Shadow of the Moon

by lunarouge

ship: r/hr

setting: Summer after 6th year, before Bill and Fleur's wedding.

disclaimer: I own nothing. I just don't.

a/n: Just a little background for you...It's the summer after 6th year, and the Order headquarters are still in Grimmauld Place. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys are dealing with the aftermath of Dumbledore's death and the beginning of the war. Ron and Hermione, however, are dealing with the start of something much bigger than it all...

enjoy!

"No! You are…unbelievable!"

A mad rush up the stairs, the slamming of a door, and the turn of a lock—

"Hermione, open this door!" Ron Weasley bellowed in a no-nonsense voice, banging violently on the door with his fist. Hermione Granger sat at the foot of her bed in Grimmauld Place, arms crossed and her heart beating wildly in her chest.

"No!"

"Come on, Hermione. I'm serious. Open this door or Merlin help you, I'll do more than alohomora my way in!"

There was quiet for a moment, in which he heard her shuffle towards the door, sure she was going to open it.

"Sod off, Ron!"

His temper getting the better of him, Ron blasted the door with his wand. It swung open forcefully, stopping inches before Hermione's nose. She turned round and made to leave, but Ron held her by the wrist as he bolted the door shut, trapping both of them in the room Hermione and Ginny shared.

"Let me go, Ronald," Hermione said menacingly, her own wand now in her other hand.
"Nothing doin'," he replied, although he loosened his grip a bit. "Not until you understand."

Hermione prodded Ron in the chest with her wand. "What I understand is that you don't think I can handle what's coming!" She yanked her arm forcefully out of Ron's grasp, and brushed her bushy brown hair out of her eyes.

"That's not it and you know it," Ron said in a tone of forced calm. He tucked his wand in the back pocket of his trousers.
"Oh, then what is it?" Hermione asked heatedly, glaring at him.

Ron ran both hands through his fiery red hair, exasperated. "Can we stop shouting for just a minute? Please? Otherwise the entire Order will be up here."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. He had never backed out of an argument with her. He'd always had to have the last word, until either she petered out and gave up on changing his mind, or stormed off so he wouldn't see her cry out of vexation.

"Fine," she said shortly, and flopped back down on the bed. It was unlike her to be so moody, but the entire concept of the discussion they were about to have seemed absurd.

This war was driving everyone insane. There had never been so much security in Grimmauld Place, but it was really Godric's Hollow Hermione was worried about. Harry was heading out there a few days after Bill and Fleur's wedding, and the plan had been that Ron and Hermione would join him.

That is, until Ron and Harry had decided otherwise. They wanted to send her out of the wizarding world entirely.

As she was caught up in these thoughts, Ron sat down next to her. He tilted her chin up so he could look her straight in the eye.

"You know I think you can handle anything, Hermione. You know that. This isn't about being able to handle anything."
"Then what is it about, Ron? Pretending everything is alright?"

"No, Hermione. It's about keeping you safe."
"And what about you? Who's going to keep you safe? The Order? Because if they were really that foolproof Dumbledore wouldn't be dead!" She said all this a bit more forcefully than she had intended. Ron looked at her sternly.

"You didn't mean that," he said, and she sighed.
"I know. It's just…I'm not a little girl, Ron. I've been with you and Harry through everything else, and now you get the nerve to tell me I'm not going with you? Now that things are getting dangerous, really and truly dangerous, you're asking me to go home, to bail out and pretend I don't know anything about it?"

"I'm not asking you to bail out," Ron said, running his hands through his hair again. "I'm simply asking you to stay safe. You've got so much more to go for. You're the brightest witch of the age, and Harry and I can't have you playing right into You-Know-Who's hands. Do you know what he could do with someone like you?" He puffed out his cheeks in frustration. "I don't even want to think about it. He could manipulate you in so many ways!"

"Who says I'd let him?" Hermione said brashly. "Look, Ron, I made a promise. You and I made a promise to Harry, that we would go with him no matter what, and I never break a promise." Hermione began to fiddle with the ratty blanket on the bed, not wanting to look at Ron.

"I've already talked to Harry," Ron said patiently, "and we both agreed it should just be me and him. In fact, he's talking to Ginny in our room right now. She's not going either."

"Why you and not us? Just because we're girls? You think we're so fragile we can't cope with death, with evil? You think we can't fight?" Hermione felt her temper flaring and forced herself to take a deep breath.

"No, I know you can. I just…" Ron trailed off. His words were somehow lodged in his throat.
"What?" Hermione asked curiously. Ron cleared his throat and steeled himself. He took Hermione's hands gently in his and spoke to them.

"I just…can't risk losing you."

Silence hung between them for a moment as Hermione thought about what he'd said.

"And you think I can risk losing you, Ron? You really think I can go for days on end without seeing you, hearing your voice?"

Ron looked at her for a long time, his heart doing back flips between his ribs. "You can't?" He said finally.
"No," she replied simply. "I can't. You're all I have left."
"Ron," she continued impatiently, "the muggle world is no longer my world. I belong here, with Harry, with you."

Why was she making this ten times harder? Why couldn't she just say she agreed? He hated the words coming out of his mouth, the way they stumbled out like boulders.

"But you would be safer there. You can blend in…you haven't got magical blood in your veins, and that's what Death Eaters will be hunting first. Purebloods. I hate asking you to do this, but it's for the best. Please, Hermione. Please, say you'll go."

Hermione stuck her chin out defiantly. "There's only one place I'm going, and that's by your side. I can't believe you're asking me to leave."

"Bloody hell, Hermione, do you really think I want you to go?" Ron exclaimed edgily. It killed him, all this righteous talk of doing what was best. If she wanted to fight with them why couldn't she?

Because he loved her too much to see her lose. He loved her too much to see her die.

"Don't you think I'd rather keep you with me all the time, so I would know you're safe?"

"Then take me with you, Ron. Problem solved." She met Ron's eyes and saw how badly he wanted to oblige her.
She loved him too much to give up and stay safe. She loved him too much not to bleed with him.

He ripped his gaze away from hers and stood up, his back to her, his shoulders hunched around his ears.

"No, Hermione. You're going back to your parents, tomorrow morning. And that's that."

"Ron, no, there's got to be another way—" Hermione was pleading now, her voice choked up with tears. Couldn't he see how much she needed to be there with him?

"There's not," Ron barked, still with his back to her, heading towards the doorway. As he turned the knob he looked over his shoulder and said gruffly, "Get packing."

And with an insurmountable sense of loss, Hermione watched him walk away.

a/n: Read and review, my lovelies! I know this is the raw r/hr passion you have been craving :)
…okay, maybe not, but humour me, please. Book seven isn't too far off!

So, chapter two, or not?

review and I shall love you for all the days of my life!

xoxo,
lunarouge