She turned around to get a good last look at them. Oh, it would be too long until she got to see them again. An entire summer without Ron, Ginny and…Harry. She was going to miss him most of all. Perhaps even more than she missed Fred. Truth be told, she had never had a very strong friendship with Fred, but there was a bond there. Sixth year had just not been the same without him there.

Hermione shook herself from these thoughts and carried her luggage through the platform barrier. And there, waiting for her, were her parents. She sighed and walked toward them half-smiling, half-grimacing. She loved her parents dearly but compared to Hogwarts, living with them was boring.

After what seemed to be an eternity in the car, Hermione walked in the house and to her old room and threw her things on her bed. She was already so lonely and bored. She walked around the house and sighed deeply at everything.

A few weeks passed, Hermione spent them locked away in her room writing long letters to her friends, mostly Harry and Ginny. One day she decided to write to Fred, and see what he was up to. She checked, double-checked, and triple-checked the letter before sending it. The owl she had rented sat on the windowsill growing increasingly impatient, until she attached the letter to his leg. She had wanted to make sure she did not come off as too stuffy or boring or bossy; she wanted desperately for him to reply.

Hermione sat by the window for the next five days, leaving only to eat, sleep, and bathe. Otherwise she sat there, searching the skies for the owl that would bring his response. Twice she thought she saw one, and got so excited that she knocked her chair over. Neither owl had brought her a letter from Fred, but instead letters from Ron and Harry.

She read Ron's letter without much interest; he had only told her that she could come stay anytime. But when she opened Harry's letter, she squealed with glee. His letter made her entirely forget about Fred.

Dear Hermione,

Privet Drive is absolutely dreadful. They know it's my last summer here and they are doing anything in their power to make me miserable. It's working. I can't stand it, but I know I have to stay until next term. And I was thinking, the only thing that would make me stay here is to have someone here to keep me sane. Do you think you could visit until the end of break? I really need you, Hermione

Yours, Harry

Hermione leapt out of her chair and began throwing things back into her trunk haphazardly. She was going to stay with Harry! And then, as suddenly as her happiness had erupted, it fizzled out again. Her parents would never let her stay with Harry. It had been different when it was at the Burrow. There were other people there, mainly a friend that was a girl! Hermione paced the floor, trying to find a way around this roadblock. Finally it came to her. Lie. She would lie. It was not as if anything bad was going to happen. She had always been the goody-two-shoes, had never done anything to make anyone less than proud of her, and she rationalized that it was high time she do something rebellious.

She went out into the living room to find her mother reading and listening to Bach.

"Mom," she said, "I want to go stay at the Burrow. I'm really behind on my homework and I could get help from Harry and Ron if I go there. They're really good."

"Sure, honey. I've noticed how you've been sulking around the house lately. You need to spend time with your friends. When do you want to leave?"

"Tomorrow, if at all possible, I'm really worried about my grades."

"Okay. Well, we'll go out to dinner tonight and then tomorrow morning, we'll take you to the train station. How does that sound?"

"Excellent. Thank you Mom. I'm going to go pack."

Hermione ran up the stairs to her room and threw herself into her desk chair. She grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote a quick note to Harry.

Dear Harry,

If it's okay, I'll be there tomorrow. Do you think you could meet me at the train station? My train will probably be in around noon. I can't wait to see you!

Love, Hermione

She looked out the window to see if Hedwig had bothered to wait for a response. Beaming, she saw the white owl nestled in the branches of the tree in the neighbor's yard. She whistled and Hedwig swooped down to the windowsill. Hermione tied the letter to the bird's outstretched leg, and stroked its wings.

"Hedwig," she murmured, "I need you to get this letter to Harry as fast as possible. Can you do that for me?"

The bird seemed to understand, and before Hermione could say anything else, she was gone.