a/n: Thank you all for all the love you send my way. I cherish your reviews although I don't find the time to reply. Love the ones where you tell me what you like about the story and analyse the characters and behaviours. that's the best gift you can give the author and love you guys for it. I hope you enjoy this update. It does have a scene which personally, I hated writing the most. But having said that, I will agree, I like this version better than the one I had in the old draft. Those who have read this before and rereading it, let me know which you like better.

Glimpses of Truth

The locker door creaked in the familiar fashion as Harry pulled it open and grabbed a fresh shirt from inside it.

"We should've gone further."

Harry pulled on his grey buttondown before he turned at his best mate.

Ron, barefoot and clad only in a pair of old denim, was busy rummaging through his locker. He spent a few minutes pulling out a pile of used shirts and threw them in the laundry basket before he retrieved a black turtleneck and pulled it on, hiding the many scars that graced his back.

"It's been a while since the Ministry had troubles with a synchronized werewolf gang," Harry replied tiredly. His body ached and he craved for a lie-down. Ron surely felt worse, he contemplated quietly, for he had been leading the hunt from the start and been at it for longer than anyone else on the team.

"Not since Greyback," muttered Ron as he massaged his shoulder and stretched, his features grim, deep worry lines marking his forehead.

Harry knew he was hoping for a change much too early- but he had expected Ron to be a little less reckless now that there was a possibility of Hermione being back in his life for good. Only Merlin knew what was going on in that dork's head though, he thought ruefully. Perhaps this was his way to fight the memories of their capture during the Horcrux hunt, he wondered. "We got a fair lot of them, mate," he replied with more conviction than he felt. Closing his locker shut, he grabbed his pair of spare shoes from the rack. "And it's a week before the full moon. They can't transform yet. We'll get them," he added.

"We'll stick to the plan. I'll go first tomorrow and set a more compact perimeter," Ron replied as he sat down on the old bench and pulled on his socks and shoes. He Accioed his jacket and stood up, his face showing signs of very little sleep.

"Yes, but tomorrow night. You've been at it for five days straight. You need to get some rest first, Ron. They can't breach the magical barricade. We just have to scan the area. They won't get away this time."

"It's still a fucking big perimeter," Ron muttered angrily as he dusted the back of his jeans and they walked out of the room together.

"Tomorrow night," promised Harry. "All of us need some sleep. Moreover, I promised Ginny I'll bring you along today."

Ron groaned dramatically. "Seriously? Don't you think I have better things to do than third-wheel a date?"

Laughing, Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder, "Like what? Meet Hermione?" he teased. "Oh! I'm sorry, but our fierce Auror Weasley is way too scared to ask his fiance out for dinner!"

"Shut it, you wanker," Ron grumbled. "Don't think I've forgiven you or mum for playing dirty."

"We wouldn't have to if you both weren't so utterly stubborn and stupid. And don't complain. My wife sided with you and made me sleep on the couch for two nights!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe she sided with you!" he muttered annoyed.

"Gin still couldn't get Hermione to rethink, did she?" It was strange how Ron sounded even more exhausted than before.

Harry stopped mid-step, exhaled tiredly and glared at his best mate. "If you regret this arrangement so much why did you agree in the first place?"

Ron paused too. "Because you and Mum convinced her to come to me knowing well that I-" he fumed before stopping mid-sentence, fumbled and looked away, "-I won't be able to refuse if she asked," he added in a softer tone.

"Let me ask you again," Harry insisted, "How did you feel spending that time with her when you went to meet her parents?"

Ron resumed walking without bothering to answer and Harry chuckled a little to himself. He hurried towards Ron and clapped him on the back. "No matter how much we convinced her, Ron, she wouldn't have asked you if she didn't want to in the first place."

….

"I don't understand how these Muggles enjoy this game so much," mused Ginny, looking at the screen, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, it's no Quidditch," Hermione replied as she sipped on her drink before looking around. It was a small Muggle diner. Most of the customers seemed to be regulars as they sat in groups staring at the big screen which was currently telecasting a live cricket match. More and more people poured in and the diner was getting steadily noisier.

"It isn't usually this crazy in here," observed Ginny and Hermione was glad they had picked a table at the far end of the room, as far from the crowd as practically possible. "We didn't know it would be a game night," Ginny added.

Hermione quietly thanked the waitress who brought out their order and waited till the woman had left before she spoke. "Why am I dragged here today?"

"Why? Were you busy?" snickered Ginny as she picked a piece of fried chicken in her fork and put it in her mouth. "Trust me, this is the best fried-chicken recipe ever!" she pointed at the plate with her fork, her mouth full but smiling. "This is why we prefer coming here. And of course the anonymity. No one recognises us here; no Prophet reporters hiding behind counters, no cameras flashing at our faces."

Hermione sighed, nodded slightly and picked up a piece for herself. "It must be insane," she observed. "Didn't realise they'd be so desperate…" She bit into the chicken, sighing blissfully and smacked her lips. "This is really good!"

"I know, right?" Ginny replied, grinning, as she picked another piece for herself. "The Prophet is bound to go crazy now that they have seen you and Ron together."

"Don't they have better news to cover?!" Hermione mused angrily.

"Did you read the articles?"

Hermione exhaled tiredly. "No." She shook her head exasperatedly. "I'm wondering if I should cancel my subscription altogether."

Ginny let out a dry laugh. "You won't miss much, I guess. It's crazy how they didn't back down when all they managed to get was Ron's back and that too with the two of you under an umbrella! And yet they spent the next two days arguing for and against if it was actually Ron with you or Malfoy! Bloody buggers!"

"It possibly wasn't even us!"

"Definitely the two of you. They got your face when you turned."

Hermione grumbled under her breath and sipped on her drink. Her anger at the Daily Prophet's nosy reporting soon faded away as she was reminded of that evening. She had tried her best not to ponder over each and every gesture of Ron's. But more often than not, she found herself reflecting back on the moment after he had slipped the ring on her finger. It had seemed like his mask had slipped. In all honesty, it was scary how powerless his proximity made her feel. She bit her lip before letting out a soft sigh, breathing deeply as she remembered the way his eyes had lingered a little too long on her lips before he moved away. It was mortifying to realise that she had wanted nothing more than to have him close, take the initiative and bridge that space between them. No matter how hard she tried not to, every night, in the quiet of her bedroom, she found herself wondering what could have happened if she had taken the initiative. It seemed the years and the distance hadn't been enough to erase those memories of hers. Ron, cupping her face and angling it up a smidge before dipping down and softly touching his lips to hers was frighteningly vivid in her memories. At times it felt as if his taste still lingered on her lips...

She knew they wouldn't have stopped with a kiss- they never did.

"Hermione?"

Letting out a soft gasp she hurriedly looked away, hoping Ginny wouldn't notice the flush in her cheeks. Struggling to steady her breathing, Hermione took to staring at her hands instead and her eyes found the stone again.

Was it only wishful longing that she felt the blue hue of the stone reminded her of his eyes? Was it even possible that Ron planned for it to mean something special- something symbolic? But then, had their 'engagement' meant anything at all to him, surely he would have reached out after that day? Written to her at the very least?

She chuckled sadly at her stupidity. Once again, she had gone against her better judgement and begun to hope; his silence should have been enough to bring back the perspective. It was nothing but an act.

She let out a long sigh before quickly averting her eyes when Ginny looked at her questioningly. Worried that Ginny would figure the melancholy in her voice, Hermione busied herself with the food.

"Ron's been on a mission for the past five days," Ginny mentioned nonchalantly.

"Oh," she exclaimed, placing her fork back on the plate. She tried to ignore the sudden rush of fear that overpowered her sense of hurt, reminding herself that he was an Auror after all- handling danger was just a part of his job. "Never told me- " she added haltingly, "-not that he is obligated to, of course."

"He came down to the Grimmault's that night, Hermione. Asked me to convince you to think again."

Hermione huffed and looked away, anger bubbling to the surface again. He was trying his best to get out of the arrangement after all. "He shouldn't have agreed if he didn't want to," she retorted, sounding rather pathetic, she reckoned.

"It's not about what he wants, " Ginny turned a smidge, facing Hermione properly, and Hermione continued to look at the plate adamantly as she sniffed, fighting her tears. "He is not wrong if he doesn't want you to get married without thinking this through," Ginny added softly while Hermione continued to look away.

As Ginny continued to watch her in silence, Hermione pondered walking away.

"Why don't you show him that this means more to you than just fulfilling your Mum's dream?"

She gasped and met her friend's eyes, before looking away hurriedly.

"Just admit it once, please?" beseeched Ginny, "Just tell me that behind all this stubbornness, you are getting into this marriage because you still have some feelings for that stupid dork- I promise I won't tell him, nor will I bug you about your decision again. I-" she paused and inhaled sharply. "I'll feel a little better about all this madness you both are putting all of us through."

"Gin-"

"Don't tell me, you have feelings for Malfoy. I am neither blind nor an idiot."

Hermione averted her eyes again and bit her lower lip. "I am being a fool again, aren't I, Gin?" she asked finally, unable to mask the longing anymore. "Why am I still trying to read more into his actions?" She exhaled sadly. "I'll probably just get hurt again."

Ginny let out a small chuckle and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Something tells me, you won't."

…..

They were greeted with loud raucous cheering as they pushed open the door and Ron stumbled a little as he took in his surroundings.

"It's just a Muggle diner," he gasped quietly to himself, rubbing the back of his neck, fighting the familiar and disturbing sensation deep in his chest. He glanced at the screen and noticed the cause of the uproar. The scoreboard seemed to be slipping out of hand.

"Boy, it's bloody crazy in here today," Harry announced ahead of him and Ron manoeuvred his way through the full tables, following Harry's lead.

"Are you sure Ginny is here?" he asked loudly to be heard over the noise.

"Yeah, there she is."

Ron glanced where Harry was indicating and his heart skipped a beat. He sure had forgotten how pretty Hermione was.

"You should have told me she was coming too," he grumbled under his breath once he had reached Harry.

"You both are more hopeless than you were back at school. And keep me out of it. This setup was your sister's idea."

"That brat!" Ron grumbled. "And I thought she was the sensible one."

….

"Harry!"

Hermione chuckled fondly as Ginny sprang out of her seat and ran into Harry's arm who wrapped his wife in his embrace. And then her eyes fell on the person who had accompanied Harry.

She found Ron watching the couple with a tender smile before he turned and their eyes met. The longing was so evident that she looked away, biting her lip, breathing deeply to stay seated. Once she had gathered her wits she looked up, Harry and Ron had already removed their jackets, dumped them at the back of their chair and taken the seats. As Ron fumbled to adjust his long legs under the table, trying his best not to bump his knees against hers, she stole a discreet glance. It was hard to miss the exhaustion on his features, especially his eyes. A fair number of scratches were still visible on his face and Hermione glanced at Harry, subconsciously comparing their injuries. Harry looked marginally better.

"Did they just get back from a mission?!" she asked Ginny, shocked.

She nodded once. "Yeah."

"And you asked him to come here instead of going home and - " she let out an exasperated gasp and shook her head, "-I don't know but they- " she glanced once between the boys, "- they definitely need some sleep at the very least!"

Ginny looked down at her lap and let out the smallest sniffle and Harry reached out to hold his wife's hand.

"I've seen him come back in worse shape, Hermione," Ginny replied with a sad smile, her fingers entwined with Harry's. "Drives me crazy waiting for him at home, so unless-" she paused and blew out through her mouth and licked her lips and continued while she looked away, "-unless he is gravely injured, we meet here and pretend that it's just us, catching up after a normal day job."

Hermione opened and closed her mouth, at a loss of words, before her eyes inexplicably found Ron. He returned a weak smile.

"I don't know how you do it, Gin," she replied softly, unable to take her eyes off him.

"Well, I knew what I signed up for when I said yes," Ginny chuckled.

….

Do you know what you are signing up for?

Ron quietly wished he could ask Hermione the question as he sneaked a glance at her. Hermione, sitting pretty in a pale green jumper, her pale cheeks flushed, and the question died on his lips. All his exhaustion seemed to melt away at her sight. Despite the noisy ambience, there was something incredibly peaceful about having her in front of him. As if there was finally a reason to come back home, he reckoned quietly to himself. The selfish part of him told him to cherish this moment, take what life had offered him although he knew he didn't deserve it.

"Are you going back again?" Ginny asked, and suddenly he was brought back into the present.

He didn't miss how Hermione let out a small gasp at his sister's words and caught his gaze, and although it was most likely his longing, it felt as if she truly cared, as if she was seriously worried about his safety. He returned a weak smile before bit his lower lip and looked away.

He missed Harry's response as he watched their surroundings, his eyes instantly finding a bloke at a table close to theirs. As he continued to watch, his instinct made him queasy. The guy was definitely watching Hermione. As Ron met his gaze, glaring back as the bloke leaned to his mate and whispered something, snickered at Ron as he glanced at Hermione and back at Ron.

He inhaled deeply, not taking his eyes off.

"Ron? Ron?"

He turned back to find all three of them staring at him in confusion and realised he had a fork held rather weirdly, his fingers wrapped around the handle in a strong grip. He dropped the fork on the table and let out a cough.

"What do you wanna order?" Harry asked again, his brows furrowed, watching Ron carefully. Ron exhaled and glanced back at the other table, noticing that the man was talking animatedly with his friend.

"Anything will do," he replied with a small smile. As Harry tried to grab the attention of one of the waitresses, all of whom were struggling to manage the surging crowd, Hermione pulled out her cell phone. The device blinked as it vibrated and she flipped it open.

"Dad?!" she gasped, holding it against her one ear and the palm of her other hand covering the other. "I can't hear you!" she said loudly into it, looking around in annoyance. "Hold on!" she repeated, holding it close to her mouth. Signalling at them wordlessly she hurried out of her seat and manoeuvred through the crowd towards the main entrance and Ron followed her with his eyes.

"They are back to their sixth-year selves, aren't they?" chuckled Ginny and Ron turned around to find his friend snickering.

"You were supposed to help me out," he grumbled at his sister.

"Oh, I changed my mind. Now I've decided to side with my husband!" she shrugged, winking at Harry who choked on his drink, coughed and happily looked at her through watery eyes.

"You have? Since when?" he asked gleefully.

"Just now," she laughed.

"Prat!" Ron fumed. "I thought you knew better than to convince Hermione to marry me," he added ruefully.

"We convinced Hermione?!" Ginny snicked. "He is right! We shouldn't have- after all she'd have married anyone we suggested! Pity we didn't pick Neville!"

Harry laughed aloud. "Or Dean?"

"Slughorn? Oh, wait! Hagrid!"

As Harry roared in laughter, Ron rolled his eyes and looked away when his eyes fell on the table behind theirs.

It was vacant.

….

"I was so worried," Hermione exhaled as she placed a palm against her chest. She could never tell her dad how the cell phone ringing never failed to scare her.

"She's doing much better," her father replied from the other end of the line.

"I'll visit tomorrow, Dad," she promised.

"She'd love that. Bring Ron."

Hermione sighed. "Sure," she responded, wished him night and flipped the phone close. Stuffing the device back in her jeans' pocket, she rubbed her palms together. It had begun to drizzle again and there was a chill in the air. But the anxiousness in her heart had nothing to do with the weather. It was never more obvious than now that she had been longing to see Ron again, pinned away these past few days- it was frightening how he had torn down the walls around her just after an evening together. She had to gather her wits before she went back inside and faced him.

"Hey,"

Suddenly she was face to face with three strange men.

Hermione turned away, not bothering to reply, hurrying over to the doors but her hand had only touched the handle when one of them grabbed her wrist.

She sucked in a breath at the stronghold; her arm hurt terribly but she couldn't give the bloke the satisfaction of knowing that.

"That's rather impolite! We just want to talk to you," said one of them as the three of them laughed.

Hermione ignored the rising panic and tried to free her hand, glaring at the men.

"I'm not obligated to be polite," she spat.

"Fiery!" grinned the guy holding her, "Now that's a quality I appreciate!"

"Let go," she shouted, heaving, struggling to free herself.

"No," he replied and laughed. The grip was so tight that she was beginning to feel dizzy. She tried to use her left hand to pull out the wand from her right pocket while the grip on her arm became stronger and she yelped in pain.

Before she could even think of casting a non-verbal shield, a figure rushed out of the door. Within a wink of an eye, she was freed of the grasp, pulled behind a tall, familiar body and the man holding her was lying a foot away from them.

She could barely recover from the shock of the events, almost not registering how Ron kicked the second guy on his chest while holding her with one hand, shielding her behind him and punched the third on the face, turning her along as he elbowed the first guy again on the ribs and kicked the third guy who had returned to attack.

He backed them against the wall, Hemione secured against the wall at the back and Ron in front. He hit back at the two men who attacked as she struggled to stay standing. There was something extremely frightening to see the way the men attacked Ron together, three against one. He seemed to be holding them off easily but there was a rage emanating from him, something she had never seen before. It was unnerving as if he wasn't the guy she had grown up with but someone else altogether. She had never seen anyone fight that way before, not even a Muggle let alone a wizard. He moved with practised ease as if he had done this many times before and she found herself struggling to breathe. Was this what his job was like? Was this what he dealt with every day? Facing people who were hell-bent on hurting him? There was the sound of a knife slashing through the air and Ron let out a yelp and Hermione grabbed the back of his shirt, shaking violently. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the sounds of the fight which seemed to go on forever. She barely registered when a familiar female voice called her out and was followed by more voices.

"Hermione!"

She shook as a soft pair of hands pried her hands away from Ron's shirt, and Ginny's arms wrapped around hers.

"Are you okay?!" Ginny cried.

Hermione finally opened her eyes, breathing erratically as her eyes found Ron standing a little away, Harry beside him talking to one anxious-looking man. She licked her dry lips, breathing deeply as she looked around to find the three men from before crouched on the ground.

"They are talking to the manager. We shouldn't have come here today," Ginny added guiltily as she helped Hermione with her jacket and bag. "Let's go,"

The two of them began walking and were soon followed by Ron and Harry. No one spoke until they reached a dark alley behind a huge, old apartment.

"Let's go back to our place," Harry said softly.

Hermione looked up and even in the faint light of the streetlamps far away, she could see the bruise marks on Ron's face. There was a cut on the corner of his lip. He met her eyes once before looking away. His jacket hanging on his arm.

"I guess I'll just head home," he replied, wiping the corner of his lip with his thumb. "Will you drop her back to her place?" he asked Harry.

"Will you be okay?" asked Ginny and he nodded once.

"I'll send Kreacher over with some food," she added.

"Be a little more careful around these crowds," he addressed her finally.

"Do you think it was my mistake?" she shrieked, tears pooling over. Her emotions were all over the place.

"No. It wasn't." He looked anguished and Hermione had no clue why she felt like crying, "It wasn't your fault, Hermione. They-" He sucked in a breath and looked away. "I need to leave," he said quietly.

The decision was made in a heartbeat or aeons ago perhaps, she didn't quite know, nor did it matter.

"I'll come with you."

She ignored the stunned faces around her and walked ahead and paused for a heartbeat as she looked at his hand. Slowly, she touched her fingers to his before entwining them.

"You'll have to take me through Side-Along, I guess?" she asked softly and smiled as Ron seemed to struggle to find words. He looked down at the hands before meeting her eyes. A small smile forming on his face, a softness in his eyes.

"Let's go?"

She nodded a little, holding him tightly as he turned on the spot.

...

I have been on a KDrama kick lately and loved listening to 'Eternal Love' while writing this.
The black turtleneck Ron wears in this chapter, and the action sequence(it's incredibly hard to write action scenes) inspiration comes from the KDrama Healer (and Ji Chang-Wook). I am head over heels over this guy and this show.
You can watch it on youtube : www . youtube watch?v=grhw6mUYF5I (remove spaces)