Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Doctor Who.

Chapter 2

It was absolutely beautiful. The TARDIS. I went back outside and walked around it.

"Well, what do you think?" the Doctor asked as he leaned up against the TARDIS and crossed his arms.

I took a moment to think about what to say.

"It's smaller on the outside," I replied.

He looked at me blankly.

"That's a first," he told me.

I looked at him more closely. There was something in his eyes.

"There's something wrong, and you won't tell me," I said.

"And I won't," the Doctor replied as he turned his back to me.

"Doctor…"

I took a step forward.

"Listen, it's all fine. It will all be fine," he told me, still not facing me.

"Really?" I asked.

He finally turned and looked me in the eyes.

"Really," he answered.

xxx

Months later…

I walked into the Doctor's class, full of rage. How dare he not tell me? How dare he not tell me Dumbledore was going to be killed?

"Hermione…" he started.

He took a step closer, but I took one back.

"Trust you?" I asked in an almost yell. "That's what you told me, and now Dumbledore's dead! How is he being gone all right?"

Nothing was "fine" right now. Nothing was ever going to be the same again.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor replied.

"Hermione, what…" Ron began to say. Of course he and Harry had followed me. I must have looked mad getting up from the Gryffindor table and running out like I had. I turned and threw myself into Ron's arms. "You know what you are doing, don't you?"

I do not have to move my head to know Ron was talking to the Doctor.

"Yes. Most of the time," he replied.

"You know what's going to happen, and it'll be fine?" Ron asked.

"Yes," the Doctor told him.

"Prove it," Ron said.

I lift my head up.

"Ron…" I began to say before he cut me off.

"No. You say you know it'll all be all right. Tell me," Ron said, eyes fixed of the Doctor's.

The Doctor's eyes glanced at mine for a moment.

"Keep each other close. Keep it each other safe," he replied.

xxx

Ron's POV

I could not sleep. I needed to get out of the house. Too much had happened today to sleep. The war had started, and we were all wanted. My family, Hermione, and Harry. All of us. My body seemed to give up and I fell to my knees.

"This is a war, Ron," a familiar voice told me. I looked up to find the Doctor looking down at me. "Lives will be lost. Things get worse before they can get better. They will get better."

"Talk to her," I told him.

"She doesn't want to talk to me," the Doctor said. He eyed my house. "She's in there waiting for you. Not me."

"How do you…" I began to ask.

"You wanted proof," the Doctor explained. "She ran into your arms and took off your glasses when you returned from getting Harry tonight."

"You were spying?" I asked, because that seemed to be the only logical explanation.

Then again, nothing is ever that simple with the Doctor.

"No, she tells me," the Doctor explained.

"Right," I replied.

"Go to her," he told me.

He turned and seemed to disappear as quickly as he came.

xxx

Hermione's POV

I knew Ron was outside. So I waited for him to come in. I wanted to give him time to himself.

"You don't look well," I told him as our eyes met.

"Neither do you," Ron noted.

He sighed and sat next to me.

"Yeah, well, we had a long day," I said. Ron then got up suddenly. "Where are you going?

"I'll be back," he replied. About a minute later, Ron returned with a bottle of Fire Whiskey. "A toast."

He poured us both a shot.

"To those we have lost and the ones that we will lose," I said.

"To doing what needs to be done to win," Ron added as he tilted his head back and took his shot.

After letting the Fire Whiskey burn the back of my throat, I thought more about what Ron had said.

"What did you mean by doing what needs to be done?" I asked. He looked away from me. "Ronald Weasley, what have you done?"

"I made my decision to help Harry a long time ago," he replied.

"What did you do?" I asked again.

He finally got the courage to look back at me.

"You know that Ghoul in the attic?" Ron asked.

"Yes," I answered.

How could I not know about that thing? It made the most dreadful noises.

"Well, Dad helped Fred and George. He's going to be me with sppattergroit," Ron explained.

"That's brilliant," I said.

I was not just saying that. Ron was really going to the extreme to protect his family. And then I saw the look on his face.

"Now tell me. What did you do?" he asked.

Tears stream down my face. No one knew, yet somehow Ron did.

"They don't even know they have a daughter," I finally told him. "My parents."

"Hermione…"

He took me in his arms.

"I sent them to Australia," I continued.

I have kept it inside for too long not to explain everything.

"You'll see them again. I promise you that," Ron replied.

Our faces came closer together. I feel hot, but I blamed the Fire Whiskey for that at the time. We were about to kiss when Fred walked in.

"So sorry. I didn't know anyone else was up," he said.

"It's all right," I told him.

"We were going back to bed anyway," Ron replied.

"Yeah, it sure looked like that," Fred said.

xxx

I would be lying if I said I wished Fred would not have shown up. I am thankful he had. It was not the right time or place to have a first kiss with Ron.

"Get much sleep?" Ginny asked as we got ready the next morning.

"No," I answered.

"Neither did I," she replied.

We did not say much after that.

"I'm going to see if the boys are up," I told her. I walked into Ron's room, fully expecting to hear snoring. But when I opened the door, both beds were empty. "They wouldn't…"

I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley gave me a horrified look.

"Hermione, what's the rush?" she asked.

I looked around, but there was no sign of them.

"Have Ron and Harry been down here?" I asked.

"No, dear. I was letting you all sleep in," Mrs. Weasley told me.

"Oh, no," I muttered.

My gaze fell to the floor.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"They're gone. And they didn't take me," I replied.