Um...Hey guys! Long time no see! I apologise for the slow update, but as i said on my profile (if people bother to read it) that i was in the middle of important exams. Seriously those exams were killer! At least 3 hours long! So yeah...not fun. Also i had other arrangements like my cousin's wedding which brought me down to Somerset fora few days.

Also you may have noticed that i have changed my penname. When i first joined this website i couldn't think of a decent penname so i just used what i had. I changed it slightly but you can still recognise it as me! Sorry for any confusion.

And also sorry to my beta-reader, Milo77! I know i said i would like you to beta-read this chapter for me, but i really didn't want to make people wait any longer. I hope you understand.

But! To make it up to all ofyou i slaved long and hard over this chapter...about 9 to 10 pages on Microsoft Word!

So here it is! Chapter four of "What If" ready for you to read and review!

Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter...Although i wish i did.

Chapter four

Ron came home with a tried expression on his face. He was exhausted from looking through piles upon piles of various files that seemed to just appear out of nowhere. He had to look through in immense detail of recent and even past attacks to get a better understanding on what he and Harry will be facing.

Ron was aggravated with having to search through files to know how the Death Eaters attack. He knew very well how they worked, and knew from experience, exactly how they brought about the merciless pain upon their victims. He needn't be told about how they work.

He briefly glanced at the sofa, and noticed that Hermione was sleeping with a book spread open lying across her chest. He smiled lightly, knowing that Hermione must have waited for him. He walked slowly over to her sleeping form and brushed the lock of hair that spread across her face. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and as he pulled away Hermione's eyes slowly fluttered open. She greeted him with a light smile before she let out a large yawn. She sat up and motioned Ron to join her on the sofa.

"So what took you so long?" Hermione asked with a tired expression as she snuggled against Ron's chest.

Ron let out a tired sigh "They wanted Harry and I to look through all the files of past and present Death Eater victims that are muggle born females. Apparently they wanted us to research before we go out onto the field and make stupid mistakes" Ron explained with a slightly annoyed tone.

Hermione moved around, getting herself into a comfortable position before replying.

"Well it makes sense really if you think about it. You and especially Harry were a major part of the last war against…V-Voldermort that you may think you know how the Death Eater's work, and because of that you might be putting a lot more people at risk" She explained finishing with a yawn.

Ron sighed, "I suppose it does make sense" He said, stroking Hermione's hair and tucking it behind her ear out of her eyes. "You didn't have to wait up for me you know"

"I know, but I did anyway" She managed with one last yawn before she fell asleep on Ron's chest. Ron smiled as he saw his girlfriend sleeping peacefully; he saw the slight smile that spread across her face and knowing that she was happy and knowing that made him smile.

He remembered the day that they confessed their feelings towards each other. It was, for Ron, like a kick up the backside when he confessed his feelings towards a certain brunette girl.

The air was crisp even though it was the middle of summer. The sky was a murky grey, which matched the setting and mood perfectly. Death was scattered all over the grounds of Hogwarts castle and the final battle was drawing to a devastating end. So many good lives were lost in the fight to destroy and take down one of the most feared and cruellest Dark Lord in history. Lord Voldermort would soon be merely remembered by all wizards as being brought to a final and permanent end by the one known as the boy-who-lived.

Rain began to fall from the sky as the people who were fighting began to realise that the war had in fact ended. Remaining Death Eaters, for the first time had a look of panic spread across their pale faces knowing that their Lord, the one that they have followed for countless years was in fact dead. Several of them escaped without being caught, but a few were caught with stunning spells before they got the chance. They were immediately sent to Azkaban without trial.

Harry had been rendered unconscious since the final battle used up most of what energy he had. He collapsed just as Voldermort was destroyed, only leaving behind what was left of his already decomposing body.

Ron slowly sat up and rubbed his head, he been knocked out just before Voldermort was brought to an end. A curse, unknown to him had hit him in the chest. This caused him to fall back and hit his head on the hard ground and fall into a state of unconsciousness. He coughed from lack of breath as he regained his composure and stood up slowly, being careful not to over strain himself. He noticed that everything was still, and as he took a good look of his surroundings saw that there were several dead bodies sprawled across the grounds. The smell of their decomposing bodies and the smell of fresh and dried up blood made him feel quite sick and light-headed.

He took in several deep breaths, letting the rain fall onto his bruised skin. The rain felt cool on his cuts and bruises but as he looked behind him he saw one of his best friends lying on the ground. Panic arose inside of him as he ran as fast as he could to his friend. He knelt beside his best friend and turned them over to check if they were still alive. He felt a pulse and sighed in relief.

"Harry! Harry! Wake up mate!" Ron said with panic in his voice as he desperately tried to wake his friend.

"Harry! Blimey Harry wake up! Merlin please wake up!" He said again but this time with more volume. Fears for his best friend's health were rushing through his mind as every second went by.

All those thoughts and fears however vanished when he heard Harry let out a slight moan. Ron's eyes widened and he smiled at his victorious friend.

"You did it Harry, you defeated that bastard"

Harry just simply nodded and placed his hand against his forehead feeling for his lightening bolt scar. He couldn't feel anything, only a faint line where the red mark originally was.

He looked around at the dead bodies in the field and then looked at Ron. He saw his best friend with a look of relief but couldn't help but wonder where his other best friend, Hermione was.

"Ron. Where is Hermione?" Harry asked with a worried voice

Ron immediately paled and the relieved look on his face disappeared and changed to a fearful look. He was so wrapped up with Harry being alive that he had forgotten that Hermione may be still out there.

"Harry, I don't know! I really don't know!" Ron said with a panicky voice, he immediately stood up and desperately looked around for any sight of his friend.

Harry stood up beside him and placed his hand on Ron's shoulder as he continued to scan the surrounding areas for Hermione.

"Ron, we will find her" Harry reassured, although there was some uncertainty in his voice.

Ron continued searching for Hermione in the pouring rain, regret now pouring inside of him. It was then when he realised that he truly loved Hermione and now he feared that it was too late to tell her. He cursed himself for those wasted years of arguing when they could have been together. He scolded himself for not telling her sooner, and tears weld up in his eyes at the thought that she would never know how he really felt about her.

He desperately wanted to find Hermione alive, but what with time moving on he feared that he may get to her too late. His heart was racing and he suddenly felt faint, but that wouldn't stop him from his heart's task of finding the one person he loved the most.

He wanted so much to be able to find her, to see her again but as each second passed more fears overwhelmed him of the fate of his Hermione. Tears started to fall from his eyes, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to see Hermione and know that she is ok.

As he turned a corner of the castle he came across one of the worst sights possible for him. Hermione was lying meters away from where Ron was standing. Ron's heart skipped a beat when he saw that she was not moving, the rain was dampening her skin and robes, washing away the blood that was coming from a cut that was on her forehead. He ran to her and placed her in his arms. His fears only worsened when he realised that she was cold, but realised that it must have been the dampness of her robes and hair plus the continuous rain that made her feel and look cold.

He felt desperately for her pulse, and when he felt the faint beat in her wrist he was relieved. He was glad that she wasn't dead, but the faintness of her pulse told him that she needed medical help soon. He guessed that she had lost quite a bit of blood since she had a big gash on her forehead, as well as other cuts and bruises on her arms. He noticed that there were several stains of blood on her robes from various attacks. He pulled her in and hugged her, trying to warm her up.

"Merlin Hermione! What did they do to you?" Ron said, as if expecting a response from her. When he realised that in fact she couldn't respond did he really panic.

"Hermione! Please! Wake up! Please! I need you, please wake up!" He sobbed as he begged and pleaded with her "'Mione, I don't want to loose you! I can't loose you! Please wake up, I need you to wake up! Please, 'Mione please. I can't believe it took me this long to say it, but I love you Hermione Jane Granger, and if you die now…No! You can't die! You just can't! You know why? Because I love you! I love you 'Mione!" He couldn't hold back the tears, he was crying desperately wanting so much for his one true love to wake up from all this mess.

"Ron..."

"…R-Ron..."

Ron looked at Hermione and found that she had awoken. Relief overjoyed him until he looked at her more closely. Her eyes were barely open and she looked really weak, possibly from the amount of blood she lost.

"Hermione! Are you ok? Where are you hurt?" Ron asked with panic in his voice.

"…Ron…I feel so weak," Hermione said in a barely audible voice.

Ron tried to hide the fear on his face, but he knew that despite how hard he tried he couldn't hide what he was feeling.

"No, Hermione you are strong! Just hang in there!" He reassured her with determination in his voice.

"I can't…Ron…I don't think I can... I'm not strong enough…" Hermione said with defeat in her quite voice.

Seeing Hermione like this broke his heart, hearing her admit defeat devastated him. He couldn't let her think like this, he couldn't let them win. He had to keep her alive; he had to make her believe that she is strong enough to make it, to survive.

"Hermione don't say that! Don't say that you're not strong enough because you are!" Ron said a little too firmly. "You will make it, I promise you! I will get you some help!"

With that he looked around for any sign of Harry. He was getting frustrated that he couldn't see any sign of his best friend anywhere.

"HARRY! HARRY WHERE ARE YOU? I NEED YOU!" Ron bellowed out for his friend. "HARRY! PLEASE COME! IT'S HERMIONE! SHE NEEDS HELP!" Ron choked out.

Harry, after hearing his name being called out ran towards Ron. He wasn't expecting to see Hermione barely conscious with gashes across her forehead and stains of blood all over her robes.

"Merlin! Hermione!" Harry said in shock as he ran to her side opposite Ron. He could see the tears in Ron's eyes and realised that she must be very weak and cold from the amount of blood she lost. He stood up quickly and turned to Ron as he passed.

"I am going to find help! Hermione needs medical attention now! Stay with her Ron" He said as he ran in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Like I'm going anywhere" Ron muttered as he watched his best friend find help for Hermione.

"Hermione?"

"…Yes?" She replied weakly.

"Are you still with me?" Ron asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"I…I…think so" Hermione replied with a struggle. Ron could see that time was vital, and if she didn't get help soon- he didn't want to think about what would happen.

"Good, stay with me please. Don't close your eyes, just keep talking, keep with me" Ron told Hermione, she just simply nodded and let out a small sob.

"Hermione?"

"…Yes Ron?" She asked with a struggle.

"Did you hear me talking to you? When you were unconscious?"

"…I-I don't think so…" Hermione replied with a little uncertainty.

Ron sighed with relief. He didn't want to reveal how he felt about Hermione like the way he did. He wanted to have it in a less dramatic scenario, where Hermione wasn't fighting for her life. He was however a little upset that she couldn't hear him, because a huge weight would have been lifted off from him.

"Don't worry if you didn't Hermione…It wasn't really that important…" Ron hated himself for saying this, but he didn't want to worry Hermione and put more strain on her. She had enough to deal with at this moment in time. He wanted her to concentrate on herself getting better and surviving.

"It sounded important…" Hermione said faintly.

Ron kissed her forehead, which caught Hermione by surprise. "Don't worry 'Mione, just concentrate on getting better"

"Oh…" Hermione said, she sounded disappointed. This broke Ron's heart more, as he really wanted to tell her how he felt, but he didn't want to put pressure on her.

"Ron…I need to tell you something…" Hermione said with a soft tone.

Ron looked at her, and he could see that tears were welding in her eyes.

"…But I don't want you to interrupt me…understand?" She said with a weak voice.

Ron simply nodded, allowing her to continue.

"…When I was fighting the Death Eaters…All I could think about was you. I kept thinking if I would see you again, or if the next time I will see you, you would be lying on the ground…Lifeless" The tears were escaping her eyes, Ron went to wipe them away carefully. "I…I kept thinking if I would ever see you again and whether I would get the chance to see your blue eyes…Or smile again…I was scared. I know I should have been concentrating more on the battle I was fighting, but I couldn't help it… I was scared that I wouldn't be able to tell you how I feel about you…How much you make me smile…How much you make me laugh. How happy I am when I am with you…How, every time I see you I have butterflies flapping around in my stomach. How whenever I see you talking to another girl, I feel rage, jealousy…fears that I might loose you. I feel so much when I am with you, and equally when I am away from you. I-I constantly think about you all the time, whether I am awake or asleep. The truth is Ron…I love you. I have loved you for a very long time."

Ron was left speechless. He didn't know what to say. For one thing he was glad that Hermione felt the same way he did, but worried that her speech was made because she thought that she wouldn't make it. He stared into her eyes and saw, by the sparkle in her eyes that she truly meant it.

"…Ron? Say something, please" Hermione begged. Tears were falling freely from her eyes as she waited for a response from the person she loved most.

Ron realised that she had been waiting a while for a reaction out of him. He mentally slapped himself. He didn't know what to say, he knew what he wanted to say, that wasn't the case but knowing how to say it was tricky.

"Ron! Please…Please" Hermione said through tears soaking her already damp face.

Ron smiled and pulled Hermione tighter in his grasp. He stroked her head soothingly and let tears that were filling up his eyes flow loosely down his face. "I love you too, 'Mione. Always have, always will"

He carefully moved Hermione back down so he could see her face. Although she still appeared very weak and faint, her face was lit up. She was smiling, knowing that her love has returned her feelings. She reached out and placed her hand on Ron's cheek. She motioned him towards her and leant in to kiss him, but was interrupted by Harry calling out to them.

"Ron! Hermione! I found help! Hermione, hang in there! You're going to be fine!" Harry called out as he ran towards them, closely followed by Remus, Tonks, Madame Pomfrey and Arthur Weasley. Ron felt relieved that Hermione was now getting the help that she needed and deserved.

Ron awoke to an owl pecking at his ear. He immediately waved it off, but instead it pecked his hand quite hard instead. He let out a cry of pain as the owl flew away, leaving a parchment on his lap. He looked at the owl and realised it was an owl from work. He sighed, the last thing he wanted was another attack on a female muggle-born. He hated that Hermione would be a potential target, but was relieved and a little bit surprised that the Death Eaters hadn't targeted her first.

He looked to his side and found Hermione still resting on his shoulder, apparently undisturbed by the owl that just caused a drop of blood out of his finger. He mentally cursed that owl, which has been the bearer of bad news since the whole attacks started.

He opened up the parchment to find that is was Kingsley's handwriting. He sighed, reading the headline on the top of the paper. 'Another female muggle-born found dead in her home in the South' Ron sighed, although these attacks seemed to be in random places, they all seemed to be getting closer to London each time. He feared for Hermione more than anyone else, since she was such a big part of the destruction of Voldermort, and a close friend of Harry Potter that it would be the perfect revenge if they got their hands on her.

He sighed as he read the bottom; he had to go to work. He seemed to be doing overtime at the office, but if that meant helping to track down the Death Eaters that were doing this before they reached Hermione, he would do it. He couldn't help but feel guilty that he wasn't spending as much time with Hermione as he would like, which made his job all the more hard.

He gently shook his girlfriend, trying to wake her up to let her know where he was going. To his relief she woke up without any problems.

"Ron…?" She asked whilst yawning.

He just smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "I have to go into work" His smile faded "There has been another attack"

Hermione shot up immediately "What?"

"There has been another attack, it seems like that it's every night" Ron said with a frown.

Hermione looked worried "Where was the attack? Do you know who it was?"

"I only know that the attack was down South somewhere, and I don't think they would give out that information by owl, since anyone might be able to tap into our mail and gather information" Ron explained.

"Makes sense, I suppose the ministry want to keep this as quite as possible, though I don't see why they have to hold back information" Hermione stated with a slightly annoyed tone.

"I know what you mean, but if these attacks are happening on a nightly basis, and the information was leaked to the press every time it happened then the Aurors will he heavily criticised that we aren't doing all we can to help" Ron defended with slight exasperation.

Hermione was taken aback by the tone of Ron's voice, but that didn't stop her from stating her opinion "I know where you are coming from Ron, but I do feel the public need to know so they can protect themselves"

Ron hugged Hermione, seeing that she was just as scared about this new threat as he was for her. Suddenly he felt like he was back before the final battle, with everyone not knowing what the outcome would be or if they would survive.

Now he was scared for Hermione. Whether she would have the same fate as the other unfortunate girls that died at the hands of Death Eaters. Ron was angry that after all the work that was put into the final battle, so many lives lost that another darkness loomed over their life, once again brining them into the middle of it.

He pulled away from Hermione and kissed he gently on the lips. He made his way to the bathroom to change out of the clothes he fell asleep in the previous night.

Hermione watched him go with a faint smile on her lips. Although she was upset that another attack took place, she couldn't help be thankful that she hasn't been targeted yet. She admired Ron's determination with the Aurors to stop the Death Eaters who were attacking and murdering so many innocent women.

She wanted so much for Ron to spend more time with her, but she knew that she couldn't be selfish. At the moment he is in the middle of an important case, important to her as well as him. She knew that he would be helping a lot of female muggle-borns and she admired his determination to help people. However she knew that the only reason Ron was working over time was because he wanted to help her, and that made her love him even more.

Ron emerged from the bedroom in clean clothes, after kissing Hermione goodbye and waving his farewells to Crooksanks he apparated to work, leaving Hermione behind.

When he arrived at the Auror Headquarters, he noticed that everyone seemed to be there. He sighed, these attacks were becoming more frequent and it seemed that everyone was on high alert.

He had hope, that after the long and sufferable final battle, that he wouldn't have to worry about anymore-major dark activity. He knew that it was a silly thought, since that there were so many Death Eaters out there wanting revenge for the fall of their Dark Lord. This made Ron angry, they should have been caught, and they should be in Azkaban right now. He hated leaving Hermione at home, alone where anything could happen to her. His greatest fear would be that the next time he hears of an attack, it would be her. He didn't want to loose her again, not after the final battle as she almost died in his arms. He couldn't bear the thought of coming home to an empty flat on day after work and seeing the sight of Hermione lying motionless on the floor. That very thought made him sick to the stomach, but made him more determined to stop the attacks once and for all before they got a chance to reach Hermione.

"Ron!"

Ron turned round to see Harry calling him over. Ron gave a puzzled expression as he came closer to where Harry was standing. He noticed Harry was looking into the meeting area, where this whole mess started. When Ron approached him he turned to face his best friend.

"What is it?" Ron asked with a worried expression.

Harry sighed "It doesn't look good Ron, not good at all"

Dun dun dun...! What is it that is so bad? Anyone care to guess? It would be interesting to see what you guys think!

I hope you liked the flashback/dream that Ron had. It was getting to the point where i was practically in tears. Anyway let me know what you think:)

I apologise again for the late update, it really couldn't be helped!

(Hands out chocolate chip cookies and cake)