Hermione Granger

'Ron ...' she starts, but her voice was far too quiet to make any sort of impact.

'I thought you knew what you'd signed up for.'

'Yeah, I thought I did too.'

'So what part of it isn't living up to your expectations? Did you think we'd be staying in five star hotels? Finding a Horcrux every other day? Did you think you'd be back to Mummy by Christmas?'

'We thought you knew what you were doing! We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a real plan!'

'Ron!' she says again, much louder. Still, she is ignored.

'Well, sorry to let you down. I've been straight with you from the start. I told you everything Dumbledore told me. And in case you haven't noticed, we've found one Horcrux -'

'- yeah, and we're about as near getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them - nowhere effing near, in other words!'

She blinks, her heart racing wildly. 'Take off the locket, Ron. Please take it off. You wouldn't be talking like this if you hadn't been wearing it all day.'

'Yeah, he would.' Harry crosses his arms. 'D'you think I haven't noticed the two of you whispering behind my back? D'you think I didn't guess you were thinking this stuff?'

'Harry, we weren't -'

'Don't lie!' Ron spits. 'You said it too. You said you were disappointed; you said you'd thought he had a bit more to go on than -'

'I didn't say it like that!' she protests, shaking her head wildly. There are tears streaming down her cheeks. 'Harry, I didn't!'

There is silence.

Then Harry says: 'So why are you still here?'

'Search me.'

'Go home then.'

'Yeah, maybe I will!' Pause. 'Didn't you hear what they said about my sister? But you don't give a rat's fart, do you, it's only the Forbidden Forest, Harry I've-Faced-Worse Potter doesn't care what happens to her in here, well, I do all right, giant spiders, and mental stuff -'

'I was only saying - she was with the others, they were with Hagrid -'

'- yeah, I get it, you don't care! And what about the rest of my family? "The Weasley's don't need another kid injured" - did you hear that?'

'Yeah, I -'

'Not bothered what it meant, though?'

Hermione shakes her head. 'Ron! I don't think it means anything new has happened, anything we don't know about; think, Ron, Bill's already scarred ... plenty of people must have seen that George has lost an ear by now, and you're supposed to be on your deathbed with spattergroit. I'm sure that's all he meant -'

'Oh, you're sure, are you? Right then, well. I won't bother myself about them. It's all right for you two, isn't it, with your parents safely out of the way -'

'My parents are dead!'

'And mine could be going the same way!'

'Then GO! Go back to them. Pretend you've got over your spattergroit and Mummy'll be able to feed you up and -'

'Protego!' Her hand is raised, wand clutched tightly. A protective shield blocks the two boys from carrying this towards a far more violent level. They take steps back from each other while Hermione keeps her breath on hold for a moment longer.

'Leave the Horcrux,' says Harry evenly.

Ron turns to her. 'What are you doing?'

'What do you mean?'

'Are you staying, or what?'

'I ...' She pauses, wiping her face hastily. 'Yes - yes, I'm staying. Ron, we said we'd go with Harry. We said we'd help -'

'I get it. You choose him.'

'Ron, no - please - come back! Come back!'