Hermione Granger stumbled out of bed sleepily, slipping on her sheets as she rushed toward the tapping at her window. The rain poured as she opened it widely, not listening to the thundering. A small figure shot past her head and into the room, as she struggled with her window latch. When the rain was securely outside, Hermione grabbed a towel, and began to dry herself off.

"Today's not going to be a good day," she grumbled to herself, as she attempted to take the sopping note from Pig's leg. He was extremely excited about something, and refused to sit still. Hermione finally detached the note from the tiny minute owl.

Hermione,

How's your summer? Everything's fine here. I was wondering if you wanted to come over this summer. Nothing to do with you-know-what. You can bring your friend Sadey if you want. Mum says she would like an answer as soon as possible though. If you can come, we'll pick you up on Friday. And try to make the notes short. Pig's not a big owl. Hope to see you soon!

Your friend,

Ron Weasley

Hermione smiled. She had already asked Sadey if she wanted to come over, and knew she wouldn't mind going to Ron's instead. She wrote a note to Ron saying that she would be able to go, and that Sadey would have to travel there by floo on Saturday, because she was busy on Friday. She secured the note in the leather pouch on the tiny owl's leg, and took him over to the window to send him off. Once Pig had flown out of sight, Hermione wrote a short letter to Sadey.

Dear Sadey,

How's your summer? Mine's fine. I just got a letter from Ron, saying we can go there this summer. You'll like it a lot better than my place. There's a lot more to do, and there'll be more people there too. I told them you would travel there by floo on Saturday, so everything's set. You just say "The Burrow" to get to their house. Everyone there is really nice, and I've told them all about you in letters, so you have nothing to worry about.

How's your brother doing anyway? I heard about what happened. It was all over the Daily Prophet. I felt horrible. And he only graduated from Hogwarts last year! I'm so sorry. I hope he's doing better. It's a shame what those Death Eaters are doing to people. No respect for anyone, let alone Muggle-borns

Anyway, I can't wait to see you on Saturday. I've missed you all summer! See you in three days!

Love from,

Hermione

Hermione folded the letter, and put it in an envelope. She went downstairs to the owl she had borrowed from the school, and attached the letter to his ankle.

"Take this to Sadey," Hermione said, as the owl hopped on her arm. She stroked the brown feathers as if the owl were her own, before it hooted approvingly, and flew off into the storm. Hermione then went to tell her mother that she would be going to Ron's house, and they would pick her up in two days, and went to her room to pack her trunk.

On Friday, Hermione dressed as usual for the warm weather, and packed a bag of clothes for the summer. She was throwing her room apart looking for her bathing suit when her mom called up the stairs for her. Ron had never said what time they were going to be there to pick her up, so she assumed they were there.

"Coming!" she called, finding what she was looking for, grabbing her things, and coming down the stairs in a jumble.

"What's the rush sweetie?" Mrs. Granger asked, smiling at her sixteen year old daughter.

"Aren't the Weasleys here yet?" Hermione asked, looking around the living room.

"Not yet darling. I just wanted to give you some money for your birthday, since we won't be seeing you for the rest of the summer," her mother said kindly.

"Oh, thanks mom," Hermione said, hugging her, and standing back.

"There's 25 pounds there," her mother said, holding out the money. "And something else." Mrs. Granger pulled a small package wrapped in tissue paper out of the drawer of a small side table in the hall. Hermione looked questioningly at her mother, but opened the package and gasped. Inside was a delicate necklace made of white gold, and on the chain was a small sapphire and diamond pendant that seemed to glow unnaturally.

"It was your great-grandmother's," her mother said, looking at the necklace affectionately. "She was a witch, just like you. So you do have a little magic in your family." Hermione looked up at her mother, and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, thank you. It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, as she wrapped it up, and put it away. "I don't want anything to happen to it," she said, placing it gently in her bag. Her mother nodded.

"Now go, I know you have more things you need for school," she said laughing. Hermione grinned, and took her bag upstairs, to gather some last minute things. She only put her toiletries in the bag, and her diary, and an exceptionally good book she was reading. Lastly, she placed her wand in the pocket of her capris, and headed downstairs, to have tea with her mother, and wait for the Weasleys.

Not long after she went downstairs, did she hear the familiar rush of flames, and the thud of someone landing in her fireplace. She went to the living room to see who arrived first, and was surprised to see Ron.

"Dad's coming soon. Only a moment," he said, brushing himself off. He bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, before his father arrived suddenly, dusting soot off his shoulders and robes.

"Hermione! How are you doing?" Mr. Weasley asked kindly.

"I'm doing very well, Mr. Weasley," Hermione said, smiling, as her mother entered the room.

"Got all your things packed?" Ron asked, looking at her affectionately.

"I think so. If not, I'll send a letter and ask if my parents can mail anything," she said, grinning.

"Alright, let's go," Mr. Weasley said, pulling a small pouch out of his robes.

"Goodbye, mum," Hermione said, hugging her mother before departing. She took her bag with her, as Ron was bringing her trunk, and threw some floo powder into the flames. They instantly turned emerald green, and Hermione stepped into them. "The Burrow!" she said clearly, and she was engulfed in the flames at once, and was spinning past many different fireplaces. After a few seconds of spinning, she landed feet first in the Weasleys fireplace, looking into the kind face of Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh Hermione, good to see you dear. How's your summer been?"

"Great Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said cheerfully, as she stepped out of the hearth. Not long after, Ron arrived with her trunk, and dragged it out of the fireplace.

"Dad's on his way," Ron said, before turning to Hermione. "Harry hasn't come yet. You want to bring your things up to your room?" She grinned and nodded, following Ron up the zigzag steps, to a room that was beside Ginny's. It was small, and a little cramped, but a comfortable sized bed had been easily squeezed in with magic, and the bright walls made it seem bigger than it was.

"So this is it," Ron said, setting her trunk down across the room to act like a miniature dresser, as Hermione entered and closed the door. She set her bag down in a corner and sat on the bed. Ron grinned at her and joined her.

"It's nice having my own room here," she teased, taking his hand.

"I know. You and Ginny are lucky. Ever since someone left, we've had a little extra space. Mum wanted to make a closet, so believe it or not, we knocked down a few walls, and now, the room you're in used to be part of Ginny's, and-"

"Just stop talking. You do too much of it," Hermione said, holding a finger up to Ron's lips. He smiled at her, reached up, and kissed her gently. They had just decided at the beginning of the summer to get together, and hadn't told anyone about it. Ron had asked her out in a letter, and they had been sending letters like crazy to each other ever since. Their kiss deepened, and just before it turned into a snogging session, Hermione stopped him.

"We should probably go downstairs and wait for Harry," she said shyly. Ron nodded, and took her hand as they opened the door and headed to the living room. Just before entering, he let go of her, and they sat down on the couch.

"You know, we need to find Harry a girl. You saw how happy he was whenever he was with Cho last year. He needs to be with someone to take his mind off things," Ron said suddenly, as if he had been thinking about it for a long time.

"How about Sadey? She does have a crush on him, although I think every witch in the world sort of does. But she's available, and she's really nice and loyal. I think they would do well together," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Well then it's settled. This summer, we work on getting Harry and Sadey together," Ron said, smiling at her. At that moment, Harry appeared before them in a rush of green light. They both smiled at him.

"Hey, how're your-…what's that look for?" he asked suspiciously, stepping out of the fireplace.

"Oh, nothing," Hermione said innocently. Harry gave her a look, but turned around to get his bag. Hermione and Ron grinned at each other behind his back. This was going to be an interesting summer.