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A/N On behalf of Queen Rowling CLEARLY drinking a bit too much Fire Whiskey and Butterbeer before she was interviewed, I had to do this short little one shot like immediately. Takes place after Ron got back to the camp site. Romione all the way, every day, now and forever...

Ron bit his lip as he traced random scribbles in the snow with his wand. Harry had gone off in search of food, despite both Ron and Hermione protesting adamantly that he shouldn't be out alone but he insisted.

The trio knew that his excuse for scrounging up food was a lie, they had a fair amount of mushrooms and Hermione had actually managed to trap a rabbit and they had yet to eat the meat from that. The two teenage wizards knew the truth about his abrupt departure.

Hermione hadn't talked to Ron once since he had come back from disappearing and had made no secret that she was mad at him. Every time he even tried to talk to her she glared at him and raised her wand threateningly before she stormed off to be left alone.

Although Ron had to admit he was impressed with how she could go from smiling and laughing with Harry to scowling and silent with Ron in literally about one second.

Ron glanced over at the firmly locked tent door and sighed. The moment Harry left she locked herself up without a word and Ron didn't exactly fancy having another flock of birds attack him again so he stayed outside without a word.

But now a slight wind had picked up and he shivered against the frigid air as a light snow began to fall. He stole a glance at the tent where the brown eyed witch probably had a raging fire going on inside. He bit his lip as he pulled his jacket around him tighter and got up from the ground, shuffling slowly over to their shelter.

Ron paused for a moment before he timidly knocked on the door. "Hermione," he began softly to no answer. "It's... It's kind of cold out here, can I come inside?"

Nothing but silence and no indication she had even heard him. Ron frowned and rested his head against the opening. "Come on, Hermione, I won't talk, I'll stay on the other side of the tent... Please let me come in. It's getting colder."

Another moment of silence passed and Ron sighed, shaking his head as he began to walk away back to his spot but before he had even taken a step there was a faint click from inside. Ron smiled as he headed back and walked in, smiling at the young witch who, as he suspected, was sitting close to a jar of flames she had conjured with the book of tales Dumbledore had given her in her lap.

"Thanks," he told her as he closed the flap behind him. A sharp glare from her reminded him what he had promised not even a second earlier. "Right, no talking," he muttered to himself as he shrugged off his jacket. Without a word Hermione turned back to her book although it didn't take Ron long to notice her eyes weren't moving over the pages

He sat on the opposite end of the jar and sighed happily as he put his hands over the jar of purple fire. Several long minutes of silence passed before Ron dared to stare a glance at Hermione. He couldn't help the slight smile that grew on his face as his blue eyes searched over her face.

She really was beautiful. She had learned over the years to tame her once frizzy and wild hair so it was now soft brown waves but Ron would have been lying if he said he didn't find her crazed hair attractive. Her brown eyes were warm and gentle and soft and he could get lost in them for days but they could also make him cower in fear if she was angry at him.

Ron continued to look at her for a moment, chuckling softly as he noticed the left a smudge of left over toothpaste on the corner of her lips. Hermione gazed up from her book and glared but this time he didn't turn away. "I was just... you have a bit of toothpaste," he told her, pointing to the corner of his mouth.

Hermione quickly rubbed the wrong side of her face and turned back to her book, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. Ron shook his head as he got off of his seat and walked over to her.

"You missed it," he informed her as he took his thumb and brushed the small stain away. She wrenched away from his touch, narrowing her eyes in anger at the teenage wizard.

Ron forced himself to look at her and smiled at her. "You're kind of cute when you're mad..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and turned back to her book, clenching it tightly. A few seconds passed with Ron still sitting close to her and he sighed as he looked down at the tent floor.

"So this is how it's gonna be the rest of the time we're looking for the Horcruxes? You sitting there ignoring me?" She offered nothing but a rather angry flip of the page. Ron leaned back against the back of the chair and rubbed his eye. "Harry said that we could be searching for these things for years. You really think you can not talk to me and only look at me with a glare the rest of the time?"

She ignored him once more and Ron sighed and stood up from the chair, shaking his head. "I apologized, Hermione. Over and over, at least a hundred times. Harry's forgiven me, why can't you?"

Another page flip.

"Oh come on!" he yelled, finally gaining her attention as he stood up rather abruptly. He shook his head as he paced the tent floor "I know I acted like a tosser and a prat, and I swear to you the SECOND I left I tried to come back but I couldn't. Not until you said my name..."

Her glare disappeared into a frown and Ron sighed as he sank down on the floor, shaking his head. "You don't... you don't know what that locket did to me," he admitted with shake in his voice at the memories. "It... it whispered things to me, awful things. About you, about myself, my family... I couldn't handle it and I made the mistake of letting it take over me and I hurt the two people I care about most down because of it."

Ron sniffed and rubbed his eyes frantically to hide the appearance of tears. He looked back up at her and for a moment he swore he saw her brown eyes shining with wetness. "I know- I know I did wrong, Hermione, but I can't take it back and I can't handle you hating me the rest of my life for it. I'd rather wear that locket every single day the rest of my life than have you hate me."

There was a long bout of silence between them with only the sounds of the fire crackling. Ron sighed as he shook his head and stood up from the floor. "I don't know what else you want me to say Hermione. I said I was sorry and I can't do much more than that."

Ron turned and headed towards the entrance of the flap when he heard probably the most beautiful thing he had heard in his young life.

"You know, Ronald, for someone who promised not to talk, you do an awful lot of talking."

Ron whipped around and saw that she was staring down at her book but it was different. The faintest hint of a smile was playing on her lips and he beamed at the sight as he walked back over and sat down next to her.

"What can I say, I'm a rebel..." he told her with a grin.

She said nothing in response to it but the smile on her face grew ever slightly. It wasn't much but he would take it for now.

Ron sighed happily as he leaned back in the chair letting the warmth of the artificial fire wash over the two of them.

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