She had never suspected that he would even be allowed to come to the telephone, let alone acknowledge the fact that she existed on the other end of the line. The last time she had attempted to call him his Aunt and Uncle had locked him in his room, declaring that the freaks were never allowed to call Number 4, Privet Drive again. But then, even the burly Vernon Dursley would never openly defy the threatening words of Mad Eye Moody at Kings Cross Station. In fact, she didn't think anyone would, the man was a scary sight to be reckoned with when someone would notice his peg leg and spinning eye. But even through it all, it was true, as she spoke softly into the receiver that she wished to speak to Harry Potter the gruff voice on the other line had called the boy's name out into to foyer and after a pitter patter of steps, the familiar voice of her best friend had flooded the telephone line. He seemed suspicious at first as to who was calling, but as she nearly screamed her name at him and began shoveling him with questions he lightened up and answered almost all of them before declaring that he needed to cook dinner and hung up. Mind, these answers produced nothing more than "Yes, I'm fine" and "They are treating me well, see you the first" but it was a definite start and something Hermione Jane Granger would allow…for now.

It had been almost a unanimous decision at headquarters the night before that she would make the foreboding call to the Dursley household. Lupin had originally been suggested, but the older man had turned down the idea with a shake of his graying hair and a demandingly cold stare in her direction. She knew what he was thinking; Remus Lupin, the best friend of Sirius Black, would be the last person Harry would want to speak to after the incident in the Department of Mysteries almost two months prior. Mr. Weasley had then suggested that Hermione make the call, she was after all the only muggle-born within the Order of the Phoenix, and probably the only one who could sound somewhat normal using a fellytone.

Placing the telephone back on its receiver, Hermione stood from her place on the floor and moved to the door of the small room the she shared with Ginny, the youngest and only girl in the Weasley clan. She had locked the door before coming in, not wanting to be interrupted by any of the other members of the Order or the screeching tapestry of Mrs. Black. Tonks, a rambunctious 20 year old she had met the year prior, had a rather uncanny "talent" for causing the tapestry to spring into life almost every night. Taking her wand from inside her robes, Hermione muttered an unlocking spell under her breath and stepped out into the corridor, highly surprised to find it silent on a night like this.

She had been allowed to join the Order of the Phoenix, much to Mrs. Weasley's chagrin, directly after her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had ended. Mrs. Weasley had attempted, almost bitterly, to put up a fight about it (after all, she was not of age) but Lupin and Kingsley had pushed for her to be inducted immediately. After his own squabble with his mum and a rather large display of the Weasley temper, Ron too had been allowed to join the Order and both were given their wizarding licenses early and now could practice magic freely. Unlike the twins, who would normally be seen apparating almost anywhere within Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Hermione still liked the old fashioned way of doing things and almost always took the stairs.

Placing her wand back within the depths of her robes, Hermione strode down the narrow hallway that connected her room to Ron Weasley's. She had sent him to do his homework hours ago when he had whined about wanting to be around when she called Harry and if all things had gone according to plan (which she highly doubted, he was Ron after all) he would be sitting on his bed with his potions books around him, reading up on Wolfsbane and its properties. However, as she cleared the doorway and was greeted by the hauntingly dull shade of the ivory room in which he slept, she was met with something else completely.

"Oy Hermione." Came the voice of Ron Weasley from his seat on his bed as one of his knights crashed into a black colored bishop and smashed it to pieces. He smiled triumphantly and waved his wand at one of the black pieces, making it move perilously on its own accord into a perfect checkmate.

"Ron we are supposed to be using magic for practical things." She scolded, falling into the armchair that sat against the opposite wall. He barely looked up at her as he checkmated the black king and swiped it off the board.

"This is practical." He muttered.

"How is wizard's chess practical? Is it teaching you anything about our studies, or the Order, or Voldemort, or…"

"Was there a reason for you coming in here Hermione or was it only about bothering me?" He retorted, looking at her fiercely, "I don't really need it from you right now." She bit her lip tensely and forced herself to look at her shoes so she wouldn't bicker with him, which were worn from multiple morning training sessions with the Order. She knew that situations were tense around Grimmauld Place lately; Percy had yet to return to the family regardless of the fact that Fudge had relinquished his power as Minister, the twins had officially moved out from the family to start their own business, and Ginny was always off writing letters to Dean Thomas. Ron had been snappy with everyone since the return to the Department of Mysteries, and it seemed as if he enjoyed nothing more than starting quarrels with her.

"I called him." She said simply, not bothering to look up. Ron had been cleaning up his wizarding chess board but from the immediate silence she assumed he had, indeed, heard her, "Mr. Dursley answered the phone. He actually…let me talk to Harry."

"Is he alright? Are they treating him well? How's he handling…well…you know." Ron quipped.

"He seemed…fine." She replied, shaking her head a bit and running her fingers through her overly bushy brown hair, "He didn't respond much, just told me everything I needed to know, that he was fine, that they were treating him well, and that none of us needed to worry."

"Well…that's good." Ron replied, although he didn't sound any more convinced than she was, "Right?" She smiled then, finally looking her other best friend in the eyes. Ron wasn't anything like Harry, to be perfectly honest. He didn't have hair that fell into his face just right to look perfectly windblown; his hair was a raggedy mess of bright orange that clashed horribly with almost any color he wore. He wasn't nearly as muscular; his rapid height gain had made him lankier than any boy she had ever met. He wasn't well spoken; in fact he usually bumbled through thoughts and had a terrible time with writing essays of any sort of caliber. He wasn't a natural at Quidditch, but he was indeed improving.

And yet…it was his differences that made him Ron. He wouldn't keep his emotions rolled up into a tiny ball; he let them show through his epic temper tantrums and jealousy. He wasn't the destined hero; but the chosen sidekick who was loyal because he could be, not because that was what was chosen for him. His eyes weren't a bright emerald green but a perilous sapphire blue with swirls of gold that Hermione couldn't tear her eyes off of…

"Hermione? You still there?" He was staring at her with an amused expression as he lightly tossed a pillow at her, "Thought I lost you there."

You did, I'm always lost in you

Hermione couldn't determine, even when she thought long and hard, when she started noticing Ron in this way. Her life wasn't nearly slow enough to spend time reviewing every moment of the past six years. When she wasn't worrying about Harry, fighting Voldemort, or studying for the NEWTS she was attempting to cram as much spell knowledge in her head as possible for the final war that was upon them. That was the logical thing to do. Hermione Granger was always logical. But why then, being the brightest witch to attend Hogwarts in over a century; was she having so many problems with one stupid boy?

"Yes Ron I'm still here." She responded, wanting to change the subject, "So let's see how much of that homework you finished…you still have 3 of Snape's essays to do and you haven't even checked your Divination…"

"Divination is a worthless class, I make most of it up anyway." He retorted, showing her the parchment he had been working on before he had obviously become too bored and resorted to chess, "Here, I know you want to read it over." He tapped the place next to him on the bed and she sat cautiously, fully aware of how close she was to him.

Relax, he doesn't view you as anything different. He doesn't know that you've been thinking about him constantly…wondering what it would be like to run your fingers through that hair…

She mentally kicked herself for allowing her mind to wander and she grabbed the essay rather roughly, skimming it quickly and making minor changes with the quill he had provided. She could feel him breathing down her neck, uncomfortably close, and she squirmed a bit. She was used to him being rather protective over her, she wasn't about to forget how he had slept by her bed even after being released from the Hospital Wing during her stay, but even then it had come off as more of a brotherly notion.

"It's…good." She gulped through labored breathing and wondered silently why she was having trouble forming words in her head. He was too close, he was staring at her funny, those gold loops in his eyes were unusually bright, his hand was coming too close to hers…

"I…I should be going." She jumped out of her seat rather suddenly and she could have sworn she saw a bit of disappointment cross over his features, but it was soon replaced with understanding as he moved to walk her to the door. However, he decided to move his arm around her waist and his rather long fingers faintly rubbed against her right side.

A flash of blinding pain splintered through her body, making her gasp out and grab for the injured area immediately. She doubled over from the pain and collapsed to the floor as her knees gave out and her head began to spin. She could feel him pulling her towards him as he too fell to the floor, allowing her head to settle into his lap as she continued to wince in pain.

"Hermione…should I get mum? Lupin? Moody?" He was looking down with her in utmost concern but she simply shook her head, biting her lip fiercely so she wouldn't shout out. She had told Madame Pompfrey when she had left the Hospital Wing in June how she had planned to join the Order of the Phoenix immediately after school had adjourned and the older witch had warned her that it would be painful. Supposedly, stopping the death curse with a simple silencing charm wasn't a very good solution to the problem, for her internal organs had momentarily shut down and caused immense internal injuries that needed continuous treatment. Touching her side (where a rather large bruise rested underneath layers of robes and clothing) caused immediate pain that was almost unbearable. However, no one knew about this. Even Ron was unaware of the extent of her injuries (a few simple healing charms every night could settle things until she arrived back at Hogwarts) so she continued to bite on her lip and shook her head, demanding that he just stay with her until the pain subsided.

His finger unexpectedly swooped down and ran across her bottom lip, causing the pain in her ribs to be forgotten for just a second and an immense heat to rise from the tips of her toes. When he moved it away she finally noticed that she had made her lips break open and he was allowing his finger to mop up the blood across them. His lips pressed lightly to her temple soothingly and she sighed, attempting to snuggle into his chest more.

A sudden knock at his bedroom door sent her toppling to the floor as he stood quicker than she though possible. Her side was still aching as she got to her feet and wiped the tears that she hadn't felt fall from her cheeks. When she seemed presentable enough he pulled the door open to reveal Mr. Weasley. Hermione had always liked Mr. Weasley; he was a quaint man with a receding hairline of swirling copper and eyes the color of Ron's. He wore tiny glasses and always gave her peculiar but interested looks whenever she discussed muggle rituals. He walked with a limp from when Nagini had attacked him within the depths of the Ministry of Magic near Christmas the year prior. Even then though, he had been smiling, a resounding brightness always shining from his freckly face. However, he was now looking at them with great concern, his eyes full with remorse and, although hard to recognize, what appeared to be fear.

"Dad?" Ron asked, clearly sensing the same thing she was.

"Hermione…did you get in touch with Harry tonight?" He asked, barely stepping into the room. He was dressed in a shabby suit and was holding a bowler hat in his left hand; the typical garb of the people of Surrey. She wasn't surprised, a different Order member had been sent to watch Harry all summer. He had probably only just come back from his rounds.

"Yes Mr. Weasley, and he seemed okay."

"Oh dear…this…Hermione, Ron, I have some…not-so-good news." He said sadly, ushering them to the bed as he took the armchair that she had sat in earlier, "During my rounds at the Dursley's, there was an attack in London. Now don't be worried, it was squelched almost immediately and there were only a few injuries. Nothing to be too worried about." He said, attempting to sound assured but coming off very skeptical.

"What does this have to do with Harry Mr. Weasley?" she asked, growing frightened. Had the Dursley's somehow managed to get to London? Had someone been taken?

"Well…you see…it is the Order's duty now to respond directly to any threats, Moody wants those of us that aren't Aurors involved as much as possible in stopping these attacks before anything more harmful happens. So, since tonight was Auror training night Number 4, Privet Drive was left unguarded for some time." He winced and Hermione immediately grabbed Ron's hand and looked at him in fear.

"Dad?"

"It was a diversion Ron. The attack in London was purposely set up to make sure we abandoned our hold. Over a dozen Death Eaters attacked Privet Drive." She let out a hoarse cry and buried her head into Ron's chest. No…she had just talked to Harry less than an hour ago…this couldn't be happening… "The Dursleys were unprepared for the attack. They were merely…in the way…there was nothing anyone could have done to stop what inevitably happened. Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley Dursley I'm afraid, were murdered by Death Eaters. The house is gone. By the time all of us could arrive on the scene, all that remained was the Dark Mark."

"What about Harry!" Ron bellowed. He was standing now, his normally white face the color of his hair as he advanced on his father, "Where is he!"

"I…I don't know son…"Arthur Weasley murmured, looking down at his feet, "I'm afraid we couldn't find anything. Not a trace that Harry had been there. It seemed as if he's just…disappeared son. I'm…so sorry…We have a squad out searching all of London…I'm sure if he…managed to escape…someone will find him…"

But Ron wouldn't hear it and he burst from the room, his loud swears echoing down the once silent hall and awaking Ms. Black. To the screams of, "TRAITORS! MUDBLOODS! VILE CREATURES!" and Mr. Weasley's sad cries, she realized that for the first time in six years, Hermione Jane Granger felt truly alone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN:I really really hope everyone is going to stick with this story. I've never particularly liked the Dursleys and I was hoping that by removing Harry's protection that the story could become even more interesting. I promise to update regularly. This story is going to be told primarily from Hermione's point of view, but there will be chapters from Harry and Ron and Ginny too.

REVIEW PLEASE