Overtures, Part 1

A/N: Welcome! This is my first multi-chapter story. It will eventually span seven years of missing moments between Ron and Hermione. I will try to update every few weeks or so with a new chapter, but, you know, real life happens sometimes. Please let me know what you think along the way with your reviews!

You will notice that I occasionally use direct quotes from the books (in bold). I, of course, own precisely 0% of Harry Potter and do not claim this work as my own. I can only hope that JK Rowling is too wealthy to mind.

Lastly, thank you to my fabulous beta, TMBlue - your stories inspired me to give this a try for myself and your feedback has been invaluable!

"Good luck - take care -" Hermione said.

"GO!" Harry screamed.

Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire.

The room with the giant chess board was intimidating, hazy and littered with debris. Hermione could barely see back through the maze of fallen and destroyed pieces. She climbed over a large cracked pawn and rushed across the board. She finally saw his seemingly lifeless form through the settling dust, lying next to the shattered statue of the knight he had been riding.

"Ron!" she screamed as she rushed to his side. She started shaking his arm, trying to revive him. She could tell he was breathing, but not much else. She put her hand over his chest and was relieved to feel the strong beating of his heart.

"Accio broomstick!" she cried as she waved her wand towards the key room. Hermione hated flying. It was fast and dangerous and unpredictable. It was also the only way to get Ron to safety at the moment. When the broomstick arrived, she draped his unconscious form over the handle, taking care to protect his head from hitting the floor. She climbed on the back and, holding on to Ron with one hand and the broom with the other, she gently kicked off the ground.

She flew back through the key room, into the passageway, and up through the hole she had created moments before in the Devil's Snare, clutching the back of his robes as she flew. She slowed down as they approached the trap door, trying to quiet her rapid breathing. She knew silence was the key to getting past Fluffy unharmed.

Hermione squeezed the handle of the broom harder as they emerged from the trap door and sped up to fly back out into the castle, hearing loud barking from behind them. The halls were dimly lit with torchlight, and she couldn't help but notice the shadows dancing on the walls as she steered the broom towards the hospital wing.

They arrived in front of the infirmary and Hermione pushed open the door, leaving Ron still hanging over the side of the hovering broomstick.

"Excuse me! Madame Pomfrey! Ron's been hurt!"

"What are you two doing out at this hour? You should be in bed!" Madame Pomfrey tutted at her as she hurried over to the door.

"He fell and hit his head, quite hard," Hermione plowed on, not wanting to have to explain herself fully.

Madame Pomfrey magicked the broomstick over to the nearest bed and rolled Ron onto the mattress. "And just how did young Mr. Weasley manage to knock himself unconscious so late at night?"

Hermione had barely heard her. She was already running flat out toward the owlery to find Hedwig. She felt guilty leaving Ron all alone, but it was critical that she get a message to Dumbledore. One thing at a time, she thought as she raced through the castle.

The following day, Hermione found herself back in the hospital wing, only partially relieved as both of her best friends were still bedridden. Madame Pomfrey had been none too pleased with the disturbance she had caused the previous night, but she had allowed her to come and visit the boys after Dumbledore had explained the situation.

As she entered, a light rain began to fall outside, gently pitter pattering against the windows. Harry lay asleep in a small bed at the end of the row, surrounded by curtains for privacy. His bedside table was filling up quickly with letters and gifts from well wishers, all praising his defeat of the Dark Lord. Hermione stopped by to check on him and drop off a small package containing a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.

She then crossed to the other side of the room where Ron was lying peacefully. He was starting to stir a bit, and Madame Pomfrey thought he would wake up momentarily. Hermione wanted to be there when he did. As she sat down in the chair next to him, she noticed him batting at a stray lock of hair in his face, unable to clear it away in his weakened and confused state. Without thinking, Hermione reached up and gently brushed the hair to the side. When she realized what she was doing, her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed red.

Much to her embarrassment, Ron chose that moment to open his eyes for the first time.

"You're awake!" she said, pulling her hand back quickly and desperately wanting to shield her face.

Ron didn't notice. He was too busy pushing himself up, attempting to sit a bit higher against the stack of pillows.

"Hospital, eh? Had a feeling we'd end up here," he croaked, a small grin spreading across his face.

"It's not funny!" Hermione chided him. "You could've died, Ronald! Harry, too! That was entirely above our level of training!"

"So Harry's okay, then?" he asked. His brow furrowed a bit with worry as he looked across the ward at his friend.

"Madame Pomfrey thinks he'll be fine. He may not wake for a while, though."

"And Snape? Did Harry get him?"

Hermione explained the whole story to him, highlighting the fact that Snape was actually trying to help them all along.

"Still a git," Ron grumbled with a frown.

"Perhaps. Still, I'm glad for his help. So much could've gone wrong," she explained as her gaze fell to the soft blue comforter on his bed.

Ron's eyes shifted to Harry's bed and an uneasy expression appeared on his face.

"Guess you're right."

They both stared absentmindedly towards different sections of the hospital wing, the gentle tapping of rain persisting as background noise. After several moments, Hermione finally opened her mouth to speak. Ron looked up at her, blushing slightly as their eyes locked. Before she started speaking, her ears turned red, and she closed her mouth again and turned away.

Just when it seemed like they would lapse back into prolonged silence, Hermione turned back to Ron and rapidly blurted out, "Still, it was a very brave thing you did."

"I'm sorry?" Ron asked incredulously. Hermione never complimented him. He was sure he hadn't heard her correctly.

"I think...that what you did was very brave," Hermione repeated slowly, unable to look him directly in the eye.

Ron looked away as well, even redder than he had been a few moments ago. "Oh. Well...thanks. You were brilliant as well, of course."

"Thank you, Ron," she replied, openly blushing now.

Silence fell again as neither of them knew what to say. Their relationship thus far was based almost solely on bickering and Hermione helping Ron with his homework. He had his moments of immaturity, of course. And as far as she knew, he thought of her primarily as the answer key to his assignments. But he certainly had a way of showing up when his friends needed him the most.

"Looks like nobody is more popular than Harry, eh?" Ron finally said, offering a welcome change of subject. "At this rate, his table is going to overflow."

Ron looked at all the candy and gifts bestowed upon The Boy Who Lived, a forlorn expression spreading across his face. There was nothing on his table.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Hermione squeaked, reaching down into her bag. "I brought something for you!"

Hermione pulled out a large bag filled to the brim with Fizzing Whizbees, Every Flavor Beans, Pepper Imps, and Chocolate Frogs. As soon as she handed it to him, Ron immediately dumped out the contents of the bag onto his bedspread, his face lighting up like a child at Christmas.

"Madame Pomfrey said you may be here for a while, and I know how you can't go more than half an hour without candy," Hermione continued.

"This is brilliant! Hermione, you're the best, you really are!" Ron yelled, already ripping open a Chocolate Frog box and examining the card inside. "Wow, Everard! Don't have one of him yet! He was headmaster here ages ago, it says. Now I'm only missing three more cards and I'll have the whole collection!"

Hermione smiled at him, marveling at how the simplest pleasures could improve his mood so quickly. "Well I hope it holds you over for now. I don't think you've quite caught up with Harry yet, but it's a start."

"That's all right. Thanks to you, I've got enough for at least a few days right here," he said, beaming at her as he took a bite out of the chocolate frog.

She laughed as she watched him struggle to control the wriggling frog. He managed to pop the rest of it into his mouth, then started laughing along with her.

"So are you alright, then?" Ron asked out of the blue

If she had been the one eating the chocolate frog, she might have choked.

"Ex-Excuse me?" Hermione asked, clearly flustered. It was uncharacteristic of him to ask about how she was feeling.

"You know, were you hurt at all?"

She looked at him, somewhat relieved, and pleasantly replied, "Oh, I'm fine, thank you. Just a small scrape or two. Then again, the most dangerous thing I had to do was fly us back here on that broom."

"Well that's not true. We all had to be brave; after all, I seem to remember that bloody dog trying to eat all of us! Plus, we would've been done for soon as we dropped through the trap door without your help. Devil's Snare would've done us in."

Hermione's eyes dropped to the floor again, and she gave a small grin, "You really think so?"

"Course I do!" Ron said, "You're the smartest of all of us! Plus, right impressive, that bit on the broom."

"Thank you, Ron. That...means a lot."

Hermione was used to Harry and Ron acting bravely. After all, they were the ones who rushed into the girls' lavatory on Halloween and fought off the troll while she cowered, pinned to the wall in terror. Ron sacrificed himself so that Harry could go on in the underground chambers. Harry had fought off the most evil wizard in the world...again! But her? She had always felt more comfortable playing it safe, learning as much as she could, and avoiding dangerous situations as much as possible. So the thought that Ron saw her as confident and helpful under pressure was no small victory to her.

When Hermione had first been accepted to Hogwarts, she knew she would have to come out of her shell a bit. She had a feeling she'd do well in school; she always had. But she had no idea what she would prove herself capable of by the time school finished for the summer, especially with the help of her best friends. It had been an interesting first year at Hogwarts, but she wouldn't have traded it for anything.

"Ron?" she asked, finally summoning the courage to look him in the eye.

"Yeah?" he replied, meeting her gaze.

"I'm really glad you're alright."