Ron jerked awake sweating and gasping for breath, hopelessly tangled up in his bed sheets. He ran a shaking hand through his hair, pushing his fringe off his damp forehead as he slowly sat up and looked around.

It was too dark to see anything, but he knew that he was alone on the small cot. He pulled the collar of his shirt away from his body and reached down, grasping the cold, heavy weight that rested against his chest.

He grabbed his wand from under his pillow and pointed it down at the bed. "Lumos," he whispered. The tip of the wand glowed brightly, illuminating the interior of the tent and he quickly thrust it under his blanket. He waited for a long moment, but neither Harry nor Hermione stirred.

Ron ducked under the blanket and examined the tiny locket. It was hard to imagine that a piece of Voldemort's soul was trapped inside. He removed the locket from around his neck and held it in the palm of his hand. He played with the catch, but it remained closed. Not that he wanted it to open...ever. But Harry had said that it would have to open in order to destroy what was protected within.

Ron hated it. Every time he had to slip that thing over his head, he had to endure its taunts. It would whisper things, ideas he'd always thought in the far recesses of his mind. Feelings that he'd never share with anyone. But it somehow knew.

And the nightmares...

They played on his fears, ranging from his parents favoring Harry over him to the complex, convoluted situation he found himself in tonight. Often he woke up screaming, much to his embarrassment, when the noise woke his two friends. He'd lie, of course, about the content of the dreams when they asked, claiming that he couldn't remember.

Hermione had admitted that wearing the locket affected her...affected them all. But Ron knew that, for him, it went beyond the irritability and impatience that she had described. He didn't know why the magical object focussed its harassment on him. All he knew was that it needed to be destroyed.

Quickly.

But that didn't seem like a viable option at this point in time. They'd been in the same location for weeks now, trying to unsuccessfully locate the remaining horcruxes. He'd expected Harry to have had a better idea on how to go about finding them. He had assumed that Dumbledore had given specific instructions before his death.

But Harry was just as clueless as he was.

He missed his family. He missed his mother's cooking. He missed his tiny room at the Burrow. He even missed the sounds of the ghoul stomping around the attic during the middle of the night.

Ron missed his home.

They weren't making any progress since finding the locket and it was starting to grate on his nerves. Food was becoming scarce and the weather was starting to turn bitter cold. He had figured that their journey would take weeks, not months.

And their possession of the locket didn't help matters any. He hated when it was his turn to wear it. If felt as if a black cloud was hovering above his head, inwardly belittling him for hours on end, only to lift when it was Harry or Hermione's turn.

Ron was at his wit's end and he was sure that his companions knew that as well. He'd catch them whispering to one another when he wasn't paying attention. They'd exchange secretive looks across the table during their meals. And sometimes, they would ignore him completely when discussing their search plans.

It made him think that...

Ron sighed heavily. Reluctantly, he slipped the locket back over his neck and settled back against the pillows. He closed his eyes, willing sleep to come before...

Ronald? A serpentine voiced echoed in his head. Poor ickle Ronniekins is the odd man out once again, isn't he? I warned you about that. You may have been blinded in the past, but I have opened your eyes to the truth. You're a nuisance to them. You're too weak, too stupid to help them on their foolish quest.

You cannot destroy me, Ronald.

They want you to leave, so they can continue on. Together. You've seen the way they look at one another. The way they want one another. She's never looked at you that way, has she? Potter is taking your place in her heart and there's nothing you can do to stop it. She will never love you while he stands in between.

Least loved by your mother, she yearns to call Potter her son instead. You've brought danger to your family because of your associations with him. You are a burden to them all.

You will never have what you truly desire. I have seen your fears, Ronald, and they are not unfounded. They will consume you, and when they do, your heart will be mine.

Soon, Ronald.

Soon.

The End

AN: So there you have it. All of the bad Harry/Hermione & Ron/Lavender associations were manifestations of Ron's subconscious due to the influence of Slytherin's Locket. And we all know what unfortunately unfolds for Ron with that particular piece of jewelry. But we also know how the book turns out and who ends up happily together.

As JKR wrote:

'All was well'