the_debt_of_time

Mia thought about the question for a moment. She remembered stumbling upon
the Mirror of Erised where she saw herself standing with her family, and Ron had been
there. However, over the years she felt a bit guilty for almost putting him in the back of
her mind. Until she had been gifted with James, Sirius, and Remus, she had not realised
just how poor her friendship with Ron had been on both sides. There was too much give
and not enough take on her end, and she knew that Hermione's poor self-esteem had
contributed to the lazy way he had treated their friendship. She acted and felt more like a
babysitter than a friend to him at times. Still, she had known him since she was eleven, and
they had fought a war together. Ron had fought a troll for her.
"I'd like to be," she admitted honestly.
"We went through a war together," he said, apparently on a similar train of thought.
She dipped her head in agreement. "I went through two wars. The first one broke
me, I think. The second... changed me."
"Changed you how?"
She inhaled deep and watched as the cool, damp air of almost-autumn turned the
breath of her exhale visible against the setting sun. "Can I ask you something and have you
promise me that you'll never speak another word of it? I would ask Harry, but it's too
personal for him."
Ron looked excited about the prospect of sharing something with Mia that Harry
was not privy to. "Yes, you can ask me anything, Hermione."
She stood for a moment in silence before speaking, choosing her words very
carefully when she finally did break the silence. "When we were at Malfoy Manor, and
Sirius and I were upstairs with Narcissa and Draco, you and Harry said that Peter Pettigrew
died."
"He did."
"That his silver hand choked him to death."
"It did."
"Can I ask... ?" She paused and then looked up at him, her eyes now hard and
cold as they met his gaze. "Did he suffer?"
Ron looked taken aback by the question, and he stumbled over his words. "I... It
didn't look pleasant, 'Mione."
"Was he afraid?"