Author's Note: This is rather bad. I haven't written anything in ages so my writing is awfully shaky, and I think the characters might be OOC – which is kind of sad because I'm always complaining about people not keeping them in character. Oh well.

"Love, I have a mission this week."

He sprung it on me so abruptly that I could only sit there and stare in shock, my mouth agape. I could tell from the intensity in Ron's eyes and the fear and worry etched all over his face that this, as hard as it was to believe, was not just any mission. Ron had always dreamed of becoming a highly regarded Auror, one who was trusted with the most difficult tasks and duties. When he had finally achieved that status, I had never been more pleased for him. I knew that we would have to endure days on end without each other due to training and raids, and it always gave me a pang of disappointment every time I thought about it, but seeing the elation on Ron's face and the joy in his eyes about finally getting promoted made the prospect of those days without Ron almost worthwhile. He was now a Senior in the office and would be given complete control and the lead of any assignment his group was set. His wish to be the hero would be fulfilled, and I was ridiculously proud of him. But today, Ron stood there and told me as plainly as could be that he was going on a mission, and not just any mission but his first as a Senior, which undoubtedly meant a more deadly and dangerous one.

"What?" I whispered.

He simply nodded and replied, "Proudfoot reckons the remaining Death Eaters are planning an ambush on the Auror Squad. We've got to go and fight, Hermione."

"But…"

I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but I just wasn't ready for it to happen so fast. It had only been two weeks since Ron was sent up the office – how was I supposed to deal with him leaving so soon?

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at me, silently pleading for me not to shout or yell. I obliged for the moment and let him continue.

"We've gathered a lot of information – we know for one thing that Dolohov and Rookwood are at the center. They're the ones who're bringing everyone back."

"Dolohov…Antonin Dolohov? The one-"

"-who cursed you in fifth year? Yeah."

My mouth opened slightly to form a silent "oh". Dolohov was the man who had caused me the utmost pain for more than two years. For the first few weeks after he cursed me I couldn't go past a day without having to sit down and clutch my chest in pain. The curse also had – although I wasn't sure whether they were directly because of the jinx - psychological effects on me. There were the nightmares that lasted for almost the entire summer before my sixth year. Then there was the fear that I'd had for quite some time and had suddenly become full force – failure. I never stopped worrying about how I wouldn't be able to help my best friends and be completely worthless during the Horcrux hunt. If was unconscious throughout the battle at the Ministry because I wasn't able to defend myself against one Death Eater, I couldn't imagine what would happen in the war. Ron was aware of this – he knew all my insecurities and fears and he knew that Dolohov had been a major factor in their increase, and I was sure he would do his best to defeat the one who caused me so much grief.

"How long will you be gone?" I asked.

"A few weeks at most."

I stayed silent.

"Harry will be with us too, you know."

I still said nothing.

"We have the Head of the Auror Department at our side, what could go wrong?"

"Head of the…Ron, he's not invincible! He could die, YOU could die!" I shouted, suddenly snapping out of my silence, the tears falling down my cheeks. My heart was breaking – I couldn't imagine life without Ron or Harry.

"Hermione," he said, pulling me close. "Listen to me. We have everything worked out. We have all our battle strategies and plans ready. We've had spies stationed around their front so we know most of the stuff we need to know. We have Williamson, who's been around since we were at school. We have Roland, who could squash five Death Eaters with his bare hands. We have Mary, whose brains can rival even yours. We have HARRY, who may not be invincible but he's pretty darn close to it; and they've got me, who's going to bring about twenty Death Eaters down, Dolohov amongst them. I promise you, Hermione Jean Granger," he said with a sort of fierce determination, "that I'll come back to you untouched and unharmed."

I wiped my tears and nodded. "I believe you."

Horribly corny ending, but it's 6 AM and that's all I could think of. And of course, this is DH compliant so you can all be sure that Ron and Harry indeed come back safely. Please leave feedback, criticism much appreciated.