YAYYYYY!

I am back with the first chapter of the Jaded Emerald sequel, Rustic Amber.

In the last chapter of Jaded, I promised that I'd write a sequel, true-to-life or not. But guess what? Most of this will be the true to life story. It's only been the first three months of school and I already have a lot of events to input.

So without further ado, I give you Rustic Amber

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. It is the sole property of Ms. JK Rowling and I thank her for having created this wonderful world in which we live in whether or ot it is in our dreams.

Rustic Amber

the Jaded Emerald Sequel by mspolapotter

based on true-to-life events

The Comeback: Part I

The Knight Bus. Not really the most reliable form of Wizard transport, but definitely the speediest.

When the purple three-decker pulled up in front of our house, I braced myself for one hell of a roller-coaster ride.

Ron owled me yesterday, asking if I could help him and Ginny with their essays. I had no choice but to agree, so here I am, turning my guts inside out. Okay, maybe that was a bit gross for the public.

Anyway, I waited a few minutes before Ron and Ginny arrived. After a few minutes, Luna and Neville arrived.

"Ron I thought you said only you and Ginny were coming?" I whispered to him when Luna and Neville were talking with Ginny.

"Well, I accidentally told Luna and Neville about it so . . ."

"You know what, never mind," I replied. "Where's Harry?"

"Oh, probably with his girlfriend or something," Ron replied dismissively.

"Wait, what?"

"Harry's probably with his girlfriend," he repeated. "I told him you were coming but he didn't reply."

"Back up," I said. "Harry has a girlfriend? Since when? Who is it? What's her name? Why did I find out just now?" My voice got louder and louder with every question.

"Whoa, steady girl," Ginny suddenly said, putting a hand on my back. I was shaking. I could feel my hands turning cold. Harry has a girlfriend. And he didn't even tell me?

"He told you he has a girlfriend, Ron?" I asked. I was still in shock.

"No, he didn't," Ginny replied, obviously trying to calm me down. "I told you to choose your words carefully, Ron."

"Okay, before you tell me, let's sit down," I said as calmly as I could. I was going to collapse into a ball and cry any minute. "Now, Ginny, tell me what actually happened since your brother can't be trusted to choose his words carefully."

"Well, Dad, Ron and I went to their house at Privet Drive," she began. "But his uncle said he was gone. He was with a girl named . . . Charlotte or something. Dad wasn't convinced, so we asked if we could go to his room to check.

"When we got there his things were still in his trunk, like he didn't even touch his stuff all summer. Ron has his theory that he might have a girlfriend."

"Seriously, what else could have gotten his attention in the Muggle world?" Ron interjected.

I took a deep breath. "Well, never mind that now. Time for business."

We spent four days at the Leaky Cauldron doing homework and sharing stories of what we did during our summers.

"Charlie took us to Romania," Ron began. Ginny interjected every once in a while Luna and Neville listened intently. I pretended to be super-engrossed in their stories, but I was honestly thinking about Harry most of the time.

I was worried mostly of our friendship. Harry has a Muggle girlfriend. What would happen to us when we get back to Hogwarts? Last year was probably one of the best years I had in school. That year could never happen again. What else could happen now? I have experienced some of the best moments of my life last year. Would I experience some of the worst this year? Maybe Harry will change again. Maybe, after graduation he'll go to university with his Muggle girlfriend. My parents will probably convince me to go to university as well. We'll have less and less time together. Maybe I should tell him. Maybe . . . after graduation I'll admit how I really feel. It's the only time we have.

"How about you, Hermione?" Luna suddenly piped up.

"Huh?"

"What did you do this summer?"

"What do you think?" I said with a laugh. "You guys know what I always do."

"Write," Ron said.

"You went to your relatives in France," Ginny added.

"Then you write some more," Luna said.

"And you did your homework," Neville finished.

"I'm impressed, guys," I replied with a smile.

"But wait there's more," Ginny said with a mischievous smile.

"You worried about me and Harry," Ron said. "Harry, mostly."

"You wondered if we already did our homework and if any of us needed any help," Neville added. "Especially Harry."

"You thought about when we were writing to you," Luna said. "Most importantly, when Harry would write."

"And finally reminisced all our happy days," Ginny finished. "Especially those super-happy days with Harry."

"Not funny guys," I said with a laugh. "I actually did the first four things without thinking about Harry."

"Oh really?" Ron said sarcastically.

"I only thought about him three times," I replied defensively.

"Or four," Luna teased.

"Maybe five," Ron said.

"Maybe so many times that you can't count," Ginny added.

"Look who's counting," I said.

"You are," all four of them said in unison before laughing.

"Face it," Ginny said. "If you're in love, you're in love. No matter what you do, you wouldn't get him out of your head."

"That's why I'm not thinking about him," I replied. "Hey, Ron can I borrow Pig?"

"Sending a message to Harry?" he asked suspiciously the other sniggered.

"No, I'm going to write to my parents. I need money if we're buying school stuff tomorrow."

"Okay then," he replied, obviously not convinced. I stood up and walked into the girls' room.

"I bet she's writing to Harry," Ron said, thinking that I couldn't hear them anymore.

"Yeah me too," Ginny, Luna and Neville replied.

I'll show them.

"Dear Mom and Dad," I said loudly. "In case you were wondering, I'm doing perfectly well here at Diagon Alley. Luna and Neville are also here with me, Ginny and Ron. We are planning to go shopping for school stuff tomorrow. Can you meet me at Gringotts before lunch? Lots of love, your daughter, Her-mio-ne."

I walked back into the boys' room. "There. I hope you're convinced."

Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I just wrote a letter to Harry.

Dear Harry,

Hey, how's it going? I haven't heard from you all summer. Hope you're doing well.

The five of us (me, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna) are here at the Leaky Cauldron doing homework. You can come if you need any help. We're planning on going to Diagon Alley to shop for school stuff tomorrow. Maybe you could come?

Send us your reply. Everyone misses you.

Love from Hermione

That seems like a decent message.

I tied the letter to Pig and whispered the address to his ear. I called my parents later using my phone and asked if they could come to Gringotts tomorrow.

I just love being sneaky.

The following morning, I woke up to Pig's impatient rapping on the window. He had the parchment tied to his leg. I opened the window and untied the letter excitedly. I flipped the piece of parchment over and saw Harry's writing.

Sure. I'll see you guys there. Also need a bit of help with that Potions essay.

YES!

When everyone was up, we began preparing for a long day of shopping. Of course we went to Diagon Alley first. Everyone was in a bit of a shock to see Harry. I just smiled. Then I remembered the dream I had the previous night.

"Ginny, I have something to tell you," I said to her urgently. "It's about this dream I had last night."

"What about it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Harry suddenly interjected. "It's about me."

Now, I so regret writing to him.

"Let's just get this day over with," I replied.

When we were back at the Leaky Cauldron, I got a phone call from my parents.

"Is it Dad?" Harry teased. The others sniggered. I gave him a death stare.

"Okay . . . Okay . . . Yes, Dad. I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Bye dad!" Harry teased before I closed my phone.

"I have to go," I said, trying not to explode over Harry. "Family emergency. I'll be back tonight I guess."

"Um. Okay," Ginny replied. "Take care."

I grabbed my coat and ran downstairs.

When I was back in Muggle London I hid in an alley, put my coat on my mouth and screamed.

GAH. I hate him so much sometimes.

I'll be updating soon. I hope you guys liked it! Thanks for reading! Please review :D