"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Harry asked, a strong, puzzled look in his eyes.

"Something has to be done about this, you know that." Hermione replied, burying her face in her hands. She let out a groan in frustration. "I can't believe I let it get this far. What am I going to do, Harry?"

Harry stood up and walked over to the window, hands clasped behind his back. "You need to be honest with him, tell him what's going on."

"Do you know how hard that will be? He's been in love with me for so long, it'll crush him. I know it will." Head still buried in her hands, Hermione let out another, less audible groan. "I-I don't know if I can handle that."

"The longer you wait to tell him the truth, the harder it will be on both of you, Hermione."


In the months following her move to the Burrow, Hermione had spent much of her time with Ron. Truthfully she enjoyed their time together, even though Ron could sometimes be overbearing. Clinging to her every word and movement, Hermione began to feel suffocated.

Once dinner was finished, Hermione asked Ginny to talk in her bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, both girls looked at each other awkwardly. Hermione didn't know where to start. She felt strange wanting to confide in her boyfriends' sister about their problems, but there wasn't anyone else that could possibly understand what was going on.

"It's... It's about Ron..." Hermione said, her eyes locked on her hands she kept wringing together. Looking up, she continued. "He can be really... clingy sometimes, to be honest." Hermione confessed, feeling embarrassed to be confiding in Ginny. "I mean, I enjoy spending time with him, you know, but I would like some time to myself once in a while."

Ginny looked at Hermione with understanding in her eyes. "I know. Ron can get... over-protective." Standing up quickly, Ginny surprised herself with a sudden thought. "I know what I'll do! Just leave it to me!"

"Ginny, wait! What are you going to do?" Hermione called out after her, a second too late. Ginny had already left the room.

I hope she doesn't do anything too drastic, Hermione thought. Deciding she'd turn in for the night, Hermione shut out the lights with one fluid movement of her wand.


A night of nightmare filled insomnia plagued her. When she slept, she saw that room again. That damned room where... that happened. Blurred faces swirled around her, suffocating her. She tried to escape, but no matter what she did, she never succeeded. Writhing about to get out of her grasp while she was being tortured, Hermione turned her head and saw him. The horrific look in his eyes watching his aunt torture her was the last thing she saw before waking in sheer terror.

Gasping for air that wouldn't enter her lungs, she clung to the crumpled, sweat-covered sheets. She tried to scream, but her voice caught in her throat. When her lungs finally filled with the cool night air, Hermione stood and walked to the window on the other side of the room.

As she got to the window, she opened it up fully and leaned against the window sill. Sticking her head out the window, Hermione looked up at the night sky. It was a deep, dark blue that was completely covered in stars with no clouds in sight. The view took her breath away.

"Another nightmare?" Harry asked, standing in the doorway to her room.

Letting out a slight yelp in terror, Hermione spun around to where the voice came from. "Merlin's beard, Harry! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry." Harry said around slight laughter. After entering the room, Harry sat down at the small desk chair near the window. "I heard you calling out in your sleep, so I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks," She replied, turning to face the open window once more. "I'm alright. Just... a little frightened. I'll be fine."

After a few moments of silence, Harry stood up. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I just need some time to think. Thanks for being concerned for me, Harry." Hermione said while heading back to her bed.

"Well, if you're sure, I'll just leave you to it then." Harry said, crossing the room to the door on his right.

"Thanks again, Harry." Hermione said, her voice almost a whisper as Harry closed the door behind himself.

I should probably try to get some sleep, Hermione thought. Curing up on her side, she let out a soft sigh. Who knows what tomorrow will bring...


Hermione woke to the sound of light laughter and mumbled voices coming from downstairs. Taking a few minutes to get used to the light in the room, Hermione sat at the edge of her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Making her way down the four flights of stairs, Hermione noticed the soft flapping sound of owls headed away from the house.

Overjoyed at what the owls meant, she ran down the remaining steps and headed to the kitchen. Finally making it there, she found those special letters waiting for them on the table.

"We waited until you woke up to open them!" Ron shouted excitedly at Hermione as she sat down.

Hogwarts had finally reopened and classes would soon resume as normal. That's what the letters signified. She, Ron, and Harry had all been invited back to Hogwarts to redo their final year. Ginny, of course, would be a seventh year student with them.

"I can't believe it's back open!" Harry exclaimed, looking around the room with an excited glow about him. "Hogwarts reopening really shows that the war is truly over."


Authors note: Well, here it is! The first chapter of my very first Harry Potter Fanfic. Sorry if it's a bit rough around the edges, only one other person has read this chapter/story, and she wasn't a beta for me, just a friend. Unbeta'd and edited by yours truly, I certainly hope you all enjoy the story! I already have quite a few chapters written, so I'm hoping to do weekly chapter updates. Please please review and let me know what you think!