Chapter 14
They reached Hogs Head with only minutes to spare. Once they were seated, Harry ordered them two butterbeers and peered at them, inquisitively. Hermione caught his gaze, as Ginny distracted Ron, Luna and Daphne, and smiled, a blush creeping up her cheeks. Harry smiled back, his heart a bit lighter, and went back to enjoying his butterbeer.
Harry wasn't the only one who picked up on how happy the two were now. Luna noticed the glow around Ginny and she nudged Daphne.
"Our wait is finally over."
Daphne looked from Ginny to Hermione and smiled, entwining her fingers with her girlfriend's.
"You own me a sickle."
Ron remained clueless, and Ginny and Hermione glanced nervously at each other. As if reading each other's thoughts, Ginny cleared her throat.
"Uh, guys? If you don't mind, there's something…there's something that Herimone and I need to talk to Ron about."
Harry, Luna, and Daphne all excused themselves, muttering about going to go get some food, before they all left. Ron turned to Ginny looking confused.
"Ginny, what did you do that for? Is everything ok?"
Ginny looked at Ron directly in the eye. She felt a pang in her heart, knowing she was about to shatter Ron's heart to pieces. She sought out Hermione's hand under the table and was relieved when Hermione squeezed her hand, lending her support. She took a deep breath.
"Ron, there's something that…..well, that Hermione and I need to talk to you about."
Ron looked from one girl to the other. "Yeah? Well, go on with it! Is there something terrible about to happen to Harry or something?"
Hermione sighed. "No, Ron, everything with Harry has gone according to plan. This has to do with…with Ginny…and me." She looked at Ginny and allowed a small smile to cross her face. Realizing that she might be inflicting pain on Ron, she sobered and turned to him.
Ron looked at the two girls, his mind slowly contemplating the situation. He looked from one to the other closely. He still didn't get it and shook his head in confusion.
Ginny sighed and brought their clasped hands above the table.
"Ron, Hermione and I…..we're…..together."
Ron looked like he'd just been hit by a Bludger. His face paled as he started to cough. Hermione looked worried and she went to reach out to him, but he put his hand up.
"Y-you're WHAT?"
Ginny recoiled at the rage in her brother's voice. She knew that Ron wasn't going to take this easily, but she wasn't quite ready for this outburst. She stood up, holding her hands out too him.
"Ron…..I….I know you might be taking this hard but…..but….This doesn't have anything to do with you."
Ron's face was turing red again, and he rose from his chair, leaning over the table. "How the bloody hell does this not have anything to do with me, Ginerva." Ginny flinched at the use of her full name. "A few weeks ago, you were out snogging boys and now, after I've broken up with Hermione, you've suddenly decided you're a….a bloody poufter! Tell me this doesn't have any sodding thing to do with me!" He turned on Hermione. She looked at him, and started shaking as he moved towards her.
"And you….." He sneered at her. "Was I that bad that I turned you into a fucking ponce?" Hermione stood still, not knowing how to respond to his venom-laced statement. He moved closer and suddenly he was thrown backwards. He landed with a crash on the table behind him. Hermione saw Harry standing in front of her, one arm out to shield her and the other he led out in a open palm towards Ron.
"I think you need to calm down, mate." Harry gestured for Ginny to stand behind him, as Luna and Daphne came to stand on either side of Harry. Ron stood up, fists clenched, but he stopped when he took in the line of his "supposed" friends, barricading and shielding…them. He glared at Harry.
"Did you all know abut this?" He glared at them.
"Whether or not we knew about this should have no effect on your attitude towards the girls, Ron. You know this." Harry flicked his wrist and unlatched his wand from it's holder. Hermione whimpered. She didn't want to have her two best friends fight because of her.
Ron looked at Harry, not believing what was going on.
"How am I supposed to not take this personally? My sister and my ex-fucking-girlfriend got together behind my back and you lot were helping them!"
Luna stepped forward, with Daphne clutching her hand. "Ron, we all love you like a brother. Can't you accept that they are just trying to grab onto some happiness wherever they can?" Daphne squeezed her hand, and Luna turned towards her, smiling. "We all are."
Ron looked from Luna and Daphne, eyes momentarily landing on Hermione and Ginny, and then back on Harry. He shook his head. This wasn't right. This wasn't the ending he imagined.
"Just…tell me something…Hermione." He locked eyes with her. "Did you two get together before or after you broke up with me.
Hermione took a deep breath.
"After. We only just got over our own stubbornness and admitted we liked each other tonight."
Ron looked at Ginny. "Do you love her?" Ginny reached for Hermione's hand, grasping it tightly.
"More than anything." She looked at Hermione. "I can't tell you how happy she makes me, just simply by breathing." Hermione gasped, looking at Ginny, her eyes threading to flood with tears.
Ron clenched his jaw and then slowly began to nod his head. He walked up to Hermione, moving around Harry as he let him pass, and she stood still, waiting for his movement. He wrapped his arms around her, and whispered in her ear.
"Be good to her." Hermione's eye began to overflow and she whimpered, nodding her head. He walked up to Ginny.
"If you hurt her, sibling or not, I'll beat you to death with a Beater bat." He allowed himself to smile slightly. Ginny broke into a grin of relief. She hugged her brother, and he awkwardly returned the embrace, before moving to sit back down at the table.
They all relaxed and sat down as well. In no time they were all back to discussing what their next move was. Ron looked at Ginny and Hermione, seeing how they looked at each other, and how they both practically glowed around each other. Maybe, he thought, it wasn't such a bad thing after all. Hermione had never looked like that while she was with him. He wanted her to be happy, and if Ginny made her happy, then so be it.
After agreeing that they needed to keep moving, so as to draw any attacking forces away from the castle, the six friends grabbed their supplies and left the bar. They headed north, up further into the wilderness, where it would be harder to track them. Harry took the lead, with Hermione and Ginny, followed by Luna and Daphne, while Ron brought up the rear.
They had been traveling for about three hours when it finally go too dark from them to continue, without lighting their wands, which they wanted to avoid. Hermione reached into her pack and pulled out what looked like a doll house tent.
"Engorgio!" She pointed her wand at the tent and within moments it had expand to it's original size. It looked simply like a Muggle camping tent on the outside, but on the inside it was as big as a house, and had all of the amenities as well. The all filed in, anxious to get out of the open, where anyone could find them.
Hermione raised her wand and set about fixing up the rooms for everyone. The small tent had been fashioned into a comfortable house, with a small kitchen, a sitting area, and three bedrooms, each with their own bathroom attached. Waving her wand, she stocked the kitchen with food, and formed a fireplace, lighting a fire to keep them warm.
Ginyy walked in, looking around at the tent in awe.
"This is amazing, Hermione." Hermione turned to her, smiling as she set up some finishing touches.
"Thanks, love." She walked over to Ginny, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I just wanted us to be safe and comfortable. I don't know exactly how this is all going to work out." Ginny held Hermione's hand.
"We're going to win Hermione. I know it."
Luna and Daphne smiled when they walked into the living room, seeing everything that Hermione had done. Daphne laughed when she even saw that Hermione had fashioned bookshelves, with some of their favorite books.
"You can take the bookworm out of the library, but you can't take the library out of the bookworm, I guess."
Hermione blushed. "I thought they might come in handy, if we come up against something we need to research."
Harry walked in, followed by Ron.
"Bloody hell, Hermione! What did you do?" Harry said. Ron could only stare open-mouthed as Harry sat down in a chair.
Hermione laughed at Harry's face, and Ginny walked over to poke her brother in the stomach to get him to stop gaping.
"We need to be prepared, boys. I just took care of a few of the essentials." The friends all settled down in front of the fire, discussing their next move.
"Harry, where is it we need to go from here? We've taken care of most of the horcruxes. But there's still the Diadem and Nagini." Ginny asked.
"And let's not forget the last one….." Luna trailed off, piercing Harry with bright blue eyes. Harry nodded grimly, as Ron grew stony faced and Hermione looked away. Ginny merely stared into the fire.
"What's the last one?" Daphne looked confusedly around the room, wondering why everyone was suddenly so solemn.
"I am." Harry rose and stared at the fire. He turned to face Daphne. "When Voldemort tried to kill me seventeen years ago, he transferred a piece of his soul to me, when his curse rebounded on him."
Daphne gasped and reached for Luna's hand. She couldn't believe it. That was how Voldemort had survived. She clenched her eyes as waves of horror flooded over her. How could someone split their soul willingly? She blinked as realization set in, and she turned to Harry in horror.
"Wait a minute…..You have to destroy a Horocrux beyond repair to get rid of it. You have to use permanent magical means to kill the piece of soul." She looked at Harry. He only nodded slightly, and turned back to the fire.
The rest of the night was spent in silence.