Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. Unfortunately. But if JK Rowling want to sell them I wouldn't be averse to buying Ron. But until then I don't own them.

Author's Note: This is a story about Hermione running away and having to face her past. It will be from both Ron and Hermione's point of views. They'll switch but not necessarily every chapter. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out who's POV it is. Well, review if you like it. Hell, review if you don't. I can take a little constructive criticism. Just don't be blatantly mean.

Chapter 1: Wanted

It was 7:30 on a Sunday morning. Camilla Scott glanced at the clock and groaned. The only day of the week I have to sleep in, and I still get up pretty early, she thought. She looked around her room groggily. The morning sun was streaming in through the window and lighting up her modest bedroom. Why did I leave the curtains open, she mentally scolded.

Seeing as she wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep, Camilla got up and walked to her vanity. Sitting in the chair she gazed into the mirror and ran her brush through her brown curls. I love my hair now, she thought, it's so smooth, and curly. Not like that rat's nest of frizz it used to be. She was right, the bush of hair she'd had in her school days had been replaced by loose curls flowing down two inches past her shoulders. While she had been embarrassed by her hair before she was now quite proud of it. After brushing both sides and the back an equal number of times, she donned a house coat and went into her kitchen.

Her apartment was a modest one, not too big, not too small. It was cozy and comfortable. It was her home. She liked it there. Even so, there was something missing. She could never quite put her finger on it. Every time she thought she'd figured it out, it would elude her. Sometimes nothing seemed out of place at all.

That was how she felt now as she gazed out the kitchen window at the beautiful sight that was Paris in the spring. Once again she congratulated herself on catching a corner apartment. She really appreciated the extra windows. She undid the latch and let both of the panes open outwards to let in the morning air. Paris was beautiful and Camilla breathed in the fresh air. It smelled divine. Over the smell of her own coffee, she could smell the different brews from the café next door and the delicious aroma of fresh bread from the boulangerie across the street. She looked over the rooftops at the Eiffel Tower, rising like a wondrous point on the crown of France.

Camilla was so entranced by the view she didn't see the tawny owl until it was almost at her window. When she did notice it she took a step back from the window and let the bird fly right into her kitchen. It decided to perch on the back of one of the chairs and it stuck out its leg.

Camilla untied the rolled up newspaper and placed eight bronze Knuts in the pouch on the owl's leg. Instead of taking off as usual the owl continued to shake its leg.

"What now?" Camilla muttered, a little annoyed.

She then glanced at the top of the newspaper. It read: the daily prophet, and in little writing underneath the title, 11 Knuts.

"Oh brother. They raised the prices again," Camilla moaned. She added three Knuts tot he pouch and said, "If they do this much more I might have to cancel my subscription." She stroked the owl's feathers and it was on its way.

I really should get an owl, she thought. Then again who would I send anything to.

Him, a little voice in her head chimed in. that was the voice she always tried to suppress, which was what she did now.

She took another sip of her coffee, sat down at the table and unfolded the newspaper. She read the headline and nearly spit her coffee all over the front page. She swallowed and read it again. The words didn't change. It wasn't her imagination. There it was in black and white on the front page of an international newspaper. Her worst fear actualized. The headline read: Hermione Granger, Who Is She? And Where Is She Now?

"Why are they looking for me?!" Camilla, or Hermione, cried out. "What do they want?" Hermione looked close to a panic attack.

"Calm down. They can't find you. You are Camilla Scott now. Hermione Granger no longer exists. All they'll find is a dead end," she told herself firmly. In the six years since her graduation from Hogwarts that she'd lived in Paris she had taken to talking things out to herself. It was comforting in a way. Almost like a real conversation. Almost, but not quite.

After taking a few deep breaths, Hermione turned back to the paper and read the rest of the article.

Hermione Granger, Who Is She? And Where Is She Now?

Hermione Amanda Granger is the talk of the entertainment world in England, even though nothing has been seen of her in six years. Nonetheless, her name is on the tongue of every music mogul in Wizarding England, not to mention the envy of every young lady this side of Denmark.

The reason? Music's biggest and brightest rising star since The Weird Sisters, Ron Weasley. This fiery redhead, with a temper to match, has been climbing the charts with his band The Wolves and their skillful renditions of Muggle hits. Roger Turnwood, a notorious pro-pure blood was quoted saying "Who knew Muggles had such great music?" The vocal and instrumental talents of Weasley and his bandmates, Seamus Finnigan, Sarah-Lee Dreshler, and Brian Montgomery, have certainly changed more than one person's opinion of Muggles.

But why would this handsome young rock star have us talking of a virtually unknown woman? Simple. Every time Weasley is interviewed and asked who any of his remarkably moving love songs are sung for, he answers the same way. Hermione.

According to research Hermione Granger was a classmate of Weasley and Finnigan when they attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After defeating the Dark Lord in seventh year with Weasley and Harry Potter, Granger became fairly famous herself. However, almost immediately after their graduation, she disappeared. She was searched for but all attempts have been unfruitful.

Apparently Weasley was quite heartbroken. Finnigan, the second guitar and backup vocalist of The Wolves, informed The Daily Prophet that "Ron was absolutely infatuated with her in school. Always sticking up for her from others but bickering with her himself. Honestly, they were like an old married couple. Everyone knew they adored each other. They just didn't see it."

The Wolves were formed a few months after Granger's disappearance. Dreshler, the bass guitarist, claims "Ron needed an outlet for his emotions. So he started The Wolves." And millions of fans thank him.

This gorgeous rock sensation has a following of so many different groups, he is practically a household name. The public and the media follow his life eagerly, though anyone who crosses the privacy line will get a taste of his infamous temper. Although, he has been romantically paired with many people by the media, including his bandmate, Sarah-Lee Dreshler, and the top designer, former classmate, Parvati Patil, Weasley claims all stories are false. In an interview with this reporter he said, "There is only on girl for me in the whole wide world. And she disappeared." The elusive Hermione.

Though all other searches have come up empty-handed this reporter is going to dig until the whereabouts of this mysterious woman are found. For all fans of The Wolves and Ron Weasley, their new album For You, was released on Wednesday. It is a collection of various Muggle love songs, redone by The Wolves. Somewhere there is a young woman being soulfully serenaded to in this album, and this reporter won't rest until she is found. Lavender Brown, Daily Prophet.

~~~~~

Accompanying the article was a picture. In the picture a tall, incredibly, handsome redhead was getting out of a car and smiling and waving to the fans. The fans were mostly girls, the moving figures jumping up and down, and screaming, though there was no noise. The girl in the front of the shot was wearing a wedding veil and holding a sign that said MARRY ME, RON! The photographic Ron read it and looked slightly sad but then laughed. The caption underneath the picture said: Ronald Arthur Weasley has captured our curiosity and our hearts.

"Why is he doing this to me? Doesn't he know that I don't want to be found?" Hermione moaned. "If Lavender is anything like she was in school she'll find me. She always found out everything. Why can't he just say the songs aren't for anybody? I don't want to go back."

He loves you. That's why, the little voice in her head answered.

"Why can't he just get over it?" she cried and buried her face in her arms.

Why can't you? the little voice said.