Summary: "He falls asleep with his legs wrapped around hers, one hand weaving through her hair and the other dancing along her scar." Because sometimes, to stop nightmares, he has to see her. Ron-Hermione, a drabble following just after the final battle.

AN (1) : Recommended listening: "Holocene" by Bon Iver

AN (2) : Hello, friends! I've been working lots this summer, and I've been writing a good deal of publishable poetry and short fiction (cool!), but I just wanted to kick out this little piece. Hopefully you enjoy! Please drop a review to let me know what you think, and happy summer! :)

Cherish Me to Sleep

Oh the demons come
They can subside.
- "Calgary" by Bon Iver

The door is never closed all of the way.

He knows, in a part of himself that he's just beginning to come to terms with, that it never will close again, that she'll never be able to sleep like she should.

He knows because sometimes he can't get her screams out of his head.

His first night back at the Burrow after the war, after the week of mourning, after Fred's funeral, he hears her. It's a moment, when he fights himself awake, of sheer panic, because he remembers every single sense of when he'd been unable to take those screams away. He's out of bed before Harry can wake, down the stairs and to the cracked door. Because he needs to see.

He peeks in, silently, and sees Ginny first, sprawled on her bed, her red hair splayed out around her. He sees Hermione's wand on the dresser, a small ball of flame in a jar next to it. (He realizes, too, that she'll never be able to sleep without that, either.)

And then he sees Hermione. She's curled up, facing him, her hair long and knotted and streaming across her face. To his relief, she looks incredibly peaceful, her features smooth and beautiful, bathed in the moonlight.

He watches her, leaning against the doorframe, trying to convince himself that it's all real. That she's here, she's his. That she's not having a nightmare.

He's startled by the flash of movement, his heart racing when Ginny rolls over. For a second, he's certain she didn't notice him and that she'll go back to sleep, but then her eyes pop open and she sits up.

She looks blearily from him to Hermione and then back again, a mixture of anger and sympathy on her face.

Ginny stands, walking quickly to Ron and pushing him out into the hallway. She casts a Silencing charm quickly, going to close the door.

"'Mione likes it cracked," he whispers before he can stop himself.

Ginny smiles at him, her hand stilling on the doorknob. "Were you watching her sleep?"

Ron sits down against the wall, suddenly feeling exhausted and sad. "I had a nightmare."

Ginny plops down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know what happened that night. She told me."

Ron shakes his head, studying his hands. "I can't – I couldn't…" he trails off, looking at Ginny with tortured eyes.

Ginny meets his gaze, shaking her head. "You saved her, Ron."

"She was tortured, Ginny!" Ron suddenly explodes, fighting to keep the fear and anger from flooding through him all over again. "She screamed and screamed and got that word cut into her arm. I didn't save her from anything."

Ginny glares at Ron then, a look so familiar and wonderful in that moment he wants to hug her. "You can really be a bloody git, you know. You think Hermione would rather be dead? Do you think she'd rather give up her life instead of having nightmares and a scar?"

"She shouldn't have…"

"No, she shouldn't have mudblood carved into her arm or residual effects from Crucios. But, damn it, Ron, she does. But you got her out of there. You got her to Fleur. You got her somewhere safe. And now," Ginny's determined face softens, "you're going to help her get past all of it. And she'll help you."

Ron swallows hard to keep the tears in his eyes, but they trickle down his cheeks stubbornly.

Ginny shakes her head with a little smile. "She's real. I promise. Sometimes I have a hard time believing it, too."

He knows she means about Harry, about all of them, and a wonderful relief rushes over him: she understands.

Before he can say anything else, Hermione stumbles out into the hall, looking confused. She spots Ron and Ginny almost immediately, and he rushes to wipe the tears from his cheeks.

He notices that she's only wearing a sheer T-shirt and a pair of polka-dot cotton underwear, and she seems to realize it at the same time.

"Oh," she says quickly, eyeing the door to Ginny's room like she's going to bolt.

But Ginny stands, laughing, helping Ron up. Even in the dark, he's a violent shade of red.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asks, and Ginny looks to Ron, brows raised, expectant, waiting for him to answer.

Ron immediately rushes to Hermione, engulfing her in a hug before she can resist. She seems to stiffen and then sink into him, and he breathes in her smell. Ginny smiles at him, walking silently away from her room and up the stairs. He knows she's going to Harry, that, for as much as she can act strong, she needs her reassurance too.

Ron takes Hermione's left hand, feeling the letters against his skin, and leads her silently back into Ginny's room.

He closes the door all the way, and she silently extinguishes the flame.

She smiles at him, her eyes growing heavy. "I'm glad I'm right here," she whispers.

"Me too, 'Mione."

He falls asleep with his legs wrapped around hers, one hand weaving through her hair and the other dancing along her scar.

…

He hears her screaming, and he wakes up. It doesn't stop.

He recognizes it immediately as one of her nightmares, and he rushes from the room he was in at her parents' home in Australia to the one next door, where she's shaking in bed, thrashing wildly.

He sits down on the bed, grabbing both of her wrists gently (she tried to rip her scar away if he didn't stop her), saying her name over and over again.

Suddenly, her eyes pop open and she looks around urgently, confused. They land on his face and she stills, sitting up quickly and allowing him to take her in his arms. He strokes her hair – shorter now, falling just below her shoulders. (His heart had broken, just a little, when she'd cut it the day before he'd accompanied her to Australia.)

"Hey, you're okay, you're okay. Just breathe," he whispers. "I'm here, breathe."

She begins to calm, and he looks up. He sees Hermione's parents at the door. Her mother is wide-eyed and her father looks like he's about to cry. They look down to where Ron's arms have now released Hermione's scarred wrist, and, in a moment, a new level of understanding and sorrow passes onto their faces.

Hermione hadn't told them everything. Not details. Now they knew.

"I-I have n-nightmares s-s-sometimes," Hermione says quietly.

Her parents are frozen for a few seconds, completely horrified, before her father rushes forward. Ron silently relinquishes his hold on Hermione as her parents embrace her.

They cry as Ron stands in a corner, and he suddenly realizes he's never seen Hermione look that young before.

Hermione's mother looks to Ron with a knowing, tear-filled gaze, and says, hoarsely, "Thank you."

Hermione's father backs up, nodding at Ron, and her mother follows.

They silently file out of Hermione's room, closing the door completely.

Hermione sniffles and gives a watery smile. "S-stay?"

Ron grins, walking back over to her quickly. "Always, 'Mione."

He falls asleep with his legs wrapped around hers, one hand weaving through her hair and the other dancing along her scar.

AN : Please review :)