Chapter 1:

It had been a few days since the battle of Hogwarts. Most of the students and other staff members had gone back home or to be with their other family members. Those who no longer had anyone to go back to, were allowed to stay at the castle thanks to Professor McGonagall. Everyone was finally able to relax knowing that Voldemort would not be terrorizing anyone anymore thanks to Harry Potter.

Hermione was lying awake in her old dormitory at Hogwarts in Gryffindor tower. She heard Ginny's deep, even breathing next to her and knew that she was still sleeping. The two of them along with Harry and Ron had stayed at Hogwarts the last few days to recover from their yearlong hunt for horcruxes as well as from the major battle that finally came to end. The Weasleys had gone home just a day earlier and they promised they would come back to the burrow the next day. They had Fred's funeral to attend. That was going to be a very difficult day for the Weasleys.

After that Hermione's next step would be to find her parents and restore their memories. She knew they were somewhere in Australia and now that things were safe again, she could go ahead and bring them back home. She missed them dearly. The only question on her mind was whether or not Ron would be accompanying her.

Things between her and Ron had been slightly awkward since the battle had ended. They had shared that very passionate kiss down in the chamber of secrets because they had not known whether or not they would die before that night was over. It was spontaneous and wonderful and everything Hermione had hoped for. It just felt right when their lips met. It was like fireworks had gone off and she had never felt anything like that before. They had held hands when the battle was over and went to check in on their friends and Ron's family indicating to those who saw that they were together. But they never had the talk and they never specified that they were a couple. Hermione had figured that their hand holding and kiss implied they were together but she had been wrong.

That's why things have been awkward. Since the day after the battle, Ron has barely even looked at her let alone talked to her. It was like he couldn't even stand to be around her. He had started acting funny the morning after the battle. They had all been in the common room when at some point, both of them passed out on the couch and when they awoke, Hermione was curled against Ron whose arm had been wrapped protectively around her. Once they woke up, Ron just immediately got up, muttered something incoherently, and ran up to his and Harry's old dorm leaving Hermione, on the couch, confusion written on her face over Ron running away.

Harry and Ginny basically picked up right where they left off. They could be seen holding hands and just being around each other all the time. Hermione could tell that they really loved each other and missed being together for that year he had been gone. Wherever one of them was, the other was not behind and their faces always lit up when they saw the other, even if they had only been apart for two minutes. Hermione figured that is just what happens when two people are very much in love. It made Hermione jealous how easy their relationship was compared to where she was with Ron. She was determined to talk to Ron but she wasn't sure when would be the best time to bring it up. And he wasn't helping either by acting the way he was.

"Ugh" Hermione sighed as she placed both hands to cover her face in annoyance. That was when Ginny stirred and sat up rubbing her eyes before she looked at Hermione. "Oh, I'm sorry Ginny, I did not mean to wake you up." Hermione said apologetically.

"It's okay. I have been awake for about the past 2 minutes anyways and then when I heard you sigh, I figured you might need to talk to someone. I can tell from the look on your face that something on your mind is clearly stressing you out." Ginny said with a slight smile. She just happened to know Hermione very well.

Hermione smiled back as Ginny got up and walked over to Hermione's bed and sat down right next to her. Hermione sighed again. "It's just everything going on with Ron so I don't know if you really want to hear about it."

"Hermione I am all ears. I mean you have always been there for me whenever I needed to talk about Harry and I intend to do the same. Just please no details about the snogging. That is where I draw the line." Says Ginny with a serious look on her face.

Hermione can't help but laugh at this. That is definitely a sibling thing. "No worries. I won't tell you anything about that. But since that 'incident'," Hermione used air quotes around the word incident so that Ginny would know what she was referring to so she didn't have to actually say it, "in the Chamber of Secrets and after the battle, he's barely spoken to me yet alone even look at me. I don't know if you have noticed but you and Harry always sit next to each other or at least across from each other and just carry on as if you guys never even were apart. Yet with Ron, nothing and it is just so frustrating and confusing. I would say that we are together since we clearly held hands in front of everyone after the battle was over and now he just acts like nothing happened! I just don't know what to do anymore."

Ginny looked at Hermione with pursed lips as she noticed that her brown eyes were glistening with unshed tears. She put her arm around Hermione to provide her a sense of comfort before she spoke. "You know my brother is not the smartest tool in the shed. He's the idiot when it comes to girls especially as someone as beautiful and smart like you. I mean you remember when he was with Lavender…

"Don't remind me please." Says Hermione with some urgency in her voice, with a hint of jealousy.

"Sorry. Just trying to make a point. You are going to have to talk to Ron about everything and figure it out. Just sitting here thinking about it all the time is going to get you nowhere and probably drive you crazy. You both have been mad for each other for years and you guys shared a kiss when you realized you both might not live and wanted to let each other know how you felt. Now you both need to voice it."

Ginny made a great point. Hermione looked over at the girl she has known for the last 6 years. Well she wasn't a girl anymore. She has turned out to be a wonderful and smart young woman and witch who suffered a lot more than any normal person should. She seemed just as scarred as Harry is, except without the physical scar.

"Thanks Ginny! You always know how to make me feel better. It would just be easier if he actually acted normal" She leaned over and gave Ginny a tight hug as Ginny chuckled.

"Well make things as normal as possible then. Instead of just letting everything be awkward, be your normal, bossy self and maybe that will help Ron be his normal annoying self. And then once things seem normal, that's when you can talk to him. But I'm going to go ahead and take a shower before heading down to breakfast before we head back home." Ginny said as she stood up and grabbed a towel and bathrobe. She turned and smiled at Hermione as she made her out of the dormitory.

Hermione thought over what Ginny said and agreed that she was right. Instead of letting the awkwardness between her and Ron continue, she was just going to act like everything was perfectly normal between the three of them, or four if you count Ginny. Hermione got off her bed, and attempted to tame her brown bushy hair the best she could and got dressed.

Once she was dressed, she took a minute to look herself over in the mirror and gave herself a pep talk. Ginny had already left for the great hall so she didn't have to worry about embarrassing herself. "Okay, we are just going to go back to be completely normal. Like nothing has changed between us. If nothing else, I just want us to go back to being friends."

Feeling better and confident about herself, Hermione strode out of her dorm and headed for the great hall and as usual, Harry and Ron were already there.