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When she looked at her bedroom ceiling, another round of tears lined up in her eyes. Hermione Granger was lying down, back pressed up against her bed, and thinking about what the future would bring her. She couldn't see much hope in it. If she was a rabbit, survival was dangling over her head like a carrot too high for her to reach. A future was just at her grasp but she needed to be inventive in order to get what she wanted. No one said finding these damn horcruxes would be easy. Hermione knew the mission wouldn't be easy but she volunteered anyway.

Why you may ask? Because a certain raven haired, green eyed, bespectacled boy had become her best friend when she was eleven and gave her the only true friendship she's ever known. And when that boy decided to head out and risk his life for the better of the wizarding world, she knew she would follow him. Harry Potter had always been her best friend and a lot of times, even more.

No no no. She didn't feel any romantic feelings toward him. What she really meant was, he was like a brother and she couldn't possibly let a brother go off in his own when she had the power to help him. Especially not after all they'd been through from the chamber of secrets to the battle in the ministry of magic and much more. However as much as she loved Harry, there was another reason behind her motives.

Ron

For this one, she truly did feel romantically towards. She'd follow him anywhere if he'd let her. Of course she'd never admit that to him. Hermione and Ron maintained a friendship just as long as she and Harry did and she did not want to ruin that. Everything would be messed up if she did, especially after the whole fiasco they just walked away from. Everyone knows that fiasco is just another word for there was a girl involved.

And her name was Lavender Brown.

Goodness, Hermione had her heart set on throttling that girl for a long time. It was unbelievable torture having to listen to her nonsense every time she came back from a date with Ron and having her heart break when she went deep into the romance. And to make things worse, they thrashed around like electric eels in every corner of the castle. Hermione had to find different routes to her classes just so she could avoid Ron.

Of course he wasn't really all to blame. She will admit that she did have some fault in the situation as well. Wasn't it her who decided to attack Ronald with those golden birds? Wasn't it her that refused to talk to him without giving a substantial reason? And it certainly wasn't him who wore the face of jealousy throughout most of the school year. Ron was just being a teenager and Hermione was just being the jealous best friend who secretly loved him since their 2nd year.

She had to thank her lucky stars that they had decided to put this all behind them. It's true that Hermione was ashamed of her reactions but she couldn't help them. At one point she really did try to forget Ron but it was physically impossible to do that. Ron played a major part of her life. No amount of distant (physically or mentally) could keep her from thinking about him.

A slight tapping on her window shook away most of Hermione's thoughts. She got off her bed and opened the glass pane. Pigwidgeon came zooming in like a bullet and accidently rammed himself onto the wall. A slight gasp escaped her lips but then it dissolved when she found the little owl hopping back on his feet and flittering around excitedly.

She smiled at the funny little bird and pulled the envelope he was clutching. It was obviously a letter from Ron. God she practically lived for his letters. Any contact from him was always much appreciated.

Her fingers slipped through the flap of the envelope and pulled out his letter

Dear Hermione,

How's your summer been? Mine's been terrible so far. Mum found out about our…..er…plans and she didn't approve. Everyone's been miserable hearing her yell all the time. I hope things have been easier for you. You're coming soon right? We could really use you around here. You have to come for the wedding at least.

You wouldn't believe how much things have changed since the last time. Dad and Bill keep putting up protection spells on every inch of the house. We can't even use the floo powder anymore. Ginny's been moping around in her room ever since she and Harry split up. I'd crush Harry if he wasn't my best mate.

Dad and I are stopping by London three days from now. Any chance of seeing you there? If you're going to come there's no way anyone can apparate to the Burrow. Not anymore at least.

Try and come to London

Sincerely,

Ron

She smiled as the letter came to an end. It was nice to know that Ron wanted her around. She picked up her quill and began to write

Dear Ron,

I'm sorry your summer hasn't been that great. Things haven't been much easier for me either. Mum and Dad are furious with me. I've kept them out of the loop on everything happening the past few years and I finally told them two days ago

She cringed at the memory. Her parents were not happy at all. She made the mistake of telling them about Quirrel in her first year and they grew horrified. Her father debated changing schools and she couldn't possibly let that happen. Hogwarts was like her second home; a place where she knew she belonged. When she came home from her second year of school she knew her parents would be frantic with worry when they hear about the basilisk. She couldn't let them be burdened with this fear so she lied.

She lied about being petrified, fighting dementors, helping her best friend with deadly challenges, dealing with a vicious teacher, fighting in the ministry, and many other things. And finally she unleashed the truth and her parents were horrorstruck.

They refused to let her see Harry or Ron ever again. She cried until her eyes were red but she knew there was no way they were going to stop her from leaving. Hermione had to leave but she couldn't let her parents fall to the mercy of death eaters.

Her lip trembled as she continued to write

Let's just say they weren't happy. I was planning on coming even before you sent the letter but I have to take care of a few things first. I won't tell you what they are in case this letter gets intercepted but I can confirm that I will see you in London. As for Ginny, I wouldn't really bother her much.

We both know why Harry had to do it. It wouldn't be fair to leave her heart broken if Harry…..well…..leaves us. I know she'll be fine; Ginny's a tough girl.

You're lucky to have all those protective charms. I just hope mine will hold strong enough. I've really missed you Ron and I can't wait to see you again. I hope I don't inconvenience anyone by coming. As for our plans….well…we'll convince your mum. I'm sure of it.

See You Soon

Love,

Hermione

Hermione took a raspy breath and set the quill down. A blank envelope was waiting for her almost expectantly. She shoved her letter inside and sent it away with Pigwidgeon, hoping that he was up for the task. Thankfully he was; the owl flew off in excitement through the hazy night. She stared after it for a moment and then went back to her former position on the bed.

One sentence from the letter stood out to her as her eyes gazed back at the ceiling I have to take care of a few things first. Those few things weren't going to be easy. She had to leave and help her friends but how could she do it without her parents knowing. And then it hit her a week ago; she had to make them forget her. It wouldn't be hard, just a simple memory charm. But it would be emotionally painful.

However we all need to make sacrifices for the better and she (of all people) understood that. Ron's timing couldn't have been more perfect. He gave her three days to collect all the objects in this house that marked her existence. Her room furniture had already been magically stored in the attic and all her personal belongings were now in her beaded hand bag. There was still more work to do and Hermione promised herself that she would dedicate all the time she had to keeping her parents safe.

Her eyes unconsciously flickered towards the alarm clock now lying on the floor with no bedside table to hold it up. The time ticked 12:00 midnight. She sighed and shut her eyes, hoping for sleep to come fast. There were a lot of things to do for the next few days and her energy needed to be well invested.