A/N: As always, thank you for continuing to follow this fic - we're almost at the halfway point, so plenty more to come!

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July 19, 1997

By the time Ron and Hermione had come back inside the previous night, it was long past dark. Mrs Weasley was standing by the back door, scanning the horizon with a worried look on her face when they finally emerged. Ron received a brief scolding for staying outside that late, but Hermione was spared. Perhaps he should've been upset at the injustice, but he was so happy that Hermione had finally opened up to him, he didn't care what his mother said.

They had stayed outside for almost an hour and a half, and after their initial conversation, they'd barely spoken about Hermione's parents or her daring actions again. Both had been content to sit together in the clearing by the lake, surrounded by a darkening sky, with only each other for company. In Ron's mind, he had hoped the night would never end; he would've happily slept outside sitting up if it meant staying with her. But eventually, they both started to get cold, and the last thing they wanted to do was give Ron's mother anything else to worry about.

After one last goodnight hug outside Ginny's room, they went their separate ways, and both slept in late the following morning. When Ron finally woke up, it was almost ten o'clock. He couldn't remember the last time he'd woken up feeling so refreshed, and he was sure that it was mostly down to the events of the previous night. On his way downstairs, he noticed that Ginny's door was still closed, so he proceeded downstairs by himself. He tucked into a quick breakfast before helping his mother with some additional yard work before lunch, not even complaining when she asked him to continue working while she went in to prepare the meal.

His good mood only improved when he came inside after working and saw Hermione sitting at the table in a t-shirt and jeans, her hair cascading down her neck and laying in a twist over her right shoulder. She always looked good in his eyes, but there was something about her wearing that outfit and sitting at his table after being out under the stars with her less than twenty-four hours ago that just increased his attraction to her, if that was possible. It was all he could do to avoid blushing before excusing himself to go upstairs, wash up, and change before lunch.

When he came back down, he sat next to her and nodded in her direction, unsure what sound would come out if he actually tried to speak. She smiled back at him, her face still blotchy from the tears he suspected she'd cried earlier in the morning, but looking happier than he'd seen her since she'd arrived.

"I'd like to commend you," Ginny offered as she strolled into the room. "You didn't try to invade my room once this morning. I think you might deserve a medal, perhaps even an Order of Merlin."

"Nobody asked you, Ginny," Ron replied with a sneer.

"I'm sorry I've been occupying your room, Gin," Hermione said. "I'll try to give you a bit more space, I promise."

Ron shook his head, holding up a hand to stop her. "Hermione, no, you don't have to do that."

"I don't really see how it's any of your business," Ginny replied before turning back to Hermione. "That said, Hermione, no, you don't have to do that. You know I'm happy to share as long as it's not with this bloody git."

Opting to take the high road when his sister was involved had always been difficult for Ron, but after taking a moment to consider the consequences of furthering the argument in front of Hermione, he chose not to respond, instead reaching for the serving spoon as soon as his mother set down the cottage pie.

"Erm, can I serve you some?" Ron asked Hermione, who quietly nodded. He blushed as he picked up her plate and shoveled on a large spoonful of pie.

"Merlin, I think I'm losing my appetite," Ginny replied as she pretended to vomit.

Ron chuckled while shooting his sister a murderous glare. "Speaking of none of your business, Ginny…"

"Enough, both of you!" Mrs Weasley said as she took her seat at the head of the table. "Can we please have one meal without the two of you sniping at each other?"

"Sorry, Mum," Ginny replied.

"Yeah, sorry."

After heaping a large portion on his own plate, Ron gave the casserole dish a rough shove towards Ginny and dug in. They ate in silence, and when they were done, Ginny, seemingly extending an olive branch in Ron's direction, offered to go for a fly. Ron did think a fly would be nice, but after glancing at Hermione, he declined her offer, hoping that he would have another chance to talk with her away from the rest of his family. He thought he saw a hint of a smile play across Hermione's face in his peripheral vision when he turned Ginny down, and that was enough to confirm for him that he'd made the right decision.

But he couldn't simply come out and ask her if she wanted to do something. It had to be more subtle, more relaxed. Nothing that seemed too eager. Fortunately, as soon as Ginny headed out to the broom shed and his mother finished clearing the table and joined her daughter outside, he and Hermione were left alone together, free to talk about anything they desired.

"Thanks again for last night," Hermione said, averting her eyes away from Ron in the process. "It really helped me feel better."

"Oh, yeah, of course," Ron replied. "I understand. Erm, happy to help."

"I was able to sleep much better than any night so far, at least."

"Yeah, me too."

"Oh, were you having trouble sleeping as well?" Hermione asked.

Ron swallowed hard and glanced away himself, sure that his ears were turning red. "Well, I suppose I was just worried about you."

"Oh," Hermione replied. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…rather…I'm sorry about that, I had no idea. You don't have to…well, never mind."

Why is my heart going so fast?

"No, don't worry about it, not a big deal."

The kitchen descended into silence again. How was it possible that they'd been best friends for over six years and were now unable to say two words to each other? She was sitting right next to him, just like she used to sit next to him in the library, in the Common Room, at the dinner table, and in class. Why was this so different? Did Harry make that big of a difference?

He suspected he knew, of course. Their relationship had changed over the last several months and now felt much more nebulous than it had before. It seemed obvious even to him that he and Hermione were more connected than they used to be, that there just might be feelings on both sides that he'd be excited to explore. But all of that felt unimportant when weighed against everything she'd told him the night before, and it didn't seem as though their lives would get less complicated any time soon.

"Do you…I mean, would you like to go outside? Maybe we could take another walk?" she finally spoke up, offering him a small grin.

Ron's heart skipped a beat, and he had to force himself to act casually. "Oh, sure, yeah, good idea."

Without another word, both of them smiled at each other, looked away, and walked over to the row of trainers by the back door. They slipped on their shoes and headed out the back door, careful to sneak around to the opposite side of the house to avoid being roped into any more chores by Mrs Weasley.

"Beautiful day," Hermione said as she started down a dusty trail towards the apple orchard.

"Oh, yeah, for sure. Are you…uhh, are you feeling better today?"

"For the most part, yes. When I first woke up, perhaps not, but…it comes in waves, so I'm doing the best I can."

"Sure, I get it."

Before they'd walked too far, Hermione stopped in the middle of the path. "Ron, I feel like I need to explain myself a little bit better."

Deep lines of confusion appeared on Ron's forehead as he looked back at her. "Explain what?"

"Explain what I did…back at home."

"Oh, Hermione, it's fine, you don't owe me…I mean, it's not really any of my business, is it? I trust you to do the right thing, so if that's what you decided to do, then I'm sure it's the right choice."

Her lips pressed together as she started walking again. "I appreciate that, but…well, I think this is just as much for me as it is for you if I'm being honest with myself. Sometimes it helps to…to talk out my decision-making. Almost as a way of convincing myself I did the right thing. Is that okay?"

"Of course," he replied, keeping pace with her towards the orchard. "Whatever you need, you know that."

"Right. Well, so I gave you the basic idea of what happened, no?"

"Yeah, and it sounded incredibly difficult, really impressive."

If the compliment landed, she showed no outward sign, plowing on with her story. "But I don't think I really explained my thought process, did I?"

"I mean, I reckon I can assume, but no, not specifically."

"It was all about protection," she said, wringing her hands together. "It was mid-April when Harry first told us about the Horcruxes. Soon after, I surmised that the three of us wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts and would instead go and look for them. That made me realize that we would be targets. Harry's always been a target, of course, but some of the Death Eaters have just as much vitriol for me as they do for him on account of my Muggle-born status."

"Bloody bastards if you ask me," Ron offered as a means of encouragement.

"So anyway, I tried to think about it from Volde–"

He recoiled at the first syllable. "Oi! Do you have to?"

"Ugh, fine," she responded, rolling her eyes. "I tried to think about it from You Know Who's perspective. If he was searching for me, where's the first place he would go once we didn't show up at Hogwarts? Ideally Grimmauld Place, although he knows he can't get in there. So that leaves our family homes. I have no doubt that he would find the house I grew up in, and I can't imagine he'd have that much sympathy toward my parents if he found them. He'd torture them for my location, Ron," she said, starting to tear up again.

"Hermione, that wouldn't have…I mean, I can't imagine…"

"Of course he would!" she cried. "That's exactly what he would do! And when he was done torturing them, he would kill them. After all, they're only Muggles, what more use could they possibly have to him?"

By that point, she was openly weeping again, and Ron wasted no time stepping forward and wrapping her in another hug. "It's okay. They're going to be fine."

"They will, but at what cost? I felt like I had no choice, but that's just the thing; it was my choice! I didn't give them a choice! I just assumed they would be fine with whatever I did and made the decision for them…the decision to…to…and now they don't…"

She was having a hard time catching her breath and couldn't continue her sentence, instead burying her face in Ron's shoulder. Ron continued to pat her back and run his hands through her long, tangled hair, doing his best to soothe her. He felt horrible that he wasn't really making anything better, especially since she had already spent so much time crying. But he had no idea what else he could do, so he simply continued whispering a shushing sound into her ear.

"Hermione, you did a good thing," he finally offered, trying his best to sound supportive and encouraging. "That was really smart thinking, not that anybody is surprised."

Through the tears, a small chuckle escaped her lips, and Ron smiled to himself.

"You were left in an impossible situation," he continued. "Something that nobody our age should have to worry about. I think you made a very brave choice."

Slowly, her breathing calmed and she stepped back, finally releasing him and looking apologetically at the sleeve of his t-shirt, which was now drenched in her tears. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes, looking up at him and biting her lip. "Do you really think I did the right thing? I mean, what if I can't fix it later? What if I can't even find them?"

"Find them?"

"That's right, I didn't even tell you that part yet! After I wiped their memories, I planted a thought in their head to convince them both to sell the house, move to Australia, and start a new dental practice there. If You Know Who finds them, he would never believe that they didn't remember me, right? So I had to make sure they wouldn't even be there! I apparated back last night, you know, just to check on their progress. They're already gone, and the "For Sale" sign is up, so I suppose that's good."

Her thoroughness was as impressive as always, but he felt horrible knowing that she'd gone through it alone.

"Wow. Hermione…I don't even know what to say. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she replied with a shrug, turning and continuing down the path toward the orchard. "It had to be done."

"I suppose…but still, that's advanced magic. I'm impressed. Is there anything you're not capable of?"

"Well, we'll see. Who knows if it'll work?"

As they walked together down the trail, Ron once again wrapped his lanky arm around her, and she responded by leaning closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"And, hold on, you went back by yourself?" Ron asked. "Hermione, that was dangerous! You could've asked me, I would've gone with you!"

"You and your family already have to be careful! I didn't want to add any more risk for you; I wouldn't be able to live with myself!"

The statement hit Ron like a ton of bricks, and he stopped in his tracks. His family was in danger. Seeing the lengths to which Hermione went to protect her family made him all the more concerned for his own. He wasn't going to show up at school, either, but what had he done to protect his parents or siblings? You Know Who might just as well come looking for them as well.

"I–I never thought about it that way."

"What way?" Hermione asked, slipping out from under his grip and rounding on him.

"About my family. I was prepared to take the risk of going with Harry because it was the only thing that made sense. We need to finish this, and Harry is going to need our help to stay on track. But I never really thought about what that would mean for my family."

"But isn't the Burrow protected by a Fidelius charm?"

"It is, but Dad's still going to have to go to work. Fred and George, Bill, Charley, Ginny…most of them won't be at the Burrow at all, much less somewhere where they were truly protected from You Know Who and the Death Eaters. If they really wanted to get at just about any member of my family…"

"Right," she replied, her eyes dropping down to the ground. "Well, you still have time. Perhaps we can think of something together."

Ron nodded. It was always so much easier to be optimistic about any project when Hermione was helping him. "You're right, I'm sure we can."

"I'll help you."

"Thanks, Hermione. Don't know what I'd do without–erm, don't know what we'd do without you. You know, me and Harry. For this mission, right?"

"Nonsense," she replied, cheeks turning a bright scarlet. "We'll figure it all out together. Like we always do. We still have just over a week until Harry gets here. By then, we can come up with a plan."

"Yeah, you're right. We have time. For now, though, maybe we can just…enjoy the day?"

"It is beautiful outside," she said.

As cautiously as he could, Ron chanced a glimpse of her by flicking his eyes in her direction. The sun was shining on her face and her eyes were closed. A small smile crept onto her lips as the wind tickled her cheeks. Planning could wait. At the moment, it felt like they had all the time in the world, like all of their problems could be set aside just for one perfect afternoon.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Ron offered.

Hermione turned, this time taking the initiative herself to throw her arms around his neck.

"I'm getting there," she whispered. "Thank you for helping me."