A/N: I'm not JKR. Nor do I believe in any of the vitriol she's currently spewing.

His knee bounced a steady rhythm on the carpet. While he was supposed to be working on his assignment for Snape, his eyes kept darting back to the Girls staircase every few seconds. Fruitlessly, he checked his watch once more. Ginny had gone nearly an hour ago. What could they possibly be talking about?

Ron felt the guilt of insufficiency pooling in his stomach. Something had been bothering Hermione for days, and he had done little to help her. Even if McGonagall recognizing his feelings had frightened him off spending as much time with her, it shouldn't have negated their actual friendship. Why had she told Harry that she wouldn't be coming to class? Why was she now talking to Ginny? How come she hadn't sought him out? It had only been a couple of weeks since she'd confided in him about her fears. Since then, he'd been a bit of shit friend. No wonder she seemed to be spending time with Boot.

What a git.

No, worse than a git. A massive prick. Someone who seemed to want to dictate to Hermione how she should live. Not realizing of course that you couldn't dictate anything to her. She was her own person, and it was one of the things Ron liked most about her. Maybe she'd forgotten that somewhere along the way.

Whatever she was feeling, skipping class meant that she was in distress. He could count on one hand the number of times she'd been absent from a lecture, and most of those involved serious bodily harm. Walking into Charms and seeing only Harry had been disturbing. Harry coughing out something about 'female issues' only made him more concerned. Ginny had ensured that just because she was the only girl in the family, that didn't mean the rest of them could hide away from her issues. It became normalized to the point where none of them seemed to get squeamish around the mention of any feminine products. In their last letter, the twins even mentioned that they were working on something for menstrual pain, which Verity assured them would fly off the shelves once it was introduced.

Harry didn't have that luxury. The longer he dated Ginny, he might, but otherwise his introduction to females was Hermione. And bold, brilliant and bracing as she was, typical girl she was not. In the years he'd known Hermione, never once had she ever mentioned 'female problems.' Why now?

Harry scratched at his assignment for Snape, seemingly unconcerned for Ginny's long absence. Ron had a vague desire to shake him. After mentioning that Hermione wasn't coming to class, Harry had let the matter slide. Her disappearance at dinner made him shrug, but he chattered on with Ginny about new WWW products that might straddle the line of academic cheating. Hermione was their friend, for Merlin's sake. If Harry's scar hurt, well they'd best be prepared to discuss the meaning behind it for hours. She wasn't acting her usual self, and Harry seemed to act like it wasn't a big deal.

At least Ginny had pursed her lips at dinner. She disappeared to the loo on their way back to Gryffindor Tower and finally agreed to go check in on Hermione. Ron was grateful to no longer be alone in his worry. Though with her now gone, his knee continued to bounce, and Harry flicked through his textbook absentmindedly.

A flash of red came from around the bend in the Girls' staircase. Ron made to stand up. Ginny was finally returning. Except…no bushy head of curls followed. His heart sank. As she hit the carpet of the Common Room, Ginny caught his eye and gave a small nod. Ron had no idea what that meant. She made her way over to meet them. Harry noticed her approach and turned his head towards her.

'Is she okay?' Ron asked, before Ginny had a chance to sit down. She raised a hand to him as she settled in next to Harry.

'She's coming down in a minute.'

Relief swept through him. At least he'd be able to see her.

'Oh, good.' Harry pressed a quick kiss to Ginny's cheek, as Ron looked away pointedly.

Ron thought about Ginny's response and realized that she'd never answered his question.

'But is she alright?'

Ginny's eyes flashed to his once more. There was a crease in between them. She ruffled Harry's hair and gave Ron a subtle shake of her head. The relief that had torn through him was quickly stitched by panic. He swore. He'd known something was amiss.

'Let's just act normal, alright? She's a bit embarrassed that she missed class today.' Ginny gaze continued to bore a hole into his skull. He bit back a retort. Normal? None of this was normal.

'She always gets a bit nutty around exams though, doesn't she?' Harry asked, looking between Ginny and Ron. 'Hardly surprising it got to her today.'

Ron clenched his jaw, trying to force down the temptation to rip into Harry. Sure, Ron had mentioned that Hermione's absence might have something to do with exams, but this went beyond that. Why wasn't Harry paying more attention?

Ginny made a noise, somewhere between annoyance and agreement. Had she too noticed Harry's strange indifference towards Hermione?

'Besides, if it keeps her off the whole Prince thing, then-'

'Is that all you can think about?' Ron snapped, the last of his patience towards his friend vanishing. Harry looked at him with a bewildered expression. 'Hermione's skipped class, missed dinner, and you're pleased because she's stopped nagging you about the Prince?'

'Ron,' Ginny started, but Harry cut in, eyes wide behind his spectacles.

'Course I'm not pleased that she's ill. But it can't be that bad if she's coming down, is it?'

'Like you'd notice if Ginny hadn't gone up.'

'Leave me out of this,' Ginny interrupted.

'What is that supposed to mean?' Harry asked, looking at Ron in surprise.

'Why did you just let her go off on her own when she told you she was sick?'

'What else was I supposed to do?'

'Follow her? Ask if she needed help?'

'It's Hermione,' Harry noted, as though this were an obvious point. 'She never needs help. She gets it done on her own.'

'Ron,' Ginny tried again, but he ignored her. He realized that he was fighting a losing battle with Harry. There was no way that he could see any issues with how Hermione had been acting.

'Fine, whatever.' Ron huffed, picking up his quill once more. 'I'm just saying, I would have made sure you or Hermione were fine.'

Harry looked shocked. He'd opened his mouth to retort when Ginny looked over her shoulder.

'Hey, Hermione,' she called out. Ron whipped his head up, and started when he saw her.

The curls that stuck out of her bun were limp. Her eyes were rimmed with red. Lips were downturned, though gave a half-hearted smile as she took them in. She was wearing a blue jumper that he remembered her wearing a few times before. Only now it seemed a little too large on her. The shoulders hung off of her slumped frame, and she kept hold of the sleeves as she walked over to them.

Ginny shot him a look, one that clearly communicated that he needed to smile, or something, but how could he?

'Feeling better?' Harry asked. He shared a look with Ginny, who gave Hermione a small smile.

She nodded. Stepping into the light from the fire, her skin seemed to glow white. Ron grew even more nervous.

'Hi,' she said, regarding him rather nervously.

'Hey,' he coughed out, trying to squash down the barrage of questions that erupted from her presence. Circling the small table, she came and settled in beside him. Some of his worry dissipated once he could feel her warmth. It made the most sense strategically for her to come and sit beside him, but he still felt grateful when she did, rather than choosing to sit elsewhere.

'Sorry for making you worry,' she muttered, tucking a wayward curl back into her bun. Ron frowned at her.

There were so many things he wanted to tell her in that moment. That she was worth the worry. That he wanted her to be okay. That he was sorry if he had ended up adding to her stress. Instead he settled on a tense smile, before reaching into his bag.

When she hadn't appeared at dinner, part of him had hoped that he'd be able to see her that night. Casserole wasn't particularly portable, so he'd had to settle on an apple. Hopefully it would be enough for her. He pulled it out and handed it to her. She looked at him in surprise.

'Figured you might be hungry,' he mumbled, feeling the tips of his ears turn red. Her expression changed. It became unreadable.

'Thank you,' she breathed. He smiled at her again, less tense this time.

She took a bite, smiling at the loud crunch it made. Ginny smiled as well, still looking between the pair of them.

'Did you talk about auras in your assignment for Snape, Hermione?' Harry asked, not looking up from his paper. 'I can't figure out if it's relevant to the cursed object theme or not.'

Ron watched her swallow. 'Only in a footnote,' she told Harry. 'It's only relevant for larger pieces; wardrobes, doors and the like.'

'Who would want to curse a wardrobe?' Ginny asked aloud.

'Subjecting someone to wear horrible clothes for the rest of their lives? Seems pretty cruel to me,' cracked Ron, glancing to Hermione to see if she'd noticed his joke. She remained engrossed in her apple, some of the juice slipping down her chin. He stared transfixed at its journey for a moment.

'Yes, well you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?' Ginny asked sweetly. 'I'm pretty sure I still have a picture of your Yule Ball robes.'

'Oh ha, ha,' Ron quipped back, tearing his eyes away from Hermione's neck and blushing furiously. Leave it to his sister to bring up that terrible night. And those terrible robes.

'I dunno,' Hermione added, glancing at Ron from under her lashes. 'Once you got rid of the lace cuffs, they weren't terrible.'

'You didn't have to smell him,' Harry quipped from where he was crossing out a couple of lines on his parchment.

Ginny laughed. To his surprise, Hermione did as well. It wasn't mean spirited and she tossed him a fond look as she did. His heart thudded in his chest.

'I guarantee it was better than Viktor,' Hermione added, taking another small bite from the apple. 'He wore this strange cologne. Well, I say wore, but it was more like doused himself in it. Smelled like smoke. Who would want to smell like that?'

Harry perked up, adjusting his glasses. 'I don't remember that.'

'You never danced with him,' Hermione pointed out. 'Unless you were right up against him, it was easy to think it was the fireplaces.'

The momentary euphoria that had accompanied Hermione mentioned something negative about Viktor was washed away by the memory that Viktor had been the one to have her in his arms that night. Viktor was the one who got to twirl her around and make her smile. Meanwhile, he'd been the one to ruin her evening. He'd been the one bellowing at her after the ball.

Hermione finished the last of her apple, and left his side to place it in the wastebin. He missed her for the few moments she was gone. If possible, she pressed herself closer against him upon her return. The warmth of her leg flooded his own. She smiled up at him, leaving him momentarily speechless.

The logs moved in the fireplace, snapping her gaze to look at them. Then she shook her head, seeming to come back to herself.

'Did I miss anything important in Charms?'

'No,' Harry answered quickly. Hermione nodded.

Ron took the opportunity to dive back into his bag. He took out a wad of crumpled parchment as he came back up. Trying his best to smooth it out, he handed it to Hermione.

'Flitwick said that it wasn't likely that this would come up on the exam, but I tried to take good notes just in case.'

She took the parchment, and looked at him in surprise.

'You took notes?' Ginny asked, looking up from the Muggle Studies textbook she'd earlier abandoned.

'Yes,' Ron snapped, annoyance towards his sister always close to the surface. 'I do try sometimes.'

Hermione scanned through the notes, her cheeks flushed. 'This is wonderful. Thank you so much, Ron.'

He felt his cheeks match hers. 'Course,' he muttered. 'Least I could do after all the times you let us see yours.'

'Yeah, speaking of,' Harry cut in. 'Do you mind if I borrow your Defense notes before I hand in this assignment? Last thing I need is to give Snape more fuel to hate me.'

Hermione pursed her lips, leaving Ron sure that she was holding in a retort. Instead she took a deep breath.

'Or I can look it over when you're finished.'

'Cheers,' Harry told her, diving back towards his parchment. Ginny flicked him an affectionate look.

Hermione returned to looking through the notes, reading more slowly this time. The fact that she was taking the time to look through them, that she didn't think they were worthless meant a great deal to him. He had been able to help her. Even if it was only a little bit.

A small curl had escaped the confines of the bun she'd created, resting against the nape of her neck. He became entranced with it. It nestled against her skin, tightly coiled, but looking so soft and utterly touchable. The urge to wind it around his finger coursed through him. He'd managed to move his hand from his thigh when she seemed to feel his gaze on her.

'What are you working on?' she asked, all chocolatey eyes in her pale face.

'Er…the Snape assignment,' he answered, hoping he hadn't been obvious in his staring. Her eyes darted to the parchment on the table in front of him.

'Seems like you're nearly done.' Ron nodded at her statement. It was amazing how much work he'd gotten ahead of as he tried his best to avoid Hermione. She looked back at him. 'Do you want me to look it over?'

'You don't have to-' began Ron, but she'd already snatched it up from the table and leaned back into the cushions. Seeing her deep in thought, he pulled out his Transfiguration book to stop himself from staring further.

They fell into an easy silence. The flicking of a page or the scratching of a quill were the only sounds that surrounded them. Ron ended up concentrating harder on the book than he'd planned, getting engrossed in a chapter about human transformation. When the sound of parchment slipping to the floor startled him, he looked to his side to see Hermione fast asleep once more.

'She's out?' Harry asked, raising his voice just above a whisper. 'She must not be feeling great.'

Ginny frowned. She folded the textbook into her lap, watching Hermione. 'Maybe I should take her back up to the dorm.'

'No,' Ron cut in quickly. 'She's fine. Let her sleep.' Truth was, he'd rather have her exactly was she was. Right where he could keep an eye on her. Right where he could be sure that nothing could harm her. The protective instincts he had for her, normally shoved as far down as he could manage, were back in full force. With a quick non-verbal spell, he returned the parchment to the table. She'd gone through most of his assignment, so he leaned forward to make the corrections she'd suggested.

Most occupants of the Common Room began to head up to bed. Soon they were left relatively alone. Ron finished the last edit she'd made, and leaned back with his textbook. He tried his best not to jostle her, but it didn't seem to matter. As his back hit the cushions, Hermione shuffled in her sleep, dropping her head against his shoulder.

She was sleeping on him.

The thought zoomed like a Snitch through the pitch of his brain. It was pure happenstance, because she easily could have gone the other way, but no, here she was, against him. Using him as a pillow. The rich chestnut of her fragrant curls burnished against the maroon of his sweater. Her eyelashes swept across her cheeks. There was the slightest sound as she breathed, and Ron tried his best to commit it to memory.

He moved his arm from where it was holding the book, slowly reaching around to wrap it around her shoulders. She sniffed, making him hold his breath. For a moment he waited for her eyes to open, to take in her surroundings and move swiftly away. After a beat she settled back down, and slumbered on. With a deep breath of his own, he rested his hand gently on her arm, tucking her against him.

Harry continued to scratch at his essay, but Ginny had followed Ron's actions with her eyes. Despite his own euphoria at having her there, Ginny was frowning at the situation.

Ron wanted to ask her what she was frowning about, but thought better of it. Last thing he wanted to do was disturb Hermione.

They stayed like that for what seemed like ages. Long enough for Ron's arm to go numb. Long enough for Harry to have finished his essay. He put his quill down and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.

'Man I hate that git.'

'We all do,' Ginny agreed, understanding that Harry meant Snape. Harry looked over at Ron and the sleeping Hermione. His face seemed to soften a little.

'Guess there goes her plan of reading my assignment.'

'You can look at mine.' Ron gestured towards the parchment on the table, being careful not to speak too loudly. Harry acknowledged this with a raise of his eyebrows and snatched it. Ron smiled at him, noticing as he did that Ginny was still frowning.

'What?' he mouthed at her.

She shook her head, returning to her book. Ron was left confused. Well confused, but suffused with warmth. Godric she felt like a lantern against him. Or a jar of her bluebell flames, the ones she managed to conjure so easily. Her breath came as steady as the magic she consistently produced. Seeing her still was unusual in and of itself. The peace in her slack face was different. More vulnerable. His heartstrings tugged.

He wished Colin was around. Anything to have a picture of this moment. If something happened to either of them, he wanted it known that for one evening, Hermione surrendered to slumber against him. A memento of how comfortable she felt around him.

A strange stinging came from behind his eyes. With a frown, he realized that the idea of something happening to either of them wasn't far off. He glanced over at Harry, face scrunched as he scratched out a few lines on his parchment, consulting Ron's as he did. Knowing that a sacrifice might be necessary was part of their friendship. Harry mattered most. Ron would be lying if he didn't sometimes think about how often the sidekick died in the stories he'd read. Didn't want to consider the number of times he'd already put his life on the line for Harry. Or godric forbid, Hermione.

He hadn't noticed his arm tighten around her until she shuffled once more. Sucking in a breath, he sent up a silent prayer that she wouldn't wake up quite yet. It was answered. She tucked an arm further against her cheek, pressing against him. He breathed once more, grateful to have a few more moments with her.

Pretending to be engrossed once more in his textbook, he watched her sleeping form. Tried to memorize the firelight against her skin. Felt the press of every pad of her fingers against his jumper. Merlin's pants, he fancied her like mad. Mad enough that it felt like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin. He had to tell her. If Terry's earlier conversation had been anything to go by, that git certainly wasn't waiting for an opportunity to try and take her for himself. No reason Ron couldn't do the same. It had been…he did some quick maths in his head, nearly a month since the dust up with Lavender. Surely that was enough time. Better to get ahead of it. Especially if Fletcher were to let something slip.

Feeling both nervous and hopeful, Ron decided he'd say something when she woke up. Provided both Harry and Ginny were no longer in earshot. But she was comfortable here, so that had to mean something.

The feeling stayed over the next few minutes. Harry finally threw down his quill.

'Right, that's as much as I care to finish on that piece of shite.'

Ginny smiled at him from over the pages of her book.

'Not too far off then?' Ron asked. Harry shook his head.

'Couple of footnote changes and edits. Think I'm gonna go up to bed.' Harry looked back to see Hermione still sound asleep against Ron. 'You need any help?'

It was Ron's turn to shake his head.

'Nah, I'm sure she'll be up soon enough.'

Harry departed with a wave, pausing to kiss Ginny before making his way up the stairs.

One down. With any luck, tomorrow Ron could be kissing Hermione before heading up to bed. The thought made him squirm a little on the couch.

'Be careful.'

Ron looked over to see Ginny trying to hold his gaze. The book was shut, folded in her lap. Her hair was in front of her now, eyes alight with something he couldn't understand.

'What?' he asked her quietly.

'Hermione,' she replied. 'Don't try anything right now.'

Ron swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. Had his sister become psychic? Or…

'Did McGonagall tell you?' he blurted, the words escaping like a bad belch. Ginny's face changed, took on one of confusion.

'Why would McGonagall tell me something?'

'No reason.'

'Obviously there's a reason,' Ginny scoffed, tucking an offending piece of hair behind her ear with a huff. 'Otherwise you wouldn't be so defensive right now.'

'I'm not defensive,' Ron countered.

'Yes you are.'

'What did you mean, don't try anything then?'

Ginny looked at her hands before looking back at him.

'She's…she's going through a tough time. She needs her friends.'

There was an unfortunate emphasis on the word friends. One that reiterated to Ron that perhaps Gin did possess some intuitive instincts. The sentence on the whole was disturbing though.

'What kind of rough time?'

'Not my place to tell.' Ginny's response was quick, sharp.

'Bollocks,' Ron hissed. 'She's my friend too. What's going on?'

'It's her business,' Ginny continued, cheeks turning red. 'She'll tell you if she's ready.'

Anger rose in him. A familiar feeling of being secondary. Hermione had gone to Ginny. Not to him. With something that had turned his sister's normally jovial face drawn. Why? What was going on?

'Don't you go pressing her for it either,' she hissed, suddenly resembling their mother.

'Wasn't gonna,' Ron snapped. Though in fact he was planning on doing just that.

'Good. Give her space, but keep an eye on her, okay?'

'That's two different directives,' Ron pointed out. Ginny rolled her eyes.

'Fine. Make sure she's okay, deal?'

'That's always the deal.' Ron was surprised by the gruffness of his tone. Her eyes flicked to Hermione's head, still nestled against his shoulder.

'Good,' she murmured. 'I'm going to go to bed. Do you want me to wake her?'

Ron shook his head. He'd stay here all night with Hermione if he had to do so. Anything to keep her this calm.

Ginny got up and stretched, arms reaching over her head. She yawned widely, before reaching over to smack him on the arm.

'Get some sleep yourself.'

Ron snorted through his nose. He watched her walk up the girls staircase, back straight, not looking back. All too soon, she was gone.

Just the two of them now.

He pressed his face closer to her curls, breathing in their fragrance. She shifted against him once more. It took most of his resistance not to pull her closer to him this time. Good thing he didn't, because her eyelids fluttered for a moment before they opened. Her mouth made a small oh shape before she lifted her head. Then her whole body seemed to stiffen.

'I fell asleep?' Her voice was hoarse. He could feel it deep inside himself.

'Er, yeah.'

'On you?'

'Not right away.'

'Not right away…'she repeated incredulously before shaking his arm off and sitting up on the couch. 'How long was I out for?'

She glanced around the room, eyes taking in the lack of people. Ginny and Harry's absence. How closely they were sitting.

Mottled red flushed in her cheeks.

'It's alright, Hermione,' Ron said, all his earlier hope vanishing at the sight of her embarrassment. 'You're allowed to sleep.'

She pressed a shaking hand to her mouth, looking at him.

'Not on you!' she whispered through her fingers. Ron felt his ears burn in the growing darkness.

'I didn't mind.'

Her hand dropped from her mouth, revealing open lips. Those chocolate eyes began to search him, looking for any sign of lies.

'It couldn't have been comfortable.'

'You certainly seemed to be,' Ron shot back, regretting the words as soon as they'd left his mouth. More colour flooded her face. The longer he looked at her, the more he could see the faint imprint of his knitted jumper against her skin.

'I'm sorry,' she murmured, tearing her gaze away.

'No, I am,' Ron was quick to interject. 'I really didn't mind you there, Hermione. In fact,' he swallowed hard. 'I dunno, I guess I was happy you could.'

'Could sleep against you?' She clarified.

Ron nodded. 'To get some rest.'

Hermione huffed. 'Yes, well.'

He watched her for a moment. She gazed out at the fire, now down to its embers. It threw them into a dim light.

'I did rest,' she agreed, and Ron did his best not to stare at her lips as they moved. 'So thank you.'

'Anytime.'

Her head flipped back to his, a small smile on her lips.

'You really mean that, don't you?'

Ron froze. Ginny's warning played in his ear. Hermione seemed content now. He wanted to keep her content. Maybe now wasn't the best time to tell her how he felt. Something as important as this? Best not to muck it up.

'Of course,' he said, swallowing a lump of remorse deep into his chest. 'What else are friends for?'

Was he imagining it, or had she looked a little put out by his statement?