Prompt: I Know Its 3AM...

Pairing: Romione

Rating: K

Hermione sat straight up in the night. She was panting, she was sweaty, and she was beyond scared.

It had been two weeks since Malfoy Manor, and Hermione was still having nightmares of being on the cold floor, with Bellatrix Lestrange cowering over her, demanding answers to a question that she had no idea the answer to. She could feel the electrifying pain of the cruciatus curse running through every nerve of her body, only in her nightmares, Ron's voice never came.

She looked frantically around the room. Luna was sound asleep in the bed across from her. She put on her robe, slipped her feet into her bedroom slippers, and moved swiftly out of the room, closing the door as quietly as she could behind her.

She tiptoed down the creaky steps of Bill and Fleur's oceanfront cottage. She could hear the eaves of the ocean break onto the sand, and while it was soothing, it wasn't enough.

She tiptoed a bit quicker into the sitting room, where Dean, Harry, and Ron slept on the the cushy sofas and mats transfigured out of extra pillows. She spied Ron's flames peeking out from under his blanket. She crept over to him and gently nudged him.

Ron's eyes shot open the moment she touched his skin. The had been on high alert like that since the start of the hunt, and thought they were very well hidden under the wards of Shell Cottage, their paranoia hadn't faded.

Ron's eyes quickly found Hermione's. He sat up and rubbed away the sleep, feeling like this was about to be a long night.

"Ron, I'm sorry to wake you." whispered Hermione, so as not to wake up anyone else. "I know it's 3am...but I had a bad dream, and wanted to go sit outside and watch the waves. Will you come with me?"

"Absolutely." said Ron with no hesitation. "Let's go."

The two walked as quietly as they could to the front door, opened it, shut it gently behind them, and walked out onto the beach. Ron took Hermione's hand and intertwined her fingers with his as he led her to a comfortable spot. They sat down in the cold sand, casting a warming bubble around themselves and the area they were sitting in. Hermione sat between Ron's long and not as lanky as they used to be legs, and rested her back against his chest. Ron couples his arms around her waist, hugging her even closer to his body.

For a few moments, neither spoke. They just watched the dark waves roll and crash into the shore.

"You want to talk about it?" asked Ron.

"I didn't hear your voice this time," said Hermione, quietly. "All I could hear is her taunting and insulting me, then ringing, when the curse would hit me. I kept waiting and waiting to hear you scream my name, but it never came."

"You know that's not true though, Hermione."

"I know. It just...it just scared me." said Hermione. "Your voice was really important at that time."

"Important?" said Ron. "What was important about it? I was screaming like a bloody git, not being able to do a damn thing to save you."

"But you did, Ron. You did. Every time that curse hit my body, I felt as if I was detaching from myself. I almost thought I was going to end IP insane, like poor Neville's parents. But you? You screamed my name, and I focused on you screaming my name as best I could. You kept he hanging onto myself. You kept me remembering that I was indeed Hermione Jean Granger, daughter of Michael and Helen Granger, who are dentists. The best friend to Harry Potter...and whatever I was to Ronald Weasley. Hearing you scream my name kept me knowing myself. And knowing why I was there. I could never thank you enough for that."

Ron felt himself wanting to tear up, but held it in. He had shed enough tears back at Malfoy Manor and in the few days afterwards to last him a lifetime. He kissed Hermione's cheek and smiled against her hair.

"Just so you know, you're my best friend too, Hermione." said Ron. "And also, a lot more than that."

Hermione turned her body to face Ron. She smiled as she looked at the twinkle in Ron's sapphire blue eyes, and she gently rubbed the bit of stubble he was developing on his face.

"You mean everything to me, Hermione,"said Ron as he looked back at Hermione, "and I will gladly scream your name whenever you need me to."