A/N: Here it is.

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. -Paul Boese

Hermione's POV

I found myself sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, sitting at one of the tables, ignoring Ron and Harry as we went on and on about Quiddich. You see, the Quiddich World Cup had been going on while Ron and I were in Austria, giving Harry the perfect opportunity to make Ron feel miserable. Unfortunately for me and maybe the two other women sitting with their excited boyfriends near by, the Leaky Cauldron still reeked of firewhiskey and was still carrying a few stragglers who had not made it back to their homes. Or maybe they lived here? Both ways, they were still intoxicated and making a big deal over the fact that Victor Krum was actually from Bulgaria.

My mind was still on the event that had happened only yesterday, back in Austria with the Death Eater. He had told me a riddle. I had already solved it, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Solomon had been put under the Ministry of Magic's control and the Aurors weren't allowed to see him without the Minister's approval. Harry and Ron had tried to get permission, but the Minister was in no way interested in giving them permission, especially after what had happened last year when Harry had made a particularly nasty comment about the rumored affair the Minister had had with a substitute teacher at Hogwarts.

This restriction led to my confusion. The Minister had been the one to ask Ron to go get Solomon in the first place. Whether or not he had given Ron a reason was still a mystery to me, but the reason the Minister had asked me to go with Ron, was not. The Minister needed Solomon completely healthy when he came to England and the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Austrian Ministry were not on best terms. The Minister didn't trust the Austrian hospital to do a good job.

"Hermione. Hermione!"

I jumped and looked around, blinking rapidly while the men just stared at me.

"You ok?" Harry asked.

I then realized that I must have drifted off in me own world and thoughts. I put on a smile and nodded.

"I'm fine, Harry. I was just thinking about that Death Eater," I told them.

Ron groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Please don't, 'Mione. I'm tired of hearing about that stupid riddle and thinking about that combusting Death Eater. We can't see Solomon so let that be the Ministry's problem, not ours," he said, taking a swig of butterbeer. "So drop it."

I glared at him.

"Drop it? Why would you want to drop it when someone's life could be in danger?" I asked.

Ron didn't bother looking at me.

"Because he's not my problem anymore," he replied.

I could feel the blood flood to my face as the anger flared.

"Why you arrogant prick!"

"Why? Because I don't give a damn about that stupid riddle?"

"No! Because you don't give a damn about anyone's life!"

The moment those words spilled out of my mouth, I regretted saying them. Harry's eyes went wide and he kind of scooted back, knowing that I had made a mistake as well. Ron's face went completely pale and his eyes seemed to flare dangerously as his muscles flexed.

"I don't give a damn? I don't give a damn?" he asked quietly, making me even more sorry I had said those words. But instead of blowing up like Harry and I thought he would, he just stood up and left, going out the back towards Diagon Alley. I sat there quietly, looking down at my hands feeling ashamed of myself. Harry was quiet for a while as well before turning to me.

"You shouldn't have said that," he whispered.

"I know, Harry," I muttered. I kept my eyes down, knowing that looking directly at him would make me feel much worse.

"You should go apologize."

I finally looked up, giving him a look as if he were crazy.

"What?"

We both knew very well that he was in a dangerous mood and that I was in no way interested in causing him to explode on me. Harry, however, knew that if I didn't apologize, he would have to deal with the unbearable tension between the two of us for the next couple of weeks until Ron decided it would be ok to talk to me again. Even then, the awkwardness of our conversations would make Harry wish that we weren't talking to each other at all. I knew he needed me to apologize, not just for our sake, but for his.

"Apologize, Hermione, or you're going to regret it."

I was about to reply, but instead I deflated and nodded silently, getting up and disapparating.

"Ron… Ron, please let me in. I came to say that I was sorry, please just let me in," I called through the door, my heart pleading for the door to open. I knew why Harry was so bent on me apologizing and didn't want that to happen. When the door didn't open I took out my wand and tapped the lock, watching it glow before turning the knob and entering his flat.

I shed my coat and hung it on the small rack and set down my bag. I moved down the small hall into the living room and looked around, noticing signs of Ron's anger. A broken lamp was lying on the ground with a cracked picture frame lying close by. Looking closer, I could see that it was the picture of me and Ron, taken a few months ago at lake at Hogwarts. But what caught my eye was a smear on the wall. It was blood. Biting my lip, I followed the smear down the other small hall to Ron's bedroom. There was no one there, but the bathroom light was on, so I stepped into the bedroom and went over to the bathroom door. Peeking in, I froze at what I saw. Ron was standing there, leaning against the sink with both hands. One of them was bleeding, dripping from the sink onto the floor and running down into the sink drain. He wasn't paying his hand any attention however. He wasn't wearing a shirt and he was staring at his chest in the mirror. That's when I had to look away and pull away from the door, pressing my back against the wall as I closed me eyes.

"RON, NO!"

A body fell from the second story window with an awful sound as it hit the ground below.

I opened my eyes, trying desperately to rid myself of those images that haunted me at night.

"Breaking and entering is a crime, you know," came Ron's voice from the bathroom.

I took a deep breath and appeared in the bathroom door.

"I just wanted to say that I was sorry… for what I said before," I added, my eyes down as Ron turned to face me. I still couldn't bring myself to face the scars of our past.

"You said I didn't give a damn about anyone's life," he said in a tone that caused shivers down my spine.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Ron," I repeated, still looking down.

Ron watched me for a moment then took a step towards me.

"Look at me, Hermione."

"Ron, please," I begged.

He knew that I hated talking about what had almost happened. The whole thing had scared me to no end and I wanted everything to forget it. But he would make me see the evidence of what had happened.

"Look at me, Hermione," he said again in a tone that commanded my obedience. He watched me as I closed my eyes and lifted my head before opening them again. My eyes immediately traveled to his chest where a long jagged purple and black scar ran from his right shoulder all the way across his chest in a diagonal fashion. There were smaller purple and black scars running around his chest from the big one, making a beautiful and frightening pattern at the same time. But with this scar came awful memories of the time before and following the incident that led to the scar. They flooded my mind and caused the tears to flow as I turned away, leaving the bedroom. Ron followed me out, finding me sitting on the couch, crying into me hands. I hated crying in front of Ron, but some how ever since we had left Hogwarts he had managed to find me crying.

"That's my fault," I cried into my hands, my shoulders shaking.

"No it's not, Hermione."

I nodded.

"Yes it is," I cried, looking up at him through teary eyes. "If I hadn't…" I couldn't finish and a fresh batch of tears spilled out over my cheeks as I began to sob again.

Ron was silent for a moment before he walked over to me, sitting down beside me.

"Please don't cry, Hermione. I hate it when you cry," he whispered.

I hiccupped and then took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down as I looked over at him.

"I shouldn't have said that. You do care, I was just-"

"Being annoying," he finished.

I let out a small sound that sounded halfway between a sob and a laugh as I wiped my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I apologized again, sighing.

Ron watched me carefully.

"So am I," he answered.

I nodded and looked down at his hand.

"You're hurt," I pointed out.

He looked down at his hand as if just realizing this and put on a wane smile.

"Yeah… I guess I was a little pissed," he muttered.

I flinched at his tone but stood up. I took his other hand and tugged him to stand up.

"Come," I whispered before leading him back to the bathroom. I turned on the faucet and took his hand, placing it under the water. We were both silent as blood mixed with water and washed down the drain, along with the blood that had stained the sink. I was doing my very best to avoid staring at his scar, the memories of it to great for me to face.

I then rummaged through his cabinet, looking for some bandages while he watched me silently, unnerving me. I hated it when he watched me with those blue eyes. I felt as if he could tell what I was thinking. He probably could.

As I waved my wand over his wound, he continued to watch me as if contemplating whether or not to speak. When I was finally done, he did speak.

"Why did you cry?" he asked quietly.

I looked up into his eyes and suddenly the bathroom felt too small. I then realized how close I was to him, but also realized that somehow I was trapped between the sink and him. The only way to get out was to touch him and that was something I did not want to do at that particular moment.

"I… I…" I was once again trying not to look at his scar. "I really don't want to talk about this, Ron," I whispered.

"Hermione-"

"Do you know how I felt? When I saw you fall out that window," I cut in, looking down at my hands, tears coming to me eyes once more. I didn't know what it was about this man, but some how he always seemed to make me cry. "We had gotten into a horrible fight and I had said things…"

Ron shook his head, taking my face in his hands.

"It wasn't your fault, Hermione. I should have never-"

"It was I fault!" I snapped, pulling away from his touch. "It was I fault that you almost…" I let out a sob and placed a hand on my mouth as I tried to keep it together. "I would have never forgiven myself… I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to tell you that-" I suddenly stopped, growing red.

"Tell me what?" he asked.

I looked up at him and I knew he could tell that I was dying to say what he knew I wanted to say.

"That I… I…"

That's when our lips met and everything else was forgotten. It was a comforting kiss that quickly heated up, fueled by the fact that I had burst into a fresh set of tears.

I really needed to stop crying.

Ron's hands came up to my face, holding me close as he deepened the kiss. I raised my hands up to his chest, causing him to flinch and caused us both to pull away from each other.

My eyes had fallen to his scar once more and before he knew it, I had moved around him and fled from the bathroom.

"Hermione!" he called, following me out to the small hallway by the front door. I was just grabbing me coat when he reached me. He grabbed it as well and I spun around in surprise, biting me lip when I saw the look in his eyes.

"I've got to get to work," I lied, tugging on me coat. I had the undeniable urge to be as far away from him as possible. Instead of answering me, he stepped closer until he once again had me pinned against the wall. I hated it when he did that. He raised a hand to my chin, forcing me to look at him before leaning in.

"Ron," I whispered, my whole being full of hesitation. Then we kissed, this time taking it slow, allowing the other time to become accustomed to the other. I then pulled away slightly, keeping my eyes closed as I struggled with my conscience, which was telling me to leave while my heart was telling me to stay where I was. I then leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. "I've got to get to work," I whispered in to his ear before moving around him and grabbing my bag. I hesitated at the door then opened it and left.

A/N: I hope you liked it!

ronandmion4ever: I'll do my best to ignore that little review. As for me knowing French, I used to be able to speak some french when I was like six or seven, but I can't speak it now. That whole thing was a translator, but I do speak German.

Starburstgoddess27: Thanks for reading!

rhinopants: Will do!

Linwe Elendil: Don't worry about the German. I'll translate for you!

Wesker888: It is different than the others, but I don't know about the horror/suspense of "Fun and Games". I think it's more like the tension/suspense of "Time Changes Everything." But who knows? You may be right. I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this story. It's pretty much writing itself.

gummyvites: Thanks for the opinions. I was actually going to translate, but I'd forgotten to until I read your review. It should be updated. Thanks for taking the time to point it out though. Hope you like the story!

Anyhoo! I hope you are all enjoying this. R/R!

Chapter Tease:

Are you going to kill your friend before I have a chance to explain?" Harry asked, his voice sounding hysterical.