Hey, everyone! Well, I'm trying to write this thing after not having written Harry Potter stuff for about two years, and it is proving to be difficult. Since coming to college, I haven't had much time to write anything that hasn't had a citation page on the back of it. After not writing Ron/Hermione (or anything, for that matter) for so long, I have apparently forgotten how to write dialogue in every sense. But I digress. Let me know what you think, even though it's pretty terrible right now. Oh, also, I would just like to point out that the first time I typed the word "Hufflepuff" in this piece, I accidentally typed it as "Hugglepuff." I think I like it that way better.
In the minutes following Harry and Luna's departure for Ravenclaw Tower, it was difficult for Ron and Hermione to find a moment alone in the Room of Requirement to discuss what to do about Hufflepuff's cup. People kept pressing in on them, wanting to know how they had escaped from Gringotts, but more importantly, why they had gone there in the first place. After about a half an hour of this, Ron announced that he and Hermione would be going to help Harry and Luna.
"They've been gone for a while. There's no way it took this long to walk to the tower, take a quick look at a statue, and come back. I reckon they're in trouble," Ron said, looking at Hermione in a worried sort of way.
"But Ron," Neville said, trying to reason with him, "The corridors are more heavily guarded now than ever before. You two would be seen! You don't have invisibility cloaks." Ron looked a bit put off by this statement.
"Disillusionment charms!" Hermione said quickly, getting to her feet.
"They may not be as good as an invisibility cloak, but they'll serve their purpose, especially since it's dark." Walking over to Ron, she rapped him sharply over the head with her wand, ignoring his cry of protest, and watched as his body began to blend in with the large Gryffindor banner that hung on the wall behind him. Ron examined his arms, and then said,
"You might want to do yourself as well. I'd probably end up actually turning you into a piece of scenery or something." Once Hermione had repeated the procedure on herself, she turned to the group of assembled students and said,
"Keep an eye out. Things here could get nasty very fast."
The two, now looking like the most absurd chameleons imaginable, walked to the far end of the room and opened the door to the outside passage way. Once outside, Hermione looked around, trying to figure out where they were. It didn't take her long; there was a painting of scholars hanging on her left that told Hermione that this was the hallway that the library was located in. Luckily, Hermione knew exactly how to get to every other location in the castle based on where the library was. They walked along the corridor until they came to a fork in the hallway. Hermione began to walk up the left one, which would lead them to Ravenclaw Tower.
"Hermione!" Ron whispered sharply from behind her.
"What?" Hermione said, turning around in alarm and drawing her wand. Se was expecting to see a Death Eater running up the corridor towards them, but there was only Ron standing at the end of the passageway, quite alone.
"What are you standing around for? Ravenclaw is this way," Hermione said, annoyed that Ron had startled her like that.
"We're not going to Ravenclaw Tower. Come here," Suddenly, there was a very loud bang from the direction of Ravenclaw Tower. The pair stayed silent for a few moments, and then Ron motioned for her to come with him in to an empty classroom so they could talk. Once inside, Hermione turned to her friend and started to ask what exactly was going on, when Ron cut across her.
"You remember how you said that Gryffindor's sword was made in such a way that it would absorb things that make it stronger? What did it absorb that gave it the ability to destroy Horcruxes?"
"Basilisk venom. But I hardly see how that's helpful at the moment, Ron, seeing as we don't have the sword anymore," Hermione replied, a little bewildered.
"This is true, but Hermione, where else can we get basilisk venom?" Ron said, trying to lead her to the answer.
"Oh, for the love of God, Ron, just tell me what the bloody hell you're on about! We haven't got time for puzzles!" Hermione shot impatiently.
"The Chamber of Secrets, Hermione! Harry killed a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets five years ago! I'm betting that there are still some fangs there that we can use to destroy the cup. But we have to go now, before someone comes along," Ron said excitedly.
They ran out into the passageway and went to the right. They traveled in silence until they reached the safety of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"Ron," Hermione started, as she began to take the Dillusionment charms off of them both.
"How are we supposed to get into the Chamber, when you need to be a Parselmouth to open it?"
"I don't think you necessarily need to be a Parselmouth, as long as you can tell it to open up in Parseltongue," Ron replied nonchalantly, now inspecting each of the taps on the sinks that lined to wall.
"But Ron," Hermione said with an attitude of forced calm, pressing her fingers into her forehead,
"You don't speak Parseltongue."
"No, but I've heard Harry say it before. He had to tell the locket to open before we destroyed it, and he's been saying it to that bloody snitch almost every single night since then. Ah, here it is." Ron straightened up and pointed to one of the sinks. Taking a closer look, Hermione saw that there was a small serpent embossed on the side of one of the taps.
"Ron, I really don't think this is going to work," Hermione said.
"Well, we'll never know unless I try it, will we?" Ron replied determinedly. Taking a deep breath, Ron screwed up his face and let out a strange hissing noise. Nothing happened.
"Right. Didn't expect it to work the first time," he said, and Hermione rolled her eyes in response. After a few more attempts, Ron let out the strangest, most strangled sounding noise yet, and suddenly the sink moved out of the wall and lowered itself into the floor. Soon there was a large opening in the wall. Hermione looked at the entrance to the Chamber, astonished.
"That was brilliant, Ron!" She exclaimed.
"Really brilliant!"
"It was nothing," Ron answered, although he was blushing profusely and looked quite pleased with himself.
"Er, I would say, 'Ladies first,' but as I remember, there's a lot of animal bones and things at the bottom of the chute, so I'll go first." At this, Ron lowered himself into the opening and let himself begin to slide down into the darkness below. After about a minute or so, there was a distant thud, and Ron's swear word echoed up the pipe to Hermione's ears.
"Alright, I'm coming down now," Hermione called. She lowered herself into the tube and let go.
This is, by far, the most disgusting slide in the entire world, Hermione thought. She slid further and further down through the grime coating the pipe walls, until shooting out of the end and landing squarely on top of Ron. There was a moment where both of them just laid there, looking at each other. This was the first time Ron and Hermione had been truly alone together since they had embarked on their journey to find Horcuxes. Harry had always been around, either inside the tent with them, or outside keeping watch at night. Hermione took this moment to study Ron's face. It had become worn and tired looking over the last year; there were creases across his forehead that she knew came from when he furrowed his brow in concentration or worry. But she was drawn to his eyes. His deep blue eyes were the constant, never changing thing about Ron. They were the most beautiful color, reminding Hermione of the sea by Shell Cottage. Her eyes traveled down his face to his lips.
He really does have quite attractive lips, she thought. Hermione couldn't count all of the times that she had looked at his perfect lips. Her own lips were so close to them right now. If she just lowered he head a few inches, they would touch…
"Er, Hermione?" She was pulled out of her detached stupor by Ron, who was squirming a bit beneath her.
"As much as I would like to stay here for a while longer, there is a mouse skull digging into my back," Ron stated simply.
"Oh. Right, sorry," Hermione replied standing up and turning away from Ron, so that he wouldn't see her blushing in embarrassment. After being quite sure that her face was no longer bright pink, Hermione started to take a look around her. They were standing on a rather large pile of what seemed to be the skeletons of many small animals, and right in front of them, it looked as though the ceiling had caved in.
"That's where Lockhart obliviated himself with my wand, " Ron said, chuckling.
"There should be an opening somewhere over this way. We'll probably need to clear away a bit more rock. I don't know about you, but I reckon I've grown a touch since I was thirteen."
They walked along the caved in rock and rubble until they found a very small opening in the rock. The two then used their wands to clear away more of the rock – punctuated by Ron's comments on how much harder it was to do this by hand - until there was enough room for them both to squeeze through. Once on the other side, Hermione raised her wand.
"Lumos!" Her wand light seemed to only penetrate the darkness enough to keep her from running into the walls. The air in the chamber seemed to be thicker than normal air, and it was starting to make Hermione hot and uncomfortable. The pair walked only a short distance, and then something caught Hermione's eye, and she stopped. It was a basilisk skin. Ron stood next to her and looked at the skin as well. Although it was considerably more crumbled and faded than it had been when he had seen it last, the size of it was still impressive and formidable. Ron put his arm around his companion's shoulder, and guided her further down the passageway, until they came to a large stone door, that had the same serpent figure embossed on it's surface that had adorned the tap in the bathroom. They tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.
"Ron, I think you may have to try speaking Parseltongue again," Hermione sighed, after trying every spell she could think of that might open a door. Ron groaned, and then began the process of making strangled hissing noises, pausing, swearing, and then hissing again, until the snake on the door began hissing too. It slithered around the doorframe until it finally clicked into place, its emerald eyes looking strangely lifelike in the glow cast by the two wands before them. The door swung open , and Ron and Hermione stepped into the inner sanctum of the Chamber of Secrets.
The room was very large, as tall as a cathedral, and as wide as the Great Hall miles above them. There were pillars all around, some of which had been smashed or collapsed, leaving bits of stone flung every which way about the room. Directly in front of them, there was an enormous statue of a man that Hermione could only assume was Salazar Slytherin himself. It was in this moment that she remembered the purpose of this room, and of the creature that had lain within it. Near the feet of the statue lay the skeletal remains of the basilisk. The skeleton was even larger than the skin in the outer passageway had been, and, looking at the gigantic skull where the deadly eyes had once rested, Hermione flashed back to seeing them in the reflection of her mirror.
"Blimey," Ron said in awe, as the pair approached the colossal corpse, "I'm almost glad that the passageway caved in the last time I was down here. I would not have to face that thing when it was alive. Shall we then?" They started to remove the fangs from the carcass, being careful not to pierce their own skin with the razor sharp tips. The silence gave Hermione more time to think about what this room had stood for, and the more she thought about it, the more disgusted she felt. She stood and stared at the statue of Slytherin in anger. After a few moments, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hermione? Are you alright?" she turned toward Ron and said bitterly,
"This place. He built this place because he hated people like me. He wanted all of us dead."
"Yeah, but just think; Salazar Slytherin must be rolling in his grave over the fact that a muggle born and a blood traitor, of all people, are standing here in his pure-blood sanctuary." This made Hermione grin a bit; she hadn't thought of that.
"And we're about to kill off a bit of his only living heir. Bet he's thrilled," she replied and Ron laughed. The two then fell into a serious silence.
"Alright, Hermione. It's time," Ron said. Hermione nodded, and then reached into her small beaded bag, pulled out Hufflepuff's cup and placed in on the floor between them.
"Go ahead, Ron," she said.
"Are you kidding me? You don't want to do it? You haven't gotten a turn yet!" Ron exclaimed, as though Hermione had just expressed disinterest in studying for a final.
"Harry and I have already both destroyed one Horcrux each. It only seems fair that you should get the pleasure as well," He went on in a tone that suggested that they were talking about taking turns on a swing set rather than destroying the most powerful dark wizard who ever lived.
"For heaven's sake, Ron, does it really matter who does it, as long as it gets done?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"Yes," Ron said stubbornly, "Hermione, you have stuck with Harry this whole time. We never would have found the locket, figured out how to destroy it, or gotten to the cup without you. You have worked so hard in the fight against…against Voldemort," Ron paused and gulped as though he had just swallowed his own tongue before continuing, "don't you want to finish what you started?" Hermione thought through Ron's statement. She had worked hard, so hard, to get here. She did want to finish this.
"Okay. I'll do it," she stated. Taking one of the basilisk fangs from the pile near her, she walked over to the little goblet.
"Just do it, Hermione. Stab it. Don't hesitate, because it will probably put up a fight. The locket sure did," Ron said to her gently.
"I thought you said the locket just screamed," Hermione replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I meant," Ron muttered, his ears turning red. Hermione knelt on the floor in front of the cup, and raised the basilisk fang, but before she could bring it down, a voice suddenly erupted from the cup,
"Hermione!" she started, because the voice was Ron's. All of a sudden, black fog exploded from the depths of the cup, and Ron's voice continued issuing from it, now coupled with the real Ron's cries of, "Hermione!"
"You think that you're good enough for a man like me, Hermione?" Ron's figure had begun to emerge from the fog now. He was almost ethereal in appearance, both gorgeous and terrifying.
"Why would I ever want to be with a mudblood like you, when there are so many other women better suited to my status?" Now the figures of many women began to appear, each more beautiful than any woman that Hermione had ever seen. They all hovered around Ron's spectral doppelganger, running their hands down his arms and chest sensuously.
"The only reason I even pretended to be your friend is because famous Harry Potter liked you. But who could ever love you? You are ugly, you are weak, and you are nothing. You are so cowardly, in fact, that you erased yourself from your parents memories to escape the disappointment that they always felt in you." At this point, the figures of Hermione's parents appeared in the fog, and began yelling,
"You'll never be good enough to be our daughter! How could we love you when you are so abnormal?" Hermione tried to turn away, her eyes filling with tears, but the figures were too enthralling.
"You see?" The figure of Ron went on, "You'll never be good enough for anyone to love. I would rather die that look at your pathetic face ever again." Al the women standing around Ron began jeering at her as well,
"How could you ever have thought that he would return the feelings that you've had for him all these years? You're an ugly little mudblood, a step below pond scum, a nothing, a nobody. Why would anybody ever love you?" Hermione was sobbing now, with her hands over her face.
"Hermione!" The real Ron called.
"Hermione! Don't listen to it! Destroy the cup!" As his words rang through the air, there was a flash of bone as Hermione brought the fang up and then plunged it down into the cup. A horrible scream began to sound, more bloodcurdling and more piercing than anything Hermione had ever heard before. The black fog was sucked violently back into the depths of the Horcrux, with all of the spectral figures still screaming, their faces and bodies twisting grotesquely. Then, with a last flash of light, they were gone, and the scream continued to echo around the stone room.
Hermione dropped the basilisk fang to the ground and brought her hands to her face once more. She knew that what had come out of the Horcrux had been false, that it hadn't been Ron, but she knew what it had been. It was her own thoughts and feelings that had come out and faced her just now. She knew she would never be good enough for Ron, and she knew that he could never love her. She knew that she would always just be a friend to Ron. She knew all of this, but to have it shouted and sneered at her so bluntly and so violently was too much for her to handle.
After a few moments, Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder and heard Ron kneel down next to her. He put his arms around her, drew her close, and held her as she wept. A few minutes later, Ron put his hands on Hermione's face and looked her in the eyes.
"I want you to know that none of what that thing said was true. Not one word of it. It tries to get to you, and it exposes your fears and your innermost thoughts. When I destroyed the locket, I saw you and Harry together," Ron paused, not liking to relive that particular experience.
"But you told me that it only screamed," Hermione replied.
"Only because I didn't want you to know what I really saw. When you came out of the locket, you told me that you could never love me, the sidekick, and said that I was nothing compared to Harry Potter. And then you and Harry…." Ron trailed off, the image too painful to relive.
"What, Ron? What happened?" Hermione questioned.
"You and Harry kissed. And that's when I destroyed the Horcrux, because I couldn't bear another second of its lies." Hermione looked at Ron for a moment, astonished at this revelation.
"Believe me when I say that none of what that evil thing said was true, Hermione, because I do love you," Ron paused to gauge her reaction. Nothing happened. Hermione just sat there in front of him looking like she had just been struck in the head with something rather heavy. Ron began to feel a little uneasy.
You prat! That's not what the thing in the Horcrux meant! She doesn't love you like that! And now that she knows about this, it's going to ruin everything!
He stood up and took a few steps away from Hermione, his ears bright red and his heart pounding. Hermione, after realizing that he had stood up, tried hastily to mend the situation. Standing up as well, she walked over to Ron and took his hands.
"Ron, I love you too. I've always loved you." Ron couldn't believe the words that he was hearing. He smiled down at her, studying her face. There was no doubt about it: he loved this woman. Everything about her was perfect to him. The two of them locked eyes, and everything else seemed to just fall away. There was no war, no threats from dark wizards, no dead basilisk, just Ron and Hermione. Hermione began to rise up on her toes, and both of them closed their eyes. Their lips were just millimeters away from each other's when suddenly, a cold, high voice rang out.
"People of Hogwarts!" It was distant, but still loud enough for the pair to make out every word of Voldemort's speech. They stood there in silence until the sound of the voice died away.
"We should get back now," Hermione said tentatively, not wanting to end the moment with Ron, but knowing that she had to.
"Yeah, we need to go find Harry and tell him the cup's gone," Ron replied, still not looking anywhere but at Hermione. After a moment, she dropped her gaze and slowly walked back to where the cup lay. She picked it up and placed it back inside her beaded bag. As they began to leave the room, Hermione asked,
"Ron, at any point during the course of planning this escapade, did you think of how we might get out of the Chamber?"
"Shit. No, I hadn't."
"I guess it's good that I have yours and Harry's brooms in my bag," Hermione grinned over her shoulder as she stepped through the door.