You and Me, Forever - Romione

039. Night

Hermione took a deep breath and knocked on the boys' dormitory. Almost immediately, Harry's bruised face greeted her with a sad smile. He opened the door to reveal a room that was much smaller than any of their previous dormitories. Ron sat on one of the beds that must've belonged to Neville or Seamus during the year. The air hung heavy in the room and the boys had shared expressions of grief etched across their faces.

"Sorry. I, er, I didn't want to be alone. Parvati's with Padma in the Ravenclaw tower and Lavender's. . ." she trailed off. As tears shone in her eyes, she fell silent.

"I don't want to be any trouble. I'll just bring a mattress from another room and sleep on the floor," she suggested once she had regained her composure.

"Here," Ron offered, jumping off the bed as if it burned it. "You can take my bed. I'll use the mattress."

Hermione gave him a small smile and flicked her wand. A mattress came floating in from the open door, and she lowered it down next to Ron's bed. She crawled under Ron's covers immediately, emotionally, mentally, and physically drained. Harry and Ron followed suit, flicking off the lights by their beds.

After a few hours of restless sleep, Hermione felt Bellatrix's breath hot on her face, her nails gripping into her face, her cackling laughs ringing in her ears. She jolted awake as her neck burned, and she let out a small cry. She kicked at the covers, feeling trapped, and turned to find Ron's face level with hers. He was sitting up on the mattress, looking at her with concern.

"You were crying," he explained. "When you were asleep. You were crying."

For the first time, Hermione felt the hot tears burning her cheeks. Deep down, she knew she was safe. She knew Bellatrix was dead and could never hurt her again, but the pain on her neck was real. The fear she was feeling was real.

"Can you. . . ?" she trailed off, her voice so low it was almost imperceptible.

Wordlessly, Ron pulled himself off the floor and climbed into the bed with Hermione, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He felt asleep almost instantly, but Hermione couldn't, regardless of how safe she felt in his arms. Every time Ron would let out a breath, the warm air would send shivers down Hermione's spine.

As she lay there, she knew that this was the place she wanted to stay for the rest of her life.