You Picked Me, a harry potter fanfic

Autumn came suddenly that year. I can't tell you if I was fully prepared for it, but I was ready to be back in the classroom. I was ready to spend hours back in the library, letting books surround me as I studied. I was ready to sit in the common room and write those Potions essays, and I was ready to be back home.

I was ready to get back to being simply Hermione.

Molly holds me tight as we stand before the Hogwarts Express. Harry stands a few feet away from me, laughing with Ginny and promising to write. I look over at him and grin. He shrugs and extends his arms to me, smiling, and I can't help but accept his warm embrace.

"Promise to write me too, okay?"

"Yeah, Hermione. Just keep Ron in line for me."

"Will do." I ruffle his hair as I pull away, kissing him on the cheek and standing with Ron. He smiles, but not at anyone in particular. His mother squeezes him, giving him her famous Weasley farewell. He laughs, returning her hug and he claps Harry on the shoulder. They just grin at each other for a moment, his little sister standing by his best friend's side.

George presents himself beside to me while I watch his family. I jump when he taps my shoulder, but turn to wrap my arms around him as well when I realize it is him. He smiles as I kiss his cheek too, putting a Chocolate Frog in my hand when I pull away.

"For the ride," he says, putting an arm around Luna after Molly has attacked her. She smiles at me, glad that I'm going to be with her again this year.

"Thanks. Luna, are you going to share a compartment with us?"

"I'd like to, if you don't mind."

"We'd love to have you. Ginny, Ron and I are all going to be in one together. I'm sure Ginny would be happy to share."

I look over at her, tilting my head in Luna's direction. Ginny smiles, nodding and waving me off, turning back to Harry. She looks at him with reverence, but with hidden emotions that are somehow clearly seen within the brown recesses of her eyes. I suppose that nobody really cares to look for something there.

Nobody except for Harry Potter, of course.

I feel Ron twine his fingers through mine. Luna kisses George goodbye as the train sounds. Molly stands next to Arthur, and I wonder if they are reveling in their youth, in their years back at Hogwarts, in their years of young love. Ginny wraps her arms around Harry one more time, kissing him lightly and whispering something in his ear.

I look up at Ron, who is again smiling at his family. I tug on his hand, dragging him out of his trance and pulling him onto the train. Molly waves us away as we bring our things into the compartment. Ron and Ginny stick their heads out of the window, waving at their family. I sit back into the cushions with Luna, who is reading the Quibbler already, making marks with that red pen of hers.

"Hermione," Ron says, looking back at me as the train starts to pull out of the station. "Come here." I join him, feeling my hair tangle at the wind, but George is standing with his parents and waving at us all. The sight is bittersweet, missing so many members, but Harry is the addition. He stands right next to them, right next to George and bids us all farewell.

I begin to wonder for the first time how he will cope without us.

He lifts a hand instinctively to the scar on his forehead and nods at us all. I know that in that statement, he will be okay.

I sit back onto the seat with Ron, Ginny taking her place next to Luna. She reads over the other girl's shoulder, resting her chin there. I bring my knees up to my chest, looking out the window. Ron takes my hand pulls me into him, slightly, just enough so that some of my weight is on him, but he let's me stay independent. He smiles down at me when I tilt my head back to look at his face. I lean up to kiss his cheek. We sit there, watching the station fade away behind the train.

One, two, three
Counting out the signs we see
The tall buildings
Fading in the distance
Only dots on a map
Four, five, six
The two of us a perfect fit
You're all mine, all mine

Ginny and Luna remain in that position of theirs until Ginny falls asleep. Luna carefully scoots away from her, letting her take up most of the seat, but the odd witch doesn't seem to mind in the slightest.

She looks up and catches my eye.

"She took care of me last year. I took care of her." She says, shrugging and turning back to the Quibbler.

I can only nod, feeling myself grow tired. Ron is snoring lightly next to me, his arm thrown lazily over my shoulder while I am still hunched up against him. I continue to stare out the window aimlessly, watching the trees pass by as the sun warms the grass.

"How was she last year?" I ask Luna, because I had never thought to ask Ginny.

"She took the Carrows well."

"But… without us…"

"Horrible, to be honest. She couldn't cope all that well without you or Harry, and especially Ron. It was very unnerving to see her break in front of me. Neville and I were her only friends left. Well, her friends that she could trust. Everyone else was either leaving school or taking sides with the Slytherins. It was really quite terrible."

I think about that for a moment. "And how were you?"

"While I was in school, I was doing very well. Ginny and I often snuck into each other's dorms and had little sleepovers if we could. We never got caught, thankfully. It was strange to be captured. I always wonder how she took it when I was taken prisoner."

"She hasn't told me."

"She hasn't told Harry either. I think it's too personal."

"Yes…" I say, but I can't think of anything else. Luna just nods and resumes her reading.

I remember when I first met Ron. It was quite an odd thing, as he was still my height and my teeth weren't all that great and Harry was just as awkward as ever. It still amazes me that, despite our differences, we became the best of friends our first year. I don't think I would be the person I am today without them. I don't think I would be Hermione Granger.

I'm going to miss Harry, I realize, but I don't cry. I just have this aching in my chest, and I let it sit there for a while. I know it will not perish, for he is my very best friend. I just gaze out the windows and try to remember how bright his face always was, and how glad I was to see him every first day back at Hogwarts, and how sad I was to leave him every last day.

I remember our compartment days and I remember our journey this past year. I remember his loyalty and I remember his compliments. I remember his firm posture next to me during sixth year, even when he was battling problems of his own, he still found time for mine. He still found time to be the comfort I couldn't seek from Ron. He still managed to be the Harry I needed him to be, not the Harry Hogwarts or Dumbledore needed him to be.

"Are you okay?" Ron's whisper startles me, making me jump a bit. I tilt my head back again.

"Why?"

"You've got that look on your face."

"What look?"

"You're thinking really hard."

"I have a look for that?"

"Well, you have the standard thinking look, and then there's the studying look, but this is the hard thinking look. What's on your mind?"

I smile at his notes. "I'm surprised that you've paid so much attention to my facial expressions, Ronald Weasley. Why didn't you study Potions that hard? You would've received an Outstanding."

"Potions isn't as interesting as you are."

"Oh."

He grins and kisses me. "You didn't tell me what you're thinking about."

I look into his perfect blue eyes. I feel his fingers on my shoulder, feel his chest rising and falling below my back. I feel his gaze on me, determined, caring, loving, and I want to be honest. So I am.

"Harry."

He looks puzzled.

"I'm just going to miss him, that's all." Ron smiles again and kisses me.

"Everything will be okay."

"I know."

And somehow, Ron made the world seem right again.

And all I can say
Is you blow me away

When we arrive at Hogwarts, I was filled with a thousand memories; Hagrid's hut, hatching Norbert; playing the grand game of Wizard's Chess in first year with Ron and Harry; studying basilisks in attempt to help Harry; watching Harry produce the partronous; the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum; the meeting to form Dumbledore's Army in the Hog's Head; the first D.A. meeting; the night at the Ministry; watching Ron with Lavender; Harry and Ginny's kiss; working to figure out who the Half Blood Prince was; Dumbledore's funeral and the final battle at Hogwarts.

I breathe in deeply as I step off the train with Ginny, my robes already on. The air smells of pine and oak and forest and so many wonderful things that I had taken for granted until that sixth year. I see the lake, though dark under the night sky, and I remember the days we spent there, under our beech tree as we ate our lunch. I remember studying there for hours at a time, sometimes through meals because I had to learn. I craved knowledge of the world and I wouldn't stop until I knew all I could.

Ginny takes me by the arm, leading me onto a carriage. She says something about being back and sharing a dormitory, but really, I'm not listening. I'm looking at Ron, who is captivated by the scene.

Hogwarts has come a long way since the war. It's funny how much magic can do. The buildings were collapsed just a few months ago. The image is still clear in my mind. Hagrid's Hut was burned, not completely, but it suffered severe damage. Professor McGonagall was able to repair it, luckily, but Hagrid still seems to be a little frantic around fires, no matter his experience with magical, fire breathing creatures.

Ron sits next to me in the carriage, settling down nicely as we make our way up the familiar path.

"It feels good to be back." Ginny says.

"It does." I agree. Luna nods and Ron just keeps staring off into the distance where Hogwarts awaits us.

The sorting ceremony is short and sweet. I sat between Ron and Ginny, the two of them beaming as each new little Gryffindor joined us. McGonagall gave is Dumbledore's exact opening speech, the very same Harry, Ron and I received just before our first feast in the Great Hall. Ginny smiles up at the professor, as though maybe she could see her personally, but I ignore their silent communication and dig into the food before me.

I glance behind me to look at Luna, who is happily chatting with one of the new first years. He looks a bit timid at her strange earrings and necklaces, but he smiles at her when she speaks. Her face is bright, simply Luna because she is home, and under it all, she never really left Hogwarts. When she catches my eye, she grins and points over to the boy. I assume then that I will be hearing more about him and his interesting story tomorrow during the lunch hour. I just wave my hand lazily and turn back to my house.

It is my duty to lead the first years girls up to their dormitory as Head Girl and Ron leads the boys. I can't tell if McGonagall gave us these positions out of respect or if we really deserved them. Either way, Ron doesn't mind, and quite frankly, I love it. He stands close to me even if he is supposed to be with the boys. I nudge him that way every now and then, but he ignores me and always drifts back.

We stand in the common room before we must part at the staircase. We're two of the few lingering here; everyone else is settling in, unpacking their things and getting familiar with their roommates.

"It feels like we never really left." I mumble against his shoulder.

"That's because we never really did, Hermione." He leans down to kiss me goodnight and that's that. I say goodnight to him and we travel up the stairs, but I look back and catch him watching after me, waiting for me to close the door before he even thinks about closing his.

Ginny is already in her striped pajamas by the time I walk out of the loo, my hair undone and my robes half shrugged off. She is bending over the last letter she received from Harry; just a few weeks ago, but I catch her rereading it endlessly. They were together the entire summer other than when Harry came back to Hogwarts to help with repairs. He said the physical labor was something he needed.

"What's in that letter that makes it so interesting? You've been pouring over it since you got it." I say, pulling my own pajamas out of my trunk, scratching Crookshanks behind the ears, just where he likes it. He purrs.

Ginny looks up from the parchment, her unoccupied hand brushing some of the hair out of her face. I sit down on the end of her bed near her feet, pulling my shirt on and pulling off my skirt. She smiles at me briefly before folding the letter up again, even though she knew that I knew she would unfold again later that night before she went to sleep.

"It's not important."

"It's got to be important if you're reading it more than two times a day."

"Am I really?"

"Twice on the train and probably three times just now."

"Hmm, I didn't realize I was reading it so much."

"Cough it up, Gin."

She sighed, unfolding the letter like I knew she would, and rereading it once more.

"He told me he loves me." I smile at her for a moment before hitting her knee and pulling on the rest of my pajamas.

"What did I do?" She exclaimed on contact.

"You're a right fool if you didn't know that by now."

"But he never said it…"

"Have you seen the way Harry looks at you?"

"Kind of like the way my brother looks at you?" Ginny shot back.

I simply laughed.

"Yeah, Ginny. Exactly the way Ron looks at me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first week of term ran smoothly; Ron and I were able to find our classes without much trouble and the studying became nearly nothing compared to what I had done while we were out with Harry the past year. Ron and I had several classes together, thankfully, though that might be due to Professor McGonagall's kind change of heart towards us all regarding our return to school. I can't be sure if she thought even Ginny was going to come back. Neville is still here, though he is interning for Professor Sprout.

During our lunch hour, Ron and I visit the beech tree. Ginny spends it with Luna and her other friends, often wandering near the Quidditch pitch to catch a few free games. Ron, to my great surprise, has already completed some of the studying and written the introduction to our Transfiguration essay. He says that he needs my help with the rest of it, but I don't mind. I've been doing this for years.

"Decided to be more productive this year?" I ask him as we sit in the shade of the leaves. I have a book in my lap, my hair tied loosely in a braid and my bangs held out of my eyes with my hand. He lies back in the grass, his fingers toying with a few fallen leaves.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Honestly, Ronald, you've never done work before the night it's due."

"Really? Could've sworn I'd done a few papers on time."

"Not that I can remember."

"I'll take your word for it." I laugh. I continue reading for a moment or two. Ron waves his wand here and there, muttering a few spells and I turn to look at him, my curiosity getting the better of me.

He smiles at me, sitting up and leaning towards me, placing an abnormally pretty leaf on the spine of my book. He leans in closer, he lips brushing my ear. My eyes slide half closed, but I manage to keep my gaze on his face. He takes my hand, placing it over the little tear of tree. He is warm, inviting, and he still smells of that musky old scent that he's had since I met him.

"Look." He said, opening my palm and showing me the words engraved in the little leaf.

My Word

I'm sure I'm beaming at him, but I wouldn't be able to tell you because I'm kissing him, losing myself completely in all that was Ron Weasley.

Like an apple on a tree
Hiding out behind the leaves
I was difficult to reach
But you picked me
Like a shell upon a beach
Just another pretty piece
I was difficult to see
But you picked me
Yeah you picked me

The term was falling out from under us as we continued into December. Ron was nominated Quidditch captain. Luna brought out her Lion's Head again, I standing with her amidst the other Gryffindors. (Luna had grown tired of her Ravenclaw team, though she still loved being in that house. She sat with us every game that Ravenclaw did not play in) As the weather grew colder, the letters were fewer from Harry, but longer. The owls, he said, were having difficulty making it through the snow very quickly. Therefore, he only sent about one or two letters a week, but it was enough to keep us happy.

After we parted with Luna one evening after a good match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, Ginny and I made our way back to the common room. Everyone had swarmed the Quidditch pitch after the victory, even Luna and I. We saw Ron and congratulated him, but we had to be on our way because someone was going to bring in large amounts of firewhiskey. I didn't want to get involved, and though Ginny looked tempted, she came along with me anyway.

We climb through the portrait hole, slumping down into the comfiest armchairs by the fire. We sigh heavily, look at each other and laugh.

"Well," she says, pulling off her scarf, "It's been a while since I've been this exhausted." A dark look crosses her features for a moment, but resume their normal blazing look as she stares into the fire.

"I could say the same." I reply, summoning a few pillows from the couch across from me. I hand them to her and she curl up into that little ball of hers. I watch her for a few minutes, thinking back to sixth year.

"Do you remember when you used to do that?" I ask.

Ginny looks up at me through sleepy eyes, but when she thinks about what I'd asked her, they light up at the slightest. "Yes," she responds. "Yes, I remember."

"I used to come in here after hours and find you there, just waiting for him."

"So you were the one that always go me in bed, then?"

"Of course. No one else was going to do it, and I was afraid someone would be tempted to dye your hair something foul."

"That's odd," she says, "I always thought it was Ron."

"Ron never knew."

"You didn't tell him?"

"No. Your sleeping habits were your own problem, not mine, and if you wanted to talk to him about it, you would have. Besides, Harry wouldn't have done anything different than I would have done." I say.

Ginny sits quiet for a moment. "I was just so… relieved he stopped seeing me as Ron's little sister."

"I think Harry was relieved when you stopped seeing him as The Boy Who Lived."

"Yes, but I stopped seeing him like that after my first year. It took him six years to figure out I was my own person."

I look at her again, just look. She has faint dark circles under her eyes, though I know she still had frequent nightmares. There are scars up her arms from the Carrows last year, and though I've never ventured far enough to find out exactly what they had done, I felt they were nothing compared to what she was feeling without the three of us with her. She'd told me of that struggle once before. I've never asked her to recount it.

"But," Ginny murmurs as she's was drifting off to sleep, "At least, he's alive. That's all I need."

We didn't speak again. I curl up in my chair as well, waiting for Ron's return but I didn't dare fall asleep. Two hours later, he walks through the portrait hole, alone. He doesn't see me at first, but since my eyes were already well adjusted to the darkness, I can see him clearly. He's cleaned up, put on a fresh sweater and a pair of trousers. He doesn't reek of whiskey, so I assum he'd only had one or two drinks. It wasn't unlike Ron to get a little carried away with firewhiskey.

"Ron," I whisper. He jumps a little but smiles when he saw me. He comes to sit on the couch beside my chair. "Great win today." He smiles again.

"Thanks. I still think we'd be doing better with Harry, but that Haddock fellow isn't that bad of a Seeker. Ginny was better than him, by far."

"Ginny's a great Chaser, though."

"Yeah, I need her there. She scores most of our points, if you didn't notice."

"Honestly, Ronald, you've got to give me some credit; at least I know what all the players are supposed to do. I had it figured out by fifth year that when you stopped the Quaffle, it was a good thing."

"Yeah, you used to be right mindless about Quidditch."

"It's only fair. You were right mindless about school." Ron laughs at this. We sat in silence for a few moments more.

"I suppose I should be heading up…"

"D'you want to take Ginny with you?"

"It wouldn't hurt." With his help, I manage to wake Ginny enough so that she's capable of walking. She stumbles towards the staircase, walking half blindly through the sleepiness that shrouded her mind. I chuckle as she turns out of sight.

"Well, goodnight," I say to Ron, tilting my chin upwards. He looks down at me for a second. I put my arms around his neck, loosely, and he put his own around my waist. "I don't plan on snogging you before bed, but a kiss would be nice." I say, smiling. He returns it, leaning down ever so slightly to brush his lips against mine, gently, softly, and with the greatest care I've ever experienced from him.

"Goodnight," he mumbles against my mouth, and all I could do was kiss him back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We receive a letter one fine day from Hagrid, written in his usual messy scrawl, asking for us to come to a little lunch. Ron and I hop down to see him as soon as we're done with Transfiguration. I had forgotten how easy and refreshing it was to trek down to Hagrid's. There was so much to see and so much time to talk. It makes me wonder about all the conversations I'd had with Harry and Ron on the familiar path.

Clouds were darkening the sky overhead, and even though the snow was thick beneath our boots, it seemed as though more would be coming our way.

"Funny," Ron says from behind me, "those pumpkins used to seem so much bigger." He points to the large patch that Hagrid kept around his hut.

"You were also thirteen when we needed them last." I reply, raising my hand to knock on the large door. Ron grins from beside me when Hagrid opens the door and the half giant has never seemed so happy.

"There yeh are!" he says cheerily, shuffling us into his cozy home. There are already two steaming mugs of tea waiting for us at the table, perfectly accompanied by some of his infamous rock cakes. I grin up at Ron upon the sight; it was like a welcome home present from one of our oldest friends.

"So 'ow have you two been?" Hagrid asks us, his eyes twinkling in the way they did.

"Great, Hagrid, we've been doing loads of schoolwork and Ron's been doing his Quidditch. Harry's been writing every week since term began and we'll be heading back to the Burrow for Christmas holidays soon."

"It's like our first normal year." Ron chips in, sipping in mug of tea. Hagrid smiles.

"Not much trouble without Harry, eh?"

"Frankly, Hagrid, there isn't any trouble left to get into!"

"Yeah, Fred and George took all the fun out of that anyway."

Ron 's smiling, Fang putting his head on his knee and as I peel my gloves off, Hagrid starting asking Ron about Quidditch and asking me about my courses and asking the both of us about how Harry was doing. And then, before we knew it, we were recounting all those days when we had come here before, to talk about Fluffy and to hatch dragon eggs, to hear about Mudblood's and giants and all of Hagrid's other fantastic stories.

And while Hagrid was remembering the particular time that we first met Grawp, I caught Ron with that hint of a smile he always wore these days. I gave him the one I saved for him sometimes, and I think he just caught it before I was back to reminiscing with Hagrid and things seemed so much better than they ever had before.

So softly
Rain against the windows
And the strong coffee
Warming up my fingers
In this fisherman's house
You got me
Searched the sand
And climbed the tree
And brought me back down

Christmas at the Burrow was just as it always was; George was irritating Ginny half the time, the two of them were pulling pranks on everyone—Ginny had almost immediately taken up the honorary role of the second hand prankster after Fred had gone—Ron was stuffing his face at meals and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't stop fussing over everyone. Harry was joining us for the few weeks that the three of us were off, and I found myself spending more and more time with him than with anyone else.

When the mornings were bright and the snow stopped falling, I woke him up and we took long strolls in the gardens. It was often that I was telling him about school and trying to tell him about what little of the Quidditch I could follow. Harry laughed when I told him how drunk Hagrid had gotten before we'd left him to take our afternoon History of Magic lessons and he smiled when I procured some candy from Honeydukes I'd bought for him.

"So how are things, between you two?" he asked one morning, his hands playing with the seams of his hat. Ginny kept telling him to stop that or the hat would fall apart completely, but he never listened to her about it.

"If I said better than ever, would you believe me?"

"Honestly, Hermione, you spent most of your time bickering or being jealous of each other; there's always room for improvement." I laughed and pushed him with my hand, but he just grinned his cheeky little grin and kept on walking beside me.

"What about you and Ginny?"

"Fantastic." He replied. "She's going to try to play Quidditch after school, you know. She said she'd come live with me after a few months at home. So her mum doesn't feel too upset that her baby is all done and all, though since her and Ron are graduating in the same year, I'm not sure how that will work." The only noise for a moment was the soft crunch of snow beneath our feet. "I can't wait until she comes to live with me."

"I'm sure it will be here before you know it."

"I think it'll be around September of next year. That way she'll have summer with her mum and George—"

"And Luna."

"And Luna, and then leaving home won't seem so… abrupt. It's a good strategy."

"Have you talked to Mrs. Weasley about this?" Even after all these years, we were still calling Ron's mum Mrs. Weasley. I do think that that's one of the few things that will always remain the same.

"I think Gin's mentioned it a few times. We'll sit down with them by Easter holidays to go over some of the plans, but with the War over and everything…"

"There's really no rush."

"Yeah. It'd just be nice to have someone living with me, that's all." Harry glanced at me. "Not that sharing a tent with you and Ron for months wasn't nice and all, it's just that—"

"We're your best friends, yeah, yeah." I grinned.

"I don't think I could handle the snogging anyway."

"Oh, you can't handle the—"

"You lot are going to wake up half the family if you keep talking that loudly, you know." Ron's sleepy voice comes from the doorway, his palm rubbing against his eye. "It's a scary sight, a big group of grumpy Weasleys, it is."

"One grumpy Weasley is enough," Harry remarks, his breath making a ghost in the morning air.

"Ha ha. I've put some tea on the kettle. Come inside, won't you?" Ron turns his back and stumbles back inside, rubbing his forearms in attempt to warm himself.

"You've really improved him. I didn't know he knew how to make tea." Harry says, guiding me back through the snow with his arm.

"You'd be surprised what he'll learn if the reward is—"

"I think I get the point."

I just pass him a grin and sigh when the warmth of the Burrow hits my face. I look up and see Ron setting three mugs down on the table, his robe slung loosely around his limbs even though it's freezing outside. Harry sets his coat on the hanger and takes a seat, motioning for me to join them.

I hadn't realized we had all woken so early until Ginny comes down two hours later, letting us know that we better get dressed because it was near eight o' clock and that Mrs. Weasley was going to throw a fit if she'd known we were done there, spoiling our breakfasts.

Harry hops up and before he moves to follow Ginny back upstairs, he sends us a grin and says, "See you in a few."

I turn back to Ron, who surprises me with my face being so close to his. His lips meet mine playfully and he smiles, pressing his mouth to mine once more before he sits back again.

"By the way," he says, taking a sip of his tea, "good morning.

And all I can say

Is you blow me away

Christmas passes with flying colors and before I know it, spring's taken the reigns and we're barely hanging on until it's almost over and summer is waiting for us at the finish line.

We still sit by the beech tree and try to finish our homework, though I have to give Ron some credit; he's becoming a fine writer for his introductory paragraphs. (The rest is usually left to me… unless he feels like getting a few extra snogging sessions, that is.)

We've taken to eating lunch with Hagrid two or three times a week, and now that the weather is warmer, we have more letters from Harry and more news from home. Sometimes Ginny will tag along and we'll have even teams for drinking games (though we weren't supposed to tell anyone, Hagrid could get fired if someone knew he was letting us drink) and sometimes it will just be Ron and I.

Sometimes I wonder if Harry would have liked the drinking games.

Our final exams loom in the too near distance and I am persistent that Ron studies with me every hour of the day. We take lunch off and when he has Quidditch practice, I take the time to study the subjects that we aren't sharing, which is few and far between. Ginny and Luna join us both and we've got this circle. Sometimes we make up different ways to study; Ginny likes to read sections and then review it like a summary, Ron likes people to read for him and then tell him what was in the passage, and Luna likes to make a game of it. It's almost like trivia. I like all the methods and I can't say there's one I prefer.

Luna and I ace all but one exam—it appears her weaker subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts as well—while Ginny is baffled she managed to pass her Potions final and Ron is happy to have passed everything well enough to become an Auror.

The four of us take an evening down by the lake to celebrate and for once, McGonagall lets loose on the rules and most of the students are wandering the grounds in different fits—drunken fits, happy fits, hysterical ones. Luna loves watching it all.

And then there's the biggest surprise of all.

"Didn't think you could celebrate properly without me, did you?"

I just smile and keep looking out over the lake with Ron, because in my gut, I knew he'd be here, but Ginny gives a joyful cry and leaps up to kiss Harry. Luna looks up at him dreamily.

"Hello, Harry."

"Hey Luna. Did I miss anything important?"

"Romilda Vane puked over there by that shrub." Luna points in the general direction of a mass of girls. "It's a shame. Oh, Neville says hello. He's celebrating with all of the teachers, I suspect."

"I hear he's with Susan Bones now." Ginny pipes, tugging Harry down into the grass beside her.

"You're mistaken. Hannah Abbot would be the lucky girl." Luna informs her, folding her hands behind her head and looking up into the stars. "Though I think we're all rather lucky tonight, don't you?"

We all murmur in an agreement of sorts. Ron's hand draws lazy circles on my side, his eyes set on the midnight-tuned surface of the Black lake. Harry withdraws a few butterbeers from his bag and passes them around, putting his hand on Ginny's knee. She smiles up at him, and for a moment it looks as though she's forgotten the world.

Luna keeps looking up into the stars.

"Congrats," Ron says into my ear, just loud enough for me to make out. I smile and keep my eyes forward, watching the stars dance over the water as I sip my butterbeer, and for a moment, I don't remember anything except those circles that are being drawn on me, around me—for me.

"It's been a great year, Ron." I say to him.

This time I look up.

"Thank you."