Chapter Nine

"I've already told you about the doe, how I found Harry and saved him, right? You remember?"

Hermione nodded.

Ron took a deep breath, "Okay. Then Harry said we should try and destroy the horcrux right then and there. He said he would open it with Parseltongue and that I would have to stab it." Ron shook his head, "I didn't want him to open it though. I didn't want to know if there was anything worse inside it, and there was. You see, I don't think it did the same things to you and Harry as it did to me when I wore it. It would say things to me. Like how I'm worthless and pathetic and how you…how you two didn't need me."

"Ron, you know that's not true." Hermione said, getting off the swing and sitting next to him on the small bench.

"At first, I ignored it. I knew what it was trying to do. But after a while of it saying the same things and showing me how they were true, I started to believe it more and more until I couldn't take it anymore."

"And you left." Hermione whispered with understanding.

Ron looked at her with shining eyes, "I'm sorry."

Hermione went and hugged him, "No, it's my turn to be sorry. I should have tried to help you. If I knew how if affected you, I should have done something to stop it." She broke the hug though kept her hands on his shoulders, "But why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want to look weak." He answered sheepishly.

Hermione sighed, "Why do boys feel like they can never show weakness, even for the tiniest things?"

"To impress girls." Ron smirked, "Did it work?"

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "No! Look at what it made you do! Look at how miserable we all became!" She chastised.

Ron looked down, "Yeah, you're right. Well how about this next part? I—"

"You don't have to continue. I understand now." She said, her voice soft again.

"For once, you're wrong. I have to continue. I have to get this over with."

Hermione stared at him and then said, "If you insist."

"Right, so just like I have to do this, I had to get rid of that bloody locket once and for all. Harry spoke to it, it opened, and a pair of dark eyes appeared in the windows on the inside. I was about to stab it when it said, 'I have seen your heart, and it is mine.' And that stopped me. Everything it had ever said to me flooded my mind and it said it again there. Then the worst part came."

Hermione help her breath.

"You and Harry came out of the locket."

"What?"

"They were weird though. They definitely looked like you two but sort of, well, perfect, but in an evil way. They were scary."

"That doesn't make much sense."

"It's hard to describe and not an image that I like to dwell on." Ron said in defense. "These visions weren't particularly nice to me. They repeated what the locket would say, but it made it worse when it came from them and to finish it off, they…" Ron gulped and quickly said, "theysnogged and I stabbed it." He then closed his eyes and exhaled, relieved that he finally said it.

Hermione's jaw dropped a little. "These versions of Harry and I snogged?"

Ron, who was looking at the ground again, shook his head up and down.

"That's why you asked if I loved Harry?"

"Yes. I had to find out."

"Well, like I said before, I don't." She sensed the discomfort that Ron still had and added jokingly, "I don't think Ginny would like me very much if I did love Harry."

Ron was so relieved that he felt as if he could just float into the sky if he wasn't holding onto the bench he was sitting on. He managed to form words and added in a jovial tone, "She'd try and hex you."

Hermione smiled, "Yes, I'd definitely have to watch my back."

"No you wouldn't, I would help you. I would stop her."

Hermione gave an endearing laugh at how eager he was to protect her, "Even though I think I could take her if I had to, thanks."

"No problem." He smiled. "And I'm sure you could. It might be tough though, Ginny can put on quite the fight."

"Well, thankfully I will never have to worry about getting into such a situation."

"Good, I wouldn't want either of you getting hurt." Ron said, though what he was really happy about was that she said she would never get into that kind of situation. That she would never love Harry more than a friend. Now all he had to do was make sure that she thought of him as more than a good friend.