Fred's POV

Fred was sprawled on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He just could not bring himself to go and join the others, only to watch the girl he had been so in love with for what seemed like ages, go out with some other bloke. So, naturally, he opted for sulking in his room.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Fred was about to tell whoever it was to go away, when the door creaked open. As Fred's eyes adjusted to the light spilling in from the hallway, he was able to make out the dark figure of George.

Sighing, Fred turned over on his side in an attempt to avoid making conversation with his brother. He really was not in the mood to be lectured at the moment.

"You all right, Freddie?" George asked quietly.

Fred made no move to look at him. "I'm brilliant," he replied sarcastically. "Just bloody brilliant."

George sighed and made his way to his own bed. He sat down rather hard, causing the springs to screech. "I know it's hard, Fred, but there's nothing you can do about it."

"You don't think I know that?!" Fred was now sitting up right and staring at George. "I know she chose Ron. I know that there's no chance in hell that she would ever want to be with someone like me. I know that!"

"Now, I didn't say that."

"No, I did. I said it because it's true." Fred sunk back upon the bed and turned again to his side, his back to George.

"I promise things will get better. It'll get easier," George reassured.

Fred was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "Yeah. Maybe you're right, Georgie."

The room was silent for a while, until Fred heard the soft snores of George in the bed opposite his. The slow, rhythmic sound of breathing slowly lulled Fred into his own calming sleep.

oOo

Hermione's POV

Bellatrix was looming over Hermione. Her deep set, heavily lidded eyes spoke volumes of disgust and hatred. She held a long, silver dagger in her hand, the tip barely piercing the skin at the base of Hermione's neck.

"Now, listen hear you filthy Mudblood," Bellatrix spat. "You're gonna cooperate and be a good little girl, or..." She buried the blade slightly deeper into Hermione's skin, which caused the girl to whimper out in pain."Good. Now, what else did you and your little friends take from my vault?"

Hermione choked back tears as she spoke, "We d-didn't t-take anything." It was a lie, but Hermione was not about to sell her and the boys out.

"Liar," Bellatrix hissed. "I'll give you one more chance to fess up. If you don't tell me the truth, then... Well, you'll just have to find out what happens." She smiled wickedly. "WHAT ELSE DID YOU TAKE?!" she yelled in Hermione's face. Hermione did not answer."Have it your way, then, Mudblood."

Hermione was prepared to have the dagger cut and pierce her skin. She would not scream. She would not.However, before Hermione could fully understand what was happening, she saw Bellatrix cast the dagger aside and draw out her wand. She pointed it directly at Hermione and shouted, "Crucio!"

Pain erupted within Hermione's body. She couldn't help the blood-curdling screams that escaped her lips. She was also shaking violently.

"Hermione!" came a voice, which she didn't recognize as being Ron's or Harry's. "Hermione, please wake up!" the voice pleaded, as she continued to scream.

Suddenly she felt something wet land on her face, pulling her out of her dream.

oOo

Hermione sat up quickly in her bed. She was soaked with water, and not just because she was crying. Someone must have used Auguamenti on her in attempt to wake her up. She heard someone mumble a spell, which caused her to become dry. She looked up trying to see who had done it, but the tears in her eyes made everything blurry. She could only make out four figures.

"It's okay, Hermione," came a voice she recognized as Harry's.

"Yeah, you're safe now," came a voice that she could not seem to identify. She was aware, however, that the owner had kneeled on the floor beside her bed and had taken her small hand in their own, larger one. Hermione held on to it tightly, thankful for the source of comfort.

"What happened?" a voice she recognized as Ginny's asked.

Hermione took several deep breaths, trying to calm her erratically beating heart. She began wiping away the tears with her free hand.

The person who was holding her hand rubbed their thumb in circular patterns across the back of it. This comfort allowed Hermione to let out a few words. "Malfoy Manor... Bellatrix, she... I..." she broke down in tears again.

The person at her side dropped her hand, only to rise from their spot on the floor in order to sit next to her. Hermione felt strong arms engulf her. She buried her face in the unknown person's chest and wept, not caring what everyone thought at that moment.

She cried for what felt like ages to her. Every tear that escaped her eyes was like relieving herself of a burden. She cried until she was unable to cry anymore. All the while, the person holding her rubbed their calloused hands along her arms and back in a comforting motion; they kept whispering to her that everything would be okay and that she was safe.

At first, she thought this person was Harry. However, she quickly deducted that it in fact was not. This person's voice was deeper than Harry's and they were not nearly as thin as him either. Then she thought that maybe it was Ron. Again, she was wrong. Ron was much more gangly and this person's scent was also different than his. Ron always seemed to smelled of smoke and cinnamon, whereas this person smelled of rain and cloves.

Hermione chanced a look at the owner of the arms she was so tightly embraced in, and was met with warm, brown eyes that were filled with worry. It took her several moments to figure out who was holding her as she found herself getting lost in those eyes. Eyes that belonged to none other than Fred Weasley.

Hermione quickly drew back from him, now embarrassed that she had let him see her cry and make a fool of herself. "S-Sorry, Fred," she said, sniffing slightly.

"S'all right," he replied slipping off the bed and returning to his previous spot on the floor.

Hermione wiped at her eyes in attempt to rid them of their blurriness. Once they were clear, she looked around at the other occupants in the room. She had been right about Harry being in their, and obviously Ginny was there. They were roommates after all. And of course, wherever there was Fred, there was almost always George.

The four of them looked at Hermione expectantly. They waited only a few seconds before she spoke. "Sorry I woke the lot of you up."

"No need to apologize."

"It's no big deal."

"I wasn't even asleep anyways."

The four of them chorused all at once. Hermione nodded, only half listening to their reassurances.

"Did I wake anyone else?" she asked quietly.

"Nah," George began, "Fred and I came running out and placed an Imperturbable Charm on the door the moment we heard you screaming. Lucky our room's right next door, eh?"

Very lucky, Hermione thought. She didn't think she'd be able to explain herself to the entire household without breaking down several more times than what she had while explaining to the four of them.

"Well, now that we've sorted this all out," started Harry, "we should all go back to bed. Hermione needs to rest, as do the rest of us."

Hermione's gaze shot up towards Harry. He had said just a few minutes ago that he had not been asleep, which would explain why he had heard her. The bags under his eyes were also a dead giveaway to his lack of sleep. "That means that you get some sleep too, Harry."

Harry smiled at her. Even when she was shaken up, she was still her usual bossy self.

The three young men rose to their feet and let a chorus of 'good nights' that Hermione halfheartedly returned before leaving the room. George removed the charm placed on the girls' door as he went.

Hermione and Ginny sat quietly in the room, neither attempting to fall asleep.

A few moments passed. Hermione had to admit that she was awfully exhausted, but she was too afraid to fall back into that torturous dream. She was not sure what she would do if forced through that torture again. Then, suddenly, she had an idea.

"Hey, Gin," she asked hesitantly, "you wouldn't happen to have a potion for a dreamless sleep lying about, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Ginny got out of her bed and walked over to her vanity. Hermione could hear a drawer open and then shut. Ginny then padded over towards her and handed her a vial that was cool to the touch. "Here you are. Lucky for you, I still had one left."

Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion. Why would Ginny need to take a potion like this? Deciding that that was Ginny's business and not hers, Hermione shook her head and downed the contents of the vial. "Thanks, Gin," she said, handing the other girl the now empty vial."

"Don't mention it," Ginny replied as she made the empty vial vanish with a flourish of her wand. "Just get some sleep, Hermione."

Hermione nodded and turned over on her side. She focused on her breathing, willing herself to fall asleep. Thankfully, it wasn't long before a peaceful sleep washed over her.

AN: Okay here's another chapter. I hope you all like it. Oh, and before you start going off about how Fred's eyes are blue, they're not. They're brown. Look it up! Any who, please leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks :)