It has been two hours and forty-eight minutes since he has been back. Which mean, it has been about two hours and forty-five minutes since the last time Hermione spoke...well, screamed at him.

He couldn't deal with all the tension in the tent, so he decided to volunteer for the first watch of the night. As he sat up against the tent, he clutched his clothes to his body, it was still freezing outside. For the last few months he has slept in Shell Cottage with his brother Bill, even when he left to find Harry and Hermione, he at least slept indoors. Every night, he would listen for their names on the radio, he would always hear Harry's name come up but if he didn't hear Hermione's then he knew they were safe. Even after hours of listening every night, he wouldn't even turn it down until he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.

He wondered if they knew how truly sorry he was, he never fully intended to leave them, at least not her. At the time, he wanted to get as far away from Harry as possible, a fact that still makes him incredibly guilty.

"Ron?" he heard the voice come from inside the tent, "Ron, are you still awake?" Harry questioned as he opened the tent flap and stepped outside.

"Yeah sorry. Just thinking really." He said as he gave Harry a half smile and looked back into the forest. Harry sat down for a few minutes.

"You know, I didn't know you really cared about her that much," Harry started and Ron whipped his head around, "I mean, everyone knew you fancied her, but I didn't know you.."

"Loved her?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah well, I've never really been subtle on anything haven't I?" Ron laughed.

"No, I guess not," Harry joined, "But really mate? Me and Hermione? That's just like asking when you and Ginny are planning the wedding."

Ron made a disgusted face and Harry laughed. "Tell you what," Harry continued, "I'll trade you. I'll give you Hermione and maybe after this whole deal is over, maybe I can have a real shot with Ginny."

"Cheers, but I wouldn't get your hopes about me and Hermione set too high."

"I wouldn't say that so soon." Harry reasoned.

"So soon? Harry, she's bloody hacked off with me." Ron retorted.

"Yeah, but it's just different with you two. But hey, you can figure it out. I really need the loo. I still have all this pond water all over me." Harry patted Ron's arm and when back inside the tent.

Ron shook some snow out of his hair and leaned back up against the tent. It has now been two hours and fifty-nine minutes since he has been back, so that leaves him with two hours and fifty-six minutes since he's last heard her speak.

"Get up." Ron looked up at the almost foreign voice. "Ron, get up. It's my watch." Ron just looked at her like she was Umbridge in a bikini. He could tell she was still very well hacked off with him, but there was a tone of...concern?

"Ron! Will you get up already? It's my watch and I would really appreciate it if you would just leave."

"Oh." Ron's voice sounded very weak and disappointed. He started to wonder if she even wanted to come back in the first place, that maybe they were better off without him.

"No," Hermione said after she noticed Ron's face fall. "I mean stay, just not out here." All the anger seemed to disappear from her voice. "But I swear Ronald Weasley, if you leave us again, I'll hex your bollocks off." and just like that it was back again.

Ron just gaped at her. Before she sounded angry, then sorry, then she sounded like a pissed off centaur. And the fact that she just cursed. That's twice in in one day, and probably her whole life.

"Hermione, are you alright?" He knew he probably shouldn't speak to her until given the proper okay, but he was just so bloody confused that he couldn't help himself.

Just then she burst into tears. "No I'm not okay!" she waled, "I'm so happy you're okay but I'm so pissed that I didn't know that to begin with. I haven't eaten a full meal in God knows when, I'm PMSing like crazy." she immediately stopped after her last confession.

If Ron wasn't confused before, he sure was now.

"What is PMSing?"

"Just please forget about it. Please." Hermione said trying to control her blush.

"No Hermione, please tell me. Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?"

The face Hermione made confirmed Ron's last question. "Where are you bleeding? Do you need some Dittany or a plaster?"

Hermione couldn't control her blush anymore. "Ron, you've lived with two females your whole life."

"Yeah?" Ron's confusion not disappearing.

"Do you know about their..special time?" Ron gave her another confused look and shook his head. "Where they seem a bit lazier, angry, and eat a bit more sweets than usual?"

"Oh yeah. Though Ginny eats loads more sweets."

"Right, well. For goodness sakes Ron, you've had the talk before haven't you?"

"The talk?" Ron asked, but suddenly everything dawned on him at once. "OH, right, sorry."

"It's okay. I know you often forget that I'm actually a girl." she said rolling her eyes.

Ron looked at her and without thinking said "Yeah, only because I see you as a woman."

Hermione couldn't help but to drop her jaw at the confession. "You, you what?"

"Well yeah. I'll admit when we first met I had no clue what you were, one of Hagird's creatures with that hair maybe," Ron joked, but Hermione was in no laughing mood, " Right well, then I saw you as my best friend, like Harry, which I really hope you still are." Hermione frowned a bit, not going unnoticed by Ron, "But then one day around third year I realized you had ti..breasts."

Hermione scowled, "Charming, thanks Ron."

"Did you expect me not to? I am a bloke after all Hermione." Hermione's scowl loosened and Ron continued, "But the night I saw you as a woman was the night before Harry came. You had come early and explained to me what you did to save your parents. You held your guard up for a while, but when it came crashing down you let me comfort you and it takes a whole hell of a lot for you to do that. That's when I knew you weren't a girl anymore. That you grew up, we all grew up and it was time to face the reality of the situation."

"I didn't know you felt that way about me, Ron." Hermione whispered.

"Well I reckon theres a lot you don't know about me Hermione."

They both sat back and looked off into the forest. It was quiet, the only noises were the wind and Harry in the shower, but for some reason, it wasn't awkward.

"Hermione."

"Ron."

They spoke at the same time, but Hermione motioned for him to go first.

"I have something for you." He said as he reached into his rucksack.

"What do you mean?" She thought that surely he didn't go shopping while he was away, so what could he possibly have with him?

"Well, when I was...away. I stayed at Bill's for a little while and I sorta nicked this from the cubbard." and he held out a chocolate frog to her and grabbed it like her life depended on it.

"Ron are you sure? I mean I know how much you were probably looking forward to this." by the time Hermione finished speaking though, she had already finished a quarter of the frog.

"No, no. It's fine, really."

After Hermione finished the frog, the silence finally got awkward.

"Ron?" Hermione called turning towards him.

"Hmm?"

Hermione took a deep breath and continued. "Earlier, I heard you and Harry talking about the locket, and what it did when you destroyed it."

Ron grew nervous because he knew what was coming next.

Hermione finally met his eyes. "What. What did it say to you?"

"Hermione." Ron tried to stop her.

"No Ron. I need to know. I need to know what that thing did to you." she started to cry, "I need to know why you left me."

If there was one thing Ron hated most in this world other than the war, was when he saw a girl cry. Mostly when he saw Hermione cry. Especially when he was the cause of it.

He met her eyes and knew he had to tell her the truth, no matter how hard it might be. So he took a deep breath and let it all out.

"It was you in that locket. And Harry, but mostly you." He looked at her shocked face and was a little shocked himself that she didn't see this coming, " You were telling me all these things. That I was worthless, that I was nothing compared to Harry, and that no once could ever love me. And then you kissed him."

" Ron, what are you talking about?"

"When it came time to destroy the locket, Harry opened it and this version of you and him came out of it, and you kissed him. A full on snog at that." Ron admitted, "I never wanted to leave you Hermione. Why the horcrux affected me the way it did, I'll never know. But I will regret what I did for the rest of my life."

Ron didn't even realize that he was crying until he had finished. He couldn't bare to look Hermione in the eyes.

"Me and Harry?" Hermione questioned under her breath. "Ron, thats disgusting! Harry is my brother! Thats like you snogging Ginny!"

Ron turned and smiled a bit, "Funny, Harry said the same thing."

"Ron please know that you're not worthless. Why would you even want to be compared to Harry? And somebody will always love you."

"Yeah, who my mum?"

"No, me." Hermione said before she could stop herself. "Oh please, don't act like you didn't know."

"How long?"

"How long what?"

Ron just looked at her with a stern look until she understood.

"Fourth year."

"Weak." He snorted.

"Excuse me?!"

"I've loved you since third year, it just took me a while to figure it out." He looked at her with the most sincere look that she just knew that he wasn't lying. They sat there studying each others faces for awhile taking in what that all meant.

Ron finally got the nerve to start leaning in when he heard the worst possible mood killer in the history of mankind. Harry's voice.

"Ron the loo's free!" he called from still inside the tent.

Ron sighed and looked at Hermione as he stood up.

"I'm really sorry Hermione."

"I know."

Ron gave her his famous lopsided grin as he opened the flap to the tent.

"But don't think I'll let up like this around Harry. I do have a reputation to uphold." she said half joking, half seriously.

Ron laughed to himself, "I know."