Notes from Amy and Bec- This isn't our usual sort of story. It's written by both of us which isn't very usual because it's usually just Amy doing all the writing. Anyways bascially we're planning on doing a lot of chapters on it. Hope you enjoy it :D


It was happening again and Harry was getting sick of it. He didn't want to spend the whole summer watching them ignore each other but Hermione and Ron didn't seem to be putting any effort into talking. Harry had first become suspicious a week after moving into the Burrow because he had nowhere else to go. He didn't know what was wrong but they didn't seem to like being in the same room as each other and that certainly wasn't a good characteristic for a couple. It wasn't just Harry that had noticed either. Mrs. Weasley had noticed and was trying to get them to talk to each other; Mr. Weasley was often seen trying to convince Ron to speak to Hermione and Ginny was trying to play the perfect matchmaker. Nobody seemed to know why they weren't talking to each other and whenever someone asked one of them why if it was Hermione she would say, 'Ask Ron,' or if it was Ron the response would be, 'It was Hermione's idea.'

The fight was not only making Hermione and Ron's holiday very unpleasant it was also affecting Harry. Although he was quite glad not to have to watch them snog constantly he preferred it when they were yelling at each other in a friendly sort of way or even any way at all to not talking at all. He thought after all they had been through like fighting Voldemort for almost a year before defeating him that they would be smarter than this but clearly he was wrong.

Although Hermione and Ron ignoring each other was the most obvious fight at the Burrow there was also a fight without words or fists between Harry and Ginny. It was because when Harry had returned from his fight with Voldemort Ginny had been expecting him to welcome her with open arms but he hadn't. Harry told her that after all that had happened he wasn't ready for a relationship and she had agreed to that reluctantly because she thought that that meant that as soon as Harry was ready he'd come straight back to her. Harry had been too gutless to tell her but he had been finishing the relationship for good. He didn't see how he could possibly go back to her after all that had happened. He didn't know if he could ever love again. Ginny kept flirting with him and trying to entice him so he began to ignore and avoid rooms that she occupied much the same as what Ron and Hermione were doing.

Besides the fights the Burrow was quite relaxing compared to the places Harry, Hermione and Ron had lived for the year they had been fighting. The Burrow also had something Harry was incredibly happy to have, a very small amount of people asking him about what had happened over the last year. Harry was dreading going back to Hogwarts to do his seventh year because he knew he would have to face everyone wondering about how he had stopped Voldemort. Facing the questions was not the only reason Harry wasn't looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. Hogwarts held many memories of Dumbledore and Sirius that he didn't want to face. He didn't want to see the quidditch pitch again where he had once looked upon his godfather and he didn't want to go to Hogsmeade because he was afraid of seeing the places Sirius had been again. He didn't like the thought of seeing someone else in Dumbledore's chair in the Great Hall, seeing somebody else pace Dumbledore's study but the thing he really didn't want was to enter Dumbledore's office and look upon his portrait. He couldn't bear to look upon Dumbledore's face, so much so he had thrown out all his chocolate frog cards and Ron's (when Ron wasn't looking) in order to avoid the Dumbledore card because he didn't think he could look Dumbledore's eyes, the eyes that had once held such hope behind the half-moon glasses. Just thinking of Dumbledore made Harry remember the day when Harry had struck down Snape before moving to Voldemort. Although that day had brought hope to the magical community it had left Harry, Hermione and Ron with nothing but miserable memories.

Harry spent the month after the end of the war traveling and trying to find some sense of peace but to no avail. Hermione went back to her parents who had tried so hard to not let her go in the first place and Ron went back to the Burrow where he had to relive his worst memories. After traveling Harry turned up at the Burrow to find Hermione already there and he was grateful to Mrs. Weasley for letting him stay there. Maybe it was that Harry didn't notice until a week after coming to the Burrow that Hermione and Ron were fighting or maybe their fight had only begun after Harry's arrival, Harry didn't know.

While staying at the Burrow Harry didn't do his usual of playing quidditch, instead he adopted the strategy he used to use when he lived with the Dursleys, the sticking-to-himself and ignoring everyone else strategy. Harry stayed up late in the attic with ink and a blank book he had bought in his travels. He really wanted to write down everything that had happened because otherwise he was afraid nobody else would ever hear the whole truth.

One day, two weeks after coming to the Weasley's Harry lay awake in his bed in Ron's room when a thought hit him. He quietly walked from the room so not to disturb Ron who was snoring loudly. As he came onto the landing the sun came into his eyes, it was very bright. He waited till he could see better again before he walked down the stairs. He found himself in front of Ginny's door, somewhere he didn't want to be but he had no intentions of talking to Ginny. At first he opened the door and glanced in, then opened it fully and walked over to Hermione's bed. He tapped her on the shoulder and she woke almost immediately.

'What's wrong Harry?' Hermione asked with a yawn.

'Come with me,' he whispered because he was desperate not to wake Ginny and risk conversation.

'Okay, just a minute,' Hermione whispered back and she got out of bed and put on her slippers and gown before following Harry. She wondered what this could be about.

Harry didn't turn around at all to see that Hermione was following. He led her past Ron's room and he could tell she was relieved until he led her up to the attic – she hadn't been up there before.

'Err Harry,' Hermione said once he had pulled the hard-to-find entrance to the attic closed. 'Did we have to come here?'

'Yes,' Harry told her and she frowned, 'It's quieter up here.'

'What's this about?' Hermione asked and Harry bit his lip, thinking how to say what he was going to.

'Hermione, I want to know, is the reason you and Ron are not speaking much the same as mine and Ginny's?' Harry asked her and she looked at him while thinking of what to say.

'I don't know, Ron is acting weird,' Hermione said while hoping that Harry would buy it.

'You know I don't believe you on that,' Harry said, 'If it was all Ron's doing then why aren't you making an effort to talk to him. If it was all Ron's doing I'm sure you'd be chasing him for answers.'

'It's complicated,' Hermione told him and she looked at her feet.

'How so?' Harry asked and Hermione looked up from her feet and at Harry's face but she couldn't look him in the eye so he looked at his hair before speaking again.

'Well I don't know,' Hermione said while still looking at Harry's forehead. 'Maybe Ron and I aren't made for each other.'

'But you always said-' Harry began but Hermione cut in.

'Well maybe I was wrong,' Hermione told him and that was when the tears in her eyes became more obvious and they began to fall down her cheeks. 'The war changed us all. We're different people now. I don't think we can go back to the way we were before.'

'There's always another day-' Harry began Hermione cut across him again.

'You didn't say that to Ginny,' Hermione reminded him, 'What makes me and Ron so much more different than you and Ginny?'

'But you and Ron were so perfect,' Harry said and Hermione laughed, 'Ginny and I were too much alike, too strong for each other. You know what they say, opposites attract.'

'Ron and I were never perfect,' Hermione told him and he shook his head but she continued, 'Ron and I had too much of a love-hate relationship. It wasn't built of stone, more likely, paper. It was a relationship made for too very immature kids. We're not kids anymore; we've grown up and grown apart.'

'Does Ron know all this?' Harry said but he could guess the answer.

'I only told him that we need some time apart,' Hermione told him, 'But I intend to break it off with him completely.'

'Intend to?' Harry said and Hermione glared at him.

'You did the same thing to Ginny!' Hermione said angrily.

'Now we both know how horrible it is,' Harry said and Hermione nodded before bursting into tears again. Harry was shocked when Hermione and he hugged and she cried on his shoulder. A couple of minutes passed before Hermione calmed down. Then Harry thought of something else.

'If you were the one that told Ron you needed time apart then why isn't Ron even talking to you?' Harry said and Hermione shrugged.

'He's probably just really angry with me,' Hermione guessed, 'Can't stand to talk to me. How's Ron going to take it when I break it off completely?' Tears formed in Hermione's eyes again. 'What if we can never be friends again?'

'I'll always be your friend, Hermione,' Harry told her and Hermione hugged him and for the first time in over a year, Hermione smiled.

'I guess that's the difference between Ron and Ginny,' Hermione said and Harry looked at her with a puzzled expression. 'Ron hides from his feelings and Ginny, by the way of constantly asking you, faces them.'

'I guess,' Harry agreed. 'Well I guess I better show you the reason I brought you up here.'

'Asking me about Ron wasn't the reason you brought me up here?' Hermione questioned.

'No,' Harry said, 'In case you haven't realized I have been spending a lot of time up here lately.'

'I'm pretty sure everyone has realized.' Hermione said and Harry laughed.

'Well, anyway,' Harry said, 'I've been writing about the war and everything that led up to it. I want the book to get published so everyone can know the truth, not understand because they'll probably never understand, just to know the facts.'

'That's a great idea,' Hermione told him and Harry smiled, 'But are you sure you want everyone knowing what happened?'

'It's better than them thinking things that aren't true,' Harry said and Hermione nodded in agreement, 'Anyway would you like to help me to write it?'

'I'd love to,' Hermione said and Harry smiled.

'Great,' Harry said, 'I'll show you what I've done so far.'

Harry and Hermione spent the next few hours in the attic. Harry showed her what he had written and the drawings he had drawn and then they began to write a plan. They didn't know what time it was but the room was no longer as frightening with the sun lighting the whole of the attic. The ghoul could be seen at the back of the attic but the ghoul was keeping to itself because it seemed to be just as scared of them as they were of it. After another hour Harry and Hermione decided to go have lunch. Mrs. Weasley was quite curious as to where they'd been but neither said they had been in the attic because Harry didn't want his work to be found. They both lied and said they had been in the spare room just talking.

Lunch was fairly eventful with first Ron entering the room, seeing Hermione then leaving in a tantrum sort of way, Ginny then came into the room, saw Harry and glared at him before sitting at the other end of the table. The whole of lunch was very quiet because Hermione and Harry didn't dare say anything while Ginny glared at them and every time Mrs. Weasley attempted to make conversation she failed miserably. Once lunch was over Ginny left to her room and Hermione to the garden and when Harry went to follow her Mrs. Weasley pulled him back.

'I just want to know,' Mrs. Weasley said, 'What's going on with you and Ginny?'

'Nothing,' Harry said truthfully, 'I don't know how to put this but I don't think things can go back to the way they were before. I'm not ready for another relationship. I'm sure deep down Ginny knows that but she hasn't taken it very well. I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley.'

'There's nothing to be sorry for, dear,' she said, 'Wait till you're ready.'

Mrs. Weasley left to go upstairs and Harry was left in the kitchen thinking. He had been hoping that Mrs. Weasley would understand but she like Ginny was still convinced that Harry would get over it and go back to her. Harry didn't want to go back to her and he was sick of everyone pressuring him. Did they not think him capable of making his own decision?

Harry was still thinking when he left the house to find Hermione. Hermione was by the small pond in the backyard, sitting on the bench while feeding the ducks. The pond was beautiful and had a very exotic feel to it but Harry didn't look at the pond because he was too consumed in his thoughts. Harry had never felt so alone. He felt like Hermione was the only one that understood because she was going through much the same thing. Harry sat down beside Hermione who smiled when she saw him.

'You're outside!' Hermione said with a big grin, 'You haven't been outside in ages.'

'I felt like some fresh air,' Harry told her, 'You know that although this war has left us with scars that'll never heal at least now we can breathe the fresh air again.'

'I never thought of it like that,' Hermione said, 'I guess it's better than all the things we saw last year, the dark alleys and graveyards.' Harry shuddered but he didn't shut the thoughts out. Being with Hermione made him feel less miserable about the past. He felt like she understood.

'Once I finish Hogwarts I'm going to live in the country,' Harry said, 'I never want to live in the city.'

'Neither do I,' Hermione said. 'The country is so much more peaceful.'

'You know what's peaceful, sitting here with a friend,' Harry said and Hermione smiled, 'I didn't think I'd be able to talk to anyone about this before but it's so easy to talk to you.'

'Talking about it is much better than keeping it all inside,' Hermione reminded him.

'Yeah, it is,' Harry said, 'But it's so hard to talk to Ginny-'

'Or Ron,' Hermione interrupted.

'Maybe it's better to have one good friend you can talk to than a girlfriend who you can't,' Harry said, 'You know maybe it's not that bad to not be in love. After all you don't need a girlfriend, all you need is friends that will stick with you no matter what.'

'I guess you don't,' Hermione said, 'But I don't think Ron and I will ever be able to be friends again once I break up with him.' Hermione sighed.

'You never know,' Harry said and she laughed, 'He might grow up once day. Besides there's always another day.'