"Mudblood"
Hermione gripped her sheets in panic, tears streaming down her face as she gasped in fear. Nightmares of today's events had been haunting her through the night. "Hermione," he whispered softly. She trashed her body upwards, letting out a strangled cry when hitting the headboard. "Hermione," Ron cried out desperately. "I'm here." He reached out to gently caress her arm. "They can't get to you. You're at a shell cottage and you're safe. I'm right here with you."
She slowly opened her eyes, reaching out with a trembling hand to take his. Soon Hermione seemed to recognize where she was, that she was safe, holding his hand in the dim-lit room while he spoke softly to her. Her face paled and soon she bent forward, hand clutching her stomach before emptying it's content on the floor.
Ron pulled back her hair, using the worn out hair tie on her wrist. She fell back against him, accepting the half full glass of water she'd tried to down earlier in the evening. "How are you feeling?" he asked. She put the glass back on the stool beside the bed. "Better."
There was a comfortable silence where he held her, stroking her hair while she slowly regained her composure. Hermione eventually broke the silence: "Maybe we should lie down? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable…" she suggested quietly. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm not the one who's been–" he stopped himself from saying the word, though they both knew what he meant.
He moved to lie down beside her on the bed, settling into a comfortable position. Hermione traced the words forever engraved into her skin. Mudblood. "Do you think there is a way to get rid of it?" she asked, hope evident in her voice. "I mean, there has to be, right?"
"I'm sure you will figure out how if you set your mind to it. I just want you to know that it won't change anything at all for me or anyone who cares about you." he said reassuringly. "But it changes everything for me!" Hermione exclaimed. "Every time I see it I will be reminded of both the meaning behind the word and of the torture. Don't you see why I want to get rid of it?" she sighed.
"Of course I do." he paused. "I suppose it's the wrong thing to say, but it kind of looks like a really cool tattoo if you don't read the word. You know, I could get a matching one saying "blood traitor" or even "redhead" if you want to." Hermione shook her head at him, letting out a small laugh.
Ron leaned down to give the wound a featherlight kiss. Before he knew it they were traveling down her forearm, finishing on her palm. "I wish she would've taken me instead. I heard your screams all the way down to the cellars. It was driving me insane knowing I couldn't help you." he told her, eyes watering slightly. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder "Your screams saved me from going insane. I focused on your voice instead of the pain and tried to come up with an answer for her. Ron, I was so scared. I thought I would die right there. Never ever see you or Harry again."
"My biggest regret is leaving you and Harry. I was an outright git, complaining about lack of food and late night shifts when you guys were also starving and losing sleep. It wasn't fair to you and I never should've said those things to Harry." Ron sighed, turning his head to look at her. "I don't know why I didn't let you apologize before. I was too hard on you when you returned, but I guess it was my emotions getting the best of me. When you were gone I was a mess, but when you finally returned I just took out all of my built up frustrations on you. I eventually realized that the locket was extra hard on you because of your insecurities and that it's you know who we should be mad at, trying to split our team." She reasoned.
"I bloody hate him," he muttered.
Hermione yawned. "I think you should get some sleep as well," she kissed him on the cheek before whispering in his ear: "Thankyou for taking care of me, will you stay?"
He inhaled deeply. "If you want me to."
In response she laid down beside him, pulling the covers over them both before uttering a quiet nox, leaving the room in complete darkness.
A/N:
I wrote this short story inspired by a word chosen by some of my friends. They picked the word "Vomit" which inspired part of it. Thanks to my best friends who beta-read and hyped this story. I hope you liked it as much as they did. I've read a couple of Shell Cottage fics of this night and I was kinda inspired by them.
ps. There will be a companion piece soon.