: Do none of you know what disclaimer means by now? Me no owney!
A/N: As I was writing this, I was watching '8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter' and Paul died! It was so sad! I cried! But all that aside, I practically wrote this chapter in one day! gasp I know! It's shocking.

Right, like I said on my profile, this chapter is way shorter than any of the others because it's simply a filler chapter. Next chapter we'll deal with more plot developmenty stuff. Ok, on with the story! Happy reading!

Chapter Eight: Recollections and Healing

Ron's POV

I open my eyes to find myself in Aria's bedroom, sitting on Aria's bed, with Aria in my arms. She's sleeping peacefully for once, her head on my chest, an almost-smile on her face. I smile at her and hug her softly. I shift around a bit and manage to get a hand free to feel her forehead. It's no longer burning. Somewhere in the night, her fever must have broken.

Gently, I ease myself out from under her and tuck the covers in around her. For the first time, I notice the new bedding. When did this happen? The comforter is just plain white with a sky blue border, and the pillowcases match. The sheets are soft and the same color blue as the borders. Where did this come from?

Deciding I can just ask Keira about it later, I leave the room.

Downstairs in the kitchen, I find Keira sitting across the table from Eva. They both look up and smile at me as I come down the steps, and Keira stands to get me a plate. I smile back thankfully as I sit down beside Eva.

"I didn't know you were coming over today," I comment. She just smiles.

"I thought I'd stop by and see how Aria is," she says, taking a sip of her tea.

"Better, actually. Her fever broke last night. She was sleeping pretty easily when I left her."

"That's good," Eva comments somewhat absent-mindedly.

"Are … are you alright?" I ask her, noticing her blank stare and her somewhat forlorn expression.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keira slip out of the room and up the stairs quietly. For about half a second I wonder why she trusts me alone with this woman she hardly knows, but then I shake the thought away. Keira trusts me. That's enough.

Eva sighs and sets her cup down on the table. She looks at me.

"No," she says. "I'm not alright. I spent all day yesterday thinking that if Hermione were still alive, Aria wouldn't be sick. I wouldn't be wondering if I'm going to make it at my job. I wouldn't be here talking to the man my best friend was in love with." After the last statement, she closes her eyes in one of those 'I-can't-believe-I-just-said-that' expressions.

I cock my head at her, not sure what to say.

"I'm sorry. Forget my mumbling. I should be happy, right? Aria's getting better." She forces a smile onto her face. I can't help thinking I've never seen a worse attempt at a false look of happiness.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" I ask her.

"Sure," she sighs.

"When I take Aria to the house … Hermione's house …will you come with us?"

Eva looks surprised and touched at my offer. "Of course," she says with a smile.

"Thanks. I don't know if I could do it by myself."

"It's hard," she agrees. "It's just … so hard," she repeats, and this time I know she's not talking about the house. "I mean, she was my best friend. I still remember the first day se ever came to St. Mungo's. She was what, nineteen? Twenty? And she had the tiniest baby girl in her arms. I was a fresh-out-of-Hogwarts trainee, working on the first floor, and I walked into the waiting room, and she was sitting there. Just sitting there. So patient."

She pauses to take a deep breath, and I wait for her to pull herself together.

"I remember watching the Head of my ward go over there and ask her if he could help her, and she started talking to him. I could tell right away he liked her personality – I mean, who didn't? The next day she walked up to me and asked me where she could find some Healer's robes. Since she'd never attended her seventh year of Hogwarts, she had to work twice as hard as everyone there, but she did it. I never figured out how she took care of that little girl and fit work in at the same time.

"It took her all of five minutes to become my best friend. That first day, she came to me probably twenty times to ask me how to do things, but she learned fast. She never asked me the same question twice. The next week she brought that baby over to my house, and if those big blue eyes didn't steal my heart away the second I saw her." Eva breaks off and smiles, her eyes shining with remembrance.

She looks at me, and her smile fades. "I miss her so much sometimes. I remember when my daughter was born – she's almost a year old now. Hermione was the first one outside the family to ever hold her… I miss her so much," she says again, looking down at the table.

"Me too," I whisper. "I wish I'd had contact with her the last twelve years. I missed out on all of Aria's childhood."

"Oh, there's some funny stories there," Eva says with a smile. "Did you ever hear about Aria's first swearword?"

"Ass?" I ask, smiling at the memory of that story. Eva nods and grins.

"Oh, it was so funny. Of course, the window was open, which made it slightly less funny, but it was still hilarious. Hermione wouldn't speak to me for days. She was so mad. Now of course, it's hilarious. Every time she told that story she'd laugh and laugh. But at the time…" she shakes her head, still grinning.

"It sounds like Aria had a very colorful childhood," I say, unable to help myself. Eva laughs.

"Definitely. Oh. There was this one time, we took her to a Muggle zoo…" as Eva launches into a story concerning Aria's first time seeing a monkey, I sit back and smile. Of the few times I'd talked to Hermione in the last year, we'd only ever once talked about Aria as a young child, and that was maybe five minutes.

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Aria's POV

It's dark. But not unpleasantly so. I'm not cold, and I'm not burning hot. The pounding in my head has finally gone away. I can feel my bedding rubbing against my face, and it feels wonderfully smooth and cool. I smell something … fresh and … springy almost. It smells like rain. I can hear someone moving around me quietly, then not at all.

Straining my ears for the sound of footsteps, the idea comes into my head that my darkness isn't really that dark. And then I can open my eyes.

I look around. The room is familiar. It's my room. Of course. And suddenly everything comes rushing back to me: Mum, Dad, Keira, the storm, the rain, the cold, the pain. I close my eyes. The darkness is refreshing.

"Aria?" My eyes snap open. Sean. I smile at him.

"You're awake."

I open my mouth to say something really witty like 'Yeah' but nothing comes out of my mouth. I guess not using it for awhile can do that to you.

I clear my throat and try to sit up, and Sean is at my side instantly. He helps me into a sitting position and I give him a weird look as he arranges the pillows behind me. That's when I notice the new bedding.

"Where's Dad?"

Wait, did I just say that? It's Sean's turn to give me a weird look. His mouth half open, he gestures uselessly out the door and then looks back at me.

"I-I'll just go get him," he stutters.

Sitting there by myself, I wonder how that came out of my mouth. Since when do I call my father 'Dad'? The last time I remember even referring to him was when I screamed at Keira that she could tell him whatever it was I'd yelled at her before running out into the rain.

"Hey, look who's awake!" My fa– Dad says, sticking his head in the door and grinning. I smile back.

"Hi."

"Are you hungry?" he asks knowingly, raising his eyebrows.

"Starved."

"Are you up for coming downstairs?"

I think about it. "I don't know," I answer honestly.

"Wanna try?" he asks, holding his hand out to me. I smile and take it.

He helps me out of bed and I stand up uncertainly, clutching his arm tightly. Easy enough.

We walk down the stairs slowly, my dad helping me whenever I trip, but other than that not really supporting me. When I walk into the kitchen, I'm more than shocked to see Eva sitting there, sipping tea.

"Eva!" I exclaim, running to her. She stands up and wraps her arms around me.

"Oh, it is so good to hear your voice," she murmurs, kissing the top of my head. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," I tell her, hugging her back. "How's Madison?" I ask as she pulls back and holds my face between her hands, scrutinizing me.

"Oh, she's walking the house down. Never stops that, girl," she says, and I smile.

"You should eat something," my dad says, handing me a plate of food. I sit down at the table and start to eat slowly. After the first few bites, I realize just how hungry I really am.

"Whoa! Slow down there! Are you Sean in an Aria costume, or what?" Dad jokes, passing me a glass of water. I finish it off in three large gulps. Dad and Eva watch me with amused expressions as I wolf down eggs and bacon and sausage and whatever else was on my plate when I started.

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Eva's POV

Seeing Aria awake and smiling and eating is almost as good as actually having Hermione back. She's chattering away to Ron, taking about who knows what, but at least she's talking. I've missed her so much.

I sit there watching her, and I can't help but see how all of the characteristics that made her like Hermione are now fused with the things that make her Ron's daughter. I ponder over this for a few minutes. It's not just her looks. Of course, looking at her, it's hard to decide who she looks like more. Right now, smiling and laughing with her father, I'd say Ron. But lying upstairs sleeping, sick and in pain? She looked so much like Hermione then that I wanted to cry.

I love Aria like my own daughter – I have since the very first time I ever saw her, just over twelve years ago. And even though after hearing about Hermione's death, I was expecting a call from her parents telling me to pick up Aria, I'm glad now that Hermione changed her mind. This is where Aria belongs. With her family.

A/N: Well, I finally got that essay done! Oh, and to anyone who heard about my poor sprained pinky finger, it feels much better now, but it still looks slightly crooked… Anyway! Thanks for reading. Please review!