Ron knew he was cut and had burns over multiple parts of his body, maybe even bleeding in some places. Not that he could take a moment and check himself over. Nope. That wouldn't work. Because he was holding onto the back of a dragon for dear life, having just escaped Gringotts.
Harry was closest to the neck of the dragon, while Hermione was holding on in between them. She was looking back and forth rapidly between Harry and Ron. Her knuckles were ghostly white, and Ron was surprised the bone wasn't popping through with how tight her grip looked. After she seemed to know that they were all safe, well, as safe as they could be, she closed her eyes.
The dragon was flying over London now, and it seemed to figure out what to do with its wings. Ron noticed they were ascending higher and higher over the city. The wind was whipping around them, making it hard to hear anything, but that didn't stop Hermione from yelling, "Now what?"
"Dunno!" Ron hollered back. "Reckon we enjoy the ride!"
"That's not funny, Ron! We need to get off!" Hermione's face was squished as tight as possible, and Ron could tell she was terrified. He wished he could reach over to console her without threatening his own balance and safety from where he was.
"Er, Hermione!" Harry shouted, "Not sure if you noticed, but-"
Ron cut him off, knowing whatever he was about to say would not help the situation, "Shut up, Harry! Hermione, whatever you do, don't open your eyes. Just keep holding on, alright? We'll find a way off soon!" Hermione nodded as Ron tried to reassure her.
Luckily, the dragon had settled on it's current altitude and they were no longer climbing higher, but the air was still freezing, and Ron was afraid to move even an inch, given that he didn't trust his frozen hands to regain their grip if he made the smallest change.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the dragon began its descent over a small lake. When they were low enough, Ron urged Hermione to open her eyes, and they all agreed to jump.
Once on shore, Hermione pulled the dittany out of her bag and started to apply it to herself while Harry set up the wards. "Here, let me help you," Ron said as he took the bottle and finished applying the dittany on the areas Hermione had trouble reaching. They switched and Hermione did the same for Ron.
As she was looking for any extra cuts to heal, she said, "Thank you for earlier."
"For what?" Ron looked confused.
"When you helped me keep my fear in check. I really, really hate heights," Hermione shrugged.
"Riding a thestral to London in fifth year didn't help?" Ron asked jokingly.
"About as helpful as you following the spiders into the Forbidden Forest second year!" Hermione surprised both of them with her quick response.
"Oi, I only went to help find a way to get you out of your Petrified state!" Ron hadn't realized the admission he'd made until he saw Hermione's shocked face staring at him. He changed the subject quickly as he felt his ears burn from embarrassment. "It was no problem, though. Reckon if we can make any requests, you'll want to stay on solid ground from here on out?" he grinned at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I suppose that'd be nice. Think you can make those arrangements for me?"
"Sure, I know the boss. Oh, look! Here he comes, I'll put a good word in now!" Harry was walking over to them as Hermione pulled out dry clothes. She couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of Ron's words.