Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Original A/N: Thanks to MaeSilverpaws1, who is beta-ing this story.

Chapter One Hundred Forty-Nine

Dealing

Harry left his friends not long after he told Hermione the truth. He felt lighter, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulder. He realized that the weight was now on Hermione's shoulder, but he could see that with Ron knowing the secret as well it would be easier for her to handle it. He was also pretty sure that Ron was still very angry with him and this wasn't the last he was going to hear about it. Hopefully some time alone with Hermione would cool his friend off, and if not, well he'd just have to deal with that after he got back from his study session.

"Hello Susan," Harry said as he met her at the door to the library.

"I was starting to wonder if I scared you off the other day," she said.

"Nah, not scared," Harry said. "Do you want to start …?"

"I thought we'd go back to the classroom … if you want," she said before Harry could finish, she was blushing and Harry nodded his head in agreement.

Time passed much as it had the night before, he helped her with the curse and counter-curse they were studying in class. That part of the night went much more smoothly as Harry understood the subject better.

"You seem different today?" Susan observed after they had finished with studying.

"Really?" Harry said, not sure what else he could say. Also he wasn't sure how he was different.

"I don't know what it is, but something happened," Susan said.

"I took you're advice, I opened up a little," Harry admitted.

"Oh," she said.

"I know you probably meant to you," Harry went on to say.

"Well yeah, but I didn't really expect that to happen, at least not any time soon," Susan admitted.

Harry smiled at her sadly, knowing that he wasn't likely to tell her what's happening at all.

"So you told your friends," Susan said searching for something to say as the silence became uncomfortable.

"Yeah, that's right," Harry said, not going into the specifics.

"Did it help?"

"I think so," Harry said. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Susan said, "I guess you seem more subdue … maybe serene."

"Hm, well that's a mixed review, I guess the jury is still out then," Harry smiled.

"Well, give me some time and maybe I'll have a better review," Susan suggested.

"I think I can handle that."

O

"I can't believe it," Hermione said moments after Harry left the room and she was alone with Ron.

"I'm still not sure I believe it," he responded softly. "Are you angry with me?"

"For punching Harry, yes I am," Hermione glared at him.

"Actually I was talking about the whole trying to keep this all from you part," Ron said, waving off her mention of the punch. He hadn't meant to hit Harry, but he had just been so angry with him, and he hadn't even realized that he felt that way until after Harry finished telling Hermione.

"Just … why did you do that?" Hermione asked, "Why did you think it was necessary to hit Harry?"

"I wasn't really thinking to tell you the truth," Ron answered. "I just sort of acted."

"Hm," Hermione said not sounding very impressed at all.

"Look, just let it go, that was between Harry and me, and he gets why I did it," Ron said. "I don't really want to talk about this right now."

"So you want to talk about how angry I am at you for not telling me about this sooner," Hermione raised her eyebrow, still looking rather annoyed.

"Yeah, pretty much," he answered.

"For not wanting me to know this," she questioned and then her expression softened as she shook her head, "maybe I will be, and I probably would have been if it was too late, but right now … no, I'm not angry about that."

"Well that's good at least," Ron replied.

"How about you?" Hermione asked watching her boyfriend closely for any small actions in his behavior to give his feelings away.

"Well I am angry," Ron said, "I'm not sure if you noticed."

Hermione gave a weak chuckle and rolled her eyes at him. Not wanting to talk about the punch anymore she asked, "Do you really hate that I know?"

"When I look at you right now, yeah I hate it," Ron said. "I wish you didn't have to be hurt."

"I don't think there was anything that could have stopped me from getting hurt at some point," Hermione said. "Not unless we think of some way to save Harry."

"Do you think that's possible?" Ron questioned, but he didn't look too hopeful.

"I don't know, but …"

"That's part of the reason he didn't tell you right away, you know," Ron interrupted her before she could finish answering him. "He didn't want someone to go looking for some impossible cure."

"What's the other reason … or reasons?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think he wanted someone crying all over him," Ron answered and then smiled when he saw her offended expression. "I think you changed his mind today, though."

"You think?" she asked.

"I think he needed that," Ron said. "Selfish brick, going on about how this was to help me, he's the one that got all the comforted."

"So you don't think this helps you?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't say that," Ron sighed. "I bloody well know that this is better for me."

Hermione smiled at him before resting her head on his chest again; that was probably the most she would get out of him on this subject, but that was okay. Ron was more about showing his feeling than talking about them.

She thought about what Ron had said earlier, it was worse hearing the truth than just thinking about what that truth might be. She had considered that this might be the secret that Harry was keeping from her, well not the Horcrux part but the end result and he was right, it was a lot worse knowing the truth. She couldn't imagine what Ron had to go through these last couple of weeks with knowing that his best friend was going to die. Hermione shuddered at her thoughts and Ron's arms pulled her closer to him comfortingly. As hard and painful as it was for her right now, it could only have been worse for him. She had an inkling of the truth, and she had him here to support her, Ron had been all alone.

"Harry should have told us together," Hermione said, starting to feel a little angry at her best friend for putting Ron through so much on his own. That didn't last long of course; she couldn't stay angry with Harry right now.

"It's all right," Ron said, and she rolled her eyes. He was so stubborn about not causing her pain that even though he knew it would have been easier on him if she had known from the beginning he realized it would have been harder for her.

"This was the reason you got drunk with Harry and didn't want me there," Hermione said, moving on to another subject.

"Yeah, you know how he was before, I wanted to do something to make him not mope around so much," Ron shrugged.

"I guess it worked," Hermione said. "What did you say?"

"No idea," Ron shrugged again, and then added after he thought for a moment, "but I think he realized that he needed to get a life while he still had one."

Hermione whimpered as she heard the last statement.

"Sorry," Ron said, he should have kept his big mouth shut.

"No, it's okay," Hermione said.

"It's weird though, I don't think he's ever really had a chance to have a life before now," Ron went on. "I mean every year it seems like we've had to deal with You-Know-Who in one way or another. He still does now of course, but he's not letting that stop him from doing some normal things."

"I remember what he was like before, before he knew what happened … before he was the Boy-Who-Lived," Hermione said, "he had changed so much since then, though the actual change had been gradual … you're right, all our lives seemed to get more and more involved with that monster."

"I didn't think about it that way," Ron said, but she was right of course, "it's not just his life, it's ours too."

"This is why I should have known from the beginning," Hermione said.

"You're going on about that again," Ron groaned. "Look I'm fine …"

"We're a team, Ron," Hermione said. "Harry goes through horrible things and we're there to help him get through it. And when he's not around, we lean on each other, because there's no one else that can understand what we're going through."

"Hm," Ron said, it made sense when she put it like that, "nah, I still think it was better you didn't know at first," he said with a smirk.

"Git," Hermione rolled her eyes at him, he knew she was right he just didn't want to admit it. It didn't matter though, they couldn't change the past.

O

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were talking a few days later, having let the issue rest for the most part, "I just think it's horrible that Dumbledore knew all this time what you were and never said anything," but she couldn't keep herself from saying something about it. "Aren't you upset about that?"

Harry shrugged, "not really."

"I think you're wrong on that one," Ron said, he too was angry with his headmaster.

"It's not like he's the one that made me a Horcrux," Harry pointed out. "He just figured out that I was one."

"Do you know when he did that?" Hermione asked, "When he figured it out?"

"No, I didn't think to ask," Harry said, "and it's not something I really want to bring up, you know."

"Is that you're way of telling me to change the subject?" she asked.

"Maybe," Harry answered, but seeing that she still had question in her eyes that she seemed to be trying not to ask, he added, "what is it?"

"Do you think it's better that you've learned the truth?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry answered and then frowned. "I guess it made it easier for me to get a life now, but I … it sucks knowing I have to die, and I don't know how long I have left to live but I do know it's better that it's sooner than later."

"What I don't get, is why are we going to the Room of Requirement, looking for something that You-Know-Who put in there?" Ron said.

"That something is probably a Horcrux …" Harry started.

"Yeah, funny enough I did figure that part out," Ron said sarcastically. "I meant, why has Dumbledore made you be the one to look for it? It's a bit messed up, don't you think?"

"Dumbledore didn't make me, I asked to look for it," Harry said.

"Why?" Ron and Hermione asked at the same time.

Harry smiled at them sadly, "I don't want to die but I do want this all to end. Besides, I'm the best one to find where Voldemort hid … whatever it was that he hid in the Room of Requirement."

"And you think you will know it when you find the Horcrux?" Hermione asked him.

"Well I hope so," Harry said, as they got to the seventh floor corridor. "The other day I tried asking for what Voldemort hidden in here. I had hoped that the room would just make it appear you know. No such luck."

"Did anything happen?" Hermione asked. "I'm not sure the Room of Requirement would open if you thought of something like that."

"It opened fine," Harry said, pacing in front of the spot until the door showed up, "the only problem is this is what it opened up to."

Hermione and Ron looked into the room and immediate knew what the problem was, as the room was filled with junk; stacks of book, objects that were band from Hogwarts, and so much more. And it seemed to go for miles.

"How the bloody hell are we supposed to find anything in here?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head, he didn't really know the answer to that either.

"Are you sure this is the right place … this is where he hid the Horcrux," Hermione asked.

"Yeah I'm sure," Harry said confidently. "This is the Room of Hidden Things and I know it's in here somewhere … now we just have to find it."