Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, which is deeply upsetting!

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Broken Dreams

By Bluebell Field

Chapter One

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The fight that Harry had been preparing for his whole life was now over. Harry had defeated the feared dark wizard once and for all and brought justice to those lives that he had taken during his reign of terror. He fell to the ground, emotions overwhelming him, a sense of great relief finally washed over him.

"Harry!"

Harry looked over to where the voice was coming from to see Ron running up to him. He was glad that Ron was alive. When Ron approached him, he had a look of disbelief across his face.

"Harry? You ok?" Ron asked in a concerned way as he helped him stand.

Harry brushed off the dust from his robe and replied with a half-hearted smile, "I'm ok…I just can't believe it's all over…"

"It is, thanks to you," Ron praised, Harry merely shrugged it off not wanting to be congratulated whilst he was standing on the battlefield where several good people lost their lives fighting.

"I don't want, nor need thanks Ron," Harry said with no emotion, he had yet to find out who else survived, and dreaded finding out who lost their lives to this tragic war.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked as he was looking around. Harry could hear the slight panic in his voice, which sent a nasty chill down his spine.

Harry looked sadly at his friend, "No…I haven't, I thought she was with you…"

Ron paled, "No…The last time I saw her was when she was with you…"

Harry sighed sadly, "She must have got separated from us," He said gravely.

Ron grabbed onto Harry's arm for support, he suddenly felt dizzy, "We have to find her Harry! We have to find her…" He stopped, tears welding in his eyes.

"Ron look at me! Please stay strong! She is probably safe with one of your brothers or an auror," Harry stated as calmly as he could but it came out panicked.

Ron looked gravely at a tree that had been destroyed in the battle, "Harry…you don't think she's…"

"No! Don't say that Ron! Just don't! Harry snapped as a single tear fell down his cheek.

"Ron! Harry!"

They both turned round to see Arthur Weasley running towards them with a relieved look upon his face at seeing both of them alive.

"Dad!" Ron called out feeling relieved upon seeing his father.

"Are you both alright?" A concerned Arthur asked.

"We're fine dad, nothing a few Healers can't fix," Ron reassured his father who looked a bit uneasy.

"Good to hear," Arthur simply replied.

"Where is everyone else?" Harry asked curiously.

Arthur smiled slightly despite the situation at hand. He was relieved that all his children had survived, "Everyone is back at base recovering, which is where you both should be," He said as he motioned the two boys towards the base.

Ron perked up, "So Hermione's there?"

Arthur's smile quickly faded realising what his son had just asked, "No, I would have thought she would be with you two," He said with unease.

Harry paled, "No, we haven't seen her since we all separated"

The colour had now completely drained from Ron's face, his breathing became unsteady as hot tears fell down his cheeks, "No…She…she…has to be here! She just has to be!"

"Ron, son, we will send out a search party to look for her, but we need to get you both back to base immediately. We shouldn't be hanging around; it's not safe." Arthur explained, helping the panicked boys as best he could. It pained him to see his son like this, so heart broken at the thought that something terrible could have happened to Hermione.

"If it's not safe out here, then we need to find her now!" Ron snapped, not meaning to be rude to his father, but he had to find Hermione and nothing was going to get in his way.

"I know son, but we need to get both of you back to base, there may still be a lot of angry Death Eaters wanting to avenge their Lord's death," Arthur closed his eyes as he could feel tears building up in his eyes.

"Exactly! That's why we should look for her now!" Ron retorted, feeling angry that nothing was being done to help Hermione now.

"Ron! Listen to your dad, we would get more help if we go back to base now. Hermione won't be happy if you get hurt looking for her because you weren't careful!" Harry reasoned he disliked this idea as much as Ron did, but despite what he thought; it was the best choice of action.

Ron sighed, feeling aggravated, "Since when do you speak on behalf of Hermione?"

"Ron, let's just go, the sooner we get to base, the sooner we will find Hermione," Harry said calmly, trying to keep his nerves under control.

Ron said nothing, instead he, along with Arthur and Harry apparated back to base so they could get checked over and gather up a search team for Hermione.

"Ron! Harry! Thank goodness you are both alive!" Mrs. Weasley greeted as soon as she saw the boys. She looked around them and then at Arthur. Knowing who she must be looking for he simply shook his head and sighed.

"Hermione was not with them Molly, we will be sending out a search team to look for her," Arthur explained gravely as he squeezed Ron's shoulder for comfort.

Ron could see the tears welling up in his mother's eyes, she thought Hermione as a second daughter, she had got to know her a lot over the times she stayed over at the Burrow, the thought of losing her was horrifying for her. Her heart immediately went out to Ron, who she knew was feeling a lot worse. Ron loved Hermione, and now she was missing she could see Ron's heart breaking slowly inside.

"I am sure we will find her," She said positively trying to cheer her youngest son up, "We will have the best people out looking for her to bring her back to you," She smiled at her son through her tears.

Ron gave a light smile back; he didn't feel like smiling when Hermione was out there, cold, alone and most likely injured. Molly went to hug her son to comfort him, make him realise that he wasn't alone in the world. "We will bring her back to you Ron, we will," She said as he cried into her shirt.

"I will go and gather up the teams," Arthur said solemnly before he left the room.

After about ten minutes Arthur emerged closely followed by Remus Lupin, Tonks, the Weasley siblings and Aurors who weren't badly injured in the battle.

"Ron! Harry!" Ginny called out when she saw them. She ran to hug them both, happy to see them alive. They both hugged the girl back, thanking Merlin that she survived.

"Ginny…" Ron cried when he pulled away from the hug. She gave him a warm smile and gave him another hug.

"I'm sure she is fine Ron, the search team will find her"

"I hope so…" He said sadly as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Hours later, and still the search party had not returned. Ron doubted that Hermione was out there, he had doubts that they would find her. He had moments during the hours where he waited where he just cried, there would be time when he was angry and times when he just wanted to punch the wall.

Arthur thought it would be best for Harry and Ron if they stayed at the base whilst the teams searched for Hermione. Ron objected at first but a few words from Remus, his brothers and Harry convinced him otherwise. He knew that he was in too much of a state to be searching for her.

He wanted nothing more but to see her again, to be with her. He wanted to tell her that she was the one that he was going to spend the rest of his life with. His fear was that he might not get the chance to tell her.

Harry did his best to comfort his best friend, but he didn't know where to begin. He didn't know what to say or do that would make him feel better, the only way he could think of that would make Ron happy again would be Hermione, but the way the search was going, it was unlikely that they would find her. He wanted to be wrong, he wanted them to find Hermione, but unfortunately he had to face the reality of the situation.

The door opened and Arthur walked in with a tired look in his eyes. He looked over to his son, who was looking up at him with hope glistening in his eyes, only to take away all happiness inside his son's life; they didn't find Hermione.

On hearing that his love, light and happiness was no where to be found he didn't want to believe it. He was angry, he claimed they didn't look hard enough, they didn't do their best. It took him a while before he let the news sink in, Hermione was gone.

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Two years had passed and nothing had changed. Ron refused to give up; claiming that Hermione was still out there and alive. He hated the fact that her parents had given up after a year, they thought she was dead, they all thought she was dead. Only he refused to believe what was considered the truth.

His family hated seeing him like this, so torn and broken. They tried to make him see that there was life after Hermione, but he refused to listen claiming that he couldn't move on from someone he loved and that he knew is still alive. This left them torn, they had accepted that Hermione was assumed dead and they dealt with it, but seeing him determined to bring her back made them feel like they hadn't done enough to help him.

It had taken Harry a great deal of time before he moved on; accepting that Hermione was no longer with them. He lost two best friends, Ron wasn't the same as he used to be, he was constantly angry, upset and crabby, He hardly smiled, and when he did it would be on a rare occasion. Harry missed Ron; he missed the way they could joke around, his laugh and the happy side of his friend. When Hermione went, a part of Ron went with her.

Ron sighed as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Two long and painful years had passed since he last saw Hermione, and he still hadn't given up on her. He was angry with his family and Harry because they gave up on her too easily. He knew she was out there somewhere, he could feel her in his heart and it pained him knowing he couldn't do anything about it.

He was dreading going to Harry and Ginny's for dinner tonight. Recently they have been trying to do what they thought was best for him, which included dinner and someone they intended to set him up with. He didn't want them to find someone else for him because there was only one person who had his heart, and she would always have it no matter what.

He wondered whom they would be inviting tonight. Last week it was one of Harry's friend's friends, he couldn't remember anything about her because all he was thinking of that night was Hermione, and he knew tonight would be the same.

He quickly showered and dressed in a light blue shirt and black trousers. He didn't know why he was dressing up; it's not like he wanted to go on this date in the first place. It wasn't as if he was going to hook up with the girl, but he tried for Harry and Ginny.

He apparated inside Harry and Ginny's house and walked into the kitchen where Ginny was preparing the dinner. She quickly gave the sauce a stir and greeted her older brother with a warm hug.

"How are you?" She asked as she pulled away, returning to the dinner.

Ron simply shrugged, "Same old, same old," He replied sadly as he grabbed an apple from the fruit basket, throwing it up in the air and catching it with one hand. Ginny looked at him sadly, she hated seeing him like this, so alone and depressed.

"Ron…"

Ron held his hand up in front of Ginny, "Stop, I know what you are going to say. I have heard it several times before from everyone. I am not going to forget her, and I am not going to move on," He explained, tears forming in his eyes, "She's not dead, I know she's not"

Ginny bit her lip, she could feel the familiar tears forming in her eyes, as they did every time Hermione was brought up, "I'm sorry, Ron…it's just…"

"You think I should move on, forget her?" Ron interjected.

Ginny shook her head, "No, of course not. We haven't forgotten her, we never will," She reassured her brother who was fighting so hard not to break down.

"Then why did you all give up?" He said in an almost whisper as tears fell down his cheek.

Ginny closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall, "We tried Ron, we all tried our best to find her, bring her back to you. But we couldn't find her anywhere; there was nothing we could do."

Ron was about to say something but stopped as Harry walked into the kitchen. He knew that something was wrong when he saw both of them in tears and he knew whom they had been talking about.

"Hey Ron, how are you holding up?" Harry asked, trying to sound positive, whilst trying to get more than a 'fine' out of his best friend.

"Fine," Ron replied with nothing more than a shrug.

Harry sighed, not knowing what he could do to help his friend find happiness again. He knew that the dinner with various women wasn't what Ron wanted, nor did he believe that it would help. He just wanted to stop Ron feeling sorry for himself.

The aroma of the dinner caught Harry's nose, "That smells nice, Gin', what is It?" Harry asked smiling.

Ginny laughed, "It's just pasta, nothing special," She said as she drained the pasta.

The doorbell rang as Ginny was stirring the sauce into the pasta, Ron was glad; the less time he spent with this woman, the better.

Harry went to answer the door, and Ron could hear them talking in the hall way before he lead her into the kitchen.

"Hey Ginny," She greeted as Harry took her coat and placed it on the coat hanger.

"Hey Sally, how are you?" Smiled Ginny as she wiped her hands on a tea towel.

"I'm good thanks, how are you?"

"I'm great," Ginny said cheerfully before walking to Ron. She took the apple from his hand and placed it in the fruit bowl. "Sally, this is my brother, Ron," She said whilst motioning Sally to him. With a nudge in the ribs from Ginny he looked up to greet what would be the third person that they tried to set him up with.

Dinner was dull in Harry's opinion. Ron was hardly talking to anyone; he was just playing with the pasta spirals on his plate. Ginny was talking to Sally about work, which seemed to suit Ron just fine because it meant that Sally wasn't paying attention to him. Harry, well Harry was just silently eating his dinner, observing the scene.

Had he been talking to Sally and Ginny he wouldn't have noticed the tear that slid down Ron's cheek, but he wasn't and he did notice it. His heart went out to his best friend, who didn't want to believe that Hermione had gone. Harry didn't know what to do, if only he could help Ron somehow see that life was worth living, even without the person that meant so much to him.

"Well I think we should call it a night, don't you?" Harry exclaimed once the plates had been cleared from the table.

Ginny gave him a stern look but he quickly motioned to Ron. When she saw her brother she sighed, he looked so solemn. She nodded and saw Sally to the door, apologising for the short night and that she would see her tomorrow.

When the door shut, Ginny walked back into the room and with a simple wave of her wand the dishes were cleaning themselves. She walked over to the sofa, where Ron was currently sitting in, staring at the wall.

Ginny sat herself next to him and rubbed his arm, comforting him, letting him know that he wasn't alone. She didn't know what to do for him, what he wanted she couldn't get for him. Ron leaned into Ginny and let tears fall from his eyes.

"Why do you put me through this?" He asked as he wiped some tears away.

Ginny struggled to keep those tears inside, "Because we want you to be happy," She said as tears ran down her cheeks.

"The only way I will be happy is if I am with Hermione," He said solemnly.

"Ron…"

"Don't, I already know what you are going to say," He snapped as he wiped away his tears and stood up.

"Ron, please don't…" Ginny started but she couldn't finish what she was saying,

"Don't what?" Ron snapped, he knew what she was going to say, and he didn't want to hear it.

"Don't do this to yourself!" Ginny said as she wiped away her tears, "Can't you see what you're doing to yourself? To everyone else? You're cranky and emotional, you never smile anymore, it's like I don't know you anymore…" Ginny said as more tears flowed from her eyes, she hated herself for what she was saying.

"Oh? So I should stop believing that Hermione is alive because other people can't take it? Just because you let her go, doesn't mean I have!" Ron retorted as he made his way to the front door.

"Ron! That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Ginny called after him, hoping he would stay to let her explain.

"I know what you meant Ginny, you don't have to explain it to me," And with that, Ron slammed the door shut leaving an upset Ginny behind.

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Ron apparated back to his flat, the one he would have shared with Hermione had she not disappeared. He kicked his shoes off as he made his way to the sofa and fell on to it in frustration. There, on the coffee table was a photo frame with a picture of him and Hermione sitting outside the Burrow in the summer before the final battle. She was leaning on him, smiling. Ron stared at the picture and tears formed in his eyes. He grabbed the picture and threw it across the room in a fit of anger towards the cruel person that took her from him. The glass in the frame shattered, Ron felt immediately guilty that he had thrown a memory of Hermione across the floor, as if it were nothing.

He picked the photograph out of the shattered glass but despite being careful he had cut himself. He sucked on his bleeding finger and that is when he noticed something on the back of the photograph. He quickly flicked it over to see neat, curvy handwriting he instantly recognised as Hermione's. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he read the inscription she had written:

Ron and me, our first summer together as one, and hopefully not the last.

Ron realised how much Hermione loved him, which made him realise that he shouldn't give up hope. He couldn't give up hope. He loved her and nothing was going to stop him from finding her and bringing her back home.

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Please let me know what i think, i appreciate the feedback:)

Bluebell Field:)