Well, to those who think I'm Ron-bashing, I'm sorry but I think it continues a bit in this one, in some sense - remember Hermione is seriously annoyed! Things are not what they seem though, don't stress!

Let me know what you think, as ever:)

Step ;)

The door tinkled behind Ron as he closed it shut.

'Back again,' the elderly wizard asked as he pushed his glasses and inch up his nose.

'Yeah,' Ron replied, 'back again.'

'The usual or are you going to have a change?'

Ron smiled. 'The usual, well a bit different, but essentially the same.'

'Right, okay then, let's get on with it.'

…oooOOOooo…

Ron apparated to the end of a muggle street. He knew he shouldn't have done it really, not in broad daylight, but he didn't really care; he had something to do, and he needed to do it now. He set off walking, no one else seemed to be about, then again it was the middle of the day, the kids should be in school and those who worked, were doing so.

The wind sent shivers through him so he buried his nose into the collar of his winter coat. He knew, though, that it wasn't just the icy breeze that was making him shiver, it was the thought of what he was about to do.

He had never been so scared in his life. He thought he had felt fear when fighting in the final battle, but that was second compared to this. He was cold, but sweating at the same time and his breathing was shallow.

'Merlin Weasley, calm down!' he growled at himself. 'Pull yourself together!'

He took a few deep breaths and forced his head up out of his coat. He walked up the street and stopped when he came up to a familiar house. He looked up at the window on the top floor and sighed. The curtains were closed and he knew why.

His brow furrowed as he looked at the window, not really looking at it, but seeing what he wanted to see in his minds eye.

'Are you man enough Weasley?' he asked himself. 'I guess I'm about to find out.'

He hesitated for a second and then took a step forward.

…oooOOOooo…

She shut her eyes but sleep wouldn't come, she dozed for about an hour then he heard her mum talking to someone downstairs, she hadn't heard the doorbell or the phone go, but then again, she could have just missed the sound.

Hermione rolled over to face the wall hoping for no more distractions. She was disappointed, therefore, when her mum opened the door.

'Hermione, there's someone here to see you.'

She sat bolt upright in bed hoping it wasn't Ron; he couldn't see her in this state, surely her mum would realise this?

'It's not…' she started before her mum cut her off.

'It's Harry,' Jan replied.

Hermione sighed in relief and lay back down. If this was Ron's way of telling her he was sorry she was not impressed.

Jan went downstairs and Harry entered the room.

'H?' he asked.'

'What?' she answered irritably.

'Are you ok?'

'What do you think?'

Harry flinched at the tone of her voice.

'I'd say no considering you're at home, in bed and entirely pissed off at one o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon.'

'Well, you're entirely correct, well done!'

'Hermione are you going to be short with me the whole time I'm here?'

'That depends.'

'On what?'

'Why are you here?'

'What do you mean why am I here? I'm here because I need to make sure you're alright, it's what best friends do for each other.'

'Did he ask you to talk to me?'

Damn he thought; this wasn't going to go down well.

'Look Hermione, I won't lie to you; Ron did ask me to talk to you-'

'Typical-'

'BUT…the reason why I came to see you is because Cairo told me what happened this morning. That's not like you H.'

'Yeah well things change and people change Harry. People change.'

He sighed realising this was going to be harder than he thought.

'So what did he ask you to say to me?' she asked trying to keep her voice steady.

'He has a name Hermione.'

'Please Harry don't have a go at me for not saying his name, he's lucky I'm talking about him at all.'

'Fine, forget I said it. He wanted me to tell you to please be at home for six. He wants to talk to you.'

'And he expects me to be there?'

'He hopes you'll be there?'

'Why couldn't he have told me? And come to think of it, why are you doing his dirty work? I thought you had more self respect.'

Her comments, though harsh, were expected. Hell, Harry thought, I'm surprised I got this far!

'I'm here first and foremost because I needed to check you were okay, I already told you that. As much as I think he's a stupid git for what he's done I'm still his best mate, and you don't abandon your friends because they make a mistake.'

'A mistake! Harry, this is hardly one mistake!'

'Hermione shut up and let me finish!'

She was caught off guard by his comments, but then again, she was being rude. She stopped talking but continued to scowl.

'We all make mistakes and I'm not saying I condone what he did, hell I nearly stormed downstairs and beat the shit out of him last night when I heard some of the things he said to you but please, just give him a chance to explain, he was frantic this morning when you left,' he paused, waiting to see if his words had made a difference.

'Why didn't you?' she replied.

'Why didn't I what?'

'Why didn't you come downstairs and beat the shit out of him?'

'It wasn't my place to, and besides, whatever you said or did seems to have done just as good a job. I've never seen him like that.'

Had Hermione been a bit less angry, the faint glimmer of hope that had ignited in her mind might have had a chance to grow, as it was, it was extinguished the second it had sparked.

'So are you going to come home?'

'I'm going nowhere.'

'Please Hermione don't be like this,' he pleaded quietly.

'Like what?' she replied angrily, 'upset? Angry? So confused that it's starting to scare me because I don't know what to do? Depressed because I thought I was done with feeling this sad and lonely?'

What had started out as a rant quickly became a plea for help. Her voice had been strong throughout the most part but thinking about being alone had brought the tears back and eventually her voice broke, telling Harry she was hurting as much as he feared she was. She rolled over away from him and attempted to bury herself in the quilt.

His initial thought was to comfort her and hold her close telling her everything would be ok, but seeing her like this reminded him of how she'd been after she found out about Ron. She had refused to get out of bed for a week and he was truly scared. She had always been the rational, reasonable and sensible one. Hiding from her friends and wallowing in self pity was not something Hermione Granger did, that was for weaker people, people who didn't have her strength of character.

He wouldn't have believed it had he not witnessed it himself. Even though he had Ginny, this was the fourth person he had lost, first Sirius, then Dumbledore, then Ron and then Hermione.

When she came back to him he was so happy. He was not going to go back to that place. He would drag her out of bed kicking and screaming if he had to.

'NO!' he suddenly exclaimed, 'Hermione I won't let you do this, not again, I won't let you, I can't let you.'

Hermione turned her head slightly towards him, alarmed by his frantic tone.

'I won't let you waste away in here again. I won't let you. I can't let you. Not again!'

She had turned to face him and seeing the hurt in his face sat up to calm him down.

'Harry what the hell's going on? You're starting to scare me.'

He calmed down a little.

'I'm sorry, but when you found out what happened to Ron in the final battle and wouldn't get out of bed it scared me Hermione. I thought I was losing you as well as having just lost Ron. This is just bringing all that back and I can't let you do it again.'

Hermione was shocked by the words Harry had just said, and they took her back to a time in her life she didn't like to be reminded of.

…oooOOOooo…

She didn't really remember that week, she had been asleep for most of it and when she did wake up she cried, never stopping until she fell back to sleep. It was the guilt she had felt that stopped her from getting up. She thought they would blame her for what had happened, she did, so why wouldn't others? She just couldn't face them.

On the seventh day that she had refused to get out of bed, Molly Weasley had come to see her. Hermione's mum and dad were very happy to see her; they saw her as the only one who could bring their daughter out of her depression. Hermione was awake when Molly had walked into her room, but like the past six days she couldn't bring herself to talk to her, it was too hard. Luckily this only spurred Molly on.

'Hermione dear, why aren't you getting up? You should be out celebrating with everyone. The parties haven't stopped yet, and they don't look like they are going to for weeks!'

Hermione hadn't moved, she remained staring at the wall.

'There's talk of the three of you being offered the Order of Merlin, they aren't sure what class though, but that's something isn't it? You'll be the youngest witch and wizards to be awarded one, you, Harry and Ron.'

Hermione flinched at his name and a new wave of tears left her eyes. Molly thought about what she could say to the young witch that would at least get her talking.

'Hermione this is ridiculous!' her tone turned serious as if she was telling off the twins for a dangerous practical joke. 'There's no point in shutting yourself away; it isn't going to change anything. We can't change what's happened, we can only deal with it the best we can, and you lying here is not the way to deal with this. I know you blame yourself for what happened to Ron,' she heard a small sob escape from Hermione­ – at least this showed she was listening, 'and that is just stupid. You're a very intelligent witch Hermione; I can't believe you would think something so silly!

'The only people responsible for this are the two Death Eaters who cast the spells. They and they alone are responsible. I am so proud of the both of you. I would have been disappointed in him if he hadn't gone back to find you because I know you would have done exactly that. This has got to stop Hermione, it really is ridiculous. Everyone misses you and wants to see you and I bet Ron would love to hear your voice too. Now, I'm having the family round for dinner tomorrow night and I expect you to be there, and I'm inviting Harry too. I won't tell anyone I've invited you, it will be a nice surprise for them when you arrive won't it?'

She stood up and straightened out her skirt and coat.

'I'll see you tomorrow at six. Goodbye Hermione.'

The next evening Molly waited anxiously for Hermione at the Burrow, she hadn't told anyone about going to see her or her invitation, she just hoped that Hermione would arrive.

At five to six there was a knock on the door, expecting it to be her husband arriving home from work she went to answer it. (The strict security Ministry approved security measures were still in operation, the remaining un-captured Death Eaters had become desperate, sometimes causing pain and turmoil out of sheer panic.)

'Arthur is that you?' she asked through the door.

'Er no,' the voice replied, 'it's Hermione.'

Forgetting all security measures Molly wrenched open the door and stood in shock at the sight of the young witch. Although pale and thinner than she had ever been, a small smile was creeping onto her face.

'Good evening Molly, I brought a bottle of wine for the meal.'

Resisting the urge – temporarily – to wrap her arms around her surrogate daughter, Molly replied in a very calm manner.

'Thank you Hermione, there was no need but thank you.'

She took the wine from Hermione and placed it on the work surface. She took the pace that separated them and gave Hermione a huge hug, squeezing her a little tighter than was absolutely necessary.

As Hermione held on to Molly she had the sudden urge to cry – it had become something of a habit – but she managed to compose herself.

'Thank you,' Hermione said in a barely audible whisper.

'You're welcome,' Molly replied, just as quietly.

They pulled apart, both with tears in their eyes but with smiles on their faces.

'So how can I help Molly? Does the table need setting?'

Instinctively Molly knew that that was it. Hermione had finished a chapter in her life and was starting a fresh one. There was nothing more to be said about the past week, unless of course Hermione wanted to talk about it.

'No dear, the boys, Ginny and Harry have everything under control.'

'There must be something I can do to help.'

'Well if you insist, there are plenty of little jobs to be done.'

It was a pleasant night that followed. A few loud gasps were heard as Hermione entered the dining room behind the bowls and plates she had charmed to precede her in, and after everyone had given her a hug hello they settled down to a beautiful meal and chatted like they had no worries in the world.

…oooOOOooo…

'Harry, it was guilt that kept me in bed for a week. I couldn't cope with the way I felt about the whole thing and because of that I was scared to see anyone in case they said the same. I know that no one did but I didn't believe you when you told me so. It was only when Molly told me that I finally realised the truth. I knew she wouldn't and couldn't lie to me.'

'I didn't lie to you!' Harry exclaimed, slightly hurt.

'I know Harry, but I knew you would have said anything to get me out of bed. That's what friends do, and you weren't just a friend, you were a friend in desperation. You know Molly's not good at hiding how she feels; I knew she really meant what she said. I know that's hard to understand and I can't apologise enough for what I put you through, but it's a part of my life I've put behind me.'

'Then why all this now? Why refuse to come home tonight?'

'Because I don't know if I can face him. I'm sick of being let down by him.'

'Forget about Ron for a minute. Will you promise me that you will not spend days in here because of what's happened.'

'Harry the only reason I came here was because I couldn't face going home, and as much as I've been crying I also managed to catch up on a bit of sleep, not much, but a bit.'

'Why did you leave work though? That's not like you at all.'

'I left because I couldn't concentrate on anything, there was no point in me being sat in a cold dungeon freezing my arse off if I wasn't taking notes and I didn't want to make a spectacle of myself when I couldn't stop crying.'

'You didn't write anything down? That's possibly the most concerning thing I've ever heard!'

For the first time that day Hermione smiled, Harry reciprocated the gesture.

'Harry you taught me there was so much more to life than working. I'm sure missing a day's lectures isn't going to make a difference in the long run. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be heading back? It's quarter to two,' she added checking her watch.

'Yeah I suppose I should, are you sure you don't want me to stay here and keep you company?'

'No I'm fine, I'll take the opportunity to try and get some more sleep. Would you mind taking some notes for me when you have your evidence giving lecture thing so I can catch up?'

Harry smiled.

'Yeah I will, I'll let you copy mine.'

'I said notes Harry, not random doodlings from the disturbed mind of Saviour Boy!'

'Okay, now I know you're ok if you're calling me that!'

'Well, not quite okay, but I'll get there.'

'So are you going to see Ron tonight?'

Her face turned serious again.

'I don't know,' she replied truthfully.

'I think you should go H, you'll regret it if you don't. You're not the type of person who runs away from things, you were a Gryffindor remember, we face our challenges head on, and I think he might surprise you.'

'I'll think about it, that's all I'm saying.'

'Fair enough, that's all I can ask. I'm going to the Burrow straight from work. Ginny and I will be there all night if you need us ok?'

'Okay, thanks Harry'.

'You're welcome.'

Harry stood up and Hermione followed, she saw Harry out of the house and registered the look of relief on her mum's face as she saw Hermione up and about when Harry was saying goodbye to her. The friends hugged before Harry left.

'Six o'clock Hermione, you might be in for a surprise.'