“Hermione, I love you,” Ron Weasley told the young woman. They were in the Gryffindor Common Room, and it was nearing midnight. Hermione, of course, was helping Ron in catching up on homework. But he was only paying attention halfway, for he was too busy staring at her.

Hermione dropped her quill accidentally, looking up at him. She wasn’t expecting that statement. “I…love you, too, Ron,” she told him, sitting beside him in the chair. She leaned up in her seat, then once again picked up the quill she had dropped. They locked eyes for the longest time.

“I love you, Ron,” she repeated. It was now definite, unquestionable, absolute. The two did love each other; it had just been a matter of time before the other spoke about it. Ron eyed her longingly, then smiled. A flicker in his eyes meant that he was about to lean in and kiss her.

He did. His lips were warm and passionate against hers. She breathed in deeply, letting herself become one with him. She loved Ron; she truly did. The realization had just hit her. They broke apart by a loud snicker of another couple standing near.

“Get a room,” Harry whispered faintly, trying his best to hold in a chuckle. He didn’t want to wake up any of their fellow Gryffindors. Even though it was their seventh year, and Harry was Head Boy, he didn’t want to abuse the position by keeping the students awake until dawn. He held Ginny around the waist, who looked disgusted. The last thing that she had wanted to see was her brother snogging one of her friends. She made a face, then felt the competition surge through her. She looked at Harry thoughtfully before kissing him fiercely as well.

“Look who’s talking,” Hermione said amusingly, Ron too looked as if he were going to vomit. He approved of Harry and his baby sister going out again, but them kissing in public and in front of him was- well, it was inappropriate.

“Come on, Ron. Let’s go on to bed. We’ll be dead tired in he morning, anyway. And McGonagall will be furious if we’re late,” Hermione told the boy softly, picking up the lone book of hers and a quill with one arm, then pushing out her chair. Ron grabbed her free hand, then walked her to the entrance of her dorm. He knew that he couldn’t go up there because of the blasted staircase. He bid her good night with another kiss, and she waved goodbye as he walked up to his own dorm.

~ * ~

“Ron, I think that that third-year is trying to get your attention,” Hermione giggled on their way to the Great Hall the next day. They were already late; dinner was being served as they spoke. Ron let go of Hermione’s delicate hand and turned around to see a frail girl jumping up and down with a neatly sealed piece of parchment.

She held out to his hand as if she were very frightened, and Ron snatched it from her, angry that he was wasting her time with a letter that an owl could have probably have delivered. The girl took off running as soon as the parchment left her fingers.

Ron laughed loudly. “They still get smaller every year, but they sure can run,” he told Hermione. She frowned at him.

“Let’s go on to dinner,” she said.

It had been nearly a full meal before Ron realised that he still hadn’t opened the letter given to him. He reached for it idly and broke the seal, then read.

Mr. Weasley,

I’m afraid that I have some rather dreadful news for you and your family. Please let Mr. Potter and Miss Granger accompany you. Come to my office at six tonight.

It was signed by Dumbledore. Ron wondered what the “dreadful news” was, then became conscious that it was nearly six then. He wolfed down the rest of his meal while telling Harry and Hermione about the letter.

A few minutes later, the three walked down the stone hallways of Hogwarts. They met Ginny along the way to the headmaster’s office.

“Do you know what this is about?” she asked worriedly, staring Ron in the face. She barely noticed the other two standing there.

“Dunno,” Ron said unconcernedly. “It’s probably just something about Fred and George blowing up their joke shop or something.”

Ginny flashed him a malicious look. Ron apologised.

“That’s not funny,” she replied abruptly, then walked on to the stone gargoyle. Ron shook his head and the three followed her. Harry ran up to her and talked to her comfortingly, calming her down and assuring her that it was nothing. She shook him off, then said the password, “Sugar Quills,” allowing the stairs to come down noisily. The four, in twos, walked up the flight of steps tensely, not sure of what was going on. They stepped into the office, seeing a grave-looking Dumbledore. He had his head in his hands, and he was mumbling to himself and scribbling something on a piece of yellowed parchment.

“Sir?” Harry asked, walking up to his desk. Dumbledore looked up quickly; he must not have heard them come up. As soon as he saw Ginny and Ron come in, however, he gave them a miserable frown, then motioned them to sit down. Dumbledore waved his wand around, and four chairs appeared in front of his desk.

There was silence for a few moments, not even the sound of breathing was heard.

Ginny finally outburst, “What is it? What is the news?”

Dumbledore looked at her interestingly for a moment before speaking.

“There…was a mishap at the Ministry. A few of the escaped Death Eaters that we managed to round up escaped again. They knew that your dad, Ron and Ginny, had been one of the workers in charge of keeping them in. Last night…” he trailed off. Silence again. Everyone was listening very intently to the bearded man.

“Just tell us, Professor,” Ron told him bluntly.

Dumbledore sighed, then stood up and paced the room. He stopped and turned around to face the four teenagers.

“A few of the Death Eaters found out where you lived, then went to your house. Arthur and Molly…they put a good fight. But, it wasn’t enough.”

Ginny’s face went white. Hermione grabbed Ron’s hand swiftly. They were prepared for the worst.

“And, what happened to my parents, Professor?” Ginny asked. Chills went down Harry’s spine at how terrifying her voice sounded.

He swallowed. “Arthur and Molly were murdered by Death Eaters last night. The Aurors got there too late.”

Ginny sobbed loudly as soon as he finished the sentence. Harry got out of his chair and kneeled down in front of hers and grabbed her hand. “Ginny, I’m so sorry,” he told her gently. But it was like he had said nothing.

Harry turned around to stare at Dumbledore, verifying that this was the truth. Dumbledore nodded sadly. It was fact. Harry sobbed loudly into the carpet of Dumbledore’s office, still having a hold of Ginny’s hand.

Hermione’s mouth dropped open; she looked over at Ron. Ron just stared off into space, hearing and seeing nothing. His parents were dead. Death Eaters killed his parents. He didn’t know what to do.

Ginny was hysterical. “My-My Mum… and- and my dad- are dead?” she stuttered through a stream of tears. She hiccupped unconsciously, trying to sort it through her head.

“I’m very sorry. There was… nothing that they could have done. Your parents were extraordinary people; you should be very proud of their lives.”

Dumbledore walked out the room quickly, wiping his eyes on his long sleeve. He came back less than a moment later, holding Madam Pomfrey by the arm.

“Please take Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to the Hospital Wing. They’ve just suffered a devastating loss. I think that a Calming Draught and Sleeping Potion are in order.”

The woman nodded, then gently picked Ginny off the floor to where she had fallen. Harry held onto her hand and didn’t let go.

“I want to stay with her,” he told Madam Pomfrey, and she nodded. She passed out cold onto the floor. Harry looked around unknowingly, unsure of what he should do.

He felt just as terrible as the rest. Mrs. Weasley had been… his Mum when he hadn’t had one. She had always been there for him: did his shopping for Hogwarts; given him a place to stay when there was nowhere to stay. Mr. Weasley had been a father figure as well; Harry had enjoyed his company and endless questions on Muggle objects, his knack for knowing any and everything at the Ministry, and helping him with his trial in his fifth year. He was devastated that they had gone like that. And he didn’t know how to comfort his girlfriend, the daughter of those people.

He picked her up and swiftly carried her to the Hospital Wing. He laid her on a made bed in the corner, making sure that she was bundled up tightly in blankets and tucked in nicely. He fluffed her pillow and put it behind her head softly; he didn’t want her to wake up and come back to reality anytime soon. He watched for a few minutes, breathing softly and in a deep sleep. He sat down on the bed opposite her and put his head in his hands, just as Dumbledore had done earlier. He sighed.

Madam Pomfrey walked in behind a weeping Hermione, holding a dazed-looking Ron by the hand. This all seemed a blur to Ron, and he knew that this moment will have changed his life forever.

He wanted to crawl in a corner and die. He wanted his Mum and Dad, and that wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon.

~ * ~

“Ginny…you don’t mean that-”

“Harry, I do. I don’t want you to feel like I’m weighing you down.”

“Ginny, you could never do that.”

Ginny stood puzzled in front of him. She had come to break up with Harry. It had been a week since they had gotten the news of her parents’ deaths. Ginny had stayed in the hospital wing for the majority of that time, and Ron had stayed in his dorm, and had skipped classes. Harry and Hermione hated to see their friends this way; it was just too awful to think about.

“Harry, it’s over,” Ginny spoke one last time. It was final; what she said was law. She left Harry standing there, mouth open, stuttering for words.

~ * ~

“Ron!” Hermione called from the bottom of the steps of the boys’ dorm. “Would you please come out?”

She knew that she was allowed to go up there, but she didn’t want to invade Ron’s privacy. He had suffered a great, terribly loss, and she wanted him to be able to heal.

There was no answer.

“RO-” she started again, but was stopped by a figure coming down the steps.

“Ron…” she breathed. They stood staring at each other for the longest time. Ron’s eyes were red and puffy; he had obviously been grieving.

Hermione finally broke out in a sob and ran to him. She hugged him tightly; afraid that if she let go that she would lose him forever. Ron let her administer the hug without participation.

She finally pulled away. “Are you alright? Do you need anything? Because I can just-”

Ron shook his head slowly, not even looking at her. He was in a daze. Hermione gave him a weak smile. “You’re really taking this hard, aren’t you?” she asked him gently. She put a soft hand on his shoulder.

Ron turned to look at her with an angry and hurt expression on his face. “Hard? HARD?” he yelled. He pushed her arm away.

Hermione almost gasped. This man didn’t sound like Ron at all. She hadn’t meant to offend him in any way.

“We can get through this together,” she told him, a twinkle in her eyes.

Ron shook his head unbelievingly. “I don’t even know if I can get through this, Hermione,” Ron told her.

“Yes, you can,” she told him firmly, tears forming in the crevices of her eyes. “Don’t let this get you down. Anything you need…” she paused. “I’m here for you.”

“DAMN IT, HERMIONE! My parents are dead!” Ron screamed at her. She jumped at his intensity.

“It’ll be alright. All you need is time. You’ll heal over time. I want you to know that I’m here for you. I love you.” Hermione told him softly. This wasn’t like Ron at all to yell at her; she just wanted things to be better. She just wanted things to go back to the way there were.

~ * ~

Ron felt horrible as she walked away. She was being so kind to him; and he was being so cruel back. But Hermione had perseverance, and he knew that she wasn’t going to give up on him that easily. Their relationship had fallen to pieces, as had Harry’s and Ginny’s, and Ron didn’t know if he was willing to put it back together.

~ * ~

Ron sighed. He knew that he needed to go back to his classes; his regular life; but he just didn’t have the determination. He hadn’t seen much of Hermione in the past two weeks, but he had thought about “them” quite a bit. He couldn’t let he and Hermione go on like this; it wasn’t fair to her, and he didn’t want to tie her down- especially if he was going to sit up in his dorm and do nothing for two straight weeks, not saying one word to her.

~ * ~

“Hermione, what’s up with you and my brother?” Ginny asked after another week had passed. Ron had finally started coming to classes, but he was only mildly acknowledged.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what is up with the two of you? Did you break up? I haven’t seen much of the two of you together.”

Hermione smiled at her warmly. “He just needs time; and that’s what I’m giving him. I told him that we were getting though this together, and that’s what we intend to do.”

“I don’t see the point,” Ginny told her quickly.

Hermione gave her an odd look. She didn’t know what her point was.

“I mean that Ron is heartbroken…same as-” she paused. “Me. But that’s beside the point. Not many relationships are going to make it through a death in the family. What’s your point in even trying?”

Hermione paused to think for a moment. Why was she doing this? What did Ron have that just made her keep coming back to him? What made her want to help him?

“I love Ron. He loves me. A tragedy may mess up some feelings, but it could never change the way I feel about him. He’s going through a tough time; I understand that he wants to be alone.”

Silence followed. Hermione got up from the chair and paced the room, considering.

“Hermione, Harry and I… we’re over. You’re just going to have to accept that you and Ron are too.”

Hermione shook her head slowly. “NO,” she told her firmly. “That’ll never happen.”

~ * ~

“Hermione, I told you-”

“Ron, I’m not agreeing to it. I know you love me. Just because you had a…bad thing happen in your life doesn’t mean-”

“Bloody hell, Hermione, don’t you get it? All it is to you is some tragedy or my grief! I’m not going to just get over my parents’ deaths! Do you hear that?”

Tears filled Hermione’s eyes. She shook her head violently. Ron breathed in deeply, trying to sort through his mind. He wanted to throw something to rid himself of the anger that he was experiencing, but he knew that it wouldn’t help the situation.

“I LOVE you!” she shouted loudly, causing a handful of people in the common room to turn around and stare. Ron closed his eyes depressingly.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he told her.

“You need to tell me that you love me.”

“It’s not that simple,” he said softly, turning away. He couldn’t look at her face anymore; it was too painful.

“What, Ronald? What isn’t so simple? You have something bad happen- something terrible happen in your life. What am I supposed to do? I help you. I comfort you- tell you that everything is going to be okay. Because that’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s what I want to do. I love you. I always will. This is just a setback; a hardship; an obstacle that need help in getting over.” She paused. “We can do it together. You and I.”

Ron thought for several minutes, Hermione staring him right in the eyes the entire time. He tried to sort through what she was saying. He finally realised that she was right; while his parents could never come back and no one could ever replace them, he had Hermione to talk to and confide in. She was his miracle, and he did love her.

Ron turned to face Hermione. She still stood there, her face expressionless. He walked to her and pulled her close, leaning in to kiss her. She returned the kiss with as much warmth as she could muster.

Even though another couple hadn’t been so lucky, Ron and Hermione had persevered through one tough obstacle, and all odds; and they had gotten through it.

Whatever Voldemort was going to throw at them today, tomorrow, or even next year, they would have each other to get through it. And they would:

Together.