Ron was sitting in his vacant flat, his legs drawn up to his chest as he stared furiously at the wall. After being thrown out of St. Mungo's, he had retreated back to his home, where he sat waiting for Harry to return. He knew he no longer had anything to offer Hermione. How could he, if he was going mad too? But that didn't mean he was giving up on her, he would stick by her side until the day he died.

Ron was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open and close as Harry returned. His footsteps got louder as he approached Ron and sat by his side. Ron didn't look up.

Something small and fragile was pushed into his hand. Ron looked down to see a small vial filled with a black potion in his palm. He looked questioningly at Harry, and Harry said, "It's her potion. The doctor says she has to take it once a day and it should keep her hallucinations under control." When Ron said nothing, Harry pressed on.

"You see? She's not going to have to go through any of this madness as long as she takes the potion –"

"She shouldn't have to go through any of this," said Ron, suddenly feeling old and stony. "It's so unfair to her. She's been through so much already, and she doesn't deserve it, any of it. And she's sacrificed so much for the both of us." Ron squeezed the bottle and rested his head against it, feeling the warmth radiating off of it, the sanity and virtually, life support for Hermione.

"I know," said Harry, wringing his hands together. "Especially for me during the war. Neither of you should've had to sacrifice that much for me…"

Ron said nothing. His stomach was doing great flips within him. "This is my entire fault."

Harry shook his head frantically. "No. Ron, none of this was in your control –"

"If I had been listening when she was telling me that she was meeting up with Booker –"

"Ron –"

"– then none of this would've ever happened."

"Ron, what would've happened differently if you had been listening properly?" asked Harry aggressively. "You would've let her go anyway!"

"Wrong!" said Ron, spinning around and towering over Harry menacingly. "I would've gone with her! I would've sent that evil bastard on his way, and I would've protected her properly…" Ron trailed off and felt tears now welling in his eyes. He wiped them away impatiently and turned away from Harry. He looked out the window and let out a shaky sigh.

"After everything that I put her through when we were in school, after I teased her and drove her up the wall…and after I left her…" Ron swallowed shakily, his Adam's apple bobbing. "The last thing she deserves is these hallucinations."

"Ron!"

Startled, Ron looked round at Harry, who now was looking at him with extreme reproach. "None of this is your fault, Ron!" he yelled, shaking his friend by the shoulders. "You couldn't control what happened to her, and yeah, maybe you were an arse to her through school, but we were kids! And she was pretty nasty to you, as I recall!"

At this, Ron pushed Harry away from him and withdrew his wand, pointing it at his best friend. Harry withdrew his just as fast, though his face showed surprise.

"Don't," said Ron, his voice shaking with succumbed rage, "say a word against Hermione. Every time she yelled at me throughout our youth, I deserved it. I had always done something that hurt her in some way, so don't you ever blame Hermione. She's the last person on earth who deserves that."

With that, Ron stowed his wand back in his pocket and turned his back from Harry's stunned face. Ignoring Harry's eyes on him, his asked "When are they letting her come home?"

There was a pause in which Harry seemed to be recovering from the previous situation. He finally cleared his throat and said in a raspy voice, "Two days."

Though Ron would've been much happier if Hermione was coming home that night, he couldn't help but brighten at the news. Two days was sooner than his was expecting, and it was the first step in returning to normality for both Hermione and Ron.