Author's Note: Hi everyone! YAY! I got 11 reviews thus far! You guys have made me so happy, you have no idea. Thank you to all my reviewers, I really appreciate you guys taking the time out to review my work. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's covers a short period of time, but I think it's important. Hope you enjoy! If you could please review for me, that would be wonderful. Maybe I can even got 20 reviews! *hoping*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione's eyes fluttered open and she suddenly remembered all that had happened. It's the day after my birthday...yesterday morning seems like a lifetime ago. She fumbled with her right hand for Ron's ring. Yes, it was still there. She sighed and then realized that she had used her right hand. She smiled, understanding that she was physically healed, minus the headache she still had.

Something stirred on her right side. Looking over, she saw Ron with his head on her bed, still holding her hand, asleep. He looked so disturbed, as though the weight of the world was on him and he didn't know what to do about it. She carefully removed her hand from his and stroked his sleeping face with her fingertips. She didn't know what would happened after this. People like Fudge better believe that Voldemort had risen again. If they didn't, she would personally go to the Ministry of Magic and...well, it won't get to that, she thought.

As she was absently stroking Ron's face, he began to wake up and she immediately retracted her hand and placed it in its former spot, underneath his. He looked up at her, "Hey, Hermione. How are you feeling?" he asked as he yawned.

"I'm alright. Did you stay here the whole time after I fell asleep?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, I...I guess so," he said while blushing.

"Oh, thank you. That was very nice of you," she replied, smiling slightly.

Harry came through the doors of the Hospital Wing, Ginny right behind him. His eyes lit up when he saw that Hermione was awake. "Hermione! Good, you're awake! How do you feel?" he asked.

"Much better now. I still have a headache, but my arm is healed, look," she said while she gripped her right arm with her left hand without crying out in pain. She smiled after her demonstration.

Madame Pomfrey went over to Hermione's bed and gave her a potion to help with the headache. Hermione sat up in bed and drank the potion gratefully. Madame Pomfrey then left the friends to chat among themselves.

The atmosphere around the four teenagers was light. Hermione's friends tried to keep it as such until Hermione asked, "So, Harry, this question has been bugging me. How did you know where I was?"

"Oh, well, I was unconscious and I had this dream where you were in Snuffles' cave and Voldemort was with you. When I woke up, I realized what the dream meant," Harry finished, never mentioning the Cruciatus Curse.

"Really? You just had a dream? Don't you need to sense Voldemort's power or something like that?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Well, err, yeah. I, uh, I felt you under the Cruciatus Curse," Harry said quietly.

"Oh," Hermione said, understanding Harry's hesitation in telling her that in the first place. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that again, Harry."

"Don't be, that's silly. I'm glad that I saw where you were so Dumbledore could go get you," her friend replied.

Hermione smiled. "Don't you guys need to go to class?"

"No, it's Sunday, May 8th," Ginny replied sweetly.

"Wow, it's only been a day..." Hermione whispered, lost in her own thoughts. Ron squeezed her hand and she looked over at him as he gave her a supportive smile. She liked Ron's subtle show of emotion. If this could last forever like the no arguing, then this truly would be heaven, she thought.

"Well, I have to go help Ginny with her Potions essay, I hope you don't mind, Hermione," Harry said, a tinge of color in his cheeks.

"Oh of course not. I suspect Madame Pomfrey will make me stay here for a while. I'm glad that's it's Sunday so I didn't miss any school. Imagine having to catch up in Snape's class!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That's our Hermione for you!" Ginny teased.

"It's not like you're qualified to be in the 6th year, or anything like that," Harry said sarcastically, joining the teasing.

Hermione chuckled. "Don't you two have somewhere to be?" she said while looking at Harry and Ginny.

"See you later Hermione," Harry said. "Thank you for what you did for me," he whispered while giving his friend a warm hug, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Harry, no need to thank me. That's what friends are for," she replied looking squarely in his eyes. She needed him to believe her, the last thing she wanted was him to feel guilty about what happened. He had enough on his mind already.

After her two friends left, Hermione turned her head to face the boy on her left side. Ron looked at her and smiled and she returned the happy expression. Just then, Dumbledore entered the Hospital Wing.

"Ah, Hermione, nice to see that you are awake. You look much better today, much more rested," the professor commented.

"Yes, I feel much better. I can't imagine what I looked like yesterday," Hermione replied. Ron didn't want to think about what she looked like yesterday.

"Well, I just wanted to check on your condition and see if there was anything else you wanted to tell me," Dumbledore said.

"I don't think so, I'm pretty sure that I told you everything."

"Okay then, I will leave you now. It seems that you have good company," Dumbledore said, looking over at Ron.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione called after him.

"Yes?"

"Did you tell my parents what happened?" she asked him.

"Well, I was going to send an owl to them today."

"Could you not tell them? I mean, I'm really quite all right and I don't want them to worry. It's very hard trying to explain to them about Voldemort and the Death Eaters and such. I don't think they would really understand what happened and the fact that they wouldn't understand would worry them even more," she replied.

"I see your point. But you must understand that I have an obligation to your parents to tell them whatever happens to you. I have to tell them, but I will leave out the details for you to fill in yourself, if you so wish," Dumbledore said. Hermione understood that he meant he wouldn't mention the Voldemort-inflicted-pain-upon-your-child part.

"All right, thank you Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore left Hermione and Ron's company. "So, Ron..." Hermione started, but she was cut off when someone else entered the Hospital Wing. It was Peter.

It felt like ages since she last saw Peter rather than simply two days ago. Could it really have been two days ago? Yes, it was the day before my birthday when I told him how I felt, or rather how I didn't feel. Wow, it feels like that was a different me.

"Hi, Hermione. How are you feeling?" Peter asked, smiling, but it couldn't mask the sadness in his eyes.

"I'm fine. Thank you for stopping by."

"Of course. I was worried about you," the Ravenclaw replied.

"Don't be. I'm fine, really." Hermione tried to sound as convincing as possible and hoped that Peter and Ron would believe her.

Ron, meanwhile, looked sullen and defeated. He wanted to have a few moments with a conscious Hermione alone, but it just didn't seem like it would ever happen. Jealousy boiled in him as Hermione talked with Peter and he wished that she would talk that care-freely with him.

Peter glanced over to Hermione's left side where Ron's hand was protectively over Hermione's and smiled to himself. It took a near-death experience for that kid to wake up and see things that I saw the first day I met her, Peter thought sadly. "Dumbledore told the students not to question what happened to you, and just to be thankful that you were all right. I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it?" Peter asked.

"I'd rather not, but thank you for you're concern."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad to see you're doing well," Peter replied, trying to mask the hurt he felt. Surly she had told Ron what happened to her and he wished to be the one holding Hermione's hand. Cutting off his fantasy, Peter leaned over and kissed Hermione on the forehead. She didn't blush this time.

Hermione appreciated Peter's gesture. "Bye, Peter. See you later."

"Bye." Peter exited and Hermione turned her attention once again to Ron.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked him. He looked defeated and resign. It frightened her.

"You still like him," he said quietly.

"No, actually I don't," she replied rather forcefully.

Ron understood that she didn't want to talk about Peter anymore and changed the subject quickly, trying to regain his composure, "So, how'd you sleep?" Erg, that was very brilliant Weasley! he scolded himself.

"Very well," Hermione said. She knew this small talk was not what Ron really wanted to do. "Ron, talk to me," she said quietly but firmly.

Ron couldn't look at her and removed his hand from hers. He was disgusted with himself and feared she would be too, though she showed so signed of such emotion thus far. "It's just, this whole thing, everything, was my fault."

"How do you figure that?" she asked, not knowing where on earth Ron got this ridiculous idea from.

"If I watched where I was going, then I would have seen the building fall and you wouldn't have push me out of the way and gotten hurt. Then you wouldn't have told me to leave you and get Harry here and then you wouldn't have met the Death Eater and gone to Voldemort. He wouldn't have hurt you and you wouldn't be here now!" he finished, almost near tears. Don't cry, Weasley, don't be stupid like that.

"Ah, I see. And if you hadn't insulted me in the first year, making me go to the bathroom crying, making you and Harry come after me to warn me about the troll, we would never had been friends and I would never be in this hospital bed now because I wouldn't know you. Yes, I see, this is indeed all your fault Ron Weasley," she teased.

He didn't appreciate her teasing. "I'm serious Hermione," he grumbled.

"I know Ron, but don't do this to yourself. None of it was your fault."

Although he wanted to believe her, something inside of him still made him feel so guilty.

Hermione could tell that he still wasn't fully convinced when he still wouldn't look at her. She impulsively took her left hand and cupped it around his right cheek, pulling he head up so their eyes met. "Listen, you have to believe me, okay? I don't regret the decisions I made, not for one second. I know you would have done the same for me if the roles were reversed." She stroked his cheek with her thumb as she continued to hold his face in her hand and never took her eyes off his. What am I doing? Am I crazy? Impulsive Hermoine must take a vacation, she thought to herself.

Ron closed his eyes and focused his attention on her strokes. They were so warm, and calming, as if all the guilt he pent up inside of him washed away with every caress. He sighed, his shoulders relaxed. He lifted her hand away from his face and kissed her palm.

The tingly sensation from Ron's kiss spread through her body like wildfire. She involuntarily gasped from the shock of his display of emotion. That moment was more intimate than any of the times she spent with Viktor or Peter, and the vulnerability scared her. Ron looked almost as shocked as she did and remained silent. He internally cursed himself for being so daft. They both blushed profusely, but neither saw since both averted their gazes from the other.

"I think I need to rest," Hermione said abruptly cutting the silence. She needed any excuse to be alone and think about what had just happened. She had waited since first year for something like this to happen, but after what she just went through...she needed to think.

"Oh, right," Ron said. "I'll go, and um, find Harry and Ginny," he said, completely embarrassed about his behavior. He exited the Hospital Wing leaving a very confused Hermione. She fell asleep before she was able to think about what that kiss might have meant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Please review if you can spare the moment. Thanks! =)