AN: Well seeing as i am in a relatively good mood i decided to post this chapter before my orginal set date. I was planning on leaving it a week after i posted but thought, why not? Don't expect me to be this kind all the time, i may have been back at school a week (which means little work load) but i can assure you as time goes by, i will become more busy!

Disclaimer: No, last time i checked i wasn't J.K. Rowling, and i will never will be; therefore i do not own Harry Potter.

ooooOoooo

Broken Dreams

Chapter Two

ooooOoooo

All he could see was shadows, and they were hiding the identities of the figures standing in front of him. He felt the bitter cold wind as it sent a shiver down his spine intensifying his fears. He assumed that those shadowed figures were Death Eaters coming back to finish what they started years ago. He shivered in fear as he raised his wand directly at the figure that was in front of him, mumbling the curse that would kill him. The shadowed figure dodged the curse. Ron quivered in fear, realising that he was out numbered. He was in the middle of a circle of Death Eaters, all waiting for the pride of taking the life of one of Harry Potter's best friends.

Ron didn't know what to do, he wanted to scream but he knew that no one would hear him, they were all too busy dealing with their own battle to notice that he had been surrounded. His breathing increased rapidly as beads of sweat formed on his face. He could feel his heart beat increasing drastically by the minute.

He fired a disarming spell at one of the Death Eaters, but another Death Eater from behind him fired a curse, hitting him square in the back. He fell to the floor, feeling a very sharp pain where the curse had struck him. He slowly pulled himself up, but was pushed violently back to the ground. His fall was unfortunately broken by his right wrist, which meant that the forced weight upon it caused a sprain. Ron cursed, he knew that he was out-numbered greatly, and with everyone else distracted; he had to deal with it on his own.

The Death Eaters were mocking him, enjoying their moment of pride as they took down one of their greatest enemy's best friend. He tried so hard to ignore their laughs, their taunts and their insults but the more he tried, the harder it became. He had never felt so weak in his life; it felt like his energy was being drained from him; painfully slow.

He put it down to the curse, since it was the only reasonable explanation he could think of. He tried so hard to remember if he had read or heard about such spell that drains energy from the victim, but nothing came. He assumed that it was a new curse that the Death Eaters had created to test and use on unsuspecting people.

"No…" He said lightly, as he felt his eyelids become heavier, then he couldn't keep them open any longer.

"Let's see him save you now, mudblood!" Sneered the Death Eater in front of him.

"Hermione!" Ron screamed as he woke up in a bed of cold sweat. His breathing was fast and unsteady.

He immediately felt his right wrist to see if in fact there was a sprain, there wasn't. He put a hand to his heart as it hurt so much, he missed her greatly, it pained him to be away with her, wherever that was, knowing that she may be in pain or distress. He knew that she was alive, he could feel her alive in his heart, he just needed to find her.

The dream had scared him, was this what happened to her when she went missing? When the Ministry opened Hermione's case, Death Eaters were the main suspects, but when there was no trace of any that weren't killed or captured during the war they thought of other ways that Hermione could have disappeared. Ron knew that Death Eaters were to blame for Hermione's disappearance, but since there were no leads, no witnesses or no trace of them, they couldn't put their thesis into action.

This angered Ron because he knew for a fact that Hermione disappeared during those crucial moments in the war, where everyone was in the midst of their own fight. He had a feeling that this capture was planned, carefully constructed to go according to a preconceived plan. They had planned to take Hermione away from him, and knowing this made his heart break even more.

Seeing the scene of the battle in Hermione's eyes saddened him. He felt what she was feeling two years ago when she was fighting a battle she knew she was going to loose. He remembered seeing everyone else too consumed in fighting to care, to even notice that she was in trouble, his heart felt like it was ripping in two when he realised he didn't even notice her screams for help. He was supposed to be her boyfriend, the man in her life that would protect her from pain, but he let them have her.

He felt tears forming in his eyes, the stress of the dream finally hitting him like a ton of bricks. He tried his best to prevent himself from crying by putting a clenched fist in his mouth, but it came out as a muffled sob. He couldn't contain it, no matter how much he tried. Nothing could take away the pain and guilt of not being able to help Hermione in her time of need.

"I'm sorry, Hermione…" He said through a choked sob, "You trusted me, and I let you down…" He cried hoping that she could hear him and know that he is thinking of her, wherever she was.

He hoped that she was safe, or as safe as she could be. He hoped that she wasn't hurt or suffering on her own. He hoped that she would be able to make her way home soon, to the people who love her.

He found it hard to get back to sleep; he just laid there, staring at the blank ceiling wondering about Hermione. He knew she was alive, he could feel her in his heart. He wasn't dead inside, although it could be assumed by the way he behaved towards others. His heart just needed to be awakened from its sleeping state, and the only person who could warm his heart again was Hermione.

That night, he cried himself to sleep.

ooooOoooo

The next day he was exhausted, The dream he had still scared him and it showed on his face. When he came into work, a simple desk job in the ministry his face was pale and his eyes were blood shot. He got strange looks from the people in his department, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to go to his small office and begin the work for the day without being disturbed.

After an hour of writing he stopped for a small break. He couldn't get Hermione out of his mind, and the dream still had a haunting affect on him. He looked back on his work, and noticed that every other word was 'Hermione'. Tears formed in his eyes, images from the dream replaying in his mind.

A knock on the door startled him from his thoughts. He quickly wiped the tears away from his eyes and took a deep breath before saying.

"Who is it?" It sounded croaked, obvious that he had been crying, but he didn't care.

"Bill," His brother replied, Ron could detect a hint of concern in his voice.

He sighed, "Come in," He replied as he tried to hide the papers he had just been writing on.

Bill came in and closed the door behind him. He sat down on the edge of Ron's desk and gave him a sympathetic look, "How are things?"

Ron saw right through him, he knew Bill was here because Ginny told him about what happened last night. Ron had been through this before, last time it was Charlie trying to talk to him about moving on, now they sent in the oldest.

"Look Bill, I know why you're here so cut the small talk," Ron snapped as he tried to wipe a stray tear from his eye.

"Ron…we are just worried about you, that's all. I can see why, have you been crying?" He asked softly, trying not to rouse Ron and give him another reason to resent him.

Ron sighed and turned his back towards his brother, this was hard on him. He hated confrontations from his family; they made him feel small. "No…" He replied, contradicting what he just said by wiping another stray tear from his eye, "No…"

Bill sighed; it hurt him to see his little brother like this. As the oldest, he felt it was his duty to protect his younger siblings, but with Ron he felt helpless. "Now you know I don't believe that. What's wrong?" He said gently as he stood up at walked over to Ron.

Ron shook his head, as more tears came, "No…"

Bill embraced him in a comforting hug, "Ron, please tell me what's wrong"

Ron sobbed, "Hermione…I had a dream…about Hermione…" More tears formed as he cried, he couldn't help it. His heart ached so much.

Bill mentally sighed; not knowing how to help Ron who was convinced that Hermione was still alive. Its not that Bill knew she was dead, because there was no evidence to support that claim but after two years and still no sign of her, he hated to think that she was assumed dead.

"Ron, what was the dream about?"

Ron pulled away from his brother's embrace. "The war…it was like I was…Hermione. She was taken Bill, she was taken and I didn't even notice!" Ron exclaimed with tears flowing freely down his face.

Bill could feel tears forming in his eyes. Hermione was a sensitive topic in their family, especially for Ron. Bill thought of her as a sister and it pained him to think that she could still be out there, alive and possibly subjected to cruelty.

"We didn't notice, Ron please don't blame yourself for this. We all should have noticed, but we didn't. And what do you mean you were Hermione in your dream?"

Ron sighed, "I don't know…it was like I was her, or seeing it through her eyes. She was scared, this curse hit her…she was surrounded, and she didn't stand a chance!"

"Woah, wait. What curse hit her?" Bill asked, trying to get the facts straight whilst calming his hysterical brother.

"I…I...don't know, it was a silent spell…it drained her energy so she couldn't fight back…I felt her pain…it was horrible…"

Bill sighed, "I haven't heard of a curse that drains energy…it may be a newly developed one, or maybe some kind of ancient magic that was used centuries ago…" He said to himself, trying to figure out a way to put an ease into his brother's sorrow.

"Bill, I know what you're thinking, it's what everyone thinks, I should move on with my life, but I can't! Not when I know she is alive!" Ron said in a determined tone.

Bill looked at him solemnly, "Ron, I know how much you love Hermione, you would do anything for her, but it has been two years and there is still no sigh of her…"

"Save it Bill, I know where this is leading," Ron snapped.

Bill sighed, "Look Ron, I am not trying to imply anything. I am not telling you to move on, I am not telling you to forget Hermione because it's obvious you can't. It's obvious that you still love her, despite her two-year absence and Merlin, I admire that about you, we all do. We admire the fact that you are staying true to what you believe in, that you have stayed faithful to Hermione. You are strong enough to deal with whatever happens." Bill said sincerely, tears were forming in both of their eyes.

"Bill, I can't give up on her. I know she is out there somewhere, I just know," He said through a choked sob.

"Ron, you have to realise that it's been two years since her disappearance, there is little we can do that hasn't already been done," Bill explained, trying his best to comfort a distressed Ron.

"I am not giving up on her, no matter what anyone thinks I know she is still alive and she needs my help," Ron stated confidently Bill smiled at Ron, he knew that nothing would change his mind. Hermione was the only person that could bring him back to his usual self.

With that he left, he had only intended to speak to Ron for a short while about what had happened last night with Harry and Ginny but when he saw the state he was in he knew he couldn't bring it up.

ooooOoooo

He returned to the Burrow where Fleur was sitting with their daughter, Madeline at the kitchen table. Molly was busy preparing lunch as he walked into the kitchen with a dazed look upon his face.

"Bill, how did it go with Ron?" Molly asked as she greeted her eldest son. Bill took off his jacket and placed it on the back of his chair. He then sat next to his wife greeting her with a kiss on the lips.

He looked at his mum before replying, "Not very good." He sighed.

Molly turned round biting her lip, "What do you mean, dear?" She asked with a confused expression.

"Well when I got to his office, he looked as if he had been crying," Bill stated with a sad, regretful tone. He hated to be the one to tell his mother that her youngest son was slowly breaking down.

"Oh Ron!" Molly exclaimed solemnly, "Why does he do this to himself?" She asked as tears formed in her eyes. Bill went to stand up to comfort his mother but she held out a hand to stop him, "No, Bill I am alright, go on. What did he say?"

Bill took a deep breath; "Well he said he had a strange dream about Hermione…"

"That must explain things," Fleur added as she fed Madeline some of her food.

"Yeah, but this dream really shook him up," Bill added feeling at a loss of what to do.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he said that he could see the war…through Hermione's eyes. He said that it was as if he was Hermione and that he knew Death Eaters had taken her. He knows what spells and curses they used, and according to him they used an unknown hex on her," Bill explained wryly.

Molly gasped, she knew that Hermione must have been taken and it was a safe guess that Death Eaters had taken her, but since there was no evidence and no trace of the Death Eaters who had escaped death and Azkaban, that idea couldn't be put to trial. Molly couldn't believe what she was hearing, although she knew it very well. Death Eaters were still about, and that scared her.

"But, the ministry said that there was no trace of the Death Eaters anywhere after the war," Molly said in a tone that sounded like she was in a trance.

"Yeah, there was no trace of them because they didn't want us to find them. I have a feeling Ron is suddenly having this dream for a reason and I have a hunch that…that will not be the last of them," Bill stated.

Molly paled, "So you think Hermione is still trapped with the Death Eaters?"

Bill sighed, "As much as I hate to admit it, I really hate myself for saying this but I doubt she is still alive. I mean two years has passed, if they haven't killed her then there must be a pretty good reason"

"Unless they just want her there," Fleur offered as she wiped Madeline's mouth that was covered in her food.

Bill's eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

Fleur simply shrugged, "Well think about it, she is Harry Potter's best friend, which means that it's the perfect way to get back at Harry for killing their Dark Lord"

"It doesn't make sense though, surely they would have done something more drastic and in front of him for that matter," Bill replied, thinking through the situation at hand.

"But what if they wanted to punish Harry," Fleur added.

Bill and Molly looked at her with confused expressions, "What do you mean?" Molly asked curiously.

Fleur handed Madeline to Bill before she spoke, "Well it seems too easy too kill someone, especially when you learn to move on in time, But when someone disappears you still have that doubt as to whether or not they are really gone hence the punishment for Harry"

"Makes sense, considering the circumstances, but it's not fair on Ron to make assumptions so we should leave it there," Molly said, feeling the need to protect her baby boy's crumbling world.

Bill was a bit frustrated that his mum decided to cut the conversation short but he knew why she did it. It was unfair to talk about Hermione that way, and if Ron were to find out he would resent his family even more.

Bill knew that Ron still held resentment against his family for giving up on Hermione too soon. There was nothing anyone could do about the fact that Hermione was gone and when the Ministry finally closed the case Ron was furious. He knew Hermione was still alive, all he needed to do was to find her.

It didn't help the fact that Hermione was "assumed dead" by the ministry shortly after they closed the case. As expected Ron was fuming. He wouldn't speak to anyone for days, and he hated that the people, who once cared for Hermione, gave up on her with the Ministries influence.

Ron opened the door to his flat, and slammed the door shut. His eyes were blood-shot; having little sleep the previous evening and the crying had taken its toll on him. His eyes were dry and stung but he seemed oblivious to the pain. He was too busy thinking about Hermione and the dream he had, had. He wondered if that is what really happened to Hermione, and if it was he wanted to know where she was. He was determined to find her, no matter what it took. He didn't care if he didn't get any support from friends and family. He knew that they had moved on, but Ron couldn't bring himself to move on from her, he loved her too much.

He wondered what life would be like if she were here with him right now. He wondered if they would be engaged like Harry and Ginny, or already married. He wondered where they would live, certainly not here. This flat was all he could afford at the moment, one bedroom with a small bathroom, which had just enough room for a toilet, basin and a shower. The living area was small, but big enough for one person to live in. Ron had hoped that he would be sharing a home with Hermione after the war, but his dreams had been shadowed by the everlasting nightmare he was living in.

He wanted to be with Hermione so much that it sometimes hurt to breathe. He loved her with every fibre of his being and couldn't bear to think about starting a life with someone else, the very thought made him sick. He hated that Harry and Ginny were trying to set him up with random women. Although he knew that their intentions were good, doesn't mean that he appreciated it. It felt like – to him – that they were trying to make him forget Hermione. Despite much protest from him, they still persisted, trying to force him to be happy again. They seemed to have forgotten that the one thing that would make him happy again was Hermione.

Ron took a look round his flat, and let out a sob. He hated coming home to an empty flat. Everyone had someone to come home to, apart from him. He felt isolated from the world; he couldn't enjoy anything properly knowing that Hermione may be somewhere unpleasant and being treated badly. He wondered if she was still thinking of him after all these years. He hoped that she had still kept him close to her heart that she had not let go of hope. He felt guilty for not persisting in finding her. He was angry with the ministry when they closed the case and presumed her dead.

When the Ministry decided to hold a memorial service to those who had lost their lives during the war, Ron was furious when they decided to include Hermione when she was not dead to him. He was angry when he found out his family had accepted that Hermione may in fact have been killed.

He knew it pained his mother to see him like this, but he couldn't think about that right now. He wanted to put all his energy into finding Hermione alive, and would stop at nothing to ensure her safe return.

He grabbed his coat and apparated out of his flat, hoping to find some refuge from the pain he was feeling in his heart.

ooooOoooo

AN:Well that's all folks! For today anyway...Must get back to my research on William Paley, for anyone who doesn't know who he was; he was the man that said the universe is like a watch.

Oh, and my plot bunnies would like you to review, it makes them happy and more on course, otherwise they just go off course and think of plots for other stories rather than mine:)

Bluebell Field:)