-1Chapter 3 - The Nightmare and more

To all who have read or may read…my and more may leave you going "wow that was quick" so this is a forewarning. Don't like sex, don't read it. Sorry this chapter is much shorter then the previous as well.

George and Ron were nearly finished with their game of Exploding Snap when Hermione walked over.

"Alright Mione?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to head on up to bed though."

"Oh. Well if you want to wait a few minutes I'll go up with you."

Hermione didn't say anything, just sat down and rested her head against Ron's shoulder. George looked up at the pair and noticed Hermione was nearly asleep. "I should really get going. It's late and I do have a business to run. Look, I'm sorry about causing Ginny to run off earlier."

"Don't worry about it George. She's been having a really hard time since the war ended." Ron took one of Hermione's hands and played with it, knowing it would make her fully fall asleep in no time. "Just give her a bit of time and an apology. She's not the same little girl you promised a toilet seat to when we went to Hogwart's and she didn't."

"I know. I'll drop by tomorrow. See ya." He got up and went over to Alicia who'd fallen asleep on the couch. "Alicia time to go." He gently shook her.

"With you?" she smirked.

"Yea you can come home with me."

"Side along?"

George laughed a little. "Sure . Whatever you'd like."

Alicia woke up enough to stand up and wrap her arms around George. They apparated back to George's flat and went straight to bed.

Molly was about ready to get up when Ron looked over at her. "Mum did Harry and Ginny come back tonight?"

"They went straight to bed dear. Hermione told me she saw them come in. You should be headed up too."

"You don't mind Mione sleeping in my room?"

"No go ahead."

"Thanks Mum." Ron carefully got up and lifted Hermione into his arms, cradling her. Hermione instinctively wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and laid her head against his chest. She let out a soft moan when Ron kissed her. When they got upstairs, Ron carefully changed Hermione into a night shirt. "Sleep well." He kissed her as he laid her down on his bed. "I love you."

Hermione smiled in her sleep filled state and drifted completely off after an hour. She always thought too much when it came to any part of the day she wasn't fully asleep. Even then, her mind wasn't turned off completely. She'd always been ok while sleeping with Ron and never thought much of the war. It wasn't her thing to dwell on past events. Tonight was different though. Hermione started off with thrashing around in bed, narrowly missing punching Ron's eye. She did, however, kick him…rather hard, which woke him up straight away.

"Mione." he laid a hand on her shoulder. No reaction. "Mione wake up." The only reaction was Hermione continuing to thrash around. That was, until she screamed and woke up.

"Don't hurt me." She backed up from Ron a little, unaware it was even him she was with.

"Mione I never intend on hurting you…"

Hermione finally realized who she was with, and wrapped her arms tightly around Ron crying.

"What is it love?"

"It was horrible. You know how there are still Death Eaters out there? Well I was going to work with some people at St. Mungo's, must have been some sort of school project because I was wearing my robes…anyway I was going there and Lucius Malfoy grabbed me. I don't know where he came from. I was trying everything to get rid of him, I even bit him. I couldn't use my wand, he had me held too tightly. He took me to his house and started torturing me. He said I'd pay for what we'd done. He said if he had to live without a son, you could live without me." She started crying harder.

Ron did the best he could to comfort Hermione, "I won't let that happen to you."
"But you can't stop…what if…I…" Hermione kept getting choked up.

"Shh. Mione I promise you I will not let anything happen to you. Kingsley is the new Minister of Magic and he has the Aurors working round the clock to catch any remaining Death Eater. They already have the majority of them." Ron took Hermione's hand and kissed the back of it. "Do you want some tea? Might help you back to sleep."

"That sounds good…but I'm coming with you."
Ron smiled but didn't laugh. "Come on." He got up and held a hand out for her. When they got downstairs they noticed Harry sitting at the table with his own cup of tea. "Can't sleep?"

Harry didn't seem startled in the least. "No. I keep thinking about how bad off I left Ginny. She's so thin and pale now. And things rub her the wrong way all too easily. It's like some part of her is just gone and I feel as though it's probably my fault."

Hermione went and sat by Harry. "The war had a different affect on all of us Harry. I think she took things harder because she watched you almost die. She refused to talk to anyone when you ran away. When we would go to bed at night, she would always just lay there, but when she'd finally fall asleep it would be because I'd either hold her hand, or she'd have been crying, me hugging her and then falling asleep because we were both too exhausted."
"Thanks for being her friend," Harry said a little too sarcastically.

"Well I was only trying to help."
"So how does any of that make it not my fault Hermione. I left, she cried, she didn't eat and she cut. How's that NOT my fault?" His tone had raised more then he knew.

"Could you two leave it for a minute?" Ron had finally spoken up. "Harry look, it's no one's fault that Ginny reacted the way she did. She's hidden every emotion growing up because she had six brothers. She never saw it as right to cry in front of us. After her first year, she really hid everything that much more. Summer after her fourth year, she'd play beater when we'd set up the Quidditch Pitch out back. She thought anger was the only way to show anything, without getting picked on. Her storming off at dinner was because she can't see things as clearly as she once did. It hurts her when someone says something even remotely mean about someone else. None of that has to do with you though. She still hasn't cried over Fred's death." Ron sat down after the tea was done. "It's been hard for all of us."

"But why does she do this to herself?"
Hermione looked up at Harry, "As numb as it sounds, it's her way of coping. She thinks it's the only way that things will be right again."
"Ron do you think your Mum will let her off to Grimmauld Place for a while?"
"If it's what Ginny wants, yea."

"I'm going to head back up. I'm sorry if I snapped at you Hermione."
It's ok." She hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Get back up there. She needs you."
Harry wandered back to Ginny's room. This was the first time he'd noticed, however, that all pictures of Fred near her room had been taken down. When he walked in, he saw Ginny sitting by her window looking out. He went up behind her and slowly wrapped his arms around her. "Can't sleep?"
"I thought you were a dream, or some kind of illusion. I woke up to find you gone."

"Love, I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep myself so I went down and got some tea. Come back to bed with me?"
"Promise you won't leave again?"
"I'll wake you and tell you if I get up." He kissed her then led her back to bed. Ginny tightly wrapped her arms around Harry and went back to sleep.

"Why didn't you tell Harry about your dream?"
"He has enough to worry about without me interfering in his life. Ginny needs him. If I tell him I dreamt about Lucius Malfoy coming after me, he'd surely go out and try to find him."
"He might." Ron found himself with Hemione leaning against him once again. "Do you want to go back up to bed?"

"No. Can we go sit in the living room and just stay there for a bit? Please."

"Ok." Ron took her hand and his tea and went to the living room. He pulled Hermione down to sit on his lap and gave her a gentle kiss. Hermione set her mug down on the coffee table and started snogging Ron like she hadn't seen him in years. When they broke apart for a moment, Ron looked at her, "Not that I mind, but is this the reason you wanted to stay up?"
"No, but you provoked it," she smirked and went back to snogging Ron. She'd always been shy about herself but felt it was time to let loose a bit. She took Ron's hand and put it on her hip, slowly leading it up her side until she reached her breast.

"Mione are you sure?"

"Mhm," she'd gone back to kissing him. Ron had taken control of his own hand and started gently massaging Hermione's breast. He slipped his other hand under her shirt which caused Hermione to gently moan and sent chills down her spine. Hermione slid off of Ron's lap and took his hand. "Come on you." Ron did what Hermione said, not knowing if he'd be able to stop himself if things became more heated. She led him upstairs back to his room and locked the door behind them.

"Mione what are you…"
but Hermione cut Ron off mid sentence by placing a kiss upon his lips. She quietly placed a silencing charm on the room and nipped at the bottom of Ron's ear. "It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for Ronald." She continued kissing him and led him towards the bed. A smirk filled her face and she looked at Ron. "I love you. Never in my life did I think someone would go for, what did Snape call me…an insufferable know it all…but you did. It was only after you'd realized that some people were only good for snogging." Hermione pressed her body close to Ron's and kissed him hard. "I'm ready if you are."

Ron looked at her momentarily then kissed her. "I don't want to force anything on you. I love you far too much to…"
"But I want to. You're not forcing me into anything." She went back to kissing Ron and tugged at the bottom of his shirt. He willingly helped her and broke their kiss only when he lifted the shirt over his head. Hermione pulled back a bit and looked at him. Ron was almost scared to keep going but knew he wanted to. He started to lift up on Hermione's night shirt and felt a hand slip down on his own thigh and he shivered. Hermione ripped her night shirt off and started kissing Ron's neck. He cupped her breasts in his hands and started massaging them, causing Hermione to moan. She slid her hand to Ron's inner thigh and could feel Ron getting harder. Her own nipples were fully erect and Ron was pinching them, kissing Hermione full on. She slid her other hand down and started to tug down on Ron's pants. Hermione got off of Ron's lap and slid his pants and boxers down. She then quickly slid her panties off and straddled him once again. Hermione didn't care how wrong this had seemed, she wanted and needed it. She leaned into Ron, kissing him fiercely, nipping at his bottom lip and positioning her wet core right over Ron. Ron slid his hands down to Hermione's ass and urged her onto him. She more then willingly started making love to Ron, feeling the heat and passion between them. Hermione could feel Ron throbbing between her legs and sped her pace, deepening her kisses. "Gods Ron" Hermione moaned into his mouth and pushed herself to grind on him even harder and faster. Ron could tell and flipped Hermione so she was lying on the bed and he was on top. He was able to plunge himself deeper and harder then Hermione had thought possible. Her breathing had quickened and she felt herself coming close to orgasm. "Harder Ron…" she urged him on and moaned as Ron worked himself in and out of Hermione fiercely. "Fuck!" Hermione could feel her own muscles tightening around Ron and bit down on her lower lip. Ron pushed himself faster in and out of Hermione and felt himself begin to climax. Hermione was doing the same and she grabbed tightly at his back. She rode out the amazing orgasm she was having and could feel the heat flowing between her and Ron. When her orgasm was over she looked up at Ron with tear filled eyes.

"Did I hurt…"

"No. That was…wow" She smiled "I love you."

Ron moved a strand of hair from Hermione's face and leaned down to kiss her. "I love you too." Ron laid down next to Hermione. She turned to him and intertwined their legs kissing gently on his neck. She slipped her arm over his stomach and moved her head down to lie on his chest. "Goodnight."

Ron kissed the top of her head and pulled the covers up over them. "Night Mione."

Hermione's smile held and she had absolutely no trouble sleeping.