𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 ; 𝒹.𝒽

thirty-eight

Harry sat across from them, "It can destroy Horcruxes."

"Ding ding ding." Zoya said. 

"And that's why Dumbledore left it to you in his will." 

Harry looked down at the book as he pointed to them, "You two are brilliant. Truly."

"Actually, I'm highly logical, which allows me to look past extraneous detail. And perceive clearly that which others overlook."

 Zoya put her chin in her hand, "And I just... pay attention."

Suddenly, all the light in the tent was gone. Zoya turned to Ron's silhouette, "The sword was stolen." Ron said, clicking his deluminator and returning the light. "Yeah. I'm still here. But you two carry on. Don't let me spoil the fun."

"What's wrong?" Zoya questioned. 

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong." Ron said before turning his attention to Harry, "Not according to you, anyway."

"Look, if you've got something to say, don't be shy. Spit it out."

"All right, I'll spit it out. But don't expect me to be grateful. Just because now there's another damn thing we've got to find."

"I thought you knew what you signed up for."  

"Yeah. I thought I did, too."

Harry stood up, "Well, then, I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand. What part of this isn't living up to your expectations? D-did you think we were gonna be staying in a give-star hotel finding a Horcrux every other day? You thought you'd be back with your mum by Christmas?"

"I just thought after all this time, we would have actually achieved something." Ron snapped back as Zoya and Hermione stood up, "I thought you knew what you were doing. I thought Dumbledore would have told you something worthwhile. I thought you'd actually be able to get Aurora to help us. I thought you had a plan!"

"I told you everything Dumbledore told me. And do you think I really wanted Aurora to turn this down? Don't you think I'd know things could be moving faster if she were here?! And, in case you haven't noticed, we have found a Horcrux already."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yeah, and we're about as close to getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them, aren't we?"

"Ron, we're all doing our best. It's not Harry's fault, he's just as much in the dark as we are." Zoya defended. 

He turned his attention to her, "Yeah, of course you're gonna defend him, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What it means is you were selfish to snog him. I bet you don't even realize how much you broke Fred and Ginny's heart over that. Even if they didn't let you see it."

"Fred and I were broken up and I had no idea about Ginny's feelings, Ron. I wasn't being selfish." Zoya snapped. 

He scoffed, "You keep telling yourself that."

Hermione stepped in front of Ron, "Ron, please take– please take the Horcrux off. You wouldn't be saying any of this if you hadn't been wearing it all day." Hermione reasoned. 

Ron backed away, "Do you want to know why I listen to that radio every night, do you? To make sure I don't hear Ginny's name, or Fred, or George, or mum."

"What, you think we're not listening, too?!" Zoya yelled, "In case you've forgotten, Fred is just about all I have left!"

"You think we don't know how this feels?!" Harry added. 

"You two don't know how it feels! Your parents are dead. You two have no family!"

Harry lunged at Ron, and Hermione began to yell at them to stop. Zoya yanked Harry away, "Fine! Go then!" Harry yelled. 

Ron took the Horcrux off and shoved it in Zoya's hands. He picked up his bags as Hermione looked at him worriedly. He turned to her, "And you? Are you coming? Or are you staying?"

 She looked back at Zoya and Harry, and then to Ron worriedly. 

"Fine. I get it. I saw you two the other night."

Hermione shook her head, "Ron, that's- that's nothing."

Ron said nothing more. He walked out of the tent with Hermione following after pleading him to stay. 

Zoya sat back down on the bench, her elbows on her knees as she buried her face into her hands. She hears a faint whooshing sound, and Hermione walked back inside with a tear-stained face. 

"He left."

"Nice to know he can apparate again." Zoya mumbled. 

Hermione took the locket from Zoya's hands, putting it on. 

Zoya looked up at Harry, who was standing by the edge of the tent. He looked just as angry as she felt. 

"What now?" Hermione quietly asked. 

Zoya sighed, "We continue on. With or without him."