It had been hours since Ron and Hermione had gone to bed, but neither of them had fallen asleep. Hermione kept tossing and turning, every time she closed her eyes all she could see were green flashes and Ron's vacant eyes. Ron eventually gave up on trying to hold her still.
Suddenly there was a loud crackling sound outside. Ron shot out of bed and ran to the window, wand clutched in his hand. Hermione was close behind him. The back field was on fire, and not just any fire, words. Hermione gasped when she read what the flaming message said.
YOU WILL PAY BLOOD TRAITORS.
Ron was about to tell Hermione to stay put, but before he even opened his mouth she said, "Don't even think about telling me to wait here."
"Fine but stay close," Ron said knowing arguing about it would just waste time, and not change the outcome. He grabbed her hand and turned on the spot. They felt the familiar squeeze of disapperating before landing in the middle of the lawn. Both of them immediately started coughing from the thick, black smoke.
After a quick search showed that whoever had started the fire was long gone, Ron began to shoot water from his wand in an attempt to extinguish the fire. The fire was too big and Ron's feeble attempt did nothing and he began to panic as the flames began to spread.
Luckily, he hadn't let Hermione stay inside because she levitated water from the nearby pond in a massive title wave over the fire successfully extinguishing it before it spread any further.
"Bloody brilliant, you are Hermione" Ron said in awe as he watched her impressive spellmanship. Hermione blushed at his compliment, thankful without the fire it was far too dark to see.
As Ron and Hermione were putting out the fire, everyone else in the house had spilled out onto the lawn, wands at the ready. When Mrs. Weasley saw the charred words she began to sob into her husband's. Everyone else looked positively green.
"With the protection charms, I don't think they could get any closer," Ron told his dad.
Arthur nodded, "Everyone back inside. I'll send an owl to Kingsley straight away." He ushered everyone back inside the house.
"Back upstairs, all of you," Mrs. Weasley ordered shakily once she had regained some of her composure. Mr. Weasley was putting extra protection charms on all of the windows and doors.
When they hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, Mrs. Weasley gave them a glare that urged them on their way. They didn't dare stop on the landing to talk, the last thing they wanted to do was incur the wrath of . So, the group trudged up the stairs shrinking with each passing landing until it was just Ron and Hermione taking the last set of stairs to the attic.
Once inside the attic room, Ron sat heavily on his bed. "Who do you reckon it was?" He asked, looking out the window at the burnt field.
"Some Death Eater I suppose" Hermione answered sitting next to him.
"Bloody coward, if he wanted us to pay so bad why didn't he just come and fight," Ron said anger growing in his voice.
"Well for one, The Burrow is surrounded by protective enchantments. Besides do you really want another fight right now?" Hermione asked in an all too familiar bossy tone.
"Yes Hermione, I do. I want them to pay, to pay for what they did to my family" Ron looked so angry. It reminded Hermione distinctly of Ron under the influence of the locket, right before he left.
Hermione was afraid. The last time Ron was like this he left. Hermione didn't know if she could take him leaving again. Especially not now. Things may be complicated and confusing, but at least now it felt like their relationship held the promise of being more than friends. Hermione didn't know if she could take that promise being ripped away from her.
"Ron..." Hermione said quietly, pausing until Ron turned towards her. His angry eyes softened as they met hers. "Promise you'll never leave again," she finished.
Ron looked taken aback, he had expected some sort of scolding or know-it-all retort. Instead he got this new vulnerable, insecure side to Hermione. He felt a familiar pang of guilt, it was his fault. Hermione wouldn't need to be insecure if he hadn't been jerking her around for so long, if he hadn't left last fall.
Ron took her hands in his, "Hermione Granger, never again, well unless you want me to."
Hermione smiled and shook her head, "Never."
"Never say never Granger, you know how big of a prat I can be. You might get sick of me," Ron teased reveling in her smile.
Hermione shrugged, "I've made it seven years that include teasing me and getting me attacked by a mountain troll, hating me for allegedly getting your rat killed, treating me as a last resort for a dance, dating another girl and rubbing it in my face, and let's not even mention the locket. I think I can handle anything you throw at me."
Hermione had meant it to be a joke, but Ron only looked guiltier than ever. "Hermione, I'm so sorry for all of that and the million other rows we've had. I guess I'm a bigger prat than I ever thought."
"Ron, don't worry about it. I was just as horrible." Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione cut him off, "Lets chalk it up to growing pains, yea?"
Ron shrugged. Hermione sensed that, despite what she said, he still took all the blame and guilt on himself.
Hermione wanted to reassure him, to somehow move past this. Her hands felt warm in his. She looked into his eyes and they were swimming with a million emotions, as if he couldn't decide what to feel.
Hermione screwed up her courage and leaned in to kiss him, to prove that the past was in the past. At the last second Ron dodged out of the way causing Hermione to tip forward off balance. Ron caught her and held her back at a safe distance. He tried to ignore the hurt look on her face.
"Hermione, please. We can't do this now. Not with everything that's happened, not with everyone still in danger." What he didn't say was that he wanted that kiss more than anything in the world, well except Fred back.
Hermione was angry and hurt and didn't even bother to argue. She wrenched out of his grasp and flopped onto the bed and rolled away from him. Ron laid down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder, but she jerked it way.
Ron cursed himself for mucking things up again. He watched the back of her head as she pretended to sleep. Maybe he would never get this right.
Two sleepless nights after the battle, and how many before that? Ron couldn't remember the last time he slept properly, he was so tired. He imagined if he could just close his eyes he could sleep for days, but every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Fred's twisted smile as he lay dead at Ron's feet. His dying laugh seemed sickly contorted. It was enough to make Ron want to throw up, so he didn't close his eyes he just stared at the bushy mass of hair in front of him and tried to think only of Hermione. This was not a particularly helpful distraction tonight because Ron could practically see her seething.
Hermione seemed pleasant enough the next morning, but her tone and demeanor were just icy enough that Ron knew she hadn't forgotten last night. Ron also knew if he tried to say anything he would just end up putting his foot in his mouth again, so they got ready in relative silence.
By the time they went downstairs for breakfast, Percy, Bill and Fleur had already returned and were crowded around the table with Ginny, Charlie and Mr. Weasley. Everyone took turns nervously glancing out the window as if another attack would happen at any moment. There was an impressive fry up already on the table and a huge vat of porridge stirring itself on the stove.
When he saw the food Ron actually felt hungry for the first time in days and began to pile food onto his plate. Hermione got a small bowl of porridge and a mug of tea to avoid the otherwise inevitable "Hermione, dear you're much too thin, you need to eat something" speech from Mrs. Weasley.
Harry wandered downstairs looking like he'd slept about as much as Ron and Hermione had, which is to say not at all. In fact, Harry and Hermione were starting to look more and more like Weasleys each day except for the lack of shocking red hair. Everyone sitting around the table wore the same distant expression. Pale, sallow skin setting off dark bruise-like circles etched beneath sunken eyes. Everyone looked thinner than Ron remembered; cheekbones and eye sockets looked particularly pronounced. Cuts and bruises in various states of healing were visible on faces and arms. Ron sighed, all in the family he thought bitterly as he started to eat his breakfast.
Ron stopped his fork halfway to his mouth, turning positively green. He heaved slightly trying his damnedest not to be sick at the breakfast table. Lucky for him he hadn't eaten in two days so there was nothing in his stomach. He let his fork clatter to his plate and pushed it away untouched.
Hermione looked over at Ron to see why he wasn't eating. She saw him staring fixedly at today's copy of the Daily Prophet. The headline Saviors of the Wizarding World was printed boldly at the top of the page. Underneath was a picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the great hall immediately after the battle. All three of them were covered in grime and mud. Hermione was standing in the middle holding each of their hands. Their eyes were fixated on the ground rather than looking at the camera. All of a sudden Hermione realized why Ron looked so sick; cut out of the picture at their feet lay the dead body of Fred Weasley.
Ron silently pulled out his wand and muttered, "Incendio" pointing his wand at the newspaper. No one moved to put it out. They all just watched in silence as the paper was reduced to ash. The fire petered out when the wooden table failed to catch. There would be no damage to the table, Ron knew. There was a scorch proof spell on it so that hot pots and pans could be set on it without fussing around for pot holders.
Everyone was pulled out of their shocked silence by the arrival of Errol who collapsed in front of Mr. Weasley. "Ah, it must be Kingsley returning my letter about last night," he said as he unrolled the parchment. He read it carefully, "Kingsley wants to meet with me today just after breakfast, Harry you too. He says he needs to discuss your whereabouts this past year and your involvement in the downfall of You-Know-Who."
Harry nodded solemnly and looked down at his untouched breakfast.
Then another owl flew through the open window, it dropped a thick parchment envelope onto the table. It was addressed to The Weasley Family, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Bill picked it up and ripped it open. "An invitation to Remus and Tonks' funeral," he said grimly as he threw it onto the table.
Everyone at the table managed to somehow look more depressed. Over the course of the next hour, invitations from all fifty funerals were dropped onto the table. Most of them were just for Ron, Hermione and Harry, but some were addressed to the whole Weasley family as well. Apparently everyone wanted the 'Saviors of the Wizarding world' at their loved ones funerals, Ron thought bitterly.
In the end they decided to only to attend Colin Creevey's, and Tonks and Lupin's funerals. "I'll send replies to all of these today," Hermione said gathering the thick stack of invitations please that there was finally something she could help with.
"Well Harry, we'd best be off We don't want to leave Kingsley waiting" Arthur announced standing. Bill, Charlie, Fleur and Percy all announced they were going in to the Ministry to help out.
Ron sat there torn between going to help and staying close to Hermione. He couldn't leave her alone, especially after what happened last night. What if whoever set their field on fire came back. On the other hand, he couldn't just stay here though he'd look like a lazy bum who was too worthless the help the grown ups.
His father sensed Ron's internal debate, "Ron can you hold down the fort here, make sure your mother is ok? I feel really horrid leaving her alone today of all days."
"Yeah, 'course," Ron replied, pretending to sulk a little but secretly he was quite pleased. Then he immediately felt guilty. Where was his mum? She had obviously made breakfast but he hadn't seen her at all this morning. He was such a rotten son he thought miserably.
When everyone else had gone, Hermione, Ron and Ginny quickly cleared the breakfast things. Hermione sat back down with the invites, a stack of empty notecards and a self inking quill. As she begins writing out condolences in her neat loopy handwriting, Ginny sat down next to her and began playing absentmindedly with the salt shaker. Ron joins the other two, he's reminded briefly of being at school where Hermione's working and everyone else is sitting around.
After a few minutes of silence Hermione looks up and asks Ginny, "How'd things go with Harry last night?"
Ginny groaned with frustration. "He said it was still too dangerous, and he can't focus on a relationship right now, and he doesn't want me to get hurt. Same old, same old," she said with a small laugh.
"Well, you know Harry, too noble and too stubborn to realize he has a great thing right in front of him," Ron said wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulder. Silently cursing Harry for hurting his baby sister yet again. At this point he almost preferred them snogging...almost.
"Talk about the cauldron calling the kettle black," Hermione said gathering her things and retreating upstairs in a huff.
Ron stared after her, his mouth agape in shock.
"Well she's right you know." Ginny said with a shrug.
Ron groaned and let his head fall onto the table.
"Why don't you just ask her out then? You obviously like her," Ginny asked.
"No, I don't. I more than like her. I don't want her to be my girlfriend, I want her to be...well I don't know, more!" Ron said with frustration. "And I can't tell her all of this right now when everything is such a mess. She deserves flowers and chocolate and I dunno jewelry. And I can't give her any of that." "Ron, she doesn't want that stuff. She wants you." Sometimes Ginny was wise beyond her years.
All Ron could do was groan again.
Ginny got up, "Listen, I'd tell you to hurry up because she's not going to wait forever, but she would. I just don't want you two to finally start shagging when you're eighty because you were too stubborn to do anything. Anyway, I'm gonna go find mum and you need to get your shit together big brother."
Ginny headed upstairs. Ron was alone and miserable. He should be grieving for his brother or helping is mother, but all he could think about was Hermione. The worst part was Ginny was right, Hermione was so damn stubborn she probably would wait for him forever, not that he deserved it.
AN: I hope you guys are liking the story so far. I know it's been pretty depressing, but I've been trying to throw in some cute/funny moments. Anyway I don't plan on the whole story being this much of a downer. As always, please review.