Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Do not own hp.**

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Abruptly the lights went off and Harry and Hermione were left in complete darkness.

"Lumos." they whispered quickly, holding their wands out apprehensively, expecting a larger threat than a seething Ron with the Deluminator in his hands. They let out a small breath of relief and lowered their wands, but, noticing the look on his face, continued to watch him warily.

Their best friend stomped over to the section of the tent they'd been using as a dining room since their journey had begun. Though now instead of food, books Hermione had been showing to Harry littered the surface of the table, with which she had been anxiously trying to explain the biggest revelation she had had since they were on the run, before Ron had suddenly appeared with a livid expression on his face. He clicked the Deluminator again, consequently releasing the lights to go back to their respective lanterns.

"Yeah, I'm still here, in case you haven't noticed." He said bitingly, eyes stormy and teeth gritted. He spoke in a tone which conveyed his obvious anger.

"Ron we were just –" she tried to continue but his intense – and rather frightening – glare told her it was better not to do so.

"You were just what? What was so important that you couldn't discuss it with me being in the same room?"

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other. The reason of why Ron hadn't been there with them, was only because he was out keeping guard, so whatever had incited his anger had nothing to do with not being considered in the discussion.

"Is there anything bothering you?" asked Harry half confused, half annoyed.

"Yes, lots of things. For starters, I'm tired of you both always sneaking up behind my back, like if I wouldn't be able to understand what's going on," He was interrupted by a rather irritated Hermione

"Ronald, you know you got hurt after the accident and all, I — we were just trying to protect — help you! But we would nev –"

"I'm tired of this!" he barked suddenly as he gestured to the tent, cutting Hermione off. "Now, this is what I don't understand, how come Dumbledore never told you anything else about these Horcruxes and where to find them? We've been wandering around aimlessly for months and we haven't made any sort of progress. For Merlin's sake, I still have this god damn locket hanging from my neck with no way to destroy the bloody thing!"

"Well, we certainly would be making progress if we were actually focusing our efforts on looking for them rather than fighting over them," Hermione snapped bluntly.

"You know what, forget it."

"No, say it." A much more serious Harry got into the conversation again. They exchanged a long look before Ron broke the silence.

"Alright then," He took a deep breath before continuing. "I think it's impossible that Dumbledore wouldn't have told you more about this. You were practically like his son to him;" he paused for a second and looked at Hermione for support, of course, he didn't find it. "You're not telling us everything, are you Harry?" His tone made it clear that this question had been in his mind for more than just a few hours.

"I've told you everything I know, the whole lot of what Dumbledore ever told me," he shook his head in exasperation "Do you truly believe that I would lie to you? That I would simply leave out such important information to the ones who'd been following me in the most dangerous expedition to save the Wizarding and Muggle world alike?"

Ron looked as he was about to explode. His nostrils flared, his ears turned bright red, and his deep blue eyes were full of anger and resentment, deep down he was disappointed; he desperately wanted there to be the explanation to their lack of progress.

"Honestly Ron, Harry would never –"

"You know why I listen to that old radio?" He addressed Harry, rudely cutting Hermione off.

"Enlighten me." he retorted sharply.

"To make sure everyone's safe. Mum, Dad, Ginny, Fred, George; to make sure I don't miss it when their names are called."

"Ron –"

"You think I don't know?" shouted Harry, outraged "You think I don't know how this feels?"

"NO! You don't know how it feels! Your parents are dead! You have no family lef –"

Harry lost it. He pounced towards Ron as they started to brawl, tugging and hitting at each other in a blind rage. Hermione was distraught; she tried desperately to break them apart as she was yelling "STOP! Please, stop!" Finally Ron stepped back when she managed to wedge herself between the two and separate them.

"Go then! Leave!" Harry yelled, gasping for air.

Ron started to pick up the things Hermione had packed for him when they were at the Burrow.

He can't be doing this.

"Ron," she pleaded "Ron, please." He completely ignored her pleas and blurted a question at her.

"And you?" He addressed her for the very first time since he had gotten into the tent. She looked at him questioningly.

"Are you coming or staying?" He evaded her eyes, looking down, not wishing to look as she possibly rejected him.

Hermione looked pleadingly at him, eyes wide.

"Ron. You can't… go. Please, just think this through."

"It's all right," he said sarcastically, glancing up at her eyes, which were shining with unshed tears "I saw you two the other night," his jealousy was now evident, which made Hermione fully comprehend the feelings that had led to the fight. "Not just talking about Horcruxes." he clarified.

Harry frowned in misunderstanding.

Oh, Ron.

"That… that was nothing!" she cried "Please, just—"

He violently yanked the locket from around his neck before throwing it to the ground and storming out of the tent.

And then he was gone.

Hermione stood stock still for a few seconds, not believing what her eyes had just seen. After shaking off her shell shock she emerged from the tent, this time approaching Ron in a much more different way, the way that normally would make him react the fastest: aggressively.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" she yelled frustratingly as he made it seem that he wasn't acknowledging her presence "Don't you dare! If I hear a crack sound I swear I'm going to –" She reached for his arm but he shook her off quickly enough to disapparate an instant later. She stared at the empty space where he had stood in disbelief, her threats vanishing into nothing as the reality sunk in.

Utter and complete silence held in a single moment of despair and incredibility as Hermione's arm stayed suspended in the air, reaching out to a person already gone.

... Ron.

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**A/N: I'd like to infinitely thank my beta Madi (NorbertaTheDragon) for helping me with this fic :). She transformed it from a rough draft to an incredible masterpiece.  
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**This is the fight mentioned in my other fic "The hunt for horcruxes" that is also being beta'd right now by Lorakeet (Nerd-Herd13).  
**  
**Please make sure to check them both out! **


	2. Chapter 2

Her short sleep was abruptly interrupted by Harry's yelling of her name, her body reacting instantly. She was up at once, frantically trying to put her shoes on: always prepared for the worst. She reached out for her wand but quickly realised that Harry had it, having no other choice but to confront the situation and hurry out of the tent with no weapon to protect them with. However, her still-tired mind approved of her actions. If they were going to get captured, she thought, better together than separated. Frightened and unaided, she stepped out to a snowy forest, covered evenly with a large amount of white fur.

She walked slowly, internally wishing that he would stop screaming. He didn't sound scared though, now that she was paying much more attention to the facts than to her pessimistic assumptions. Her muscles slightly relaxed but kept guarded, hoping that he was just eager to tell her good news, rather than being obligated to call her name because of the Imperius curse. She continued on, the crunch of snow underfoot being drowned out by Harry's eager calling.

"Hermione! Hermione! Come here!"

He hadn't been too far, still within the boundaries of the protective charms. She stopped when she saw him, noting the beaming grin spread across his face and the jubilance that radiated from his damp self. Taking note of his wet state, she studied him for a few seconds, not understanding his blissful expression, before asking hesitantly,

"Is…everything alright? Are you hurt?" she asked raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

"It's fine! It's actually _more_ than fine." He turned on his heels to face the redheaded friend that had been missing to complete the trio.

He instantly smiled at the sight of her, not really considering her first reaction to his return. "Hey!" he chirped, as if he'd finished opening his presents in a Christmas morning.

She frowned noticeably. Her eyebrows met and her expression turned from apprehensive to fuming in seconds. The curves of her mouth were now upside down, emanating aversion and anger.

To contrast, happiness and bliss eradiated from Ron, giving his rather deplorable figure a brightness to distract from his drenched state.

After a few seconds of just staring at each other, Harry cleared his throat, fixed his eyes on Ron and waved his arms slightly, signaling for him to do something to release the tension it had accumulated between them. It was pretty clear that the situation was getting considerably uncomfortable, not only for Harry but for Ron as well.

"Um… Hey" he tried again.

But it was too late.  
Hermione had already lost it.

Hermione stomped towards him with clenched fists and gritted teeth, a fire in her eyes.

"YOU. COMPLETE. _ARSE, _RONALD WEASLEY!" She pounded at his chest with her fists at each word. She was hitting him as hard as she could, but she knew she had to do better than that if she wanted to truly scare him. Taking hold of anything that was near her, she continued to hit him. Rocks, leaves, even his backpack was a useable item for her mission.

Tears were starting to blur her vision from rage and frustration.

"YOU SHOW UP HERE AFTER WEEKS…" She continued, hitting him with her fists, right foot, left foot, sticks and rocks. Her face was red and her eyes were wide and shining with tears. Her jaw was clenched and her muscles taut, fury raged on in her veins, along with despair, and a feeling of abandonment, fuelling her hits. She quickly realised she was running out of things to hit him with.  
Soon she gave up.

"AND… YOU… SAY… HEY?!" she yelled with a last punch at his chest before she stood back, gasping from exhaustion.

A confused and rather frightened Ron looked at her.

He certainly could understand that she would be mad at him, blimey, it was Hermione after all, but _this_ mad? He internally had hoped that when she saw him she'd have cried or something, but definitely never expected her to hit him so hard so she would have to stop to breathe.

Hermione turned on her heels and advanced on Harry this time.

"Where's my wand Harry?!" she demanded rather manically.

"I…I don't know," he said cautiously.

"Harry Potter, you _GIVE ME MY WAND!"  
_  
"I don't have it! I…I really don't." he lied.

"How come he's got your wand?" Ron interrupted.

Harry looked over at him, slightly grateful and slightly pitiful, as Hermione whipped her head round to look at Ron.

_Really? Is he actually going to ask me a question so casually after what he's done? _She thought, _He must be joking, because it's not going to be that easy._

It will definitely not.

"Never mind why he's got my wand!" she snapped back.

"Well actually—" Harry started.

"No," she interrupted "he was the one who missed the entire life-threatening episode for his own selfish needs so he clearly does not need to know."

The boys looked at each other, completely clueless on what to say.

It wasn't really a shock that Hermione was angry, Harry thought to himself, it was Ron she was mad at to begin with, but he had visualized Hermione crying from happiness, rather than yelling from infuriation, considering all the time he'd seen her suffer from his absence. He should've known better.

"Hermione, I… I really am very—" Ron stammered.

"Oh save it Ronald. Just because you're sorry it doesn't mean that—what… What is that?" She paused for a second and pointed at the now opened locket, the same one they'd been keeping safely on their necks, desperately seeking for a chance to give it its awaited death, until now.

"You… you destroyed it." She was astonished and incredibly enough, felt immensely proud. It was only at that point when she had to remind herself that she was also, but most importantly, incredibly furious with him.

"Yes. Yes I did." He said as he smiled, trying to use this opportunity to change the subject, a subject that made him feel like a failure and a traitor. Every time Hermione glared at him he felt disgusted with himself. He knew exactly what she was thinking about him, because he thought that about himself as well. It made his heart sink in to know how much she repulsed his presence. At least he knew he repulsed himself even more.

"And how come you happen to have the sword of Gryffindor?" she cut his trail of thought abruptly, using a tone of voice the boys often called the 'Hermione tone', which she tended to use when irritated because of being confused.

"It's a long story." Harry simply replied.

Silence fell amongst the trio.

Ron worried that this was going to be Hermione from now on, a sarcastic, mean and hurtful Hermione Ron just couldn't stand, although he couldn't blame her, really. His preoccupations only grew as she spat "Don't think this changes _anything."_ While starting to walk towards the tent, tears filling her eyes once more.

Ron wouldn't let it.

"What do you mean? I just destroyed a _bloody _horcrux Hermione! Of course it changes something!"

Hermione cleared the tears with her thumb and turned back to face him.

"Why did you come back, Ron?" she asked him, an exhausted tone to her voice.

Harry was staring at him too, even though he'd forgiven his best mate almost instantly; he wanted to hear his story as much as she did.

Ron felt the pressure that was on his shoulders; he only had one chance to possibly win his friends back again, and he wasn't going to ruin it.

"Look… I wanted to come back as soon as I left; I just… I just didn't know how to find you—"

"Yeah, how did you find us?" asked an intrigued Harry.

"With this" Ron took the Deluminator out of his still soaked coat's left pocket and held it with his right hand, showing it to them. "The Deluminator Dumbledore gave me, it doesn't just turn off lights you know."

"Oh bully for you." snapped Hermione sharply.

Ron ignored her. "After I dissaparated that night I got splinched again. Luckily, I came across some Muggles that helped me." Ron remembered how his emotions had taken him out of control right after he'd left the tent, how he'd started sobbing uncontrollably and feeling the worst he'd ever felt in his entire life. He instantly decided it was best not to mention that part.

"I assume you didn't apparate close enough for them to notice—"

"No, I didn't." he cut Hermione off.

"All right then. Please continue with your wonderful story." She sat on a rock and folded her arms.

"The Muggles were a bit surprised I might add; they had no idea what could have possibly happened to me. At the end they applied something similar to your essence of Dittany," he referred to her "but definitely not as well brewed as yours."

"My essence of Dittany, Ronald, was not brewed by me, I bought in the Apothecary shop in Diagon Alley months ago."

"Right."

Silence fell upon Ron, accompanied by a resentful glare from Hermione

"Anyway… I found myself fighting snatchers regularly. They were everywhere I went, almost like they knew where to find me. Weeks passed and I found myself right before Christmas morning. I fell asleep in this little pub where I thought it was safe when… when I heard it."

"It?" asked Harry confusedly.

"A voice," he stopped to look at Hermione "_your _voice, Hermione." He said while his cheeks were turning a bright shade of red, but not making any attempt to change what he'd just said.

This clearly caught her attention.

"My voice? And what was I saying if may I ask?"

"My name," he said sincerely "Just my name, like a whisper." He paused to see her reaction, she had started to turn pink as well but unlike him and her taut features had relaxed slightly.

"Your voice was coming from the Deluminator, so I took it, clicked it and this tiny ball of light appeared… and it sort of… went in me," he grimaced at his choice of words, Harry and Hermione exchanging puzzled looks at each other "I really don't know how to describe it, but as soon as it did I knew where I had to go, it felt almost like an instinct," Hermione had started to accumulate tears in her eyes again and her breathing had gotten more agitated, as if she would have wanted to run and hug him, but the remainders of her aching feel of betrayal made her not move a single centimeter. "So I disapparated. It was dark, I had no idea where I was and I hoped one of you would show up," he looked at Harry "and you did."

Harry gave him a small reassuring smile and nodded. Ron's misfortune with the Snatchers wasn't a surprise to Harry, he knew that Death Eaters were _everywhere_ and that was exactly why they took extreme caution when choosing a location and setting the tent.

Hermione herself showed a bit of understanding; her previously furious expression had grown relaxed, she no longer seemed angry, but impressed and incredibly touched. Even though it wouldn't be easy for her to forgive him, Ron knew he had done the right thing, to tell them both the truth of what had happened and what was the reason he'd come back, for them, for _her_.

Ron looked at his friends with the most apologetic look he could give them.

"Hermione, Harry… I—"

"Let's go inside, Harry," she interrupted, changing her expression from emotional to blank, almost profesional "We still have a lot to figure out." And then she disappeared into the tent, wiping her thumb under her eyes once again.

Harry looked at Ron, whom seemed pathetically sad at Hermione's response. He knew his mate had done everything he could to try and gain her forgiveness and trust again. He was human after all and he truly couldn't blame him. He knew Ron really regretted his attitude and his leaving, and he wasn't going to judge him forever for his mistakes. He never asked any of them to come with him, they just did, and even though his leaving did make him angry and infuriated, the fact that he was there again, with him, made everything else seem not important.

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**A/N: Again took some liberties in this chapter, talking about Ron's encounter with some Muggles and Hermione buying the essence of Dittany (I do not know if she bought it or brewed it herself!). Couldn't have done it without my beta Madi (NorbertaTheDragon) Go check her things out! **


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Harry Potter, Angst, Hurt-Comfort