Tie Your Heart at Night to Mine, Love

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Abrasive – that's what Ronald Bilius Weasley thought of her ever since they met seven years earlier. He didn't know the word, of course, not then and perhaps not now, but she did. In his –and other's – words, she was a nosy, nagging, and bossy know-it-all, with a penchant for perfectionism.

Her need for a modicum of control – over herself, her emotions and weaknesses, and over that eccentric, challenging world she was accepted into – would almost always translate into over-achievement laced with haughtiness. And as masks go, hers had performed brilliantly the task of hiding her insecurities, yet failed, even now, its first and deepest goal – that of having friends capable of seeing through it. In spite of her logical mind, that conclusion manifested itself not entirely in a conscious level, but rather as if her heart shrank somehow when Ron shook his head, his eyes squinted and his lips parted, and spat, "I can't believe you didn't tell us."

"I didn't mean to keep it from you—" Hermione managed, the measured, detached and almost didactic voice she had used to explain her parents' situation to him, Harry, and Ginny failing her. She had steeled herself and relayed the news as if she had made peace with it long ago as if she no longer saw her parents sitting on the couch while she robbed them a part of their essence whenever she closed her eyes. As if her dreams were no longer haunted by her image dissolving into nothingness on the family portrait above the fireplace, like irrelevant memory fragments slipping away into oblivion.

"But you told Remus sodding Lupin!" he countered and his nostrils flared with a snort, "You two barely spoke before and now he's the one you tell things to."

"Ron..." Harry started, but he had either intended it as a warning or hadn't thought anything past it for nothing else followed. Whichever way, Ron disregarded him.

"You're not telling us anything anymore," he said, and his voice lost its accusatory tone, giving way to an even worst sorrow, one that unlike her he could never have concealed, "We've hardly spoken after the battle. And there are things we should discuss."

Hermione's mind raced, wishing she could dissolve the crease in her friend's brow and make his green eyes less vulnerable – she was clearly missing something, a correct answer of sorts to an implicit question she didn't quite understand. He couldn't mean her parents, not after she had stated nothing could be done about them before any of them could ask. She wondered if it had anything to do with Remus – had Harry told Ron something about the two of them? Was he mad she didn't say anything to him? She looked up, ready to ask whatever did he mean but was met by Ginny's pointed look – it was something she should know about.

If she had a few more seconds, if someone were to interrupt them – but no one did and her blank look must've shown, because Ron's wounded stance turned cold and aggressive once again, "You don't remember, do you? That's bloody marvelous, Hermione. Here I am, waiting for you to say something for the past month, and you don't even remember that we've kissed!"

Oh, God.

She felt her lips parting, but no sound came out. They had kissed. Not a chaste kiss, nor a friendly kiss, but one born in the heat of battle, fueled by the sort of desperation that was inherent to survival. One she had conveniently buried along with the chamber of secrets.

But a kiss Ron had carried with him since them while she… what? Unconsciously avoided talking to him? When was the last time they had had a proper conversation? She had turned to Harry more than once for the past month, but she couldn't even remember whether or not she had asked him about Fred. How hard was it for him still the loss of his brother? Between saving Remus and grieving for her own family, she had been there for the Weasley family, yet not there for her best friend. Whom else had she failed?

"Sorry, he was bottling this up for a while." Ginny's voice and departure forced her focus back into that room – Sirius' room. He certainly wouldn't forget anyone he had kissed.

"So… you kissed?" Harry asked. Hermione lowered her gaze and answered him with a short nod, "And you forgot?"

She felt her face scrunch up and a set of the tears she had locked inside at the beginning of their conversation rolled down her face.

"That's a bit problematic," Harry said, and Hermione couldn't contain the half laughter that escaped her lips at his assessment of the situation. "Not enough reason for you to cry, though."

"Harry's right, you know," Hermione and Harry both started at George's voice. The redhead was standing just outside the door, "Don't mind Ron, we did try to teach him some manners, he just seems incapable of learning them. I'm sorry about your family, Hermione."

"Thank you, George."

"The Order is at the Burrow. They sent me here to get you."

"I'll have to tell them, won't I?" Hermione asked under her breath without expecting an answer. Turned out she wouldn't have to – she arrived at the Burrow and was immediately pulled into Mrs. Weasley's arms. The woman's face was wet and strands of her flaming hair stuck to her cheeks as she tightened her grip around Hermione. The Burrow's kitchen was dead silent, yet all the familiar faces – Remus excluded – were there. Ron sat on the bottom of the stairs, his hands stuffed in his pockets and Ginny at his side. The younger Weasley gave Hermione an apologetic look, and while Ron wouldn't hold her gaze, she caught his darting glances in her direction. The hurt was still there, along with fresh guilt, but Hermione found no spite in his expression. She found later by Ginny that Mrs. Weasley had popped into Grimmauld Place's kitchen to see what was taking them so long and overheard Ginny as she reasoned with Ron.

The Order members took turns in offering her their sympathies once Mrs. Weasley finally let go of her, and Hermione was Mollycoddled for the rest of the evening, which only made Ron sulk and climb – with no less than a tray filled with chocolate cake – his way into his old room. Hermione's chest felt heavy watching him go, yet a venomous voice inside that sounded much like Rita Skeeter congratulated her on her luck. After all, had he preferred to talk right there and then what would she say? 'The thing is that I fell for someone while you mourned your brother' hardly seemed like an apology. A sick feeling sank into her stomach, as her mind, in lieu of Skeeter herself, added, 'Isn't that right, devious Miss Granger?'

Just as they were about to leave to Grimmauld Place, however, Kingsley pulled her aside.

"I've been hoping to talk to you… would you join me for lunch, say, this Friday?" His booming voice was pleasant and his smile wicked – both assets he certainly knew how to use – but his face betrayed nothing, "There's something I'd like to ask."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "About?"

He chuckled and Hermione couldn't tell whether it was her distrust or the request itself that amused him so, "Order business."

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A/N: Here's the new (and so very late) chapter! My old computer broke (read: I dropped it from a considerable height and the crash left no survivors) so I lost a lot of stuff because I've been too lazy to back up my data since… December. So word of advice: back up yours NOW.

That being said, I wish all the moms reading this a happy Mother's Day! You wonderful, cool women that love Harry Potter ;)

I hope you enjoyed!

Pumpkin pasties to…

My reviewers: Crossy70, Siriusly Orion Wicked, wayfaring stranger go, nostalgiakills, Buffalochip, Sampdoria, bimbumel, SereniteRose, SimplyIsabelleS, IrishIris, rosesnblueberries, Guest, DewieDTT, and Angel Benhoff.

To FastTurtles410, SimplyIsabelleS, alldifferentallsame, Velasco, wtfandom, luminastra, DramaQueen4eva, Little devil96, 8742596, LoveandWinning, Veritas Sanctus, jadeweepingrose, and bethawatt3 for adding the story to their favorites.

And to FastTurtles410, SHAIENRF, HarveyCheyne, Kitaluv, rosie608, SimplyIsabelleS, alldifferentallsame, stargazer1010, WanderiaWeasley, Lunavert, Ravenclaw Dalek, eidh21, starlily, wtfandom, Dannii94, 91, luminastra, DramaQueen4eva, Little devil96, Arkansas Sweetheart, Georgette80, 10gilbme, Angel Benhoff, Veritas Sanctus, jadeweepingrose, ElisaRenee123, Doxxie22, and Thelittlegreenbook for following the story.

To Guest: I'm sorry you feel that way. I know that longer chapters are more satisfying, but I feel more comfortable writing shorter ones and that was the deal from the beginning. You may find that reading two or three of them together might make for a "full chapter". Regarding Australia, I didn't expand that part because I chose not to disclose what went down there with Hermione until Remus found her and I believe there's a limit to how much you should frustrate readers by searching for someone you know isn't there. I'm still learning how to write – you wouldn't believe the amount of rules and advice on story structure, characters, and compelling writing that is out there – but the point is that I'm trying to have a good time and share while doing it. Anyone that wants to tag along is more than welcome to :)

Thank you all! Please review :)