Since I'm on a roll with these non-Hermione POV chapters, I thought I'd do another. So here is the aftermath of Ron leaving, from Harry's POV.

Chapter 14

Harry watched as Ron stormed out of the tent.

"Ron! Please come back!" Hermione called as she chased after him.

Harry could hear the tears in her voice clearly as she begged him not to leave, her voice growing fainter as she moved further away from the tent. He flinched at the loud CRACK of Apparition that echoed through the empty clearing where they had made camp the night before and, in that moment, he knew: Ron was gone.

He waited until Hermione came back into the tent and watched her as she dropped down into one of the chairs in a daze, then folded in on herself with her arms folded on top of her legs and her head falling down onto the tops of her arms.

"'Mi?"

She didn't respond. He could see her shoulders shaking slightly and he knew that she was crying, but he wasn't sure what he sould say to try to comfort her. He didn't know if there was anything he could say that would ever make what had just happened any better. Ron had just left them both.

That night, they decided to forgo keeping watch, each of them just curling into their respective beds. The tent was ominously silent without Ron's snores filling the room. The only sounds that could be heard were their soft breaths and Hermione's occasional sniffles. Finally, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep that was plagued with dreams of Mrs Weasley crying over an injured and dying Ron. She kept on asking Harry, over and over, why he hadn't looked after her son.

The next day they woke late and packed up camp as usual. Harry could tell that Hermione was stalling, dragging out the fairly simply process as long as she could, but he didn't rush her. Eventually, though, the site was packed up, the wards were dismantled, and all traces of their presence were erased.

Ron had not returned to them.

"It's time," he said regretfully, and she nodded.

"Yes, you're right, Harry. Let's go."

Without having a still-healing Ron to worry over, they didn't have to bother making their way to a new location on foot. Instead, they Apparated somewhere new.

Upon their arrival, Harry watched as Hermione sank to the ground, staring vacantly off into the distance as silent tears streamed down her face. Seeing that she was too upset to worry about setting up camp, Harry went about doing it himself. Pacing the perimeter of what would be their home for the night, he gripped his wand tightly and began setting out the enchantments exactly as Hermione had taught him.

"Protego Totalum.

Salvio Hexia.

Repello Muggletum.

Muffliato.

Cave Inimicum.

Non Visum Spectaculum."

He repeated the spells over and over again until he was sure that they were secure, then summoned the tent from the depths of Hermione's beaded bag and set that up as well.

The rest of the day was spent mostly in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't until later that evening that Harry realized that Hermione still wore the Horcrux around her neck. He examined her from across the tent; her eyes were dark and hollow, and she seemed empty and…broken. So he made the only decision he could.

Walking over to her, he reached behind her neck and pulled the locket over her head, putting it into the pocket of his jeans and ignoring her look of confusion.

"I think it will be fine for us to go one day without wearing it," he announced, voice ringing with certainty. "It'll be safe enough here," he patted his pocket for emphasis, "for tonight."

He sat down beside her on her bunk and took a moment to organize his thoughts before continuing.

"I've never really thanked you, Hermione."

"Oh, Harry," she sighed heavily. "You don't have to…"

"Yes, I do," he interrupted her. "You've always been there for me, through everything. I didn't thank you for coming with me on this…well, it's a possible suicide mission, let's be honest. You could have gone with your parents to Australia and been safe. You chose me, and this, instead; I know how much you've sacrificed to be here with me, to help me succeed, and I appreciate it."

He gripped her hand tightly and cleared his throat before continuing.

"My parents didn't have a chance to have more children before You-Know-Who murdered them, but I've always considered you to be the sister that I was never lucky enough to have by birth. I'm grateful to have you in my life, 'Mi, and I'm grateful that out of anyone who could be here with me, I've got you."

Hermione looked at him, tears shining brightly in her sorrowful brown eyes, and hugged him to her tightly, almost painfully.

"Oh, Harry," she whispered fiercely. "You aren't like a brother to me. You are my brother. Always."

They hugged one another tightly for a moment before Harry released her and she leaned away, still clinging tightly to his hand.

"Thank you for understanding what I did to my parents, and for not judging me too harshly because of it. And…thank you for trying," she added with a watery grin, "to understand my feelings for Draco. Most people won't care to understand, nor will they believe us when we tell them that he's really changed. But your trust means more to me than their opinions ever will."

Harry pulled her in for one more quick hug before pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek. He stood then, looking down at her small frame where she sat on her bunk.

"Try to get some rest, 'Mi. Tomorrow will be soon enough to worry about everything else."

Song Inspiration: Stand By Me – Florence + the Machine

Even though it was created by a Harry/Hermione shipper in the movies, I always thought their dance scene in DH part 1 was the sweetest reputation of Harry and Hermione's platonic love for one another, and this was my way of trying to show that off a little bit. I always felt like the two really did see each other as siblings, and wanted that to come through in this story as well.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

sbz

Protective Enchantments Listed Above:

Protego Totalum = Shield Charm over a set area

Salvio Hexia = deflects hexes from an area

Repello Muggletum = Muggle-Repelling Charm

Muffliato = fills the ears of people in the vicinity with a buzzing noise

Cave Inimicum = Latin for "on guard against hostiles"

Non Visum Spectaculum = Latin for "sight unseen", the Disillusionment Charm (not given a verbal spell in the books, so I made up my own)