It was a peaceful night in the middle of summer and all the inhabitants of Privet drive were sleeping. The only sign of life was one lone figure staring out of an upstairs window at Number Four. The figure was a young man named Harry Potter and he was deep in thought, staring blankly out in to space. Harry's summer hadn't been as bad as he'd thought mainly because his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley had decided to take a holiday in Majorca, which amazingly enough, left Harry with the house to himself. The Dursley's had picked him up from the school train but had left the day after his return. Harry had sent his owl Hedwig to his two best friends, asking if they would come and spend part of the summer with him. They had both accepted. One of these friends, Ron Weasley, was snoring behind him, and the other, Hermione Granger, he could only assume was asleep in the spare bedroom down the hall.
Harry had been though a lot in the past month. He has lost his mentor Albus Dumbledore at the hands of a person he had always hated and he had also broken up with Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, who was the only girl who had ever made him happy. It was with Ginny that Harry's thoughts currently resided. She had not cried when Harry had told her they could no longer be together. She understood why he had no other choice. It was for the best. Now however, he wasn't so sure. He wanted to protect her from Lord Voldemort, the most feared dark wizard for over a century. The one Harry had to destroy. Voldemort had already used Ginny to get to him, way back in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and they hadn't even been that close back then. Harry could not imagine what Voldemort would do to her if he knew how he felt about Ginny now.
Harry was lost in thought trying to formulate a plan so that he could be with Ginny, but also protect her. He didn't even hear the door to his bedroom open as a shortish girl with bushy brown hair waring a purple nightdress entered.
"Harry" she said.
He jumped and turned around. "Hermione" he said relieved that it was his friend and not his imagination.
"Sorry I startled you. I knew you'd be awake. Do you want to go downstairs and have a cup of tea? I can't sleep either." She answered, casting a loving glance at Ron's sleeping form.
"Yeah ok," Harry replied nodding his head as well.
They walked down the stairs together in to the kitchen. Harry made a move to turn on the kettle.
"Here Harry," Hermione said producing a tray with two cups, a pot of tea and a small plate of biscuits out of thin air.
He went and joined Hermione at the table. "So why can't you sleep?" Harry asked before Hermione could ask him the very same question. He had spent many nights since the arrival of his friends awake, staring out the window.
"Ron," she answered.
"What about? You guys have been together a month. Don't tell me you've had a…" He didn't have a chance to finish.
"Actually, we've been together for four," she interrupted, taking a sip of her tea.
Harry shook his head, confused. "It's only been a month, hasn't it?"
"We actually got together just after he and Lavender broke up. We just didn't say anything about it."
This information wasn't all that surprising to Harry. He'd suspected something was going on between his two best friends before they'd become public. "So you and Ron have had a fight. Just make up with him. It's no reason to loose sleep," Harry said, thinking Hermione was just over-reacting. She and Ron had always fought.
"No, we haven't had a fight."
"Then what's the problem?" Harry asked, taking a bite of a biscuit after dunking it into his tea.
"I think I'm falling in love with him," she said, almost in a whisper, going slightly red.
Harry thought this was an even worse reason to lose sleep. He was about to open his mouth to say so when he realised he had been losing sleep over exactly the same thing.
Harry was in love with Ginny.
"Harry?" He had almost forgotten Hermione was sitting across from him. He shook his head slightly.
"Sorry Hermione," he said.
"What should I do?"
"About Ron? You have to tell him Hermione," he said thinking the same thing about himself and Ginny.
"What if he doesn't feel the same way about me? It could completely destroy our relationship."
"He does love you Hermione," Harry said simply.
"You think so?"
"Of course he does. Any one could tell you that."
"I think I'll wait for the right time Harry, thanks. So what's keeping you up? The Horcruxes?"
He didn't really want to tell her the true reason behind his sleepless nights, but she'd just told him about her inner most feelings, and he felt he could only return the favour.
He shook his head, "No not the Horcruxes."
"What is it then?" Hermione asked, her voice full of concern.
"The same as you," he said.
"What? You're in love with Ron too?" She said.
Harry almost choked on his tea as he laughed. "No Hermione…Ginny."
She paused to take this piece of information in. She knew that Harry really cared about Ron's sister but she had no idea he felt this strongly. Could he tell her? Hermione thought Ginny would want to get back together with him then. All summer Hermione had been receiving letters from her friend full of sadness and longing that she and Harry were still together. She didn't care about the danger. She said she could look after herself.
"Do you think you could tell her? When we go back to the Burrow next week?" Hermione asked, choosing her words carefully.
"I want to Hermione, believe me. I don't know that I can though. If Voldemort finds out…" he trailed off.
"Harry, Ginny's been through as much stuff as you, Ron, and I have. She can look after herself; she told you face to face that she didn't care about the danger. She loves you Harry. She wants to be with you. If you want to protect her maybe you could keep it low key." Hermione said.
"I still don't know," he replied.
"You love her Harry. Think about it, all right? I'm going to go back to bed now. Thanks for all your help tonight. I'll see you in the morning," she said, standing up.
"Goodnight."
"'Night Harry," Hermione replied, leaving the kitchen and heading back upstairs.
Harry sat up a while longer, polishing off the rest of the biscuits as well as another cup of tea before heading back up to bed himself.
The next day dawned bright and clear. Harry was the first one up, so he went downstairs, planning on writing a letter to Ginny. After an hour however, all he had written was "Dear Ginny," so he gave up, deciding to start on breakfast. Half way through his toast,
Hermione and Ron entered the room holding hands. As soon as they realised that Harry was there, they let go. They still weren't all that comfortable being seen in public yet.
As the trio sat chatting and eating their breakfast, four owls swooped in through the open kitchen window. One was delivering the Daily Prophet, the wizarding newspaper. As usual for these dark times, it was full of stories depicting the numerous disappearances and killings of the week. Harry wondered why Hermione was still receiving it. The other three owls carried identical envelopes clamped in their beaks, each one addressed to a different member of the trio sitting at the table, and holding their information for the new school year.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Following meetings with the Ministry of Magic and the School Governors, we are pleased to announce that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will remain open this year. We hope that you will return for your final year and resume your Quidditch captaincy. Terms starts, as always, on September 1st. The train will leave Platform 9 ¾ at 11am. A booklist is enclosed with this letter. We hope to see you for the start of term.
Yours sincerely,
M, McGonagal
Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry took a large mouthful of orange juice while the others finished their letters. When Hermione had finished she looked at Harry pointedly. Before they had left Hogwarts, Harry had told Ron and Hermione that he wouldn't be going back even if they did reopen the school. Dumbledore's death, and in between thinking about Ginny, he had been thinking that he'd complete his 7th year so that he could become an Auror (dark wizard catcher). But he needed to find and destroy the last four of Voldemort's Horcruxes, which might mean being away from school for whole days at a time. Still, he couldn't help wanting to go back.
"I don't know yet Hermione," Harry replied to her look.
"I've been made Head Girl," Hermione said, holding up a shiny badge with HG on it.
"Really? Err…I've been made Head Boy," he added sheepishly, staring at the table. He held up an identical badge to Hermione's only with HB on it instead of HG.
"That's great Ron. We'll be working together again…I mean if we go back that is." She and Ron had told Harry that they would go wherever Harry did and help him get the Horcruxes.
"You guys can go back. You don't have to help me," Harry said. "But I am thinking about going back, especially if I want to become an Auror," he added.
"Ok Harry," Hermione said. And that was it on the subject for the rest of the day.