Ron looked away, realizing thoughtfully that he was not nearly as upset by their relationship as he had once felt. He was glad Harry had decided to talk to Ginny when they'd returned from the war. And he knew how happy Ginny was to have Harry back safe and in her life again. It wasn't difficult for Ron to imagine them together for a very long time. They seemed to fit, and they made sense in a lot of ways. Ron wondered if he had simply grown up because of what they had all been through this past year, or if the fact that he now had what he saw between Ginny and Harry, that he was now with the person he loved, made the biggest difference...



RON!

His eyes shot open at almost midnight, and he gasped to catch his breath. Swearing lightly under his breath, he covered his face miserably with his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut. He had barely slept, and the dreamless sleep seemed to have been completely worthless. He was in for another long night...

May 21, 1998

The second day of training went almost exactly as the first day had. Harry and Ron were well ahead of many of the others, but they still found the long hours and rigorous demands of their days to be exhausting. As he had done the night before, Ron slipped out just after dinner to call Hermione. He walked, if possible, even faster into town. But as it had happened the day before, he was unable to reach her. He tried five times, pacing and swearing lightly between each attempt. And, feeling tired and bad tempered, he returned home again, taking a cup of tea and the full bottle of dreamless sleep up to his bedroom with him...


Hermione walked up the front steps of her parents' practice. She was so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open. She had been at the practice with her parents for over two hours already moving things and it was only a little past eight.

She had tried the sleeping pills the night before, but she had remembered to put up a silencing charm around her room before getting in bed. And it was a good thing too because the pills had done absolutely nothing. Hermione had tried to avoid her mother's inquiries about the pills all morning, determined to try the vitamins tonight. Though in her heart, she knew what she needed, the only thing that would make her nightmares go away... and he was all the way around the world. She hadn't received a call from him the day before as he had said she would, and she was mildly worried, though she tried not to think about it.

It was easy to get carried away in the hectic chaos that was her life at the moment, helping her parents to completely uproot their life and return home again. But she just couldn't stop thinking of him, longing to be with him again... and she hoped more than anything that she might hear his voice today, something to get her through another day without him by her side.



May 22, 1998

STOP! PLEASE!!

Ron bolted awake, sitting halfway up in bed, blinking furiously.

"Shit!" he muttered harshly, reaching blindly for the dreamless sleep potion on his bedside table. The remains of his tea from several hours prior sat cold and uninviting on the table next to his alarm clock, so he uncorked the dreamless sleep and tipped the contents straight into his mouth, finishing it off in one. Almost immediately, he felt a wave of nausea. He knew he wasn't supposed to take as much as he had, but he didn't know how much longer he could continue to function properly without more than a few broken hours of sleep a night.

He dropped his head heavily back onto his pillow and squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath.


When Ron's alarm blared a few hours later, he was already half awake. He blinked and tried to slowly sit up. He felt horrible, like he had been hit over the head with a bat. In a daze, he slid out of bed and reached for his robes, bracing himself on his bedside table as he stared down at his clock, his vision blurring for a moment as his eyes went out of focus.

"Not good," he muttered, glancing at the empty dreamless sleep bottle that lay on its side next to his alarm.

Somehow he managed to shower and dress, feeling extremely lightheaded, cringing at the mere thought of eating breakfast. When he reached the table, Harry was already tucking into some toast. The house was deathly quiet. Apparently Ron's mother had not woken up in time to make them breakfast this morning. Ron was extremely grateful. He wasn't sure he could take the smell of bacon and eggs at the moment.

"Woah," Harry said as Ron practically fell into the chair across from Harry. Harry's eyes widened and he paused mid-bite of his toast to stare at Ron. "You look like shit."

"Cheers," Ron said sarcastically as he rubbed his temples gingerly with his fingers.

"Seriously, you should eat something, mate," Harry continued. "You look really pale."

"And how is that different from normal?" Ron asked. Harry couldn't help but grin at Ron's ability to crack a joke even when he was sick.

"Here, have some toast," Harry suggested, pushing a plate towards Ron. But Ron grimaced, looking completely repulsed and on the verge of gagging.

"Harry," Ron warned, "get that away from me."

"Maybe you should stay home," Harry said, looking concerned.

"Can't, can I," Ron half grumbled as he pushed up from the table. "We'd better go."

"Ron," Harry tried again as he stood as well, "I don't see how you're going to get through the day like that."

Ron shrugged.

"Let's just get it over with. I'll be fine..." Ron said unconvincingly as they headed for the fireplace. Harry remained quiet as Ron shoved his hand into the floo powder and stepped into the fire...


Ron half toppled out of the fireplace, falling to his knees and swearing under his breath, closing his eyes against a wave of nausea. He had no idea how he had gotten through the day alive...

He crawled away from the fireplace just in time. Harry landed behind him and stumbled out onto the rug, but remained standing, looking drained and tired but no where near as battered as Ron.

"Bloody... hell..." Ron slurred as he pulled himself up onto the couch. "Not gonna move for a week..."

"Ron?" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen, sounding a bit annoyed. She stepped into the doorway from the kitchen to the living room and stared down at Ron with her hands on her hips. "I knew that was you swearing," she said, sighing exasperatedly.

Ron groaned, covering his face with his arm. Mrs. Weasley seemed to just notice how dreadful Ron looked...

"What happened?" she asked quickly, crossing the rug in a flash. "Are you hurt?"

When Ron did not answer instantly, she turned to Harry.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Harry said. "It was a rough day, but Ron..." Harry stopped short, looking over at Ron, not sure what to really say about Ron's condition.

"Kind of feel like sleeping until next year," Ron said from behind his arm.

"Are you sick?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she sat on the couch next to Ron.

"'M okay," Ron mumbled.

"You look terrible," Mrs. Weasley commented.

"Thanks," Ron said sarcastically into his elbow.

"I'll make you both some tea," Mrs. Weasley said as she bustled quickly back into the kitchen.

Harry and Ron sat in silence, eyes closed, for a bit, listening to the sounds of Mrs. Weasley removing mugs from a cabinet, boiling water in a kettle, and clanking a spoon against a jar of tea leaves. After a while, Ron turned his head on the back of the couch towards Harry.

"Harry," he whispered. Harry's left eye opened to look at Ron. "You're gonna have to keep her occupied-"

But Harry opened his other eye and sat up, staring at Ron incredulously and interrupting him...

"Are you joking?!"

Ron blinked back at Harry.

"You can't possibly be thinking of going into town tonight," Harry whispered thickly, looking appalled.

"I have to..."

"Ron, you could barely walk to the fireplaces to floo home..."

But Mrs. Weasley re-entered the living room with two steaming mugs of tea and Harry and Ron abruptly ended their conversation.

"Drink," she instructed, handing each of them a mug and sitting on the edge of an arm chair, watching as they both sipped slowly. "You need supper and bed," she added. "Do you have a fever, Ron?"

"Don't think so," Ron said as he took another sip of the tea. It seemed to help his headache a bit, but he still felt woozy, like he could throw up at any moment.

"I think it might be best to take a sleeping potion, maybe some dream-"

"No!" Ron shouted, feeling his stomach churn uncomfortably at the mention of the dreamless sleep that he was sure had been mostly responsible for putting him in this state to begin with. "I think I'll just head up to bed..." But as he stood, he felt his head spin again and, leaning over slightly, he bolted for the loo.

Harry watched him go, still sipping his tea. Mrs. Weasley looked concerned and slightly confused by Ron's reaction to the dreamless sleep. She twisted a napkin in her lap as she waited for Ron to return from the loo. When he finally came back into the living room, a small amount of color had returned to his face. He made a disgusted sound and slumped back onto the sofa, staring into his tea mug, slightly sickened. But he felt much better. He knew he had probably just thrown up most of the dreamless sleep and he even felt a bit hungry now.

"Much better," Ron said.

"Ron, dinner's almost ready," said Mrs. Weasley. "Harry, help him upstairs and I'll bring up a tray for you both."

"I'm okay now," Ron said as he stood with his tea. Harry stood behind him and together they made their way up the stairs slowly.

"So what happened?" Harry asked in a hushed tone as they approached the closed door to Ginny's room. "Did you take a bad sleeping potion or something?"

Ron cast a dark look in Harry's direction.

"Something like that..."

Just then, Ginny's door opened with a slight bang and she looked out onto the landing excitedly.

"Harry!" she shouted, greeting him with a tight hug. "You're back early tonight."

"A bit, yeah," Harry said, smiling as he hugged her back.

"Just when I thought I was feeling better," Ron said as he rolled his eyes and continued up the stairs. "Oh, and hello to you too, Gin," he added over his shoulder as he approached the next landing.


Hermione walked down the steps at her parents' practice for what had to be the thousandth time. They had been relentlessly packing and moving for days and it was beginning to get awfully tiresome. Hermione was ready to be back home in England, and she knew that if she was homesick now, it must be nothing compared to how her parents were feeling. This saddened her greatly, thinking about all she had put them through, but it also gave her the strength to keep helping them get home as soon as possible... besides the fact that the faster they worked, the sooner she'd get to see Ron again.

When she reached the car, she slumped into the back seat behind her mother who was waiting in the passenger's seat for her father to return to the packed car and make the drive back to the house. Hermione bit her lip, thinking of Ron, wondering what he was doing at that exact moment... And suddenly, something occurred to her, something that made her literally jump in her seat. She closed her eyes and shook her head. It was evening in England. Ron was surely out of training for the day by now. And as Hermione continued to think about it, she realized with horror that she had been gone every morning with her parents, gone at the exact time that Ron had called her the first day. No wonder she hadn't heard from him...

"Mum," Hermione said quickly, "what's taking Dad so long?" She needed to get back home. Immediately.

"He's coming, dear," Mrs. Granger said, turning in her seat to look back at Hermione. "Why, what's the matter?"

"Nothing," Hermione said, looking out the window impatiently. "Just thinking about how much more work we have to do..." she added, feeling guilty for lying but not really wanting explain her feelings for Ron to her mother at the moment...

Her father finally exited the practice and headed down the sidewalk to the car carrying a large box. Hermione's legs bounced anxiously all the way home...


After diner, Ron was felling much better, but still totally exhausted. His eyes burned with lack of sleep and his legs didn't seem to want to support his weight as he tried to walk to his door. Harry had made him swear not to go into town alone after Ron had refused to back down from the idea of going that night. So Ron had agreed to wait for Harry to go with him, but he was getting rather impatient.

He wrenched open his bedroom door to find Harry stepping up onto the landing.

"Finally," Ron said, and together they headed quietly down into the living room, listening for Mrs. Weasley. But all was silent. They left through the back door, careful not to let the door slam behind them, and began the walk into town...


Thirty minutes later, they were once again within sight of the payphone that Ron had become quite familiar with over the past few days. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of it, even though he hadn't had good luck reaching Hermione recently. He had been trying not to worry, but all day he had been running through all the possible things that could have gone wrong to cause her not to be at home, and he sighed as he picked up the phone, eager to hear her voice, but trying not to get his hopes up.


Hermione burst through the door into the house carrying several bags. She dropped them hastily with all the others they had been lugging from her parents' office and dashed into the kitchen, staring down at the phone, her heart pounding. As usual, there were no messages. She wasn't sure Ron would even know how to leave a message, or if he'd even know that it was possible to do that, so it was no surprise to her that he hadn't... if he had even tried to contact her. She felt so certain all of a sudden however that he had been trying to reach her and that she had simply missed it every time...

She sat at the kitchen table, staring at the phone, willing it to ring. She was so focused on this one task that she didn't even hear her mother calling her until her mother had moved into the kitchen and was staring down at her, looking concerned.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping slightly. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you were alright," Mrs. Granger said. "You didn't answer me."

"I'm fine," Hermione said, attempting a smile.

"We're going back to the office," Mrs. Granger continued, still looking concerned. "Are you coming?"

Hermione couldn't speak. She wanted nothing less than to leave the house again and miss the phone call she had been anticipating for days... But she didn't know how to let her mother down. So she said nothing, caught between her thoughts.

"Ready?" came her father's voice as he entered the kitchen behind her mother. And suddenly, the phone rang. Hermione jumped a foot off her chair and lunged for the phone, her heart pounding practically out of her chest.

"Hello?" she said breathlessly.


"Hermione!" Ron shouted triumphantly into the phone, actually jumping into the air from joy. Harry smirked but Ron paid him no attention.

"Ron!" Hermione laughed a bit hysterically, sounding overwhelmingly relieved.

Ron grinned and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I've been so worried," she admitted. "I was actually sitting by the phone just now hoping you'd call..."

"Really?" Ron asked quietly, still smiling. "I can't believe I finally reached you..."

"You've tried to call me before now?" Hermione asked, sounding nervous.

"Yeah, every night," Ron said. "Well, every morning for you."

"Damn it," Hermione muttered. "Sorry, Mum..." she added, sounding shocked with herself.

Ron heard a brief exchange in the background, but it sounded more amused than annoyed.

"Are your parents in the room?" he asked softly.

"Not anymore," Hermione said through an obvious smile.

"God, I miss you," Ron sighed, ignoring Harry's fake gagging next to him.

"You too," Hermione sighed back.

"You sound tired."

"We've been out every morning moving things from my parents' office before their appointments," Hermione said.

"Explains why you haven't been getting my calls," said Ron.

"I'm so sorry, Ron," Hermione half groaned. "I can't believe how unlucky that was..."

"S'ok," Ron said, grinning. "I'm just glad you answered this time."

"Me too."

They remained silent for a brief moment, listening to each other breathing before Hermione spoke again.

"How's training?" she asked a bit excitedly.

"Rough," Ron admitted, "but it's really going pretty well I guess. Me and Harry are kind of ahead of the rest of them, so I imagine it's even worse for some people than it is for us."

"Are you learning a lot? Do you have a lot to study at night?"

"Not so much to study at home I guess, at least for now, but we've been going over practical spells and stuff in a big meeting room at the Ministry. They have a training course too, kind of like a camp I guess, where we go in the afternoons. But me and Harry actually have to take our Apparition exam on the 25th. I kind of forgot we never passed it."

"Oh, that's right," Hermione said, sounding like she hadn't remembered it either. "Have you studied for that?"

"Nah, we've been Apparating most of the year, haven't we."

"I seem to remember someone complaining about splinching off fingernails, if I'm not mistaken," Hermione joked.

"Funny."

"Just be careful, Ron," Hermione continued in a more serious tone. "I know Auror training is really tough and dangerous and I just..." she trailed off, sighing lightly.

"We'll be careful. Promise," Ron said. "Are you still coming home at the end of the month?"

"Leaving on the 31st if all goes well."

"That seems like a really long time..."

But the recorded message broke into their call suddenly, asking for more Muggle money.

"Already?!" Ron exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "I don't have any more money, Hermione," Ron added when the message had stopped.

"It's asking for more now?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "You can't hear those messages, can you."

"No."

"I'm going to Gringotts on break tomorrow to change some money so I can call you again tomorrow night. Will you be around?"

"Same time?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Yes," said Ron, nervous that he was going to be disconnected from Hermione at any moment.

The message cut in again, and when it died, Ron pressed the phone more tightly to his ear.

"Are you still there?"

"Yes."

"It's going to disconnect me in a second I think," Ron said in a rush. "I-"

But the phone went dead and a fast beeping sounded in his ear before he could say anything else. Looking annoyed, Ron hung up the phone.

"Better get home before Mum finds out we're missing," Ron said in a depressed tone. Harry followed him as they made their way back down the street, and Ron could almost feel Harry holding his breath so he wouldn't crack another joke about Ron's phone call...

May 23, 1998

Ron woke a few minutes before his alarm, his heart racing from a confusing nightmare. He had slept more that night than any night before, at least since the last time he had spoken to Hermione. He had to smile at this knowledge, feeling elated by the effect that Hermione obviously had even on his subconscious. Just hearing her voice at night had calmed him and given him a chance at a restful night.

That day at training, he found himself a bit distracted by Hermione, thinking about hearing her voice again soon. At Gringotts, he changed out as much money as he could spare, feeling disappointed by how little Muggle money it translated to and hoping that he'd have enough to make a call each night until Hermione's return home... Ron spent at least fifteen minutes convincing Harry to let him pay back the money he had spent on the calls he'd made so far. In the end, Ron had shoved the money into Harry's hand in a frustrated way, claiming that he'd hex Harry if he didn't take it.


After supper, Ron made the trip to the payphone alone. Harry agreed to once again keep Ron's mother ignorant of what Ron was doing, though Harry had told Ron that his mother had not asked any questions or become suspicious yet, which made Ron feel a lot more confident and a lot less nervous as he made the twenty minute journey alone, happy when he neared the phone in record time.

Hermione answered after the second ring, and they talked about Ron's day and hers too, happy just to hear each other's voices. Hermione was shocked to hear that Ron would not get a day off for weeks at a time, and that he'd actually be lucky to get one a month for the first year. The rumors about how tough Auror training was had obviously not been false.

All too soon, the message came on demanding more money, and Ron couldn't spare the change to continue the call if he wanted to be able to contact her again every night. He sadly informed Hermione of this and she understood. He returned home feeling tired but peaceful, and he fell into bed quickly, drifting off to sleep after mere seconds.

May 27, 1998

The past three days had gone much the same as the one before. Ron would spend the day at training, return home for dinner, wait for his mother to become distracted by chores or someone else in the house, and then he'd set off for town, walking briskly towards the payphone and dropping coin after coin into the slot to make the call he looked forward to all day.

But tonight, things were different. Hermione didn't answer. Her mother's voice came on after the fourth ring, the message all too familiar to Ron.

"Damn it," he muttered, hanging up and retrieving his money.

After four failed attempts, he sighed and headed back home, slightly confused. She'd said the night before that she'd be there, that she'd be waiting for his call like usual.

When Ron reached the Burrow, he headed straight upstairs, not even pausing in the living room to say goodnight to Harry and Ginny. As was the case every night, Harry and Ginny had taken up residence on the sofa and were chatting softly, sitting so close that their bodies were pressed together along one side.

Fifteen minutes later, Ron slumped into his bed and rested his head against his pillow, sighing. He was prepared for what was coming, for the nightmares that came without ceasing. And as he slipped out of consciousness, he felt darkness surround him, felt the imminent shift between his waking mind and his vivid, terrifying dreams...

May 28, 1998

"Ron..."

This voice was not the one of his dreams, the terror inducing screams and sobs he was used to... Though she was the same, it was still her...

"Ron..."

This was gentle, almost nervous, and his forehead creased as he tried to place her into the world of his nightmares, but the sound of her speaking his name was too different this time and it would not fit.

He felt a soft weight sink onto his mattress...

His eyes cracked open.

He felt his heartbeat accelerate, his pulse quicken, the speed of his breathing increase, and he sat up. This was familiar, this startled awakening... but...

"H-Hermione?!" Ron whispered, not believing his eyes.

She laughed a bit nervously, a broad smile clearly visible on her face where she sat on the edge of Ron's bed facing him, moonlight illuminating her features. Ron laughed now too, still not entirely convinced that this was real as he scrambled the rest of the way up in his bed, jostling Hermione so she nearly lost her balance and had to grab onto Ron's blanket to catch herself.

"What are you... what..." Ron stammered, staring at her in awe.

"I came back early," Hermione said through her smile.

"So I'm not dreaming?" Ron asked, his heart pounding furiously now. Hermione shook her head. And that one little motion broke the spell, freed Ron from the last remains of sleep. His arms were around her in a flash and she giggled, grabbing tightly onto him too.

He sighed, burying his face in her hair and closing his eyes tightly. Hermione's body was twisted a bit awkwardly to hold onto Ron as firmly as she was, and as he moved his hands against her back, she leaned her full weight against him, toppling them both back into the bed so that she was half on top of him.

She felt his lips move to her neck, an accident at first, but he took full advantage and kissed her there, causing her skin to break out in the most delightful goosebumps.

"You're really here, you're really here," Ron repeated as he squeezed her against his chest.

He rolled onto his side, still holding her body tightly against his own, but he was now able to move his head back enough to look into her eyes. Her head sank lazily into his pillow, her forehead inches from his, an ecstatic smile still plastered to her face, a smile Ron was sure he was mirroring back at her.

"Tell me you're staying overnight," Ron whispered. Hermione's cheeks reddened, visible to Ron even in the dark room.

"My parents won't be here until tomorrow morning," Hermione whispered back.

"Is that a yes?" Ron asked, grinning.

"Yes," Hermione laughed.

Ron's eyes fluttered shut happily and he leaned closer, resting his forehead against hers. But before he opened his eyes again, he felt her lips on his, shocking his eyes back open fully. Grinning against her lips, Ron closed his eyes again, resisting the moan that was trying to escape the back of his throat at the pleasure he was feeling. When they parted, Ron grinned sleepily at Hermione, realizing something...

"I called you earlier and you didn't answer... you were on the plane, weren't you..."

Hermione blushed slightly, but nodded against Ron's pillow.

"I lied to you when I said I'd be around. I already had my plane ticket, and I wanted to surprise you..." she admitted.

"Best surprise ever," Ron mumbled, leaning in to kiss her again.

When they finally parted once more, Ron felt his heavy eyes closing and he pulled Hermione even closer. Her legs twisted together with his and he smiled, drifting off to sleep, knowing that his nightmares were gone for tonight...

Hermione felt herself falling with Ron, being pulled into sleep too quickly. She wanted to stay awake longer, to talk to him, to feel him and kiss him again... but knowing that she was free, that her nightmares would not bother her in her sleep tonight, she felt a peaceful calm overtake her and she soon joined Ron in sleep, dreaming instead of his smile, his eyes, his voice... telling her that he loved her and always would.