Hermione listened as Lavender left the room, she counted the minutes ticking buy on her watch as it flashed in the moonlight that drifted through the gap in the drapes.

After twenty long minuets, Lavender sneaked quietly, back in to the room followed closely by Parvati, the two of them talking in hushed voices.

"I can't believe that they wouldn't let you in to see him." said Parvati in a low voice.

"I don't believe that they let her see him and not me."

Hermione knew that Lavender was looking at Hermione's bed as she said it.

Hermione didn't care she had been thinking in the time she had been lying in the darkness of the room.

No one had been shocked when Ron had called out for her, not one person around that bed had even questioned why it had been Hermione he had called out to from his subconscious state.

Had they not made out the name in the mumble? On the other hand, was it just a coincidence that he had called out for her after she had spoken?

Whatever way you looked at it, Ron knew her voice so well that even when she did not sound like herself he knew it was her.

That thought, and that thought alone made her survive the constant criticism that she struggled to block out for the next three hours as Lavender and Parvati talked about her forgetting all pretence of keeping their voices intimate, Hermione being able to hear every word.

Finally the exchanges became quieter until Hermione was quiet sure that the two other girls were asleep.

She gently pulled the curtains, moonlight flooded the darkness, and she blinked gently looking out in to the grounds.

In the distance the darkness of the forest was broken up by the moonlight dancing on the upper branches of the trees, they stretched down to the lake that reflected the now cloudless star flecked sky, almost like a giant mirror. The dock was light with the same eerie glow that it had shone with ever since the giant ship had been tethered there in her forth year. She remembered sitting here watching it sway gently in the wind as she had deliberated taking Victor up on his offer. Her eyes followed the flickering lights along the bank and in to the underground entrance.

Hermione knew that the Slytherin's resided in halls built deep beneath the lake, she had often wondered if this was where the fabled halls of many a dark wizard was built. The foundations of the docks lead far under the lake to the south of the castle.

The low moon that reflected in the lower windows of the south towers, lights flickered in the defence against the dark arts corridor. What was Snape doing in his corridors this late at night?

She watched as one by one the lights faded out, window by window.

A light appeared in the courtyard, it reflected on the cobblestones under the large clock, behind that lay the hospital wing, high in the central turret of the castle.

Hermione had often sat at the window and watched the residents of the castle; from here, she could see almost everything about the academic halls of Hogwarts.

From the high windows of the Gryffindor tower, Hermione could see everything that the school meant to her, the Library, the classrooms. She had often noticed that the boy's dormitory looked out over the mountains the forest and the Quidditch pitch. She felt that sometimes the founders paid a little too much attention to detail.

Her eyes had rested upon the light that flickered in the hospital wing. Hermione had often wondered why the founders chose to put the hospital wing where it was, but it was glaringly obvious as she sat here worrying about Ron, staring out over the once impenetrable fortress of the school grounds.

The hospital, much like the great hall would be visible from not only the tall windows of Gryffindor tower in the west, but also the southern ground level windows of Slytherin's dungeons, the Ravenclaw tower to the north and the Hufflepuff chambers to the east.

No matter which house you would always be able to see the heart of the school.

Now as Hermione sat there looking at the light that flickered in the arched window by the bed where she knew Ron lay she knew she would be eternally grateful for the founder's belief in old magic.

She watched as the light that had crossed the courtyard returned accompanied by others.

The Weasley's were evidently heading back to Hogsmead; she hadn't heard Ginny return to bed. Had she gone with her parents and older brothers?

Did that mean that Ron was alone in the hospital wing?

What if Ron woke up when there was no one there?

Hermione felt her feet moving of their own free will, she quietly let herself out of the room and headed down to the common room.

The room was empty.

Now she was there she wasn't sure what she should do now.

In her ideal world, she would go to the hospital wing, but that would involve her breaking about a hundred school rules.

Throwing caution to the wind, she crept quietly up the stairs to the boys dormitories.

She counted of the doors as she past finally stopping outside the top floor dormitories wooden door.

Two rules broken, what's a few more she thought, opening the door a crack.

The curtains were pulled tight around the three beds to her right, Neville's snores floated on the air, the perfect cover for Hermione's carefully timed steps across the old stone floor.

Harry stirred in his sleep the pillow pulled over his head.

Hermione reached his bed and was about to reach in to his open trunk when something that Harry had said to her once found its way to her mind. She turned to Ron's empty bed and gently reached under the mattress.

She felt the silky touch of the thing she was looking for.

Dean snorted in his sleep and Hermione nervously checked to see if it had woken Harry or not.

He stirred knocking the pillow from his head and on to the floor, but he did not wake.

Hermione gently pulled the invisibility cloak out from under the scarlet bed sheets.

She pulled it around her just in time.

Two seconds later Dean snorted again this time Harry did wake. He stared blinking in the dark.

Hermione held her breath.

It wasn't as if Harry would mind her borrowing the cloak, it was more the case that Hermione felt slightly foolish.

How would she explain to Harry that although she hadn't spoken to Ron for months she was willing to risk expulsion to stay by his side?

She was spared the time and effort of thinking of an excuse as Harry rolled back over and fell asleep.

Taking care not to disturb the boys any further, she left the room quietly, avoiding the creaky step by the door.

She made her way silently across the common room, stopping only to pull one of the throws over Ginny who had evidently returned to the tower whilst Hermione had been up in the boy's dorm.

Hermione silently exited the portrait hole, being careful where she walked on her way to the hospital wing, she knew where all the hidden passageways were and where to avoid at this time of night, from the nights spent on prefect duty.

She had a near run in with Peeves who was hovering near the base of Gryffindor tower, evidently trying to get a house elf to climb in to a suit of armour, Hermione would love to scare him but she couldn't afford to get caught out of bed.

She walked across the moonlight entrance hall and across the courtyard to the hospital wing, the reflection on the cobblestone lighting her way.

She pushed open the door to the wing gently. The light in the Matrons room flickered gently, the door ajar.

Hermione quietly whispered 'Muffalo' and proceeded towards the curtained bed where Ron lay.

She slid effortlessly between the curtains and in to the large leather chair at the top of Ron's bed.

She looked down at him he was stirring in his sleep, his head slid from side to side on his pillow.

Hermione reached out gently and stroked his face.

Speaking in a low voice, she whispered "Its ok Ron I'm here."

His head rested against her hand, she sighed.

What was he dreaming? Were they the residual effects if the poison that ran through his veins?

She sat with him waiting for some sort of sign that he knew that she was there. However, nothing happened, apart from the calmness that reflected upon his face at Hermione's hand layered upon his own.

It was calming for Hermione, who for the first time felt tiered.

She pulled the invisibility cloak around her tightly resting her head on the side of Ron's bed.

Five minuets of sleep wouldn't hurt her.

"Hermione?"

She felt herself being shook gently by someone.

She had been having an amazing dream, she and Ron were friends again, and maybe a little more than that. He was kissing her with all the passion that he had kissed her with that first time.

She bit on her bottom lip as she raised her head from her arms. Ron was still lying there peacefully; her hand was still wrapped in tightly with his.

"Does Harry know you have his cloak?" Ginny said quietly taking the cloak that had fallen from Hermione's shoulders and folding it carefully.

Hermione looked at the red head next to her. She shook her head.

"You're lucky it was me that found you and not a teacher, you would have been in so much trouble." Ginny smiled slightly.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Six am." Ginny said apologetically.

"I didn't know you knew what six am looked like?" said Hermione sarcastically.

Ginny shrugged.

"Yeah well the chair in the common room wasn't that comfortable. Even with a blanket. Thanks by the way." said Ginny. Hermione shrugged. "Have you been here all night?"

Hermione looked away and down at Ron.

"I saw your parents leave, then I…"

"She wouldn't let us stay." said Ginny nodding at the Matrons door.

"I figured."

The two girls looked at each other not entirely sure what to say.

"Hermione, be honest with me, I mean we are friends right?" said Ginny playing with the fabric in her hands, if flowed from palm to palm like water.

"Yeah were friends."

"What's going on with you and my brother?" she asked quietly.

Hermione looked down at Ron's hand in her own.
"He's my friend." Hermione said but she knew how lame it sounded.

"Something's happened between the two of you, something more than this." Ginny said looking at Ron, his head rolled to the side again.

"Maybe it is, but I don't think …"

Hermione looked away.

"What is it Hermione I swear to Merlin I won't tell anyone, I mean you have been acting so strange for the last few days, I mean you went from happy Hermione to manic depressive in less time than it takes Harry to catch a snitch, something must have happened?"

Hermione sighed she couldn't stand keeping it to herself any longer.

"You promise me you won't tell a soul? Not even Harry, in fact Harry should be the last person you tell if you felt like divulging the information." she gave Ginny a warning look.

"Yes of course I promise, you would think I was Fred or something the way you go on."

Hermione stroked Ron's hand with her thumb.

"Ron kissed me, the other night…"

Ginny did an audible squeaking noise.

"But he's with Lavender, its wrong…" Hermione said watching as Ginny beamed at her.

"No it's not, I can't think of anything less wrong ever….well maybe Malfoy and the giant squid."

"But Ginny, I can't be with him."

"Who says? Can I bunk Lavender off? I mean if she fell from Trelawney's tower who's to say it's not because she read it in one of her stupid teacups?"

Hermione laughed gently.

"I suppose you could put it down to… what was it? Very little aura, that would be devastating."

"I can see Rita's headline now, 'Tragic death of girl who saw a grim instead of a sheep'." said Ginny trying to suppress the giggle forming.

"We shouldn't laugh." said Hermione squeezing Ron's hand a little tighter as his grip had just intensified in her own.

"Yes we should, I mean she has to be delusional, I mean who in their right mind would like my brother? Well apart from you, but I blame that on the lack of space left in your brain from all the books you read."

Hermione smiled.

"So what did he do after he….you know?"

Hermione was about to answer when the door opened.

Lavender stood there, Hermione sighed. Ginny shoved the invisibility cloak up her jumper.

"I should have guessed that you would be here." Lavender said walking towards the bed. Hermione pulled her hand from Ron's.

"Yeah well were just going." said Ginny jumping to her feet and squeezing Ron's hand.

Hermione took one last look at Ron before Ginny linked her arm in hers and dragged her out of the ward.

"Ohhhhh Won-Won."

Ginny did a gagging motion casting a disdainful look back over her shoulder.

"Ron won't put up with that much longer." said Ginny looking around at Hermione.

"Want to bet? I mean, how many years have I been telling him what to do? He won't dump her. He's too weak."

Hermione sighed. She would just have to wait this one out.

Again thank you for the reviews they mean the world to me they honestly do.

Ok I'm thinking two/three more chapters till the end of this story then I'm going to start a new one, this is my question to you… do I do an O/C-trio story that I have been working on, or a Trio post final battle story that I have also been working on? I value your opinion because I cannot decide which to work on first. I definitely can't be running more than two stories on here at once, it would kill me on top of my Good Charlotte fics, so I'll run with whichever gets the most votes by the time I've posted the last chapter of this .