Hermione's POV
I woke up abruptly and stopped myself from crying out. It was just a dream, the amount of nightmares I had since the war was ridiculous. I sat up in my bed bleary eyed and smiled at Ginny who was already up and dressed.
"Morning sleepy head." She grinned. Me and Ginny were in the same year of Hogwarts now, I had missed my seventh year so I was talking it a year later. I loved sharing a dormitory with Ginny instead of Lavender and Parvarti who had always been nothing more than a pain.
"Hey Gin. What day is it again?"
"Saturday, did you go out and get drunk last night?"
"Of course not!"
"Your right what was I thinking? I mean is it you we're talking about!" She laughed.
"Hey!" I screamed jumping out of bed and preparing to attack her. Luckily, for Ginny, Harry's new owl fluttered in.
"Audrey!" I exclaimed going over to it and stroking its beak.
Harry was fond of Audrey, except her name which Ginny picked out, but he never had the same bond with her as he did Hedwig. Needless to say, I also preferred Hedwig.
Harry wrote to us every other day, which is more than I can say for Ron. I was lucky if he wrote every week!
I untied out letters chucked Ginny's hers and unsealed mine.
Dear Hermione,
Don't be ridiculous! Of course you'll pass you N.E.W.T's! You're Hermione Granger- smartest witch of your age! I know your missing me and Ron- believe me we're missing you too. Hermione, you and I spent every day together for a year so I'm bound to miss you unbearably! It's like being away from family, Ron and I are planning to come and see you soon. I thought I was bad, you should see Ron. He's turned into some nightmare- one minute he'll be fine and the next he'll burst into tears calling out your name! He's turning into an emotional wreck!
Anyway, I'm rambling. Keep up the good work, I expect outstanding's- nothing less. Tell Slughorn to stop badgering you and that I'll try to get to one of his get together's soon.
Missing you,
Love from,
Harry
P.S. Ron is writing to you now so you'll get a letter from Pidgwigon soon- but you know what that bird is like!
Hermione smiled at her friends reply and hastily grabbed a quill to write him another letter. Audrey waited patiently for her and Ginny to finish their replies. Hermione wrote:
Dear Harry,
I wouldn't be so sure about me passing my N.E.W.T's if I were you. I've done absolutely no studying the past year and I'm bound to fail! If I do then I'm blaming you and Ron for not letting me take my school books when we went hocrux hunting! I'm missing you too, so much. Hogwarts is great but it's really not the same without you two- there's just less laughter and the whole castle seems less inviting without you and Ron darting about. You better come and visit soon or Ginny and I might actually die! Look after Ron for me; I don't want him to be miserable all the time- he hardly smiles these days. And seriously Harry you better come to one of slughorn's parties or I may actually kill myself with all the grief I'm getting from him. Do you want your best friend to die?
Anyway I'll see you soon and don't worry I said Hi to Neville for you. I was so surprised he came back to school. You should write to him you know.
Missing you more,
Love from,
Hermione
P.S. Hallelujah! I'm actually going to receive proof that Ron still knows I exist!
I folded up my piece of parchment and tied it to Audrey's leg. I looked over at Ginny who was still writing.
"Oh come on Ginny, Harry doesn't need that many kisses." I joked .
"Shut up Hermione!" she laughed tying her letter to the owls leg also and with a fleeting hoot she took off into the horizon.
"Harry said that Ron was writing –"I said casually to Ginny as we made our way down to breakfast.
"Finally!" She exclaimed, "That boy is useless. Well I bet that made your day."
"Shut up! I saw you practically leap into the air when you saw Audrey this morning!"
We sat down at the Gryffindor table and I tuck into some toast. Then the owls came sweeping in. I saw Pidgwigon fly in excitedly, hastily trying to get to his destination quickly. He landed on my shoulder positively enthralled to see Ginny and I. I took my letter from him and Ginny took hers. Mine read:
Dear Hermione,
I so do write to you! You know I'm not very good and usually forget but I send you a letter at least every week-For me that's a bloody miracle! I don't even know why you wanted to go back to Hogwarts, your clever enough without extra education. Besides, I miss you too much when you're gone. I know I told you not to let me hold you back but I need you Hermione, especially in times like these. Everything's just got much harder since you left.
Now I understand how it must have felt when I left you. I'm sorry Hermione.
Look after yourself Hermione- don't get too smart with any of the teachers, you'll only get in trouble.
Lots of Love,
Ron
I gasped at the level of emotion the letter had contained. Ron was so rarely open like this, he must be really missing me. I knew I had to reassure him:
Dear Ron,
You came back Ron, at the end of the day that's all that matters. You need to stop dwelling on the past and start looking at the future. We'll see each other soon Ron, I promise. It's just as hard for me- do you have any idea how much I'm missing you? Despite being back at Hogwarts and being with Ginny I feel more alone than ever. I'm always here for you Ron and it's only a couple more months Ron and then I'll be back and you'll be trying to get rid of me!
You look after yourself Ron! I promise I'll see you soon.
Cheer up,
Lots and Love,
Hermione
I passed my note to Ginny who tied it to Pidgwigon for me and she gave me a small smile.
"Ron sounded pretty down didn't he?" She said sadly.
"Yeah, I know. I really want to see him."
"Me too, I'm worried about him." She sighed.
I looked at my toast, no longer hungry. On the table there was an extremely grand looking owl holding a letter in a purple envelope.
"A howler!" exclaimed Ginny.
"No they're red." I explained. I reached towards the owl and saw the letter was addressed to me and reached out for it. I opened it hastily and read aloud to Ginny:
Miss Hermione Granger,
We are writing to inform you that we would be delighted if you accepted our request to add you in our chocolate frog cards collection!
The card would say:
Hermione Jean Granger
-Assistant to Harry Potter in his quest to defeat the dark wizard Voldermort. Known to have destroyed one of the many Hocruxes and is well known for being the cleverest witch of her age.
Please reply with your response to whether or not you will accept these terms.
Yours sincerely,
Miranda Hopkins
Head of Department of confectionary
"Oh my god!" squealed Ginny. "This is amazing! Reply then!"
I was lost for words. They wanted to put me on a chocolate frog card? I had no doubts whatsoever so I wrote hastily on the back a simple yes and gave it back to the bird. It was only when it was out of sight did I realise how unprofessional that would appear.
The day went very quickly. I could barely concentrate I was in such a good mood. Ginny however didn't like the new Hermione because it meant she had to take her own notes in Transfiguration for a change.