"Come on, you two, catch up!"

"Hermione, we're trying!" complained Ron loudly, jogging to keep up with Hermione's brisk pace; she was walking as though her life depended on it. "Slow down!"

But Hermione didn't slow down. She continued onwards, through the verdant grass rippling in the wind, towards the hilltops nearby. Ron and Harry jogged behind her, both winded and thoroughly confused.

"Could you at least tell us," gasped Ron, "where we're going?"

"No!" said Hermione as if she had never heard of such a thing before; she turned to face him, looking torn between irritation and amusement. "That takes the fun out of it!"

"I'm sorry," said Harry, lagging slightly behind Ron, "but I missed the part where this was fun at all."

Hermione didn't answer. "You'll see soon," she insisted, and continued onwards.

It was a warm day at the Burrow, but it would have been far more enjoyable if the inhabitants of said Burrow hadn't been planning for Fleur and Bill's wedding. Fleur wanted everything to be absolutely perfect, and Mrs. Weasley had much of the same ambition. It was one of those rare moments, when Hermione wasn't changing sheets and Ron and Harry weren't polishing silverware, that they had just a few moments of spare time. Hermione had insisted they come see something she'd been planning: she had called it "a relief to the particularly stressful."

"I sure hope so," grumbled Ron, running to flank Hermione. "Mum's not going to be happy when she sees we're gone. She's trying to keep us separated, remember?"

Hermione still didn't answer. She ignored Ron, who fell silent, and Harry decided not to speak further, either. They climbed a small hill, and once they had reached the top, Hermione spread her arms happily.

"Here!" she said. "Harry, I believe you'll recognize it, won't you?"

Harry did recognize it, but that didn't make him any less confused. Ron, on the other hand, looked extremely awestruck, staring right past Hermione and Harry as if they no longer existed.

"What," he said, pointing, "is that?"

"That," said Hermione, smiling, "is a trampoline."

Ron still looked confused. "A trampoline?" he blurted. "What is that?"

"We'll show you," said Hermione, and she charged forward, towards the trampoline without a second thought. "It took me hours to set it up, even with magic!" said Hermione over her shoulder - Ron was now lagging far behind Harry. "My mum and dad used to have one in our backyard. I used to love it."

Ron eyed the trampoline warily and said, just as Hermione was about to haul herself onto it, "But what's the point of it? It's a Muggle thing, isn't it?"

"Well, yes," said Hermione, "it is."

"We're supposed to be leaving on the hunt for Horcruxes after the wedding," said Ron in his would-be logical tone, though he came out sounding confused and worried. "We shouldn't be fooling around-"

"This isn't fooling around," insisted Hermione sharply. "It's just...we've all been so busy and stressed lately, with the wedding preparations...I thought we'd like to do something a little...well...relaxing."

"Relaxing!" gasped Ron.

Hermione only nodded. She took her shoes off, pulled herself onto the trampoline and stood up, gesturing down to Harry and Ron. "Well, come on," she said. "Have you ever been on a trampoline before, Harry?"

"Once," answered Harry, "when I was little, but I was banned from it when I jumped higher than my cousin."

"Jump!?" blurted Ron. "What is this thing!?"

He didn't get an answer; Harry pulled off his trainers and got up on the trampoline beside Hermione. They both watched Ron in amusement as he stepped back from the trampoline as if it had been set on fire.

"Come on, Ron!" groaned Harry. "It's simple."

"Yes!" agreed Hermione. "Just...watch me." And she jumped.

Ron shrieked and leapt back. "You could break something doing that!" he shouted, but Hermione paid him no mind. She jumped, and after a while, Harry did the same beside her.

"Ron, come on!" insisted Hermione again after a few minutes. "You won't fall off! It's perfectly safe!"

"We're Gryffindors, Ron!" said Harry. "We're brave, aren't we?"

"That doesn't mean I have a death wish!" shouted Ron in reply, but then, he took off his shoes and stepped towards the trampoline. Harry and Hermione stopped jumping as Ron heaved himself onto it and stood up, wobbling.

"Perfect!" said Hermione. "Now, jump!"

"I don't want to jump!" said Ron. "You're making me rethink my decision of getting on here in the first place!"

"It's alright, Ron," said Harry. "It's safe, relax. Just don't jump too close to the edge, you could fall off."

"Fall off!" gasped Ron. "Oh, now I can relax!"

Hermione groaned; so did Harry. They looked at each other and shared an unspoken conversation through their expressions. It was clear what their next move would be. They nodded and, without warning, seized Ron by his forearms, and jumped.

"Wait!" Ron shouted. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT!"

Hermione laughed. "Come on, Ron!" she said. "It's fun, admit it!"

It took a few more minutes, granted, but in the end, Ron must have decided that it was fun, because he stopped screaming and continued jumping.

"This is brilliant!" he said.

"What did we tell you!" said Hermione.

For a while, the three young adults jumped as though they were children and not nearing twenty. Unsurprisingly, Ron thought the trampoline was the best thing since the flying car; Hermione kept insisting that Muggles were underrated and that her parents were living proof; Harry, meanwhile, watched their banters with amusement.

When they got bored of jumping, they laid on the trampoline, their heads nearly touching, facing the sky. The sun was setting now; they would have to be back at the Burrow soon, but for the time being, they didn't move.

"That was incredible, blimey," said Ron after another moment. "Could you imagine if dad found out about these bouncy tarp of death things?"

"Trampolines," corrected Harry and Hermione, though they were smirking.

"Yeah, trampolines," said Ron. "He'd love them, you know? Muggles always fascinate him. I should study Muggles sometime...y'know, if we ever go back to Hogwarts."

"Well, I know I'm planning on finishing my studies, even if it's not at Hogwarts," said Hermione. "What about you, Harry?"

Harry sighed; he hadn't thought about his education for a while now. "I dunno," he said at length. "I mean...I dunno if I'll ever be able to go back...the prophecy said, 'neither can live while the other survives.'"

"Oh," said Ron and Hermione simultaneously, and they both sounded thoroughly upset with themselves, as though ashamed.

"Sorry, mate," said Ron, while at the same time, Hermione said, "I'm sorry, Harry."

"S'alright," said Harry. "I'd love to, you know, finish learning. Magic is fascinating, of course, but...I just don't know how it's going to end. Nobody does."

The silence was almost ominous.

"Look," Harry began, "I just wanted to let you know how much it means to me that after...well, everything, you still haven't...ditched me."

Hermione and Ron bolted into sitting positions. Ron's red hair was sticking up in every direction, and Hermione's bushy brown hair was even bushier than usual, both due to the static of the trampoline.

"Ditched you?" repeated Ron. "What do you mean 'ditched you'?"

Harry sat up.

"Well, I guess a lot of people in your place wouldn't stick around, if you know what I mean. It's not everyday your friend just so happens to be the Chosen One destined to either die by the hand of the darkest wizard in the world or murder the darkest wizard in the world."

It was odd to think: the war would either end in Harry's murder, or Harry murdering.

"It isn't murder, Harry," said Hermione. "Killing Voldemort isn't...it isn't murder, it's more of a self-defense."

"But still. You two are in danger as long as you're with me, and I think you know it, too. You haven't left, though. You haven't called it quits and gone on with your lives, finished your education at Hogwarts…"

"Honestly, Harry," said Ron. "With the way you're talking, I'm beginning to question how well you really know us."

"What?"

"Do you actually think," said Ron, "after all we've been through together, we'd just up and 'ditch' you?"

"Remember the Sorcerer's Stone?" offered Hermione. "When we went through all the different obstacles set by the different teachers?"

"Or the Chamber of Secrets," Ron chimed in, "you saved Ginny's life, I still haven't forgotten."

"And when we saved Sirius and Buckbeak with the Time-Turner," said Hermione.

"Ratted out the supposed Mad-Eye Moody-"

"-Found the Department of Mysteries-"

"-Fought the Death Eaters-"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Harry said, putting his hands up as if to shield himself. "I know we've been through a lot, I know we have. I just…" He paused for a moment, picking at an invisible thread on his shirt. "I don't want either of you to die because of me."

"Oh, Harry," Hermione whispered.

"I don't want anyone else to die," Harry said. "Just think, Hermione. Sirius, Mad-Eye, Hedwig, Dumbledore...George almost died...and it's all because of me."

"No, it's not," cut in Hermione. "We chose to fight with you, Harry, not because we have to, but because you're our friend."

"And we all know you don't mean for anything to happen," Ron said. "I know you, Harry. If you could've prevented those deaths you would've. You saved my sister, my dad...and last year, you saved me."

"But Voldemort targets me," Harry said. "As long as you're with me you're in danger-"

"But like you said," said Hermione. "Voldemort targets you, which is exactly why we want to stick with you. We can help you, Harry. We're going to help you. We'll be careful. Don't worry about us."

"Yeah, mate," said Ron, smiling. "Honestly. We know what we signed up for when we became friends with the Boy Who Lived. We won't be leaving you anytime soon."

"I'd understand if you did," said Harry.

"But we won't," said Hermione. "We promise, we won't."

"But I'm-"

"We don't care you're the bleedin' Chosen One, Harry," Ron cut in. "You're still our friend, and that's what matters."

Ron laid back against the trampoline again, as did Hermione, and soon after, Harry as well. The sun had almost vanished on the horizon now, the last rays of dying light finally fading away.

"Thanks," Harry said. "It really means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it, Harry," said Hermione.

"We're not ditching you, mate," said Ron.

And they never did.

Author's Notes:

Just a little something I came up with, I really didn't have any plan for it. But could you imagine Ron on a trampoline, though? I thought it would be a funny scenario. I honestly don't know where the rest of the story came from, though.

Okay, I have a question: something I've been wondering ever since I first saw Nagini in the books. Since I'm relatively new to the fandom I don't know if it'd ever been officially announced or not.

Here's my question: is Nagini, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's snake (evil snake, hiss hiss), the same snake Harry freed from the zoo in the first book?

Okay, let me know if any of you know, 'cause I've been wondering it for a while! :D Alright, so, that's it! I hope you enjoyed this story, because I had a blast writing it. :)

Until next story!

-BeyondTheClouds777