A/N: Hey! So yeah, I'm back after a break. This is new multi-chap story based on Ron returning during the Horcrux Hunt. It's Romione angst/fluff mostly. The next chapter of "Little Dove" will be uploaded next week as I will be updating that story too. "Insomnia" will also be update soon after.

I hope you enjoy this first chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, all rights to J.K. Rowling

Chapter One: Doubts

Silence. Silence hung in the cold winter air, a dark night settling over the vast forest. A breeze gently picked up the branches of the nearby trees, lifting the snow-covered leaves as they swayed gently. An eerie atmosphere clouded the undergrowth as little critters scuttled into the grass, snow spitting onto the dirty forest floor. The ice no longer visible as more flakes began to smother itself on top, distorting Ron's dejected figure from staring back at him.

His knees smacked the ground as he crumbled into himself, his shoulders feeling like a dead weight. His eyes burned with tears, as he replayed the events he had just witnessed. Anger burned through his veins as he relived the moment when his best friend grabbed the woman he loved and kissed her, their white transparent bodies mingling together as the locket bared all to him. Snowflakes fluttered onto his hair and skin, offering a moment of peace before a voice brought him back to reality.

"She loves you, Ron" A croaky voice whispered to him, "She cried the whole time you were gone, she was miserable, she's in deep Ron, don't you see, she only wants you, I reckon that's always been the case, you both just never realized" Harry continued as he edged closer to Ron's forlorn looking figure. Ron felt his heart stutter at Harry's words, he could have never believed someone as precious as Hermione would have even considered someone like him, even as a possibility. He had accepted his fate many months ago, watching she and Harry become closer, thinking perhaps he had missed his chance. The thoughts he had carried with him all this time took him on a tirade of self-loathing and hatred. Hatred for Harry. Hatred for his own stupidity.

"I didn't know…" He managed to gasp out as the tears began to flow quickly down his dirty cheeks, the exhaustion smacking him in the face as he placed the sword of Gryffindor to one side and sat down on a nearby rock, wincing at the cold surface biting at his arse. Harry approached him, his own knees beginning to give way as he too found a rock and glanced nervously at his best friend. He understood now why Ron had acted the way he had, not entirely of course, only time will tell when Ron would tell him everything, but for now, he understood the best he could.

"I think she knows that" Harry replied, smiling crookedly at Ron as their eyes met, "She'll need time, but don't give up, please, for all our sakes," And with a slight nod from Ron, they both set off back towards the tent.

Ron felt bile rise to his throat, desperately trying to calm his weary body down before he collapsed in a heap, he wanted to see her face, if she hated him, fine, but to see her face, that's what he needed to keep going. He knew she was going to hate him, maybe to the point where she would never forgive him, but as long as her perfect face popped out from the tent, he didn't give a damn at that point.

As they approached the barrier surrounding the battered old tent, Hermione arose from one the smooth logs surrounding the campfire and stared at the sight before her. Her eyes burned into Ron's as he cautiously approached her. Harry quietly nodded in her direction before heading straight back into the tent, casting a silencing charm as he did so. Ron and Hermione stared at each other for a while, neither daring to speak first, their bodies not even flinching when a large bird broke through the trees, squawking loudly as it flew into the distance. Ron felt his heartbeat race as he took in the sight of her standing before him. Her arms crossed protectively against her chest, her hair flailing behind her, the wind whipping up her tight curls as her chocolate brown eyes bore into his ocean blue ones. Her button nose, rosy, red from the cold night, almost flared as her expression turned from shock to anger. Ron took a step back as Hermione began to stalk her way towards him, her eyes still staring into his, but with an ever-growing ball of fire behind them. Her snow boots crunched in the snow, the vibrations shaking Ron's body as she grew closer to him.

Before she touched him, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Ron gazed down at her, his eyes taking in the gorgeous sight before him, one that he thought he would never have the honor of witnessing again. Hermione broke eye contact, her head bowed in defeat as she shuffled awkwardly on her feet.

"I don't know what you were expecting, Ronald," She began, anger tracing every word as Ron gulped, "But I'm telling you right now, no I don't forgive you and no, everything won't go back to normal, because I know that's what you think will happen, but it won't, I can promise you that much". She immediately turned her back on him and began to trudge back to the tent, her arms still folded as Ron stared at her retreating figure.

"Hermione wait," He began, feeling a glimmer of hope as her hunched body stopped her progress up the snow mound, "I just want to talk," He choked out as she spun on her feet to face him, the anger he saw a second ago still lingering in her features, her expression unchanging. A sinister laugh echoed around the forest walls.

"What's there to talk about Ronald, you left us, you left me, you didn't give me a chance to speak back then, so why should I let you get your way now?" She questioned, her body tense as she watched him look down in shame. He knew he deserved it, so he didn't argue, she had every right to hurt him, physically and emotionally, so he'd take it. Hermione continued, her eyes never leaving his face.

"You felt all you did because of what, jealousy?" She shouted, tears beginning to form as she gripped her arms tighter, "What if…what if Harry and I are together, will that make you leave, huh?" The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She knew it was a low blow and the fact that it wasn't even close to the truth, but the words were out there, and they stung Ron hard. Ron felt his eyes burn with tears, his throat felt like it was on fire and his body went into shutdown as he processed what Hermione had said. So they were together. It wasn't just a vision Voldemort wanted him to see. It was the truth. Ron gritted his teeth in anger as his mind flashed to his conversation not five minutes ago with Harry.

Great.

So Harry, his best mate, had lied to him too.

The devastation he felt suddenly became too much for him, he dropped his head fully and shrugged before bravely raising his eyes to her own teary ones.

"Wouldn't matter, I-I-I've always thought you guys would be good together, y'know, amazing at everything and stuff so…" He trailed off as he felt quite vulnerable in that moment, wholeheartedly wishing the universe would take pity on him and swallow him up. Perhaps he had always known he would have been rejected by her one way or another, and here it was, crushing as he would have expected to feel. But then again, he deserved it, he had never been the best friend she needed, he had hurt her when she hadn't deserved it.

Feeling slightly faint, Ron gave Hermione a pained smile and began to trudge clumsily up the snow mound, making sure to keep a reasonable distance between himself and her as he sulked past her, grateful to no longer be in the firing range of her glaring eyes. As he entered the tent, the sudden wave of heat provided no warmth or comfort to him as his eyes dropped in pain and longing. He briefly glared over to Harry's bunk, before trudging over to his old one, lifting back the thin blanket and slamming himself onto the mattress before giving into an uncomfortable sleep.

"…Ron, wake up, oh please wake up," A concerned voice broke through his nightmare and his eyes popped open in fright. His whole body was shaking as sweat dripped down his forehead. His dream had been the worst one he had ever had, Hermione's body lying dead in the snow, Harry glaring at him as he took Hermione's body in his arms and cried for her. The vision of his family shaking their heads at him, telling him how much of a disappointment he was, telling him the world was better off without him. Ron sat up quickly, his vision blurry as a small body sat beside his bed side, their hands smoothing over his as his breathing calmed. As his vision became clearer, he turned to his right to see Hermione watching him worriedly, her eyes widening as they made eye contact, her breathing as erratic as his. He immediately turned away in shame, she shouldn't have to deal with stuff like this, especially from him, after all, she wasn't his. He wiped his spare hand across his face, desperate for the remainders of his nightmare to disappear before turning back to the woman beside him.

"I'm fine don't worry about me," He muttered as he felt her hands retract from his and land on her thighs, rubbing them nervously. She didn't say anything in return and simply moved to the kitchen, where started to prepare the tea. The high-pitched screech of the kettle filled the awkward silence as Ron stared at the tense figure across from him. She looked tired and sad, but this didn't make him feel any better about himself, he was the one who should feel like shit, she deserved the world, to be happy and free. He watched as her hands shook violently as she lifted the kettle and poured the boiling water in a mug before placing a small tea bag inside. As she grabbed a teaspoon to stir the mixture, her eyes drifted towards the bed where Harry had collapsed earlier. Ron immediately looked away; he didn't have the right to interfere on an intimate moment. Things were going to be different now, he had lost untold privileges he had before, touching her waist as she walked past him, stroking her hair as they watched the sun set over the crop fields at the burrow. None of it. He was now as much of a priority as everyone else now, he had to control his actions around her, not look at her for too long, make sure he wasn't accidentally touching her, making sure Harry got to sit in between them.

"I'll take watch," He grunted out before striding out of the tent, eager for some fresh air. He hoped that Hermione would take it as a nod that she and Harry should have some time alone together. His head hurt from overthinking, but he knew he had a new job. Protecting his best friend and the woman he secretly loved to make sure they would both survive, his own life now disregarded even by himself.

"Ron?" A tired voice muttered behind him. His back tensed immediately, his jaw locked in a defensive way before he forced a smile on his face and turned to face Harry, who stood awkwardly at the entrance to the tent, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.

"Yeah mate?" Ron roughly choked out as he forced himself to act like a normal human being.

Harry said nothing, but instead sat beside Ron by the campfire and turned his body to him, looking at him in a nervous manner.

"What did Hermione say to you?".

Well shit.

Ron brushed his hands across his face, desperately trying to think of a way to break the news to his friend in the nicest way possible that he had discovered his secret.

"She told me she wouldn't forgive me and that she asked whether I would leave again because you two…" He paused, screwing his eyes in frustration and sadness before looking Harry dead in the eye, "She told me you two were together," He rushed out before dropping his head, tears reemerging as he swallowed loudly, waiting for Harry's reaction. He felt him shuffle beside him before he spoke in a whisper.

"She lied Ron, we aren't together, she just said that to hurt you," Harry clasped his hands together, his arms leaning on his knees as he waited for Ron to respond.

"It's okay you know, you deserve her anyway mate," Ron grumbled out, hating himself for sounding so resentful, "I don't mind, I'll get over it, she probably said that out of pity anyway, so it doesn't matter" He shrugged again before stretching out his legs, wincing as his bones crunched. He heard Harry sigh.

"You don't understand mate, she loves you, she's just angry okay," And with that, Harry slowly got to his feet and patted Ron on the back roughly before heading back inside the tent. Leaving Ron to his own confused thoughts, Harry entered the tent before clambering back into bed and promptly fell asleep. Little did either of them know, a teary yet smiling bushy haired witch was sat on the bed belonging to Ronald Weasley, listening to every word. The pain in Ron's voice overwhelming her. So, she waited, waited for him to come back in and see her. She loved him. So much. With her hands clasped before her, she sat and waited…

A/N: Next Chapter will be updated soon! Please favorite, follow and review for updates on this story and other stories. Thanks :)