A/N: Hello my lovely readers! I just want to remind you, Hermione and Severus have a long way to go before they touch a romantic relationship. This is a story about healing from trauma and rebuilding yourself, and please remember everyone has their own journey. Hermione is strong and she pushes herself because she desperately wants control back, not everyone has the same experiences. I am personally pulling from my own. As always, please review and continue to provide feedback as it helps me immensely. I appreciate each and every one of you!

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Chapter 13: Pressing Forward

England - 12 Grimmauld Place - 2 months after Hermione's disappearance

Harry was struggling, pacing back and forth in front of his floo at Grimmauld Place. He kept running through his conversation with Hermione yesterday, after the shock of hearing her whole story and how Pansy and Draco had helped her, he slowly started feeling the anger boil within him. He noticed she looked the slightest bit healthier than when he'd seen her last - which he realized was months ago. She had a glint of fear and insecurity in her eye that he hadn't noticed before though and he silently kicked himself for having missed it the last 2 years.

He knew what he had to do now, but felt he needed to at least warn Ginny and George first. He'd asked them both to meet him for lunch, which was rapidly approaching, and planned to just lay it all out on the table. He knew Ginny would be furious and that he'd likely have to resort to physically restraining her from ripping Ron's head off herself. George wouldn't be surprised, he honestly debated on even asking George to come over but felt that he deserved to know ahead of time given their discussion a month prior. While he knew he likely should tell the rest of the Weasleys, he felt that it was best to wait - the risk of Ron finding out everything was too much so the less people who knew the better.

Hermione reluctantly agreed to letting Harry pursue charges as well as tell Ginny and George prior to doing so, she agreed she didn't want them to be blind sighted. He'd asked for a few of her memories so that he could use them in a trial - which took some convincing from Pansy to get her to agree to. The condition was that Harry would not watch them himself prior to the trial and would only submit them as evidence. He also had to agree to get the smallest group of people possible for the trial as she did not want the ordeal spread across all of the Wizarding World. He wasn't sure how he was going to go about that one, but he promised her he'd do everything he could.

After a few more minutes of pacing, he realized it was time for him to meet with Ginny and George. With a deep breath, he stepped into the floo and made his way to the Leaky Cauldron. To his surprise, they were already there - both seemed to be in a good mood and were chatting happily with the other. He almost turned around and left, he knew that as soon as he said everything he had to say to them they would not be leaving there anywhere near happy or content. Shaking his head, he put on his best smile and walked over to where the two were sitting.

"Hey guys," Harry said, giving Ginny a quick kiss before sitting down. Taking a deep breath in, not wanting to wait out of fear he'd lose his nerve he went straight into it. "So, I am going to just jump right in…" He took a moment to contemplate before warning them they may want to get a drink first.

"What's going on Harry?" Ginny asked, her face no longer with a smile but with a frown of concern.

"The reason I wanted to meet in public was to ensure you keep your wits about you, if not for that I'd have much preferred doing this at Grimmauld Place." He cast a muffliato and continued, "I honestly don't really know how to even begin with this." He sighed, rubbing his hand on his face.

"You're scaring me Harry, what's wrong? Did you find out something about Hermione's disappearance?" She looked at George, who was sitting rather stoically as if he knew something. "Is she… is she dead?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes. She'd been doing her best to hold it together since Hermione had disappeared but Harry knew she was a mess internally. He could hear her cry sometimes at night when she thought he was asleep.

"No," He finally said, "she's alive. That's why you're here. I saw her 2 days ago, she reached out to me and gave me an explanation for everything."

"TWO DAYS?" Ginny exclaimed, "you've known for two days and you're just now telling me? Why haven't you told Ron? Or anyone else? You know how worried we've all been!" She was starting to get riled up, making Harry thankful he'd thought to cast the muffliato spell.

"Ginny," he said firmly, "you need to keep your wits about you right now, because if that makes you angry I can only imagine what I'm about to tell you will do." She stared at him for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and gave a brief nod, indicating for him to continue. "Hermione escaped, she didn't run away, she escaped a highly abusive relationship. For the last two years, Ron had been abusing her - she said it was small at first but started increasing and becoming worse and worse and time went on. She was convinced that he'd kill her, so - with some help - she escaped." He didn't want to give any nitty gritty details, he didn't know them all himself, he figured the basics should be adequate for now.

"He…" Ginny started, clearly trying to absorb the information she'd just been provided. "Why didn't she tell us?" She asked, her voice solemn.

"She worried no one would believe her since he always put his best foot forward whenever we saw the two of them. She doesn't have any family besides us, and technically you're Ron's family so she worried that she wouldn't be able to convince us and then if Ron found out she'd said anything… I can only imagine the horrifying consequences based on the little information she gave me."

Harry could see Ginny's jaw clenching harder and harder more she processed the information. He knew asking her to not say anything was going to be a tall order, but ultimately he knew she'd understand the reason for needing to keep secrecy for now.

"Did you know George?" She finally asked, after a few (very long) minutes passed. "You haven't said a single word so far." Her tone was almost accusatory.

George looked up from his drink, his eyes deeply burdened, and cleared his throat before speaking up. "I didn't know, but I did suspect."

"Why didn't you say anything? We might have been able to help her!" Ginny was doing her best to keep herself under control, but clearly losing the battle. Harry could have sworn he saw steam coming from her ears, but that may have just been his imagination.

"Because I didn't know for sure. What could I have done? If I'd been wrong then everyone would have turned on me and it would have made things unnecessarily uncomfortable and to be completely honest with you - I didn't want to be right." Harry could hear the emotion in his voice, as if he partially blamed himself for what happened.

"It wasn't your fault George, there's no way that you could have known for sure. We all can look back and pick apart what we should have seen or could have done, but at the end of the day it changes nothing. We need to focus on what we can do to rectify the situation going forward. Which brings me to the second reason I wanted to meet with you…" He took a deep breath before continuing, "I am going to move forward on pressing charges. I am hoping to seek maximum penalties, which would leave Ron in Azkaban for the majority of his adult life." He looked between the two trying to gauge their reactions, but neither of their faces faltered.

"What do you need from us?" George asked, looking over at Ginny who had managed to calm herself down enough to refocus.

"All I need is your sworn secrecy. I didn't want either of you caught off guard, but I need your assurance that you won't say anything. Not even to Molly."

"She's going to be heartbroken." Was all Ginny could muster up. Harry knew he was going to have to console her later tonight, which he had absolutely no issue with - to be honest, he could use some consoling himself.

"I know, but the more people that know the more of a risk there is for Hermione. She knows it's going to get out eventually, but she'd much rather it be after he's incapable of reaching her. She thinks if he finds out I'm coming after him, he'll tear the world apart trying to find her and she doesn't know what would happen if he succeeded." He remembered how broken she looked, he felt as if his heart was being shattered. Seeing his strong and bossy best friend in such a state rattled him to his core and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure she never had to feel that way again.

"I won't say a word, I swear it. Do what you need to do." George looked him in the eye, giving him a reassuring nod.

"I swear as well, just keep me away from him in the meantime because I honestly don't think I'll be able to stop myself from tearing him to shreds." Ginny said, very matter of factly.

"I promise - I am planning to go this afternoon to start the process. I have a few of her memories for evidence, so I at least have something to back my claim. None of this is going to be easy, and I am hoping I'll be able to keep Hermione out of the process as much as I possibly can."

"Could we see her?" Ginny asked quietly, though by the look in her eyes she seemed to know the answer already.

"I'm sorry… not yet. She was barely ready to see me, and she's… she's not… she needs time to heal. She did tell me to tell you that she does miss you and once she's ready that she'll reach out."

Harry gently squeezed his wife's hand. He knew this was going to be a painful few months to come but hoped that the process would go quickly so that Hermione could move forward without feeling like she had to look over her shoulder everywhere she went. He couldn't get his visit with her out of his head, while he was immensely relieved when he first saw her after looking into her eyes he knew he wasn't looking at the same Hermione he'd grown up with.

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2 Days Prior*

Hermione felt like her leg was shaking a million miles a minute, for all the progress she thought she had made she felt like she'd taken 10 steps backwards in the last week and wasn't sure if she was truly up for meeting with Harry. Though, it was too late to go back now since he was supposed to be there in less than five minutes. Pansy promised her she'd stay with her the whole time, and Draco was back from his meetings so he was there too if she needed additional support.

Ever since she'd had the nightmare and asked Severus to come over she'd been a mess. When she had woken up that morning and realized how close in proximity she was to her former professor she nearly jumped out of her skin. Logically she knew he posed no harm to her, but the rational part of her mind was not the one that was dominant in that moment.

Hermione had woken to soft snores that she could feel the vibrations of under her head. She slowly pushed herself into an upright position, taking account of her surroundings. She was home, on her couch but there was someone there that did not belong. She briefly recalled asking him to come over the night prior, but did not remember falling asleep. All of a sudden a wave of intense panic flooded over her and without thinking she jumped onto her feet and ran to retrieve her wand from her bedroom. She had no intention to use it, but given how vulnerable she felt in the moment it was the only thing that brought her a sense of safety.

She looked around her room, trying to ground herself and remember she was safe - she was in her apartment, Ron was in a different country, and she was safe. After about 15 minutes and a lot of breathing exercises, she finally felt ready to go face her old professor who she'd likely woken up in her scurry.

Opening her door, she slowly made her way down the hall to her living room - though Severus was standing quite rigidly right by her door, seemingly very uncomfortable.

"I apologize," he said as he looked down, "I realize how you are likely feeling right now and I knew I was mistaken to stay after you'd fallen asleep. I hope you can forgive me." He looked her in the eyes, showing obvious concern for her wellbeing.

"I… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have had you come in the first place. I keep thinking I'm better than I actually am and pushing myself too far. I appreciate your understanding…" she paused, trying to be as kind as she could despite the panic that was causing her body to vibrate. "If you don't mind, I'd really like to be alone now." She said softly.

"Of course." He said, and without wasting a moment he opened the door and took his leave.

She breathed out a sigh of relief, she didn't know why she had such a visceral reaction to that situation when she'd been just fine with Draco in the past. She realized she'd never felt uneasy around Draco at all since her escape. She shook her head, putting the thought out of her mind - she didn't need to contemplate this any further - she had bigger concerns, like the fact she had to meet with Harry in less than a week.

Gaining her composure, she took a few deep breaths looking to Pansy for some reassurance. She had told Pansy about the last week, and she'd offered to cancel the meeting multiple times but Hermione refused - insisting it was necessary and she couldn't do that to Harry.

"He's coming in," Pansy whispered to her, right as she saw the door open and her shaggy haired friend come in. She felt a tug in her stomach, a part of her wanted to run up and hug him but the other part (the current dominant part) insisted she stay still. She froze, trying to smile but unsure if it made it to her face. She saw her friends initial smile waiver for a split second before he slowly walked toward her and took the seat opposite of her.

"Hi Harry," she said softly, not sure where to start. "I'm so sorry -"

"No," he cut her off, "you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. If anything, I am the one who should be sorry. I am sorry I wasn't the one who was there for you." He looked down, looking ashamed - not wanting to face the guilt that had been eating him up inside for the last few weeks.

"We're here now, I got the help I needed. That's what matters." She said more abruptly than she'd intended but he seemed to take it well.

They sat in silence for a while, clearly uncomfortable, before Pansy offered to leave the room so they could catch up - to which Hermione shot her a worried look. Pansy stayed put, but nudged Hermione to speak up.

"I want to tell you everything, I do - I just honestly don't know where to start. It hasn't been that long since I left and I haven't had time to properly work through everything." She said, mentally kicking herself - wishing there was a magic button that would heal her.

"I have time, don't feel rushed." He spoke softly, giving her a reassuring nod.

The next few hours were spent filled with Hermione giving him as many details as she could without overwhelming herself too much. The more she talked the more she could feel the tension building inside of her. She didn't risk looking at Harry for fear of his reaction, but could feel Pansy squeeze her leg from time to time.

By the end of it all, she'd agreed to let him tell Ginny and George as well as begin the process to file charges as long as she didn't have to come back to England. She gave him some of her memories, only after Pansy convinced her to do so.

"Before I go, I just want to tell you how sorry I am Hermione - and how proud I am of you for getting out. You are truly a survivor. I know this is not easy, but I am done giving Ron the benefit of the doubt in any situation. I will see to it that he faces the consequences of his actions."

Hermione felt a tear run down her cheek, and couldn't hold back any more - she got up and made her way to her lifelong friend and gave him a much needed hug. It wasn't the same as it once was, but she still felt a semblance of comfort in his presence and she knew with Pansy and Draco close by there was a very low likelihood of harm coming her way.

"I love you, Hermione. I'll make this right, I promise you." He said before departing, leaving a broken but healing Hermione behind with her new allies.

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A/N: Alright folks, I know this took me a while - but when life hits, it hits hard. I think I'm getting some momentum on this story so I plan to update again within the next month or so (I'm calendaring it for myself and everything). ANYWAYS - Please let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed. Much love to you all!