A/N: Only J.K. Rowling owns these characters. Not me. I only pretend. .
Hiding
By BostonSox-Fan
Chapter One: Things Have Changed
Hermione awoke with tears in her eyes, sobs racking her tiny body. She wasn't surprised when Ron plopped down onto her bed, slipped his arms around her, and pulled her into a comforting hug. It had become somewhat of a routine for the pair over the last month; Hermione would wake up in tears, and Ron (who hadn't been able to sleep since that horrible day) would get up to comfort her.
It wasn't even surprising that he was in her room night after night; it had just become the norm. No one dared to challenge his actions, not since that night. They were inseparable since that night.
After a few more minutes of her sobs, Hermione calmed down enough to chance a look up at Ron, whose face looked incredibly sad. His eyes seemed to have lost their normal playful twinkle, and had become a rather dim-looking blue. He did, however, have enough presence of mind to reach down and wipe some of Hermione's tears, whispering some, "it's alright"'s and some "we'll be fine"'s. But no matter how many times he whispered those words to Hermione, he never truly felt them.
He laid her back down into a comfortable position, tucked her in, and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. She allowed her eyes to close, and she drifted back into her dreams, which were now, thankfully, blank. Ron padded back to the chair in the corner of Hermione's room, sitting down and staring out the window at the cloudless night. The moon was full, which explained the distant-sounding whimpers which signaled Lupin had taken his potion and was now safely tucked away in the attic.
With the exception of a few cat-naps every now and again, Ron had been completely unable to sleep. Not with the dreams that had haunted him. Taking in a shaky breath, Ron pushed the horrid memories from his thoughts and instead focused in on the now-sleeping Hermione. She looked beautiful as she slept, despite the breakdown she had had only minutes earlier.
At least she can sleep, Ron thought somewhat bitterly. She did everything in her power to stop it. She has the right to sleep. I, on the other hand…
Ron's thoughts trailed off, his eyes dropping to his worn shoes. He wasn't going to think about it anymore. He had already decided that he could never forgive himself, but there was no reason to go on about it.
The door to Hermione's room opened with a creak, causing Ron to leap to his feet and lift his wand in one fluid motion. He had become rather deft at handling his wand and moving silently after he, Harry, and Hermione had left Hogwarts after their sixth year to search for horcruxes and hunt down Voldemort.
"Calm down, Ron," said a rather nervous sounding Ginny. "I just wanted to see if you two were alright. There's no need to get all crazy on me." Even as she spoke, Ron could tell that she had been crying for a considerable amount of time. Her eyes were puffy, her face still somewhat flushed, and her voice sounded congested. "Well… I'll just leave you alone, then." She backed from the doorway, and left Ron with his eyes narrowed and wand still pointed towards the door.
Ron lowered his wand a few moments after Ginny had left, the permanent frown that seemed to be ingrained on his lips only deepening. Ginny was someone else who wasn't the same after the night.
Poor Ginny, thought Ron. She must be taking it harder than all of us. I wonder how she's able to still be so sarcastic after that night. Doesn't she realize things will never be the same?
Dropping back down into his chair, he allowed his hands to knot in his flame-red hair, tears starting to well up in his eyes. Things would never be the same. It finally hit him, and hit him hard. His shoulders slumped, and his body began to shake with sobs that he could barely contain. No, things would never be the same. Not since the night Harry died facing Voldemort.