The day had finally come. Hermione Granger walked out of her front door and basked in the sunlight. She couldn't believe how perfect the weather was. The sun shone brightly enough that it brought out the richest greens, reds, pinks and whites in her mother's rather large flowerbed outside her house. The sky was as blue as she could ever remember. It was almost as blue as his…
"Hermione! Where are you dear?" Hermione's mother was calling for her now, undoubtedly to discuss some minute details about her upcoming trip.
She couldn't wait for the vacation to start. After all they had been through in their still young lives Hermione and her closest friends needed a break, Harry most of all. She still couldn't believe the raw courage Harry possessed. He grew up in a home where backstabbing and lying were normal everyday occurrences, so Hermione knew there was no way Harry had obtained his keen sense of right or wrong from the Dursleys.
He must've gotten it from his parents she thought to herself. Most people wouldn't have been so eager to accept their fate as Harry had, and Hermione had incredible amounts of respect for him. Harry, brave as he was, was far from perfect though. He often times began things without making a plan of action, at least that was the way he was when Hermione had first met him. If Hermione could pass on one thing to Harry through their very close friendship it was that he would take the time to think things through more often than he used to.
'Hermione I need you in the kitchen dear!" Hermione recognized that tone. It could be described as the "get your arse in gear" tone. Today was going to be a perfect day, and she didn't want to spoil it in any way.
"Yes, mum?" Hermione said with a soft smile. She had just gotten out of the shower not too long before and her long, wavy and uncontrollable brown hair was still quite damp. The color of Hermione's hair seemed to make Hermione's brown eyes much brighter and much more appealing.
"I need you to help me make the rest of these cookies hun." Her mom instructed. "You can't expect to go traveling with someone and go empty handed, can you?"
"No I suppose that would be rather rude, wouldn't it?" Hermione said with a bit of sarcasm and a smile.
"You watch your tone young lady." Though Mrs. Granger had tried to remain firm, she couldn't help but smile as she said this. She was so happy to see Hermione in such a joyous state. "Here start making this bowl into cookies and put them in when you're done, I've already pre-set the oven for you." Hermione half rolled her eyes as her mother spoke to her like she was still 12 years old.
"I think I can handle it mum." Hermione replied. She really was appreciative that her mother had agreed to help her out with the preparations for her trip at all.
Then Hermione began to let her mind wander as she thought about the upcoming trip. She couldn't believe that she was going to be traveling across the United States of America! She had read all about the states of course, but it wasn't the same as seeing them in person, or so she had read. The idea originally sprung up when Mr. Weasley had confiscated what had been described to her in a letter from Ginny as a rather large automobile that was so enormous that it had beds inside. She was pretty sure that Ginny had been talking about an RV. Hermione had never been inside one, but she had seen them many times in her neighborhood.
According to Ginny, Mr. Weasley obtained the RV when his department found it abandoned on the wizard/muggle border. After the Ministry gave it a full look-over, it was determined that it was safe, and that it had simply been abandoned. Since Mr. Weasley was now the department head, he was given the job of "disposing" it. But because Mr. Weasley loved muggle things so much, he couldn't bring himself to get rid of it. The ministry then deemed that it was ok for him to keep it. Needless to say Mr. Weasley had been thrilled, and demanded that his family and closest friends make use of it immediately.
A few of the Weasleys were going, but not all of them. Charlie was far too busy during the summer months with his dragons, and Bill and Fleur had just had their first child not even three months ago. Percy wouldn't be bothered with "things as silly as vacation", and George had his handful running Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would be the "chaperones" on their trip.
Hermione couldn't wait to see her best friends again. Being an only child could be very tough on her. She only wished she had the problems Ron did. Ron often complained about the lack of privacy he had living in a home with at least 5 other people, but Hermione thought that that would be positively amazing. She felt so comfortable at the Weasley house every time she went there. There was always someone to talk to, someone to spend time with. At home she only had her parents to really spend time with. The lack of peers led Hermione to become a bit of a socially inept child. Her first year at Hogwarts had certainly showed that. Her parents had always kept her busy with things like piano lessons or dance class because they wanted her to be a well rounded person. Hermione now realized that they most likely did it so that she would not go mad with boredom being cooped up in her house every day after school.
Hermione thought about her two best friends. What a couple of gits she thought as a smile crept across her face. She was always saving their skins. The only reason I'm even friends with them is because they saved me from a troll. I guess the fact that someone actually saved my skin for once made me like them she thought.
The three of them had grown so close over the years they spent at Hogwarts that they seemed like brothers to her. Well…not exactly she thought with a bit of a smirk on her face. Ron is…different than Harry she reasoned. She had never known why. She had never really bickered with Harry the way she did with Ron. It's because he's just more of an idiot, is all was Hermione's usual excuse she liked to give herself. But deep, deep down within her she knew that there was more to it than that. The logical part of her that had dominated her for the last 16 years was starting to lose its total control over her mind.
I still can't believe I did that…Hermione's mind went back to that day. It was the one bright spot of that day that stood out in her mind. I actually kissed him…and he kissed me back…Hermione could feel the heat rush to her cheeks. The moment was still so embarrassing for her that it made her blush while she sat in the kitchen by herself making cookies. She and Ron had never even spoke of the moment since its occurrence. The fact that it remained so clear in her mind made it painfully obvious that her feelings towards Ron differed from those she had towards Harry.
Sure, when Ron had left her and Harry to fend for themselves she had looked to Harry for comfort. But at no point had she thought about kissing Harry when Ron left them in the tent. She had moved her bed closer to Harry's for the first couple of nights, and shared a couple of longer-than-usual hugs with him, but that was the extent of it. Losing Ron felt like losing a part of her, and even though she had been absolutely furious with him she had never been more relieved in her life when he came back…
All of a sudden, Hermione got a whiff of something that smelled rather like burnt toast…
"The cookies!" She shouted as she ran from the seat at the kitchen table where she had been reminiscing to the oven. She turned it off immediately, got a pair of oven mitts and took the tray out. As she put the tray on the stove top she could hear her mother running down the stairs. She turned to the doorway and saw her mother looking at her, eyebrow raised and foot tapping.
"Think they'll like them a little crispy?" Hermione said with a sheepish smile. Her mother looked less than pleased.
"Oh Hermione…" her mother said with a sigh. "I suppose you're just not the cook that I am…" her mother said, this time with a bit of a smile. Hermione knew that her mother was aware of what had taken place.
Hermione had been daydreaming ever since she got the letter from Ginny. The prospect of spending stress free time with her closest friends almost seemed ludicrous. Very rarely had Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione ever been able to spend time together in which they weren't plotting an uprising or staging an escape plan. Hermione was actually worried that they may get bored too quickly. She laughed out loud at the idea of this but ceased when she heard several taps against her kitchen window.
It was Pig, the Weasley's owl. Hermione's smile only grew wider as she ran to the window to allow Pig inside. The letter was of course addressed to her. However she was surprised to see who had written it.
Dear 'Mione,
We will be in your living room fireplace in about half an hour from the time this bloody slow owl reaches you, have all of your stuff together. My father is anxious to "get onto the road", whatever that means. See you soon!
Your friend,
Ron
Hermione had honestly expected Ginny to write her, as Ginny was the one who almost always did. However, she was very happy to hear from Ron. She had only heard from him once so far that summer, though it had only been a month and a half since they had last seen each other. Harry had written her three times though, and Ron's lack of responses worried her. She was so confused about her feelings, and she didn't really know who to turn to. Ginny was the best source she had, as Ginny was like a sister to her. Not to mention she was Ron's sister.
Hermione had asked Ginny about Ron's reaction to the kiss she had ambushed Ron with, but Ginny didn't know very much at all, other than the fact that it did happen. Apparently Ron wasn't talking much about it, because Harry told her that Ron hadn't mentioned it to him either. Hermione knew that they would have to talk about it eventually; she just hoped that it wouldn't make the trip completely awkward. She ran upstairs to grab her bag. She had had it packed for a week now. Hermione had always liked to be prepared, but even she was shocked at the level of detail she took in packing her trunk. She had picked out what she deemed to be her "cutest" outfits, a pair of pajamas to sleep in, and a couple of swimming suits. She had never been swimming with the boys before, and she wasn't sure if she would be comfortable wearing the suits while they were around. She had never really been all that self confident. Her mum had always told her that she was a pretty young lady, but Hermione never thought too much of that, as she assumed her mother would tell her that whether she truly was or not. However, after being asked to the Yule Ball by Viktor Krum, she was forced to reevaluate herself.
Perhaps I am fancy-able…she thought to herself. Ginny had told her countless times that she was a good looking girl, but Hermione could never be sure if Ginny was simply doing this for her because she was like her sister. The only way she could ever truly know for sure is if someone showed some interest in her. Ron seemed to at times, but he had always been rather difficult to gauge. Harry was strictly a friend, and the thought of Harry fancying her or herself fancying him was just…unimaginable.
As she picked up her trunk she heard a rather loud thud downstairs in her living room. Hermione grinned from ear to ear and raced downstairs, turning the corner. Her eyes met those of the first person to arrive, and all she could see was the blue, blue sky.
