Ron became quiet as he observed his friend. Hermione looked better now, almost as if she was happy. When was the last time Hermione looked so unburdened? Suddenly with a jolt Ron realized, he couldn’t remember. For a long time, he had been avoiding Hermione’s eyes, perhaps since the time he left them at the forest last year. So he hadn’t notice how thin her patience had run, how clouded her eyes become. She had grown more solitary, so bitter specially after her mother died. He had tried to help as he sat across from her at the hospital. But she had refused their companionship, and found Malfoy instead.