I do not own any of the characters. It all belongs to Mrs. J.K Rowling! =)

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Ron could not sleep. How could he? After everything that had happened after the wedding, Ron could not sit still for two seconds, let alone sleep. He felt a terrible sadness and a heavy burden of guilt being safe and in hiding. He couldn't understand why his entire family couldn't leave with them and hide, and be safe. But Hermione had tried to explain to him that everyone else had to continue living their lives as if nothing had happened, that even though the three of them were now roaming the world alone and in hiding, everyone else had to continue their lives in order to protect Harry. Even Ron and Hermione had to protect Harry. They only spoke to each other about how worried they actually were when Harry was out of the room. But to Harry and Ron, she would always say, "Oh stop it now! We already know they are all right! Stop fidgeting both of you and get a grip!" But even though Ron understood, he couldn't help feeling worried. Not even Hermione could stop him from feeling that.

It was their first night in Grimmauld Place and Ron wasn't used to a place being so quiet. And to Hermione's dismay, as always, he could not stop fidgeting. Both Harry and Ron slept on the drawing room floor while, thanks to Ron always wanting to surprise and impress Hermione, had insisted she sleep on some pillows.

As the night got darker and quieter, Ron could not succumb to sleep. He had a lot on his mind and with the recent events, his mind was on darker subjects. He heard Hermione tossing and turning and suddenly his thoughts were on Hermione. He saw that her hand was touching the floor, close to Harry, so the only thing he could think to do was move it closer to him. He couldn't help but think how soft and cold her hands were. Ron was hoping not to wake her but at once, she stirred and was awake to see that Ron was moving her hand towards him.

"Ron? Ron what is it?' said Hermione in a groggy voice.

"Spider." Was all Ron could think to say. "I'm such a git!" He thought stupidly. What a stupid excuse!

"Oh. Thank you." She said awkwardly. She couldn't help but think that Ron's hand was warm in hers. And that was what Ron was to her. A big sun. Well, with red hair, she smirked.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked, suddenly aware that his hand was still touching hers. He didn't notice at first. It felt natural to him, like something that occurred all the time, but he withdrew his hand quickly from hers. Suddenly, he saw a frown on Hermione's face, as if something she was thinking about was hurting her. She was about to turn around and fall back to sleep when Ron straightened himself out and grabbed her hand and whispered, "Hermione! Your hand is so cold!" He got up and grabbed her other hand and began to warm them up. Hermione laughed quietly, "Oh Ron!"

Ron scooted up and sat next to Hermione. After a minute, Ron began to just gently massage Hermione's hands. At first, he was afraid that Hermione would object, but to Ron's surprise and delight, she kept her hand with Ron's.

Hermione was deep in thought. She kept her sleepy gaze on Ron's hand on top of hers. How she wished she could just tell Ron how she felt. But she knew that he didn't feel the same way as she did. He was doing this out of pity and she knew it. And even though she was happy, she hated herself for being so. "Why do I let him hold my hand? Am I as dimwitted as every other girl?" She told herself. "Yes, I am."

"Sorry? You are what?" Ron said, alerted.

"What? I'm sorry, did I say that aloud? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking." "I am dimwitted!" she thought miserably. With Ron being so close to her, it was hard for her to have the same composure she always wore when she was at a wands distance away from him. So it really wasn't her fault, she thought quietly this time.

Ron was quiet himself, and he was also thinking. He could just imagine what she was thinking. How much she hated him being there, holding her hand, but taking pity in him to make sure she didn't hurt his feelings. But he didn't care. It didn't matter anyway, at least.

As they both began to yawn more deeply, the both decided that they should go to sleep; they didn't want to risk being tired and sleepy during the day when there was so much danger and commotion all around them. As Ron was drifting into a heavy sleep, he heard Hermione tossing and turning. Then in a silent whisper, Hermione said, "Ron?"

"Yeah, 'Mione?" Ron whispered back.

"Can you….? Is it OK if…?" She didn't want to sound desperate or anything. But she really was afraid. She was afraid he would say no, but deep down inside, she knew that Ron was the only person in the world who could comfort and warm her. Like the big red sun that he was.

"I…" She continued. Then she stopped. She had no idea how to word this without sounding...stupid. She closed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" said Ron, a bit annoyed that she could never just say exactly what she meant or wanted to.

"Well, will you….will you please hold my hand until I fall asleep?" she said breathlessly.

Ron went silent for a few seconds. He tried to hide the joy in his voice but was finding it hard to.

Finally Hermione said, "It's OK, Ron. I know it's silly of me to act so childish, especially in times like these when there are so many people who wish they could…."

But before Hermione could finish her ongoing novel, Ron grabbed her hand tightly, being careful not hurt her, and held on to it. They locked eyes for a second and gave each other a small smile. Within minutes, Hermione drifted into a heavy sleep.

And Ron didn't let go of Hermione's hand. Not even after she fell asleep.