From Wiltshire, With Love

Chapter 43

"This was ours, Hermione!" Ron raised his voice. "You had no right to bring someone else into this without asking!"

Harry plopped himself down on Ron's bed with a resigned sigh and zapped the door with a Silencing Charm, watching the two of them blow up at each other. Again. Hermione thought they were done with this already, but Ron was still having it out.

They had argued. Ron made his case, Hermione made hers, the only reason he was yelling now was because he was still angry and wanted to take it out on her. As if combat training didn't provide enough of an outlet for pent up irritation.

"But we were stuck!" she countered, just as loud as he was. "We've had no leads for months! What else are we supposed to do? Wait for the bloody Horcruxes to fall into our laps?"

Hermione was positively seething, and Ron's face was getting redder as he worked himself up. A vein protruded from the cords of his neck.

"You could have at least asked," Ron ground out. "Not only did you make a decision without us talking it over, but you didn't even bother to tell us who or how they would get it for you once you did."

She exhaled furiously. "I already told you," she shot back, stamping her foot. "They got it from Hogwarts. It was in the Room of Hidden Things."

Ron took a step towards her, towering over her and completely livid. "Then tell us who!"

Hermione clenched her fists at her sides, very much wanting to punch him. "I can't!"

Harry fell back with a grunt onto Ron's bed. She heard the mattress squeak. "Can you two stop?" he begged with a tired groan.

"But you can tell them about the Horcruxes?" Ron persisted, ignoring Harry's plea.

The way Ron went back over the same points maddened her to the point of insanity.

"Again!" she waved her hand at him. "They don't know what the sodding Horcruxes are! They brought the diadem and that's it. They don't know how it relates to You-Know-Who! I showed them a picture, they knew where it was and they brought it. How is this not a good thing?"

Hermione's throat was starting to hurt as they descended into all out screaming.

"Because you didn't ask!" Ron snapped at her.

"Fine!" she bit back. "I should have asked!"

"And you should have told us who!" he retorted.

"No!" she stomped her foot again. "I can't tell you who!"

"Why?" he persisted, his voice bursting through the air in room.

This was so frustrating. They were going in circles, saying the same things over and over. Didn't he see that? Thank Merlin she put a halt to their progressing romantic involvement. They would have been terrible together.

"Because I can't!" Hermione threw her arms out at her side, completely exasperated. "I can't share everything that happens at the senior meetings, you know that!"

"But the Horcruxes were always our thing!" Ron shot back. "You don't talk about that with leadership!"

"Yes!" she hissed, but happy that at least she could agree with him on something. "And they are still our thing!"

He closed in on her and she had to tilt her head up to glare at him amidst the shouting.

"But now someone else is involved! How did you even know to include this person?"