Chapter Eight

Ron took a deep breath and knock on the door. He heard Luna say come in. He opened the door and saw Luna sitting on her bed, twiddling something in her fingers. Hermione wasn't in there.

"If you're looking for Hermione, she went to go read in the back garden."

"Okay, thanks Luna." He closed the door and started walking down the stairs when it hit him. If she had gone upstairs to get her book… that means that she had to go back downstairs and walk through the living room to get to the back door. What if she heard Harry and him talking? What if she only heard him say he was going to tweak some parts? Now he definitely has to tell her everything before she gets the wrong idea and decides not to speak to him for the rest of her life.

He almost tripped as he rushed down the stairs and then swung the back door open with more force than necessary. He frantically looked around for her among the numerous flowers-Fleur must have added even more since he left, the backyard looked like a greenhouse-but he didn't see her in the immediate area. He tried to think where in the garden she could go, where would be a good spot to read, or maybe even hide? Then he thought of it. While he was there, during the winter, Bill had said something about putting together a swing once the weather was nice, just something for him to do for Fleur since she had basically become a prisoner in her own house. Bill was thinking about placing it within three sets of trellises, covered by a thick layer of vines, so that while on the swing, there is a lovely view of the hills in the distance. Maybe it was set up by now? If it was, Hermione would certainly be there.

When he got near, he slowed down and quieted his movements. He heard the swooshing of the swing going back and forth. He approached one of the trellises and carefully pushed aside some of the vines to get a look at her. There she was, swinging back and forth, her hair blowing in the breeze. She looked upset. She kept shaking her head and pumping her legs harder and harder as if she was trying to get away from something, probably him. He couldn't stand there any longer. He had to go and fix this.

He stepped into the enclosure and said, "I need to talk to you."

Hermione turned around so quickly that she almost fell off the swing. She also went to take her wand out of her pocket, but it was at Malfoy Manor, and when she realized it, her hand balled up into a fist.

"Oh, er sorry, won't happen again. I need to say something though."

"The tru—" She stopped herself and her noticed her staring off somewhere else and then touch the scar on her neck. She looked at him and softened her tone, "What is it?"

Ron's heart skipped a beat. Was she going to say "truth"? But she didn't, maybe she was going to give him a chance. Well, if she was, he definitely wasn't going to screw it up.

He was going to tell her about the locket, but his thoughts drifted to Malfoy Manor and he instead blurted out, "I'm sorry I couldn't get your wand. I'm sorry I couldn't save you faster."

She looked at him tenderly, "Ron, there's nothing for you to be sorry for. You did everything you could."

"No I didn't." He went and sat down on the bench next to the swing. His voice got louder, "I could have warned Harry about the taboo and then he wouldn't have summoned the snatchers. I could have made up a better cover. I could have—"

"Ron stop."

"But—"

"No." She said forcefully. "Don't blame yourself. Don't dwell on it for one more second. We have to move forward. We have to help Harry and finish this."

There was a minute of silence and then Ron said, "Do you love him?"

She was taken aback, "What?"

"Harry. Do you l-lov—"

"Do I love him?"

Ron looked at the ground and nodded.

"You mean more than a friend? No." She paused and then asked with apprehension, "Ron, is this about the locket?"

Ron felt like a huge weight was just lifted off his shoulders. He became more comfortable with telling her about the locket, "Yes."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I want to. You should know what happened and what might happen if we destroy another one."

"Okay, if you're sure about it." Hermione tried to make it sound like she really didn't care if he told her or not, even though she truly did want to know.

Ron took a deep breath, "I'll start from where I left off."

I know it's shorter than usual, but something is better than nothing right? I'm leaving for Ireland in a few hours, hence why I couldn't really extend it more, but I hope you enjoyed it! And since it's Easter vacation, hopefully I'll be able to really knock this out.