Hey there! This is my first fanfic, so when you are done reading, please let me know what you think:-)

contains HBP SPOILERS

I do not in any way own Harry Potter or any ofits characters. J.K. Rowling does :-)

Ron and Hermione decide to join Harry in his quest for the Horcruxes, but before that,the triomust deal with an unexpected guest. They will also have to deal with...

...The Battles Inside

Harry watched Mrs. Weasley softly dab her puffy eyes with her damp handkerchief. It had been a good four hours since Bill married Fleur, but she could not stop sobbing. Harry couldn't tell if those were tears of joy or sorrow considering the fact that Fleur was Mrs. Weasley's new daughter-in-law. In an effort to lighten the mood, Ginny decided to slightly change the topic,

"It was an amazing wedding, really. I just hope mine will be like that, that is, if I ever do get married," she shot a quick glance at Harry, who seemed too distracted with other thoughts.

"Nonsense, Ginny!" a bushy-haired brunette exclaimed, "of course, you'll get married, and it, too, will definitely be amazing!" Hermione stared down at her lap to quickly murmur, "Besides, it's me you should be worried about." Who would want to marry me? Hermione thought, I'm just a bushy-haired, know-it-all!

She looked back up, and, to her dismay, met eyes with a tall, red-head who just happened to take her breath away with just a quick stare. Ron's brow was furrowed making him look all the more adorable, and his beautiful cobalt eyes danced in confusion. Merlin! He must've heard me! Hermione hastily stared at her lap again to avoid anymore awkwardness.

"Well, children, you best be off to sleep now! It's already very late!" Mrs. Weasley rose from the dining table, dabbed her eyes once more before saying, "I wanted to thank you four; you helped out quite a bit in setting-up today."

Hermione rolled her eyes; it was mostly her and Ginny. Ron and Harry had somehow managed to escape. They probably used the invisibility cloak, Hermione reckoned. She quickly peered at Ron who seemed to have a permanent confused expression on his face. He looked over at her, and their gazes locked. For once, Ron's ears didn't redden; instead, he smiled warmly at Hermione.


Harry gave his pillow a small beat before sliding under the covers. He sighed greatly; things were just too complicated right now. The thought of never seeing Dumbledore's eyes twinkle behind his half-moon spectacles overwhelmed him. How was he supposed to find the Horcruxes without Dumbledore? As his mind wandered he found himself thinking of the blissful wedding that had just taken place. He remembered the anxiety plastered on Bill's face and all the tiny yet loud squeals that filled the girl's room. Exactly what was going on in there? Girls! He remembered how his heart skipped a beat when he saw Ginny for the first time that evening; her shiny, ginger hair held together in a tight bun, her face glowing in every direction, and her satin, lavender gown shaping her perfectly. His pleasant thoughts of Ginny were interrupted too quickly when her brother, otherwise known as Harry's best mate, chimed in bluntly,

"Harry, it's midnight."

"Yes, Ron, it is," Harry replied with a tad suspicion. What was he getting at?

"Well…Happy Birthday, mate!" Harry eyed Ron skeptically. Birthday? Today? Seeing the confusion on his friends face Ron added, "Don't tell me you forgot! Well that's just…"

"Thank you, Ron," Harry said sincerely before resting his head on his pillow and drifting off to sleep.


Butterbeer, treacle tarts, Yorkshire pudding…All scattered on a red and white checkered picnic blanket. Ron looked around to see three Quidditch goal posts. He was on a Quidditch field! He heard a muffled noise come from the blanket. Hermione was sitting adorably on it with her legs bent forward and her hands balancing her in the back. He was having a picnic with Hermione! What a pleasant dream, but it ended all too soon when Ron heard the fatal cry of "Won-Won!"

"Lavender?" Ron watched his "ex" girlfriend pop in out of nowhere, "What are you doing here?"

"Ruining your date with Hermione, silly!" Lavender replied childishly.

A date? With Hermione? Really? Ron didn't have time to reply because Lavender was now pointing her wand in the direction of Hermione. Fear gathered in Hermione's chocolate eyes.

"L-Lavender, what are you doing?" Ron voice shook with worry.

"Ending this once and for all. Avad—"

Ron woke soon enough to not witness Lavender killing Hermione. Blimey, what a terrible dream! Ron placed his hand on his chest to feel his heart beating rapidly. He was on a date with Hermione on a Quidditch field! The dream wasn't all that terrible. Seeing as how he wasn't going to fall asleep again anytime soon, Ron slowly edged out of his bed and tip-toed his way to the bedroom door. He was hungry now that he thought about it; he could just…get something to eat from the kitchen.


It was six in the morning, a perfect time for Hermione to catch up on some reading. No one's up right now; it's the perfect opportunity. She sat across the floral sofa in the living room and placed a copy of Advanced Rune Translation in her lap. After a good ten minutes Hermione found herself reading the same line over and over again; she couldn't concentrate. Her mind was saturated with thoughts of a certain flame-haired boy who just happened to be the object of her affection. He looked incredibly handsome yesterday in his slightly worn robes that were probably hand-me-downs from Bill, but, Merlin, they made him look all the more dashing! Hermione sighed at this; her current infatuation with Ron Weasley was too much for her.

CRASH!

Hermione jumped out of her skin. Someone was in the kitchen! What if…? How will she…? Heavens! I'll just have to check! She felt for her wand, which should have been in her back pocket. The only problem was, Hermione didn't have any pockets, which meant no wand! Oh, for the love of…! Time seemed to speed up as Hermione made her way to the kitchen; she was already at the door. Her shaking hand clasped the doorknob tightly. It's now or never, she thought, and it might not even be anything at all! Why am I so scared? The door creaked open just a smidgen before another CRASH!

"Bloody hell…"

"Ron?"

"H-Hermione?"

"Oh, Ron! It's just you! You really had me worried!" Hermione noticed Ron's adverted eyes. Why is he? Oh my. Hermione looked down to see her clad in only a tank top and shorts. Ron had never seen her wearing something that…tight before.

"Ron, um, it's alright…to…

Ron stole a glance at her and saw her sincere expression. He smiled timidly and felt his cheeks grow warm.

"What are you doing up?" they both said at the same time.

"Reading," Hermione answered while Ron answered at the same time with,

"Eating."

They both laughed nervously. Hermione then managed to look at the rest of the kitchen. It was a mess! There were cracked egg shells with giants puddles of yolk all over the counter and pots and pans were scattered in every direction. "Ron Weasley, what exactly are you eating? And why couldn't you just use magic?"

Ron shrugged and smiled a lopsided grin, "I thought I'd just…Make some sunny-side up?"

Hermione smiled while shaking her head, "Do you need any help, Ron?"

"Well I…hang on; you don't want to continue reading?" Ron said while playing with a piece of cracked egg shell.

"I think Advanced Rune Translation can wait," Hermione grinned sweetly, which made Ron beam. "Now, let's get this place cleaned up first. Do you have your wand, Ron? I seemed to have forgotten mine upstairs…"

"Hermione has forgotten something? Let the record show that Hermione Jane Granger-"

"Ron!" Hermione couldn't help but laugh, "Just clean it up!"

Ron held out his wand to quickly mutter, "Scourgify!"


Harry slowly trudged down the stairs to smell the delicious aroma of eggs, bacon, and other appetizing foods. He looked at the clock; it was nine in the morning.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as Harry made his way into the kitchen, "Happy Birthday, dear!"

Harry looked toward the dining table to see Ron, Hermione, and Ginny (all the other Weasleys had left for work) all staring at him with large grins, "Happy Birthday, Harry!" they all cried. Harry smiled warmly and Mrs. Weasley added,

"Come now, Harry. How about you have some breakfast?"

He sat down at the table as Mrs. Weasley scooped a large amount of scrambled eggs onto his plate. Harry looked across from him to see Ron stuffing his mouth with enough food to feed ten people and Hermione staring at Ron with utmost adoration. Harry eyed her suspiciously. Hermione then rolled her eyes at Ron who didn't even seem to notice that she was staring at him. That's the Hermione I know! Harry thought. She looked back at him and grinned, "So Harry, what would you like to do today?"

Harry shrugged; he really didn't care because he actually wanted to start researching on the Horcruxes. "I…I was thinking…maybe we could…"

"Go flying?" It was Ginny. Harry looked over at her and noticed that she was staring down at her sausage. Not once did she look up as Harry took her in for a few minutes. Her red hair was tied back in a loose bun making two loose strands frame her face. She had on rainbow-striped robe with which she nervously pulled at a thread. Her normally creamy face was a tad bit peaky and splotchy. Had she been crying?

"Dat souds like a great idea!" Tiny pieces of bacon flew from Ron's mouth onto the table.

"Ronald…" Hermione eyed him and shook her head. He swallowed before adding,

"But not before you open your presents, Harry!"


As Harry, Ron, and Ginny flew around on their brooms, Hermione stayed on the ground and read.

"Hermione!" Ron called, "Are you sure you don't want to come up?"

"Yes, Ron, I'm sure!" she replied with a hint of aggravation in her voice. This was the sixth time Ron had asked! She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to her book. But soon after, she heard a loud THUD! She shot her head up in worry and saw that Ron was walking towards her with a softened expression on his face.

"B-Because I would really lo…like it if you came up with me…" his face turned a pinkish tint as he quietly spoke.

Hermione heaved a great sigh, "Ron…you know I'm not really good on a broom…" she looked up at him pleadingly.

His brows furrowed and he nodded trying to accept this…rejection. "Alright, well, you seem a bit lonely down here…so…I'll stay here…with you."

She looked up into his sapphire eyes, "Ron, I was actually just about to go inside to..to…"

He nodded once again, this time not making eye-contact with her. He got back on his broom and lifted himself off the ground, "If you change your mind, Hermione, just shout my name into the sky. I'll hear you," and with this he smiled affectionately and shot up into the sky.

Hermione could not help herself from grinning widely. He is just amazing! She ran giddily back into the Burrow to find charmed needles on the couch knitting a pair of socks. "I should start knitting socks for the elves," she said out loud.

"Instead, how about you help me in the kitchen?"

Hermione spun around on her heel to see Mrs. Weasley in the doorway. "I'm making a big dinner for Harry; would you like to help?"
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley!"

As Mrs. Weasley stuck her mince pies into the oven, Hermione stirred the boiled potatoes. Hermione realized this was the perfect moment to talk to Mrs. Weasley about Harry, Ron, and her plans for next year.

"Mrs. Weasley?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Um…Mrs. Weasley, as you probably know…" But Hermione was cut off from a loud shriek.

"RON!"

The scared voice had belonged to Ginny. Both Mrs. Weasley and Hermione darted their way to the door; something was definitely wrong.

A/N- alright, so that was my first fanfic. please rate and review! I have a story planned out so let me know if this is worth continuing. Thanks!

fernie