"Are we mad?" Hermione's voice cut through the late night silence, the only other sound being that of the flickering flames in the fireplace. Ron tore his gaze from the dark ceiling and looked up at her from the floor. He looked over at Harry before turning back to her and asking "What do you mean?"
"Are we mad, following him here, doing all this?" she asked again in a whisper, gaze fixed on Harry's sleeping figure on the other end of the rug.
Her voice sounded so unsure of herself, so completely different to how she normally was. Ron looked at her carefully, trying to see the expression on her face. It was too dark to make out anything of any real consequence, the firelight only distorting her features more. Eventually, he looked up at the ceiling again. "Maybe."
Hermione smiled a soft, sad smile. Her voice cracked slightly on the next words. "But there's no other way we'd have it, is there?"
Ron closed his eyes. "No; I'd follow him to the ends of the Earth… same as you." It was a statement that was without a doubt true. The bond of their friendship had made it like that; everything they had gone through together only proving how much Harry would do for them, and how much they would do for Harry.
Hermione grinned crookedly. "Besides, what would we do now anyway? It's not like we'd be granted any favours."
"That's about right." muttered Ron, glancing once at the dark lump that was Harry. Something twisted inside him as he thought about the danger his family was in. The danger he was in. Silence reigned for a few minutes, and then Hermione's soft voice broke through it.
"I meant it, you know. What I said after Dumbledore's funeral. I'm sticking with him. Until the very end."
"I know. And I will too."
"You promise you'll stay? With him… with me?"
He looked over at her and grabbed the hand that was resting next to her stomach. "I promise. I won't ever leave either of you. Ever."
Hermione smiled, unshed tears glittering in the fire light. She wouldn't be able to express in words how much that promise had meant to her in that moment. A weight had been lifted from her chest at the small oath from the man she loved. She squeezed his hand, and softly whispered, "Good."
And when Harry woke up the next morning, it was to the sight of his two best friends, one sleeping on the couch, the other on the floor, hands inches away from each other.
Months later, when Ron had gone and returned, the trio sat in a tent that smelled of cats in a forest that smelled of pine. Hermione had been watching over the boys working together, thinking hard. looked at Ron and thought about the way he broke his promise and how he had tried to fix it. Without thinking about it, Hermione blurted out, "You lied."
Ron looked up sharply, a look of surprise and sadness on his face. Harry looked up too, but he only had a blank, confused look on his face. It was the first time Hermione had spoken to Ron without anger in her voice since he had come back.
"I'm sorry. I was angry, I wasn't thinking. I just left." said Ron quietly.
Hermione drew her knees up to her chest and furrowed her brow. "You promised you wouldn't. That you would stick by us."
"Until the very end." whispered Ron miserably.
Harry quietly got up from his seat and left the two to their own conversation. He could hear them talking, only making out a few words.
When he returned twenty minutes later, it was to the sight of his two best friends hugging, looking more content than he had seen either of them in a very long time.
A/N: Hi there, fanficers! This is my first story (OMG, how exciting), so I hope you liked it.
I may decide to continue this into a series of short one shots- let me know what you think.
Leave a review!
Love,
-K