Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley were not the most compatible pair of individuals.

"So where do we start? We can't fly around forever because we don't have enough food,"

"Oh, honestly Ronald, you would think about the food. Well, I was thinking that we should fly to Surrey, first. We can't just go barging into London and expect to find him there; he might not have gotten that far,"

"Well, alright, I think I remember how Fred and George got there. You just, um, keep going straight. And then we just um, made a left at a cloud…."

Hermione glared at him. "Perhaps we should land and ask for directions," she said, pointedly.

"No, I can figure this out,"

"Ronald, land this broom. Now,"

"No, Hermione, stop, you're going to make us crash!"

"Ronald, land!" Hermione yelled as tugged on his jacket. Ron, thoroughly annoyed, leaned forward and descended, which scared Hermione into silence. Unfortunately, Ron lost control of the quickly descending broomstick ten feet from the ground, and he and Hermione went flying through the air. As soon as his back hit the floor, Ron scrambled to get up, only to realize that something large and bushy was lying on top of him. His eyes widened.

"Er, Hermione?"

Hermione, on the other hand, struggled to keep her hair out of her face. Once she could see clearly again, she sprung up as if someone had stung her.

"Er, sorry, Ron, um, so, em. Er," Hermione looked away as Ron got up, and she blushed deeply.

"No, its fine," He said as he looked around. They had landed in a large field near a forest. He was beginning to worry. They had only been flying for a couple hours, maybe two or three. It had only taken them four to about four and a half hour to get to Harry when they flew that car so many years ago. Where they anywhere near Surrey? There wasn't a town in sight, so he figured that they should camp for the night and continue on foot in the morning. He looked around for the broomstick, found it, and walked over to Hermione.

"I think we should camp in the forest tonight. We're both tired, hungry, and we need to get our bearings so that we don't waste time," he said, in a determined voice.

"That's actually a good idea, Ron," Hermione said, in a surprised voice.

Since it was really early in the morning and dark, the two lit their wands and spread out their sleeping bags on the floor (which took Ron considerably longer because his rucksack was in disarray). Then, they allowed sleep to overcome them.

By the time Hermione awoke the next morning Ron was already up. A homey smell penetrated the air. When Hermione looked around to see where it was coming from, she spotted Ron, with his pants rolled up, cooking something over the fire he had built. The sight was one to take in. There he was, roasting some fish on a stick, but there was a more rugged sense to him. He looked like one of those natural farm boys that had a natural handsomeness to him. His hair had an odd glow to it in the morning light, and the red stubble above his lips was beginning to show itself again. Ron was still the slender, lanky boy that she had met when she was 11, but now, at 15, he had a small hint of muscle and it complemented his shape.

"Mornin' Mione, um, I caught these fish in the stream. We must not have seen it when we got here because it was so dark," he said as he motioned to the sharpened stick on the floor with fish blood on it.

"Oh, thanks," Hermione smiled to herself, and hoped that Ron hadn't noticed her staring at him.

"So, I suppose that if we follow this stream, we'll eventually find a town? I mean, it's a start right? Maybe they'll know what direction Surrey is in," Hermione said, as they ate.

"Maybe, in any case, we can't stay here another night. We need to keep moving if we're to find Harry," Ron answered.

Hermione nodded in agreement. They ate, packed up, and followed the stream in the direction opposite of which they came. Hopefully, they'd come across a town soon.

As the day wore on, Hermione and Ron eventually stumbled upon a town, or at least, someplace that looked like a town.

"This place looks a bit dodgy, doesn't it?" Ron questioned Hermione.

"Well, it's getting dark, and I bet you're hungry, so we might as well stop now," she answered.

The town was beyond dodgy. There were no streetlights at all. The building were dilapidated, old, and burnt, by the looks of some of them. They were mostly residential little cottages all around, but it didn't look like anyone lived there. In fact, it looked like no one had lived there for a while. Hermione tried knocking on a few of their doors, but no one answered. Finally, they wandered so far into the town that they found what looked like a small pub with a small glow of light inside. Curious, they both entered. Inside, they greeted a scene that looked much like the scenery outside. The tables were dusty and looked like no one frequented. There was an old man that seemed to be the bartender who stared at them incredulously.

"Excuse me, sir," Hermione ventured, "Do you have any idea what direction Surrey might be in?"

"No,"

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure we're close, but I want to make sure," she continued tenuously.

"I said no girl,"

"Well, is there anywhere we can stay? Just for the night?" Hermione ventured. Ron looked at her as if she'd crawled out from underneath a rock.

"I've got one extra room with one bed upstairs, so it looks like one of you will be sleeping on the floor," he grinned evilly as he stared at Ron.

"Thank you so much sir, but please, is there any food available? I can pay you for both room and food," Hermione said. Ron tried to protest but she elbowed him in the ribs before he could get a word out.

"You missed dinner. Breakfast isn't much either, so it looks like you're out of luck," he grunted.

"Well, thank you sir," she answered as she handed him the money for their room.

The two continued up the stairs in the back of the pub. When they finally reached their room, they were quite shocked. The room wasn't quite as hideous as they imagined it would have been. There was only one bed, but it looked clean and it was made. There was also one bathroom adjoining, which was also surprisingly clean.

"Well, this is…unexpected," Ron said.

"Yes, well, get changed and shower. We don't know when we'll see another one,"

"Yes, mum," Ron remarked as he flashed a grin at her.

By the time he returned, Hermione was sitting on the bed, eyes glued to a small bit of parchment. There was also another visitor: Hedwig.

"Hermione?

"It's from Harry," she answered, and handed him the letter.

Ron and Hermione,

First of all, I wanted to thank you for listening to me. Hedwig just delivered a letter to me from Sirius telling me that you guys were at his house and left the house to come find me. He was also wondering where I was. Judging by the fact that you two now have Hedwig, you know that I haven't answered him yet. I dunno what to do. If you guys could tell me where you were maybe we could meet up and travel to wherever you were? Please let me know, I don't know where to go from here, and I don't want anything to happen to you guys.

Harry

P.S. Ron, you should know that Ginny ran away after you guys, and your mum is worried sick. I dunno if she's there with you, but just a heads up.

Ron dropped the letter and sank to the floor. He had been formulating a plan as to how they'd meet up with Harry until he read that last line. His little sister was alone somewhere for goodness knows what reason. How could she do this to her family? After all they went through in their second year? After what Percy just pulled? He honestly didn't think his mum could take anymore. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice Hermione slide down next to him and take his hands.

"Ron? I'm so sorry about Ginny. I hope she turns up so we can team up," Hermione said as she tried to pull Ron from his own thoughts.

"This is all my fault! I just- Bah! I should have known she'd follow me; how could I be so stupid? What kind of role model am I being? Especially after what Percy did? Mum's going to kill me. I knew I shouldn't have tried…..Harry's job….better at this stuff," Ron mumbled more to himself than Hermione.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, don't you dare tell me that Harry is the only one with a saving people complex. Because you have it too! It's who we are and we are good at it. It's not a job Ron, its our duty as Gryffindors, and Harry is our best friend. He would do the same for us. You are so brave, so don't you ever let me hear you berate yourself like that again! Do you hear me?" Hermione said.

Ron tried to look away, but Hermione grabbed his face. There were those blue eyes again. But this time, they said something different. There was a mix of determination, sorrow, and fear. Before she knew it, those blue eyes were a nose length away from her, and the next thing she knew, her lips were on his. As if realizing what had just transpired, she pulled away, got up, and went to sleep, leaving Ron to contemplate what had just happened through the night.

A/N: Phew! That's the longest chapter I've written yet! I really wanted to focus on Ron and Hermione's relationship. Also, I went a little ahead with Harry's note, but the next chapter will be shorter and will be back at Grimmauld Place, and will be relatively short. The following chapter will be focused on what's going on with Harry, then Ginny for the following, and back to Ron and Hermione. Things are about to get really intricate and interesting! Thanks so much for reading, and please REVIEW!