A/N This is after Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione both happen to be living in New York.
Ron Weasley took a turn and started heading down an alleyway. His red hair was hanging in his eyes, blurring his vision slightly. His hands were stuffed tightly in the pockets of his blue jeans, and he was staring down at the cement ground. How the heck did I ever get mixed up in this? He thought to himself angrily, scowling at his shoes. He kicked a tiny gray pebble on the ground forward. It slowly rolled to a stop in front of a shiny black shoe. Ron looked up cautiously. Seeing who it was, he lowered his head and greeted him.
"Hey Pettigrew." A short man with grubby skin and very little hair was leaning against a brick wall in the alleyway.
"How many times did I tell you to call me Peter?" The man asked angrily, standing up straight and kicking the pebble by his foot away. Ron just shrugged.
"Whatever." Peter eyed him suspiciously. At that point Ron didn't care. He didn't care about anything. All he knew was that he just wished that someone would kill him on the spot. Still scowling at him Peter continued.
"Your next target is Ginny." Ron looked up in surprise.
"Ginny? I can't!" He said in panic. Peter eyed him in disgust.
"If you want to live, you'll have to kill her. And besides, it's the only way to get to Potter." Yeah, well at this point I don't want to kill Harry either. He thought. Peter scowled at him as if he could read his mind.
"Why don't you do it?" Ron spat at him.
"Ginny knows you. She trusts you. She also knows me, and she knows that I'll kill her, and she'll be armed if I show up at her house." Ron sighed and leaned against the wall that Peter had been leaning against. He crossed his arms over his chest and put one foot against the wall behind him. He lowered his head again.
"Fine. I'll do it." Nodding approvingly, Peter stalked off. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ron slid down the wall and placed his head in his hands and began to cry.
~
Hermione finally took in a breath, but it was hard. She looked out her window down at Ron's head. She had heard it all, and he had no idea. Not wanting to see it anymore she slowly made her way to a grubby chair and sat on it. The ancient springs of the chair creaked underneath her weight. She had to tell Ginny right away! As soon as she had her breath back, Hermione stood up and put her hand on her phone, but she did not pick it up. What will Ron do to me if I call? Worse, what will Peter do to me? She thought. But what will happen to Ginny if I don't call? Her head answered. She took her hand from the phone and walked to her front door and took her long, black hooded coat off of the coat rack. Hermione opened the door of her apartment and headed downstairs.
~
A tall figure stood in front of Ron. His vision was so blurry from hair in his eyes and tears that he couldn't tell for anything who it was. The person brought up their hands and lowered the hood of their jacket, exposing bushy brown hair. He blinked a few times to clear the tears from his eyes, and brushed his bangs out of the way. Ron now saw that the person towering over him was none other than Hermione. She had her hands stuffed in her pockets and the smile on her face was very grim and disapproving. She sat down next to him in the alleyway. Neither spoke for a long time. Ron finally started conversation.
"How much did you hear?" He asked her quietly. For awhile she didn't answer, and Ron started to wonder if she was still there.
"All of it." She finally answered, just as quietly as Ron had asked her.
"Are you going to turn me into Azkaban? I'm sure there'd be a nice reward for turning in someone planning to kill Harry Potter." He sighed and no matter how hard he tried, the tears started to fall down his face again. Hermione silently used her coat sleeve to wipe them away.
"You wouldn't kill Harry. After all he's done for you…" Hermione sighed, pulling her coat tighter around herself.
"I have to." Ron answered.
"No you don't." Hermione replied, putting her hand on his arm.
"No, you don't understand. I have to. I don't want to… Lord knows I don't want to kill Harry, and that I don't want to kill Hermione or anyone… but they're controlling me. They watch everything I do…they're probably watching me right now…" The tears started falling harder.
"Ron, please don't cry. I won't turn you into Azkaban, but…" Hermione hesitated. "But I have to tell Ginny that you're coming for her." Ron looked hard into her face. She did her best to keep it straight, and not break down into tears next to him. Finally, he nodded.
"Tell her. But the if the next time you see me I'm dead, don't be surprised." With that he stood up and walked out of the alleyway, leaving Hermione by herself, tears starting to fall down her face. This was going to be the hardest decision in her life.
~
That night, Hermione lay in her bed, but no matter how hard she tried, sleep would not come to her. She finally got up and grabbed a history book and snuggled into a chair and started reading it.
Harry Potter caused the downfall of the Dark Lord, (more commonly known as you-know-who or Voldemort)…
Hermione snapped the book shut, making her cat, Crookshanks jr. jump up and hiss at her slipper, (which it blamed everything on.) She would go see Harry…he could help her decide. Seeing as it was night and not as many people would be around, she grabbed her cloak, wand and broom. As soon as she was outside and in the alleyway, she mounted the broom and started toward England.
~
Someone knocked on Harry's door. He stiffened and quickly stuffed away the letter the minister of magic had written him about the whereabouts of Voldemort. He grabbed his wand from the kitchen counter, just incase. The person knocked again. Heart beating in his chest for fear that it was Voldemort or one of his followers, he walked to the door and opened it slowly. He was quite relieved to see Hermione in the doorway. Finally, someone that hadn't come to see him because of Voldemort. She ran into his arms, sobbing.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked her, gently smoothing down her frizzy hair.
"Harry I'm so confused!" She cried into his shoulder. He led her carefully to a small couch. He then sat down next to her. "It's Ron or Ginny and you and I don't know what to do!"
"What do you mean its Ron or Ginny and I?" Harry asked her.
"Oh Harry, Ron…he's…he's working for Voldemort and he's going to kill Ginny and you! And if I tell Ginny then he'll die." She sobbed. Harry felt like a dagger had pierced his heart. Ron? Was going to kill him? His best friend in the world? It couldn't be true…it just couldn't. Harry refused to believe it.
"You're lying." Hermione looked into his face painfully, sniffing away her tears.
"I wish I were. And besides, why would I lie about something like this?" She asked him, still staring him in the face.
"I…" Harry was lost for words. She was telling the truth. The world fell from beneath his feet, and he was suddenly very dizzy. Focus, Harry. Focus! He snapped at himself. Gradually, everything did come back into focus. Harry tried desperately to organize his thoughts. The first thought was, protect Hermione. "I believe you." He told her. She started to fall back onto his shoulder, but he caught her and held her shoulders tightly. "Hermione, you have a dangerous secret. You have to be very careful." He said, staring her in the eye. "I don't want anything to happen to you." He added quietly. "I don't think I could live with myself if you died." She just stared up at him with her beautiful brown eyes that were now filling with tears.
"Oh Harry…" She started to cry again, but this time much more softly. She placed her head back on his shoulder. For a moment, Harry was unsure what to do. Then he relaxed and put one arm around Hermione's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Hermione. I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered. Hermione sighed, and they were soon fast asleep in each other's arms.