Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine.

The Darkness Within

"You see your biggest insecurities. You see them right there in your face!"

His tone was surprisingly urgent, but that didn't keep her from showing the same intensity.

"I still want to do it, Ron! Please just let this be."

"I've done this, Hermione, I know what it's like. I know-"

"We've gone over this ten times in the last fifteen minutes! I want to do it. You don't need to protect me now. You don't need to go through that again either. It's my turn!"

He'd kept quiet, and she knew she'd won that fight.

She was standing in the middle of the dark chamber. It was a humid place with serpentine ornaments. The face of founder Salazar Slytherin was carved in stone and a basilisk's rotten corpse was sprawled across the floor. It smelled like death - literally.

She now had a fang of the creature in one of her hands. In her other she held a cup - Helga Hufflepuff's cup, an object now haunted by dark forces so powerful that were reaching her own soul.

She was set on annihilating those forces, and the object must've recognized her intentions.

"Hermione Jean Granger..." it beckoned in a whisper.

"Do it, Hermione! As fast as you can!" Ron yelled. But she was now hypnotized by the magic she was watching, torn between horrified and curious. Figures had poured out of the cup like spilling liquid. A hollow face, summoning her darkest secrets...

"The dark side will win tonight, and you will die."

It was a face -Lord Voldemort's wretched face- and seeing it so close made her shake. She was taken in by its red eyes. That face, and the twirling mist that surrounded it, threatened to wrap her in and close itself around her.

"You know you're useless and you've always known."It spokealmost mockingly. "Your parents wished they'd never had a daughter and were only happy when you went to a boarding school. Only to discover you have less opportunities because of your Muggle birth."

White and gray clouds were all around her, but all she saw was this burlesque face, and the object she held in her hand.

Behind her, she could faintly determine Ron's desperate screams. But those weren't real. Thiswas real. This was everything she ever knew to be true, and it was now showing itself to her, offering confirmation.

The faces of her parents were now floating about, appearing from the cup like a genie from a lamp. They looked angry, disappointed, and the sole sight made her eyes fill with tears.

"You'll never see us again, you ungrateful little brat. You send us off and now you'll die - serves you right for the way you've turned your back on us..."

She had, hadn't she? Wasn't this the truth? Hadn't she known all along? Her hand was releasing its grasp on the basilisk fang while Ron's cries got more frantic...

She was now crying as the faces of Harry and Ginny spilled from the cup. The two images twirled about with malicious smiles. She could swear her visions were more vivid by the second, while she was getting weaker.

"Truth be told, I've never cared for you," said Harry. "You're only useful to correct my homework and provide information."

"I only put up with you because everyone else seemed to," were Ginny's words."You're an awful friend, Hermione. You've abandoned me while you went to chase glory. You left me behind."

She lacked breath, and she felt the fang almost slip from her hand. She was lightheaded, and she closed her eyes, unable to see, wishing she didn't hear those awful truths...

But now it was the face of the boy she loved rising from the cup. He looked mighty, dangerous, distorted.

His look was of disgust.

"Any girl, Hermione, would be better than you."She clutched the fang in wrath. "Even Lavender was a better girlfriend than you could ever be. I pity you, and that's all. I deserve better than..."

Only those words gave her strength instead of weakness. They gave her rage, emotion and enough courage to pull away from the trance.

Before she knew it, her hand had found the strength to pierce the cup with the fang.

The artifact seemed to emit a shriek and bleed on her shaky hand. Hermione returned to breathe - she wasn't aware she had stopped. She fell on her knees while the fog disappeared and the smelly, ugly Chamber of Secrets with its dead basilisk came back to her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. That's not me, that's not-" Ron had rushed to hug her so quickly that she didn't have time to think of anything else. She accepted his hug, her heart still racing from adrenaline and fear.

"Please say something," he begged after a few minutes of silence. "Anything."

"I'm okay, Ron. I'm okay." But as she said this, she started to sob quietly.

"I should've done this. I should've been the one to destroy this Horcrux. I'm so sorry, Hermione..."

"I... I wanted to," she said weakly. "It's not your fault. I just thought... I thought it would be easy, to just... to just destroy something that c-causes so much pain."

"I know, I know. It traps you, doesn't it?"

"It makes you believe it's all real."

But she knew he knew, so she opted not to continue. Her sobs were reduced to lone tears.

"How can you doubt us?" he suddenly snapped. "You're bright, gorgeous, talented, caring... we all love you, Hermione!"

Those words got her attention. He'd never expressed such feelings in a serious manner. He'd said the word 'love' jokingly before, but hearing him utter now made her eyes raise in question. He seemed to understand that, for he added in a lower, stuttering voice:

"I-I love you, Hermione."

The plea in his eyes was so sincere.

How can you doubt us?

She thought about Ron particularly - Ron, who was holding her and comforting her. Ron, who had hurt her countless times, who argued endlessly with her...

Ron, who'd called her a nightmare on her first year, then hours later, was saving her life from a ravenous troll and accepting her friendship.

She must admit to herself, she was actually a little bit jealous of Ron. How he allowed his feelings to be out in the open without fear. And while he was unaware of his own feelings half of the time, she loved how carefree and uncomplicated this made him.

She'd been named the brightest witch her age. Yet, she couldn't impress him with grades, brains and books. That side of her personality, while it did wake his quiet admiration, actually amused him more than anything. No. He'd seen something else in her, and what it was, she didn't really know.

He was, after all, a boy who called her a know-it-all on a daily basis, but openly confronted a Professor in their third year when he told her the exact same thing. Even though she'd thought him immature and boyish, he'd protected her when she'd craved protection. He'd even protected her even when she hadn't craved his protection.

He wasn't exactly the brightest one when it came to emotions, but hadn't he known exactly how to comfort her when she'd needed him the most? Didn't this tactless boy show the most tact when she'd needed him to? Wasn't he the one whose pained screams she could hear through her own torture?

That modest boy, who'd often been overshadowed, left aside... that boy that hung out with The Boy Who Lived without letting jealousy get in the way. That boy whose talents went greatly overlooked, but still kept an optimistic and loyal disposition... he hadn't been a good student, but didn't he have many other talents? Wasn't he a sweet boy, a great person, a powerful wizard? A skilled duellist? A loyal friend? Someone willing to sacrifice everything for those he loved? For the cause he believed in?

And not to say that he hadn't ever faltered, but hadn't he come back to his senses in the end? He'd walked out on her, but even when she was set on not forgiving him, didn't he stick around through and through? Wasn't he with her, right here and then, telling her that he loved her?

Yes, he was. He was everything she could ever wish for. It may have taken him seven years, but in the end, he'd fulfilled her every expectation.

If that wasn't love, then she didn't know what love was.

"I love you too, Ron," she said for the very first time. He smiled wide, and this gesture made her heart fill with hope.

"Fantastic," he replied. "Now shall we go win this war?"

As she let him help her up, Hermione realized that she was fortunate to have Ron by her side.

Notes: This is for Hannah's Birthday Present Competition. We had to write a fanfic for han8661. Of all her favorite pairings, I chose Ron/Hermione. I don't lie when I said I researched the two of them for hours to make sure I got things right. I thought of writing a happy, silly birthday fic but when I read over the scene of Ron destroying the Horcrux, I knew exactly what I wanted to write.

Hannah- I got told that you've had a hard time as of late. I also snooped around your profile and found out you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, which automatically made you awesome. For those reasons I chose to enter the competition and make you this little gift. I hope you liked it and that you didn't discover it before your birthday (because that would be awkward.) Have a happy birthday, girl! I hope this year brings better things for you!

Special thanks to Fire The Canon for beta-reading this story!

Everyone else- I'd be glad to receive your support and your feedback. Thanks for reading!

-Karyn.