The rest of the week zoomed by and it was Saturday by the time I stopped to look around. I was meeting Harry and Ron at twelve outside the Three Broomsticks so I set off fifteen minutes earlier. Most people were staying in the castle today because the weather was bitter and the snow was setting in heavily. The boys weren't there when I got there so I wrapped by coat tighter around me and wrapped my scarf around my neck once more. I looked around and noticed a tuft of red hair above the crowd. Of course he wouldn't remember a hat. Harry must be beside him but I can't tell because he isn't as tall as Ron.
"Hermione!" Ron called as they came closer. They looked happier than I'd seen them in months, so I felt myself smiling as well.
"Ron! Harry!" And I pulled them into a hug. Like the old days. "I've missed you both." I said and smiled at both of them.
"Shall we go inside?" Harry asked, so we did. We ordered three butterbeers and found a table in a corner to sit at. I was the first to break the silence.
"How's Teddy, Harry?" I asked.
"Fantastic! Really fantastic. When he laughs, he lights up the room, literally, he's already showing little signs of magic, apart from the metamorphmagus thing. Here's a picture." Harry replied, reaching and grabbing a picture from his pocket. He looked so much bigger than the last time I saw him and his hair was the colour of a flame.
"He looks wonderful" I said. "How're your family Ron?" I asked.
"They're doing slightly better. Mum's getting better each day, she's started getting back to her old self. I'm still talking to George about doing more stuff together and the other day he actually came into Diagon Alley with me, we avoided his shop of course but hopefully in the future we can get that running again. How's school?" He babbled. They both looked at me, expectantly.
"Oh yeah, you had something to talk about. Is it school related?" Harry asked before I spoke.
"I guess, it's silly really -"
"It can't be that silly if you're worrying about it." Ron cut me off.
"Well, it's just the new professors and I haven't clicked yet and it makes me more worried about my newts than I had been before. But it's no big deal." I said, quietly.
"I guess everyone's a little bit more guarded than they had been before the war so everyone is reclusive and not ready to open up to someone. We're all the same, so although the professors are older than us, they're still the same." Ron replied. This calmed me massively. I know they both get me so well and I had to talk to them.
"Yeah, and knowing you, Hermione, you'll ace these exams and show us all up!" Harry followed on with.
"Thanks you two. Anyway, what have you been up to? Any thoughts about auror training?" I asked, to take the pressure off me.
"Oh yeah, I'm leaning more towards it now. It would be good to have a routine in life again." Ron replied.
"Yeah, I think it would be a great idea, we could get a flat in London if you want. And 'Mione, you could join us!" Harry said.
"Not at the auror training." Ron said, then backtracked, "unless you want to! But it would be great, the three of us together again."
"Yeah, I'll think about it. The three of us together again." I repeated.
We chatted about Teddy, the politics of still being in school and how to heal others. Many butterbeers later, Harry decided to leave and go visit Ginny in the castle, so Ron and I got some time to ourselves. Ron moved closer to me and he slung his arm around me. I felt the warmth of his body and the beating of his heart. It was a complete bittersweet moment.
"So, I heard you're getting a nice new Weasley jumper for Christmas." He joked.
"Yes! Your mum owned me to confirm my attendance at your house for Christmas. So is she pulling out all the stops for me?" I asked, jokingly.
"Of course, I told her about meeting up with you and talking more, I think it's made me happier so she's felt happier too." He said and then kissed my cheek. I felt myself flush and smile.
"Good. I just wish my parents were around for me to talk to. I just haven't had the time to reverse their memory charms." I replied, feeling myself get more tense.
"Maybe I could come with you, we could go over Christmas to bring them back?"
"That would be wonderful." I replied. At that point, we got up and decided to go for a stroll around Hogsmeade. We looked in to Honeyduke's and he bought me a heart shaped lollipop and I bought him a bar of chocolate. We stopped in at the newly re-opened Zonko's and left almost instantly. It was nice, and it make me happy. At about six we said goodbye.
"It's been great seeing you." He said then grinned at me. It was nice to see his smile again.
"It has, I'm looking forward to the next time I'll see you." I replied. Then he leaned in and kissed me. It was great, and it felt like sparks were flying. He turned around and apparated away, so I turned back and went up to the castle. On my way up, I luckily saw Harry, so I could give him a hug before saying goodbye. I walked straight to the great hall as I'd forgotten to eat and had only drank butterbeer since breakfast. I found Neville and Ginny again at the Gryffindor table and joined them. Apparently Neville had spent all day in the greenhouses and had started to create a new sort of antidote to a poison. Ginny had been practising quidditch all morning until Harry surprised her on the pitch. So, she had to cut practise short, much to the disappointment of the rest of the team and spend time with him.
"Did he talk to you about the auror training?" She asked me.
"Yeah, it sounds like he and Ron are really serious about this. It'd be good if they did it though." I replied.
"I've been thinking about becoming an auror, well, my Gran has." Neville said, looking a bit sheepish.
"Well, what do you want to do?" I asked, stressing the word "you".
"Something to do with herbology. Maybe. I could see if Professor Sprout needed a teachers aide?" He replied.
"That's brilliant! You need to do what you want, not what others want. What about you Ginny?" I asked again.
"I could do quidditch. You know, Ginny Weasley- England's star player!" She exclaimed.
"Again, another brilliant idea. I have no clue what I want to do." I said, gloomily.
"You don't need to decide now, you have months to decide and then you don't even need to start straight away. " Ginny replied.
"Yeah." Then, we finished our food, chatting slightly and headed back to our individual common rooms. Tonight, I don't feel like revising. So, I decided to sit with the group of sociable eighth years and try to join in.