Harry was on watch outside the tent. Hermione was reading the children's book she had gotten from Dumbledore again. Ron was moodily lying on his bunk, staring at the ceiling of the tent. He would knowingly occasionally glance over at Hermione, who was on her own bunk three feet away.
Ron sighed. He was bored, and slightly annoyed. They hadn't found any of the remaining Horcruxes yet, and they had yet to find something to destroy them with as well. He also felt like a great weight had been added onto his shoulders, due to the evil locket round his neck.
Ron sighed again and struggled to get up off his bunk, due to the sling he was still in. He walked over to Hermione and sat next to her on her bunk. She looked up and smiled at seeing him. "Hey. What's up?"
Ron shrugged. "Come with me." He grabbed her arm and led her to the very back of the small tent where a shabby couch sat. He pulled Hermione onto it and sat down next to her. "Ron, what - ?"
"D'you think we're getting anywhere with this Horcrux hunt?" Ron asked urgently.
"What?" Hermione looked taken aback. "Of course I do –"
"Hermione," Ron said reproachfully. "Don't lie to me." Hermione stared at him as if she was considering trying to lie again, then sighed as a sign of surrender. "I guess I thought we would be a little farther by now then we are."
"Exactly," Ron said, a little too loudly. He lowered his voice and started again. "He doesn't know what he's doing, Hermione. He's stalling."
Hermione refused to believe it. "Don't be ridiculous, he must have some idea –"
"Hermione, he doesn't," Ron said stubbornly. "That's why I was thinking – never mind. You'll never go for it."
"What?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Well," Ron stalled. "I was thinking that maybe…we could tell Harry…that we quit."
Hermione looked as if she didn't understand, then her eyes widened in realization. "Ron, have you gone mad? We couldn't possibly –"
"No, but Hermione, think about it!" Ron urged. "We could go back to school! Isn't that what you're always on about? Finishing school? We're both overage, we could do whatever we wanted and forget this whole thing!"
"Are you suggesting," Hermione started, carefully keeping her voice low, "that we ditch Harry, and go on with our lives as if Voldemort doesn't exist and we never met Harry?" Her voice was dangerously low, and Ron was afraid she would burst at any time.
"No, not ditch him!" Ron exclaimed, surprised she had taken it this way. "I just think we should leave him alone for a while. He wanted to go on this hunt by himself anyway, didn't he? And if we go back to school –"
"I am not leaving," Hermione stated firmly. "And neither are you, Ron. In case you forgotten or missed something, Harry wouldn't still be alive if it wasn't for us and Dumbledore."
"But –"
"And furthermore," Hermione continued, "According to the Daily Prophet, Hogwarts has completely changed. All the professors are Death Eaters, and I suspect it's not as fun to be there anymore."
"Fine," Ron practically spat. "I knew you were going to be this way anyway." He made to walk away, but a smaller hand caught his arm and held him back.
Hermione turned him around to face her. "Are you wearing the locket?"
"No," Ron lied right away.
Hermione dug under the collar of his shirt and found the gold chain that held the locket. "You are. That's why you're acting this way." She looped the chain over Ron's head and took it off. "Better?"
Ron didn't want to admit it, but as soon as she had lifted the chain from around his neck, he suddenly had much more patience for Harry and the hunt and he felt less moody about everything. "S'pose."
"Good. Now you're not allowed to wear this for at least a week."
Ron's mouth fell open. "Why me?"
"Because it affects you worst of all. And," Hermione stepped closer to him so Harry didn't hear. "I don't want you talking like that again. We said we'd go with Harry, and friends always stay. Especially best friends." She raised her eyebrows at Ron as if to say he was being a bad best mate. She slipped the locket's chain around her neck and walked to her bunk. Ron followed her.
"Hey, look," he said, sitting on her bed. "I'm sorry. It's that bloody locket. It just was driving me mad."
Hermione smiled. "It's alright. Anyway, I think you should take over Harry's watch, he's falling asleep out there."
Ron grinned. "So you'll be on watch with me then, right?"
Hermione got up and smiled again. "Absolutely."
