"We all have hopes and we all make realizations, but perhaps it's a little late for both of them."

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Hermione's Hope and Ron's Realization

Dear Harry Potter,

I am pleased to tell you that I have recieved your letter. I am also pleased to hear that you have accepted Sirius the way he is and will be taking your part in caring for your godfather.

I must confess I am not the least bit surprised to hear that you plan to stay with him instead of returning to Hogwartz. I do believe this school will be rather lonely without you, however, you must do what you feel is right. Therefore, I grant you permission to stay alongside him rather than return for your 6th year of school.

Of course, the only problem would be your loss of education which we cannot ignore. That is why I have decided to enlist a tutor to stay with you and provide your 6th year education. You will hear more about this from me in the next two days. I hope to start your tutoring as soon as possible. Hopefully you will agree to my plan. If it does not work, I'm afraid you will have to return to Hogwartz.

I hope this letter helped you.

Albus Dumbledore,

P.S.

Do not worry about Quidditch. I'm sure we can find someone else.

"Is that a joke?," Harry asked, " Quidditch?"

"The whole letter is a joke."

"Hermione."

"Well, I'm sorry Harry, but someone's got to say it."

Ron scrunched up his face. "I don't know Hermione. Dumbledore did give him permission and it's not like he's completely missing out. He did say he'll send a tutor over here. Though I can't imagine what kind of tutor would want to set foot in this house."

"Why not?, " Harry asked, "It's loads better now."

"I think he's referring to you and the baby, aren't you Ron?" Hermione asked, but Ron shifted nervously and said nothing more. Harry had just finished reading the letter to Ron and Hermione for the second time. He had already read it for the rest of the family, but Hermione wanted to hear it again to make sure she wasn't hearing wrong. The Order's reaction had been similar, but after the information sunk in, they were okay with it; as long as Harry was still learning.

Harry closed the letter, satisfied. Satisfied with the Headmaster's response and his own feelings about his decision to stay. Everything was going to be alright. It was alright for him to stay. It was possible that he could remain here along with Sirius. Dumbledore found the answer. But was it really a good answer? Actually, was it really a good idea for a tutor to see Sirius? To know the reason why Harry remained behind? Especially Harry, "The Boy Who Lived".

He would hear more about it later, but he couldn't help feeling a bit anxious. Hermione sighed. "Well, I guess there's no way to talk you out of it."

"Nope."

"I don't like the idea of you staying here alone-"

"He won't be alone. Mum's here and so is the rest of the Order and so is the tutor."

"But do you really think it's a good idea for a school tutor to see headquarters."

"Dumbledore's not an idiot Hermione. He would have thought of that."
Hermione started to get steamed and Harry started to back out of the argument. "I'm not so sure. Not with all he's had to deal with. I trust Dumbledore. I'm not saying he's stupid. I'm just saying we've all been very careful about this place and about Sirius. I'm just not so sure it's a...a strong idea."

"A strong idea? What's a strong idea Hermione? He's just trying to help Harry the best way he can. I suppose you've got a better idea? Being a know-it-all."

"As a matter of fact I do. It's pretty obvious really. Harry will just have to come with us. Your mum can take care of Sirius." At this remark, Harry jumped back in. "We've been through this Hermione. I'm caring for Sirius and I'm staying here. Dumbledore said it's alright."

"Well."

"And Ron's right. I won't be missing out. I'll still get an education and I won't be alone." Harry stopped himself from saying anything more. The look on her face was enough to stop him, but Ron didn't see that, so continued. "Will you get off him Hermione. What's wrong with Harry wanting to take care of Sirius!"

"There's nothing wrong with it. What's wrong with wanting your best friend to come to Hogwartz with you!" Ron never thought of that; nor did Harry. Hermione knew it and so did Dumbledore. He never thought there'd be a difference between staying or going. He supposed the school would run as it usually did, but that wouldn't be so with one less person there. It might, as Dumbledore put it, be lonely without him. Hermione would definately miss him, as would Ron and he would miss them all. Last year, he couldn't wait to leave the house and return to his true home. Now his true home was here. He never examined the feeling of missing out on hanging out with his friends of Griffindor or attending unusual classes or getting mixed up in one of Voldemort's schemes; though it was practically dangerous, the adventure always provided a thrill. There would be none of that this year if he was staying here. What could he do? He could go with them, but what about his promise to Sirius? He couldn't go back on it now. No. I have to stay. And like he said, if it doesn't work out, I can go back. But it will. It will work.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't think about that. I guess if you really want me to--"

"No. No, this is your decision. Don't do it for us."

"Speak for yourself Hermione." She threw Ron a dirty look. "Come on mate. I think Hermione has a point. What about all the fun we've had together and will have this year?"

"You're being rather selfish."

"So were you. It's not going to be the same if you aren't there."

Harry bowed his head in thought and came up with an answer. "Actually, it might be safer if I don't go. Voldemort's out there and he's looking for me. He knows I attend Hogwartz."

"He's known that all along, but never attacked. He's scared of Dumbledore. He wouldn't dare try anything to hurt you."

"I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about you and Hermione and everyone else. If I'm not there, there's no reason for him to go there and try anything."
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. Voldemort had reached Harry several times in the past, and he hadn't reached him at home with the Dursleys or any other home, he had always reached him at school.

"But we've always gotten through that. Together," Ron started. Hermione stepped forward in annoyance.

"Oh this is ridiculous. Harry, if you want to stay, then stay. You know very well this has nothing to do with Voldemort. Let's just stop making excuses and accept the fact that, we may not always be together. Here's proof of it now. Harry will be alright Ron and so will we. We can come visit on the holidays and write letters to tell him what's happened."

A slight feeling of shame struck both boys. They were acting like children, but who could blame them. It would be different if Harry stayed behind, but that's how it was going to be.

"Come along you three. It's lunch time!," Mrs. Weasley called out. But they didn't move. They stood there looking at one another. "Come on!" she called gently. Mrs. Weasley wished she could say something comforting to them, but she didn't want to sound like an over-protecting mother. They were old enough to handle it on their own and they would. "I've prepared roast beef sandwhiches. And Harry, I don't want to see you feed one of these to Sirius. He's much to young to eat one." Harry grinned and they all moved over to the kitchen.

The rest of the day passed along in silence. No one made much of an effort to be cheerful or talk. They were all too busy brooding on the next morning. The next morning was the start of school. Everyone who was going, would be leaving, their trunks in hand, to platform 9 3/4 and arriving at Hogwartz. Ginny, Ron and Hermione would all be gone. That would just leave Harry. As the hours passed, Ron began having second thoughts about leaving and advised that he stay with Harry and recieve his education from the tutor as well, but his mum would hear nothing of it.

"There's no way you're going to stay here and laze about this house!"

"I'm not going to laze, I'm going to-"

"If you think you'll get off easy by learning from a tutor, then you just try it mister."

That had been the end of anyone else offering to stay with Harry, which only made Harry feel worse. He would be here with Sirius and the Order, but it wasn't the same as being with Ron and Hermione. Harry didn't spend much time with Sirius that day. Why should he when tomorrow would be the day that he wouldn't see Ron and Hermione until their first break. All of his time would be spent with them. You go ahead Harry, Sirius had thought as he watched the three from his playpen, I can understand how you feel. Sirius had felt that way during his own teenage years when he had to return to his home after he finished a year of school. Of course, he hadn't stayed at his parent's house forever; he had runaway.

The night, had been restless. Harry felt nervous, but there was nothing to be nervous about. He needed to sleep, but there was no real reason for him to sleep anymore. Morning had come and any minute now, someone would be calling to wake them all up.

"Harry, Harry? I didn't know if you wanted to sleep late or not, but everyone's getting ready to have breakfast. Are you hungry?" It was Tonks who woke him up. Harry sat up slowly. He wasn't hungry. He'd rather go back to bed and try to sleep, yet it was impossible. "I'll be down in a minute." Sirius was already awake and waiting for Harry to get him. The day has come for me to say goodbye, but I don't have to since you're not going. Though I will miss the others since they did practically nothing for me. His godson moved over to him. "Shall we?" Like this? You're not dressed. But then, why should you be. You're not going. Sirius was starting to doubt his happiness of Harry staying behind. It was the same internal struggle he felt when the threat of Harry being expelled loomed over them. He had missed Harry then when he went away. Now the shoe was on the other foot.

Breakfast was as normal as can be, though nobody did much talking. It was odd to think of Harry's decision as such a big deal, but here was proof that it was.

Once that was over, various members helped the young students pack up their belongings. Harry did very little. All he could really do was watch while he held Sirius in his arms. "Don't worry about us mate. We'll be fine." Ron's words did little to ease his worries.

"Remus, are we taking the night-bus once more?," Tonks asked.

"I believe Author has acquired cars from the Ministry. Excuse me will you, I must get going."
"But we're not finished yet."

"I promised to meet with Dumbledore. Have a safe trip." Remus quickly left the house. Harry didn't bother about his departure. "What was that about?," Hermione questioned. Harry shrugged. "Anyways. I'll see you Harry. And you too Sirius. Bye." "Bye." That was it. It was over already. They were heading out and all he could say was good-bye. Sirius too said good-bye as he waved to them, leaving out of the door with the Order members when the cars from the Ministry arrived.

Trunks were packed into the trunk of the car with the help of Shacklebolt and Tonks. Moody stalked around them, keeping a look out in case anyone tried to ambush them.

"Come come," he said annoyed,"Let's get going."

"Relax Moody," Shacklebolt warned,"We're not taking Harry this time. We can relax some."

"We can never let our guard down. That's probably what the enemy wants us to think. And don't mention the boy. We've got enough troubles as is."

Tonks shook her head; there was no arguing with him. Ron moved over to Hermione who was getting ready to enter the car. He felt he should say something, but he didn't know what to say. Slowly he moved over to her. What's happened to me? He asked himself. Me and Hermione have always been good friends. Always,... just... friends. But she looks different now. She's mature like always, really annoying, and very bossy. Ron frowned at her which Hermione caught. "What's that look for?"

"Oh," he felt his ears go red," I was just wondering whether you were going to continue to help me with school work since Harry's not coming." She rolled her eyes at him. "Haven't I always? Honestly Ron, where would you be without me?" At that moment Ron tried to respond, but Ginny came up. "Hey, how come your ears are all red?" "They are not red!" Ron touched along his ears as though he could rub away the embarrasing color. "Shall we?" Ginny asked. Hermione opened the door and allowed Ginny to hop in first. Ron seemed surprised. What does she think she's playing at? Why does she want to sit next to me? Ron looked at his shoes. I suppose it's nothing. Ron slid in after Hermione and in no time, they were off. Hermione glanced back at the house, then looked down at her hands. I hope they'll be alright. I hope we'll be alright.

Once they made it to the station, Ron, Hermione and even Ginny found it hard to get into the mood of their arrival. Before them were happy witches and wizards who ran about meeting with others and telling them how good it was to be back. The three that didn't participate were exchanging looks again. Tonks, Shacklebolt and Moody came up behind them.

"Now remember," Moody grumbled," If anyone asks, tell them Potter is in St. Mungo's with the galloping glitz."

"The galloping what?" Ron questioned. As usual, Hermione knew the answer. "Glitz is a kind of flu. They only call it galloping because-" here, she laughed, "It has you galloping to the bathroom every minute." Ron shook his head in disgust. "Why not just say he has the runs. That will ruin him."

"Ruin him maybe, but it will keep his cover," Moody argued.

"We should have went with my idea and not make such a big deal about it. I still say we should have said Harry has the measels," Tonks insisted. "Be serious Nymphadora. What kind of wizard his age would have the measels and not be able to cure it within seconds. Sounds like something a muggle'd get stuck with," Moody growled.

Ron didn't really see the big deal about it either. "Why don't we just say he's doing something important for Dumbledore. They'd believe that." Moody shoved him off. "So would every spy in the nation. If someone outside school walls thought Potter was doing secret work for Dumbledore, they'd flock to the grounds." Shacklebolt stepped in. "Alright alright. I think we've had enough talk on the subject. Look, everyone's boarding the train. Hurry up you three."

Ginny, Ron and Hermione had a conductor load their luggage and boarded the train after a few students. "Don't worry," Ron whispered, "We can tell them Harry has something else, like Cuddler's Conkhead." "Oh Ron, Cuddler's Conkhead is a silly nickname for a head cold." "Oh." Ginny laughed,"What about Horace's Heartache, a severe chest pain?"

Once on board, Hermione and Ron made their way to a compartment. They wouldn't worry about the fact that they, as prefects, had to sit in special compartments. With Voldemort's latest attack, it didn't seem of importance. Ron wasn't looking forward to it and neither was Hermione. Ginny joined with them. "Are you sure this is alright? Won't the prefects get mad?" Hermione was about to answer her, but Ron stepped in. "Who cares. If they change their minds about it, we'll just say we can't because we're suffering from a loss."

"What loss?"
"The loss of Harry of course."
"Ron," Hermione felt a mixture of annoyance and amusement," You can't spread that kind of tale around."

"But Harry is a loss. He's not here with us is he?"

Hermione took note of his sudden defiance. In all the years she had known him, he had always taken on the personality of a clown; a side-kick that always acted, a joke. She didn't mean it as offensive. She liked that about him. He kept things lively. He made jokes and played around and always seemed to be one step behind her and Harry which meant that he wouldn't amount to anything, but she was sure those who thought that, even her, were wrong. Ron can be strong. Had he not prooved it in the Department of Mysteries? Well? He did get caught up in that Brain room, but still. Ron was never seen as anyone who could be as strong as Harry, but he was. He could be when he needed to and she was sure he would try to be that strong now. With Harry gone, someone needed to be there to hold his place and for the meantime, she hoped Ron would fill that position. She relaxed against her seat.

Hermione. Ron had put up a good show of being strong, though he wasn't so sure it was an act. He felt he needed to do Harry justice by playing the part of Harry and himself. But there's no reason for me to do that. I can be me. He could be himself. The thing that was holding him back was Hermione. In all the years he had known her, he had always thought of her as a know-it-all. Everyone had known her as that. She was bossy, stubborn, and way to smart for her own good. A perfect grade was always on her mind. She probably deserves this badge more than me. Someone like me can't measure up to her. In the back of his mind, he always dreamed he would. He would be of equal standards with her and not feel like some kind of joke. It could happen if she stopped fighting with me all the time. Or maybe if I stopped. He looked closely at her and realized something he had never noticed before. He actually liked her. He liked Hermione. Sure as a friend, but he was starting to think there might be more.

"Hey Ron! Hey Hermione! I didn't see you come in. Hey, where's Harry?" They all looked up to see Neville enter the compartment along with Dean, and Luna who planted herself next to Ginny and started reading the Quibbler.

"Oh," Hermione started. She didn't know why she hoped they wouldn't notice, but it was obvious that they would. "Well he-"

"He's busy." They all looked at him. "Busy?" Dean questioned suspiciously. "That's right. He's doing important work for Dumbledore. I don't really see what it's got to do with you." They raised their eyebrows. "Ron." Hermione scolded, "Sorry, but we want to keep it secret. Too many people shouldn't know."

"That's right," Ron said as he and Hermione worked together to form the excuse," I'm sure we can trust you not to spread it around right?"

"Oh sure."
"Right, yeah."

Ron looked over at Luna who appeared to have ignored the whole conversation. "Ah, Luna?" Finally she looked up, but with little interest in the whole affair. "Why not just say he has the Mullifered Mullipine Mumbles."

"Mully, Moolly what?" Neville asked.

"No, the Mullifered Mullipine Mumbles. It's a rare case where a person's mind becomes Mullified by a Mullipine and thereby acquires Mumbles."

"O-kay," Ron said. Hermione grinned to herself. It appeared some things weren't going to change afterall. After they assured them not to mention anything to any of the Slytherins and told them just to say to the others that Harry was recovering from an unknown virus in St. Mungos, they all had lunch. Within the next hour or two, Hogwartz came into sight. "We're home you two," Ginny told them. Ron and Hermione smiled at each other; happy to be back and happy that they were together.

After they left the train, they encountered a prefect who informed them of their duties. They weren't too annoyed about their jobs. They entered the castle as usual. Dumbledore was once again at the front of the table, as well as Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Hagrid, and a few other teachers. There was even a short, portly, bald man who was making his way next to Dumbledore. "Who's that?", Ron asked. "Probably the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Hermione answered, but she was more concerned with the crowd who was begining to realize Harry's disappearance.

"Hey, where's Harry?"

"Have you seen him?"
"Maybe You Know Who has him."

Luckily, Dean, Neville and Ginny were taking care to cover up for him.

"He's recovering," Dean said to some.

"He's been sick lately, but the healers don't know what it is yet," Ginny told others.

"Don't know when he'll be back," Neville admitted.

Luna even pitched in. "We think his mind's been mullified."

As the explainations were going on, Ron pointed out Draco. He seemed slightly disappointed about Harry's absence, but then he changed his attitude and started whispering to Crabbe and Goyle. No doubt readying himself to spread his own cover story for Harry. Luckily, Dumbledore put a stop to it. Like always, he made his speech. For once, Hermione did very little listening as she was wondering what was happening with Harry. Ron, surprisingly, was very attentive. Hermione took note of this. I wonder if this is the new Ron. Has he changed? And look at me. Have we really changed that much. She focused her attention on Dumbledore when he introduced Professor Slughorn to the audience.

"Get a load of that guy," said Ron, "I bet by the end of the year, that guy will be gone just like the others." But for some reason, he wasn't introduced as the Dark Arts teacher, he was introduced as the new Potions Master. "Potions!" Ron cried out. There was instant talk among the group of students. Many looked up at Snape who appeared to be sneering with satisfaction. Dumbledore continued, " Professor Snape will be taking over as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher." The talk became an uproar of various attitudes, but no one was louder than Ron and Hermione who had shouted,"NO!" in disbelief. Dumbledore's eyes shifted over to them, but he continued to explain. Now, the disappearance of Harry no longer seemed important.

"How do you think Harry's going to take this?," Ron asked.

"Not well," Hermione sighed.

Ron folded his arms in anger. "Lucky."

"Excuse me?"

"Harry. He's lucky to stay home, while we're stuck here with...with...with Snape."

"It shouldn't be that bad."

"Oh come on Hermione. Of course it will be that bad. Are you blind? What makes you think it won't be bad?"

At this, Hermione reached across the table and touched his hand. "Because I'm here with you." Ron's ears turned red again. She does have a point there.

After dinner, they made their way up the stairs in the mix of the crowd. A few familiar faces asked about Harry and hoped he'd return soon. Hermione hoped so too, but Ron was sure Harry would never return as long as Snape was in charge of the Dark Arts.

The rest of the evening went by unnoticed by Ron and Hermione. When it was time for bed, they stood akwardly in front of one another.

"Well," said Ron.

"Well," said Hermione,"See you tomorrow."

"You too."

"You'll see us both tomorrow," said Ginny.

"Yeah."

They parted and walked up to their dorms. It had been a long day and an exhausting evening which continued in Ron and Hermione's dreams as they laid down for bed, wondering how everything that had happened would turn out.

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IMPORTANT: I'm begining to wonder if I'll be able to continue posting chapters to my stories. Unfortunately, I keep getting this error message: Internet Explorer error- unterminated string constant. Do you want to continue running script on this page? When I go to login that message pops up and whether or not I click yes or no, nothing shows up. My stories won't show up, so I can't post anything. I've asked for help, but am not getting any info on how to get rid of it. This site has given me more trouble than any other. If any of you can help me get rid of this error, please help me. If a chapter's not uploaded for a while, you'll know it's that error. I don't know what to do

Funny, I was hoping for this chapter to be a lot shorter. Originally this chapter took place at Grimmauld Place with Hermione and Ron's thoughts, but since school was around the corner, and we've been in the house all day, I thought I'd move it to Hogwartz and really make this chapter just about these two. So now you can get a good idea of how everyone, as individuals, are affected in this particular story. It's a nice break from babysitting. (I like breaks by the way)

I struggled a little with the idea of bringing in the story of book 6. To tell you the truth, it's not really possible (or wise) to do as the two different stories will conflict with one another. I thought of that. The focus is on Sirius's story and not what happens in year 6, but it does show what Harry is currently missing. I'll tell you now that we won't dig deep into the plot of year 6. Since Harry is not here, he'll just have to attend school next year and run into the story of year 6 there. Here, Dumbledore's hand is not damaged by horcruxes and death-eaters will not attack the school. This is one of the few times we leave Sirius and Harry.

Once again, if you have info on how to get rid of the info, let me know. I've been luck enough to post chapters on someone else's computer until I can fix mine.