Tears

Hermione woke up in a cold sweat. She again dreamed of her torture. She raised a shaky hand and brushed her damp hair out of her face. She shoved back the covers, hoping not to wake up Ginny. She tiptoed from the room and went straight to Ron's. She pushed open the door, snuck past Harry, and crawled into Ron's bed beside him.

Hermione snuggled up against his side and he stirred. "Wha- Oh, Hermione whatsa matter?" he mumbled sleepily, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer.

"I had another nightmare." She whispered, shivering.

He rubbed her shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you ok?" he asked tenderly.

"I'm better now. Can I sleep in your bed though?" She said, her voice barely audible.

"Of course you can, Mione." Ron fell right back asleep, but not before kissing the top of Hermione's head.

Her body eventually stopped quivering and she fell asleep with her head rested on Ron's shoulder.

Hermione woke when she felt Ron stretch beside her. She had her cheek pressed against his chest and her hands balled up in his shirt. She let go and rubbed her eyes. Ron moved and held her face, giving her a long morning kiss.

"Morning, Mione." He said when he finally pulled away.

"Morning." Hermione said breathlessly. She looked around the room but Harry wasn't there. "Where's Harry?"

"Oh he went downstairs because Mum said breakfast was ready."

"Oh. Well we better get down there, too." She said, getting out of Ron's bed. He caught her wrist before she could run out of the room and stood up.

"I think they can wait for a minute." He said, pulling her towards him. He held her to him by the small of her back and leaned his head down to kiss her again. She smiled before her lips melted against his. She curled her hands into the front of his shirt.

"RON! HERMIONE! IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST!" Mr. Weasley yelled.

Hermione pulled away and they both shouted, "Alright, coming!" while they grinned widely at each other. They interlocked their fingers and walked downstairs. They sat down at the table and Ginny looked at them enviously with an oblivious Harry beside her, digging into his eggs. Hermione smiled at her, and Ginny attempted a weak smile before staring down at her plate.

"Hey, Ginny, can you pass the salt?" Harry asked with his mouth full.

Ginny regarded him in disgust, took the salt, and slammed it down beside his plate, some of it coming out and showering on the table.

He looked at her, startled and swallowed his food. "Um. Thanks…" he said, reaching over to take the salt cautiously, as if he was afraid that Ginny was going to slap him.

Ron looked at Ginny as if she had Gnargles dancing around her head. "Are you alright, Ginny?"

She glared at Harry. "I'm fine."

Harry's eyes widened and he looked down at his plate his ears turning slightly pink. Hermione kicked Ginny under the table and gave her a look. Ginny sighed and her shoulders sagged but she didn't say anything.

Hermione didn't notice George until he was sitting beside her. She tried to act casual but she was truly pleased. "Good morning, George."

"Morning." He said sleepily, scooping some eggs onto his plate. His eyes were red and he didn't look as though he slept at all last night.

"Oh, Hermione, dear, how are you feeling?" asked Mrs. Weasley. "Harry told me that you slept in Ron's bed last night."

Hermione's fork clattered on her plate and Ron choked on his bacon. She felt her face burning and Ron's face was scarlet as well. "I- I- well- umm," she faltered while Ron stuttered uselessly beside her.

Then Harry, Ginny, and George all burst out laughing and Hermione winced. She sat very still and felt very uncomfortable. Ron was motionless beside her, but his friend and brother and sister's laughing seemed to amuse him. It wasn't amusing Hermione, though, because she felt like she wanted to cry. She raised her chin as their laughter started to subside and they held their sides and stomachs.

"I had a nightmare. Oh, you know, from when we were at Malfoy Manor, that place where Bellatrix nearly killed me by torturing me?" The laughter died immediately. "Oh yeah, I was just reliving the Cruciatis Curse in my sleep, hearing her yell at me and then my screams." A tear that had been threatening to fall then slid down her cheek. "It was all very funny." She said, getting up from the table and fleeing from the kitchen.

"Hermione! Wait!" Someone called. Ron, she thought. But she didn't stop. She ran up the stairs and wished she had her own room to go to. But she went into Ginny's and slammed the door shut, tears coming freely. She grabbed her wand off the nightstand.

"Colloportus!" she managed to say between sobs. She heard the door lock and then she threw herself down on her bed, hiding her face in the pillow, making the fabric wet with her tears.

She heard knocking on the door, and Ron softly calling her name. She knew he could easily unlock the door with Alohamora but he didn't. "Hermione, love, please let me in."

"No!" She sobbed. "Ron, please, go away!"

"Hermione please I just want to talk to you."

"I don't feel like talking! Go away!" She said.

She heard the door unlock and she knew he had used his wand. He slowly opened the door and peeked his head inside. At the sight of his crying girlfriend, he rushed over and pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued sobbing into the crook his neck.

"Shh, Hermione, shh." He rocked slightly and rubbed her back. "Just forget them all. They were out of line. Ginny and Harry and George, they're all prats. They didn't know what they were doing. I'm sure they'll apologize to you when they see you."

"I don't care. They shouldn't have laughed." Hermione cried.

"Hermione you know they didn't mean to hurt your feelings. They'd never purposely try to hurt you. If they knew about what happened before Mum asked you then they wouldn't have laughed. They were just laughing because we both looked like idiots and the whole situation was very awkward. Please stop crying, you're breaking my heart." He ended sadly.

Hermione's tears dried a little and she pressed her cheek against his collar bone. She let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Hermione you have nothing to be sorry about." Ron said firmly.

"I got your shirt all wet." She said, moving her hand down to peel the wet fabric from his skin.

"It's just a shirt, Hermione. I care much more about you then my shirt." He kissed the top of her head and stroked her back with his thumbs.

"I don't want to go downstairs." Hermione said.

"I'm not going to make you."

"I don't want to see any of them either." Silent tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Alright, how about you come into my room? I'll make Harry stay away and he will. So will Ginny and George."

Hermione sniffled. "Ok." Then Ron lifted her up and carried her princess style to his room. She protested at first but he gave her a look that made her quiet down. He wasn't going to let her go. He gently put Hermione on his bed and then went back to shut his door.

"You alright?" he asked affectionately. Hermione nodded and pulled his Chudley Cannons blanket over her legs. "Good. I'm just going to change my shirt but I'll be right back, ok?"

"Ok." Hermione said. He took a random shirt off the floor and left. He was back quickly and reclosed the door. He came and sat down next to her but didn't get under the blanket. He put his arm around her shoulders and she curled into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He kissed her head and rubbed the skin under the sleeve of her pyjama top. "Can I just stay here all day?" she asked, half-joking but her tone sounding desperate.

"If that's what you really want."

"Would you stay with me if I did?" she lightly ran her finger down his side.

"Always."

A/N: YAY this story has reached 10 chapters! :D Thanks for everyone's support and reviews. I love your reviews so please keep them coming. PLEASE. :)

I like this chapter because of all the Romione and I also liked Ginny and Harry's little thing with the salt. I hope you guys liked it too, and I hope you liked how I ended it with "Always". Because that is THE Harry Potter line. It was bound to come up eventually...

OH! When I am done this story, I am going to write a sequel to it. It will be in George's POV instead of Hermione's, so it will be in the same time line and the same events will occur, but you will read about George's experiences and feelings, and you will find out how he has been (trying) to cope with the loss of Fred :((( I hope some of the readers from this story will take interest in it after this story is complete. Just thought I'd let you all know! :D

Well I hope you liked this chapter and I hope that you are enjoying this story. :)

-WolfPatronusTeamPeeta-and-Dean ;)