Cooking like a Bachelor

by Avatar Vader

With nothing but uncertainty and dread looming in the future, Ron thought about what he could contribute to their upcoming quest. In the summer before the Horcrux hunt Ron learned how to cook.

12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A/N:

Good evening!

First off I wanna take a moment and say how PROFOUNDLY sorry I am for taking so long on this chapter. I have NO excuses, just an explanation that my old Laptop finally Sharted itself completly so i was without anything to type on for a while. Not gunna lie, I kinda saw the sharting coming... but I should've had a backup plan ready. Thankfully I have really great budds that helped me turn this into an opprutunity to get a desktop! Really slick, super powerful (plays the Vidya games like a dream) after the hair pullin, and universe hating that overcame me... it was a nice pivot to getting something good. (for a REALLY good price as well)

I also started DM-ing a Harry Potter DnD game for my beta and two really good friends as well so a lot of the HP universe stuff drove itself into that, (its set in this AU, and I've activly put stuff that happens in here, in there, and when they start doing larger scale stuff... we'll see some of their actions make it in here... (I already have a few devious ideas).

Back to the chapter, another reason this chapter took so long was because of my lovely Beta Nom. Shout out to her first and foremost. She read it over, made the usual adjustments and then recc'd a Harry x Ron moral debate that you'll see later on. In all honesty, I have NO CLUE how to do morals... BUT I think that they way I had our boys work it out makes sense for these two... (You'll have to let me know what you think (Nudge Nudge, Please review)).

Disclaimer: HP Universe is owned by JK Rowling, yadi yada... its FFN there's no expectation of ownership here we all know that.

Enjoy and please drop a review, this time around i only started writing in earnest because of the 'Hey when's the next chapter' reviews. NOT that reviews are required for chapters don't get me wrong... they just... help...

-Ron POV-

Ron had slowly drifted into consciousness, a heavy weight resting on his arm. He opened his eyes and looked to the left to see Hermione clutching his entire arm to her chest. Her face slumped over in the space between his arm and mid-riff and she snores slightly. His eyes flicked up to see Harry curled up in a chair near a smoldering fire, his glasses askew on his face.

Ron lets a grin play out on his lips as he realizes that he's finally home.

He leaned over slowly and placed a silent kiss on the top of Hermione's head, he tucked her hair behind her ear and let his thumb caress her cheek. He felt his heart flutter.

His stomach let out a growl of complaint and he realized that he hasn't eaten much since breakfast the day before.

He slowly pulled himself free of Hermione's greedy clutches and started to tilt his body forward. As he shifted himself up he felt a twinge of pain in his side from where the Dark hex had landed on him only a few months before.

His hunger outweighed his pain, so he clambered awkwardly over the bed to leave quietly. He tilted his head down to check his side and noticed a freshly placed bandage that Hermione must have replaced in the middle of the night.

He had no shirt on and only the green and blue plaid pajamas that were far too small for him, but he didn't really mind it. The tent was warmed by the fire that was just starting to dwindle in the fireplace.

He padded across the room but before he entered the kitchen, he felt like something was missing. He instinctively reached up to where his wand is normally placed and found it empty. He turned back and spied his wand on the bedside table. Quietly cursing he tip-toed around his sleeping friends and grabbed his wand. A familiar warmth washed over him and he felt more like himself.

He looked down at his friends who were sleeping soundly. His eyes found Hermione's peaceful expression as she slept. He carefully placed his blanket over Hermione's shoulders. She seemed to shift and snuggle into the blanket, breathing deeply before she became still.

He looked over to his first best friend, Harry. He was slumped in the chair, with his head lolling to one side. It looked quite uncomfortable and with experience, Ron knew his neck would hurt when he woke. Ron didn't have the heart to wake his friend from what seemed to be a dreamless sleep. Something that was becoming rare for him.

He then crossed over to him and took his glasses off and placed them on the coffee table.

"He always falls asleep like this…" Ron muttered fondly.

Despite how much has changed since he left, he found an odd comfort that his friends were still the same. They had hardly changed physically since he had been gone. The camp looked the same, the layout was the same and he knew by speaking with them briefly upon arrival, they were almost the same when he left.

Regret crawled through his chest as he turned to look at the smoldering fire. He waved his hand at the log to the left. It felt like it weighed twice as heavy, as he exercised this wandless magic. He did this another two times and then wove his wand letting a jet of blue flames leap out and restart the fire.

A painful pang grumbled in his stomach. He got so caught up in casting magic, he'd forgotten his original mission that made him get out of bed in the first place. He made his way into the kitchen. He opened every cabinet only to find them all bare.

"Did they do no bloody shopping while I was gone?" He groaned, he stood on his tiptoe and found a single container of chicken broth, an onion, and half a cup of rice left.

"Bloody Merlin." He commented as his stomach growled again. "Soup it is, I suppose."

He flicked his wand and a large stock pot floated slowly out of the shelves, he took a look inside and noticed that it was rather dusty. He stared at it for a moment before sighing deeply and flicking his wand, casting a cleaning charm on it. He set the pot on the stove and ignited the burner.

He summoned some water and added the broth to the pot. He set the onion on the counter and cast Corus on it, just like his father taught him the first time he cooked soup so long ago. After a moment the onion was diced up nicely and he waved his left hand again and felt the small weight as the onion lifted over the pot windlessly, it was awkward for him though he wasn't used to focusing on so many little bits all at once and two or three pieces fell to the floor as he levitated it into the pot. He then tossed the last of the rice into the pot as well and set the burner to a slightly higher heat.

"Right…" He sighed looking at the sorry bit of soup, "It will have to do I suppose…"

His stomach growled. He half wondered how often Harry had to feel his type of hunger and felt pity.

"Kill Potter" Locket Ron (not-Ron) demanded pointing a single finger at Harry. Red eyes glowing.

His curse wound flared.

He yelped in shock more than pain and he quickly looked for a distraction.

"Wingardium Leviosa" He waved his wand at the cabinets which popped open and a procession line of pots and pans floated in the air one after the other.

He directed the dirty pots to sit on the counter next to the rather deep sink that he was well acquainted with before he left. He turned on the hot water and began scrubbing; manual labor always cleared his mind.

Soon enough he was elbow deep in suds, polishing a pan with vigor when he heard the stock pot bubbling up. He snapped his fingers while having a clear goal in his mind and a wooden spoon lifted up and placed itself gingerly in the soup pot. He then twirled his index finger and the spoon slowly started making rotations on its own accord. He grinned to himself chuffed that he was able to use wandless magic to such a varied extent… not to mention he bet his mum would be properly impressed at his skill in the kitchen now.

He was scrubbing the dickens out of a casserole dish that had some sort of fatty buildup on the side when Harry burst through the opening looking panicked.

"Hermione," Harry called out, "He's here, in the kitchen!"

Ron stood up straight and turned to him, lifting the dish high in the air and letting wandless magic take it to float in the kitchen above them and dry out without taking up so much space on the counters.

"The bloody hell are you doing in here?" Harry demanded, "You should be resting."

"Give me a break mate," Ron groaned as he washed the suds from his arms. "I'm hungry…"

"Fair enough I suppose. But you're going to be disappointed." Harry warned, "We haven't got any food to speak of ."

"What have you been eating since…" Ron's question died as he remembered that he was the reason they hadn't had decent food since.

"Sandwiches and Take-away mostly," He replied, not touching the glaring topic. "We got some instant noodles as well but we're out of those…"

Hermione came in at that moment looking rather miffed.

"Well, that's going to change today." Ron said firmly to Harry, "Takeaway is fine, but it exposes us too easily."

"Prat," Hermione's eyebrows furrowed, and Harry and Ron gave each other a look. "Don't disappear like that when you're hurt! I swear you're trying to turn my hair grey early!"

"Sorry," Ron gave her a lopsided grin, " You'd look good with grey hair though… your head would look like a storm cloud…"

Hermione just blinked at him… well she wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not. Harry cocked his head a little before he sniggered to himself. He enjoyed the way that Hermione got flustered in the way that only Ron seemed to know how to do. Heat crawled up Ron's neck as he became aware of how awkward the air had gotten. He turned and walked to the stovetop. He decided to busy himself with the 'soup' and dipped a spoon into his mouth. It was basic and it could DEFINITELY use meat, but it would be warm and filling for such a cold day. Right now he was starving and anything was better than nothing.

He wove his hand at another cupboard and three bowls floated out and placed themselves next to him on a counter.

"Ron… is that wandless magic?" Hermione asked, her eyes dancing at seeing the floating bowls.

"Oh yeah, Percy got me a book on it." Ron smiled, "said he thought it might help in dueling."

"Percy?" Hermione cried out in shock.

"That traitor finally came crawling back did he?" Harry asked darkly, crossing his arms.

"He is NOT a traitor!" Ron snarled, slamming his spoon on the table between them. His fierce gaze seemed to dig into Harry. Harry and Hermione flinched back from his outburst.

"S-Sorry… Sorry." Ron breathed out, "It's…he's… erh we talked" . He finished ladling the soup and floated the bowls out on the table. Harry sat hesitantly at his seat and Hermione slowly sank into hers, her gaze never leaving him.

He sat down and shied away from their inquisitive gazes, "It's just… There's a lot to say… you know? About my time away … Most of it's not good, but in the end, I'm… happy I left, I guess…"

Ron looked up at his friends quickly and leaned forward almost insistingly, "Not that I don't regret leaving you two alone for a single second… because that's… well… it's going to weigh on me for the rest of my life.

"The thing is…. I've learned a lot about…. Myself and the War."

He looked away, unable to meet their faces, "I-I've also done… horrible things"

"Ron…"

He quickly looked up, " But I can justify them because I did them to horrible people. They deserved it."

Harry's eyes narrow.

"We want to know Ron," Hermione said, reaching out and grasping his right hand. She studied the face of her love, he was very different from what she remembered. He held more confidence somehow, but also was weighed down with what he undoubtedly saw.

"Yeah, of course," Harry added, "We want to know everything."

"Right…" Ron said, sitting down, "Well eat while you listen, it's rather long."

Harry and Hermione started in on their soup.

"I'll start from the beginning. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

-T POV-

Somedays, T REALLY hated her job. Hated that she had to break bad news to good people so god-forsaken often. Audrey was safe with her husband, she hadn't seen them since he passed Audrey over to Percy Weasley on the Day of the Ashtomb Raid. She had been severely wounded and the brief respite was not enough to get her back into fighting shape, however, one of her own needed help.

She apparated back to the prison with the full intention of coming to Ron's rescue, but when she arrived it was quiet. Aside from a few fires that popped and cracked in the Snatcher's barracks and the administration building. And the scant few Coalition members who scoured the prison for remaining prisoners and survivors.

She found Selwyn slumped up against a large oak tree, shards of wood impaled in his stomach, though his hair looked immaculate as ever. Blood stained the grass in a light pool around him and his eyes were lifeless as so many people had become throughout this war.

Her trained eyes looked into the building across from Selwyn and she saw the Pensieve sieve had been struck and shattered into a million pieces. The pink glow of the glass seemed to have an eerie pulse that was in tune with her heartbeat.

Looking at the ground she saw a small trail of blood that she followed. It led her to where she knew Ron rescued her from the Death Eater, the duplicated debris that Ron had used to get her out was still there. She followed the blood trail until she came across something that stopped her heart. A pair of fingers. She remembered her stomach clenching painfully and her hands shook until she brought them into white knuckle fists.

She collected the fingers in a simple wooden box she had conjured and placed a persevering charm on them and apparated back to the Coalition. She didn't tell anyone that she recovered Ron's fingers, but she did order all her teams to search for him as fast as they possibly could.

After a week and a half, and no showing of Ron at any of the Coalition safehouses she had to call off the search. He had clearly died. As brave as standing up to Selwyn was, she knew well enough that he didn't stand a chance. Theresa was happy that Ron took Selwyn with him though. When the war was over, she'd honor Ron as a Hit-Wizard. She and her team would take care of his family.

She stopped in front of the door to Orys' team's ready room. Behind it, she could hear Marv getting a rise out of Orys and Anthony laughing at their antics. After a long night looking for Ron, they needed the break.

"Fuck kid…" She says to the box, her chest aching, "Can't believe I'm doing this for you too…"

She opened the door and the team's heads turn to her. Upon seeing her solemn face, their grins die out immediately.

"T," Orys greets, his sharp eyes watching her carefully, "Have you…"

"No." she replied simply, "I'm calling off the search. He would've checked in by now."

The team was now properly crestfallen. They had gone so long without one of their own being killed in action, and now that the inevitable had come around…. It was their youngest member.

"After Ron rescued me from Selwyn…" T swallowed hard, "I went back when everything calmed down. I found Selwyn's body lying against a tree, he had huge splinters in his chest and stomach. I looked for Ron… tried to find his body but… It looked like his body had been… disintegrated… I couldn't find… I… I had hoped that he'd gotten away and… and we looked… You all know we did… but… he hasn't…"

"T, what are you saying?" Anthony asked, his brow clenching in sadness and his eyes swimming with tears.

"I'm declaring Ron missing. But… presumed dead." T finally got out, and the team's previous higher spirits broke in half. David and Ivan held each other willing the other to not break down, Anthony sat down and held his head in his hands while he sobbed quietly, while Orys stood still as a stone, his right eye twitching closed as he willed himself through every force he could muster to not break down in front of his men. T could see Orys' chest heaving occasionally as he took in a tempered breath to steady himself.

"No." Marv declared, "I don't believe it! Not for a second! He can't be gone! He's NOT gone!"

"Marv-" Orys started.

"I WON'T HEAR IT!" Marv said fiercely, "You have no proof!"

"I do though," T said, "It's not definitive, but it's enough." She placed the box on the table before the team and opened it, revealing the two fingers that she had recovered from Ashtomb Prison.

"I ran the records." She confirmed, "They match the blood sample that Jess had on file for him."

The team just stared at the two fingers resting on a deep blue pillow, each and every one of them tearing up on the inside.

"He's really gone then…" Orys murmured. " I can't fucking believe this."

"Orys-" Anthony tried but Orys' voice overwhelmed his own.

"HE should've listened to me!" He sobbed out, Orys collapsed into the nearest chair and any pretense of control left him. Seeing such a stalwart man crushed T inside herself.

"He saved my life," T explained once the anguish had quieted down.

"He was a good lad," David said quietly, he was the only one who had not teared up, he had seen too much to fall victim to sadness.

"One of the best," Ivan added.

"Someone should tell his parents," Orys said.

"I looked for them when he joined us," T explained, "They must be under the Fidelus Charm"

"We ought to honor him somehow," Marv said, his accusation turned into forced resilience.

"Yeah, I want you guys to give him the Hit-Wizard's farewell." The team was silent for a time before Orys nodded to himself.

"We can do that." Orys nodded, "He's earned it."

x That Night x

Orys' team, herself, and Jess made their way into the forest, it was a cloudy night, but T thrust her wand into the air and a sliver of the sky parted, revealing a bright full moon.

They reached a rock and formed a circle around it. Marvin placed the box with fingers on top of it and backed away slowly.

"We honor a fallen friend tonight," Orys said, his voice echoing over the din of the winter's night. "One who stood with the Coalition against darkness in its most primal form. Not for glory, fame, or wealth… but because it was the right thing to do. Ronald Weasley-"

"Bilius," Jess cut in with tears on her cheeks, "His middle name was Bilius."

"Ronald Bilius Weasley, we commend you for your bravery and fearlessness. We offer your remains to the stars… So that you may forever watch over us, and if any of us need a guiding light, may we look to you and your example."

Theresa bewitched the box to start levitating before above the rock as the team cast a joined shield charm in a dome within the perimeter.

Orys drew his wand and pressed it slowly into the shield so that the tip was poking through it.

"Azererth" He commanded and a jet of flames swarmed out of his wand and danced in the dome, its bright orange clashing against the pale blue of the shields. He had perfect control over the Fiendfyre, he soon willed the Cursed Flames to rest in the middle of the circle. The flames reached out, its tendrils crashing against the dome eager to get out, yet the shield would not yield.

Orys pulled his wand back releasing control of the flames and pressed his wand to assist in the shield, everyone forming the dome walked forward one pace, then another and another, bringing the heat into one small confined space until everyone was shoulder to shoulder.

"Finite," Orys called out and the flames died out immediately. In the small space that remained, was a small diamond formed out of the heat and pressure, hovering in place.

"Go on, live with the stars Little Brother." Orys flicked his wand and the diamond shot up with incredible speed into the stratosphere and then to the stars above.

"Goodbye, Little Brother."

"Rest well."

"See you in the next life, Little Brother."

"May you rest in peace." Theresa said solemnly, "Ronald Weasley."

Severus Snape POV

Severus Snape was not a hero. He has no drive whatsoever that would be considered Heroic by any stretch of the imagination. The only reason he was here was so that the self-aggrandized 'Heroes' of the war wouldn't foul up and cost the whole damned war.

He was searching for Ginny Weasley, once Potter found out about her disappearance, Severus just knew he would do something foolishly noble to rescue the 'Damsel in Distress'. Severus could have laughed at how pathetic it truly was.

Surprisingly though, the Weasley boy had not dashed off to save his sister. He was all but certain that the hot-headed man-child would have done something rash to find his sister. Whether through Theresa's influence of maturing in general, Ronald Weasley had not gone off the handle.

Severus had been given a report on the raid at Ashtomb Prison, how Selwyn had finally met his maker and the youngest Weasley brother's body had never been recovered.

Theresa informed all about the raid last time she had reported to 'Viper'. In all honesty, though, Severus didn't care about the boy. He was wild and lazy in his classes, but hearing of his sacrifice, what Ronald had done for the Greater Good.

The lives that he had saved, by trading his life for others.

Severus knew it was too late for Ronald, but he would do his best to give the Weasley family one of their children back.

He turned a corner and made his way down Knockturn Alley, his hand dug into his cloak and he sipped on the flask of Polyjuice Potion he had brought with him. His body morphed midstep into that of an American tourist he had passed near Trafalgar Square.

Severus felt his head lower as the Polyjuice Potion matched his new form's height. Without breaking stride he entered 'The Wizard's Passion' a seedy X-rated club deep within the heart of Knockturn Alley. The music was throbbing as women clad in nothing but their underthings danced and gyrated rhythmically to the music. Above him, on the ceiling was a magical painting that showed the most beautiful woman of each own's perception.

"An Aphrodite Concoction, paired with the Portrait's Potion." He muttered to himself, looking up at the magical painting. He had never stepped foot in the building before because he had no use of a place that filled one with such a base desires.

He averted his eyes as he saw a copse of red hair and the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen.

Severus knew who to look for as he made his way through the back. He passed through a beaded curtain to find private rooms, several of which had curtains drawn. The room was painted in a deep red and was lit by two chandeliers, one hanging on each end of the hall. Despite the many bulbs circling the chandelier, only dim light radiated off it, in what should've been a warm cozy light. Instead, it cast heavy shadows and made the dark fuzzy carpet almost black. It seemed to Severus that the low light and the color of the room served to encourage the patrons to be handsy with the girls they chose.

He approached a long red curtain that had the number 6 stitched in gold thread. He stopped just at the threshold and knocked on the wooden divider.

A head popped out with thick curly black hair.

"Mr. Essos?" She asked, "Is that you, sir?"

"Yes," Snape drawled, "Is it done?"

"Where did we first meet?"

"Diagon Alley," Snape replied, but in reality, she was in one of the first-year classes he taught so long ago, not that she needed to know that. "I gave you money for food, and you offered to pass information."

"Good," she replied and opened the curtain to reveal her full breasts, Snape promptly averted his eyes. "He's here, and unconscious, just as you asked."

"Cover. Yourself." Snape hissed out, the lady looked down and only then seemed to realize that she was not wearing a top. She quickly slid on a silk robe that was hanging by a hook inside the curtained-off room.

"Apologies, I-"

"Spare me." He then dug into his pocket and handed her a large bag of gold.

"Mr. Essos… Sir, this is far too much."

"Payment for your services, and extra for your silence."

"Thank you, sir."

"Emphasis on silence." The working girl clammed shut with a knowing smile.

"Yessir."

"Let me in and I'll take him from here." His spy moved aside and Severus walked into the curtained room. Reid Lomond lay on a fuzzy chair, a tipped-over glass that had been spiked with a Sleeping Draught dangled from his fingers. Severus could see that the man's belt had come undone in anticipation of the cheap pleasure he had come to partake in.

Severus tugged at the pouch that rested on the man's belt and held it out of the curtain for his spy to claim, which she did immediately.

Severus placed a hand on the man's shoulder and grasped the Portkey he had created this morning. In an instant, he was in Spinner's End's grimy and unfinished basement.

"Catena." He called and iron chains wrapped around the target's arms and legs. He flicked his wand and the man lifted to face height as the chains wrapped taut around a supporting column.

"Rennervate." The man's eyes jerked awake as he awoke violently from his forced sleep.

"W-What? Where am I?"

"The end of the line, Lomand." Snape drawled out, "You have information that I need."

"Get fucked," The corrupted Auror spat out.

"Igni." Snape chanted and the chains around his arms and legs began to glow red hot and the man started screaming in pain.

"Where is the Dark Lord?" Snape already knew where he was, of course, this was just to keep up appearances.

"I don't know! I'm not with the Dark Lord."

"Lies." Snape hissed out and the glow on the chains turned white hot.

"I'm telling the truth-"

"Enough games!" Snape yanked the sleeve of his prisoner revealing a sickly-looking Dark Mark tattooed into his skin.

"Is your loyalty to the Dark Lord so fleeting?" Snape mocked.

"He's hidden away!" Lomand sobbed out, the pain of the burning chains becoming too much to bear. "I don't know I swear!"

"Fine, what are your next orders?"

"I-I don't…"

"Talk quickly now… or you might not prove to be of any use to me." Snape encouraged.

"There's a… resistance group in Knockturn Alley." Snape's ears perked up, he knew all about Podmore's group. He even passed information along to them. Information that had greatly benefited them.

"What do you know of them?" Snape probed.

"They're about to infiltrate the Ministry!"

"How do you know this?" Snape asked, his keen mind all but certain that there was a traitor on the inside.

"L-Lady Pyrite…" He cried out, the pain around his arms becoming unbearable, "Has an inside man! Passing information to her, I swear it."

"Who?"

"I don't know! I swear I don't know!"

Snape let up and cast Aguamenti on the chains which let out a satisfying hiss.

"That is because you're cooperating." Snape gave the Auror the illusion of mercy.

"Th-Thank you!" He bawled, crying his eyes out, "Pl-please let me go!"

"Oh no, I have many more questions for you to answer."

"V-Voldemort will find you!" Reid had finally thought of the taboo, this is how he would call for help!

"Clever tactic Lomand, but I had already thought of that." Snape had already cast powerful wards that deterred the taboo from activating here.

"No! N-No please!" He bawled out, "Lord Voldemort, I beg of you-" Snape backhanded the Auror shutting him up.

"Last question..." Snape came in close, "You recently took a little girl from Hogwarts. Took her in the middle of dinner. Do you remember, or do I need to remind you?"

"What does that have to do with any of this?" Lomand cried out and struggled against his chains.

"Where have you taken her?" Snape's eyes burned hot as he activated the heat on the chains with a mere thought.

"I-I can't tell you!" He screamed out.

"Can't or won't?!" Snape slapped the man across the face yet again. "Come now Lomand, all this can be over if you tell me what I need to know."

Lomand's eyes widened in recognition, without Snape noticing the Polyjuice Potion had worn off and his form had shifted back to his normal self.

"Sn-Snape? Severus Snape?" Lomand was confused, "But you're on our side! You're the Dark Lord's most trusted Man!"

Severus scowled; he would not get any information out of him the traditional way.

"Legilimans!" Snape called while staring into Lomand's eyes.

He was thrust forward into a dark room with no light.

"Now, now little red. Do try to not scream, you see it gets Greyback all excited. When he's riled up, not even I can stop him." Snape heard from behind him, and whimpers and grunts from the Weasley girl as she struggled to get away.

Snape turned to see the girl in the same condition that he last saw her in. He looked around to see any clues but found nothing. It was all a black slate due to the enchantments on the location.

"Reid…" A familiar voice came out of the darkness and Snape's attention turned to the Malfoy heir as he walked down the steps with a cold grace that his father had perfected in the inter-war period.

Severus gathered all that he needed to know and pulled himself out of the memory.

"So she's being held with the Malfoy's," Snape said mostly to himself. He felt a twinge of regret that one of his pupils was behind the capture of another person. Though he held no real respect for the Malfoys now. He was close to Lucius growing up, and as such he had a good relationship with Draco when he came to school, but that was it. After Draco took over, Severus could see that he had committed himself to the Dark Lord and getting him to redeem himself was a lost cause. Not that he could do anything about Draco himself due to that accursed Unbreakable Vow.

"NO!" Lomand screeched, "Tha-That was a lie! A false memory! Doctored! To keep the truth safe!"

"Avada Kedavra," A green jolt of light shot from Snape's wand cutting Lomand off early. The corrupt Auror slumped to his death still wrapped in his chains.

"I'll have to alert the Coalition." He says to himself, as he whips his wand, vanishing the body to the farthest reaches of the Arctic Ocean.

He travels upstairs, and out of his childhood home that he so loathed, and apparated to Conningham Shack.

He then took out a long piece of Parchment and started sketching Malfoy Manor.

He knew he could convince the Coalition to raid Malfoy Manor, if not to avenge the Weasley boy, then they for certain would strike to rid the world of a few Death Eaters.

He summoned his Patronus and sent a message to T, asking her to meet.

-Hermione POV-

Ron was in a trance of sorts, he was telling them all about what happened with the Coalition and he was now telling them about the prison camp… to Hermione, the entire thing sounded eerily similar to the Nazi Concentration camps in WWII.

"There was a bit of fighting through the building, but Orys and the others had seen them off before the Snatchers could do any substantial damage." Ron said almost robotically, "T and Orys' fears were that if we attacked the Snatchers might target their prisoners and execute them all in order to get the last laugh."

Ron took a sip from the coffee cup that was filled with some leftover broth from the soup he made this morning. She was quite impressed that he had managed to make a rather substantial meal out of the nothing they had on their bare shelves.

Ron placed his mug back down and Hermione noticed how the cup seemed to rattle for a moment as he held it over the table, she noticed that his hands were trembling terribly as he recounted his story.

"Orys had Ivan and I back off to search one of the larger buildings in the central courtyard area we were next to. It reminded me of the barn that the Diggory family home has, you know sorta old and decrepit, but sturdy? It looked like it had been there far longer than the other buildings on the Prison Grounds, aside from the main building I suppose."

"We entered this building and were hit with this wall of… stench."

Ron's eyes seemed to glaze over and it looked like he was staring beyond the two of them at something a thousand yards away. Hermione felt a twinge of panic as she recognized the same look in his eyes from her Grandad's generation of WWII soldiers.

"It was filled with corpses…" Ron all but whispered, his eyes flicking left and right, almost as if he could see the image in his mind before him, "Some were bloating up… some decaying…"

Hermione felt like her heart had stopped and she gasped, catching her hand flying to her mouth in mid-motion. She looked over to Harry whose face was pale and stoney, no doubt he was blaming himself for not doing enough.

"Once that stench hit us Ivan and I almost retched on the spot. I tried to leave to get fresh air, but we had a job to do… Ivan told me to use the Human Revealing spell… you know, Homenum Revelio? So I did… and yeah, nothing."

"Oh Ron…" she breathed as hot tears prickled in the corner of her eyes.

Ron looked at her before his face twisted and he looked away as if he was unable to stare too long.

"We quickly got out of there and took a breath before we linked up with Orys and the others. We didn't say anything but we didn't need to. Orys knows that we would do our jobs."

Ron leaned back in his chair and stared at the lantern that floated between the three of them, the firelight dancing off of the tears that were glistening in his eyes.

"We were making good progress through the prison. Dave and Ivan were amazing to see! One had to gesture and then the other would perform complex magic and a squad of Snatchers would go down.

Tony and Orys were on the left side of the front line, performing highly efficient magic, no movement was wasted when they cast, every twitch of the hand a spell, every dodge was formed into a follow-up, they wasted no energy.

And in the back was Marv and I. I don't know how he did it, but he has the best sense for ranged combat I've ever seen! I saw him take out a squad of Snatchers on his own from 50 yards out."

Ron smiled slightly remembering his brothers in arms. Hermione couldn't help but smile with him thankful that such powerful wizards were by his side.

"I'd say we were 3 quarters of the way through the prison when I felt a… I dunno, a sense of… dread pass through me you know, like…when you look at a situation and you just know that something is about to go wrong? I looked over towards the main house of the prison, and I saw T getting pushed around and picked apart by Selwyn.

I called out to the team, but I guess it must have been drowned out by all the screaming and fighting in the air. So I knew I would have to take care of this on my own.

I charged through a crowd of escaping prisoners, hoping and praying that T would hold her own while I made my way there. Only now am I wondering why she didn't have her team there to back her up."

Ron scratched his forehead and leaned forward looking both of them in the eyes.

"T cast a purple ball-like spell at Selwyn, but he refracted it into a nearby building, the explosion caused T to tumble to her side and roll about eight times.

Selwyn was looming over her, and I could tell he was about to finish her off. I felt this… pull of magic in my stomach and that weird white rope of magic reached out and essentially cracked a whip on his hand.

The two of us dueled for a bit, luckily his attention was distracted by T being there. I caved a wall in and levitated the debris on top of him and duplicated it, must've been three or four times.

"While Selwyn was buried, I yanked T up and told her to get to safety, she tried to get me to see sense but you know me, stubborn until the end."

Hermione realized her jaw was hurting due to all the tension she was holding. She hadn't dared to speak, unsure how she would respond to a situation such as this. Ron was facing off against Selwyn. A known Death Eater! Her stomach twisted into a knot.

This war was horrifying but she hadn't realized how brutal it was until now. Her mind could only go back to all the historical references to previous wars and prisoners of war accounts.

Ron, all this time, had a faraway look in his eyes as if he was recalling something far off in the distance. She would have even believed to be all fictional if it wasn't for the tightness in his face and his hands trembling in closed fists. Suddenly feeling the overwhelming need to comfort, she reached out and touched his hand. He flinched a little before he snapped from his trance-like state and looked at her. Really looked at her. He gave a tight smile. She smiled back, words failing her in this moment.

She looked over to Harry who wore an angry expression. His fists were clenching and unclenching. One would think he was plain angry but she knew better. He was angry, yes, but would be blaming himself somehow and possibly feeling guilty in a twisted way.

She reached with her other hand and grabbed Harry's hand unsure how to calm him down. Harry's hands stilled but his face twisted in a scowl.

"The battle was winding down at that point." Ron continued, "I knew it wouldn't be long before everything was done for, but I knew if I could keep Selwyn occupied that would mean more and more people would be able to get to safety.

Selwyn stood up and started running his mouth just like I thought he would, arrogant twat. I bided my time though. The prisoners had escaped and the coalition was just mopping up the last of the Snatchers.

I goaded him… Selwyn. A bit about his family and he unleashed on me. Merlin, he was so fast. I tried to counter and follow up where I could but he was so ferocious that I didn't have any room to get so much as a charm in edgewise.

He pressed his attack on me and eventually, I felt a stone wall behind my waist. I took a chance and vaulted over it, but while I was doing that he sent a curse at my back."

Hermione tightened her grip on Ron's right hand as he held up his left hand which was missing the pinky finger, and about half of the ring finger.

"I didn't feel the pain at first… The adrenaline I suppose" Ron swallowed, "At the rate we were going I wouldn't last long against Selwyn, so I decided to try being sneaky.

I cast the smokescreen charm and sprinted along a wall as far as I could before Selwyn banished the smoke.

By that time, it was clear to me that the battle was over so I could end things however I could. I was in this strange room with a bright pink orb, and the rest of the prison had gone silent except for the crunching of Selwyn's feet on the gravel as he looked for me, and my own panting."

"I was certain I was going to die… so I…" His eyes flicked to Hermione's face briefly, "Sort of said my goodbyes… just out loud… sort of like… accepting death if it wanted to come to me."

A moment of clarity came to Hermione and she realized that he said his goodbyes to her.

"Ron I-" Hermione started but Ron carried on with his story. He spoke quietly, his voice was nothing but a whisper. It was the only sound in the world that she cared about at that moment.

"I thought I could… surprise him. He was looking for me of course. What I didn't know is well…" He held up his left hand again, " Think he followed the blood trail. He turned the corner and I thought I could sneakily hit him in his side, while he faced forward, but he was facing me.

I cast without thinking… Expulso, while he cast the Killing Curse at me"

"How are you…" Harry starts, "How did you survive? I thought the Killing Curse could overpower any other spells."

"Generally it does, but in this case, both spells weren't dead on with each other. They were slightly off-center as they struck in mid-air and then bounded off to the sides. My Expulso slammed into a tree that was near the opening Selwyn was standing in, and his Killing Curse hit that pink orb I mentioned."

Ron gestured to his face. The ugly pink and raw scaring tailed down the left side of his face, looking like pieces of hot shards blasted over his skin.

"It exploded into pieces and so much of that glass hit my face. It was clearly charged with some type of magic at the time as well… runes or enchantments or something. So when it exploded it also had an accompanying fireball. Both glass and fire washed over my face giving me… well this."

He gestured to his face again and Hermione took a good look at it. The skin looked calloused and rougher than normal, while also being pocked with a heavy amount of scarring that slashed its way through his face. He was truly lucky he didn't lose an eye.

"I blacked out because of the pain." He explained. His hands trembling and shaking horribly under her grip. He tried to pull away but she renewed her strength and held on to his right hand. His left hand was stuffed under the table. He looked at her meekly and gave her a tight smile. "When I came to, the adrenaline must've worn off and I'm all but certain that's what woke me up, the pain I mean.

I couldn't believe that Selwyn hadn't finished me off. I looked around the room and the pink shard from that orb was embedded into every surface, including my face. Luckily, this nifty little jacket that the coalition gave me protected any shards from drilling into my body, it only struck my face."

I got my wand and slowly got to my feet and made my way out. When I jumped down from the hole I had last seen Selwyn in… to my left I saw…" Ron paused and swallowed deeply. "Selwyn w-was slumped up next to a tree with a length of wood embedded into his stomach. I-I wanted to… I dunno… see if he was still alive I guess.

When I approached him he started coughing up blood and looked to be in an intense amount of pain. He reached out and grabbed my hand… he begged me to kill him. He literally put my wand to his head… fuck I can still feel his bloody hand gripping mine." Ron stared at his shaking hands forgoing any illusion to his friends that he was any semblance of 'alright'.

"S-So I did." Ron said tearfully, "I asked if he had any last words, or requests… which he did… a message to his wife a-and then… I … cast the Killing Curse on him." Ron let out a shuddering breath and he seemed to fall apart in front of them. "He- He was suffering… he was already going to… I-I mean…"

Hermione stood up and walked over to him and threw her arms around Ron, her cheeks were coated in tears as well.

"I couldn't let him suffer…" Ron pleaded with a torn Harry.

"It's ok Ron." Hermione reassured as she gave Harry a pointed look, "We understand."

"Y-yea its… I mean…" Harry stumbled over his words, his eyes wide in disbelief. Ron suddenly looked away in shame. Hermione looked back over at Harry and glared. Harry seemed to ignore her and frowned at the table in front of him as if trying to grapple with something.

She knew those feelings but it was more important to her to support Ron now in this moment of vulnerability.

"I honestly don't know what I'd do in your shoes mate…" Harry finally admitted.

Ron nodded as if he was confirming something in his mind and Hermione gripped his hand tight as if she could practically see Ron preparing himself for the worst.

Harry stared at Ron like he had two heads, it looked like he simply couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Ron could kill someone.

Ron's shoulders slumped as if someone placed a great weight upon them.

"I'm a murderer." Ron sobbed harder, admitting it more to himself than the others. "Even if it weren't the Killing Curse, the wound was going to take his life and it was caused by me!"

Hermione wasn't certain, but she 'thought' she saw Harry give an imperceptible nod as Ron accused himself of being a murderer. She could feel herself getting defensive and turned to Ron fiercely.

"No, Ron!" Hermione insisted through tears, "You killed that man as an act of mercy. While I and I'm sure Harry would never condone outright killing someone… what you said happened… what you described, was the result of a battle. These things happen in battle."

Ron gave a deep despairing whine before he quietly sobbed in her shoulder. She looked at Harry with a hard stare, she knew his worldview was a bit more black and white than what was practical, and she didn't want Harry to put his foot in his mouth unduly.

It wasn't Harry's fault, of course, it came with the territory of being hunted by genuinely despicable human beings for the last seven years of his life.

However, Hermione knows that Ron did not need admonishment from his best friend right now. What Ron did and the morality of it was something that he'd have to work out himself. She knew that if he asked her opinion she'd always be right by his side to talk things through with him.

-Harry POV-

Harry watched as Hermione slid into Ron's lap and kissed the top of his head. Ron rested a hand on the small of her back and she leaned in closer. Hermione pulled away and Ron looked at her as if she had two heads. Hermione had been a lot more affectionate towards Ron lately, and Harry couldn't imagine why.

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Ron had been back for two days now and Harry hadn't had a talk with him alone since Ron had killed the Locket. He couldn't lie to himself and claim that he wasn't feeling abandoned by his best friend. It felt like Ron had only chosen to spend alone time with Hermione. He could hear them murmuring to each other, and watched as they held each other close.

Harry shook his head disappointedly. Ron's story was a lot to take in. His best friend, his closest friend, was a murderer. Harry didn't know what to make of it, when he first learned of it, he was outraged and disappointed that he had taken another human's life. With the unforgivable curse nonetheless.

Harry was currently splitting firewood with his wand. He'd split about 10 logs when Ron came up to him wearing his thick leather coat.

"Harry mate, I'm going to go into town and grab some groceries." Harry watched Ron's newly scarred face as he breathed out a mist in the cold winter air, "Anything you want me to get for you?"

"Actually, let me grab my coat, I'll come with you." Harry let the logs drop and went into the tent to collect his warm coat.

"' Mione," He heard Ron through the tent. "Harry and I are going to go into town. Why don't you put the book down and take a bath, I'm sure you could use a soak."

Harry walked out wrestling with the zipper on the front of his coat and saw Hermione debating with herself.

"I'm ok, I've got too much research to get through." Hermione's hand went back to her growing pile of books but Ron lifted the one in her hands above her and she gave him a pout.

"Go. Soak." Ron said mirthfully, "Healer's orders… Not to mention you smell a bit ripe there-" Hermione yanked the book out of Ron's hands and whacked him in the chest with it.

"Prat!" Hermione accused him and Ron just gave his trademarked grin. Hermione stood before him with her jaw out, but even Harry could tell her eyes were full of joy and playfulness.

"Go on." Ron tried again with a teasing voice. "Pamper yourself while the smelly boys are away" Ron gave her a nudge towards the bathroom.

"Maybe reading in the bath might help me think…" She thought aloud and drifted deeper into the tent.

"Mental that one is, honestly." Ron sighed out watching her leave. "Don't think she knows when to turn off, y'know?"

"Hard to turn off when we have the fate of thousands in our hands." Harry pointed out.

"Fair point, but there's a line between turning off and burning out…" Ron turned and shrugged his arm to Harry leading him out to the end of the wards. "We need a lot of stuff by the way, so don't be surprised if I put you to work."

"If it means I get to eat a quality Weasley dinner again, I am not going to complain," Ron smirked at Harry's response.

-XXX-

True to his word, Ron and Harry both had heavily laden paper bags under each arm. Harry's face was almost covered by the bread and vegetables that the bagger stacked on top. They weaved their way through the crowded streets as the town had a local celebration going on. Good for them, but it made finding a good place to disapparate a nightmare.

They soon found themselves in a stretch of Grass between some old factory and a bustling trainyard.

The pair apparated away and landed slightly off course on a hilltop that looked over the frozen stream they knew the tent to be pitched next to.

"Bit of a walk." Ron sighed.

"It's alright, I actually wanted to speak with you anyway," Harry revealed, his neck heating up in embarrassment.

"Go ahead," Ron said cautiously as they made their way down the snowy slope while being careful not to overtop their groceries.

"I just wanted to say that… well… it means a lot to me. You coming back after being away I mean." Harry felt like his words failed him. Why didn't Hogwarts teach a class on 'how to' about emotions?

"Of course I did," Ron replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I knew I wasn't thinking straight that night. But… the… I guess the thoughts were still mine, they were just… amplified… by the locket."

"What do you mean?" Harry inquired, "Was it more of what … I saw?"

"Mostly it just reminded me how useless I was… or rather… felt I guess," Ron explained he had gone slightly pale at the memory. "Riled me up over small things, telling me… well… more like making me doubt Hermione and I's relationship… but you saw that. I-it even told me to… claim Hermione as my own…"

"Jesus mate, do I even wanna know what that means?" Harry watched Ron's eyes dim with the thought.

"I'm sure you can guess," Ron growled out. "Twisted fucking locket. He'll burn in hell if I get my way."

"Too right that…" Harry agreed.

The two walked along in silence a bit longer, the cold Mid-winter wind whipping at their exposed ears and noses.

"It really hurt, you leaving like that I mean." Harry continued as Ron tried to respond. "Just…. Hang on. I know I egged you on that night, and for that, I really need to apologize. I really am sorry mate. You mean too much to me to allow shit like that from happening again. I don't… like… other people much. You and Hermione are about the only ones who look at me and don't just see the shining Chosen One. You guys see me for… well… me. I don't know what I'd do without you mate. So, I'm sorry for egging you on."

"S'ok." Ron replied, "For what it's worth. I am sorry for leaving. I don't imagine words as being quite enough to… I dunno bring you peace or whatever. But I learned a good deal from the coalition. I'll put it to good use protecting you two."

The pair had just then crossed the boundary of Hermione's wards and made their way up to the now-visible tent.

"Just… don't kill anyone anymore, ok Ron?" Harry stopped as Ron continued on a bit longer. "It's not right. We have to be better than the Death-Eaters."

"Look, I won't pick a fight," Ron said, shrugging the bags into a better position in his arms. "But if a Death Eater is coming at us, I won't hesitate to put that dog down."

"Why?!" Harry shouted from behind the loaf of bread, "I know you, Ron, better than anyone! I saw your face in 4th year when that imposter showed us the Unforgivables. You were disgusted you told me as much yourself after the lesson, remember? Merlin, what are your parents going to say when they find out?"

"They'll understand," Ron snarled, "They'll know that wars muddy everything up! Look at the last war if you'd like. The ministry was this close to falling until Crouch authorized the Aurors to use Unforgivables! I won't use unforgivable if I can avoid it, I know what could happen to me if I do. But don't fucking lecture me about fighting the war the wrong way, especially with the fucked shite I've seen!"

Ron turned and started storming to the tent flap, but Harry was not done with him yet. His mind flashed with rage and he dug his hand into the bag and pulled out a decent-sized potato and hurled it at Ron, a satisfying TUNK as it hit the back of his head. The potato bounced off and plunked to the ground harmlessly.

Ron turned around and watched Harry dangerously, "Did you just hit me with a potato?"

"Yes," Harry said smugly.

"Why did you hit me with a potato Harry?" Ron asked icily.

"To get it into your thick fucking skull to LISTEN to me." Harry said fiercely, "There's more where that came from too!" He drew an apple out of the bag and held it in his hand.

Ron calmly strode over to the stool they used on watch and placed his bags on it. He then shrugged his enchanted coat off and draped it over the food.

"Put your bags down."

"Why?" Harry challenged.

"Because I didn't spend all that money just for you to roll over it while I'm kicking your ass." Ron shot an eager and slightly teasing grin on his face.

Harry let the bags drop to the ground with a thunk and pulled his thick sweater over his head.

"No groin shots." Harry declared.

"No nails, and no hair pulling." Ron nodded and then said with a smirk, "You do realize I have five brothers, and Ginny has experience in wrestling, right? You sure you wanna do this?"

"Dudley weighed more than your brothers combined, and he was a boxer at school," Harry replied instantly.

Ron gave a smirk and the two boys circled each other for a moment before lunging at each other. Harry landed firm punches on Ron's chest; Ron tackled Harry to the ground trying to bring Harry's shirt over his head.

Harry swept Ron's knee and the redhead fell face-first into Harry's flailing elbow. Harry could feel Ron's warm blood coat the back of his arm. Ron dove at Harry again wrapping his thick muscled arm around Harry's neck. Harry had experienced this one before with Dudley and he knew just what to do, he brought his jaw down on Ron's arm and bit as hard as he could (Without trying to draw blood of course)

"Ow!" Ron howled, releasing Harry, "You sonuvabitch, no biting!"

The boys released each other and backed away gathering their breath for a moment before clashing again. Harry felt the lingering frustration towards Ron ebb away as the two tussled around.

Harry squirmed this way around Ron and pinned both of Ron's long arms above his head. Harry kicked at the back of Ron's knee and Ron dropped down but as Ron started going down, Harry felt Ron lean backwards and he only had time to think "Oh Shit" before Ron pushed him into a fall, Ron landed harshly on Harry's chest and he was winded, not catching the elbow that swung out and crashed against his nose. He felt his nose break along with his glasses. Both boys rolled in opposite directions, both holding their heads and as the daze washed over them.

Harry looked at the blurry form of Ron as the lanky redhead grinned at him, and Harry cracked out a grin of his own, both knowing that they were in the final moments of this 'Fight'. They clashed one last time, punching, kicking, slapping, and stinging whatever they could on the other.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" Hermione's angry voice echoed off the frozen stream as she watched the two most important people in her life going at each other. She flicked her wand between the two and a resounding pop lifted both boys into the air and slowly moved them away from each other, they did not stop trying to hit each other, slapping aimlessly in the air.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! Harry James Potter!" Hermione shrieked in a voice that reminded Harry starkly of Mrs. Weasley, "How could you do this to each other?! You're the best of friends!" She yanked on Ron's ear and made him turn to face her, while Harry picked up the broken pieces of his glasses.

"Easy there love," He placed his hand on her waist and Harry could see his thumb stroke her hip affectionately. "We just needed to clear the air, that's all. Difference of opinion and all that."

"Right," Harry panted, as blood washed over his mouth.

"Inside. NOW!" Hermione ordered and both boys rose to their feet, "I have half a mind to NOT heal either of you and let you suffer!" She marched into the tent, going for their first aid kit.

"Glad she's returned to form." Ron smiled a love-drunk smile on his face.

"Ron, we square?" Harry asked, "Do we understand each other?"

Ron took a deep breath, "I won't go out of my way to kill anyone." Ron agreed, " But if we're in battle, and I need to make a snap decision and an arsehole dies. You need to be ok with that."

Harry certainly wasn't happy with that, but he could tell that Ron would hold true to his word. At least it was better than the outright bloodlust that Harry saw in his eyes before.

"Solid."

The boys came together and hugged, patting each other on the back only twice before breaking apart, coughing, and looking away in a false effort of machismo.

"Idiots." Hermione hurled at them as she watched their embrace. She sat both boys down in front of her and placed a Dittany-soaked rag on Ron's swelling eye, he hissed at the contact and the rag started smoking slightly.

"Sure you don't wanna start with Harry?" Ron asked in a jesting tone.

"Ron does hit like a brick shithouse…. Smells like one too." Harry declared, holding just conjured ice to his busted nose.

"While Harry hits like a bitc-OW!" Ron cried out when Hermione flicked him in his temple. "Easy woman, you'll poke my bloody eye out!" Harry smiled watching Hermione deflate from her genuine anger before.

"You'd deserve it." Hermione gave Ron the rag and went to get Harry a broken bone potion.

Ron looked at Harry when Hermione was arm-deep in the beaded bag and said lowly, "Love you, man. Don't forget that."

"Love you too mate," Harry replied with a grin.

"Boys…" Hermione sighed with a roll of her eyes, clearly having heard them.

-Ron POV-

The past week had been busy for the trio. Ron did a full load of laundry which Harry and Hermione were eternally grateful for. It had taken almost the full week for Harry to come around, Ron was certain that he was having an internal debate about whether Ron killing Selwyn was justified or not, not to mention, hearing the heavy story of Ashtomb Prison. Every one of the trio knew that he was blaming himself for not being more proactive in the war. He was surely thinking to himself, 'If we had just finished Voldemort off sooner, those Muggle-Borns wouldn't have suffered.' In all Harry spent several hours alone thinking about his place in the greater war. Hermione had wanted to talk to him about it, but Ron told her to stand down and let Harry work this out on his own. That proved to be the right move when Harry came out to replace Ron for the night watch. Harry and he had a long conversation about Ashtomb Prison and Harry's fears that the climax of the war would come about while they were sitting in this fucking tent waiting for fortune to favor them.

"It's not like we're fighting on our own though." Ron reminded Harry, "The Order's still out there, not to mention the Coalition as well. I have faith that they'll hold the line until we take care of business." The pair had a few more quiet, but emotional words between them before Harry nodded Ron to head to bed, which he did, but not after giving Harry a much needed hug. It was slowly becoming something more normal between the two.

Hermione's reaction to Ron's story was more pitiable. She found every chance she could to be near Ron. Holding his hand, running her hands through his 'getting-rather-long' hair, and just generally showing Ron how much she cared for him.

Ron certainly wasnt complaining about this though, he always felt like he needed her touches in order to feel more sure of himself. For instance, when she had kissed him on the cheek before his first Quidditch Match, or when she hugged him tightly after escaping the wedding. She seemed to know just what he needed to feel sane and cared for again.

His own presence picked the other two up as well. They had a third person who they could trade nightly shifts again, and that meant that one of them would always sleep a full cycle again. Ron took two night shifts at first because both of them looked like they desperately needed to catch up on sleep. He also re-stocked the pantry and refrigerator as well, and after his first meal back of Chicken Pesto Pasta with crusty garlic bread, the other two were full to bursting.

Ron also made a rule to have a two hour break after dinner in order to keep the other two from burying themselves in the hunt. He would pull the book out of Hermione's hand, tug Harry out of his brooding and sit them down in front of the wireless to listen to Potterwatch, after that they'd spend time telling stories (which the others already knew) and playing silly games.

Sometime into the second week he was back, Hermione walked into the tent, trading the watch with Harry who would take it for the rest of the night. Ron was only half awake when he felt Hermione pull his comforter back and the dip of her weight landing in his bed beside him.

"What are you doing?" He spoke tiredly to her face.

"Erm… It's rather cold and… well it's been proven that sleeping next to someone keeps you warm." It was too dark for him to see, but he knew Hermione well enough to know that her cheeks were blushing majorly red today.

Hermione snuggled under the blankets next to him, leaving only about an inch's worth of chasm between them.

"Well, I heard that snuggling to keep warm only works if both parties are actually… you know… snuggling?" Ron hinted.

"Yes I've heard that too… actually the Native Americans used to sleep nude together to stay warm…."

Both fell silent at that and Ron just stared into the inky blackness with his lips pursed… not wanting to offer anything and have both of them be incredibly embarrassed regardless of the answer.

"Do you want to-" He started.

"Can we try-" Hermione offered.

"Come here," Ron opened his arms to allow Hermione to snuggle up to him.

"Is this alright?" She asked. "I'm not hurting you right?"

"Hardly," He mutters, as she shifts. "Are you alright?"

"I just…" Hermione wiggles around and soon she was face to face with him. "Not sure what the optimal position is, that's all…"

Ron grins silently in the night, his witch thinks she's being subtle or sneaky but she's far from it.

"Ron, what works best for you?" She asked hoping that he'll engage her, in her quest for a much-needed intimate moment.

"Well… I can think of three that would work." Ron explained, running his good hand up her side and waist. "First, we can be face-to-face like we are now. I'll wrap my arms around your body, your head can be lower on the pillow than mine, so we don't breathe in each other's faces."

Hermione wiggled herself into position. "Like this?" Ron hums in approval, "I like it, it lets me kiss your nose."

"It's far too big." Ron laments sarcastically.

"I love this nose." Hermione leaned in and kissed his rather large nose. "Position two?"

"Right, position two… I'll lay on my back like this, and you rest your head on my chest."

Eagerly Hermione moves into the new position, her head resting on Ron's taut upper chest. She felt Ron's arm rest down her spine, his hand resting on the small of her back just a movement away from him cupping her behind.

"I'm a fan of this one as well…" She sighed deeply, as her dainty hand rested on his chest where his thrumming heart rested, "I like hearing your heartbeat like this."

"I like holding you like this as well," Ron rested his cheek on the top of her head, his mouth getting assaulted by the sheer amount of her unruly curls.

"What's the last one?" She asked huskily, feeling Ron's body so close to hers was beginning to arouse her.

"Last one is where we're both on our sides, facing the same way." Ron and Hermione shifted into spooning position. "I like this quite a bit if I'm honest… I'm a side sleeper…"

Hermione said nothing, as her body pressed against his, she felt a certain… pressure, pressing on the lower half of her body. She was shocked and mortified at the discovery, however, her arousal only deepened further as she felt Ron's gentleman's area against her body, indicating how aroused he was for her as well.

"This…" She squeaked out, "Ahem… This is our default…"

"Good call," Ron said, his face was tucked into her deep curls and each time he breathed in, he caught a whiff of her strawberry-scented shampoo.

They spent the next fifteen minutes in that position when Hermione broke the silence.

"I missed you, Ron…" She took his wounded hand, which he had laced under her body, into hers. It felt alien to her, from Ron's normal hand, though this was the new normal for him she supposed.

"I missed you too." Ron's face tilted so his whispered voice went right into her ear. "I know I said it before but, I'm so sorry I left… Well… I guess… not sorry I left per se, but…. After what I saw out there… It was important to see… all of it."

"I'm sorry I left in the manner I left. I know I hurt you by abandoning you like that… but I hope you know that it wasn't because I didn't… love you… because I do and always have."

Hermione said nothing while Ron explained, she tensed under him when he admitted that he wasn't sorry he left, but relaxed when he explained his thoughts.

"I forgive you, Ronald." She said simply, playing with his left hand, "But… you leaving it…. It broke me, Ron. I told you I love you, and I do but… after you left it started to feel like…. Like a dementor had ripped a part of my soul out."

Hermione picked up his hand and placed his palm in between her breast, so his hand was resting solely over her heart. She felt Ron's arousal twitch against her as she soldiered on.

"This heart…. The one you can feel beating in my chest? It's yours, Ron. All yours… after you there is no one else for me."

"I feel the same, love."

"You own my heart, Ron." She continued in a small voice, "I need you to take care of it for me… it's so fragile and it couldn't survive being broken…"

"I swear it on my magic, 'Mione." Ron whispered in her ear, "Only if you promise to do the same for me and my heart."

"I swear it on my magic." She replied and she let Ron's hand go, it lingered on her chest for a moment but he relaxed it quickly enough. "Time to get some sleep."

"Right," Ron started, "Let me just adjust myself here though, I um…"

"Don't worry Ron… I like how it feels against me." Hermione felt Ron's body tense up in surprise, and Ron's right hand that was draped over her waist curled up, and tugged her body closer to his.

"When you're ready to take our relationship to the next level Ron…" Hermione yawned out, "Let me know, I want to share everything with you… including my body."

Ron didn't answer for a moment and she was almost certain he had fallen asleep.

"I- um… I was always told to wait until marriage for that sort of stuff…" he admitted guiltily.

"Then we wait until marriage," Hermione says quietly, though she couldn't deny that she was slightly disappointed. "I know you're the one for me, Ron. And I'll gladly say yes when you ask."

Ron said nothing at her admission of sheer devotion and love to him.

"Ron?"

"Yes, love?"

"Don't stress too much about these offers," She said reassuringly, "I just wanted to… communicate what I feel for you."

"Thank you for telling me, Mione."

Hermione said nothing as she slowly slipped into sleep. Ron stayed awake for the next two hours, thinking about all that Hermione had said. The only interruption was when Harry walked in, saw the pair of them in bed together, sighed, and grabbed his tea. The tent flap revealed enough camp light that Ron could see an embarrassed grin on Harry's face. As if he were happy for them, but for Merlin's sake, keep that personal stuff… personal.

Ron fell into a deep and warm sleep that night, both he and Hermione had to be roused past 10 o'clock because they had such a deep sleep that night.

Hermione had awoken first and got out of their shared bed and went to the loo. Ron lay in bed mulling over what had happened the night before, he soon rolled out of bed to get breakfast prepared. He whipped up two eggs each and cooked up some sausage because he knew a certain know-it-all would appreciate it.

Harry and Hermione soon entered the kitchen and took their seats. Hermione had Dumbledore's copy of Tales of Beedle the Bard clutched in her hands.

Ron found it odd that she said nothing while eating, she just stared at her plate, with her mind going a thousand miles an hour.

She only spoke up when Ron placed the dishes and pans in the sink.

"I think we ought to speak with Mr. Lovegood." She declared, and Harry and Ron shared sideways glances with each other.

"Luna's Dad?"

"Why him? Do you think he might have some information about Horcruxes?" Ron asked while wiping his teacup out.

"No, it's not that," She opened the book before her to the specific page and showed them, "I was going over the book again, and I realized where I had seen that symbol before."

"What symbol?" Ron asked, having been away while the others were at Godric's Hollow."

"This one," her dainty finger pointed out the strange symbol in question. "It's not a rune or anything like that, I've scoured the entire compendium."

"Well, that's the symbol of the Deathly Hallows," Ron explained.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well… you've got the Elder Wand which makes the line, the Stone that makes the circle, and Cloak makes the triangle." He traced them out on the table's surface with his finger.

"How do you know this Ron?" Harry asked incredulously.

"What do you mean?" Ron replied his brow shuffled in confusion. "It's a bedtime story mate… I mean… I was always more partial to Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump myself, but the Tale of the Three Brothers was the twin's favorite… Ginny's too…"

"I didn't know…" Hermione bit her bottom lip in concentration, "I think there's more to it. I still want to talk to Mr. Lovegood.

"Well, I don't have a problem with that." Ron added, "He's been printing that the only proper thing to do is to support Harry Potter, read a few of his issues with the Coalition… they're still insane, but the main article is always about supporting…. Well… this one." He nods to Harry. "I don't see any reason why he wouldn't help us if we asked."

"Alright then." Hermione gave Ron a sweet smile, "Do you know where the Lovegoods live?"

"Yeah, Gin and I used to go with Mum to visit when we were kids." Ron remembered, "Last time we were there was just after fifth year. We wanted to see how she was after the Department of Mysteries fiasco."

"That's good-"

"Soooo…. Am I not on the planning committee now?" Harry teased with a chuckle.

Ron and Hermione grinned at each other, "Right, what do you think mate?"

"Sorry, Harry.." Hermione smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, that works for me," He grinned, "Let's go after lunch though yeah?"

x A FEW HOURS LATER x

The trio was in the printing room of the Quibbler, inside the giant rook-shaped house that the Lovegoods called home. Xeno had just gone downstairs to make some soup and the stench from it was wafting up the staircase. Harry had left the others in the workshop and was exploring Luna's room which was just up the set of spiral stairs.

"Bloody hell," Ron groaned, "I don't know about you, but I'm vanishing whatever the hell he's making, I'd advise you to do the same… don't get food poisoning to be a nice guest."

Hermione said nothing for a moment, just glancing worriedly at the Erumpent horn that was mounted to the outer wall.

"What do you think Ron?" Hermione finally broke out of her thoughts, "Is it possible that the Hallows are real?"

"I dunno, Magic is pretty powerful and strange…" He said with a shrug, "It's possible, but…"

"Seems impossible right?" Hermione nodded along with Ron, glad they were on the same page. "It seems too far-fetched right?"

"Not as far-fetched as you might think though," Ron shot in, "Magical folk are always tinkering with magic. Back in the 1500s, there was a bloke who learned to manipulate magic and turn his lower half into a flaming comet so he could fly everywhere he wanted to. In Africa, they use wandless magic and create some of the most intricate transportation devices in the world, six-wheeled gilded carriages that are pulled by ten-foot-long automatons.

Just because it seems impossible, doesn't necessarily mean it is. That's all I'm saying."

"Hmmm," Hermione hummed, "Well at least we have an idea of what the symbol means. Even if it didn't tell us anything readily useful."

"Seems to be a pattern with the old man." Ron snickered.

Hermione said something to him quietly, but Ron hadn't heard her. Something sinister told him to stay right where he was… something oddly familiar. A chill crept up his spine and his trusty gut was tugging below him. He had learned to trust his instincts from his time in the Coalition, it had taught his body what true danger felt like. The foreign feeling to stay put reminded him of the time in Tottenham Court Rd, where Death Eaters had tracked them for no reason.

Ron rose to his feet and beelined for the stairs, he grabbed Hermione's hand roughly and took the stairs up two and three at a time.

Ron knew the house well enough, being that he had visited it during his childhood. He knew the magical signatures of those that lived here. It was breezy, bubbly and almost carefree familiarity that carried a sense of warmth. A perfect depiction of Luna and her Father. Not at all like the cold ominous feeling that had just arrived in the lane.

The pair of them rushed to Luna's room, Harry was misty-eyed while looking up at the faces that Luna had painted on her ceiling.

"Hey, guys-" Harry started but Ron moved past and ignored him. He needed to pinpoint where this ominous presence had come from.

"What's the matter?" he heard Harry's general question.

"No clue," came Hermione's quiet reply from somewhere behind him, "Ron just went real quiet and next thing I know he was dragging me up the stairs.'"

"What's going on Ron?" Harry redirected his question and joined him at his vigil at the window.

Ron ignored him and pulled back a curtain revealing a man in black robes and a mask, leading a ground of raggedy followers.

"Snatchers, and one Death Eater." Ron groaned aloud, he felt Hermione tense up behind him and Harry's body switched into combat mode. "That Blighter sold us out!"

"What?" Harry cried as he poked his head out as well, "Fuck, what do we do?"

From below the trio could hear Xeno Lovegood pleading with the Death Eater, "Please, give me my Luna!" He cried, "Harry Potter is upstairs! You can have him in exchange for my little girl!"

"Just like last week eh Rowle?" One of the Snatchers said in a sickening voice, " 'I've found a Crumple Horned Snorckack' What was it before that?"

"Lethifold Mating rituals." Another laughed.

"This is the last straw Lovegood," The vilest voice said, "You've wasted our time enough, I'm going to go kill your daughter after I torture you."

"NO PLEASE!" Xeno screamed, "I-I swear by the Founders that Potter is upstairs! Go check, you will see!"

"Homenum Revelio" one of the voices chanted out and the trio felt like a bird had swooped over their heads. "There are three people up there boss."

"Trying to ambush us, eh?" Rowle seethed, "Crucio!"

Xeno Lovegood's screams rang throughout the oddly shaped building, and the three felt a ward go up over the entire building.

"Anti-Apparation ward," Harry commented before he drew his wand.

"Dennis, Fulley, go upstairs and take out whoever is waiting for us." Rowle said before adding another 'Crucio' to Xeno.

"Quick, Harry, give me your cloak!" Hermione ordered and Harry looked at her oddly, "Ron, you need to get under this. So they don't know you're fighting. Harry and I will show that he was telling the truth. I hope it's enough to get Luna back for him."

"Good idea-"

"No," Ron said firmly, his mind racing while coming up with a strategy, "They know the family is fighting now. Bill has them all in hiding."

"Ron-"

"Hermione goes under the cloak. We make our way downstairs and take out as many as we can. When we get out of the wards, apparate to the World Cup site." Ron explained quickly, but quietly as he drew his wand and loomed over the stairs, positioning himself so that the Snatcher's backs would be to him as they made the landing.

"Ron, wait!" Hermione called out while Harry draped the cloak over her.

"Quiet!" Ron hissed, and they both gave him a startled look. He felt slightly guilty but shoved that way to deal with later. His eyes hardened as he prepared himself for a battle. "They're right below us…"

The Snatchers made their way to the top of the stairs and into Luna's room. They came out facing Harry and an invisible Hermione with Ron right behind him, leveling his wand to the taller one's back.

"Bloody Hell! It is him!" The First One exclaimed.

"IT'S POTTER!" The Second One alerted their colleagues on the floors below. Ron pounced and stunned him. The snatcher dropped and went tumbling down the stairs like a sack of potatoes, his head bouncing off the stairs leaving a crimson trail.

Harry struck at the same time, disarming his opponent with a flick of his wand. Hermione let out a stunner to knock the First One out.

"Downstairs!" Ron ordered, "MOVE!" He didn't pause to wait as he barrelled down the spiral staircase with Harry and Hermione following after.

Ron was mid-duel with a Snatcher when they caught up to him. Ron sent a jet of Neon Blue light at his opponent before the other cast a nasty-looking lighting looking Hex at Ron. The spell struck his coat that was buttoned around his chest. The light refracted off and slammed into the nearby Erumpent Horn.

The force of the explosion slammed Ron into the Quibbler's Production Bench, and the Snatcher was forcibly pushed down the stairs. Hermione and Harry grabbed onto the silver handrail on the stairs as the remnants of the explosion rocked them and were able to stop themselves from being jarred too severely.

"Why is it always an explosion?" Ron groaned to no one in particular as he shook his head, slowly pulling himself off from the workbench.

Ron could see that the work area was a complete mess. He looked up to see the explosion had blasted a hole into the ceiling above. Luna's bed, and large chunks of debris and plaster were dangling on a few of the bars but it was clearly about to fall.

The sound of the other intruders could be heard scrambling up the stairs, Ron could hear them slipping on the dazed Snatcher that was slumped in the middle of the stairs.

"Lapis!" Hermione called out, and a wall of stone grew out of the wall and sealed the stairwell shut.

"Gotta get out of here," Harry called out urgently.

"Have a plan?" Ron asked.

"I'm thinking - the bed."

"Do it." Ron didn't need more than that, he trusted Harry, and he could adapt to the situation as needed.

Harry seized Luna's bed with a levitation charm and flicked his wand down on the weakened and groaning floor below it. The bed smashed through the landing and flopped on the family's table, which withstood the shock for only a moment before it crashed too.

Ron swooped his wand over his head and a loud crack of thunder burst through the ground floor. He then dropped down through the hole and landed on the bed. He wobbled slightly but managed to stay on his feet. The mattress took his weight making him slightly uneven so he had to steady himself with his left hand. He quickly scanned for the Death Eater and Snatcher who were dazed trying to open the stairwell.

Ron pulled his right arm back and started in on an onslaught at his opponents hoping to get the jump on them. They were quick to recover, throwing up shielding spells and taking cover. They were clearly on the defensive.

Keeping up his attack, he carefully moved off the bed, his steps sinking into the soft mattress with every step. He finally hopped off and advanced on the Snatcher and Death Eater, his wand a blur with violent magic, which seemed to ebb from every movement of his wand.

"Harry, now!" He called out as he put up a shield charm to block the Snatcher's attacks.

Harry jumped down from the ceiling and landed on his bottom on the bed. Thankfully the springs still worked and he bounced slightly to his feet.

"We're down!" Harry called, as Hermione bounced off the bed still invisible, only her jean-clad legs showed as she got off the bed.

"NOOO!" Xeno Lovegood suddenly appeared at the entrance and manically shot out a stunning curse.

"FUCK!" Harry cried out as instincts kicked in and he deftly dodged, "Immobulus! Depulso!" The strange-haired man slowed down as if he were in molasses, and the Depulso curse smashed into his chest sending him careening out of the window.

Harry crashed out of the door, and Hermione soon followed.

Ron started using his dueling to press himself back towards the door, but he always stayed focused on holding the Dark Wizards off. The Death Eater pulled his wand back and thrust forward and a jet of lightning cracked out against Ron's shield charm, he was able to hold on to his shield but he could see it cracking under the strain of the attack. The Snatcher joined in and Ron found it nearly impossible to hold on to the shield charm as the onslaught was overwhelming.

Ron grit his teeth and decided to try something stupid.

While focusing on his shield with his wand, he stuck his eyes on the Death Eater's wand that was still firing the crackling energy at him. He held out his palm and twisted and willed his magic to follow his command.

Ron twisted his palm and the Death Eater's wand hand jerked to the right, right in front of the Snatcher next to him.

"Way's clear!" He heard Harry call out, and Ron threw out one last Depulso at the couch, throwing the furniture at the pair. He turned to leave and charged down the path after Harry and Hermione and watched as they both passed the wards and disapparated.

Ron could feel the magic of his boots kick in and he seemed to be sprinting as fast as the wind as he tore down the path.

From behind him, he heard the Death Eater bellow out, "Trahumteum!"

A spread of dark brown light cast at him like a scattergun, he could feel the spell strike his back with a light thud, but it didn't seem to hurt him.

Ron passed the wards and disapparated instantly. He arrived at the site of the Quidditch World Cup. Harry was doubled over panting, while Hermione held a stitch in her side.

Ron relaxed seeing they were safe.

"You dolt!" Harry admonished, "Why did you take so much of the front-lines stuff!"

"They needed to see you, Harry," Ron explained, panting though not nearly as badly as Harry and Hermione. "I wanted them to focus on me, not you so that you wouldn't get hurt"

Harry glared, gearing up to argue, "Ron! We're a team! You're not-"

"I'd do it again too." Ron interrupted and raised his chin stubbornly.

"What is that on your back, Ron?" Hermione asked, her voice laced with worry. They both paused and Ron shrugged off his coat. He could see four small balls that looked almost like a ball of wadded-up brown glue stuck onto his back. They popped off and landed in the dirt and started to glow bright blue… as blue as a Portkey.

"What the fuck?" Ron said as his face glowed blue from the light.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Harry stood up straight and readied his wand.

"I've never seen this before…" Hermione commented.

Ron put on his coat and backed up. Suddenly, four figures popped into existence within five feet of them. It was the Death Eater and his lackeys, all looking slightly worse for wear from their recent battle, but still somehow they tracked their apparition.

In a panic, the trio shot off spells but the Death Eaters were ready and easily deflected and returned their own volley of spells at each of them. Harry ducked and slashed his wand. Hermione slipped in the snow and landed on her bum but the curse darted over her head. Ron angled his shoulder, which simply absorbed the two remaining spells.

Ron leveled his wand and he and Harry dueled with them for a moment before Hermione drew her wand and turned to her side while still sitting and flickered her wand upwards causing the snow at the enemy's feet to envelop them at an alarming rate.

"You remember the hill we found the boot at?!" Ron shouted as he swirled his wand at one of the snatchers who could still target them. Hermione nodded while Harry looked confused.

"Hermione, go!" Ron ordered, and she disapparated with a crack. Ron rushed to Harry and pushed his hand on his shoulder. As they disapparated, they had seen the Death Eater reach up and out of the snow and slush.

They landed harshly on top of Stoatshead Hill, Hermione was already standing with her wand drawn, her nose and chin bleeding, and a fiery look in her eyes.

"Did anyone get hit with anything?" She asked and both boys shook their heads no. "Check each other over, make sure those masses are not on your clothes."

Harry and Ron checked each other over but couldn't find anything unusual stuck to them.

"We're good Hermione," Harry informed her as Ron sat down on a nearby rock.

"Thank God we didn't go back to camp." Hermione sighed as she lowered her wand.

"Any idea what that was?" Ron asked Hermione. "A tracking spell I suppose?"

"That's my guess," She replied as she tugged at a stick that was tangled in her bangs. "I think those… masses or balls or whatever send a signal which allowed them to apparate to us."

"That means the War just got harder." Harry groaned as he blinked several times, trying to beat out the apparition dizziness. "Quick thinking, by the way, mate."

Ron felt a pat on his shoulder from an appreciative Harry.

"Yes good job, Ron." Hermione smiled.

"We ought to make a list of all the places we've been to." Ron said, breaking out of his thoughts, "We memorize the list, and before we leave camp we agree on a certain apparition point."

Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement, looking thankful at his suggestion. It oddly made his chest feel warm.

"We can use this area for our regroup point, now that the Quidditch Pitch is compromised," Hermione said following Ron's train of thought.

"Think we can get back to our camp now?" Harry asked, "We probably shouldn't be talking out here too much right? Isn't this like a central point for a few wizarding families?"

Ron nodded, Stoatshead Hill was only a short walk from both the Burrow and the Lovegood's home. Not to mention the Diggory's home, which was in the glittering town below them.

"Let's go." Harry dissaparated without another word but Ron stayed silent on his rock and looked down the hill at the forest he used to play in with his brothers and then the field that he knew ran beside the Burrow, and then the darkened blob of the Burrow itself, only the window glinted in the moonlight, but Ron knew his home when he saw it. He was filled with a striking sense of melancholy.

"Everything Ok?" He heard Hermione's voice.

"Just… missing them." Ron sighed and Hermione draped her arms around his shoulders and pushed her chest into his back. "D'you know what I mean?"

"Wanna go visit for a bit?" She asked, placing her cheek on top of Ron's head.

"I wish," Ron sighed, "But they aren't there anyways. Fled from home to safety. Anyways, we'd better go clean you up a bit."

He stood and turned to face her and she was beaming at him like he had won the Quidditch Cup himself.

"What?" He asked confusedly.

"I'm just… I'm very proud and impressed with how you fought those guys today Ron." She smiled simply, "It was very brave."

He held her hand and kissed her cheek and the pair dissaparated back to camp.

A/N:

Hope it was worth the wait...

If it was... please let me know...

If it wasn't let me know as well... I'm always eager to get feedback, positive and negative.

One last awesome shout out to the Beta Nom, she's a fucking Gem who is both patient and wise.