aftermath.

prologue.

473 words.

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The battle of Hogwarts took place a month ago. Ron, Hermione and Harry have been inseparable. So inseparable in fact, they've all slept in Ron's room. Ron on his bed, Harry in the camp bed and Hermione uses her sleeping bag in the middle... That is until everyone goes to sleep and she finds her way to Ron's bed. Hermione usually tries to find her way back to her sleeping bag before everyone wakes up, but some nights she forgets. Mrs. Weasley has walked in once and saw them together, but she could tell it was what they needed. Her heart was filled with warmth and joy at seeing Ron holding onto Hermione so tightly in his sleep. He seemed so grown and confident. Not at all like the teenager he was growing up. Molly knew it was something much more important than two teenagers sleeping together. It was love. Ron and Hermione were in love and they simply wanted to take care of each other.

Hermione has had a nightmare every night since they defeated Voldemort. Some nights are worse than others, but they all pretty much suck the same. She is terrified to go to sleep because every time she closes her eyes, she sees Bellatrix above her shouting curse after curse. Sometimes the nightmares end with her being killed and right before she dies, she sees Ron's face, smiling at her, telling her he loved her. All she ever wanted ever since falling in love with the dorky red haired boy was to know he also loved her. She just wanted to be loved by Ronald Weasley more than anything. It was a fear of hers, along with so many other issues, that she was going to die without having gotten to love him.

Ron, every night, wouldn't fall asleep until Hermione was beside him. He'd wait the respected amount of time and then he'd lightly nudge her arm to tell her she can come up. They would lay there together, just basking in the silence. They haven't discussed much of what the kiss in the chambers meant or where they were at in their relationship. They just silently agreed that they wanted to be together and whatever that meant, they could figure out later. For now, holding each other, stealing kisses on the stairs when no one is watching and helping out around the burrow. They were in a sort of little bubble of safety and happiness where they didn't have to talk about the year long run, the war, the nightmares or the trauma they were clearly pushing down. They just were.

Until now. Now they have to face it.