The Fallen

Chapter Four

'Hermione, Hermione!' yelled Ginny, rushing into the girls dormitories.

Hermione looked up from her bed, startled. 'Ginny, what's wrong?'

Ginny smiled widely and threw a letter in Hermione's face. 'Nothing, just thought you'd like to know that the boys are going to be in Hogsmeade this weekend! Just in time for our trip there!'

Hermione grabbed the parchment from her friend's hands and her eyes scanned the words in front of her. It was true. Both Harry and Ron had convinced their team that they should stop by the Three Broomsticks for a drink on Saturday. Conveniently the same day Hogwarts had scheduled the first Hogsmeade weekend.

'How did they know?' asked Hermione, a smile on her face.

'I told Harry,' said Ginny with a shrug. 'It's going to be so nice to see them! We're going to have to tell the girls we can't go with them because I simply will not share Harry, especially with Romilda.'

Hermione chuckled, remembering how her new roommate had once wanted to smuggle Harry a love potion. She would have succeeded too, if Ron hadn't devoured the chocolates himself.

'You can't possibly think Romilda still fancies Harry!'

Ginny knitted her eyebrows together. 'Regardless if she does or not, she once fancied him and that's enough for me.'

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Honestly, Ginny-you're as bad as your brother when it comes to jealously.'

'It must be a Weasley thing,' she said dryly. 'But don't tell me you'd be head over heels about the idea of Lavender wanting to spend time with you and Ron.'

Hermione scowled. 'That's different! Ron actually dated Lavender. They snogged endlessly for months straight. Harry never dated Romilda and he certainly never snogged her.'

Ginny sighed and leaned back on Hermione's bed. 'Let's stop talking about who our boyfriends have and have not snogged. The point is we are finally going to see them on Saturday.'

'It's only been a few weeks, Ginny.'

'It's absolutely horrid being away from Harry again,' said Ginny dramatically. 'I had to go all of last year without him. At least you were with Ron...even if you weren't with Ron.'

'I do miss him,' said Hermione, looking at Harry's note again. 'I think it's just the fact that I don't know where he is or what he's doing...if he's safe or not...I've only ever been this unsure once before when he left...' she paused and looked at Ginny who was staring at her with sad eyes.

'When he left while you were looking for the Horcruxes you mean?'

Hermione looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow. 'How do you know about that?'

Ginny sighed and sat up. 'He told me.'

'Ron?' asked Hermione, disbelievingly.

'It's true,' said Ginny. She sighed and looked at Hermione. 'He told me a few days after the final battle...we were both still crying over Fred-he actually let me in his bedroom and he just held me as I cried on his shoulder...'

'He's great for that,' said Hermione in slight awe.

Ginny nodded. 'He is at that. Anyway, he told me that I was a great sister and he started apologizing for being rotten to me for all our years growing up-how he never included me in things once I enrolled at Hogwarts. I guess that just sparked it. We stayed up all night talking and sharing stories. That's when he told me he abandoned you and Harry during your journey.'

'Abandoned is a heavy word,'

'He seemed to think he deserved worse. He was really torn up about it. Said he was a great prat and he didn't know why you still wanted him.'

Hermione shook her head. 'It was the Horcrux-he had been wearing it all day and...'

'I know,' said Ginny, resting her hand on Hermione's arm. 'He told me all about that bloody Horcrux and what it showed him when he killed it. God, I would have gone mad if I saw that myself.'

Hermione looked at Ginny oddly. 'What are you talking about?'

Suddenly, Ginny looked like a deer caught in headlights. 'Bugger, I shouldn't have said that.'

'Ginny?'

'He didn't want me to tell you. He swore me to secrecy.' said Ginny lamely.

Hermione sat up straighter. 'Very well,'

Ginny sighed loudly. 'Don't be angry Hermione! Do you really want me to betray my brother's trust?'

'No I don't.' Said Hermione sharply, now standing. 'So I suppose Harry knows as well considering he was with Ron. He doesn't care if you know or if Harry knows but he has to swear others not to let me know.' She was almost muttering to herself now.

'Oh Hermione,' said Ginny with a chuckle. 'Please don't get angry about this. Don't you have some secrets of your own that Ron doesn't know about?'

Hermione glanced at Ginny and smirked slightly. 'Not really,'

Ginny looked surprised. 'Really? No secrets about other boys perhaps?'

'What other boys? He knows all there is to know about Viktor, thanks to you.'

'What about Cormac?' asked Ginny. 'About what happened at Slughorn's Christmas party?'

Hermione whirled around. 'Oh.'

'Right, he doesn't know that Cormac basically molested you under the Mistletoe, now does he?'

Rolling her eyes, Hermione sat back down next to Ginny on her bed. 'He did not molest me. He just snogged me and...'

'Groped you,' Ginny was smirking again. 'That randy bastard. It's probably a good thing Ron doesn't know about that because he would kill the bloke.'

'That was nothing, Ginny. It was harmless and the only reason I didn't tell Ron was because we weren't speaking. When we finally made up there was no need to tell him. Besides, Harry knew and he didn't kill McLaggen, did he?'

'Harry wasn't in love with you.' said Ginny knowingly. 'Please Hermione; just don't be sour that Ron doesn't want to tell you. You'll just get upset if you find out.'

'I'm not sour.'

'Good.' said Ginny. 'Now, we have to figure out what we're going to wear on Saturday!'

Hermione allowed a laugh to escape her throat. 'It's four days away!'

'That gives us plenty of time to prepare than, doesn't it?'

Groaning, Hermione allowed Ginny to go through her belongings to pick out the perfect outfit to wear for Hogsmeade.

Hermione hated to admit it, but she found herself drifting off into hopeless daydreams during most of her classes on Friday, her mind traveling to the next day when she would finally be reunited with Ron after a solid month of being apart. She willed herself to stay focused but as soon as her mind started concentrating on what her professors were saying, it would quickly drift back to a certain redhead, his freckles, his blue eyes and full lips...the way he would wrap his strong arms around her and...

'Ms. Granger?'

Hermione snapped up and looked at a stern looking Professor Flitwick staring at her.

'Sorry Professor,' she mumbled, a blush forming on her cheeks. She heard Ginny giggling behind her but refused to turn around to reprimand her friend.

'What's with you?' asked Jude from beside her.

Hermione shook her head. 'Nothing,' she whispered, not wanting Flitwick to think she wasn't paying attention a second time in one lesson. 'Just thinking about my Ancient Runes paper I have to write.'

'When one thinks of Ancient Runes, one does not blush like a prefect caught snogging in the broom closet.' whispered Romilda from her other side. Jude laughed and Hermione prayed that her cheeks remained their milky colour.

'Please,' she hissed at both her neighbours. 'I'm trying to concentrate.'

Romilda and Jude snickered again, causing Flitwick to turn back towards them.

'What is going on over here today?' he asked, his high voice sounding frustrated. 'Ms. Granger, in all my years being your professor, never did I have to reprimand you for disrupting the class!'

Hermione flushed and shot glares at both Jude and Romilda. 'Sorry Professor,' she said through gritted teeth. 'I promise it won't happen again.'

Flitwick's icy stare softened instantly and he rewarded Hermione with a smile. The moment he turned back around, Romilda and Jude hide their faces behind their fists, trying to smother their laughter.

'Honestly,' Hermione muttered before picking up her quill and copying down her notes.

What happened in Charms would have normally kept Hermione in a bitter mood for the rest of the afternoon, but considering that she was so excited for the following day, she didn't think anything could get her down. Even going to Defence class.

'Good afternoon, students.' Professor Graham said as she walked into the classroom. 'I expect everyone is excited for your Hogsmeade weekend,'

Ginny and Hermione shared a smirk, the excitement almost overflowing from the each of them.

'Well, you just have to endure this class until your weekend begins and I don't plan on making it a hard lesson.'

The class let out a sounding cheer, causing Graham to laugh. 'I just have to return your papers and then we are to discuss what you learned from writing them. Overall, the marks were very well. A few failures but mostly passing,'

Hermione sat up straight as Graham started walking around the class, placing parchments on the desks as she passed by. She watched as Romilda and Jade exchanged papers, both grinning from ear to ear. They were obviously pleased with their marks. Jude received his and let out an audible sigh of relief. Next was Ginny, who, Hermione saw, got a ninety-six percent.

'Good job!' whispered Hermione. Ginny turned to her and smiled widely.

Hermione then looked up and saw Graham standing before her, her six parchments clutched tightly in her hand.

'Here you go, Ms. Granger.' she said.

Hermione smiled and took her essay, flipping it over to see her grade. What she saw made her eyes go wide and caused her jaw to drop. In red, bold ink, right above her name sat the numbers sixty-four. It wasn't possible, Hermione thought, staring at the paper in her hands. She had never failed anything in her life...not even when she attended muggle primary school growing up! This had to be some mistake.

'Hermione?' she heard Ginny whisper.

Tears were prickling her eyes, but she willed them away and quickly shoved her paper into her bag next to her feet. She ignored Ginny's whispers and took out her quill, ready to take notes, even if her thoughts were currently stuffed away in her bag along with her essay.

The rest of the Defence class went by in a blur for Hermione. She never once tried to answer a question, which struck the other students as odd. Once the bell had rung, singling the end of classes for the day, Hermione remained sitting, telling Ginny, Romilda and Jade to go along without her.

'Oh, you're still here.' Said Graham, as she turned away from the board. She looked at Hermione who was still sitting at her desk, a frown on her face. 'I figured you'd stay.'

Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out her crumbled essay. 'Please, Professor...tell me what I did wrong on this essay...'

Graham sighed but did not reach for the essay. 'You exceeded the length requirement.'

Hermione looked taken aback. 'Excuse me?'

'I asked for four feet. That's roughly, what, four regular sized pieces of parchment? Maybe a little less? You handed me six pieces of parchment, Hermione. That's about two feet too much. Automatic grounds for failure, I'm sorry.'

'But there were students who didn't even meet the length requirement and you passed them!'

Graham snorted. 'There you go again, regarding yourself higher than your fellow classmates.'

'That's not what I meant and you know it! I just don't think this is fair, Professor! Perhaps if you knew me a bit better? Most of the other professors here like when I go into detail about a certain subject. I always like to make sure I've written down everything there is to know about what we're learning so I can later reference it for final exams or others. For example...'

'Ms. Granger, do you remember what I told you last week?'

Hermione looked down at her parchments.

'Well? Come on, I know you remember. You remember everything, don't you?'

Raising her chin, Hermione glared at her teacher. 'You don't like teacher's pets. But I'm not-'

'Obviously I'm not getting through to you.' Graham said, sitting down on her desk. 'Perhaps detention with me tomorrow would help you see more clearly.'

'What? Detention?'

'What? Never heard of it, have you?' Graham was smirking now, obviously enjoying teasing her student.

Tears prickled at Hermione's eyes. She would not show how much Graham giving her detention bothered her. 'When will I be due here tomorrow?'

Graham looked momentarily surprised that Hermione was not going to argue her. 'Be here by ten. I'll have some manual labor for you to do...without magic, of course.'

'Of course,' said Hermione through gritted teeth before grabbing her bag off the floor and storming out of the Defence classroom.

'What happened to you?' asked Ginny once Hermione stormed into the Common Room.

'That woman!' seethed Hermione throwing herself on the couch. 'She doesn't give a rat's tail about what I have to say! She doesn't listen to reason! She just throws out punishments and grades for no good...' she let out a groan on frustration and covered her face with her hands. 'She gave me detention.'

'What?' asked Ginny. 'For what?'

Hermione sat up and threw her essay at Ginny. 'She failed me because I went over the length requirement! Have you ever heard of such a thing?'

'No...' said Ginny uncertainly, her eyes scanning the essay in her hands. 'She gave you detention because you failed?'

'Not exactly...'

'Don't tell me you went off on her?'

Hermione sat up straight, her eyes burning with anger. 'I did not go off on her! I just tried to reason with her which, I suppose according to Graham, is on par with screaming in her face!'

'And she gave you detention?'

'Yes, for tomorrow.'

Ginny groaned now. 'Oh Hermione, what about Hogsmeade?'

Hermione's eyes widened as she fell back on the couch. 'I didn't even think of that.'

'You must have been livid not to think about that.'

'I can't believe I have to miss out on Hogsmeade because of her.'

'What time is your detention?' Ginny asked.

'Ten.'

'Well, the boys aren't due at the Three Broomsticks till after eleven...maybe you'll be finished by then?'

'If I hurry, I suppose. I don't know if she'll let me leave though.'

'Oh of all the days you had to pick a fight with a professor, Hermione!'

'I did not pick a fight with her!'

Ginny sighed and handed her friend back her essay. 'Don't worry. Maybe if you work really hard, Graham will let you out early and you can catch Harry and Ron before they leave.'

Hermione scoffed. 'Wishful thinking, Gin.'

'Maybe if you spoke with Graham...' Hermione gave Ginny a disbelieving look. 'Alright, maybe McGonagall? She would have to understand.'

'I don't want special treatment.'

'Why the bloody hell not?'

'Language,' reprimanded Hermione half-heartedly.

'Hermione, you're one-third of the reason this school is still standing.'

'No. I don't want to go to McGonagall complaining that I got detention. I can't. You know I just want to be treated like every other student.' said Hermione, ignoring her friend's raised eyebrows and narrowed eyes.

Ginny sighed. 'Fine, have it your way. I have to get ready for practice. Wish me luck with Jade.'

Hermione grinned. 'How is that working out?'

Ginny's grunt answered her question. Soon, Hermione was the only one left in the Common Room. She let out a sigh and grabbed her essay, letting her eyes scan her neat script as it flowed across the page. She shook her head quickly and grabbed her belongings before heading out towards the library.

Her eyes were open, staring at the scarlet curtains that were draped around her bed. She could hear her roommate's faint snores and deep breathing and thought bitterly that they would be allowed to cherish a few more hours of sleep while she had to start her Saturday early. Not that she was normally a late riser, but it was always a comfort to know that if she wanted to sleep till eleven on the weekend, she could.

With a large sigh, Hermione pulled the curtains and threw her legs over the side of her bed. Grabbing her wand from under her pillow, she wrapped her robe around her and walked towards the bathroom for a quick shower. Fifteen minutes later she was fully dressed in a pair of muggle jeans and plain white tee shirt while her wet hair was wrapped in a towel above her head.

'You're up early,' commented Ginny sleepily as she peeked through an eyelid.

Hermione shrugged and grimaced slightly. 'Sorry if I woke you.'

'You didn't. I'm too excited to sleep.' She paused and looked at Hermione sadly. 'Sorry.'

'Don't be silly. It's only natural.' Hermione said, trying to keep the sadness and disappointment from her voice. She didn't want Ginny feeling guilty for no reason.

Ginny sighed and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. 'Ron is definitely not going to like this.'

'I would have written him last night but he wouldn't have gotten my owl in time. You'll tell him I'm sorry, won't you?'

'Yes,'

'And that I miss him?' asked Hermione, taking her hair out of her towel before performing a drying charm on it.

'Yes, but stop before you ask me to give him a big kiss for you.'

Hermione laughed which was met with two groans from across the room.

'Just because you have to get up early on a Saturday doesn't mean we all have to!' barked Romilda's angry and tired voice.

'Sorry,' said Hermione with a roll of her eyes. 'Honestly,' she added in a whisper to Ginny. 'It's nearly nine.'

Ginny giggled and shook her head. 'Wait for me to get dressed and we'll get breakfast.'

It was an hour later that Hermione found herself walking slowly towards the Defence classroom, a frown on her face and her hands in the pockets of her trousers.

'So nice of you to show up, Ms. Granger.' Professor Graham said pleasantly once Hermione entered the classroom.

'Why wouldn't I?' asked Hermione, her eyebrow raised.

Graham smirked. 'That's right. We can always count on you to do what you're told.'

'Would you rather I skive off detention, Professor?' She couldn't keep the bitter tone from her voice.

'Don't be foolish. Now, you seem to have a basic knowledge of the subject of Defence.'

Hermione couldn't help but scoff. A basic knowledge? She only just spent the greater part of last year using her basic knowledge helping defeat the darkest wizard of all time. 'Yes,' she answered as calmly as she could.

'I have a ton of papers from my fourth and fifth year classes to grade. Be a dear and grade them for me?'

'Grade your papers?' Hermione asked, astonished.

'I'm sorry; I didn't realize you were hard of hearing.' Graham said, turning around and picking up a large stack of parchments. 'Here you are. Once you're finished you may leave.'

Hermione stared at the stack in front of her. She could barely see over the top. With a sigh, she picked up the red-inked quill Graham handed her and set to work, knowing that she would not be seeing Hogsmeade or Ron anytime soon.

Ginny pulled the zipper up higher on her jumper as she approached Hogsmeade. It was unnaturally chilly for autumn and the young redhead found herself wishing she had worn a warmer shirt underneath. The walk from the castle to the village usually only took about fifteen minutes, depending on who you were sharing the journey with. Ginny, however, was on her own and her excitement and desire to see her boyfriend and brother was so blinding that she made it to her destination in record time. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and walked swiftly towards the Three Broomsticks, where she knew Harry and Ron were both waiting.

Once she entered, she immediately saw them. They were sitting together near the center of the room, both holding half-empty mugs of Butterbeer and both with a smile on their face. Harry spotted her first, his smile stretching wider as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

She sighed in his embrace and leaned back to give him a quick peck on the lips. She couldn't really greet him the way she wanted seeing that she was still in the presence of professors and her brother, who always made it a point to make gagging noises when he saw lip-to-lip contact between Harry and his baby sister. Only this time, Ron seemed distracted. He wasn't staring at them; he was staring at the door, undoubtedly waiting for his own kissing partner to arrive.

'Ron.' Ginny said, touching his arm. He turned to face her and smiled wildly, enveloping her in a large hug.

'I've missed you,' he said, releasing her from his hold.

Ginny smiled and sat down next to Harry, signalling to Madame Rosemerta that she desired a Butterbeer.

'Tell me all about training!' she said enthusiastically. Her eyes scanned the Three Broomsticks and she noticed that there were a fair number of young men in attendance, all wearing black robes and hard looks on their faces. 'Are these the other trainees?' she whispered.

'Yeah,' nodded Harry, slipping his arm around her shoulders. 'Most of em anyway,'

Ron's eyes had slipped back towards the door and there was now a crease in his brow.

'Hey Gin, where's Hermione?' he asked. 'Don't tell me she got sidetracked by going into Scrivenshaft's for new quills!'

Ginny sighed. The noise caused Ron to turn and face her expectantly. 'Actually, she's not coming.'

'What? Why not?' asked Ron, clearly confused.

Harry looked at Ron pointedly. 'You didn't say anything in your last letter to hack her off, did you?'

'No!' yelled Ron. 'At least...I don't think I did...'

'No, no, no-it was nothing like that.' corrected Ginny quickly. 'She got detention with the new Defence teacher.'

'Yeah right,' said Ron, slumping in his seat. He downed the rest of his Butterbeer and glanced at Rosemerta as she brought Ginny her mug, signalling that he needed a refill. He then looked back at his sister and leaned forward. 'She's not meeting up with some other bloke, is she?'

Ginny slammed her mug on the table and glared at her brother. 'Of course not you dumb prat!' she barked. 'How could you even think that of Hermione?'

Ron leaned back in his chair. 'Well, why isn't she here?' he asked.

'I already told you!' Ginny said with a sigh. 'She's in detention! I'm not sure if she wanted me to tell you this but-' Ginny paused and leaned forward much like Ron had done moments before. Harry and Ron followed suit. 'This new Defence teacher failed Hermione on an essay.'

'Bloody hell,' said Ron, his eyes wide.

'Are you sure?' asked Harry, clearly just as surprised as Ron.

'I didn't think it were possible.'

'It was all because she went over the length requirement, can you believe that?' Ginny rolled her eyes. 'Well, you know Hermione. She wanted to know how this could have happened and had to discuss it with Graham-that's the professor-after class. Graham obviously wasn't too keen on that because the next thing you know, Hermione's served with a detention.'

'For today, of all days!' grumbled Ron, leaning back in his chair. 'I haven't seen her in a month!'

'Stop being a selfish git!' yelled Ginny. 'Hermione obviously isn't happy about this any more than you are. And now not only is her perfect grade record ruined but she's forced to spend her Saturday doing Merlin knows what when she would clearly rather be here with you-although I don't know why,' Ginny added with a grumble. 'I'd personally rather take the detention then spend a day with you.'

'Shut it, Ginny.'

Harry shook his head and finished his mug of Butterbeer. He noticed Ron sit silently for a few moments before pulling out his wand and transfiguring a table napkin into a piece of parchment. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pathetic looking quill before he began writing. Pushing this aside, Harry turned to face Ginny, wanting to give his girlfriend all his attention now that his best mate was currently distracted.

Merlin, these students are worse than Ron. Hermione commented in her head as she tried to read a fifth year Hufflepuff's handwriting. Although, she had to admit, nobody's handwriting was worse than Harry's. It was so small and slanted, Hermione usually had to cross her eyes to read it properly when correcting or proof-reading his work.

Looking up, Hermione noticed, with some pride, that she managed to grade almost half the papers in just an hour. When Graham had first left her with this task, she was almost tempted to give them all random grades without so much as reading a word, just so she could get to Hogsmeade to see Ron and Harry-but after about a millisecond of internal debate, Hermione knew she couldn't do that. It wouldn't be fair or ethical at all. If someone had done that to her she would just die.

'Alright,' mumbled Hermione to herself as she pulled up another piece of parchment. 'Ah, Luna-let's hope I understand your vocabulary.' Hermione's eyes scanned her friend's essay and smirked when she saw that she dotted her I's with swirls and looped her letters dramatically, nearly making them overlap each other. 'Brilliant,' she muttered as she rested her head in the palm of her hand. Idea: new Weasley Wizard Wheezes product: Quick Grade Quill.

Ginny and Harry had excused themselves from the table after a few minutes of seeing that Ron was no longer going to engage them in conversation. He was too busy scribbling on his parchment. They had taken a lovely walk around the village, only stopping briefly for a snog session or two. When they returned back to the pub, Harry noticed, sadly, that the remaining Auror's were about ready to leave.

'There you two are,' said Ron, walking towards the pair. Ginny grinned up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ron, a little surprised by the sudden show of affection, hesitantly wrapped his arms around her in return. 'What was that for?' he asked once she pulled away.

'It's not fair how little I get to see of the two of you.' she said with a small smile. 'You have to persuade these guys to come back here again. I don't think I can last waiting till Christmas holiday to see you next and I know Hermione certainly can't.'

Ron blushed slightly and nodded. 'Definitely, oh and speaking of Hermione,' he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out an envelope and held it between two fingers. 'Mind giving this to her?'

Ginny smirked and reached out to take the envelope but Ron pulled back suddenly. 'Don't read it,' he said sternly.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny reached out again, this time successfully grasping the material in her hands. 'I won't.' She faked pretending to open it but quickly backed away, laughing at Ron's expression. 'Relax Ron, like I really want to read your love notes to my roommate? It's bad enough I have to watch her write them to you!' she turned to Harry, a twinkle in her eye. 'How bad is he when he's writing Hermione?'

Harry chuckled. 'Not so bad when he's writing her, considering that he usually does that when we're all asleep. But when he receives a letter from her he wears this big goofy grin on his face the entire time he reads it!'

Ron, now a deep red, was glaring at the pair. 'Oi! What are you doing!'

Harry laughed harder and wrapped his arm around Ginny's shoulders who was chuckling at her brother's embarrassment.

'Like you're any better,' said Ron, crossing his arms over his chest. 'Are you sure you weren't talking about yourself?'

Ginny beamed at the pair of them.

'Alright, enough,' she said through another chuckle. 'I'll make sure Hermione get's your letter and I'll make sure to report any goofy grins that may cross her face when she reads it,' she added to Harry with a wink.

Ron shook his head and Harry smirked before kissing Ginny quickly.

'I love you,' he said softly.

'I love you too,' she added, tears welling in her eyes. They kissed again and kept at it before Ron cleared his throat. Ginny hugged her brother again and watched as they both joined the rest of their team and walked towards the end of the street where they were clear to apparate back to wherever they were stationed. Turning around with a sigh, Ginny allowed a smile to form on her face at the sight of Luna skipping towards her, her long blonde hair billowing behind her in the autumn breeze.

'Hello Ginny,' she said. 'Oh have Harry and Ron left already? I was hoping to say hello.'

Ginny nodded sadly. 'You just missed them.'

'Oh. Well, I'm sure I'll see them next time they surprise you and Hermione.'

'It wasn't exactly a surprise, but yes-next time they come for a visit I'm sure they'd love to see you.'

'Are you heading back to the castle? It was a shame Hermione couldn't join you today. I heard she failed her Defence exam.'

Ginny cocked an eyebrow. 'How do you know that?'

'I saw her in the library last night. She was studying something fierce, but I suppose that's not so different from normal. Anyway, she told me.'

'She's not taking it very well.'

'Hermione has a great fear of failure. It's been that way ever since she was a child.'

'Well, I always knew she was never one for less than perfection but I never really thought of it as a fear...' Ginny paused and looked at her friend as they walked back towards the castle. 'Did she tell you this last night?'

Luna shook her head. 'She doesn't need to tell me. You can just tell.'

Once Ginny reached the Gryffindor common room, Hermione was seated at a table in the back, her hair damp and her eyes tired as she poured over a textbook in front of her.

'Hey trouble-maker.'

Hermione turned around and scowled at the nickname thrown her way. 'Please Ginny; I'm hardly worse than you.'

'You're right about that.' Ginny said with a grin as she sat down next to her friend. 'Have you been back long?'

Hermione shook her head. 'Just about twenty minutes.' She paused and closed her Transfiguration book. 'So, how were they?'

'Wonderful. They looked tired...fit, but tired. They didn't believe me at first when I said you had detention. Ron actually thought you were with another guy.'

Hermione's eyes widened. 'What? How could he?'

Ginny shrugged. 'He's my brother. He's a jealous prat. You better get used to it.'

'I can't believe he would actually think I was cheating on him! Does he know me at all?'

Ginny saw her friend was obviously very upset by this and regretted telling her almost instantly. 'Calm down Hermione, I set him straight quickly and then he told me to give you this...' she quickly removed the envelope from her pocket and handed it to Hermione.

'He wrote me a letter?' asked Hermione, her eyed slowly softening.

'He wrote it when Harry and I went for a walk. Merlin, it was hard having alone time with him with Auror's trailing us.'

'They wouldn't let Harry go off on his own?'

Ginny shook her head. 'They wouldn't let any of the trainee's go off. Anyway, I need to start on my Transfiguration homework, which I see you're nearly finished with.'

'Need any help?'

Ginny shook her head. 'I think I can handle it...' she paused and stood up. 'On second thought, if I'm not down in two hours, you can take that as a sign that I'll need all the help I can get.'

Hermione chuckled and watched her friend walk up towards the girls dormitories before turning her attention back to the envelope in her hand. Opening it quickly, Hermione grinned at Ron's messy scrawl before her.

Hermione,

I leave you alone for one month and you're already getting detention? You obviously need me there to help keep you in line.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Honestly.

Seriously though, Ginny told me about your essay-don't stress yourself out about it. So, it was one bad grade? You're still the brightest witch at Hogwarts and that title would still remain even if you failed the next twenty essays. Not that you will. This teacher sounds like a real git, failing you for going over the length requirement. I swear, he sounds like another Snape in the making. Be careful with that one.

Hermione grinned. Of course he would think Graham was a man. He probably had a Snape doppelganger in his mind, greasy hair and all.

I can't believe I couldn't see you today but I don't want you to feel upset or guilty about it. I'll make sure another Hogsmeade trip is on our schedule in the not so distant future. The guys really seem to be enjoying their Butterbeers. Probably a little bit too much.

I wish I could sneak up to the castle and see you but I'm sure to get caught and I don't exactly know where you are. It would take me all bloody day to find you. It would be well worth it though. I miss you so much Hermione, it's driving me mad. Merlin, if George heard me talking like this he would tear the micky out of me for decades.

Letting out a laugh, Hermione rolled her eyes once again. Prats; the lot of them.

Write me back. Tell me all about your detention. I hope you didn't have to do anything to terrible. I love you and I'll see you soon, hopefully.

-Ron

Hermione sighed and reread the letter before folding it up and placing it in her Transfiguration book. Her eyes were moist as she stood and up from her table and made her way towards the dormitories to continue her homework and read her letter a few more times.

A/N: I know, you're probably all about ready to kill me for not having Ron and Hermione reunite in this chapter. I was debating having Ron sneak to the castle, but I figured the Auror trainee's are heavily guarded. I don't want anyone to think that there will be no Ron/Hermione interaction or that it won't be good. Believe me when I say this story will be heavy with RHr goodness in the future.

I'm really excited about where I want to take this story, so I hope you stick with me. Thanks again for your reviews! They really do mean so much!

-E.B