Bad Dream

"Ron...wake up..." pleaded a quiet voice, a hand gently nudging Ron awake from his peaceful slumber. He woke up groggily and saw the blurred image of a bushy haired girl sitting beside him on his bed.

"Hermione?" he asked sleepily. Then realizing whose name it was he just said he jerked wide awake, his back straightening like a rock. "Hermione!" he exclaimed.

"Shhh," the teary-eyed girl said quickly. It suddenly dawned upon Hermione how silly it had been to come here. I can't turn back now! He's already awake! She inhaled deeply and tried to gather herself.

"Oh, sorry..." whispered Ron looking at his bedroom door, hoping no one heard him call out Hermione's name aloud. If Fred or George had heard him, he wouldn't hear the end of it till next spring! The thought made him cringe. That and of course the whole house would come barging into his room in time to find Hermione sitting on his bed in her nighties and him...well you can just imagine what they would be thinking.

A look of concern came upon his face as he studied the slumped, sniffing, pajama-clad Hermione sitting on his bed. This has got to be a dream... "Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked after convincing himself that the figure of his girl bestfriend in his bed was not some apparition.

Hermione heard Ron say her name for the third time and couldn't stop a fresh batch of tears from falling. The sound of his voice saying her name kept repeating itself in her mind. No one else can pronounce my name so beautifully. He's really here...She sobbed quietly. Or, more to the point, I'm really here! What was I thinking!? Truth be told, she didn't have time to think. The minute she woke up, she instinctively apparated to wherever Ron was and started nudging him awake, tears falling down her face.

Slowly, she felt Ron's arms pull her close to him.

"Shhh...Don't cry, Hermione." He could feel her body shaking and his heart broke for her. "Tell me what's wrong...Please?"

Get a hold of yourself, Hermione thought. She was sitting in Ron's bed in the middle of the night, when she was supposed to be at home sleeping. Oh, wait, correction! She was crying in his bed, without any explanation at all, not even about how she got there. It must have looked pretty strange to Ron, but he didn't remark on it. He just gathered her into his arms and tried to comfort her. It was all Hermione could do not to bawl her eyes out even more. What was I thinking? Coming here and waking him up! Stupid, stupid...

At last, Hermione seemed to calm down. Sensing her relax a bit, Ron pulled back to look at her. "What's wrong?" he implored pulling his legs from the sheets and dangling them on the side of the bed. He inched closer towards her and put an arm around her encouragingly.

Hermione sniffled one last time and rested on Ron's arm, her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for dropping in out of the blue." She creased her brows into a frown and pursed her mouth. Ron looked down upon her and couldn't help but marvel at how cute she looked when she was apologizing. He had to smile despite himself. She's doesn't even know how beautiful she really is...

"Are you kidding? A girl in her nighties inside my bedroom in the middle of the night? You're right. It's absolutely traumatic!" Ron smirked.

Hermione let out a small laugh in spite of herself "Oh, Ron," she said elbowing him lightly in the ribs.

"Ow...Now there's that lovely Hermione smile," he said softly, squeezing her shoulder. "So, are you going to tell me what in the world you're doing here at this time of the night in that fashionable ensemble of yours? I mean, I would have been flattered and all that if only you weren't bawling your eyes out! You'd think I was dead!"

Hermione caught her breath and tears began to well in her eyes again. She bowed her head. Noticing this, Ron's own eyes grew wide. "Oh Hermione..."

"I had a nightmare," she cut in.

"And I died?" Ron asked looking positively flabbergasted at the thought.

Hermione nodded. She could do nothing but nod. Tears were running from her eyes again and she couldn't trust herself to speak. The nightmare had been short, but the image of Ron bloodied and lifeless on the ground was enough to haunt her. In the dream, she had shouted at Ron, nudged him, even tried slapping him in the face, but he didn't wake up. His whole body lay sprawled on the grass, hand outstretched as if reaching for someone, his head turned to one side and his eyes closed--thank God. She had been wailing when she woke with a start. She had sat up disoriented and immediately apparated to Ron's bedroom without a thought in her head but him. She needed to go to Ron! She just absolutely needed to...The picture of his lifeless figure on the ground was enough to drive her out of the house then and there without even a note to her parents.

"Stop crying Hermione," Ron pleaded putting one hand on her chin and turning her head towards him. He wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Look at me." Hermione's eyes met his. He had to fight to keep his own emotions in check as he saw the immense sadness in her eyes. Their eyes would lock forever it seemed. Finally, Ron uttered, "I'm alive, okay? I'm here talking to you," then he hugged her fiercely to him, "hugging you," he whispered softly in her ear. Poor Hermione. But why would she be so upset over a dream about me? Surely, she didn't think it was real! And, of course, she would have nightmares occasionally. But do they all upset her like this?

Hermione embraced Ron with all her might, satisfying herself with his solidity. Oh, Ron. I couldn't bear it if I lost you...She stifled a sob. She pulled back after a while and looked at Ron's deep blue eyes, usually filled with sarcasm, but now betraying only his utmost concern. She was filled with so much love for him at that moment, her heart hurt. If I had any doubts before every one of them has been shattered now. I'm definitely in love with Ron Weasley! Darn it! "Sorry," she said looking down, hiding the faint smile that had come to her lips. "...was being stupid..."

"Nah, it's ok," he said fixing a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "I can't imagine what I'd have done if it were me." He shuddered at the thought, then quickly pushed it away.

"Ron?" Ron barely heard her saying his name.

"Yeah?" he answered cautiously.

"Can I have another hug?" Hermione remarked sheepishly.

Ron could just smile as he spread his arms and pulled Hermione towards him protectively. Hermione laid her head against Ron's chest and heard his heart beat. She sighed contentedly and wrapped her arms tighter around him.

Everything vanished as the two embraced comfortably, their bodies fitting perfectly with each other.

Finally, Ron had to pull apart. They both needed to sleep. "What do you say I get you a warm cup of milk? No, no...Never mind. I'll go get it. You just stay here. Don't go anywhere."

Before Hermione could answer, Ron was already out the door.

The time apart gave the two best friends time to gather their senses. Truly, this was one of the most intense moments they'd ever had between them. Neither of them expected they'd ever act this way towards each other. They were both surprised, but also immensely pleased at the way they acted. Now that the drama had abated, they reverted back to their old selves.

When Ron came back, he found Hermione snuggled neatly in his bed, the sheets pulled over her. His heart jumped a beat and he stopped in his tracks. Oh my God..."Uhh...buh huh..." Ron swallowed stupidly holding up a mug.

"Everything okay, Ron? Sorry I snuck under the covers. I felt cold." Hermione was only wearing her nightgown after all...She felt more foolish by the second. This is embarrassing! Well, it's just Ron after all. I'm sure he'll just shrug it off. He never liked me "that" way anyway. Still, his bed feels nice and cozy...She smiled inwardly. Stop it, Hermione!

Be a man, Ron! It's just Hermione! Well, that's just it, isn't it?! It's Hermione!!! Ahh!!! Oh, bugger. He walked slowly to her--my--bed. "Here you go." He handed her the milk to drink. "It's nice and warm, you can drink it now. Finish it all up, you hear?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione said smiling up at him.

Ron settled on the bed beside Hermione.

The two sat in comfortable silence while Hermione drank her milk. Ron had laid his head on the headboard, eyes shut, his mind taking in what just happened.

"What do you say we get back to sleep?" he said after making sure that Hermione had finished with her mug.

"Okay...ummm..." Hermione looked around uncertainly.

"Oh, no, Hermione, you're not going back home in that state. You're sleeping here tonight. You can go back later this time on Floo powder, to be safe." It was easy to deduce that Hermione had apparated to his bedroom, seeing as she didn't smell of soot. The danger of her apparating at such a distance was not lost on Ron. They were given their apparating licenses just recently and they were warned not to travel long distances yet without enough practice. Why Hermione would endanger herself just to see if her dream wasn't real Ron didn't know. He wondered though...Could it be? But of course she loves me...as her friend! We've been best friends for 6 years and have been in enough dangerous situations to realize how thin the thread holding all our lives is. A glimmer of hope flashed through him as he tried to fathom how a bad dream could get Hermione to apparate in mere seconds to his bedroom. Oooh, gotta find out how to make her get these nightmares more often! Remembering how distraught Hermione looked earlier, he chastised himself.

"Ron," Hermione muttered edging closer towards him. He could feel her hands searching for him under the sheets.

"Hmmm?" he was lying with his head on his palms.

"Goodnight," she murmured resting her head on his chest, one hand draped above his stomach.

"Goodnight, Hermione," Ron replied. He laid his arm over her and kissed the top of her head gently.

The sound of Ron's unmistakable heartbeat lulled Hermione to sleep. You're with me, now. Nothing's going to hurt you. She sighed one last time until she fell into the deepest, most peaceful sleep.

I'll chase all your bad dreams away, Hermione. I'm here. I'll never leave you. I love you so much...Ron fell asleep with a smile on his face.