Grimmauld place was grim enough to drive anyone out in seconds, especially seventeen year old Ronald Weasley, but he swore to himself that he would stick with Harry for as long as this war carried on. Also, he didnt want to leave his secret growing heart throb, Hermione Granger, who happened to be noticably feeling more and more scared and vunerable; she was a muggle born, and was probably the most wanted one in the country at the moment. All three of them were being hunted down everyday, and the pressure was visibly mounting on her shoulders. Ron felt immensly guilty sometimes about the way he treated her last year, getting at her deliberately and using Lavender to do it, which he knew was also wrong.
One day whilst he was reading a book of Hermione's (Hogwart's, a History) in the kitchen on the first floor, which he only read to bring back fond memories of the amount of times Hermione referred to it, continuously glancing out of the window anxiously, whilst harry was out for food, an ear peircing scream sounded from a floor several feet above, which he recognised as hers. 'Hermione!' he yelled and dropped the book, sprinted out the door and ran up the stairs as he heard several more sobs and wails. She was crying and screaming so loud he was almost certain the muggles could here them from next door, even with all the anchantments. Then, as he raced around, trying to find the room she was in, he heard her screach 'NO! HARRY! RON!' and cry even more.
'HERMIONE,' Ron called helplessly, sprinting up another flight of stairs. She continued to wail, her voice echoing like a ghost's, bouncing off the bare walls. He finally screached to a halt when he found her in a room full of wardrobes on her knees, hair coming out of her ponytail, her hands covering her face, sobbing and shaking on the floor helplessly. What shocked him even more was that Harry was lying dead and blood splattered, sprawled across the rug outside a cupboard, and next to him, Ron was gobsmacked to find, himself, also dead and pale, spread-eagle on the floor. Towering over the bodies was none other than Lord Voldemort, with an evil smile plastered on his clammy white face, wand pointing at them both with a horrid hiss coming from his mouth. Ron's jaw dropped as Hermione wailed again. He ran into the room, equally as frightened, but before he could even think about being killed, the image changed into a huge, fanged spider with eight feirce, red eyes, but Voldemort was still there, lurking behind it with his wand outstretched, ready to kill. One hand on Hermione's shaking shoulder, he looked up and felt all the blood drain from his face. Then he realised...oh, how stupid he felt...
'Riddikulus!' he cried and before he knew it, the spider had changed into a huge fluffy rabbit and Voldemort was in a clown suit with a big red nose. He grinned and the boggart began to warp itself all over again, but instead, seemed to be being sucked into a tiny grey ball and then shot back into the wardrobe it came from. Ron ran to lock the doors and Hermione began to rock herself on the floor, arms around herself and still sobbing silently. Ron hurried over to her and crouched down. 'Hermione, its ok...it was only a boggart...' she looked up for a second, then flung herself over him and cried uncontrollably into his shoulder. He hugged her back, stroking her hair and sighed into it. Her hair smelt of fruit shampoo and a little of dust, since they had been staying in a dirty house. He didnt care.
'Oh, Ron...i'm s-sorr-y...' she hiccoughed and took deep breaths to try and calm herself down.
'it's ok! I would've done the same thing!' he sympathised. She looked up, her face was all red and blotchy and had disbelief all over it, but he still thought she looked beautiful. 'no you wouldnt. You never cry.'
'I'd cry if it was you there.'
'really?' she smiled slightly, her arms still around his kneck.
'really.' He smiled and she gave him a chasted peck on the cheek and buried her head back into his shoulder.
Definately.