Come take my hand, we'll walk this road together, through the storm. Whatever weather, cold or warm, just let you know that, you're not alone. –Eminem Not Afraid

"Oh my god." Hermione breathed out, clutching my arm tightly as I dropped the letter. I was in shock and feeling violently ill. We all watched the envelope fall to the floor and then hit it, falling to its side leaving little droplets of blood beside it. No one said anything, could say anything. They were all in just as much shock as me. I blinked and took a deep breath, trying to calm my now pounding heart and realized that Fred had moved to my side, clutching my other arm tightly.

Both him and Hermione were looking me with eyes that were slightly crazed with worry, and it weirdly helped calm my mind.

I took a deep breath and focused on slowing my heart as I spoke. "Angelina, send a patronus to Sturgis, he needs to know about this." I met her eyes for a moment and then looked back at the fallen letter. "I don't think it's a question of being personal anymore." I finished quietly.

Angelina stepped towards the counter and picked up her wand. She murmured the spell and a bright light flashed from the end of her wand and shot out the window. I aimed my own wand at the letter on the floor with a little bit of difficulty since neither my twin or my wife had relinquished their hold on me, and shot a shield charm over it.

"Fred, Hermione, I'm okay." I said quietly, looking from one to the other, they both loosened their holds slightly, but didn't fully relinquish it.

"Is it… Is it your's?" Hermione asked after a moment, her voice wavering slightly. I shook my head, my stomach turning uneasily.

"No," Fred answered hoarsely, "that ear was pierced."

"I need to take this to Sturgis so he can look-" I started after a moment, I was cut off though.

"No, I'll go." Fred declared, a terrified look on his face. "You're staying here. I'm not letting you go anywhere."

"Then I'm coming with you, no one is going alone." Angelina spoke up, stepping towards Fred with a possessive look.

He nodded his head and stepped towards the letter, pointing his own wand at the shield. He held his arm out for his wife and she stepped up to him, grabbing hold of his arm tightly.

"Don't leave." Fred warned, his eyes locked on me. I nodded my head, smiling softly.

"Wouldn't dream of it, I'm going to have a bowl of soup." He almost smiled before apparating away.

"Well." I said cheerfully, turning towards Hermione. "What's say we get something to-what's wrong?" She was extremely pale and looked like she was shaking. Her hand dropped from my arm and she took a small step back, making a whimpering noise. I moved towards her, opening my arms to grab her in a hug. She was still shaken from the grand total of the day's events, I couldn't blame her.

"Love," I started, but she cut me off by raising her hand.

"I-I've got to go… I need more parchment." She mumbled, stepping away from me. My eyes widened in surprise and I shook my head.

"No, you can't go. It isn't safe." She blinked and I saw tears fill her eyes.

"I've got to get more parchment." She said again, her eyes scared. I was lost as to why it was so dire to get the parchment, but I couldn't say no to her eyes.

"Alright then. Let's go get the parchment."

"No!" She practically shrieked, stepping away from me and putting the couch between us. "I have to go alone!"

"What? No." I said, moving so that I was in front of the door. I couldn't let her go by herself, she could get hurt, and I couldn't handle it if she got hurt.

"I can't, no!" she gasped, looking around the room wildly for an escape.

"What's going on? Why do you have to leave? Did I do something?" I asked, stepping towards her with my hands raised so she wouldn't get frightened. I was completely lost as to what she was saying. I had no idea why she was breaking apart, but I felt like it was my fault.

"You'll leave me!" She said, her voice breaking. I froze, looking at her with wide, surprised eyes.

"What?" I asked, my voice beyond shock. "I'll never leave you, I love you, Hermione." She blinked at me and then before I could react she ran past me and out the door, her tears streaming down her beautiful face.

I stood frozen for half a second before I was flying out the door and down the stairs after her. I raced after her through the shop, calling out her name as she exited the safety of WWW. She didn't respond, just continued to try and escape.

She ran outside, tears streaming down her face as she fled from me. It was pouring rain outside, the cold rain of late fall, promising a very cold winter coming, but I didn't stop or slow down, only knowing I couldn't take any more pain, any more fear. It was already consuming me, any more would destroy me. I'd given my heart to her, and the fear of anything happening to her was enough to make it where I couldn't move. I was not letting anything happen to her while I still drew breath. She'd just pretty much had a mental break down on me but it wasn't going to affect my feelings at all. I was going to get her, and I was going to get her back to our flat to talk about what she'd just said.

And just like that, it hit me why she was running. She thought I would really leave her. She thought I would actually be able to tear myself from her side and leave her. I loved her, and I needed her to understand I wasn't leaving her. Nearly everyone else she had loved had left her. Her parents, her family, even her best friends had abandoned her at one point. She was holding back from me for the same reason, she was terrified I'd leave her.

I raised my wand and aimed it at her, knowing we could never harm each other so this wouldn't hurt her. I sent a spell at her and she slowed down, forced to stop by spell. She spun around and faced me, looking enraged and fearful, her wand pointed towards the ground as she looked at me, feet spread and her back straight in clear defiance.

" You heard me, Hermione Weasley." I said loud and clear, my voice stronger than it had been in a long time as I emphasized our shared last name. "I said it a month ago, and I still mean it. I love you! I'll scream it out on top of the building if you need me too." I declared, stepping towards her, her eyes flashing in the rain as she looked at me. "I am not leaving you, I'll never leave you. I love you, I love you. I can't let you keep doing this to yourself, you've got to let the pain and fear go." I reached her now, and placed my hands on either side of her face, blocking the pouring rain from hitting her with my body and forcing her to look at me.

"You have to let me in, you have to let us do this together. You can't keep shutting me out because you're afraid to lose me. Life doesn't work like that, and I won't live like it." I declared, knowing I was almost as guilty as her. I'd been doing the same thing to her and Fred. I'd been scared to let her in, I'd fought loving her for a long time because of how badly I had been messed up from Fred's almost death.

"I can't lose you." She whispered, her voice broken as tears fell down her eyes. "I can't bear to lose you."

"I'm sorry, love." I said quietly, caressing her cheek softly. "I can't promise nothing will happen-I won't promise it. I don't know that I won't die tomorrow, nobody knows that. I do know that I will never willing leave you, nothing short of death will drag me from you. I love you Hermione, and I don't say that flippantly."

"How can you be sure?" She whispered, her tears still falling.

Because I love you. I can't explain it, I can only feel it. I love you, and I'll keep on loving you. I'm not going to leave you. You're not going to lose me. We're connected, for better or worse, for life or for death, we're together, Hermione.

Together?

Always and forever, Hermione.

She sucked in a ragged breath and then crashed into me, wrapping her arms around me as tightly as she could before she found my lips in a kiss that made all our others pale in comparison to it's intensity. The spark that always ran through me at her touch flooded my system, short circuiting all my thoughts and only leaving the instinct to love the witch in my arms.

We kissed fervently for a few moments, oblivious to the world around us and the constant danger we were in. My mind eventually turned back on though and I broke the kiss, pulling away from her slightly and bringing my hand up to her face, brushing her soaking hair out of her face.

"We need to get back!" I yelled over the rain, bringing my hands down to grip hers. She nodded her head, her eyes locked on mine, the fear no longer in them. I twisted into the air, holding her tightly and we reappeared in our apartment, soaking wet.

"We should-"

CRACK

"dry up." I finished lamely, looking at a pale Fred and Angelina with a partial smile.

"What happened?" I asked, not caring that Hermione and I were dripping on the floor. She moved closer to me, dropping my hands and wrapping her arm around my waist.

"We missed the note." Fred said blandly, swaying on his feet. Angelina wrapped her arms around him and helped hold him up. I glanced at Hermione and we both moved nearer him.

"Are you all right?" I asked at the same time Hermione asked, "What note?"

"I'm not alright,. The note said: THE MUDBLOOD IS MINE." It was my turn to sway on my feet now. Hermione tightened her grip on me and frowned fiercely, a look of utter hatred coming over her face.

"How dare he." She hissed, her nails digging into my side. "How dare he try and threaten you." She turned towards me, her eyes flashing with anger and determination. I'm nobody but yours, I have a ring to prove it. I don't know who this is, but I swear we will find him.

And I'll make him pay. I added, sealing the promise with a kiss to her forehead. The wizard would be lucky to survive another confrontation between the two of us. I wouldn't be trying to escape this time. I'd be aiming to kill.

I could only pray it was Rookwood, at least I could take out the two people I hated most in one swoop.

"What did Kingsley say?" I asked, coming back to the room and realizing my twin looked truly awful. He shrugged, looking at Angelina helplessly.

"He told us that they would examine the letter, but they weren't hopeful."

"Of course." I muttered. I shook my head and pushed the negative emotions away. I'd deal with them later, right now I needed to bring back some sense of normalcy, anything to get rid of the terrible fear that had fallen on us. My stomach provided the perfect distraction by giving off an extremely loud grumble. Hermione started at the noise as Fred let out a unexpected laugh. I grinned myself and turned towards Angelina.

"You mentioned something about soup earlier?" She nodded her head, smiling herself.

"I could do with a bowl myself." Fred mused, stepping up behind his wife as she moved to the kitchen. We followed them, grabbing four bowls and passing them to Angelina as she filled them up. We moved to the sofa and all sat down. Hermione and I on one couch and Fred and Angelina on the other one. We ate in silence for a moment, and I was beginning to feel oddly cold but I didn't focus on it, paying attention to the wonderful food in my hands instead.

"Forge?" I looked up at Fred's voice and nodded my head.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you and Hermione wet?" I looked at Hermione who had wide eyes, and we both let out a loud laugh. We couldn't stop, and it wasn't long before Fred and Angelina were joining us.

Laughter really is the best medicine.

A/N: Okay, the part in last chapter that was like my real life was a line between Fred and George. Me and my sister actually had the conversation: ""No, I had no clue. How are we going to deal with that? How do I know if she's keeping things like that from me?" I asked, begging my twin for an answer. I needed to know, I couldn't bear to let something like that happen again. He met my eyes head on, sympathy and sorrow in his as he shook his head.
"I can't tell you, George. I had the same problem. The only thing I know to do is be honest. Tell her about you. If you're completely honest with yourself, then she'll open up to you."

I was freaked out because I found out he'd been keeping a secret from me, and I didn't know how I would be able to tell he was in the future. My sister gave me that advise, and it was invaluable.

Now, what are your guess for this chapter?