" Where have you been?" Molly asked now in the kitchen.

" Did you know we have a creek?" Ron asked.

" Oh yes your father and I go down there all the time, it's lovely, Go and get dressed your dripping all over my floor."

Ron and Harry went upstairs; on their way up they bumped into Hermione who was coming down. She looked at Ron He smiled she blushed and ran down stairs.

" Oh Hermione dear. You wouldn't mind helping me with the garden would you?"

" No Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said slipping on some shoes.

They walked out side to Mrs. Weasley's garden, and both knelt down. Mrs. Weasley handed Hermione a pair of garden gloves. Hermione put them on, and began working.

" I really don't mind helping you Mrs. Weasley, but why did you ask me and not Ginny or one of the boys?"

" Oh dear I never get to spend time with you, after all you are like a daughter to me just like Harry is a son?"

" Oh… well." Hermione said taking a root and pulling it out.

" Also I want to talk to you about Ron."

Hermione shot at quick glance over to Molly.

" What about Ron." Hermione stuttered.

" You act like I've never been in love Hermione, the way you two look at each other it's well, you know." Molly got up and moved to the other side of Hermione.

"Lo…love I don't think it's that serious." Hermione said giving in.

" Ginny's told me what's going on, the ball, a certain Lavender Brown."

Hermione stopped what she was doing and closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about Lavender, " and you may not have noticed it but you and Ron looked pretty safe in each others arms at Dumbledore's funeral." Hermione didn't say anything.

"Alright I'll back off," Molly got up and cleaned herself off.

" But if there was one girl out there, for Ron, I mean… I hope it's you."

Hermione didn't know what to say. In some ways she was pleased and in others she was embarrassed. Had she'd known that Ginny was talking to Mrs. Weasley about her and Ron's sporadic love moments she would have killed her. But things were happening way too quickly for her to care. Hermione went inside, her hands were dirty and she felt to need to wash them off. When she turned around she saw Ginny walking down the stars.

"Hermione hey, what have you been doing?"

" Helping your mother tend the garden and finding out that you have told her about me and Ron!" Hermione whispered furiously for she didn't want anyone to hear.

" We have late night talks, I didn't think she'd talk to you about it."

" Well apparently I'm the one she wants him to end up with."

" See it all worked out then."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

" I'm going to find the boys to do some research, you want to help."

" And have to look at the boy who broke my heart at a funeral, not that I wasn't grieving already! I mean what girl gets dumped at a funeral?"

" I see," Hermione said.

" I'll help out the best I can, I still love him and would do anything to help you guys beat you know who, but looking at him will make me grieve even more and I don't think I can bare that."

Hermione nodded her head, leaving Ginny downstairs. Hermione searched the upstairs before finding Ron's room. She couldn't hear anything but knocked on the door anyway.

" Enter." Ron said.

Hermione opened the door and saw them both with open books in their hands reading.

A shocked look made it's way to her face. " Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when the both of you would be up here reading."

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes they knew it was true.

" Where have you been?" Ron asked

" In the garden having a chat with your mother." She answered grabbing a book.

Ron dropped his, and looked at her in worry.

" Wh…wh…what did she say?" Ron asked.

" Oh she talked about you when you were little, and how cut you were with your adorable little cheeks…"

Ron's face was flushed.

" Bloody hell."

Hermione smiled and chuckled, " I'm just kidding Ron."

"Oh." He said with a sigh of relief and began reading again.

During their reading time, Ron kept stealing glances to look at Hermione, and she did as well. They knew they were doing that to each other and just chuckled in amusement. Harry kept looking back and forth and rolling his eyes. Three hours went by, Hermione looked at her notes pages were filled with writing.

" Did you find anything Ron?" Harry asked after seeing what Hermione wrote.

"Few things, v..v…. You know who used to be in love."

"What!" Hermione said moving closer to Ron and looking over his shoulder.

"Three hours of pages of research and not once did I find that he was in love."

Hermione said.

"Tom Riddle jr. was seen around the school in the presence of a young Adena March, a pure blood slytherin, it is said that he was very much in love with her."

" That's it she could be a horcrux!" Hermione said.

"What makes you so sure?" Harry asked Hermione me she walked out the door. She turned around.

" He was in love with her, they could have had some sort of secret love affair, which would cause him to use her as a horcrux because no one would think of her as someone to bring him down but she could."

Ron and Harry looked at her in disbelief.

"Trust me with this I know what I'm talking about"
Ron and Harry looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

" Supper is ready everyone get down here." Molly yelled.

The table filled up Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat together leaving Hermione in the middle. Ron sat on her right and Ginny sat between her father and Ron, Arthur and Molly on the sides, and on the opposite side of the table sat Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Fred and George.

Molly smiled and looked at her new bound family.

"It's good to know that you always have family in front of you know matter what!" She said digging into her meal.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other, they knew this might be their last night to have dinner with the Weasleys. No one knew of the trio's plans, no one except for Ginny of course but she was sworn to secrecy. After dinner everyone had helped clean up.

They spent sometime in the family room listening to music and talking. It was starting to get late and most had gone to bed. Leaving Ron, Hermione, and Harry downstairs.

"We'll spend a few days at Hogwarts researching perhaps we can find more, then we'll begin our search, now are you both sure you are going to join me?"

"YES!" Ron and Hermione said firmly.

"Alright." Harry looked at the clock it was almost midnight.

"I'm going to bed." Harry said getting up and walking upstairs.

This left Ron and Hermione in a nervous state, they've never really been alone before except for a few occasional times and even those were weird times. But after what happened at Dumbledore's funeral they haven't been alone since. Hermione had the sudden urge to walk up and go to bed to.

"Wait!" Ron said looking up at her.

She turned and looked down at him.

"What?"

"Where are you going?" Ron asked sweetly.

" To bed, it's midnight Ron and we have to get up and leave back to Hogwarts tomorrow morning."

Ron breathed in and paused. " I don't think I can sleep tonight."

"Me neither." Hermione said dragging herself back down to him.

She folded her legs, and looked down at her hands the she was now twisting and turning.

"Do you wanna play chess?" She heard Ron say.

The firelight danced on his face as she stared into his blue eyes. She smiled and he smiled back.

"And let you beat me." She laughed.

"No I'll let you win."

Hermione glanced at him with a shy smile.

" I guess a couple games wouldn't hurt."

Ron walked over and reached for the game in the downstairs closet, and brought it over to the table to set it up. Hermione waited patiently. When he was finished he looked at her with a smile.

"Make your move."

"Queen to A7" she said rolling her eyes.

" Good move." Ron said.

"Knight to B6" he said taking his turn.

"You are letting me win."she whined

"You are the only one I would."

"What you don't think I could beat you on my own."

"Well I don't know about that I mean I am the best at it."

Hermione reached over and slapped his hand.

He laughed. He leaned back it wasn't till Hermione said something that caught him off guard and one of his pieces turned into debris before his eyes.

"Hey!"

"Shh! You're going to wake everyone up."

"Bloody hell Hermione."

She smiled.

"I learned from you, you don't think I never watched you?"

Ron smiled, and a little bit more of playing and they were tied.

"This is challenging." He said.

Hermione made her move apparently it was the right move and she knocked down his king.

"I am never teaching you anything again."

Hermione laughed, and looked at the clock, it was one a.m.

Ron saw that she looked at the clock, "Did you want to…"

"No I think I'd rather be here with you." She said. She slid over and sat herself on te couch, and looked at the fire.

She looked at Ron who was staring at her, "You can join me up here."

"I..I'm fine here." Hermione laughed and walked over to grab his arm. She lifted him up and sat him on the couch.

"We're not thirteen anymore Ron." She said sitting down next to him.

Ron swallowed hard as she wrapped his arm around her, and she nestled her body next to his, and laid her head on his shoulder. " Are you as scared as I am Ron?"

"Yeah, I think so." He told her laying his head on hers.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"Go to sleep 'mione we'll figure it out tomorrow."