Time, along with the ordeal at Malfoy Manor had finished the cooling down of Hermione's anger toward Ron. She was back to wishing she could express her feelings to him but was still wallowing in the self-doubt and fears that had crippled her efforts for years. She was spending most of her time trying to convince Harry to pursue the horcruxes.
Ron was more in love with Hermione than ever, but still not able to act on it. What would she want with him? He was not even half as smart as her. And even though she would deny it, she was too pretty for him, as well. The night at the Yule Ball was all the proof his mind needed to believe that story. His heart and brain were split between the need to continue the hunt for the horcruxes and the need to hunt for the hallows, instead. He tended to side with Hermione for obvious reason.
After some conversations with Griphook and Mr. Ollivander, Harry finally made the decision to keep it a hunt for horcruxes. They needed to figure out a way into Bellatrix's vault at Gringott's.
Harry made a less than well-thought-out agreement with Griphook to trade with the sword for getting the trio into the vault. There was a strong sense that there was a horcrux hidden there. They discussed ways to trick Griphook into accepting the fake sword despite Bill tell them it would be impossible and extremely dangerous to double cross a goblin.
Hermione shifted into full planning mode. Even though most of their plans had erupted into chaos, she was not to be thwarted. Affairs of the heart were out of the question. She was fixated the way she used to get in the lead up to exams at Hogwarts.
Weeks went by as ideas, detail, plans were hatched, altered, dropped and fine-tuned. Harry was getting more and antsier. He knew Voldemort had come to the doors of Hogwarts in retrieving the sword. He knew people continued to die and disappear. His heart and brain knew time was not their friend. Still, it was not until May that they decided they were ready to act.
The next morning the slipped out of the cottage before the crack of dawn. Hermione used polyjuice to change into Bellatrix. Consuming it along with a hair from Bellatrix tore at her heart and tormented her brain. Even hearing the voice of Hermione coming from the fake Bellatrix caused Ron and Harry to wince with revulsion.
A moment later Harry, Ron, Hermione and Griphook emerged on Charing Crossing. The minds of the trio were racing and hearts pounding in unison as the moved toward the Leaky Cauldron.
Within moments they were in Diagon Alley and the carefully crafted plan started to unravel almost immediately with a chance meeting of the Death Eater known as Travers. They made it past the guard and got into the car the vaults thanks to the Imperius Curse. All of them were already having second thoughts about what they were getting themselves into.
By the time they got past the dragon and reached to door to the vault, their brains were becoming more and more concerned about the ever-present possibility of them all being captured or killed. Even if they found a horcrux inside, their chances of making it out there to safety seemed to be falling by the second. Their hearts started grasping onto whatever shreds of hope remained.
Once inside the vault, they fell victims to the Gemino and Flagrante curses placed on the contents of the vault. Forced to complete their bargain of the cup for the sword, Griphook abandoned them as they struggled to make it out of the fiery vault. Once out they came under fire off the guards. Their circumstance had not improved.
All stinging from the burns of the Flagrante curse, Harry managed to get onto the back of the dragon as Ron and Hermione also struggle aboard.
"Relashio!" shouted Harry, breaking the chains on the dragon.
The dragon, sensing it was free, started dashing toward freedom while spewing fire at the guards. Hermione began casting blasts of the Defolio charm to gouge the passageway large enough for the dragon. Harry and Ron joined her as they made it to the exit, into the main room and out through the doors to freedom as the dragon flew into the sky over London.
Harry clung to the dragon as they flew higher and higher. Hermione was openly crying, unable to restrain her emotions as the fear in her heart overwhelmed her brain. Ron, who should have been heeding a rare agreement between his heart and brain, should have been comforting Hermione. He was, instead, cussing and cursing horcruxes, Voldemort, Griphook, and every other imaginable thing.
The dragon flew north for what seemed like hours as they tried to gather their wits. Ron's tirade wound down and he resided himself to quietly hang on for fear of falling off the dragon. Hermione's tears stopped and her brain started boiling over with thoughts of how close they had come to dying. She could not help recounting all of their other brushes with death since their first year at Hogwarts and noticing each one was progressively worse than the previous one. She knew Voldemort still loomed in front of them. How would they be able to defeat him now that he had the Elder Wand?
Harry's mind finally got off what had just happened and moved onto Voldemort. How long would it be before he learned of the break-in of Bellatrix's vault at Gringott's? It was only a matter of time before he discovered they had taken the Hufflepuff Cup. Once he knew they were hunting his horcruxes he would come for them with fury yet unseen. His heart could feel a sense of growing danger.
The dragon eventually started losing altitude as they were passing over one of the small lakes dotting the landscape. "It might be thirsty or getting tired," thought Harry. "It could be looking for a place to land."
He knew they did not want to be near it when it landed. A split second decision was made to jump as they neared the surface of the lake. It was their best chance to escape the fate of those who got between it and freedom while escaping the vaults.
They landed in the cold lake water and struggled ashore. It actually felt good on the roasted bodies. The burns from the Flagrante curse had rendered them all sore and tender. Hermione quickly pulled some dittany from her bag and started sharing it around. Once they were all medicated, she pulled out some clean, dry robes and they changed into them.
As darkness started to fall, they sat up camp in anticipation of recovering from their latest ordeal. It was then Voldemort invaded Harry's brain. By the end of the encounter, he knew Voldemort knew they were hunting his horcruxes. Fortunately, Voldemort was unaware of how many of them had been destroyed. If he knew, he would have been more furious that he was. Unfortunately, he was now on a mission to take inventory of his stock. He would soon know that four were already destroyed and a fifth was in their possession. The need to act was now.
Harry told the others what he now knew and that it was imperative that they got to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Hermione's brain instinctively said they needed to first have a plan even though her heart was telling her different. Harry was very insistent in overruling her reservations. He understood the urgency. Ron, whose heart was predisposed to siding with Hermione, listened to his brain for a change and agreed with Harry.
Moments later they had broken down and packed away their camp, including their newly-acquired tent. They clustered together and pulled the invisibility cloak over them instead of the blankets of their bed they so desired. Hermione's brain was in overdrive. Spontaneity was not her strong suit. She was trying to contemplate was fresh, new hell they might heading toward. Harry was following the direction of his heart. He knew the dangers and had felt the intensified anger in Voldemort.
Seconds later, they were on the main street of Hogsmeade. They needed to get into Honeyduke's and use the One-Eyed Witch Passage into Hogwarts. This did not sound too difficult. Then there was a screaming alarm going off like a hundred angry cats. A swarm of Death Eater burst out of the Three Broomsticks.
With the aid of the darkness, they got under the cloak and backed into an alleyway just missing being caught by inches. They tried to apparate away but some type of curse was preventing it. Then it got cold and dementors filled the air.
Left without an option, Harry was forced to cast his patronus to drive them off. This alerted the Death Eaters who began running in their direction. Suddenly a door opened and they were ushered inside seconds before the Death Eaters filled the alley.
A moment later they were in the presence of a less than optimistic Aberforth Dumbledore. He took them on an emotional trip sending their hearts and brains on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. They learned many things about Professor Dumbledore, Hogwarts and how he had watched over them. However, a lot of it was not encouraging to their quest. He called into question almost everything they knew, or thought they knew, about Dumbledore and their mission.
Still, Harry was resolved to follow his heart and press forward into the school. With great reluctance and pessimism, Aberforth asked the portrait of Ariana go to Hogwarts and bring what turned out to be a beaten a bedraggled Neville to them. He led them into the school and to what would be a reunion with many of remaining members of Dumbledore's Army.