A/N:- Hey guys, here you are the next chapter. Just to let you know we are moving house which means on friday I will be lossing my internet connection until we get a new one. Hopefully I wont be away for too long, I will however keep on writing and planing so dont worry. Thank you so much for your reviews, you guys are amazing!
Lots of love
Amy
x x x

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the wonderfull JKR!
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Hermione was livid; she couldn't believe him. She was too angry to think. Before she knew it, she was in the room she shared with Ginny. Furious; with both herself and Ron, she made her way to her bed where her anger turned to tears.

She wasn't sure how long she had sat there, neither did she care. Her mind was whirling; so far she had managed to cope, to hide her pain for the sake of the Weasley's, who needed her support, for her not to show any emotional weakness. Now she broke.

She sat staring at the door, half of her begging for it to open and for someone to come in to comfort her and the other hoping it remained closed. For the first time in seven years Hermione felt old; all the years of fighting had finally caught up with her. They had all grown up too fast. She realised they never really got to be three teenagers who chased the hours away with silly, childish misdeeds. She always knew the finishing of Voldemort was going to be a battle hard won, and the circumstances they had been put through she knew that dealing with a relationship, especially since one of the participants of that relationship was dealing with the loss of his brother, was going to be hard, but Hermione didn't realised it was going to be this hard.

She was so lost in her thoughts, seeing images that no else could see, she didn't notice the knock at the door or the person of her thoughts, come over the threshold.

"Hermione?"

She knew who it was. She figured after a time one of three people would come to see if she was okay. She also knew that Harry and Ginny knew when to leave her be, which would leave Ron to the said task, Hermione smiled inside, she knew her friends too well, to know that by leaving Ron the job of checking on her Harry and Ginny hoped that they would sort out their somewhat patchy relationship, something, at the moment, Hermione wasn't whether they could.

"Hermione?" she noticed the distance in his voice which was also creating the distance between them. When Hermione didn't answer, he carried on.

"Mum sent you up some pudding."

"Pudding?"

"Apple Crumble." Suddenly she was furious, she didn't care about what kind of pudding it was rather, she more shocked due to the fact he come up to give her the item in question rather than making sure she was alright. He didn't notice her cold demeanour, nor did he show any emotion in the way he spoke.

"Any other reason why you are standing in the doorway?" Hermione stood as she spoke, so did he, placing the bowl in his hands on Ginny's night table.

"No. Are you alright?" he still hadn't noticed the tone in her voice. To answer his question, Hermione shouted:

"Oh I am just fine. If you call being fine, having a boyfriend who has been slowly pushing me out since his brother died and now his making decisions without me. If you call that fine; then I am perfectly fine!"

The silence came crashing around them. All Hermione wanted was some sort of reaction; him shouting at her at the top of his voice, or even him stuttering some sort of excuse. Instead he stood there trying to comprehend her words, and then he slowly rotated on the spot and took a step towards the door.

"That's it, do what you do best. Walk out. Just be warned, I may not be so forgiving this time. I don't care anymore." The words were out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying, she hated herself for it, but her desperation for reaction, for him to stay and open up to her took over. If that didn't get a reaction out of him Hermione didn't know what would. Silently she prayed he would stay, simply not knowing what she would do if he did leave. She stood there waiting for him, determined not to speak before he did.

Ron bowed his head and closed door but didn't turn around straight away, as if keeping his face hidden was the best defence. Once he had composed himself he turned around and asked:

"What do you want from me Hermione?"

"To talk to me, to stop pushing me out." Her tone was pleading and she hesitated before slightly closing the gap between them.

"What do you want me to say? That I am sorry, that I cant cope. What Hermione?" he voice was rising; Ron couldn't seem to keep away the one emotion he had been fight against since Fred had fallen. He didn't pause long enough for Hermione to answer.

"What do you want me to say? That every time I close my eyes I see Fred, or Harry in Hagrid's arms or that when I am in room quiet enough I can still hear the echo of your screams still ring in my ears. Or that I feel so guilty for leaving you and Harry that night that I still haven't forgiven myself and never probably will. Or that I resent my family for taking my comfort but not returning it. You want to know that I have never wanted to kill anyone more in my life than I wanted to kill Bellatrix. Or that not one of the people sitting downstairs realises I saw Fred die as well as Percy and sometimes a small apart of me wishes that the wall killed Percy instead of Fred. That the image of the Great Hall, with all the bodies haunts my dreams. Do you want me to tell you that I can't forgive Percy for what he did, or how guilty I feel for planing to break into Gringotts under Bill's nose, in his house when he took us in and protected us or that I am mad at Charlie for not being at the battle and not fighting. That I feel so unwanted by my family who have so far only worried about Harry or just congratulating or thanking him so much that, that bloody locket knew it, and at the same I time I feel horridly guilty for leaving my family, knowing that we got caught, which we did, they would be in danger. Or that I blame Harry for the Malfoy Manor. Or that I am so unbelievably angry at Fred for leaving us in this mess. What Hermione? Is that what you wanted?"

He faltered and broke down. Tears were also running down Hermione's face as she stared at him before engulfing him to a hug.

She didn't know he had been feeling like all the hurt and pain he had revealed; she knew Harry and Ron had glassed over what happened when the latter had destroyed the locket and they were yet to tell her. The hurt and guilt she figured all linked back to Fred.

"I'm Sorry.....I'm….." Ron tried to tell her but his voice broke.

"Shhh. Its okay, it's okay. Come on lets sit you down." She brought him over to the bed where she slept and laid him down before heading out of the room to the bathroom across the hall, grabbing a flannel.

"Here." She said as she sat down on the side of the bed and handed him the flannel. Eventually he managed to compose himself, washing his face, he turned to Hermione.

"I'm sorry. Sorry for pushing you out, sorry for making decisions without you. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You weren't being the Ron I knew. The one who is so compassionate, who is proud to wear his heart on his sleeve, the one who is majorly jealous of Viktor Krum. The real Ron just got a little lost; it's not your fault."

"I know. I just thought that if I pretend that I am okay eventually I would be. But in the end I just dug a hole for myself and even if I did manage to get out then everyone else will think I am weak."

"You were really feeling all that?"

At this question he turned his face from Hermione, asking:

"Would you think me a bad person if I said yes?"

"I could never think you as a bad person. I would think you as someone who has been through a lot in seven years. Someone who is coping with the loss of his brother. Ron, your not weak, just someone who knows how he feels, thus you wearing your heart on your sleeve. You're a compassionate and emotional person. Its you, that's why I love you."

"I love you too" he said it looking directly into her eyes. Making sure she knew he meant it.

They sat looking at each other not needing to say anything at that moment. It was Ron who broke the silence.

"I never did tell you what happened when I destroyed the Horcrux did I?" Hermione shook her head in answer. She always knew this was a subject for him to bring up and had promised herself not to ask him questions about that night, even if it meant she would never find out. He moved over in the bed, patting the space he had created for Hermione to lay down and began telling her about the night he had returned….

Hermione was speechless; she knew Ron had a tendency to feel insecure, but she never truly saw how it had affected him.

"And all I did was to hit you and ignore you for weeks"

"I deserved it, and you know that. I learnt a lot that night. Look now that you know do you think we could just…?" they looked at each other making an unspoken promise that the subject needn't to be brought up again.

"I'm sorry for earlier, for mentioning when you left. I hated myself for it, but I just wanted to get a reaction from you and for you to feel something like I was feeling."

"I needed it." He paused as though finishing the topic. "What do you think about me helping George?"

"I think it is a good idea, but what about Hogwarts?"

"What about it? I don't want to go back, but knowing you, you want to don't you?"

"It's not so much as going back. It's more about getting my NEWTS. Are you still thinking about becoming an Auror?"

"I don't know. At the moment I just want a break from Dark Wizards. Just be a teenager for once."

Hermione nodded in response. Knowing it what they all definitely needed.

"Hey, what you going to do about your parents?" in all honesty Hermione hadn't really thought much about her parents; with being busy with recollecting their lives after the war and worrying about the Weasley's, her parents hadn't really crossed her mind. She knew they were safe, that is if her charms had worked.

"I have to go to Australia to get them I suppose. Now I know your alright I can start planning our trip." With some sort of new, exciting and safe plan to figure out, Hermione felt like she had a new purpose, a purpose that gave her an uplifting feeling after a year of constant danger and weeks of grieving.

Ron and Hermione fell into a comfortable silence. Simply enjoying each others company; stealing kisses and lightly bickering, until sleep claimed them both.