Disclaimer: See last chapter.
~ Two years before ~
Hermione smiled when she felt arms wrap around her waist, a small kiss being placed on her neck before his lips trailed up to her cheek. She turned around to wrap her arms around his neck, kissing him softly on the lips. He grinned, pulling her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist.
He felt her finger curl around his hair as they both deepened the kiss, moaning in pleasure. They both pulled away for air, looking into each other's eyes – brown mixing with blue as they stared at each other. Hermione broke the eye contact first, moving her head to his shoulder, kissing his neck before closing her eyes.
He smiled when he realized how tired they both were from a day of planning, he nodded at Harry and Ginny as he slowly picked her up. Hermione yawned, her hands still in his hair as she snuggled into his shoulder a little more. Ron muttered a goodnight to his family, taking her upstairs.
"I love you," She muttered into his neck, "I love you too.." He smiled down at her, laying her on his bed as he ran his fingers through her long hair., smoothing it down gently as he lay next to her, moving his arms down to wrap around her waist.
Hermione finally opened her eyes, blushing a little before kissing him softly on the lips, smiling when he kissed back. It was their last night before they were leaving for Hogwarts, it was the last night before the war began and they both wanted to make the most of it together, wrapping their arms around each other as they closed their eyes, falling asleep quickly.
~ .. ~
Ron looked around for Hermione, calling her name loudly, he could feel his heart thumping against his chest as his breath quickened, panic rising to the surface as he carried on looking. He saw others looking for their lost loved ones, some coming across their dead bodies while others kept calling out. He looked down at the faces of those who didn't survive the war, biting his lip and wishing he'd find Hermione alive and well soon.
Running outside, he called her name once more; smiling when he finally saw her, beaten but alive. "R-Ron.." She stuttered, taking a step forward from the darkness, to reveal the person behind her, an arm around her neck, pulling her close to him.
He took a step to her, his head shaking, not knowing what to say or what to do as the man tightened his grip around her neck before apparating right in front of him. His heart thumped harder and harder against his chest, looking around for her, tears falling down his bruised and bleeding face as he tried to face the feeling that she was gone, and she might not ever be back.
~ .. ~
Hermione held her hand to her head, groaning in pain as she looked around the tiny room she had found herself in. She bit down on her lip, trying to hold back the tears at the memories of her earlier capture.
She tried to remember what happened before she ended up here, closing her eyes as she tried to think past the pain and think about what happened before; Ron. Blood. Gone.
She opened her eyes in shock and shook her head, she tried to tell herself that they hadn't hurt Ron, that he was going to be okay, the thoughts of him laying there dead or in pain haunting her mind as she tried her best to think of him looking for her instead.
She had tried to scream out for him when she heard him calling her name, but a rough hand had clamped over her mouth before she could, she remembered trying to fight them off as best she could but it was no good – she was weak from the war, and was already hurt. She struggled in his tight grip until Ron came into sight, she took one last look at him before they apparated and then he was gone.
She looked around the room she had woken up in, wondering where she was as she stumbled around for her wand. She took in the dark, gloomy stone walls and sighed, there was no natural light coming into the room, so she was alone in the dark, unable to do anything about it.
The metal door in front of her reminded her of the severity of this situation, and she shook her head, sitting up on the cold, hard mattress she had woken up on. She groaned loudly when she noticed the chains for the first time that bound her to the metal bed, clamping tightly around her ankles – stopping her from going anywhere, and making her feel more and more like a prisoner every second.
Hermione sighed, dropping her head back as she ignored the pain that was rushing through her body. She thought about Ron, trying to imagine what it would have been like to be cuddled up next to him al night as they talked about everything that had happened during the war, both of them eating, smiling and finally happy. She loved being alone with him, she couldn't wait for the war to end so they could be happy together.
Nothing mattered when she was with Ron, time seemed to stop when she was in his arms, other faces seemed to blur and voices faded. All that mattered was them; Ron and Hermione. She wished he was here right now, holding her in his arms and whispered into her ear, trying to tell her it would be alright, that they would get out of her, that they would be able to live through this.
But he wasn't here, she was. She was all alone and she didn't know if she could cope on this all alone, she wasn't strong enough anymore. She felt her whole body shake at the thought of the men who had stolen her away from the boyfriend, her family, the man who hadn't shown any mercy at all when she begged them to stop, whimpering that the war was over, there wasn't anything left to fight for.
~ .. ~
Ron looked around the room he found himself in, the familiar walls seeming a comfort to him as he sat up, "Hermione?" He ignored the throbbing pain that ran through his head as he looked around the room once more. If Hermione was okay, wouldn't she be sitting down next to him, holding his hand? Wouldn't she be laying in his arms asleep? If Hermione was okay, wouldn't she be here to let him know that it would be alright?
His heart started beating faster and faster, his breath becoming more and more erratic as he tried to think of all the reasons she wouldn't be next to him by now. He tried to think, maybe she was downstairs with his family? Maybe she had been forced to get some rest.
"Ron?" He looked up at Harry as the boy walked into the room, noticing the puffy eyes and the marks on his face. "Hermione?" He managed to croak out, looking at his best friend,
"She's gone.. nobody can find her anywhere." Harry looked down, sighing, not being able to help the feeling that this was all his fault.
"They took her..." He muttered the statement, closing his eyes as the memory came washing over him. He looked down at the bed covers, closing his eyes tighter as he tried to remember what happened.
"It's not your fault, Ron."
"I should have been able to save her, I could have..." Harry shook his head and moved closer to the bed, he knew it was best not to say anything, knowing how much his friend loved the girl they had both been close with for so long now.
Ron could only hope she was okay as he clung onto the hope that she was still alive and unhurt, he held the hope as tight as he could because he knew that if he let go, then she might not be okay and he had no idea how he would ever cope in a world without her. She was the only person who could make him happy, she was the only one who he felt completely comfortable around, and the person he could tell anything to. She showed him how easy it was to fall in love and she was the only one who made him love with everything he had.
He shook his head and put his head on the pillow, closing his eyes as he pretended it would all be okay, Hermione was next to him and her head was on his chest, her arms draped around his waist as he held her in his arms. Things were as they should be, she was safe and they were happy together; he could only dream.