A/N: I want to thank everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. It's been a lot of fun to do these little missing moments between my #1 favorite couple, so it's pretty sad for me to end it here. But it's the best chapter, because the previous five chapters have all been leading to this one: The time they actually made it.

Once again, thank you all for your support on this little story :)

. . .

People were dying.

Everywhere around them, people were dropping to the ground. Some gave final shrieks, others were hit too quickly for a reaction to be processed. One minute, they were running and the next. . .they weren't. Hermione was too scared to see which Death Eaters were dying, and which Order members, or Hogwarts students had fallen.

She held on tightly to Ron's hand as they sprinted through the halls, shouting out spells whenever they could, desperate to get to Harry before it was too late. He had to know they had destroyed the Horcrux.

Suddenly, she felt herself bump into someone, and strangling fear gripped her as she thought a Death Eater had caught her, but relief pulsed through her veins like blood when she saw it was Harry. He looked equally as relieved to see them as she did.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked loudly.

"Chamber of Secrets," Ron told him simply.

"Chamber ― what?" Harry said, eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"It was Ron, all Ron's idea!" said Hermione, looking at Ron in admiration and pride, feeling so grateful that he was at her side. "Wasn't it absolutely brilliant? There we were, after we left, and I said to Ron, even if we find the other one, how are we going to get rid of it? We still hadn't got rid of the cup! And then he thought of it! The basilisk!"

"What the ―?"

"Something to get rid of Horcruxes," Ron said, urging Harry to understand.

Understanding shone in his eyes as his eyes took in the basilisk fangs that Hermione was holding, and he looked back at them with such relief that they were okay after willing to risk their lives to help him that she wanted to cry. "But how did you get there? You need to speak Parseltongue," Harry stuttered.

Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper, glancing around to make sure the corner they were backed into was vacant for now. "He did," she announced. "Show him, Ron." Immediately, she regretted it, because the sound that came out of Ron's lips was horrible and sent chills running up and down her spine. She hated the sound of Parseltongue. "He was amazing," Hermione said, interrupting what Ron was telling Harry. "Amazing."

"So. . ." Harry trailed off, looking more lost than ever. "So. . ."

"We're another Horcrux down. Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn't had the pleasure yet," Ron said as he pulled out the remains of Hufflepuff's cup. Hermione eyed it with distaste, when she heard an explosion from above them and dust began to drift down from the ceiling.

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked back to the Room of Requirement, Harry explained to them what he had found out about Ravenclaw's diadem. When they entered the room, they saw Ginny, Tonks, and, to Hermione's surprise, Neville's grandmother. She immediately questioned what was happening while Tonks and Ginny wondered about the state of their friends and family.

Hermione tuned everybody out as Harry spoke to the other three, looking around the room and trying to ignore the dull ache in her arms from carrying the many fangs. Soon, Neville's grandmother was gone, disappearing down the stairs, and Tonks soon followed her after Harry told her something about Remus. When it was just Ginny left, Harry looked at her. "Ginny," he said. "I'm sorry, but we need you to leave, too. Just for a bit. Then you can come back in." Hermione tried not to feel so nervous at the gleeful look on Ginny's face as she ran off to the door and fled the room. "And then you can come back in! You've got to come back in!"

Hermione turned to Harry, opening her mouth to ask Harry to tell her more about the diadem, but was cut off when Ron suddenly spoke up. "Hang on a moment! We've forgotten someone."

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"

"You mean we ought to get them fighting?" Harry asked, and Hermione once again opened her mouth to protest, frustration and anger rising in her at their blatant disregard at her thoughts.

"No, I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want anymore Dobbies, do we? We can't order them to die for us―"

Hermione didn't even think; she let go of the basilisk fangs, barely even registering the fact that her arms were now sore from the weight. She just ran to Ron and clasped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to close the ridiculous height gap between them so she could kiss him on the lips. She felt him stiffen against her, and alarm rang through her mind as she thought he didn't want her to kiss him. But then he let go of the broomstick he'd been holding and took her face between his two hands, pulling her even closer to him. Hermione felt lost, shocked at the experience he seemed to have gained from his four months dating Lavender, but his arm came around her waist and lifted her off the ground, leaving her feet just brushing the floor.

She was aware of a distant yell, but ignored it at the feel of Ron's lips against hers, gripping him impossibly tighter to her. She'd gone seven years without it, and the moment they touched, she wondered how she would ever live without it.

But before they could continue, Harry's voice finally broke through to them, interrupting the brief moment of bliss in the time of utter chaos. "Oi!" he shouted. "There's a war going on here!"

Hermione and Ron parted their lips, but still kept their arms around each other. Ron set Hermione down on her feet and she felt a little dizzy and disappointed when the tight grip of Ron's arms around her waist disappeared. "I know, mate," Ron said, "so it's now or never, isn't it?"

"Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?" said Harry, looking very annoyed with both of them. "D'you think you could just ¨C just hold it in until we've got the diadem?"

"Yeah―right―sorry." Ron's ears turned bright red as the realization of what they'd just done settled in and he began picking up the basilisk fangs with Hermione's help.

Hermione glanced at Ron from the corner of her eyes as she gathered the dirty objects in her hands. His hands were shaking slightly, he was still blushing, and there was a small smile gracing his lips. She thought for a moment what had compelled her to do such a thing when there was a fight going on right outside the Room of Requirement, and decided it was because of Ron. Ron's general presence always made her lose her head in the best way possible. He was just there for her whenever she needed him, always came back for her no matter what. And all she could think about right now was that they had finally made it, that after seven years of fights and makeups, tears and little stolen glances, jealousy and endless frustration, they had finally done what George had told her everyone had been waiting for all those months ago. That conversation seemed like it had taken place years before now. But everything that had happened in between their first meeting till now was just a little bump on the road for them, at least to Hermione. Because she would make sure to have a hundred years' worth of little moments with him.