XX

Harry and Ginny were outside 'taking in the nature' as they had told Molly but Hermione knew they were just leaning against a tree making out, that was their main source of entertainment these days. The moon was up so they would be heading in soon and George and Ron weren't home yet, even though it was well past the promised afternoon arrival date.

Hermione sat in front of the mirror braiding her hair, she was already dressed in her pajamas and had brushed her teeth. She was way beyond hoping they would be back soon, she was content with not spending her day waiting and worrying, she didn't want to be that girl, who wanted to spend all their time with one person and longing for them throughout every second spent apart. She never wanted to be that girl, and she wasn't but part of her, a small part of her was failing miserably. After everything they had all being through she was worried that with a moment's notice one of them would slip away, just like Fred did, and be gone for ever.

After her shower she had shut the curtains before she sat down on her bed, with her back leant against the wall and read. She wouldn't be able to help herself, she would keep glancing up from her book to stare out the window, checking to see if they were back yet, but with her view block she didn't.

Whenever she strained her ears in the silent house she didn't hear the sound of someone apparating or someone flooing in, all she heard was the muffled sound of strangled tears, from someone who was crying silently to themselves and breaths were short and sparse. She had learnt not to strain her ears when Molly was home and the house was seemingly quiet.

Usually the sound of chatter or laughter or moving around the house muffled the tears that came from everywhere, the kitchen, the bathroom, the garden, the bedroom. It made Hermione feel sick, it brought her back to the Great Hall, where her ears were awash with the sound of grief, so much so that she just wanted to scream to block it all out. She wanted to be able to do something to help Molly, to help them all including herself but she knew there was nothing. There were no words to cure the pain, there were no actions that could undo what had been done. She had wracked her brains to find something, anything that could make the crying stop, or even just cease for a small bout of happiness.

Even though it sickened her, her only solution was to put a muffling spell over Molly and Arthur's room. The only way she could escape the tears. At night when she slipped into Ron's bedroom she used to be able to hear Molly as she passed her bedroom door. Sometimes she could hear Arthur's voice, quietly soothing her but often he wasn't home when this took place. Molly tried to hide her tears, but she couldn't escape them.

Hermione couldn't escape them either, but she did her best to ignore them. She couldn't, she wouldn't tell Ron or Harry or Ginny or any of them what she heard, what she always heard but she was sure they already knew. No one could escape the tears in this house, even if they didn't talk about them didn't mean they weren't there, they were creeping into every corner of the house.

Tonight she couldn't hear the tears, which meant that Molly must have been in bed already, the charm still hadn't worn off. Which meant it was safe to strain her ears and turn off the music that was playing quietly from the cd player that Hermione had bought among other things from her shopping trip with Ginny. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, in case the music covered the crying not the spell.

When Ron was with her she felt better, everything was better. It wasn't because he made her forget it was just that she felt she could deal with anything, them together, nothing would stop them. Part of thought that that was stupid, but she didn't care, when he smiled or laughed or kissed her or held her in his arms, everything was ok. She could think clearly, her mind wasn't clouded by grief. And the main thing that she was able to think about was her parents.

She wanted to get the back, but she had to find them first. And she needed help to do that, but she wanted to wait a little bit longer before she started to look for them. Every cell in her ached to find them, but there were still death eaters everywhere, not all of them had been killed and she didn't want to risk someone finding out about her parents and killing them before she got there. She couldn't bear the thought that after all this time, those long months apart a death eater would kill them just days before she reached them. The possibility that they were already dead didn't even cross her mind.

"You going to Ron's room?" Ginny asked, her voice penetrating Hermione's mind and bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Hermione asked, looking up at Ginny who had her back turned to her she was searching for something in the drawers, her hair was all tangled and her sleeve was sliding down her shoulder.

"Good book then?" Ginny turned back to her grinning and leant against the set of draws.

"Something like that." Hermione replied, shutting her book without bothering to remember the page. Standing up she turned off the cd player and added, "I think I'll go to Ron's room now."

"Ok, have fun." Ginny smiled at her as she turned back to the mirror and brushed her hair quickly, it wasn't difficult for Hermione to guess what was going on here. Taking her book and her wand with her left the room passing Harry on the staircase who was bounding up the steps.

As she reached Ron and Harry's bedroom she heard Ginny's door slam and then giggling to erupt which was quickly cut short, muffling charm no doubt. She hoped that Molly was already asleep, this would not be good if she found out what they were doing, although she didn't catch them the last time or the time before, so the chances were pretty slim.

Shutting the door behind her, Hermione shut the curtains with a flick of her wand, dropped her book and her wand on the bedside table and climbed into bed. There was no point staying awake waiting for Ron's return, hoping that he would come before she slept. He would be here whenever he arrived, whatever time that may be.

Pulling the covers over her, she took a deep breath, inhaling Ron's scent and closed her eyes, imagining Ron wrapping his arm around her, keeping her safe in his embrace.

XX