Chapter Twenty Two
Even when she came around again, Hermione knew that she was still sleeping. Dreaming, but still asleep. She couldn't see anything, her "eyes" were closed, but she didn't want to. She wanted to stay asleep forever, never wake up, just so long as Ron didn't have to leave.
She finally sighed and opened her eyes. Her body was in the bed across the room, lying across Ron's chest, the covers down around both their waists. Ron had his arms around her waist, and she had one hand on his shoulder, the other curled up underneath her. Hermione stared for a moment- it was decidedly odd to see yourself in front of you- and realized that she could vaguely feel Ron's arms around her, and his skin against her face and hands.
Ron stirred and opened his eyes. He just stared at Hermione for a moment, then reached up and smoothed her hair. She could feel that, too, even from her post beside the window. She ached to walk over and touch him, or to wake up, but she couldn't do either. She just watched as Ron ran his hand down her neck to her back, finally letting it rest between her shoulder blades. He wrapped his arm around her waist again, and held her tightly, face against her hair.
Hermione screamed at herself to wake up, but no sound came from her. Her body twitched slightly, though, and squirmed fitfully in Ron's arms. He noticed, and stroked her hair again, whispering comfortingly in her ear. It calmed her, even from across the room.
Ron finally looked away from her after some time, and picked up his watch from the small table beside the bed. Hermione could just barely read it from where she was standing. Nine thirty. Ron swore quietly and replaced it. He cautiously eased her off his chest, careful not to wake her, and lay her gently down beside him. He stared at her for a moment, then sighed, pulled back the covers, and got out of bed.
He walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room, and took out a quill and a sheet of paper. She watched silently as he wrote enough to fill the page, then returned the quill in the drawer. He reached into his back pocket and pulled something out- she couldn't tell what it was- and placed it on top of the paper.
Hermione watched as he got up from the desk, and her eyes followed him along the wall until he went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. She heard the shower start, and looked back at the window. It was grey and dismal outside, and the snow was still coming down heavily. She watched it fall, silent.
The sound of the shower stopped, and shortly afterwards, Ron emerged from the bathroom, wearing a pair of white boxer shorts, and his red hair darkened and dripping from the water. He pulled a pair of white pants and a plain white tee shirt out of a bag beside the bed. He pulled the pants on, then walked over to stand in front of the mirror, and stared at his reflection. Hermione longed desperately to go and stand beside him, to put a hand on his shoulder- anything.
Her body stirred in the bed, and Ron looked over at her. He closed his eyes, then pulled the shirt on, and walked over to where she lay and sat down beside her. he reached out and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, smoothing her hair out of her face.
He finally stood up and walked back to the desk. He picked up the paper with the token on it, and crumpled it up in his fist. Replacing it on the desk, he walked back over to the bed and just stood over her, watching her sleep. He reached down and smoothed the covers over her body.
There was a knock at the door, and Hermione looked sharply at the clock above the fireplace. It was ten o'clock. Dammit! She screamed at herself to wake up, to wake up and get out of bed and scream and fight until they agreed not to take him. But all she got was a tiny twitch of the hand.
Ron opened the door, and three men in Ministry uniforms stepped into the room. Two of them looked unpleasant. They scowled at Ron- he scowled right back- and eyed her form in the bed suspiciously. Ron glared at them, and pulled back the covers from her body to reveal that she was indeed dressed. They simply grunted and went back to their whispered conversation.
The third man- a boy really, he couldn't have been more than nineteen- approached Ron cautiously. That must be the intern that Ron had told her about last night before they went to sleep. Jeffery, his name was. He walked up beside Ron, and gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"That your girlfriend?" Jeffery asked quietly.
Ron sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah," he replied.
Jeffery was silent for a moment. "She's beautiful," he said finally.
Ron opened his eyes again, and stared at her. "Yeah," he said again.
"All that you have to leave behind, huh?" Ron nodded. Jeffery sighed and squeezed his shoulder. "I wish there was some way around this, man," he whispered. "Some way to make this work for you. I'm sorry."
Ron pulled away from him and walked over to the desk, picking up the crumpled note, then returned to the bed. He gently pried one of Hermione's hands open, placed the note inside, and closed her fingers around it again. He squatted beside her, took her hand between his, and kissed it. Wake up, she screamed at her self. For God's sake, wake up! It was no use. He stood up and walked over to the door. One of the men took his bag, jerking his head at Jeffery, who followed him out the door. The other roughly took Ron's arm.
Hermione blanched. This was the dream, the same dream that had haunted her sleep for two years. She watched, helpless. Ron's face was pale and set, and the man started to lead him out the door.
Ron! she tried to scream, but… He turned. He looked over his shoulder, and stared right at the spot where she was standing. Something of a frown crossed his face, as thought he could actually see her standing there, an he opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and turned back around as the man yanked his arm. He looked ahead of him once again, and kept on walking. The sound of the door clicking shut echoed in her ears…
Her eyes snapped open, just as they always did when the door closed. But this time, it was real.
'