Hermione sat in her mothers car staring out the window. She had just turned out of the carpark of Kings Cross Station, where she had left behind her friends, she would miss them so much.
She was going home for the summer after her sixth year at Hogwarts. She had hugged each one of her friends good bye, Harry, Ginny, Luna, Ron…. The difference was, she didn't want to let go of him.
She would miss each one of them dearly over the coming weeks that she would spend with her parents. In four weeks she would leave for the Burrow, to stay with the Weasleys for the rest of the summer.
As much as she loved her parents, Hermione hated being away from Hogwarts, that was her home now, well that's how it felt for her. When she was in her parents house in London, she felt like something was missing. So much had changed since her fifth year, when she had suffered from chronic homesickness.
She had spent most nights last year crying herself to sleep. Her pillows kept her secrets, as did Luna and Ginny. One thing that hadn't changed in the last year was her 'crush' on Ron.
The problem was Ron had too personalities, the one when he was with the other boys, and the one when it was just them. It was almost like she was in love with a version of Ron she had created in her head, but she believed that was the real him.
When they were in a big group, Ron acted slightly tougher and occasionally unintentionally hurt her feelings, by passing comments to 'impress' the other lads.
She knew he didn't mean it, and she never told him that she was upset but his jeers. She just brushed them off, to cry about later.
Then there was Ron's other side, when it was just them. He was sweet, kind and made her feel special. He did things like help her carry books (she always had so many) and one time on a trip to Hogsmeade, in the winter, she slipped on some snow and he caught her. It was those things that made her fall for him. She thought deep down, that was the real him, but sometimes his showy ways made her doubt that.
Little did she know Hermione was right. "Sometimes Harry I don't know who to act around her, when its just us, everything's fine, but bloody hell sometimes I have no social skills around her!"
"Ron this is Hermione we are talking about, you need to stop trying to impress her and just be normal, stop acting like you are Victor Krum."
"He went to the Yule ball with her!"
"Only because you didn't ask her"
"What? Never! She wouldn't have gone with me at all."
"Well I think she wanted you to ask her"
"She never said anything"
"Well she obviously wasn't going to say that, now was she?"
" Girls are so complicated,"
"What's complicated?" Ginny asked arriving at the two boys sides after saying good bye to Luna.
"Herbology Ginny, it doesn't matter." That was enough to stop any further questions.