Ron sounded stronger lately, Hermione thought dazedly, clinging to him like an anchor in a storm. He had changed since he’d come back to them and destroyed the locket. It was as though something fundamental had been altered within him. He’d grown up. It made Hermione feel like she didn’t have to do all the thinking herself, which was ever so useful in a situation like this, where she was too fragile and hurting to be the organised, together one.