(A/N: I realize that it has been 3 weeks since I've updated but I have a very important announcement to make. TO ALL READERS, IMPORTANT INFORMATION: I'm a show right now and things are heating up towards opening night. I have practice for as long as 8 hours on some weekdays, and from 9-5 every Saturday and some Sundays. Also, I'm trying to keep up with my piano, voice, and acting classes. And finally on top of that, I've been assigned three huge projects that are taking up every moment of my rare free time. Life has been, as you can see, unbelievably crazy and I've been trying desperately to try to squeeze this story into my agenda but it hasn't seemed to work. We open in three weeks and I can promise you that practices are only going to get longer and more intense and there is simply no way I can keep up with this story right now. So, anyways what my point is, that I will not update within the next three weeks. I know things have really slow around here, and I'm sorry but I can't do it all. So I apologize, it's not fair to you all, and I realize I might loose some reviewers but it has to be done. Thank you in advance to those who'll remain loyal to the story, and for those of you who don't, I understand that its never fun to read a story that only updates like once a month. So anyways, hope you like this chapter, it kind of drags in the middle there but it should be passable. I'm glad I thought of this scene, it's something I've been wanting to do for a while. ;) Thank you SOOOO much to those of you who reviewed last chapter, they were fantastic reviews as always! I think that's about it. Thanks so much! Much love, Haystack)

doublelily: haha well I'm glad you were excited for the last update. So sorry about this one. Thanks so much for staying with me! Enjoy!

dancerrdw: Aw I'm glad you liked last chapter. Hope you enjoy this one! Thanks so much for reviewing!

Sweetdiva: hehe…what can I say? I like cliffs! ;) To answer your questions about Hermione, the curse she was hit with was the one she was hit with in the department of Mysteries in book five. Just a slash (we don't yet know the name for this curse) on her stomach instead of her chest. As for the length of this fic, it's kind of hard to tell because as I write I keep changing my plot and get new ideas and stuff. As of right now, this very moment, I'd estimate probably 10-12 more chapters but don't quote me on that! Lol thanks so much for reviewing!

OneTreeHillCharmedFreak: haha I'm glad you liked it so much! To be completely honest, Ron's proposal was never in the plot charts, it was never in anything, even as I began to write last chapter I had no idea that was how it was going to end. Lol Thanks sooo much for revieiwing! Hope to hear from you again!

vacant xpressi0ns: hahaha your review made me laugh! At first I didn't remember that song and then I remembered it was one I used sing all the time as a kid! Hehee…weird how stuff triggers your memory huh? Lol anyways, glad you liked, and Thanks as always, for reviewing!

Kay89: I realize you only reviewed the first chapter but if you continue to read the story then eventually you'll come across this reply! Lol Anyways, thanks sooooo much for putting in a review! It really does mean a lot to me! I'm glad you liked the beginning and hopefully I'll hear from you later on! Thanks!

nattieb: Aw thanks for the get-well and hope you had a good vacation note. You're so sweet. I'm eatin my apples and stayin healthy! ;) Oh! And thanks so much for saying that you thought the chapter flowed, it's hard to get back into the swing of things and I felt really self-conscious about last chapter…and this chapter too come to think about it! It's really reassuring that I'm doing it right! As for your sunshine…don't worry it'll be here for a couple more chapters! Hehee…Thanks so much for reviewing!

Krissy-Jane: lol Yay! I'm glad you think my story's romantic! And officially I declare you the winner! Yes, I had watched that movie a week before and just thought it was perfect so yes I'm afraid, I borrowed that line! I was really surprised that no one else picked up on that. Great movie eh? Lol, anyways thanks so much for reviewing! And hopefully I'll hear from you again!

AmyChris: Aw I hope you haven't been checking every day to see if I updated. I'd feel bad. :( It's been three weeks! Can you believe that! Gosh, how time zooms by! Lol anyways, thanks as always for your amazing review! Yes, it was a pretty nasty cliffie but I put this chapter in Hermione's pov just for you! Plus, she's easier to write for some reason right now. Hmm…lol anyways Thanks you soooooo much! Enjoy!

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: GREEN FLAMES

Hermione simply stared at Ron and he stared back, that lopsided grin on his face again. Hermione honestly considered calling for someone, he couldn't be serious could he? They were seventeen! They might not be qualified for any jobs because of their lack of completion at Hogwarts, they didn't have a house or a place to live; for Merlin's sake they were temporarily living in Viktor Krum's house as runaway escapees! Of all people Ron must understand that this was not the time to get comfortable. They still had enemies; Voldemort still wanted their heads, maybe even more so now that they'd narrowly escaped his grips yet again.

How could Ron possibly be thinking about marriage now? True, she loved him enough to marry him, and obviously he felt the same way; but now was not the time. They were too young, too inexperienced with the world…they just couldn't.

But yet if all that was true, if they really were too young, why did her heart ache with want, her lips begging to form the ecstatic word, "Yes!" Why was Ron's unfaltering gaze making her want to cry? Why, beyond all the logic, did this somehow feel right? After all, hadn't Ron's parents gotten married straight out of Hogwarts? And Hermione had never to this day met a couple so wonderfully in love all these years later as the Weasleys. She and Ron were in love, was it too much to ask to want to get married? It was only natural, right?

But how could they? With everyone dead…with Harry dead? Harry was supposed to be Ron's best man. That had always been an unspoken implication. And Ginny? Ginny was supposed to be her maid of honor. Who knew if she were dead or alive? How could they possibly be married without Harry and Ginny? It would feel so…wrong.

But the image of a wedding band on her finger, of walking down the aisle to meet Ron whose ears would be undoubtedly red, yet his face beaming burned in her mind. She wanted to get married. She wanted to be Ron's wife. She did. But she was supposed to be the logical one was she not? And logic was simply screaming her in the face right now, how could she turn it away? Too much was riding on keeping themselves hidden, of not making a scene. Viktor would naturally insist for a big wedding and that would attract people, maybe even photographers. Marriage had to be recorded, by Ministry rule, or else the marriage was not legal. How could they possibly get around that?

She sighed and looked at Ron, who was still waiting for an answer, squirming a bit as he tried to be patient. What was she supposed to say? Flat out no? He would jump to conclusions and interpret it the wrong way. Could she say yes? Her heart begged, and she lit up inside thinking about it. No No…remember Hermione, you need to stay logical She reminded herself.

"'Mione?" A more timid Ron asked, still holding her hand. He took a deep breath. "You can say no if you want to"

Hermione almost cried. How could he say that? How could he be so gentle, so sweet, so understanding when it was his question being shot down? How could he possibly say something like that when she could tell how much the answer meant to him?

She looked up at him, almost fearfully. "Ron, I want to say yes. You know that right? You need to know that. I want to say yes. I love you and I want to marry you."

Ron smiled but simply nodded. "What's holding you back then?"

"Everything" She sighed. "Marriages have to be recorded by the Ministry Ron. Did you know that? We can't afford to have anything about us written down on paper, especially something like that. They'd try to separate us."

"But Hermione, the whole world knows what we mean to each other, we were just too bloody blind to see it ourselves. Surely Voldemort knows that by now."

Hermione stopped for a moment, thinking hard. Ron was right. Everyone did know. But sometimes the most obvious of facts were the most hard to see. Was it possible that Voldemort had somehow overlooked the tension between them? After all, he'd only seen them a few times, how could he possible have put the pieces together in that amount of time. They didn't even know how deeply their feelings ran for each other until recently. She had tried to trick Voldemort out of believing they were in love earlier. Had it worked? It must have, he would have taken action if he believed otherwise. No, he didn't know yet…not fully anyways.

"No, don't you remember? I tried to trick him into thinking we have some kind of brother/sister love going on, like what we used to have. Ron, we can't record anything. Besides, the marriage certificate would have to say that the ceremony took place in Bulgaria, it would give away our safety."

Ron looked sullen. "I-I hadn't thought of that."

"I'm sorry Ron," She said sincerely, tears glistening in her eyes.

He shrugged and put a hand to her face, tracing a line down the side of her face. "But you never really answered my question."

"Ron how--"

"So maybe we can't get married here. But whenever we leave, and we're enough out of harm's way, then we'll do it. Until then, we'll just be engaged. Cause I'm serious about this, Hermione. I want to marry you."

Hermione had to bite back a smile, "So what exactly are you asking?" She teased

"I'm asking if you'll marry me."

Hermione couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before…engagement! Of course! It was perfect! They'd remain engaged in secret until it was safe and then…then they would really belong to one another.

"I'm sorry I don't have a ring. I realized that about ten seconds before I asked you. It would have made everything more official, and romantic too I suppose."

"No, it's better this way. I couldn't afford to wear a ring anyways, and I wouldn't want to loose something like that."

Ron smiled at her. "You're brilliant you know?"

Hermione beamed back, "And I love you"

"So I'll take that as a yes?"

She nodded, "It's been a yes since the first day I met you."

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They both agreed to keep the engagement a secret. No one wanted things getting more complicated around here than necessary and Hermione especially was trying to keep things under wraps, though Ron could never totally act innocent about the whole ordeal. Immediately after breakfast, not only did he grab her hand and lead her into a closed off study for a quick snog, but he presented her with a cheap plastic ring he'd found in his cereal box for Hermione to wear on her wedding finger, though on the wrong hand of course.

Hermione had of course shot him a nervous look, glancing frequently at the door to make sure no one interrupted them, but eventually she fell into the energy their secret engagement was providing. They were closer in every way now, and their love for each other only seemed to grow with each passing day.

By the third day, Hermione had caught herself giggling giddily to herself for no particular reason as the five were lounging around in the library. She'd received several strange looks from Seamus, Lavender, and Viktor but Ron simply grinned at her knowingly; teasing her about it later when they were alone.

They were going to get married! Hermione was going to get to buy new robes, something she was craving like no other at the present moment in time! She was going to get to become Mrs. Ronald Weasley after years of secret pining for the title. Mrs. Weasley, bless her heart, wherever she was now, would have been ecstatic, throwing Hermione a wonderful bridal party. She couldn't help but feel saddened by the absence of the loud boisterous Weasley family. Just thinking of their reactions brought a smile to her face.

Yet thinking of them brought back the terrible questions that haunted her every day amidst her joy. Where was everyone? Who had survived? Were they all dead? Had they suffered in the same way Ron and Hermione had? Were they in hiding? Was there any chance of someday finding them?

She thought of Ginny everyday…the rest of the Weasley family as well. Molly and Arthur, Bill and Charlie, Percy, and of course the infamous Fred and George. Had the war ripped them all apart? Was Ron the sole survivor of his large redheaded family? That thought alone brought more pain to Hermione's heart than she cared for, but now that she was on this train of thought, she had to finish.

Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid and all the other professors weighed heavily on her mind as well. Had these brave teachers, who knew magic like the back of their hand, been able to save themselves? What about the students? Had some of them escaped to the Whomping Willow? Were some still hiding in the forest? Or had most of them been trapped up in their towers, only to be burnt to death, or caught under the collapsing castle?

Nighttime was the worst. She, Ron, Lavender, and Seamus hadn't stepped foot outside in the five days they'd now been at Viktor's. It was too risky. But with all this time now on their hands, they all had no choice but to think of it all. To reflect and try to sort through it, everyone desperately searching for reassuring clues and answers. No one spoke of it to each other, but everyone knew what was on each other's minds.

They spent most of their days in the library Viktor had. No one really knew what they were looking for but, especially for Ron and Hermione, spending hours pouring over dusty books searching for answers to unimaginable questions brought immense comfort.

It was such a day when Hermione suddenly put down the huge book she'd been flipping through with a gasp.

"What is it?" Lavender asked from across the table. Hermione didn't answer, but everyone could tell her mind was running full speed, searching for loopholes in whatever she'd suddenly come across. They all knew that look.

"Go on, tell us" Seamus said somewhat irritably from his spot in a large comfy armchair by the fireplace.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked, stepping down the ladder he was on

Hermione simply nodded mutely, the famous wheels of her brain turning still. Everyone waited with batted breath. Slowly, she let out the air she'd been holding in, and relaxed a bit. With a small smile she looked up at her audience. "Does anyone know if Lavender's come in contact with Voldemort?" she asked softly

"What?" Seamus scrunched up his face, thoroughly confused,

"What I mean is," Hermione said gently, "If the Death Eaters saw Lavender, would they recognize her?"

Everyone fell silent, thinking.

"I-I don't think so" Lavender said slowly, "The only Death Eaters that might remember me are the ones that tried to rape and hurt me, but Ron and Seamus killed most of them."

"What about the ones who were chasing after us?" Ron asked

"I don't think so. I was pretty far away from you all and the only ones that might have seen me, I killed. They were too far away from me to see what I looked like."

"Why do you want to know, Hermione?" Seamus asked, his irritable restless side gone now that there was some action for him to take part in.

Hermione smiled to herself, a smile that captivated everyone's attention for it was a smile of someone brimming with good news and sheer happiness. "Because," She said, looking at Ron, "I think it's time we contacted the Order."

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The fireplace chosen was the one on the third floor. It was an empty room used only for storage purposes, creatively decorated with spider webs of all kinds and a thick layer of dust that made everyone cough.

"It's freezing in here" Lavender shivered

"Vell this room hasn't been heated in a long time." Viktor said simply, striding across the distance from the door to the fireplace.

The others trickled in slowly, looking around with curiosity at the objects lying about the floor. A chest of drawers, an old writing desk, a beautiful set of china, a hat rack, and a mirror Hermione knew her that her mother, who had a love for antiques, would have died for, were some of the larger objects in the room.

"There we go" Viktor exclaimed, getting the fire started with his wand. Hermione laughed quietly as she watched him trying to build up the flames with his wand.

"Here" Ron's voice came from behind her. "We can use these as a backdrop so that they won't recognize anything in the background." He said, carrying a bundle of white sheets.

"Only your head will appear using the Floo network Ron," She reminded him

He shrugged, "I know. But you never know. Just in case."

Hermione nodded. "Alright. Just in case."

Once the sheets were covering all the furniture, the group stood in front of the fireplace, unsure of what to do next.

"Okay so what exactly am I supposed to say again?" Lavender asked nervously, running her hand through her long hair.

All eyes looked to Hermione. "We're trying to contact any Order member we can. Who knows, maybe Voldemort killed them all and there is no more Order. You need to make sure that you act assuming that it could be a Death Eater impersonating an Order member. Refuse to give your name, location, or who you're with alright?" Hermione said

Lavender took a shaky breath and nodded her head. "You ready?" Hermione asked, standing up.

"Yes" Lavender replied, her face a bit paler than usual.

"Now remember, you can always pull your head out of the fireplace if you need to." Ron reminded, "And we'll all be right over here to help you if you need it."

"Thanks"

"Okay. Everyone get out of the view of the fireplace." Hermione ordered, she and Ron going to the right, and Viktor and Seamus going to the left. Lavender stood alone. "Now Viktor" She commanded. With a flick of his wrist, the warm flames turned a deep green and Lavender got down on her knees and thrust her head into them.

Ron took her hand. Hermione looked up into his face to see the fear lying there underneath his blue eyes. "It's okay," She whispered, squeezing his hand.

"What if it's not?" He whispered back, looking deeply into her eyes.

"I don't know Ron. I just—I have to know if they're okay."

"I-I want them all to be there like they always were. I want everything to be okay. I don't want to think about things the way they are now. I don't want to deal with death any more. What if they're all gone? My family? Dumbledore? What'll we do then?"

"I--"

"Hello?" A strained voice echoed throughout the room. Not a soul moved, no one dared breathe.

"Is someone there?" Lavender's voice asked, "I-I need to speak with your leader."

"My leader?" The man…yes it was a man's voice, asked incredulously. "Who exactly is this?"

"Don't say it" Hermione whispered inaudibly, fear rising from the pit of her stomach

"Please, I need to speak with the Order. Or someone from the Order." Lavender continued fearfully

"On what business?"

"Personal business. Or whatever else there is."

The man was quiet for a moment, "I'm afraid I can't help you." He said finally.

"Please sir, you don't understand!" Lavender cried out, "Just let me talk to someone. Put anyone on."

There was a pause-- as if the man was examining Lavender. It was pause that made Hermione squirm uncomfortably. What if he didn't find Lavender convincing enough?

"You're young." The voice said, sympathy evident in his tone.

Lavender nodded.

"How old?" He asked quietly

"Seventeen" Lavender replied.

Hermione wrung her hands together. No! So maybe she hadn't mentioned age to Lavender, but it fell in the category of things not to tell these people! What if that was it? What if Lavender blindly, had sealed their fates? This was a stupid idea…how could she have been so thick? It was too dangerous. Much too dangerous. How could she have—

"No" The man breathed. "You---that can't be."

Hermione shot Ron a confused look. What did he mean?

"I—well I mean, yes, I am seventeen."

"Merlin…" The man exclaimed, caught up in his own world "I remember you"

"Excuse me?"

"Ah I see it better now. The brown hair, the same nose, the same voice…by God, it really is you."

"What?" Lavender asked nervously. "Please, sir I'm running out of time and I need to speak to an Order member now."

There was a silence, and for a moment Hermione thought he'd disconnected the link, but then quietly, and emotionally there came the voice again, "You're speaking to one."

Lavender said nothing and Hermione could hear Ron sucking in his breath quickly. An Order member…who was it?

Lavender had been caught off guard and seemed incapable of speaking as she tried to form words. "I see you don't remember me." He said

"No…" Lavender said softly, trying to think

"Let me re-introduce myself."

"'Mione…" Ron suddenly whispered at her side

"What is it?"

Ron's eyes filled with emotion. "I know who he is."

"Who?"

"How exactly do I know you?"

"We were at Hogwarts together"

"Hmm well I don't think---" Suddenly Lavender gasped, a hand covering her mouth, tears evident in her shaky voice "I knew you looked…something about it…I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before…I just--Oh Professor Lupin how are you!"

(A/N: I was going to stop it here but decided I'd put you all through too much to be that mean)

"Lupin…" Hermione whispered, closing her eyes to try to stop the tears stinging at her eyes. Ron nodded and smiled, pulling her into an embrace and leaning against the wall, contently. The relief Hermione felt at a familiar voice, of knowing that they weren't alone…it was so marvelous that all she could do was cry silently.

Lavender was talking animatedly to the Professor and Viktor was shooting them a confused look from across the room. But Seamus stood as far to the edge as he could go, grinning from ear to ear….he understood.

"Lavender tell me what happened. Where are you now? How did you escape? Are you okay? Who are you with?"

Lavender paused, unsure if she should tell him. Looking to where Ron and Hermione were standing, Ron simply nodded, and leaned his smiling face on top of Hermione's head.

"What do you know already?" She said slowly

Lupin sighed "The Order's been reduced to only a small group now. Luckily though, those that survived were the most useful. We've gotten only two reports back from the battlefield and it didn't sound pretty."

Lavender laughed bitterly, something Hermione had never heard her do. "I think it's fair to say it wasn't pretty."

"Kingsley was there and he said Hogwarts had collapsed and a lot of people had died. The Death Eaters had a stronghold in the Forbidden Forest and were capturing people to kill."

"That's all true."

"What about Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Did you ever see them? Are they okay? "

Lavender froze and inhaled her breath slowly as she closed her eyes. Ron's smile disappeared off his face and Hermione broke apart from Ron to step towards the fireplace. Seamus and Viktor too, were leaning in to hear Lavender's response. Instead of talking, Lavender simply looked at Ron and Hermione with sad unsure eyes, before turning back to face Lupin.

Lupin's voice wavered, "T-They're okay aren't they?"

Lavender sighed. "Professor Lupin, you asked earlier how I escaped. Well the answer to that is, I didn't escape. We did."

"W-We?" Lupin repeated, bewildered as though he'd never heard the word before. There was a pause where Hermione assumed Lupin was trying to comprehend everything. Finally he said in a mere whisper, "More of you escaped?"

Lavender nodded.

"W-Who?" Lupin asked, his voice fearful

"There were four of us. Me obviously, Seamus, and…"

"And you both are okay? You're not hurt?"

"No, we're both fine. You shouldn't worry about us, we're taken care of."

"Good." The old Professor breathed. "And who were the other two?"

"Ron and Hermione." Lavender said quietly, looking down at her hands as if she were fearful of Lupin's reaction

The longest pause yet filled the room, one that brought more tears to Hermione's eyes as Ron and Seamus stood on their tiptoes, waiting for his reaction. They waited for a long time, and heard nothing. For a moment, Hermione almost feared that it had been a trick all along, but then finally the sounds of choked sobs were heard.

The group sat in silence, listening to the weeping of a strong man, who usually did not cry. His sobs echoed throughout the room, only making his tears seem all the more joyous…our sad, depending on if he'd put the pieces together yet.

Acting spontaneously, Ron strode over confidently to the fireplace, completely ignoring Hermione's whispers, and knelt in front of the fireplace with Lavender.

"Hello Professor" Ron said, a gentle smile on his face

"Ron…" Lupin's voice cracked

And as if her body were being drawn to the fireplace, Hermione suddenly found herself kneeling next to Ron, her head thrust into those light green flames, looking at her old Professor, with a tear screamed face that was smiling.

"Hermione….Merlin you're both okay!" Lupin's voice whispered

"Professor Lupin…" Hermione cried, wiping at her eyes shamefully

Lupin laughed jovially wiping at his own tears. "I can't believe it's really you"

"Me neither" Hermione agreed quietly

"H-How! How did you do it? How did you escape?"

Ron and Hermione made eye contact. Yes, they should tell him the whole story. "We were in that prison you spoke of."

"No---but how! Kingsley said that those brought in were tortured to death."

"We were tortured," Ron said gravely

"You were?"

They nodded

"But you survived?"

Again, they nodded.

"How!"

"We killed those Death Eaters torturing us, and ran. But we got caught and met with Voldemort. Then he had the brilliant idea to make Hermione his mistress, but that he would wait until the next night so that arrangements could be made. Then that night, Seamus and Lavender came to us and helped us escape since Seamus still had his wand with him. Then, the next morning, we ran. Death Eaters followed us and we were forced to split up. Seamus and I thought the girls were dead, and they thought the same about us. But we met up here." Ron explained

"Where is 'here'?"

"We can't tell you that now." Hermione said quickly, "I'm sorry"

"It's alright"

"Lupin, who out of the Order survived? What about my family?" Ron asked quietly

Lupin took a deep breath and looked at Ron sadly. Hermione's heart sped up and it felt as though someone were sitting on her lungs. "Your mum's okay." He said slowly "Your dad got wounded but he should pull through."

"How'd he get wounded?" Hermione breathed

"I'm not completely sure. All I know is that it's in his leg. But it didn't sound that bad."

"And my brothers and sister?"

"No word on Ginny. As for your brothers, Bill and Charlie are safe. They were in Romania and Egypt when they got the owl and couldn't get here as we sent people out to fight. Once they got here, we needed them to attend to the wounded and such. It's been chaos around here. Percy's here as well…working the technical part of it all. He's one hell of a boss I'll tell you that."

"And Fred and George?"

"I'm sorry Ron, we haven't heard from them. They apparently were at Hogwarts."

"But their shop is in--"

"Hogsmeade I know. They must have heard the commotion and apparated to join the fight, or they were involved in that attack on Hogsmeade. Either way, we don't know. Your mum is going absolutely insane with worry but I don't blame her in the least. Doesn't know where six of her children are, and her husband is wounded."

"Six?"

"Well Harry and Hermione of course."

Hermione couldn't fight back the smile that played at her lips.

"Ah that reminds me! Harry! Where is he? Was he with you two? Is he okay? Should we send some people out for him?" Lupin asked, his face contorting back into one of panic

Ron, Hermione, and Lavender shared a look. "No," Hermione said softly, "Don't send anyone for him."

"Why not? Is he here? Put him on, I want to talk to the lad" Lupin beamed

Tears were re-building in Hermione's eyes. Shaking her head, she let Lavender fill poor Remus in, the more times they had to talk about Harry, she would have expected it get easier. For Hermione, it only seemed to get harder.

"He's not here Professor" Lavender said quietly

"Where is he? Is he okay? He's not captured is he?"

There was a pause, no one wanting to have to drop the bomb. Finally Lavender had the courage to meet Lupin's unfaltering gaze. "It's worse." She whispered, "He's—Professor, Harry's dead."

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(A/N: What did ya think? Let me know! Much love, Haystack)