SCENE: One of the trio's campgrounds. (This scene takes place during the events of Chapter Fifteen, "The Goblin's Revenge.")

HARRY, seated inside the tent, brings out the Marauders' Map and places it on the table. We see various people's names and areas of the castle flow quickly back and forth, suggesting that Harry is scanning the map for something and ignoring the rest. HERMIONE enters behind him, but he is too wrapped up in this exercise to notice.

HERMIONE: Harry?

He is startled for a second, then recovers and smiles to her. She seats herself next to him. She lowers her voice to ask:

HERMIONE (continuing): What class does she have now?

HARRY: It should be Transfiguration, but she's not in the classroom with McGonnagal. I'm still – Wait a minute, what's -

We see the map show the Headmaster's office, and the scripts for 'GINEVRA WEASLEY' and 'NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM' moving quickly around in it.

HARRY (much more loudly): What is she doing? Why is she there? Bugger!

We see the script for 'SEVERUS SNAPE' coming towards the office.

RON (Drowsy, obviously wakened and drawn by Harry's shout): Wha's... what's wrong, what's the shouting?

Harry gestures frantically to the map. Ron comes to him and looks at it.

RON: Bugger!

Snape is drawing closer. Harry fumbles frantically in his pocket, drawing out the DUMBLEDORE CARD.

HARRY: Sir! Professor Dumbledore! Ginny's in your office, you've got to tell your portrait to tell them Snape is coming. Professor!

The DUMBLEDORE CARD does not respond. Its eyes remain closed, and it snores. RON and HERMIONE take out their own cards, also shout to Dumbledore, with rapidly growing frustration, but no results.

HARRY: Dumbledore! Damn it, damn it! WORK, you defective piece of –

Harry turns back to the MAP. Snape is now ominously close.

HARRY: Stay the hell away from her! Bastard! Prick! Don't you dare touch her!

He pulls out his wand, points it at "SEVERUS SNAPE," and shouts:

HARRY: Impedimenta! Confundus!

Streams of 'magic' shoot from the wand to the map, hitting "SEVERUS SNAPE" squarely.

HERMIONE's off-screen voice cries "Harry!"... sympathetically, if a bit tut-tuttingly, because – obviously - it's not possible even magically to have any impact on the real Severus Snape this way.

Then "SEVERUS SNAPE" stops still at the door as if he has been hit with the impediment charm.

Then Snape wanders away, as if he has been confunded.

HARRY and RON stare back and forth, flabbergasted, at the map, at Harry's wand, at each other, at HERMIONE.

HERMIONE: You know that – it couldn't have – it had to be coincidence.

RON: I don't care what it was, it worked.

The MAP now shows "GINEVRA WEASLEY" and "NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM" exiting the room, and putting distance between themselves and "SEVERUS SNAPE." The trio sigh in relief. Silence, which is broken by:

RON: Harry... You said "stay away from her."

Harry looks at Ron in confusion.

HARRY: Well, sure.

RON: It was Ginny and Neville in there; why didn't you say "stay away from them"?

Harry flushes as he realizes he has given himself away. After a moment he sets himself to say what needs to be said.

HARRY: We're together, Ron.

RON: Now you're getting together with her? Now that you're Undesirable Number One, you're messing around with my sister -

HERMIONE: Ron, you're not being fair, it wasn't like -

HARRY (impatiently): Hermione, it's my -

RON: Oh, what do you know about it, Hermione? What's the fair way of looking at it?

They are silent for a brief moment, then...

HARRY: We got together middle of last term. Couple of months before Dumbledore was killed. I never got her involved in anything, I didn't even tell her about where we were going or what we were doing.

RON: And you sure didn't tell me about what you were doing with my sister. Didn't think to mention it while I'm here in this muck, supposed to be your best mate – excuse me, I reckon I'm second best, Hermione's number one with you, she was entitled to know, right?

HERMIONE: No, Ron, I figured it out myself.

RON: Right, so both of you were hiding it from me, that makes it a lot better.

HARRY: Ron, Ginny didn't want me telling you, she thought you'd get all... big brother about it.

RON: So, what, you were going to keep it a secret until you got married? - or dumped her?

HARRY: Well, at least until she wouldn't be making herself Undesirable Number Two!

HERMIONE: Please, please let's not start fighting over this. We're all upset, and tired, and, and we all care about protecting Ginny, Ron, you know that Harry wouldn't, wouldn't want her to get... and Harry, you understand that Ron needs to look out for his family, and -

Hermione's near-tearful rambling seems to have tamped down the macho confrontation. Ron and Harry offer mumbled variations on "Yeah, I guess."

HERMIONE: Ron, it was your turn to get some sleep, and we – this – interrupted. Why don't you go back to sleep now.

RON: I don't know, I don't know if I can get back -

HERMIONE: We've got to keep to the schedule, if not -

RON: All right, all right! The holy schedule. But Harry – we're not through talking about this.

HARRY: Fine.

RON walks away and the camera follows him into his compartment in the tent, until he settles himself into bed.

The camera pans the roomlet and finds the LOCKET HORCRUX on a bench at the other side of the enclosure. (It has been established that each of them takes turns keeping the horcrux in their compartment, though none of them wear it: Hermione has read Lord of the Rings, after all.) RON begins to nod off, looks blearily at the horcrux to reassure himself it's still there.

He half closes his eyes, then half opens them again. The bench, with the horcrux on it, has jumped a meter or so closer to him.

Again, he closes and opens his eyes. The bench with horcrux has moved another couple of meters.

Then right next to bed.

RON (still half-asleep): Right, Harry... wouldn't lead Ginny... into danger...

'HARRY' (now sitting on the bench in the spot where the horcrux was): Of course not, Ron. (Chuckling) Why would I toss her away before I was finished with her?

RON: Whaat?

'HARRY': Come on, Ron. She's always had a thing for me, you think she's going to say 'no' to me about anything? Especially when I remind her how I saved her life?

RON (still talking in half-sleep): That's not – I don't believe you could – how can you -

'HARRY': Because I'm entitled. I'm the Boy Who Lived. I'm the Chosen One! I'm not some poor wizarding nobody. (Pause). There's no reason I have to settle for one girl either. You notice how eager Hermione is to take my side?

RON (suddenly sitting up alert): YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU -

And of course 'Harry' is no longer there; the bench is back to its previous place, the horcrux with it. Ron blinks a few times, shakes his head, closes his eyes and lies back down.

Then opens his eyes, raises his head a bit, a frown very visible on his face.

Then closes his eyes, settles his head on the pillow, starts breathing more regularly. But the frown isn't gone.

FADE OUT