Relief

Darkness.

The crushing weight of her eyes left Hermione feeling dizzy as she struggled to open them. She could see nothing; the darkness was complete. As she struggled against it, she felt the overwhelming sensation that, though she was moving parts of her body in her mind, her body was not responding.

Terror.

It was the sound she heard in the word 'no' as it was yelled hopelessly. It was the feeling of being in someone's arms and having them nearly shake with their own terror. It was the knowledge that her body was not responding to her mind.

Safety.

What she now felt as she heard Ron's whisper-soft voice saying, "I've got you, Hermione." She let go, then, slipping back into total blackness, knowing she could trust Ron completely.

** **

Ron felt the pressure that came with Apparition leave him suddenly, and the absence of it forced him to his knees. He was still clutching Hermione's limp body in his arms as complete sobs racked his own. He shook from his fear while he listened to shouts that were growing closer and closer.

He felt someone fall to their knees in front of him, and saw them reach a hand out to take Hermione from him, "Ron, let me–"

"Don't touch her!" Ron screamed. His brother Bill, looking at him sympathetically, leaned back and then stood as Ron did as well, shaking even more so. Ron recognized somewhere in his mind that it was only his brother, and that he would never intentionally hurt Hermione, but his absolute terror from earlier in the night prevented him from trusting anyone.

As he stood there and clutched the love of his life to his body, he looked at Bill pleadingly, "Please," he whispered, "I need your help."

Whether it was his pleading look, Hermione herself, or the fact that Ron never, ever asked for help unless he absolutely needed it, Bill nodded once, turned, and took off at a run towards the house. Ron followed, going as fast as he could until he finally managed to reach the bedroom Bill had entered. "You can put her on the bed in here," Bill told him quietly.

Bill didn't offer to help again, and Ron didn't want him to as he set Hermione gently on the bed. He didn't pull away as Bill left the room, and didn't bother look up as Bill re-entered and placed a chair beside Hermione's bed. "Ron, you can stay with her – sit here."

Fleur entered the room and looked at Bill, "'Arry 'as arrived, and 'e needs our assistance."

Bill nodded, glanced at Ron once more, and left the room. Ron barely noticed; he was concentrating fully on Hermione.

"I will return in a moment," Fleur told him quietly as she ran from the room.

Alone with just Hermione and his thoughts, Ron could not help but replay the night over and over in his mind – the terror, her screams…. He felt his stomach turn over and barely made it to the adjoining loo before heaving into it.

When he returned and sat on the chair, he took her hand in his and leaned his head on the bed, not bothering to force his tears back.

A slight rustle of clothing announced the return of his sister-in-law and Ron looked up as Fleur entered the room hastily. He was totally calm until Fleur pulled out her wand and pointed it at Hermione, and in that second his heart raced and something inside him snapped. "What are you doing?" He gasped, jumping up and pulling out his own wand, turning it on Fleur.

Fleur hesitated, and upon seeing the look in his eyes, lowered her wand. "I need to 'elp 'er, Ron. If you 'ex me, it will make matters worse." Ron struggled to gain control of himself. This night had thrown him entirely off. With a nod, he put away his wand carefully and sat slowly back down, taking Hermione's hand in his again.

"I just don't want her to be hurt anymore," he said in a quiet voice.

Fleur smiled sadly at him, "I know, mon frère. She will be alright." She turned back to Hermione then, and Ron watched silently. He knew Fleur wouldn't hurt Hermione on purpose, but seeing a wand turned on her again had caused him to act irrationally.

It seemed to take Fleur ages to clear away all the glass and use the Essence of Dittany on her cuts. Finally, in a hoarse voice, Fleur said, "She will be alright... there is nothing more I can do for her now. When she wakes, give 'er this."

Ron accepted the potion she handed him and then looked into Fleur's face. Normally, he would have felt flustered by Fleur's presence, but all worry for Hermione had driven those thoughts from his mind. For the first time, Ron seemed to be not affected by Fleur's Veela characteristics. He nodded once and said stiffly, "Thank you for everything, Fleur."

She returned his nod and then left the room, taking her medicines with her. Ron directed his full attention to Hermione, and forced himself not to think about the past few hours. She was safe, she was alive, and she was with him. That was all that mattered.

It was only when she let out a soft moan that he realized he was barely breathing. He took a giant gulp of air and choked in his excitement – she really was all right.

"Ron," Hermione whispered. Her voice was hoarse and her eyes remained closed. He squeezed her hand as gently as he could, releasing the pressure when he noticed her slight wince.

"I'm here," he told her, tears filling his eyes in relief. He had come so close to losing her that he was sure he would never recover from it. The very thought would haunt him to his grave.

She finally opened her eyes the slightest bit, and smiled weakly when she saw him, "I knew you'd rescue me."

Ron smiled back, but didn't agree – he had failed her in so many ways to his mind. He wasn't sure what to say to that, not wanting her to lecture him when she was so injured. Instead, he changed the subject. "How are you feeling?"

Hermione shifted slightly and let out a gasp of pain, her eyes widening from the shock of it. "Not well," she admitted quietly. "Will you help me sit up?"

Ron bit his lip in hesitation, knowing it would cause her a great deal of pain to move. After a moment of silent debate, he realized she would be far worse off if she attempted it herself.

"All right, then." He agreed. Hermione's expression softened. Ron stood up and slid his left arm behind her shoulders as carefully as he could. "Try to just relax and let me support you."

Using his one arm, Ron pulled her halfway to a sitting position, trying not to visibly wince at the sound of Hermione's labored breathing. With his free hand, he picked the pillow up so it was resting against the headboard. "Tell me if it hurts too much."

"I'm fine." Hermione wheezed, clearly anything but. If the situation wasn't so serious, Ron would have rolled his eyes.

"Here's the hard part," he said quietly. He hesitated, knowing she was going to really feel the pain of this. At her slightly flustered look, he slid his right arm under her knees and as quickly and carefully as he could, lifted her backwards so that she was sitting and her back was leaning against the propped pillow.

Ron removed his arms and sat on the chair again, worry marring his expression. "'Mione, are you all right?"

After a few minutes in which she simply breathed in and out, Hermione finally smiled softly at him. "Yes, the pain is becoming tolerable again."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ron exclaimed, reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing the potion Fleur had left behind. He pulled the lid off and held it up for her to see. "Fleur wants you to take this," Ron explained.

"Can you…." Hermione stopped talking, a pink blush crossing her features. "Can you help me?"

"Yeah, of course." Ron moved the bottle to her lips and tilted it back slowly for her. His ears were as pink as her cheeks.

When she had drank a little of it, he pulled the bottle away and Hermione made a face. "That tastes extremely sour."

"It'll help, though." Ron told her, looking at the bottle. "It's for pain relief and strengthening sore muscles."

"Perfect," Hermione replied, shifting slightly and wincing. She closed her eyes as she leaned against the headboard. "I'm sorry, Ron."

Ron looked at her, flabbergasted. "You're sorry? For what?"

She opened her eyes once more and turned to look at him. "For giving you such a hard time when you came back to us. The things I did…."

"Hermione, you must have lost your mind if you think there's anything you need to apologize for. The whole time I was gone, all I kept thinking about was all the horrible things I said to you." Ron felt the shame wash through him again as he recalled the bleakest time of his life. "You had every right to be as mad as you were."

"No, not really. I didn't even tell you how relieved I was to see you. I hid behind my anger, and I'm sorry for that."

"You call that being relieved to see me?" Ron chuckled.

Hermione smiled slightly. "It makes the birds seem like fun, doesn't it?"

Ron looked down at the small scars still lingering on his wrists and hands. "Not really." He watched in mute surprise as Hermione took one of his hands in her own.

"I wish I hadn't hurt you, too," Hermione told him lightly.

"Don't apologize," he told her again. "I should never have left you, 'Mione. I feel terrible about it."

"'Mione?" she asked, raising one eyebrow. She shifted again on the bed, still not releasing his hand, and Ron was pleased to note that she didn't seem to be in as much pain anymore.

Ron shrugged lightly, "Yeah – sorry. I won't say it if you don't want me to."

"I think it will grow on me," she told him lightly.

A silence fell between them, but it was not an awkward or embarrassed silence. It was….right.

"What did you want to say to me?" Ron asked her after a few moments.

The pink blush returned to Hermione's cheeks, "I would have told you–"

Fleur entered the room, then, interrupting whatever Hermione was about to say. Ron silently cursed as Fleur turned to him and said, "'Arry needs your 'elp, Ron."

Ron nodded and turned to look at Hermione once more. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he told her.

She smiled at him, still unable to nod, and released his hand. Ron stood up and quickly leaned towards her, kissing her cheek. As he left the room, his ears turned pink.

** **

"Almost there," Fleur told her, keeping her arms securely around Hermione as they stepped down the last stair.

Hermione smiled at her gratefully. "Fleur, you've done so much. Thank you."

Fleur smiled softly as Luna opened the front door for them and Bill led the way into the darkness. "Anytime."

The three made their way slowly out the door towards the grave Harry, Ron, and Dean had dug. When her eyes fell upon Ron, the place on her cheek he had kissed earlier seemed to set alight with fire. It had been very difficult to focus on Fleur's medical attention after the kiss.

They reached the others after what felt to be a year spent walking, and Hermione found herself incredibly exhausted. She came to a shaky stop beside Ron and he instantly put an arm around her, holding her as tightly to his body as he dared. She was overcome by the feeling of warmth that overcame her, and as he quickly pressed his lips to her forehead, she fought the urge to sigh lightly.

This was safety, and if she was being totally honest, there was nowhere else she'd rather be.

A/N: Well, there you have it! The third and final chapter of my story. For those of you whom were expecting the chapter last week, my most sincere apologies. As some of you know, I was very ill with H1N1 and could not bring myself to be in a writing kind of mood. I hope this chapter has made the wait worth it, and I can't wait to hear what you think! Thanks for reading :)