Author's Note: This story takes place in Deathly Hallows where Ron and Hermione are going to destroy Hufflepuff's cup. Special thanks to my friend Laura (NimbusSeeker70) for all her help with this fanfiction. If it wasn't for her, I probably still wouldn't have finished it.

Disclaimer: I must not tell lies! I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own any part of Harry Potter.

The anxiety and anticipation in the room was palpable. The Room of Requirement's current occupants knew there was going to be a battle – and they were ready. But the war was surprisingly far from Hermione Granger's mind.

"What's the point of going to look for the other Horcruxes anyway?" she said to Ron Weasley in a low, dejected voice. "Even if Harry finds the diadem, there's no way to destroy it – we still have the cup to get rid of!"

"Isn't there any other way to destroy them?" Ron asked.

"Maybe. I don't know," Hermione said in frustration. "Do you think this room could give us something if we got everyone out and changed it?"

"Wait a second. We don't need to do that," Ron said excitedly. "We can just go to the Chamber of Secrets!"

Hermione's puzzled expression changed to one of comprehension and admiration. "The basilisk fangs! Are you sure it's still there?"

"I doubt anyone's moved it," Ron said. "Where else would they put that monster?"

"Brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed. "Let's go!"

She kissed Ron on the cheek so quickly that he barely registered she'd done it before she was dashing toward the door. He rushed after her, snatching up a broomstick that seemed to have magically materialized beside him.

Ron followed Hermione through the corridors until they reached Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "Myrtle?" Hermione said cautiously, poking her head in the door. There was no response. "She must have gone off somewhere else," Hermione said, opening the door wider to let herself and Ron in.

"Good," Ron said. "I didn't really feel like dealing with her today." Hermione glared at him, though she couldn't exactly disagree with him.

"Where's the entrance to the Chamber?" she asked.

Ron frowned in concentration, trying to remember how they'd gotten into the Chamber. "There's a sink with a carving of a snake on the side – somewhere over here, I think." He gestured to a few of the sinks, and they began to examine them closely.

"This one!" Hermione cried after several minutes. Ron squinted at the place she was showing him and nodded in confirmation.

"That's definitely it," he said.

"What do we do now?" Hermione said, looking expectantly at Ron.

"We need to…" Ron trailed off, his face falling. "We need to speak Parseltongue to tell it to open."

Hermione's heart sank. "Harry's the only person we know who can speak Parseltongue – besides Voldemort, of course, and he's certainly not going to help us."

"I'll try it," Ron said determinedly.

"What?" Hermione said.

"I was there when Harry opened the locket. How hard can it be to imitate him?" Ron said.

But after many failed attempts, it was obvious that reproducing Parseltongue was not as simple as it appeared to be. Ron hissed at the carved snake for what felt like the hundredth time to no avail.

"Focus, Ron!" Hermione said encouragingly. "You can do it!"

Ron closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, staring intently at the snake. A sound rose up from his throat that was unlike any sound he'd ever made before – and it worked. The sink began to shift until the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets had become visible.

"Well done!" Hermione said in delight. She threw her arms around Ron, who grinned and hugged her back.

"Come on," he said, pulling away gently but still gripping Hermione's hand. He turned toward the long, wide chute that would carry them to the Chamber and jumped, taking Hermione with him. They slid down and landed with a thump at the bottom.

"See? Nobody has come here since we did in second year. It hasn't changed a bit," Ron said as they got up and brushed themselves off. "There's the pile of rock I was stuck in with Lockhart." He indicated the mound of rubble. It had been agonizing waiting there, wondering if Harry and Ginny were all right, with only the rock to dig through and a confused professor to distract him.

"And that's where Harry went," he continued, pointing to a pathway.

Hermione looked down the tunnel, suddenly feeling much more nervous. "Shall we?" she said.

Ron squeezed her hand, making her realize that he hadn't let go. His touch comforted her as they walked through the passageway until they reached the Chamber. Sure enough, the basilisk was right where it had been before, though it was now reduced to a pile of bones. Its fangs were still lodged in its skull.

Hermione shuddered. "I can't believe Harry killed that thing! I would have been terrified."

They crouched down by the skeleton, and Ron finally released Hermione's hand to reach up and grasp one of the fangs. He yanked on it with more force than was necessary, almost stabbing himself in the arm.

"Careful!" Hermione said.

"Sorry," Ron said. "It was looser than I expected." He set the fang aside and started to pull out another.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"We should bring extras, just in case," Ron explained. "We don't want to have to come back here."

"Good point," Hermione said. "Here, I'll help."

With the two of them working together, they soon removed all the basilisk's teeth.

"Well, that's that," Ron said in satisfaction. "We might as well destroy the cup now." Hermione got out the Horcrux and set it down on the ground. Ron picked up one of the fangs and handed it to her.

"Me? You want me to do it?" Hermione said, her eyes wide.

"Why not?" Ron said. Seeing her fear, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, you're as much a part of this fight as I am. I already destroyed a Horcrux. It's your turn."

"What – what is it going to do to me?" Hermione whispered.

"I don't know," Ron answered honestly.

"What happened with the locket?"

Ron cleared his throat uncomfortably. "We don't need to talk about that right now."

"I'd like to know so that I can prepare myself for this," Hermione persisted.

"It made me feel worthless," Ron said, being careful not to go into too much detail about his experience with the locket. "Like I was good for nothing."

"Do you think this might do the same thing?" Hermione said.

"I don't know," Ron said again. "It might. But whatever it does, try your best to ignore it. The sooner we get rid of this Horcrux, the better."

"Okay," Hermione said. "I'm ready." She squared her shoulders and clenched the basilisk fang tightly in her fist. But as she brought the tooth down toward the cup, the Horcrux began to tremble.

And suddenly Ron was struggling to breathe; it was as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. "Hermione," he gasped, falling to his knees.

Hermione froze and looked over at him. "Ron!" she screamed, running to his side.

"No," Ron said, speaking with increasing difficulty. "Don't worry about me. Just stab it."

Stab it? Stab what? In her concern for Ron she had completely forgotten what she was supposed to be doing. "I need to get help," she said desperately.

"Stab it!" Ron repeated with his last ounce of energy. Then he fell unconscious.

"Ron! Wake up! Please wake up!" Hermione yelled. She began searching around her for something – anything – that could help Ron. Her gaze landed on the fang in her hand. Maybe that was what Ron had been talking about… What was she supposed to stab, though? Surely not Ron?

Ron's pulse was weak. His skin was cold and clammy. Perhaps the fang held some sort of healing potion. But something in the back of her mind told her that this wasn't right at all.

There was a sound like metal bouncing against the ground. Hermione sought out the source of the noise and discovered a small cup on the floor, shaking violently. Then it clicked: she was supposed to stab the cup!

Hermione lunged toward the cup and plunged the fang into it. There was a terrible screeching sound as the cup contorted into a mangled, blackened wreck. And then… silence.

Ron's eyes flew open. Hermione rushed back over to him and flung her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"Is it gone?" Ron asked. "Did you destroy it?"

"Yes, but… Oh, Ron, I was so worried! You were dying and I – I almost killed you with the fang!" Hermione said, collapsing into sobs.

"Shh," Ron said soothingly, stroking Hermione's hair to calm her. "It's okay. I'm perfectly fine. And just think – we're one step closer to defeating Voldemort for good!"

Ron kept holding Hermione as her crying slowly dissolved into hiccups. Finally, she stopped and drew in a deep breath. "We should go find Harry," she said.

"Yeah, he's probably wondering where we are," Ron agreed.

They got to their feet and Ron went to fetch the broomstick he'd brought. "We're not going to fly on that, are we?" Hermione said.

"Sure we are! What did you think it was for? Sweeping?" Ron said.

"You know I hate flying!" Hermione said in a rather high-pitched voice.

"I'll be with you. I'll keep you safe," Ron said. "Don't you trust me?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked apprehensively at the broomstick, then at Ron. "I trust you," she said at last.

"Good," Ron said. He gathered up some of the fangs and the Horcrux in one hand and held onto the broom with the other. Hermione took the rest of the fangs and climbed onto the broom behind Ron. She wrapped her arms around his torso, sandwiching the teeth in between them.

Ron pushed off with his feet, and the broom soared into the air. Hermione gave a tiny, frightened squeak and tightened her grip on him. The longer they flew, however, the more relaxed Hermione became, and she was smiling by the time they landed.

"That wasn't as bad as I expected," she said.

"What did I tell you?" Ron said as he relieved Hermione of some of her burden. "Now, we have to find Harry. We have a war to win!"