Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


They sat there outside, in the cold each lost in their thoughts. The most common between them being how she could leave them like that. Time held no meaning for them now. One of their own had left and they hadn't been able to stop it. They had been too late. They had taken her granted for so long that each expected her to always be there for them. So, her leaving had come as a huge blow to them.

A voice heavy with regret disturbed the strange silence, "We should have told her that we appreciated her. She was always there to help us but we never once said thanks or help her with her problems."

There other two nodded their agreement. Except for defending her from Malfoy, they had not done much to assist her. Even that she could handle, as seen in their third year when she hit him. Ron signed and remembered the troll incident. It was his fault that she was in that bathroom in the first place and he had never apologised for that, yet she had helped him many a times. He remembered how they had argued over things that were so trivial now. He felt horrible. If only he had done something, anything then their friendship would not have ended and she would not have left.

Ginny remembered how malicious she had been when Hermione had shown concern for Harry back when they were still a couple. In hindsight, she knew Hermione had loved Harry but would not have come between them. But to a younger Ginny, Hermione was a threat not only because she loved Harry but because she always put his welfare above hers. This had affected their friendship so bad that they had become more acquaintances than best friends.

Harry wondered why it took Hermione's leaving for him to realise his feelings for her were more than those shown towards a best friend. He remembered Ginny commenting on how no other girl could be his partner because he'd already found her. At that time, he did not understand what Ginny meant but he understood today. He only wished it wasn't too late. Hermione always saw him as Harry not the Boy-Who-Lived. She understood him like no one else not even Ron. He briefly wondered if she loved him more than a best friend but now he'd never know.

While the three sat lost in their thoughts, on the other side of the Weasley backyard, a discussion was going on with Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione being the topic. The remaining members of the Weasley family not drowning guilt and sorrow were present for the discussion. Also present were Neville, Luna, a reformed Draco (who was now dating Ginny), Remus, Tonks and Sirius.

"Do you think it's worked? Have they realised what Hermione means to each of them?" asked Charlie. He and his brother Bill had come home to spend some time with their family. Everyone looked towards the small group of friends to find the answer.

It was Molly who answered her son, "I hope so. Otherwise it is going to take some serious talking with each of them for them to realise it. Especially Harry. How that boy doesn't know his feelings towards Hermione is beyond me."

"Hopefully, he realises them soon and does something about them or lots of people are going to be losing money," said Fred.

"Yeah, only about ten people are in the running to win the betting money, including Professor McGonagall and mum," said George.

Sirius looked at the twins before grinning and saying, "People are placing bets on when my Godson is going to get his head out of his arse. Wicked!"

Remus just shook his head, he was not surprised that Sirius would find that interesting. He was still a big child inside; which always made it amusing to play pranks on him. The twins corrected Sirius by saying, "Nah that's not as wicked as mum placing a bet"

"thought she was going to give us another one of her famous lectures"

"instead she scared the life out of us when she placed the bet," finished George.

Luna who had been quietly listening so far spoke up, "What do you think they're going to do once they find out that Hermione's not really left?"

This brought about a contemplative silence as everyone tried to imagine what would take place when the three saw Hermione. Neville was the first one to speak, "I think they'll be overjoyed and relieved until they find out the truth."

"Then we run and hide or go down fighting," said Sirius. Everyone agreed with that, except Molly and Arthur. They knew the kids would not harm them but the same could not be said for the others present. They would more likely be hexed and jinxed by the three until they were forgiven. This discussion continued well into the night and it was nearly one in the morning when Molly shepherded everyone to bed.


The next day began with a mixture of excitement, trepidation and despair for those present in the Weasley house. All the guests had spent the night at the Weasley house as none wanted to miss the drama that was going to unfold in the house when Hermione arrived. This was the source of all the excitement and trepidation. While the despair stemmed from Ginny, Harry and Ron as they wallowed in guilt and sorrow, since they believed that Hermione had left and was not returning.

The general atmosphere from morning still lingered even though everyone was busy with their tasks. Although the excitement, from everyone except the trio, had risen as the day went on until it came to an explosive standstill just after dinner. It was then that the floo flared and the one person everyone had been waiting for stepped out.

"Hi everyone. Sorry I'm late. I got held back at the reunion," said Hermione. No one said a word as everyone was waiting for the trio to speak. This caused Hermione to become suspicious and look around the living room. Harry, Ginny and Ron looked like they'd seen a ghost while the rest looked on with anticipation as the moment they'd been waiting for was finally here.

"Hermione. Is that really you?" asked Ginny, a moment before she ran to hug the other girl. She was soon followed by Ron and Harry. Hermione was really confused and more so when they started talking at the same time. Asking questions like 'where were you', 'we're sorry', 'don't leave us' and others.

"Hang on guys, what are you going on about? I told you I was going to my family reunion and was going to see you in a couple of days," said Hermione.

"You did? I don't remember any such thing," said Ron and Harry.

At this point, the twins spoke "Didn't we tell you?"

"Must have mentioned it"

"We did tell everyone."

Judging from the looks on the other occupants of the room, Hermione had figured out that someone, the twins or Remus and Sirius, had played a prank on the trio. She decided to do an un-Hermione like thing and play along with the prank to see where it lead. But it proved difficult as the urge to laugh overwhelmed her when she saw the confused looks on the trio's faces and the innocent but captivated expressions sported by everyone else.

Ron was angry because he hadn't known the reason for Hermione leaving and his relief at seeing her was quickly disappearing. So, in a slightly raised voice he answered the twins, "No, you told us she left but not that she was visiting family."

"You let us think that she left us and that she wasn't coming back," continued Harry, also getting angry.

Hermione accidentally caught Neville's eye, whose shoulders were shaking from suppressed laughter. Seeing this she couldn't help laughing especially when Ron continued his ranting. This opened the flood gate for the others and they too burst out laughing, except for Ron and Harry. They were still peeved.

Surprisingly Ginny was also laughing. She had caught the looks being passed around the room and knew someone had pranked them. She was thankful and not angry (well not anymore) that someone had done this as it helped her realise what Hermione's friendship meant to her. Later, she planned to talk with the other girl and clear the air so they could save their friendship.

After everyone seemed to have settled down, Harry in a somewhat calm voice asked, "Who planned the prank? We already know you all were part of it."

"It must have been the twins," came from the still angry Ron.

"Nah may be the last Marauders," said Hermione. Harry and Ron stared at her thinking she was in on the prank from the beginning. Understanding this from their expressions, she clarified, "I figured it was a prank when the twins started their explanation. I didn't know anything about it before."

Harry thought this over, before saying, "You may be right. Or maybe the four teamed up for the prank."

Getting tired of the speculation, a voice they didn't expect spoke up, "It was me. I came up with the idea when the twins told us Hermione had left for the weekend. Everyone else just went along with it."

Four stunned faces stared at the speaker of the statement, when they replied with a shocked, "You!"


A/N

So, this is my first attempt at writing humor, what do you guys think? Like it? Hate it? Please review.

Who do you think pranked Harry and the gang? I haven't decided which character it is yet, feel free to suggest a character. Although, its definitely going to be someone from the list below:
- One of the Weasleys, except Ron and Ginny
- Sirius
- Remus
- Neville
- Luna
- Draco
- Tonks

Cheekyangel91 :)