Disclaimer: I am not JK no matter how much I wish to be her. I would love to be her but I'm not sadly. Since I am not her I do not own Harry Potter though I wish I could because I love it so much.
"Let's play truth or dare!" Ginny shouted, getting glares from all of her brothers as soon as she mentioned the idea. "Come on, please. This is a time we should be trying to get to know Fleur better, why not through a game of Truth or Dare?"
"I say that is a great idea Ginny." Hermione said softly, smiling lightly. It amazed her how even after Harry broke up with her at the end of the school year she still was able to smile and be herself.
"O-Okay I am in." Ron said, a little unsure about his answer. All of his brothers glanced over at him as soon as his mouth opened.
"Ickle Ronniekins only wants to play now because Hermione is playing." Fred laughed, his brother George laughing along with him.
"That is so not true!" Ron shouted, his face getting red with anger.
"Don't play stupid with us. You only changed your mind about playing because Hermione said she wanted to play. You would play anything as long as Hermione was playing with you." George said through his laughs.
"Stop it guys!" Hermione snapped, glaring over at the twins. "Ron has his own reason for wanting to play. He shouldn't have to tell you." She was defending Ron like normal. She knew he was angry with his brothers for taunting him like that over her. They where friends after all, weren't they?
The twins stopped and looked at Hermione. Something in her voice told them they should really shut up before they saw the consequences of what might happen if they continued. Hermione scared them sometimes when she was angry enough at someone.
"Hey Hermione, your owl is at the window." Ginny pointed out as an owl tapped on the window.
Hermione stood up and walked over to the window, opening it letting her owl fly in and land on an arm chair. She took the letter from the owl and tore it open but what it said didn't please her at all. Her eyes filled with tears as she read the letter a few times, making sure she had it all right in her mind.
"Hermione, what is it?" Ron asked, seeing the tears forming in Hermione's eyes at the moment. He knew it had to be something in the letter but he didn't know what.
Hermione crumpled the letter into a ball and ran out of the room with the letter ball tight in her hand. She had tears streaming down her cheeks now as she ran towards Ginny's room. She slammed the door shut and fell face first into the bed crying leaving everyone down stairs clueless.
"What was that all about?"
Ron walked over to the envelope that the letter came in and picked it up, reading who it was from. "I don't know Ginny but it can't be too good. It is from the Ministry of Magic." He said softly looking over at his sister and then back down at the envelope in his hands.
"What!"
"Yeah it is a letter from the Ministry. I wonder what it could be. It must be something bad to make her run out of the room like that. It could be failing something or she got in trouble for something. You just never know when it comes to the Ministry of Magic."
"Who knows Ron. It will probably be a while before she tells one of us. If it is really that bad then she will probably keep it locked up inside her for a while before finally letting it out." Ginny sighed, sitting down on the floor and staring at her brothers who seemed kind of interested but not in a way.
"I think I will go check up on her and see if there is anything I can do." Ron said, heading toward the steps where Hermione had taken off to.
"Oh look ickle Ronniekins is going to go check up on the love of his life." Fred laughed but Ron just ignored it. He didn't care what his brothers thought about him and his relationship with Hermione. They where only friends after all.
Meanwhile...
Hermione buried her head into her bed, tears coming out of her eyes none stop. "No, no, it can't be true. I won't let it be true. This can't happen, not now." She muttered grabbing the covers tight in her fists. She felt like crying forever now.
She heard the door creak open and she looked up to see who it was that came to investigate. It was Ron. She whipped her cheeks and stared up at him curiously for a moment. She let go of the covers and her body fell to the floor since half her body was off the side already. She started to cry harder just as Ron knelt down next to her.
"Hermione would you care to explain some?" Ron asked quietly, putting his arm around her carefully and pulling her into a hug. "I know the letter is from the Ministry. I know you didn't do something wrong. Even if you did, you can tell us. We won't get mad at you for getting in trouble with the Ministry."
"Ron, I didn't get in trouble. I would never get into trouble, you know that." Hermione sobbed, burying her head into Ron's shoulder.
"Then what Hermione? You can tell me. We are best mates after all. I may not be good at it but I am willing to try and help you."
"I-I'm sorry Ron but I just can't. It is nothing big. Don't worry yourself about it to much. I will be alright by tomorrow." Hermione whispered, crawling out of Ron's arms and up onto her bed. "I am just going to go to bed now. Tell Ginny I don't want to play Truth or Dare anymore and that I am sorry about it. I am just not in the mood anymore."
Ron nodded his head, understanding that she didn't want to talk about what the letter said and wanted to be left alone for the night. "Okay then Hermione. Good night." He whispered, getting up and walking out of the room, closing the door slowly behind him.
"Good night, Ron." Hermione whispered, knowing that Ron hadn't heard her since he was already out the door. She curled up in the bed and held the letter closer to her. The new of her life and tears of sadness to come with it.
Late that night...
Hermione opened her eyes slowly to see darkness all around her and Ginny asleep across from her. She looked at the crumbled letter in her hands and sat up slowly. She pushed the covers off of her and stood up slowly, looking around at the darkness. She guessed it was around midnight at the latest. She walked out of the room quietly so not to wake Ginny up and made her way down the steps.
She walked into the living room to find it empty which didn't surprise her any considering the time of night it was. She still held the letter tight in her hands, still crumpled up in a ball. She un-crumpled the ball and slowly read it over again to herself. "I am sorry you two. I should have been there to help you. I am sorry." She whispered, tears starting to stain her cheeks.
"I thought I heard someone come down when I was in the kitchen."
Hermione jumped and then turning quickly to find Ron standing there. She put one hand on her heart and started at Ron. "Don't do that Ron. You almost gave me a heart attack scaring me like that." She said and then looking down at the letter in her hand. She crumpled it back up into a ball and then looked back at Ron.
"Sorry, didn't mean to Hermione." Ron said, sitting down on the couch next to Hermione and then pulling her close to him carefully. "Who are they? The two people you where talking about when you where whispering to yourself."
"Oh, it is nothing Ron. Don't worry about it any." Hermione said, looking at the letter in her hands and then shoving it into her pocket. She looked back at Ron and then layed her head on his shoulder.
"The letter, all it does was pain me. I know what it says, I have read it almost a hundred times already. But even though the letter is gone the information still upsets me." Hermione whispered, moving her head down to Ron's chest answering his question before he even asked it.
Ron held Hermione close, loving the feel of Hermione on his chest at the moment. He felt all tingly inside from how good it felt to have her against him like this. "Hermione the sooner you tell someone, the sooner the pain will go away. You know everyone here will try and help you through it."
"Since when have you been the smart one?"
"I am smarter then you think Hermione. I pay attention to you, I learned it from you." Ron said looking down at Hermione. He stroked her hair slowly and let out a sigh. "Now please, at least tell me."
Hermione smiled weakly as she listened to Ron. She was happy to know that Ron payed attention to her and was learning from her though it never seemed that way. "O-Okay, I guess I could try it."
"I can't do it Ron. It is too hard for me."