Ron sat by the side of the lake watching for a tentacle from the giant squid to periodically break the still surface. His hand hadn't left Hermione's for the last four days...the longest four days. Death Eaters in the castle thanks to the ferret, Malfoy. Bill, his oldest and likely best-looking of his siblings, attacked by Greyback. And Dumbledore...dead.

Ron looked to his right, to his wife of barely a month and a half. Tears were dried on her face...he wondered if she even had more to spare. Her eyes were vacant, withdrawn...scared.

After all she'd been through this year, this felt like the icing on the cake. They knew the times ahead would be rough. But he never saw this coming. They were fighting. She was as much, if not moreso, a part of this fight. Their hasty wedding was merely proof that their world was not safe for her. She was fighting for her safety, and he was too.

Everything they went through seemed so far off now, as bigger matters weighed on them, but Ron knew they were still connected. Her forced proposal from Cormac and even the way he preyed on her and others, stemmed from the very ideals Voldemort and his followers were trying to instill. Muggleborns were still being targeted.

One good thing from the whole ordeal...no one had seen nor heard from Cormac McLaggen since the consent assembly, as everyone had started calling it, but Ron heard tidbits from his father that made him happy. As expected, McLaggen tried to use his connections in the Ministry to get out of anything more than expulsion from Hogwarts, but after the assembly many students, both those who he assaulted and others - including outraged boys, wrote letters home to their parents. Many of these parents worked in the ministry or had connections of their own. So, Arthur told Ron, it seemed that by the time McLaggen sought out his own connections for favors, it was too late... The McLaggen name was shamed and no one wanted to assist.

Ron hoped they found him the slimiest cell in Azcaban.

He looked to his left, to his best mate. His glasses were smudged, likely from tears of his own, and his jaw set. He was planning...Ron could tell. He had the same face about him as he did whenever they were about to do something that would almost get them killed or expelled.

"We're going with you," Ron finally spoke. "Wherever you're going, we're going with you." Hermione looked over, broken out of her own thoughts, and nodded in agreement.

"I can't ask you to -"

"You don't have to, mate. We're telling you."

"No. You shouldn't. Ron, you're married to a muggleborn witch, you know how things have been. You need to protect her...to go into hiding if things go spare."

"Harry James Potter," Hermione spoke up, her voice cracking from the emotion of the day and yet still firm, "you know good and well that not only can I take care of myself, but that Ron can protect me wherever we are." Ron squeezed her hand. "You're the one who needs protecting. You can't do this alone, and we won't let you. IF we need to go into hiding, where better than with you?"

Harry took a deep breath and looked back and forth between his two best friends. Ron raised his eyebrow as if to challenge him to continue arguing. "Alright, I won't fight you both." He looked back at the lake and drew his knees up to his chest resting his chin on his arms. "Is it always going to be you two against me from now on? I liked it better when we used to take turns ganging up on one another."

Ron let out a mirthless laugh. "I promise to take your side sometimes, mate." He glanced at Hermione who scowled slightly. "It'll keep the marriage interesting at least." He pulled Hermione into him and her scowl faded as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Right...just...silencing charms...every single time...please and thank you." Ron pushed his shoulder and Hermione made a sound of disgust. Ron was pleased to see Harry smile, even for a moment. Happy for this small sliver of half normalcy in their world that was currently the exact opposite of normal.

Harry's small smile lingered for a moment then his face turned serious again. "We have a lot to plan. We can't do anything until my birthday...I'll have to make do at the Dursley's until then."

"And we have Bill's wedding," Ron added.

"Right," Harry nodded. "Bill's wedding. We make no moves until after the wedding."

"That gives us plenty of time to plan and figure things out," Hermione said softly. "Until then we...lay low...stay safe. Keep each other safe." She thought for a moment. "We can come with you Harry, to the Dursley's."

"That would be a sight," Harry chuckled. "No," he said firmly, to Ron's slight relief - he was not a fan of Harry's uncle, but knew he would go if Harry wanted him there. "No, there's no need. I won't subject you to them for even a day. Just come and get me before my birthday." He looked over at them. "Don't fight me on this one."

"Definitely won't," Ron quipped. Hermione shook her head against his shoulder. He tightened his grip on her then put his arm around Harry's shoulder too. "Things are about to get bloody fucked aren't they?" Harry nodded. Hermione shuddered.

"The three of us...against the world," she whispered. They sat watching the still water for some time until a giant squid tentacle splashed the surface, breaking them out of their reverie. With the funeral over nearly an hour ago, it was time to head to the train back to London. Ron had no idea what would happen, but he knew one thing...

"There's nothing more important to me than you two," he said softly. Harry nudged him in response. Hermione squeezed his hand. With that, they stood up and started towards the unknown, together.

That's it! We know, more or less, what happens from here: trio goes on the hunt, a bunch of crazy ish happens, Voldemorts dead, happily ever after!

LOL, I know...I actually originally planned on continuing this fic through the hunt and such, but the long one I'm working on will also take them through the hunt as a couple (though not married) and looking at my notes/brainstorming, it seemed redundant. At least to me. IDK maybe one day, right? But, I thought that for now, this was a good place to end it as the main focus of the fic was Ron marrying Hermione to save her from peril. Now the couple and the chosen one head into battle together.

Thank you to all of you who read and followed and reviewed and stayed with me! Looking forward to the next one. ;)