It's been a day or two since we arrived at our current location and we still haven't found another Horcrux yet. Everyone is getting kind of tired, so we have taken today off hunting to just relax. I'm sat at the long wooden table reading a book about Goblin crafted items, Hermione is trimming Harry's hair and Ron is laying down in bed, listening to the quiet hum of the radio.
As I'm reading, my eyes fall on some information in the chapter about the Sword of Gryffindor and I gasp aloud, my eyes wide. "Oh my god!" I exclaim, double checking that what I just read is correct. "What's going on?" Hermione asks as both she and Harry walk through to see my shocked expression.
"It's Goblin made, The Sword of Gryffindor," I start as my finger traces over the sentences. Hermione nods and Harry responds with a 'brilliant' and two thumbs up, to which I shake my head and chuckle. "Because it's made by Goblins, dirt and rust don't have any effect on the blade. It only takes that in which therefore makes it stronger," I reply as I place the book on the table and turn it around, so the two can read what I'm pointing at.
They both read the information but look at me with blank stares, which surprises me as I assumed that Hermione would instantly catch on.
"Harry, you have already destroyed a Horcrux! Tom Riddle's diary in the Chamber of Secrets, correct?" I ask as they both sit down opposite me and he nods, his brows knotted with confusion. "With a Basilisk fang! I mean, if you tell me you've got one of those in that bloody beaded bag of yours," he replies, with some slight sarcasm in his tone.
"Oh my goodness, don't you see? In the Chamber, you stabbed the Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor, so now the blade is impregnated with Basilisk venom and because it only takes that in which makes it stronger, it can--"
"Destroy Horcruxes!" Harry and Hermione simultaneously conclude, both their sets of eyes now wide in shock. "Yes!" I exclaim with happiness in response, "which must be why Dumbledore left it for you in his will."
Harry stands up, marches over and gives me a large, passionate kiss on my cheek, which makes Hermione chuckle. "Aurora, you are brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" He gushes, to which I feel my cheeks grow a shade of pink. I try to say that Hermione is the brilliant one, but she shakes her head and beams at me. "I'm just highly logical and I'm usually able to see specific details that most overlook, but you are incredibly intelligent, Aurora!"
My blush intensifies and I thank them both. "However, there is only one problem," I start, but I immediately stop when all the lights disappear, the radio is switched off and Ron's voice pipes up in the darkness. "The Sword was stolen." He flicks the switch on his Deluminator, returning the lights, and we all see a deep darkness in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm still here. But you two carry on," he snaps in quite an offended tone, "don't let me spoil the fun."
I turn around to him, really confused. "Ron, what's wrong?" I ask, just to have him shrug, scoff and state that there's nothing wrong according to me and Harry. "Well, if you've got something to say, don't be shy," Harry retorts, slightly defensive, "spit it out."
"Alright, I'll spit it out," Ron sneers, the tone of his voice growing darker and snappier by the moment, "but don't expect me to be grateful just because now there's another damn thing we've got to find." Harry reminds Ron that he thought he knew what he was signing up for when he agreed to help hunt down the Horcruxes, but Ron merely scoffs at his comment.
"Well, look, I'm sorry," Harry starts as he stands up and walks past Ron, his voice starting to grow angrier, "but I don't quite understand." I nod my head and walk down the stairs, before I add to Harry's comment. "We weren't going to be living in amazing conditions and we all knew that we weren't going to find Horcruxes immediately."
Harry nods and asks Ron what part of this mission isn't living up to his expectations. "I just thought," Ron replies, his mouth forming into a slight scowl, "after all this time, we would have actually achieved something, I thought you knew what you were doing! I thought Dumbledore would have told you something worthwhile, I thought you had a plan!"
"I told you everything that Dumbledore told me," Harry responds, trying his best to stay calm. "Ron, we have already found a Horcrux," I add and when Ron pulls out the locket from underneath his cardigan, I immediately realise why he is so agitated. He's been wearing it all day.
"Yeah and we're about as close to getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them, aren't we?" He spits back as Hermione walks over to him, hurt all over her face. She tries to convince him to take the locket off, but he pushes her hands away harshly and refuses, not taking his eyes off me and Harry.
"Do you want to know why I listen to that radio every night, do you?" Ron asks us both, even though I already know and I feel some annoyance start to rise in my chest, "To make sure I don't hear Ginny's name. Or Fred. Or George. Or Mum." That's when I snap because Ron knows that both me and Harry understand his pain, we are all experiencing it.
"Ron, we're all listening too!" I shout at him, "do you think that none of us are listening? Do you think I don't know how this feels?!"
"NO, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW THIS FEELS! His parents are dead, so is your brother and your dad abandoned you because he couldn't stand the sight of you! NEITHER OF YOU HAVE A FAMILY!" Ron screams back at me and Harry immediately rushes at them, the two of them scrambling and hitting each other. "Stop! STOP IT!" Hermione cries as we both try to tear them apart. I pull Harry back, hot and angry tears in my eyes, before he shouts at Ron to leave.
Ron aggressively removes the locket, throws it to the ground and stares me dead in the eyes, his hand out. "My bag," he growls, venomous anger lacing his words. For a moment, I do nothing and stand there, but then he shouts and stamps his foot on the ground, making me jump hard enough to realise that I can't do anything to make him stay. Reluctantly, I fish around in my beaded bag until I pull out his backpack, which he immediately snatches off me. Then, he turns to Hermione.
"And you? Are you coming or are you staying?" He snaps, which makes Hermione helplessly look from me and Harry back to Ron, who concludes that she's staying with us. "Fine, I get it," he remarks before he looks at me, glaring at me. "Ron, please don't leave," I beg, tears in my eyes, "you're like a brother to me. Please... please don't go."
He scoffs and, staring me dead in the eyes, says, "You'll never be family to me. To me or anyone."
Then, he leaves the tent. Hermione runs out into the rain after him but when we hear the Disapparation crack, we know that he is gone. I feel completely alone until I feel Harry's hand on my shoulder. I turn around and after one look into his heart-broken eyes, I collapse to my knees and start to cry as if I'll never be able to stop.
"It's okay," Harry whispers to me and when Hermione walks back inside, she is crying just as much, so I open my arms wide. She falls to the floor, into my arms and Harry wraps his arms tightly around the both of us.
"It'll be okay."