Disclaimer: All Characters and things associated with Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. This writing is purely for entertainment only.

Summary: Harry died in the Forbidden Forest and Ron and Hermione must find a way to finish his mission in a world where Hermione and her blood status leaves them both in incredible danger.

Chapter 3

Hermione woke up to the feeling of Ron's strong arms around her naked body. Had this happened before the war she was certain she would've woke up with a cloud of anxiety stretched around her about what they had done the night before, but the war had changed her. Feeling the connection with Ron last night as she gave him her virginity was euphoric and so as she opened her eyes the next morning she felt a sense of calm.

She rolled over to face Ron who was still asleep but stirred as she moved. Slowly he opened his eyes and smiled when he saw her smiling face.

Ron's smile grew even wider as he recalled the events from the night before. The previous night was the first time since leaving Hogwarts that his thoughts had not been solely focused on everything they have lost. Instead he has been solely focused on Hermione and how much he truly loved her.

"Good morning," Hermione whispered to him.

"Good morning," Ron whispered back with a smile.

Hermione cuddled against Ron's chest and they lay there for a long time, soaking in the feeling of being this close, both knowing the calm feeling couldn't last.

"Last night... was..." Ron started.

Hermione smiled again and cut him off, kissing his lips softly. When they broke apart she gave him another soft smile. "Yes it was..."

They stayed on the cot for another hour or so, lazily drifting in and out of sleep. Finally, Hermione woke to hear Ron's stomach grumbling and she knew they needed to leave their small sanctuary in their sheets.

Hermione slipped out of bed, throwing Ron's tshirt on and moving to the kitchen. She grabbed the loaf of bread they had taken the night before and it brought her back to the reality of their situation. They were still in the middle of the woods. They were still hiding. Their world was still in ruins.

Hermione sighed, putting the bread down and looking back over at Ron who had stirred awake by her slamming the bread down.

"You alright?" Ron asked, also getting out of bed and slipping his boxers back on.

Hermione shook her head.

Immediately, Ron felt a pit in his stomach. He knew the night before and the morning were too good to be true. He knew we didn't deserve that happiness even if only for a moment. "Do you regret what we did last night?"

Hermione appeared shocked by his question. She quickly shook her head. "What? No...no not at all, Ron. Last night was perfect...if anything it made me realize something."

"What?" Ron asked, moving closer to her now that he knew she wasn't upset with him.

"That I want a future with you...that I don't want to spend my life on the run, just existing. I want a home...I want to make a life...with you..." Hermione told him.

Ron smiled at the thought of growing old with Hermione in a home that they built together. It was a beautiful dream, but he knew it was a pipe dream. As long as of Voldemort was alive they would never be able to live in peace.

"Do you want that too?" Hermione asked after a long moment.

Ron nodded. "I mean...yeah, that sounds brilliant."

"Well then...we have to kill the snake," Hermione said the last request Harry had made of them out loud.

Silence filled the tent for a long moment before Ron nodded.

"Alright...yeah...we need to kill the snake," Ron agreed.

"Brilliant," Hermione said, sort of surprised there was no push back from Ron.

"But how?" He asked.

"That I'm less sure about," Hermione admitted. "We need to come up with a plan but we will need more information than we have on what is exactly going on out there."

Ron nodded. He knew if they were going to actually try to find the snake. It would mean they would need to be much more involved in the Wizarding World again. He also knew that would mean risking their lives on a level they never had before, particularly Hermione's if they were caught.

"We need to move the campsite , don't we?" Ron realized what Hermione was saying.

Hermione nodded almost reluctantly.

"If we get caught we are as good as dead." Ron stated. It was a simple fact at this point.

"I know...but if we don't try, Ron, why future do we have? What did Harry die for?" Hermione spoke with conviction. It was clear to Ron that her mind was made up.

"I just...I don't want anything to happen to you," Ron admitted. He knew how bad it could be for Hermione if they got caught.

"We're in this together," Hermione said as she moved forward and gently took Ron's hand in hers. "We have to try and fight for some sort of life we deserve."

Ron nodded. He know what she said was true. If they had any hope for the future, they had to do this.

After a long moment, Ron spoke again. "What about Shell Cottage? It's a little closer to civilization but realistically, unless it was compromised, it should be a safe space. No one really knows it's there."

Ron was fairly certain that was where his family members that hadn't been caught had gone. It was one of the few safe places he knew left.

Hermione nodded. Shell Cottage was actually somewhere that had crossed her mind as a safe place as well. "At least we should try, if it's not safe we can always disapparate back here."

Ron nodded in agreement, the entire conversation seeming so foreign to even the life they had been merely existing through the last week. Suddenly, it felt like they had a purpose again.

Ron and Hermione apparated to the dunes behind Shell Cottage and cautiously moved up to the home. Hermione cast a number of charms and spells to make sure the house was safe and no one was there before the both felt comfortable approaching the home.

"Just be cautious..." Ron whispered as they made their way to the front door. He kept his head on a swivel as Hermione continued to check the building for charms, movement, or traps.

"There are a lot of defensive spells up already, and they are working. It has to be someone from the Order, otherwise we wouldn't be able to get in," Hermione said as they reached the door.

"I don't bloody care, add as many as we can then," Ron said, making sure he was putting all the charms they used in the woods on Shell Cottage.

Hermione nodded and cast a few more charms before opening the front door.

Ron and Hermione entered Shell Cottage and were surprised by what they found. It looked as though someone had been there semi-recently. There was a Daily Prophet on the table dated three weeks earlier and there were some flowers in a pot that looked like they had just wilted over.

"Someone was here...at least in the last month," Hermione said.

"Well they aren't here now," Ron said, putting his wand away. He knew there was a good chance it had been Bill and Fleur. After all, it was there home and as far as Ron knew neither of them had been caught. The thought of possibly seeing his older brother was one that Ron quickly pushed away. That sort of luck didn't exist anymore. All that was certain was, the house was empty.

It was obvious that they were alone in the house, but even if they had not been, neither were too concerned about who had been in the house. It had to have been someone from the Order, someone who knew the house was there. The house was not ransacked so there was no way it had been Death Eaters. Shell Cottage was still a safe house.

After two weeks of being at Shell Cottage with no disturbances, Hermione and Ron simply fell into a new routine.

Every day the spent time on the beach, enjoying the warm weather with Ron tinkering with some of the things his father had left behind and Hermione reading many of the spell books that Fleur had kept in her collection. They would spend time in the garden that had been under a spell to help grow vegetables and fruits in bountiful numbers. They took turns cooking, with Ron having to leave for Muggle cities and supplies less and less which turned out to be a good thing. It seemed things in the Muggle World were slowly changing too, and not in any good ways.

They spent their nights listening to the radio, and that was when any normalcy the day had brought vanished. The Wizarding World was falling into pure chaos.

More and more wizards and witches, who stood against Voldemort, were being rounded up by the hour. More were being killed rather than sent prison at this point from the reports they were receiving. Any muggle-borns that were being were seen as unfit to be servants to a pure blood household sent to work camps where it was now painfully obvious they were being killed, tortured or experimented on. There were stories of them being killed and being poisoned to see the effects of different potions and curses. There were also stories of what was happening to the ones sent to the pure blood households. Those were mostly witches, and Hermione could easily deduce that they were being sent there for far more than just cooking and cleaning.

Hearing the reports on the radio did give both Ron and Hermione pause on their next move. They knew they wanted to help and what was happening and the Wizard world, but they also knew just how dangerous it would be for both of them. Neither would admit it to each other, but they both have thought at separate times how easy it would be to stay at Shell Cottage and just live out there by the water.

After they would listen to their night in radio, they would often find themselves drifting to the bedroom together, where they no longer afraid to show each other how they truly felt. They spent nearly every night falling in love with each other all over again and growing closer. That was the one part where they both could experience a true moment of happiness, despite everything that had happened to them so far.

And so on that particular night, when Ron turn the radio on; he expected their routine to continue. He expected to hear a list of wizards who had been arrested, and they would hope it wasn't anyone they knew and then they would make their way to bed. Hermione made him a cup of tea and joined him on the couch as they clicked the radio on.

Both of them were shocked to hear a very different announcement.

Voldemort has taken over Hogwarts, using the school as his new headquarters. He has released a statement that my profile prisoners will be sent there including any members of The Order of the Phoenix and all former Hogwarts staff associated with Harry Potter. He will also be opening the school up to training of the young students in the arts he sees fit. All students will be re-sorted into new houses and any student that does not fall into the Slytherin House will be given the option to leave school in the next coming weeks. He request that no parents come to the school prior to the new sorting ceremony.

"What in the bleeding hell is that all about?" Ron asked, confused by the radio announcement.

"I'd say it means your parents are being moved to Hogwarts...and Voldemort is trying to create an army with the students..." Hermione deduced, straightening up a bit in her seat next to Ron.

"He's already got that with all the bloody Death Eaters," Ron said.

Hermione shook her head. "This is different...if the Death Eaters are the sergeants or leaders...this would be the infantry..."

Ron shook his head. He was trying his best to keep up with Hermione's muggle terms but it wasn't as easy as he thought.

"Just like...foot soldiers. Very disposable really," Hermione explained again.

Ron nodded, understanding now. "But what would he want with that? He's already won..."

"He's obviously worried about something," Hermione sighed. "That or he is trying to take over the Muggle world as well. He would need to be extremely prepared for that. Voldemort isn't stupid...with Muggle technology...any attack Voldemort wanted to make would need to be by surprise, and very large."

"But what would he want with the Muggle World?" Ron asked.

"To destroy it..." Hermione said simply. Voldemort would never let his power only extend to the Wizarding World. He would want to rule everything.

They pair sat in silence for a long moment. Ron curled his arm around Hermione's shoulder and pulled her into his chest. He felt her relax there for a moment and he gave her the moment before he decided to speak again.

"Well...I suppose Hogwarts is where the snake is. At least we know that now," Ron said after a long moment.

Hermione nodded against his chest but said nothing, afraid her emotions would betray her. The thought of going back to Hogwarts, where they lost Harry, where they really lost everything made her sick to her stomach. Maybe they weren't really ready to continue this fight.