DISCLAIMER: As the author of this fan fiction story I do not, in any way, profit from the story or claim any rights to the 'Harry Potter' universe. All creative rights to the 'Harry Potter' universe belong to J.K. Rowling. Thank you for letting me play in this amazing world.

CHAPTER FOUR

Harry woke up to near darkness. One of the candles he had left lit was sputtering as it struggled to stay lit in a pool of wax, the others already having been snuffed. Harry carefully reached across the still-sleeping Hermione to grab his glasses and wand. When the world came into sharper focus he looked down to check on Hermione. She still seemed deep asleep, her face relaxed though pale. She was sleeping on her side facing away from him, and Harry could still see her cut and burns standing out in contrast on her skin when he eased down the blanket. He carefully crawled out of bed, being careful to not jostle her, and grabbed the bottle of dittany after he put his shorts back on and lit a couple of candles. His body was stiff and a bit achy as he moved around, nothing a couple days' rest wouldn't take care of. He unstopped the dittany and carefully dripped it onto her back and legs, watching in frustration as the wounds lost only a small amount of their redness.

He pulled the covers back up around her and sat back on the bed with his head and arms resting on his knees. For a while he simply watched her breathe, loose curls around her face moving with her slow breaths. His mind wandered over the past year of their lives, from the time Dumbledore died to the moment Voldemort fell. He never expected to come out of this journey alive, which was why he had so heavily rejected Ron and Hermione coming with him; they deserved a chance at living a full life, deserved to make it out of their teens alive and well. However it was the company of his friends, and especially Hermione, that actually led to the defeat of Voldemort in the end. He wouldn't have succeeded on his own, he knew that now. Hermione probably always knew that the three of them would have to put their life in the gamble together to save the wizarding world, he realized.

When he and Hermione had finally admitted their love for each other, after years of dancing around it, Harry had been initially conflicted about starting a relationship because he was so sure about his impending death. He would never stop loving her, but why put her through the extra heartbreak of remembering their relationship and having it cut short very prematurely when he died? He finally admitted his worry to her and she had made him see that they should enjoy the time they had together just in case something did happen to him, and that he had also better not die after she had spent 7 years trying to keep him alive (this last part was both a joke and a serious statement). He was glad he listened to her because they had a chance to enjoy months of a happy relationship, the only bright star in their year of dark nights, so to speak. Their relationship had become very serious very fast, and they had shared some deeply intimate moments before the events at Malfoy Manor and Gringotts. If he had died in the final battle, he would have died a very happy man, he thought with a smile.

Suddenly, Harry heard the door begin to creak open and checked that he had his wand and that Hermione was fully covered before he turned to see who it was. He smiled as he saw Ron's shaggy red head appear in the wedge of the opened doorway.

"Harry? You both decent? Alright if I come in?" Ron whispered, not looking in the room to respect their privacy. Ron had easily accepted Harry and Hermione's relationship, having realized the year before that although he had always liked Hermione they would never make a good couple. He had turned a blind eye to their budding relationship while on the run, and surprisingly had not become jealous, though Harry and Hermione tried very hard to make sure their relationship was not very observable while in Ron's company out of respect for their friend and confined living quarters.

"Come in, mate. Hermione's still sleeping though." Harry whispered back to him, smiling as he watched Ron back into the room carrying a steaming tray piled with food. Ron, with a quietness that he had never been able to manage before the past year, set down the tray on the bedside table and came to stand beside the sleeping Hermione.

"She still doesn't look too good, Harry, what's wrong with her? She hasn't been right all month." Ron looked at Harry with a small scowl on his face, and Harry knew that Hermione would have to tell him soon that her torture had lasting effects because obviously Ron had noticed she wasn't well.

*FLASHBACK*

Hermione hadn't actually wanted to tell either of them that she was still suffering in the weeks after Malfoy Manor, and she was not one to complain or draw attention to herself. As she later told Harry they had enough to worry about without focusing on her pains, and at least she was able to still walk and function to some degree. Typical Hermione, Harry thought, always putting everyone else before herself. Well, not anymore, he vowed. She had been very quiet throughout the week after her torture but just told the boys she was tired from her ordeal, which was believable enough. One night the following week Harry and Ron were sleeping while Hermione kept watch outside the tent. Harry woke up to use the bathroom and decided to keep Hermione company outside for a while, not having had much private time with her lately. He quietly walked to the entrance of the tent and stopped as he could hear a quiet, muffled moan. He went into defence mode immediately and snuck up to peek out the tent, not knowing what he was going to find. He looked around the clearing and saw nothing around, then looked down at his girlfriend. She was curled up into herself, cheek lying against her knees, her body was trembling despite being covered in a few blankets. Her eyes were closed and face pinched, and he saw a tear squeezing out of her closed lid. He didn't announce himself right away but instead watched her; she wasn't even aware of his presence. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him, and she had made sure it was dark when she was changing her clothes since her torture. Finally he had had enough of watching her, and knew he had to confront her.

"Hermione…" he said quietly, moving to kneel in front of her, "you need to tell me what's wrong. And don't say it's nothing, because I won't believe you," as he placed his hand on the side of her face. She had startled when he spoke to her out of the silence, and was now staring at him looking very vulnerable and very un-Hermione-like (as Ron liked to put it). She didn't say anything for a minute, they did something Harry never expected and told him the truth without him needing to push or convince her.

"I…I…hurt…all the time Harry," she sniffled, "everything hurts...I've tried what healing charms I know and nothing helps…even sleeping doesn't help." She looked away from Harry, unhappy that she had shared that much with him when she was trying so hard to keep it to herself.

"What do you mean by everywhere? How long have you felt like this?" He had asked her worriedly, knowing this was serious. He moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders which made her look back at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment. She gestured to herself before speaking.

"My…whole body is…sore. The only way I can think to describe it is like the pain you feel in your bones when you get the flu, but…much worse and just all over...I can't sleep properly…it won't let me. It was from the cruciatus, Harry, I know it was. There isn't a lot of published information on the side effects of the cruciatus, Harry, so I'm not sure if this is normal, or how long this will last…"

Harry almost smiled as Hermione began rambling in her teacher mode, but his worry increased as he considered what she had said. "Is there anything else, Hermione? Anything else that happened as a result of the…curse?"

She looked down without saying anything, and he knew there was more to hear. She picked up her left arm, from where it was clenched to her stomache, and flinched as she started to pull up her sleeve. Her arm was still bandaged with material and after she fumbled for a moment trying to unwind it, Harry gently moved her hand away and began to neatly roll away the fabric. He exposed the edge of her wound and was surprised to see it still raw and puffy. It looked like it had just happened, not like it was 2 weeks old. He quickly unwound the rest of the bandage and gasped as the word 'mudblood' stood out to him, raw in her skin. The bandage in his hand showed evidence that the wound was still bleeding.

"Hermione…this is barely healed at all! What's wrong with it?" Harry asked with quiet desperation. Hermione pulled her arm back to cradle against her body, fresh tears making her eyes shine.

"Harry…I'm not really healing at all. I have other bruises and cuts and they're just starting to barely heal now…something is wrong with me." Hermione bowed her head as tears started tracking down her cheeks. Harry suddenly realized how critical of a situation this was, his worry only increased by the fact that Hermione was actually crying. Harry reached around her balled-up body to pull her against him, not knowing what to say. They sat in silence as Hermione attempted to dry her tears.

"Hermione, I promise you that I will help you, you don't need to suffer alone. We'll try to find a cure for this curse, there has to be something someone can do. I promise. I love you, Hermione, I'll be by your side…Now, let's go inside so I can take a look at your other cuts, and then you can try to get some sleep. We should have never let you take watch. You're going inside, you don't have an option." Harry smiled at her through his last comment knowing the first thing she would do is protest not finishing her watch, even if she was missing a limb and bleeding all over the ground in front of the tent. He stood up then reached down and gently helped Hermione up. They quietly walked through the tent to her private area, not waking Ron up, and Harry cast 'silencio' on the curtains around her room after he made her sit on the edge of her bed. Harry placed his hands on the hem of her jumper and waited for her permission. She nodded, and he carefully helped her out of her clothes, wrapping her in a warm blanket after he finished. She kept her eyes on the floor as he looked her over, and he guessed she was nervous for him to see the state of her body. Harry's searching eyes were not happy with what they saw. She had been gradually losing weight since they had begun hunting for Horcruxes, and now he could see that her torture and its after-effects had taken its toll. He could easily see the lines of her ribs, and her body was pale and looked weak. There were fresh-looking bruises marring her torso and back, from Bellatrix's and the snatcher's rough treatment Harry guessed, and scrapes and cuts that were still puffy and healing. He grabbed Hermione's beaded bag from where it sat on her bed and pulled out the dittany. He dripped the potion on one of the larger cuts and was amazed to see it didn't completely heal over; instead, the scab grew only slightly.

"It won't work Harry, I've tried everything I know…"

He frowned as he sat down beside her, worried about the danger this put his friend in.

"Please don't tell Ron, Harry, I don't want you both to be worrying about me." Harry knew that Hermione did not like people hovering over her, so just nodded his consent. He wrapped his arm around her back and met her forehead with his. They hadn't exchanged words after that, but instead Harry undressed and went to bed. After Harry slid in behind her and wrapped her in his arms, Hermione felt her body slightly relax and managed to drift to sleep. They hadn't slept apart since that night.

*END OF FLASHBACK*

"You'll have to ask her mate, it's not my story to tell, but I will say that I am so glad for her sake that this war is over," Harry murmured seriously. Both boys sat quietly for a moment until Harry interrupted the silence. "Was that breakfast you brought, Ron?" Harry asked, suddenly realizing how hungry he was.

The boys grabbed the tray and moved to sit at a table that had appeared on the far side of the room, saving Hermione's breakfast for when she woke up. They ate in happy silence for a while enjoying a meal that was larger than anything they had seen in a year, but weren't able to eat as much as they once had due to shrunken stomaches. Harry mock-glared at his unfinished breakfast, muttering "I will eat you…"

Ron chuckled at his friend's antics. " …Ah well mate, more for Hermione then. Maybe she'll put the two of us to shame," he said as he rubbed his full stomache in contentment. Suddenly they heard a groggy voice from the far side of the room.

"I generally do, I'll have you know," Hermione mumbled from the bed, "and did I hear something about breakfast?" The two boys laughed at her last comment, which sounded so much like something Ron himself would say.

Harry slowly stood up and made his way back over to the bed. Hermione was still laying on her side with her eyes closed, and he could see her flexing her stiff joints under the blanket. He sat down beside her and rubbed her back through the blanket.

"Ron brought us all breakfast. Do you feel like getting up or shall I bring it to you here?" Hermione lay still for a moment then opened her eyes and turned her pale face to Harry. She gave him a small smile, then looked over at Ron.

"Well, I think I'd like to get up, but there's this small issue of not having any clothes on…" she said cheekily, giggling quietly as she saw Ron's face turn red across the room. Harry laughed, then stood up to search the beaded bag for a fresh set of her clothes, pulling out a clean-ish pair of jeans and shirt of his own as well. As he made his way back over to the bed, he saw Ron turn his chair away from them.

Hermione slowly rolled onto her back, wincing at the change of position. Harry gave her a moment, and then put his hands behind her shoulders to slowly help her sit. She closed her eyes and bit her lip as her aching body protested the movement, but stayed quiet because Ron was in the room. Once she was sitting, Harry grabbed the other pillows on the bed and propped them behind her back. He held up his large quidditch t-shirt for her approval, and she smiled and held out her arms so he could help her put it on. He quickly followed with a pair of shorts, and stopped her before she could start moving off the bed. He took her left leg in his hands and began to deeply massage up her leg from her foot, being careful to avoid the burns and bruises. As it often did, his massage brought her some relief, and she quietly sighed and closed her eyes as Harry repeated his movements on her other leg, shoulders and arms. After he was done, she smiled her thanks at him and let him help her out of the bed and over to the table.

As Hermione sat down Ron gave her a large smile and moved closer to wrap her in a large hug as he kissed her cheek. She wrapped her arms back around Ron's wide back and let herself enjoy the moment with one of her best friends, her eyes tearing up slightly as she remembered the battle. They didn't need to exchange words, each friend feeling grateful that the other was still there. They stayed in their embrace for a few long moments until Hermione's stomache growled loudly. Hermione stared embarrassed at the boys as Ron laughed.

"Harry, I think I have been a bad influence on her!" The three of them laughed together as Harry put a warming spell on the remaining food and began to pile it on Hermione's plate, Ron fixing her a cup of tea the way she liked it. She closed her eyes as she took a sip of tea, not having had a proper cuppa in a year, and enjoying it immensely. Harry and Ron sat quietly chatting as she ate her breakfast, each one enjoying the normalcy of the moment.

A/N: Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the beginning chapters of this story. I will update this story regularly as I write it and will be definitely completing it; it's all planned out in my head, I just need to write it down! I know there is nothing more frustrating than getting into a story and then finding out it was abandoned or last updated years ago. As I wrote in the story summary, this story is focused around Hermione and how she was affected during and after the war. As I read Deathly Hallows, I felt as though her character probably experienced a lot more hardship than the story let on, and knew I had to write my own story to satisfy my curiosity. Please feel free to leave me comments and constructive criticism, but if you are just commenting to complain about my choice of relationships, story focus, perception of the Harry Potter world, etc. then I don't need to hear it because this is my version of the Harry/Hermione story pre-epilogue, take it or leave it! Thanks everyone, enjoy!