Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK... I'm playing in her sandbox and hoping she doesn't mind the castles I'm trying to make. No profit is gained from this, save personal gratification... the most selfish of all.

Author's Note: I have had a problem with Ron/Hermione for some time. It just didn't make sense. So, I put together a ship that I liked (this may or may not be due to my love of Luke/Mara), and am attempting to portray it in as "realistic" a way possible. All is canon, save the epilogue.

Chapter One – Prefect Again

Hermione didn't look up from her book as Ron stormed into the room. Vaguely wondering what had pissed him off in the mail this time, she curled up a little tighter on the couch to make room for him to sit next to her, twirling a plait around her finger absent-mindedly. As usual, her reading kept the majority of her attention. She had kicked off her shoes and curled her toes under, as she crossed her jean-clad legs and squirmed impatiently, waiting for Ron to come over.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Ron exclaimed suddenly, dropping to the couch and running a hand through his unruly red hair.

"Yes, dear?" asked Hermione, certain he was just in one of his moods and preferring not to be disturbed.

"McGonagall's insane. Nuts. This is so stupid."

"What now?" asked Ginny, looking up from where she sat knitting in Mrs. Weasley's rocking chair.

Ron tossed the letter he had been reading onto the table and propped his feet up. "We have to go back to school!"

Hermione closed her book and whirled on Ron, eyes flashing excitedly. She opened her mouth to exclaim something, but thought better of it and jerked the letter from where Ron had it under his feet. Ginny bounded out of the chair and came over to read over Hermione's shoulder. The youngest Weasley glanced concernedly at where Harry lay sleeping on the floor next to Crookshanks, but Ron's declaration had not woken him. Hermione cleared her throat and began to read out loud:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmistress: MINERVA MCGONAGALL

(Order of the Phoenix, First Class, Order of Merlin, Second Class, International Confed. of Witches, Registered Animagus)

Dear Mr. Weasley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to complete your seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We are also pleased to inform you that you have been invited to continue in the office of Prefect for Gryffindor. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Headmistress
P.S. And Mr. Weasley, please do not bring any of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to school with you this year. You are a Prefect after all.

"PREFECT?" Hermione demanded, voice rising sharply. "You are a prefect again? Where's my letter, Ron? Where... is my letter?"

"But that's just it," Ron wailed. "That's why I'm upset! I don't want to go back to school, I don't want to be a bloody prefect. I thought we were done!"

"We can't be done. We skipped out on our last year, if you remember. That whole horcrux experience? Really, Ron, you never cease to amaze me. You can't possibly have thought they'd just let us graduate without actually passing any of the exams!"

"Shh, don't wake Harry," Ginny interjected. "But really, Ron, did the rest of us get letters? Where are ours? I'm so excited!"

"Yeah, you did. They're on the kitchen table. Don't tell Mum, she's gonna be all over this..."

"Don't look so glum, Ronald Weasley," demanded Hermione, hugging him tightly and giving him a kiss. "This is the best news we've heard all summer. C'mon, Ginny, let's go see if Professor McGonagall sent mine here, too!"

"She did, and Harry's. Bloody school can read minds or something." Ron continued to grumble under his breath and he picked up the issue of Quidditch Inside and Out lying next to him on the table. "Leave me alone, I don't wanna think about school."

"Ron, language! And you're prefect, you can't just sit here and pout about that."

"Mum is gonna be so proud of you, Ron! Wait until she hears!"

"Ginevra Weasley, if you tell her before I do, I swear..." Ron broke off, trying to think of a good threat.

Ginny merely grinned in response and grabbed Hermione's hand as they ran into the kitchen to read their own letters.

The Weasley kitchen looked virtually the same as it had the first time Hermione had laid eyes on it. She could smell something wonderful bubbling in the pot on the stove and wondered what Mrs. Weasley was making for dinner. A light summer breeze blew in through the open window and ruffled the checkered curtains. A single red bloom stood tall and proud in a jar on the table, and Hermione guessed that Harry had picked it for Ginny earlier that day. Hermione let herself dwell on Harry and Ginny for a moment. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she last saw Harry look as happy as he did when he was with the Weasleys' only daughter. He wasn't over the top in his affection for Ginny, and their relationship was very quiet and private. One could tell they loved each other by little things, such as the flower decorating the kitchen table, but they mostly kept to themselves. Hermione wished that Ron would learn from Harry's example, but knew that pushing the issue would do no good. Her thoughts were brought back to the present when Ginny handed her a letter.

"Just like Ron said," Ginny said with a smile. "Our Hogwarts letters! Oh, 'Mione, I'm so excited. I can't wait to go back."

Hermione grinned at Ginny and eagerly, though carefully, tore open her letter. She quickly scanned the contents and let out an undignified squeal before clapping her hand over her mouth and reading it again. "Prefect!" she cried excitedly. She fought the urge to be bitter about it... after all, what other girl in Hogwarts applied herself as much as she had? No, there was someone else, and she knew Professor McGonagall had given the situation careful thought. Hermione sighed and willed the thoughts away. She was prefect, and that would be enough. After all, it wasn't like she had any choice. She was determined to make the best of it, and be as happy as she could... everyone had been through a lot, this would be a good way of trying to get a sense of normalcy back in her life.

"Oh, splendid! You and Ron can be prefects together again!"

"Well, I for one am surprised that they let us be prefects after what happened," Hermione said after a moment of silence. "We did rather skip out on school last year, you know. So many people might not think that it was responsible of us. I am, of course, grateful that Professor McGonagall didn't let that colour her opinion of our capabilities. Though I do hope Ron takes it a little more seriously this year."

Ginny smiled reassuringly. "Oh, I'm sure it will be fine. In fact..."

But whatever Ginny Weasley knew in fact was never known, for at that very moment the fireplace flashed and Mrs. Weasley appeared. The mistress of the household look flushed and excited, and also very, very stressed. If she noticed the letters the girls were holding, she gave no notice of it. Her arms were full of grocery sacks, some of which were moving, and Hermione could have sworn she heard some noises coming from another one. Ginny let her letter drop forgotten onto the table and rushed to help take some of the satchels from her mother. Hermione took the other satchels and together the girls began to put the items inside away whilst Mrs. Weasley collapsed in a chair.

"Oh my stars," Mrs. Weasley said with a sigh. "I am sure you have heard the news, as I see you all have letters. I was out doing my shopping when I ran into Charlie who told me the news, and so, of course I headed over to the Ministry to find out from Arthur if it was all true, and it is, and I can't say I'm surprised, but I feel like we haven't had nearly enough time to try and sort things back together. Of course, I always did say that Minerva knew what she was doing."

Mrs. Weasley broke off as Ron and Harry entered the kitchen. Ron still looked grumpy and had his hands shoved into the pockets of his robes. He shuffled in and began opening cabinets, aimlessly looking for something to eat, but not wanting anything that he found. Harry stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. He smiled down at Ginny who walked over to stand next to him, slipping her hand into his.

"What's going on?" Harry asked looking from the piles of letters on the table to Mrs. Weasley's strained face and back again.

"You are all to go back to Hogwarts to finish your academics," Mrs. Weasley said. "I had forgotten it was so close to the end of July already."

"But Mum, Harry's birthday is tomorrow. You didn't forget that!"

"Yes, Ginevra, I know, but I didn't think of it in terms of Hogwarts. There is so much to be done. I am not even sure who all the professors will be. Minerva is, of course, on as Headmistress. As far as I know, they still don't have a professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts." If anyone saw Harry swallow at the mention of that, nobody said anything. "Professor Slughorn will be staying on as Potions professor and Head of Slytherin. Dear me, I don't know what will happen. It seems all so rushed."

"They've probably been preparing all summer for it, Mother."

Only Mrs. Weasley acknowledged Percy's entrance. "You'd think they'd be preparing for other things, too!"

"We've been quite busy at the Ministry. Minister Shacklebolt has kept me very busy, of course. There are all sorts of changes going on in the Departments of Magical Law Enforcement, Education, and others."

"Nobody cares," snapped Ron irritably. He had finally resolved to just make a sandwich and ignored Hermione's attempts to help him. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and stepped back.

"Ronald, be nice." Mrs. Weasley shot him a warning look before turning back to the others. "Anyway, Harry, everyone is scrambling. Nobody expected that Hogwarts would be fully functional so quickly. We will have to head to Diagon Alley as soon as possible, for the entire wizarding world is reeling right now. Thank Merlin you all have wands, for poor Ollivander has barely finished fixing the damage to his wand shop. Merlin knows how he will find a way to make enough wands for all the new First Years, let alone those who have lost or damaged theirs and are having to repeat years."

Two more flashes appeared from the fireplace, and all eyes turned, not expecting Mr. Weasley to be home from work already. To their surprise, Bill and Fleur Weasley stood there, looking quite drenched. Mrs. Weasley didn't have time to be shocked. She flew from her chair to a nearby cupboard and pulled some large but worn towels out.

"Sakes alive, Bill, what happened to you two? You're both nearly drowned! Here, come by the fire and warm up, you'll catch your death of cold."

"Mother. It's July. They are not going to freeze."

"Percy, go get your brother something to wear. I don't care what month it is, it's never good to be wet!"

Bill laughed and pulled Fleur to him in a quick side hug before going and wrapping his arms about his mother in a big bear hug. He tossed a towel to Fleur, and Ron, perking up for the first time that day, ran over to help Fleur dry off, ignorant of the fierce glare he received from Hermione. The oldest Weasley wasted no time in stripping off his robes and shirt and furiously rubbed himself dry in time for Percy to get back with an extra set of robes. Mrs. Weasley nodded for the girls to take Fleur off to find something else to wear. She waited until the girls had left and Bill had put on dry robes before letting loose her flurry of questions.

"What happened to you? Where were you? How come you didn't owl to let us know to expect you? Is everything okay?"

Bill laughed again and kissed his mother on her forehead before gently sitting her back down and grabbing a stool for her feet. "You mean well, Mum, but has anyone told you that you worry far too much?"

"Don't start with me, Bill..." She shook her finger warningly at him, and Bill grew somber.

"No, I did not mean it like that, Mother, you know that. Nothing is wrong, it is just raining in Scotland."

"Scotland? I thought you were in London..." Ron looked confused and tried hard to ignore the letters on the table that Harry kept glancing at.

"Well, we were, but business called us up to Hogwarts, and it is raining there. You should see what the builders have done with the place... it's looking good as new. Anyway, McGonagall had some questions she had wanted to ask Fleur and me, and we came here right after everything was sorted, because, my dear mother, we thought you'd like to be the first to know. Hogwarts is in need of quite a few new professors and McGonagall has asked us to help out. We'll be moving up there next week to settle in and plan our lessons and meet all the other professors and everything in preparation for school starting as normal. It'll be an interesting year, that's for sure. We have to redo everything from scratch, ignoring whatever happened in school last year."

"Teach at Hogwarts! What will you be teaching? That's wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley's face lit up in a brilliant smile for the first time that afternoon.

"I am to teach Ancient Runes, since Bathsheda Babbling refused to come back this year. I think Minerva encouraged her to go off to some remote little cottage in Ireland for her health. And Fleur, my darling brave Fleur, is to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry shifted awkwardly as all eyes in the room turned toward him. "What...? Why are you looking at me?"

"You of all people would know whether that's a good idea, mate," explained Ron helpfully.

Harry frowned. "Of course it's a good idea. She's a wonderful duelist, and she's brave. Better than a lot of professors we've had for that already."

"Yeah, speaking of that, there's more, Harry." Bill stroked his chin thoughtfully before continuing. "McGongall wants to know if you'd help Fleur out."

"Who, me?"

"Who else? Out of everybody in Hogwarts, everybody in the wizarding world, practically, you know more than anybody. You wouldn't be a full-time professor, of course, since you'd be finishing your own studies, but you could help out students having trouble. Like what you did with the DA, only this time you'd be doing it as an official club."

"Wow." Harry paused and looked down, suddenly noticing that his shoelace had come undone. He found himself wishing he could just bend down and tie it rather than answering the question. "I guess I could do that. If it's just doing what I did with the DA, I could probably do okay. I'd be glad to help out any way I can."

"Pretty much." Bill smiled encouragingly at Harry before turning back to Mrs. Weasley. Harry made use of this change in attention to fix his trainers. "And Mother! You must be so proud of Ginny!"

"Proud of Ginny...? What happened? Is she a prefect, too?"

"Much more than that, Mum! She's Head Girl!"

"What! My Ginevra is Head Girl?" Mrs. Weasley gasped. "Oh, this is cause for celebration. Harry's birthday, Ginny's Head Girl, Ron and Hermione are still prefects, Bill and Fleur are teaching! But, Bill, do you know who Head Boy is?"

Bill looked over at Harry, who had somehow in the excitement managed to snatch his letter from the table, and was now shoveling it off into his jeans pocket. Harry shook his head almost imperceptibly, but before Bill could open his mouth to reply, a crash was heard in the garden. Ron and Percy jumped up from where they had been sitting and everyone flew to the window, the subject of Head Boys and Girls momentarily forgotten. There, in the garden, they saw that Mrs. Weasley's new apple tree that she had been so proud of had fallen over, roots splayed in the air.

"Merlin's beard, what did that?" asked Bill in surprise.

Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about ready to have a fit. She clutched her wand angrily and waved it threateningly in the direction of the garden. "It's... it's those gnomes! They're going batty. I am quite beside myself. Every time we redo the enchantments, things are lovely for a few days, and then something like this happens. I really need to get someone else up here to strengthen the garden enchantments. But I simply haven't had the time, and the Department of Magical Pests is up to their necks in sorting things out since... since the fall of You-Know-Who."

The door to the kitchen was suddenly thrown open and Ginny appeared, wand in hand. Her hair was wild and it looked like flames. Harry smiled when he saw the look of determination on her face. She was always so stubborn and proud and sensible, but she had the uncanny ability to look like she'd been through hell even if she hadn't. He suspected that was why she was such good friends with Luna Lovegood.

"Gnomes, in the garden!" she cried breathlessly. "More than usual, Mum. I left Fleur with Hermione and went to see what I could do."

Mrs. Weasley shook her head and sighed. "I was afraid of that."

"Ginny, you look a fright," Ron muttered.

"That's hardly the point now, Ronald." Mrs. Weasley sighed again. She was tired just thinking about the gnomes messing up her garden again. "I don't suppose you lot could help out at all... there is so much to do before tea, and if you could de-gnome the garden so I have time to get a breather in and properly prepare your supper so we can celebrate. I'd really appreciate it."

"Not to worry, Mother," Bill said with a smile and a quick but tender hug. "We'll get everything sorted. You worry about tea. C'mon, mates, we've got some gnomes to spin around."

Ron grumbled under his breath but quickly followed Harry, Ginny, and Percy outside. Bill hugged his mother once more and went off after them. Percy muttered about having Ministry work under his breath, and excused himself when they got outside. The others immediately set about de-gnoming.

"Well, blimey. Who'd have thought that Ginny'd be Head Girl? Mum won't shut up about this..." Ron shook his head and flung a gnome harder than necessary over the hedge.

"Wait," Harry said quickly, his heart sinking at the thought as he, too, tossed a gnome out of the garden. "Wait... does Hermione know? She can't have known yet, she hasn't said anything about it."

"Oh, bloody hell." Ron worriedly ran his hand through his hair. "Bloody hell. She's gonna freak. That's all she's wanted since she found out she was going to Hogwarts."

Ginny came up behind them and grabbed Ron by the arm. She jerked her head toward another corner of the garden, indicating that he should follow. He grumbled and looked over at Harry, who simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to helping Bill spin some more gnomes about. Ginny motioned for Ron to be quiet before she spoke.

"I heard you two talking. I'm guessing Bill told Mum the news. Listen... I haven't told 'Mione yet. I know she wanted it... she always has. But she needs to find out before tea tonight."

"Well, yeah, I'm thinking that might be a good idea," Ron said slowly, looking vaguely confused at what this had to do with him.

"Will you tell her, please, Ron? She'll do better if the news comes from you. You don't have to say anything special... just tell her before tea, and it'll all be okay, alright?"

"Wait, how come I have to be the one to tell her? Why can't you tell her, or Harry, or anybody but me? I don't want to be the one to bear the brunt of her anger!"

"Because," Ginny said patiently, smiling at her brother, "you're her boyfriend. If she's gonna listen to anyone, it'll be you. Now go on and find her and sit her down and let her know."

Ron groaned and shook his head. "So not looking forward to this. I can name off a dozen things I'd rather do than tell Hermione that someone else is Head Girl."

Harry came up, having heard the last bit of the conversation, and grinned and clapped his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Chin up, Ron. Hermione's not that bad. I can name off a dozen things that would be worse than telling Hermione that someone else is Head Girl. Besides, it's just Ginny... if it were someone like Pansy Parkinson, I can understand her being cross."

"That's an understatement." Ron made a face. "Well, wish me luck, mate, I'm gonna go in and face the dragon. Hopefully she'll stop breathing fire long enough for us to eat, my stomach's growling. Mum better make something good."

Ginny shook her head as Ron stormed off into the house. "Some days I don't understand him."

Harry shrugged and hugged Ginny tightly before following her back into the house. Bill followed close behind, and they found Fleur sitting in the kitchen whilst Mrs. Weasley busied herself with supper. The eldest Weasley gave the garden another glance before he shut the door and leaned back up against it.

"Well, Mother, you will be pleased to know that your garden has been successfully de-gnomed."

Mrs. Weasley heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you, Bill, darling. You don't know how that was getting on my nerves."

"I'm sure I can guess." Bill laughed, his eyes twinkling. "But I have even more news for you, Mother, to make your day even better... I'm to be the new head of Gryffindor House!"

Ron missed whatever outbursts of glee his mother had at that announcement as he shuffled up the stairs to complete his mission. The door to the room she shared with Ginny was shut, but since both Fleur and his sister were downstairs, he figured that Hermione was by herself. He gulped nervously, suddenly wondering if she hadn't found out from Fleur already, and was now crying by herself or something. Ron stood outside the door, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, trying to decide whether to knock, open the door, or wait, or what. The choice was made for him when Hermione pulled the door open and Ron almost fell forward into her. She blinked in surprise.

"What are you doing, Ronald Weasley?"

He swallowed and stared intently at the floor before running his hand through his hair again. Hermione knew the habit, sighed and pulled him into the room. Ron looked sheepishly around, feeling out of place. He hated his sister's room and always tried to avoid it. It was far too... pink... for his tastes, and even he had to admit there was very little pink in Ginny Weasley's room. Hermione motioned for him to sit on the bed and he willingly obliged, glad to prolong the moment of truth. Hermione settled down on the edge of Ginny's bed and propped her chin in her hands. She looked Ron up and down for a few moments and then broke the uneasy silence.

"What are you doing?" she asked again. "Why were you standing outside the door, acting as if a Death Eater was waiting for you on the other side? Do you really think I'm that scary, Ron? Why can't you just be like a normal boyfriend? Why do you have to...?" She broke off and shook her head.

"...have the emotional range of a teaspoon?" Ron offered helplessly. He hated it when Hermione launched into rants. He always felt like he wasn't good enough, but he never quite understood what exactly her point was, or what set her off. Well, the point was usually easy to figure out by the time she got to the end, or, at least, he thought it was. Setting her off, though, that was another matter entirely. He had learned by now that the best way to avoid getting something thrown at him was to nod, smile, and let her complain.

Hermione shook her head and sighed. "Okay, just... what is it Ron? I'm not mad at you, you don't have to act like you have to walk on a tightrope around me. Really... just relax and be yourself, like Harry."

"What does Harry even have to do with this?" Ron blurted out, suddenly angry. He was here as a favour for Harry, he didn't need to be compared to his best friend, especially when Hermione seemed to think that Harry was better than he was.

Hermione blinked in surprise. "What does Harry have to do with this? I can tell you were coming up for a reason that was unrelated to supper being ready. Did you want to talk about Harry?"

Ron mumbled incoherently for a minute, trying to recover from his outburst. "No... Ginny's gonna be Head Girl." There. He had said it. He waited for the expected outburst.

"I know."

That was it? All of that worry, and she said I know? It was Ron's turn to blink in surprise. Surely he must have misheard. There was no ranting, no frustration, no wondering whether she was good enough. There were no arguments or tears or any of those confusing emotions he had long ago given up on attempting to understand and had, instead, merely ascribed to girls being girls. Just a simple acknowledgment of the fact that she already...

"You KNEW?" Ron's face turned nearly as red as his hair and his voice jumped in pitch. "What do you mean, you knew? She's my sister! Bill just found out! She just got her owl! What do you mean, you knew? She hasn't even told anyone, how could you have known?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not everything revolves around you, Ronald. I know because Professor McGonagall told me. She asked my opinion, actually, if you must know."

"She asked your opinion? Why does your opinion matter?"

"What do you mean, why does my opinion matter? If you would get your head out of your arse for one moment, Ronald Weasley, maybe you would see that most normal people care about the opinions of others. If you would worry less about whether I knew something about someone, your sister or not, before you did, and worry more about making sure you were ready to go back to school, we wouldn't have so many problems with this." Hermione glared furiously, eyes flashing angrily. "I cannot fathom why you would decide it's a wonderful idea to dialogue on why I would have an opinion, but I am not interested in hearing your pathetic excuses tonight. Right now I am going to go down and spend time with friends, and wish Ginny good luck and all that rot. You can come or stay and mope as you wish... I don't care." With that, Hermione rose to her feet and stalked out of the room, leaving an awkward, angry, and slightly confused Ron Weasley behind.