Disclaimer: Do not own hp.
Abruptly the lights went off and Harry and Hermione were left in complete darkness.
"Lumos." they whispered quickly, holding their wands out apprehensively, expecting a larger threat than a seething Ron with the Deluminator in his hands. They let out a small breath of relief and lowered their wands, but, noticing the look on his face, continued to watch him warily.
Their best friend stomped over to the section of the tent they'd been using as a dining room since their journey had begun. Though now instead of food, books Hermione had been showing to Harry littered the surface of the table, with which she had been anxiously trying to explain the biggest revelation she had had since they were on the run, before Ron had suddenly appeared with a livid expression on his face. He clicked the Deluminator again, consequently releasing the lights to go back to their respective lanterns.
"Yeah, I'm still here, in case you haven't noticed." He said bitingly, eyes stormy and teeth gritted. He spoke in a tone which conveyed his obvious anger.
"Ron we were just –" she tried to continue but his intense – and rather frightening – glare told her it was better not to do so.
"You were just what? What was so important that you couldn't discuss it with me being in the same room?"
Harry and Hermione glanced at each other. The reason of why Ron hadn't been there with them, was only because he was out keeping guard, so whatever had incited his anger had nothing to do with not being considered in the discussion.
"Is there anything bothering you?" asked Harry half confused, half annoyed.
"Yes, lots of things. For starters, I'm tired of you both always sneaking up behind my back, like if I wouldn't be able to understand what's going on," He was interrupted by a rather irritated Hermione
"Ronald, you know you got hurt after the accident and all, I — we were just trying to protect — help you! But we would nev –"
"I'm tired of this!" he barked suddenly as he gestured to the tent, cutting Hermione off. "Now, this is what I don't understand, how come Dumbledore never told you anything else about these Horcruxes and where to find them? We've been wandering around aimlessly for months and we haven't made any sort of progress. For Merlin's sake, I still have this god damn locket hanging from my neck with no way to destroy the bloody thing!"
"Well, we certainly would be making progress if we were actually focusing our efforts on looking for them rather than fighting over them," Hermione snapped bluntly.
"You know what, forget it."
"No, say it." A much more serious Harry got into the conversation again. They exchanged a long look before Ron broke the silence.
"Alright then," He took a deep breath before continuing. "I think it's impossible that Dumbledore wouldn't have told you more about this. You were practically like his son to him;" he paused for a second and looked at Hermione for support, of course, he didn't find it. "You're not telling us everything, are you Harry?" His tone made it clear that this question had been in his mind for more than just a few hours.
"I've told you everything I know, the whole lot of what Dumbledore ever told me," he shook his head in exasperation "Do you truly believe that I would lie to you? That I would simply leave out such important information to the ones who'd been following me in the most dangerous expedition to save the Wizarding and Muggle world alike?"
Ron looked as he was about to explode. His nostrils flared, his ears turned bright red, and his deep blue eyes were full of anger and resentment, deep down he was disappointed; he desperately wanted there to be the explanation to their lack of progress.
"Honestly Ron, Harry would never –"
"You know why I listen to that old radio?" He addressed Harry, rudely cutting Hermione off.
"Enlighten me." he retorted sharply.
"To make sure everyone's safe. Mum, Dad, Ginny, Fred, George; to make sure I don't miss it when their names are called."
"Ron –"
"You think I don't know?" shouted Harry, outraged "You think I don't know how this feels?"
"NO! You don't know how it feels! Your parents are dead! You have no family lef –"
Harry lost it. He pounced towards Ron as they started to brawl, tugging and hitting at each other in a blind rage. Hermione was distraught; she tried desperately to break them apart as she was yelling "STOP! Please, stop!" Finally Ron stepped back when she managed to wedge herself between the two and separate them.
"Go then! Leave!" Harry yelled, gasping for air.
Ron started to pick up the things Hermione had packed for him when they were at the Burrow.
He can't be doing this.
"Ron," she pleaded "Ron, please." He completely ignored her pleas and blurted a question at her.
"And you?" He addressed her for the very first time since he had gotten into the tent. She looked at him questioningly.
"Are you coming or staying?" He evaded her eyes, looking down, not wishing to look as she possibly rejected him.
Hermione looked pleadingly at him, eyes wide.
"Ron. You can't… go. Please, just think this through."
"It's all right," he said sarcastically, glancing up at her eyes, which were shining with unshed tears "I saw you two the other night," his jealousy was now evident, which made Hermione fully comprehend the feelings that had led to the fight. "Not just talking about Horcruxes." he clarified.
Harry frowned in misunderstanding.
Oh, Ron.
"That… that was nothing!" she cried "Please, just—"
He violently yanked the locket from around his neck before throwing it to the ground and storming out of the tent.
And then he was gone.
Hermione stood stock still for a few seconds, not believing what her eyes had just seen. After shaking off her shell shock she emerged from the tent, this time approaching Ron in a much more different way, the way that normally would make him react the fastest: aggressively.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" she yelled frustratingly as he made it seem that he wasn't acknowledging her presence "Don't you dare! If I hear a crack sound I swear I'm going to –" She reached for his arm but he shook her off quickly enough to disapparate an instant later. She stared at the empty space where he had stood in disbelief, her threats vanishing into nothing as the reality sunk in.
Utter and complete silence held in a single moment of despair and incredibility as Hermione's arm stayed suspended in the air, reaching out to a person already gone.
... Ron.
A/N: I'd like to infinitely thank my beta Madi (NorbertaTheDragon) for helping me with this fic :). She transformed it from a rough draft to an incredible masterpiece.
This is the fight mentioned in my other fic "The hunt for horcruxes" that is also being beta'd right now by Lorakeet (Nerd-Herd13).
Please make sure to check them both out!