In Between
Author's Note: Hi again! This is the next installment in this series. Having such a lovely time revisiting this world.
This chapter is based on one of the original roleplays back in the day and has been reworked and split into 3 parts. You're reading part one! Some angst ahead.
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read, leave a review and follow this story. Please do leave any ideas for moments you might like to see written between Ron and Hermione.
It goes without saying that nothing pertaining to Harry Potter belongs to me and is the work of J.K. Rowling.
Please review!
Chapter 13: Ron Gets Injured – Part One
It had been like any other normal day for Hermione. She had spent the morning in classes, had just had her lunch period with Harry and Ginny and was now sitting in her Charms class, taking notes on Professor Flitwick's lesson. About halfway through the lesson, McGonagall had shown up in the doorway frantically asking for her. Hermione instantly got up and followed McGonagall into the hall, wondering what this was all about. She instantly asked what was wrong, immediately asking if all her friends were alright. When she mentioned Ron's name, she saw McGonagall's face fall and she went pale.
There had been an attack on Hogsmeade by former Death Eaters and Ron had been injured. He was at St. Mungo's now and Hermione was to be port-keyed there immediately, Harry and Ginny joining her later in the day. She couldn't help it when she began to cry as she followed her Professor to her office and she barely stopped crying the entire way. She still had tears running down her cheeks when she arrived at St. Mungo's and was guided to Ron's room. Entering slowly, she looked around and saw him asleep in a bed, bandages over his eyes and scratches and bruises on his face. Slowly approaching the bed, the tears began to fall again. She took a seat beside the bed, reaching for his hand and holding onto it tightly.
She knew there had been worries at the start of term about former Death Eaters roaming around, carrying out attacks they thought were going to avenge their Master's Death. There were plenty of them still at large, evading arrest and capture since the end of the war. The number was twiddling down but there were still some of them out there. The first Hogsmeade weekend had been cancelled because of it. But then nothing had been heard for a while and things seemed to return back to normal and no one thought much of it.
Until now.
Ron drifted in and out of conscious since the attack that morning, and it wasn't until close to sundown when he began to wake. He remembered being in front of the shop, putting some signs on the door and windows when the chaos started. He jumped into action, doing what he could to help when he saw a woman with her children who was being targeted, slurs of the mudblood kind coming from the mouth of the attacker. He acted without hesitation, jumping in front of the young children and their defenseless mum, saving their lives, but taking a wicked curse in the process.
"Did I get 'im?" he rasped, finally waking. Bandages were over his eyes, and someone was holding his hand, but he remembered shooting a hex back at the Death Eater just before he was knocked out. "Did I get the bastard?"
"Ron?" Hermione asked, looking over at him quickly, her eyes filled with tears. "Get who, love? What are you talking about? Oh, I was so worried! I'm so glad to hear your voice!"
"The Death Eater," he muttered, his voice scratchy. "Did I get him?" He cast the hex, but couldn't remember it landing. He paused, his free hand moving to lightly touch the material covering his eyes. "Hermione? Where am I? And why the hell am I blindfolded- am I at Hogwarts?" Why else would she be there? He didn't remember anything after the hex.
"Y-You're at St. Mungo's, Ron." She replied, squeezing his hand. "You were badly injured in the attack. I was port-keyed over here. Harry and Ginny are around too. And your Mum and Dad were here. They went to get some food." She reached up to wipe her tears with her other hand before leaning over and kissing him softly on his lips. "Oh, I was so worried! I nearly had a heart attack when I heard." She paused, searching for the words to tell him why his eyes were bandaged. "Ron, the curse that hit you… it knocked you out. You landed on the ground and hit your head. The blow caused you to have some temporary blindness." She finished softly, holding onto his hand tightly again.
He took in this information, furrowing his brow. "Blindness?" he repeated, disbelieving what she was saying. "It better go away soon, I've got to get back to the shop. George is going to kill me!"
"I don't know how long it'll last, Ron. But be thankful it's only temporary! You could have been permanently blind and then where would we be?" She sobbed a bit, choking on her words as the tears began to fall again. "Don't be silly. George will be fine. He's already been here and told me to deliver a message when you woke up." She said softly.
He turned his face towards her voice, though he couldn't see her. This was a very odd and unsettling sensation. "Well, go on, then. What's the message?"
"He said, and I quote, 'Tell Ron to shut up and rest. He can take all the time he bloody well needs.'." She finished with a nod and a chuckle. "I think he knew you'd try and argue with it."
Ron shook his head, his eyes filling up with tears though they couldn't fall with the bandages on his eyes. "This fucking sucks, Hermione." He said softly, swallowing roughly. "These attacks on muggleborns were supposed to stop when the war ended." He was only trying to do the right thing and now he ended up sodding blind. All he wanted right now was to see Hermione's face.
Hermione squeezed his hand. "I know, Ron, its terrible. But you saved that family! You were amazing. I'm so sorry this happened to you." She reached up and touched his cheek, moving slowly as to not startle him.
He leaned into her touch, his hand moved up her arm to find her hand on his cheek and rest his atop hers. "How long do I have to stay here?"
"A few days and then you can go home to your flat. I'll stay here as long as I can and then I'll see you in a couple weeks when I'm on holidays."
He nodded, forgetting for a moment that it was already December. "I'm sorry, Hermione." He said roughly.
"What ever for?" She asked, surprised.
"For going and getting myself hexed."
"Don't! Don't you ever apologize for protecting people, Ron. It's how I know you'll make a wonderful Auror one day." She brushed her thumb over his cheek and watched as he nodded, his nod being interrupted by a yawn. "Go ahead and rest. Merlin knows you need it. I'll be here when you wake up."
He nodded. "Alright." He said sleepily, turning his head towards her voice again and puckering his lips, indicating he wanted a kiss.
Hermione laughed and stood, leaning over to kiss him. He smiled against her lips and then the smile faded as he drifted off. She sat beside his bed, holding his hand and hoped that he would wake up optimistic and rested.
The two weeks since the attack had been a blur. Ron had spoken with countless doctors whom he hadn't been able to see, and spent the time in denial about his blindness. He spent his days listening to Quidditch talk on the radio, bumming around the flat. George came by a lot, fixing him meals and chatting, pretending like everything was okay. He couldn't even read or write letters, so communicating with Hermione wasn't possible during her last few weeks of classes before the break. He tried to keep his spirits up when his brother visited, but when he wasn't there, depression started to set in. The more time he spent alone in the darkness, the further and further he sunk into that dark place. He tried to keep himself from spiraling but it was becoming more and more difficult as time went on. Hope wasn't even an emotion he could feel anymore and it felt like he would be blind forever.
Ron was currently on the couch, in a plain white t-shirt and jeans, listening to the radio. His hearing was really the only sense he found enjoyable anymore, as he'd lost most of his appetite. And since he didn't dare shave without being able to see; he'd grown quite an impressive beard.
As soon as classes were over and the holidays had begun, Hermione instantly headed to the Burrow, her parents being away for the holidays. She assumed Ron would have gone back to the Burrow for the holidays but didn't know for sure as she hadn't been able to communicate with him after he left St. Mungo's. When she arrived there and didn't find Ron, she began to worry. Where had he gone? Speaking to Molly cleared things up and she found out that Ron had decided to stay in the flat above the shop instead of at the Burrow. He had promised to come for Christmas Day, though, Molly said. Hermione quickly agreed when Molly asked her to go over there and look after him. He was still void of sight, after all, and would need some help. She apparated over immediately, appearing right outside the door to the flat. Knocking, she called through the door, "Ron? It's me…" She said, before whispering 'Alohamora' just in case it was locked and opening the door.
His wand in hand, he heard the door click, but he didn't move, staring blankly towards the fireplace with vacant eyes. "In here," he called solemnly, flicking his wand so that the radio would turn off. It was pitch dark in the flat, since it was night time, but Ron did not have any use for lights, so he didn't bother turning them on.
Hermione followed the sound of his voice, flicking on the lights so she could see in the dark as she went. She knew he had no use for them but she still needed to get around without hurting herself. Walking over to him, she crouched down beside his spot on the couch. "Hi, love." She said softly, reaching over to stroke his cheek.
Her hand felt different against the unshaven skin on his cheek, and he flinched as she touched him. "Sorry," he muttered, his tone of his voice quite monotonous. "Didn't see your hand coming." It was startling to be touched so suddenly. "How were your last few weeks of classes?"
"Just fine." She told him, moving so she was kneeling. "I'm glad to be on holiday though and I'll be able to spend nearly the whole month here with you, alright? I've missed you." She spoke softly, moving the hand that was stroking his cheek to brush a bit of hair off his forehead. "Alright if I kiss you hello?" She asked in a soft voice, her way of warning him of her actions since he couldn't see them.
He swallowed harshly, his breath hitching some as he inhaled and shook his head no. "Hermione..." he started, his eyes open but pupils dilated as they seemed to be staring into blankness. "I don't want you to do this."
"Do what?" She asked, a bit hurt that he didn't want to kiss her, that he seemed to be shutting her out.
"To waste your time with me anymore," he said very quickly, his breath coming quickly as he began to shake. "To... to pretend like everything's going to be okay, to mother me. It's not in the job description of a girlfriend."
"Ron, listen to me…" She said, her eyes tearing a bit, her voice shaking. "I love you. I don't care what's happened to you. I'm not going anywhere and you're not getting rid of me." She said it firmly even though, by the sound of her voice, one could tell she was upset.
He kept shaking his head, his own eyes brimming with unshed tears as he furiously tried to blink them back. "You love the old me. I can't be him anymore, I can't. I can't play Quidditch or write you sappy letters or sneak into your dormitory... I can't be an Auror, I can't really bloody do anything. I'm a fucking invalid now and... and you're better off finding someone who can take care of you." His throat constricted and he reached up to cover his eyes with his hands, rubbing furiously, trying to wipe away the tears unnoticed.
"You're being an idiot, Ron." She said harshly, standing up and pacing back and forth. "After everything… everything we've been through since we've known each other how on earth can you say any of that? I told you, I don't care what's happened! I love you, not the letters, the quidditch or the sneaking. You." The tears were falling down her cheeks now, her breathing heavy as she took in sobs of air every once and a while. "I don't want anyone else. I don't want to be anywhere else. If you can't understand that then I just…" She broke off there, not being able to continue.
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, taking in a shuddering breath as he took in what she said. "I'm sorry," he said after a long branch of silence between them. "I didn't mean to make you upset." He paused again, sighing. "I just can't... I can't handle that I might not ever get to see your face again."
"Oh, Ron…" She said softly, dropping to her knees in front of him again and taking his hand. "I know how hard this must be for you but I'm still here, we all are: your friends and family and none of us, especially me, are going anywhere. Please, please don't…" She took a deep breath before continuing, "don't push me away."
Ron squeezed her hand, his free hand reaching out, very slowly, towards where he thought her face to be. His fingers grazed her jaw and he released her hand, so his other could join his hand on her face, his fingers trailing over her cheeks, thumbs wiping her tears. He was mapping her with his fingertips, remembering every curve and smile line. "I just think about... the future," he said bravely, swallowing before continuing. "How can I support you if I can't land a decent job- and then think about if we... if we have kids, I'll never see them, I won't be able to really care for them." Clearly these thoughts were plaguing him for quite some time, and he'd been desperate to voice these concerns.
Hermione's breath caught in her throat. It was the first time he had ever mentioned them having kids and she hadn't even known before then that he had even thought about it. "Ron…" She said softly, reaching her hands up to cover his hand that was on her face. "You can do anything you put your mind to. How do you think muggles who have lost their sight get along? There are plenty of solutions, spells, practices to help you. And if we have kids…" She paused, smiling ever so slightly at the thought. "You'll be the best father in the world whether or not you have sight because you're you."
"I... hope you're right," he said eventually, taking in all that she said. "I'll... take that kiss now, I reckon. If the offer still stands."
"'Course I'm right." She said, her voice shaking slightly after everything that had just happened. Leaning her head down, she lightly pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes and resting one of her hands on his scruffy cheek.
He kissed her chastely, closing his eyes because that was the polite thing to do, though it certainly wasn't necessary. After a moment, he pulled back, scratching his scruffy cheek. "Er... d'you think you could help me get rid of this ridiculous facial hair?"
"Of course." She answered before pecking his lips once more lightly. She accio'd his shaving cream and razor but as they landed in her lap, a thought occurred to her. "I could do it with a spell if that's easier." She offered, having read about grooming spells recently in relation to her own hair, which she had attempted to control.
"Eh, it'll grow back a lot faster if you do it with a spell. You can use a razor, I trust you." He grinned softly for the first time in weeks.
"Alright." She said, helping him to sit up. She carefully positioned herself on his lap, facing him. Reaching for the shaving cream, she opened the can and sprayed a bit of it into her hand, letting it foam before reaching up and spreading it softly over his cheeks and face. "Ready?" She asked, holding the razor in her hand and warning him she was going to begin.
"Will it help to say I'm grading you on this? You always do your best when you're graded," he said with a nervous laugh, keeping his face very still.
Hermione started to give him a look but then realized he couldn't see it and settled for poking him in the side. "Don't make fun of the witch with the razor in her hand." She warned, more teasing than anything else. Lifting her hand, she ran the blade over his skin slowly. It only took her a few minutes to finish shaving his whole face and once she had finished, she accio'd a towel and lightly wiped off the excess shaving cream. "There. Nice and smooth." She said softly, reaching her hand up to run it over his now soft skin.
Ron's skin tingled when she dried the shaving cream off, having not felt freshly shaved in quite some time. "Thanks," he said quietly, locking his arms around her as she sat on his lap. "Look better?"
"Looks great." She replied, setting the towel down beside her and leaning forward to rest her head on his chest, just in the crook of his neck. She breathed in deeply, taking in his scent and the scent of the shaving cream lingering on his skin. "We've got almost an entire month together, Ron. Remember how we couldn't wait for this when the year started?"
He leaned back against the couch, his arms wrapping more tightly around her as he ran his hands up and down her back, over her jumper. "Yeah. A whole month, blimey," he said softly. "And... you're allowed to stay here? With me? The… whole time?"
She nodded into his chest. "Yeah. I just have to head to see my parents for a few days after New Year's when they return from their trip. Other than that… I'm staying here with you. I even packed a bag and everything." She had left the bag by the door when she had come in. "Unless, you know, you don't want me to stay the whole time." She whispered softly, half teasing, half serious.
He snorted, now running his fingers through her curly hair. "No, I reckon I'd rather sit on my arse all day and night listening to wizarding radio programs," he said sarcastically, sighing a bit. "I've actually got to have a shower. Is it late? I'm zonked."
Hermione lifted her head to glance at the clock, not having worn a watch that day. "It's just after 9 pm." She told him, sitting up but still on his lap and in his embrace. "Do you…" She paused, not wanting to offend him or make him seem helpless with her offer. "Would you like some help taking a shower? Or I could run a bath for you?"
"I, er... I can do it," he said with a nod. It usually took him a while to get to the bedroom and into the loo, but he really wanted to try to be as self-sufficient as possible. "Thanks for offering though." He gave her waist a squeeze before urging her to sit on the couch next to him as he stood, shakily walking towards the bedroom door. His arm out in front of him, he felt for the doorframe before disappearing inside, managing to get into the loo.
Hermione watched as he shakingly made his way into the loo and she felt her heart clench. It wasn't fair that he had to go through all this. Deciding to make herself useful, she got up and proceeded into the kitchen to make a pot of tea and prepare a snack. Opening the fridge, she was surprised to see it was fully stocked and she assumed it had been George who had done so. Putting on the kettle, she took out all the fixings for some sandwiches.
It took Ron a bit longer than usual to take a shower, but he managed to wash his hair and body and feel blindly for a towel, drying off as he walked into the bedroom to pluck on a pair of pajama bottoms, not bothering with boxers, and he put a Cannons t-shirt on backwards without realizing it. His hair was still damp as he walked back into the sitting room, hearing the sound of a kettle whistling. "Hermione?" He walked towards the kitchen.
"In here, Ron." She replied, just as the water finished boiling in the kettle. She had finished with the sandwiches (ham and cheese) and poured them both mugs. Coming out of the kitchen and towards the table, she set down two plates and then went back for the mugs. "I've made us some tea and a couple sandwiches. Are you hungry?" She walked over to him and took his hand, guiding him over to one of the chairs at the table.
He let her lead him to the table, sitting down. "Sure, yeah, thanks," he said graciously; though his appetite wasn't fully returned, he did feel a bit better after their conversation, and he reached out and felt for the sandwich, sniffing it to decipher what kind it was. "Ham and cheese? Good choice," he said with a nod, taking a bite.
Sitting down as well, she took a sip of her tea and then a bite of her sandwich. "The tea's just there in front of you, to your right." She said softly after she finished swallowing. "I think it's Earl Grey tea. Was the only one you had in the cupboard." Taking another bite of her sandwich, she realized how hungry she was. Soon she had finished half. "Is it alright?" She asked, hoping he liked her food.
"Haven't had much of an appetite lately," he said apologetically, he was only able to stomach half of the sandwich. "Tastes good though." He reached for his tea, blowing on the steaming cup before taking a sip.
Hermione frowned when he mentioned not having an appetite. Everyone knew that when Ron didn't feel like eating, something was terribly wrong. Finishing off the rest of her sandwich, she took her wand and levitated the plates into the kitchen and into the sink, leaving Ron's uneaten half on the counter after saying a charm to wrap it up. "Harry and Ginny said they'd come by for a visit soon." She told him, sitting down in the chair next to him. "They haven't left each other's side since we started school. It's rather adorable really."
"Figured as much. Well, if anyone deserves being happy, it's Harry," he said with a small grin. "Even though it's right disgusting picturing him with my sister, but I reckon... there's not a better bloke she could be dating." He stood, moving towards her. "Leave the dishes in the sink, I'll wash them tomorrow morning," he said with a nod, scratching at his chest.
"Alright. Can I come and bring my stuff to the bedroom? I don't have much with me but I'd rather not dig through my bag every time I need something." She asked, glancing down the hall.
"Yeah, 'course. Come on." He held out his hand and waited for her to take it, showing her to the bedroom and trying to remember which of the drawers in the dresser was empty so she could use it. When he remembered, he felt his way over to the dressed and double checked the drawer he was thinking of was empty. "Here, you can put your stuff in here."
She smiled. "You're giving me a drawer?" She asked with a smile.
"Yeah, why? You want the whole dresser for short visit?" He tilted his head at her, teasing.
"No, I just meant it's sweet, is all."
"Oh, well, good. I can be sweet, you know." He moved his way over to the bed slowly and climbed up on the pillows, resting against them and listening as Hermione emptied her stuff into the drawer. "Done yet?" He asked, sensing a lot of time had passed.
"Just about." She closed the drawer. "There, done."
"Good, get over here then. I want a cuddle." He threw a pout in her direction and she laughed, crawling up the bed to rest against him, thinking. They were finally together for Christmas as they had been looking forward to all term. She wished it was under better circumstances but she wasn't about to complain. Almost a whole month together (3 weeks and a few days). She couldn't wait.