"Mind if we sit here?" said a tall red-headed boy. "You know, I wouldn't ask, but every other compartment is full." "Haha. Very funny," Hermione said as she scowled at the boy, while he simply smirked and plopped down onto the seat across from her. Ron. Her-sort-of-boyfriend-and black haired boy with glasses sat across from them smiling. "Great to see you too Hermione," he said. "Hi Harry, did you have a good summer?" Hermione asked her other best friend, Harry. "It was great," said Harry with a smile on his face. Hermione would bet 100 galleons that he was thinking of Ginny and not anything else about the Burrow, well maybe 's cooking. "You should have stayed with us for the rest of the summer." Maybe I should have, thought Hermione. Maybe then I wouldn't be so unsure about me and Ron. I know that I still love him, but I'm not sure how he feels. We didn't get a lot of time together this summer. After the war everyone was mourning and there were so many funerals. Hermione couldn't think about them without starting to cry, especially about Fred and Tonks and Lupin. It was just so unbelievable that they were really gone, and Tonks and Lupin would never get to see Teddy grow up. This is what Voldemort had done to everyone, he had torn all the families apart, but they had defeated him finally and the wizarding world was puttting itself back together.
Hermione had stayed at the Burrow for a couple of weeks after the war ended, for support and to help rebuild everything, but with so many people around and the fact that so many people had been lost in the battle, Hermione and Ron didn't have much time alone, and if they were they weren't really feeling in a lovey mood. And then she had had to go get her parents back from Australia, Ron had offered to go with her, but Hermione said that she needed to go alone. "Thinking about schoolwork already?" asked Ron, breaking Hermione out of her train of thought. "No," she replied irritated. "But now you've got me worried about it! Its bound to be a challenging year, what with our NEWTs coming up! There's going to be so much work, we'll be working through all our breaks and everything. I wonder if they'd let me re-take the exams the next year if I failed, or would that be it..."
"Just calm down okay, Hermione? You'll probably get all 'Outstandings' anyways. You don't see me or Harry worrying about tests before term has even started!" Ron interrupted her, smiling. "Humph. Well, you won't have me to depend on this year! You'll both have to start doing your own work for once in your lives," Hermione said, wiping the smile off of Ron's face. "No, no. You have to help us Hermione," Ron said nervously. "She'll help us right Harry?" Harry looked slightly worried too, but sort of amused at Ron's panic. "I dunno mate. But if I were you, I'd start being extra nice to her." Harry and Hermione laughed as Ron's face paled. "Hey everyone," Ginny said as she appeared at the compartment door. "Hey Harry, can I talk to you for a minute?" "Yeah sure," Harry said as he got up and left Ron and Hermione alone in the compartment. After he left, Hermione could feel the awkwardness rise in the room. It had been a long time since she and Ron had been alone together. She wondered if he still felt the same way about her.
"I guess this is our last train ride to Hogwarts," Ron said sadly. "I suppose it is..." she replied. "I can still remember our first train ride." Ron smiled. "Yeah and you were looking for Neville's toad and told me I had dirt on my nose." Hermione laughed, "And you never got it off. You had it on for the whole sorting ceremony." They were laughing as Harry and Ginny came back in. "What's so funny?" Ginny asked. "Oh nothing," Hermione said as she smiled at Ron. "I think the train is slowing down. We better get changed," Harry said. "Time for our last year at Hogwarts," Ron said as they all stood up.
As they were getting off the train, Hermione tripped and fell, right into Ron's arms. He caught her around the waist and held her for a moment before quickly letting her go and blushing madly. Hermione's face was beet red too. Harry and Ginny exchanged a knowing look as they walked towards the carriages, which were no longer drawn by an invisible creature. Nearly every Hogwarts student had seen death in the past year.