Author's Note: Hey, I've got another chapter for you guys... I was really in the writing mood...
Enjoy! And feel free to give me some feed-back!
-Everything Will be Alright-
"Do you think she'll be alright, Harry?"
"Yeah… she seemed okay. She told Ron that everyone was safe but that she was tired and sore… and then she just dozed off…"
Ginny looked down at her sheets, "I guess it was only a matter of time, really. Not a bad idea to use someone you really care for as bait… and Lucius probably had no trouble finding Hermione's home address, what with all of the connections he has…"
Harry too was staring down at his own sheets. They had been talking for a while now, just him and Ginny; her on her bed, and him on the floor beside her. The little purple lamp on the nightstand was lit and the bedroom door was open wide. Every now and then someone would walk by the doorway. They'd stop to look in and add to the conversation; and then yawn and say they were heading off to bed, but they never actually did fall asleep.
Ron had been stopping by often, and Molly had been by twice in the last hour to scold them into going to bed. But Ginny and Harry were much to awake to sleep; the events of six hours earlier still seemed to be pounding in their veins.
"I heard Lupin talking to your father…" said Harry, "It seems that a lot has been going on in the past month. Sounds like Dumbledore is going to turn Hogwarts into some kind of a safe house for the students."
Ginny looked up at Harry, "What do you mean?"
Harry looked up and sighed, "Lupin was talking about curfews and extra security. I think we'll be getting aurors to stand guard inside and out of Hogwarts… I don't know what Dumbledore has been hearing lately, but it doesn't sound good."
Ginny raised an eyebrow, "I thought you and Dumbledore shared all kinds of information... I thought for sure you'd know if anything was happening."
Harry looked down embarrassedly; what was he to say? He had wanted so badly to have Dumbledore confide in him completely, but he knew during his conversations with the headmaster that he was still holding back information, as though trying hard not to worry Harry.
"Well I – haven't really talked to Dumbledore much lately, " said Harry, "he's been really busy and unavailable lately."
Ginny nodded slowly off, "Yeah… I guess so."
And there they lay, in their separate beds, each with their own thoughts, each with their own worries…
Ginny heard the floor creek, and broke out of her trace to look up and see Ron standing in the doorway, looking horribly tired and troubled.
"Alright Ron?" whispered Harry to his best friend. Ron slowly nodded and took a few heavy steps forward. He reached the foot of Harry's makeshift bed and slumped down to the floor.
Harry and Ginny watched as Ron slowly covered his face in his hands, and after a few moments, dropped them to his side. He looked awful, what with the dark circles under his eyes and his hair sticking up every which way. Ginny felt a ping in her heart and spoke, "How are things?"
Ron looked up, "Good… good…" he trailed off, as though he had forgotten what the question was.
Harry, now sitting up in bed, reached forward and patted his friend on the shoulder, "Everything will be alright."
Ron half-smiled, "You know, everyone keeps telling me that. 'Everything will be alright.' That's not it, though. I know everything will be alright. I just –" he stopped mid-sentence just as his anger was rising. He took a deep breath and then continued on in a normal tone, "I just feel like such an ass. I should have gone with her. It was simple. So simple, and yet, I didn't do it. She asked me if I wanted to go, and I, being to scared to face her parents convinced her that she should break the news to them first, with out me there."
Ron let his head drop, "If only I would have went… I could have helped her."
Ginny watched as her brother sat in a pool of sadness on the floor.
"Ron what happened, happened and everyone is safe. There's no use feeling regretful for something that you had no idea about. And I mean really, it was probably better that you hadn't gone anyways," said Ginny as Ron looked up at her.
Ron raised his eyebrow to the last comment made and Ginny explained, "Charlie walked by an hour or so ago. He saw that we were awake and told us what he heard from Lupin. Supposedly it was really bad…" Ginny took a deep breath and got ready to recite the information,
"Tonks and Lupin had arrived on Christmas Eve at the Granger's house. Lupin told us that they were caught off guard when Hermione broke into the house through the basement earlier today - Dumbledore had made the house unapparatable," she explained as Ron's body perked up at the new information.
"Hermione was in the basement and heard noises from up stairs, and then Tonks came down into the basement. Hermione wasn't expecting to see a wizard and petrified Tonks. Then Lupin came down and explained everything to Hermione. I guess after that they went up stairs and Hermione talked to her parents, explaining to them what was going on."
Ginny smiled to herself, "Charlie told us that the Granger's were really interested in all of the magic, especially Tonks' talent as a metamorphmagus… Tonks supposedly dressed up in Mrs. Granger's robe and slippers and pranced around the house in the form of Hermione's mother… anyways it wasn't too long before the Death Eaters came," Ginny's eyes narrowed in anger as she imagined the scene.
"You have to remember, it's Christmas Day today. Well, at least it was," said Ginny as she looked over her shoulder to the table clock which read two minutes after midnight. She turned round and continued on,
"People were visiting the house all day. Dropping off gifts, saying hello… you know the usual stuff. Mostly Tonks would open the door disguised as Mrs. Granger. She would greet the visitors but claim that she was very, very ill and would close the door quickly after.
"They did that the whole day. Lupin thinks that the entire town came to the house, they had so many visitors. But the Death Eaters came around three o'clock. They knocked on the back door, and Mrs. Granger who was alone in the kitchen mistaken them for the elderly neighbour and opened the door for them. Thankfully Hermione heard the knock and ran into the kitchen as the Death Eaters stormed in."
Ginny paused as she saw Ron's body tense up, "It was chaos, Lupin said. There were five Death Eaters who came charging into the house, blasting everything in sight. Hermione grabbed a hold of her mother and pushed her out of the kitchen, just as a spell missed her leg… it was bad. As the spells shot in the air pieces of wall and ceiling broke apart, dishes and vases were blasted into pieces, and when they ran into the living room…" Ginny paused, closed her eyes and continued, "…it was a war zone. Tonks and Lupin did their best to fight off the Death Eaters as Hermione pushed her parents up the stairs to the second floor, while turning over her shoulder to fend off anyone who followed."
Ginny looked down at her bed sheets. Although she hadn't been there, she could vividly imagine the scene. The screams of Mrs. Granger… the dust and debris that filled the house… the streaks of light flashing by, inches from the face as spells and hexes were being thrown around dangerously…
Ron and Harry seemed to have had their own reenactments of what happened running through their head for neither spoke a word. And after a few more moments of silence, Ron slowly got up.
He breathed in, slow and deep, "Well, I'm heading off to bed. I better get some sleep if I'm going to leave for Hogwarts tomorrow."
"We better do the same," said Harry as he glanced over to Ginny, "We're going too."
Ron nodded and walked out of the room.
Ginny and Harry were alone once again, but this time instead of talking, they got themselves ready for bed.
Harry laid down on the pile of blankets underneath him, his back to the floor.
Ginny fixed her sheets and when she was ready, she reached over to the nightstand which was behind Harry's head and turned off the lamp.
"Ouch!" whispered Harry in the dark.
"What is it?" asked Ginny from above.
"Something fell on my forehead, just as you reached to turn off the light."
Ginny leaned over once more and turned the light back on. She then peered over the side of her bed and watched as Harry searched the floor for the unknown object.
"Here it is!" said Harry, and to Ginny's horror, he lifted up the pink bunny necklace.
Ginny's eyes widened as she watched in anguish as Harry lifted the necklace to his face and read the rabbit's stomach. After he read it he looked up at Ginny and grinned, "So, who is this 'bunny' who loves you so much?"
Ginny made a swipe for the necklace but Harry moved his hand out of the way just in time. Ginny sat back on her bed and said embarrassedly, "Dean gave it to me for Christmas."
Harry didn't know what to say. Was she being honest, or was she pulling his leg? He looked at her with a smirk and then reread the gold letters. She must be joking! No guy could ever be so stupid as to give Ginny a gift like this.
But when Harry looked back at Ginny and saw that the embarrassed look was still on her face, he lost his grin immediately and placed the necklace gently in her hand.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"Don't be." said Ginny as she stared into Harry's eyes and embarrassedly smiled, "I can't believe he actually thought that I'd like it. It's so not…"
"You." finished Harry plainly.
There was a pause, a long tense pause where both of them wondered what they should say next. The moment seemed perfect, almost story book like, and it was on the tip of their tongues to tell each other how they really felt for one another…
"Ginny, I –" began Harry.
"Aren't you two in bed yet?" whispered Mrs. Weasley angrily as she stood rooted in the doorway. "I want that light shut off immediately Ginny, Harry needs his rest, and so do you!"
Harry and Ginny's heads turned to face Mrs. Weasley who was staring at her daughter with an icy cold look.
"Yes mum," whispered Ginny as she leaned over and turned out the light.
Molly waited in the doorway for a few moments, and when she was satisfied that both Ginny and Harry were actually trying to sleep, she walked down the hallway and to the master bedroom.
Ron was in the process of closing his bedroom door when he looked down the hall and saw his mother heading towards the other end. He sighed and gently closed the door and locked it.
The room was softly lit by a single candle on the dresser that was parallel to the bed where Hermione was sleeping. She had waken up earlier and with Ron's help had gotten dressed in a pair of Ron's shorts and a shirt.
Ron stood beside the bed and stared down at his fiancé. He watched as she sleep peacefully in the big bed. His heart ached. Normally he would have given anything to have Hermione in bed with him, but not under these circumstances.
He let go of a deep breath and quietly got undressed. He slipped on his baggy plaid pants, and then lifted the covers of the bed and gently lay down. When he turned to face Hermione he thought he saw the outline of a smile on her lips, but there wasn't enough light to tell.
"Are you awake?" Ron asked gently and Hermione smiled wider.
"Yes, I am and I don't think I could be happier." She said as she slowly opened her eyes.
Ron was still worried about her condition and half-smiled, "How are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere? Can I get you anything?"
"I'm fine honey, don't worry." smiled Hermione as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. After their lips gently touched, she pulled away and slowly lay her head back down on the pillow, "I'm just very tired. Exhausted actually, but I'll be fine tomorrow, I'll be ready to travel to Hogwarts."
Ron nodded to himself and then watched Hermione as she closed her eyes and slowly fell back asleep.
He lay there facing her, and continued to stare until he was sure she was in a deep sleep, and then he slowly reached over and put out the candle. And there in the darkness of Ron's bedroom, Ron and Hermione spent their first night sleeping together.