Chapter One; The Long Goodbye
Harry couldn't believe how quickly the holidays flew by. Hermione, Ginny, and the other Cheetah Girls had just won their very first annual school talent show by performing a song that Hermione had wrote. (Cheetah Sisters) He was very happy for them and surprised how well Ginny and Hermione, and even Luna could hit such high vocals.
There was no mistaking it now, they would be friends for a very long time. Since the talent show was over along with the rest of the holidays, they now had to say goodbye to The Dragons. Harry knew how much that Ginny would be dreading it, and he knew that he was going to miss them too. For he, Ron, Hermione, and the other girls had also gotten very attached to them.
"Thanks for everything Aaron, we couldn't do any of it without you and the other boys." Ginny told him.
"Yeah, you're the ones who believed in us." Casey said as Aaron chuckled.
"Thanks girls, I really appreciate it but whether or not you want to believe it, you're the ones who made your dreams come true." He told them before he turned to look at Hermione. "And as for you Hermione Granger, I don't think that you give yourself enough credit. Not only are you a very bright witch for your age, but you are a natural born performer.
He told her with a sparkling grin and a wink as she felt her cheeks blush pink.
"Thank you." She told him quietly before he found himself being pulled into a tight embrace as Ginny threw her arms around him. A few moments later she let go and slowly turned to face him.
"Sorry, it's just that I'm really going to miss you." She admitted sheepishly.
"Yeah, me too." Harry agreed. "I'm really going to miss all of you actually." He told them.
"Well you know guys, it's not like we're saying goodbye forever." Aaron told them.
"Yeah, I expect you lot to keep in touch with us." Rickie said with a grin. "Especially you Harry, there's so much more that I want to know about you. After all, we truly are two peas in a pod." He said as he pointed back and forth between them.
"I will, don't worry." Harry assured them before they said their last goodbyes and parted their separate ways before turning around and walking back towards the castle.
"So what do you guys have today?" Ron asked them.
"Defense against the dark arts." Hermione, Ginny, and Luna said together.
"Really? Who's the teacher this year anyway?" he asked.
"I dunno, some vampire." Ginny told him with a wave of her hand.
"You mean you don't even know his name?" Ron questioned with disbelief.
"Nope, he never told us." Ginny began. "I guess it never really crossed his mind being dead and all." She finished.
"That's exactly why he hasn't told us, you lose a lot of your memory when you become undead." Hermione told her.
"That is pretty scary, that you're being taught by a bloke that's forgotten his own name. When Lockheart did it at least he wasn't our teacher anymore at that point." Ron said. "Well come on Harry, we better get to potions before Slughorn freaks out." He said.
"Alright, just give me one second." Harry said before he placed a tender hand on top of Ginny's cheek and closed his eyes before placing a soft and wet kiss onto her lips. A few seconds later they broke apart. "I'll see you later." He told her before he raced back over to Ron.
"Hurry up Harry!" he called loudly as he stood on top of the hill waiting for him to catch up as Ginny and the rest of the girls watched them.
"We better get to class too." Hermione said.
"Yeah that's right, Count Dracula told us that he had something very important to teach us today." Ginny said. "Well come on Luna," she began as she started following Hermione back over to the hill and waving her hand over to her friend.
"See you guys later!" Luna exclaimed as she smiled back at Amber and Casey before hurrying after Ginny. The next several weeks flew by for them. The weather gods made it clear that the snow and cold weren't going anywhere for a long time. Neither was their homework. Even Hermione had to admit that it was rather a lot, but she was also learning quite a bit about death and the afterlife than she ever thought she would.
One morning Harry met Ron in the Great Hall as usual. "Have you seen Hermione lately by any chance?" he asked him.
"No, I was going to ask you the same thing actually. I mean considering the fact that today's Valentine's Day, I was looking forward to spending some time alone with her." He said.
"Oh no." Harry said.
"What's the matter with you?" Ron asked him.
"I forgot that today was Valentine's Day." He admitted quietly and guiltily.
"Well it's alright, I'm sure that Ginny has too. After all that girl has an awful lot on her mind right now. Qudditch, The Cheetah Girls, Aaron, and of course as always you." He told him.
"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of." Harry admitted when suddenly his girlfriend plopped down beside him.
"What are you afraid of Harry?" she asked him.
"Oh, nothing." He began nervously. "Hey you wouldn't happen to know what happened to Hermione would you?" he asked her.
"The last time I saw her she was in the library." She told him.
"Well that's a surprise." Ron began shaking his head. "I should have known. After all this is Hermione we're talking about." He said. "After breakfast I'll go down and see her."