A/N: And we jump right to HBP! If you read and enjoy these, please leave a comment! Remember that fandom creators don't get any other form of payment, yet they give their time and skills for free for your entertainment.
Disclaimer: I'm not making money out of this and it all belongs to JKR; however, I'm willing to take care of these two for free. Just to make sure they're treated right...
Rating: K
Things you said when we were scared
Ron trudged down the staircase to the boys' dormitories and Hermione noted with some apprehension that he was coming alone.
'Harry?' she asked as Ron joined her heavily on the sofa, dropping his trunk next to hers.
'Still upstairs. I think he's taking a moment to… say goodbye.'
The word hung almost ominously between them.
'You really thought he'd want to come back?' Hermione asked him, a sad smile curving her lips.
Ron shrugged half-heartedly.
'Now I think of it, not really. S'ppose I just didn't want to think about it.'
Hermione nodded and they sat in silence as the rest of the Gryffindors dragged their luggage across the Common Room and climbed with some difficulty through the portrait hole. The same air of mourning and a certain helplessness that had been present since the night of Dumbledore's death seemed now intensified in the wake of his funeral: conversations sounded muted and everyone moved as if underwater.
She knew what Ron meant. She hadn't really wanted to think about what would happen next, either. With Dumbledore dead, the chances of Voldemort taking over the wizarding world had increased, and of him coming for Harry again as well. Harry wouldn't be safe anywhere for much longer. There was no choice for him but to carry on the journey he had started with Dumbledore… alone.
Well, not alone. He'd have her and Ron.
Hermione's surprise at Ron's statement that they would go with Harry wherever he went was of the same nature as Ron's reaction to Harry not wanting to come back. It wasn't really a shock: she'd never thought Ron would say anything different than what he had. It was only her hearing him say it, the resolve in his voice, like there was no question about it. Even though she had meant what she'd said, too, that she wouldn't turn back, it had made Hermione realize how big this really was and how they were right in the middle of it.
She stuffed her hands under her thighs to stop them from shaking
'Are you nervous about what might come… what we might have to do?' Hermione asked Ron, who had been staring off into space.
'Nah,' he said, leaning back on the sofa to look at her. 'In fact I think Voldemort should be scared of us.'
Hermione laughed, feeling some of the tension leave her, at least temporarily.
'Why, are you nervous?' Ron asked teasingly. Hermione suspected he was bluffing, hiding how he really felt in an attempt to cheer her (and himself) up. She would have wanted to keep up the game, but found she couldn't.
Ron's smirk faltered, reading her silence.
'Don't be,' he said firmly. 'There's no point worrying right now, is there? Besides, we'll be together—'
Hermione's heart skipped a beat.
'We—the three of us—you and I and Harry,' Ron babbled, looking, in Hermione's opinion, rather panicky.
Her surprise by the lake had also come from the fact that it was Ron saying those words, as it was Ron who was the one who had put his arms around her and let her sob into his shoulder as he stroked her hair. It was Ron, it was always Ron, but he seemed older, and she was completely and utterly—
'You don't happen to have any books on Horcruxes in there, do you?' Ron asked suddenly, prodding her trunk with his toe and making her face turn the same colour of his ears when he looked up and saw she was still staring at him. They held each other's gaze for far too many seconds, both seemingly unable to look away; Hermione's breath hitched in her throat… And then Ron's words caught up with her and she almost laughed. No, she didn't have any books on Horcruxes, but they knew someone who might.
—in love with him.
