Author's Madness to his methods Rant: I probably should explain myself about my profile rants. Not that I expect any of you to read them. Unfortunately, I have one of those jobs that require me to give full disclosure to my bosses of all my social media accounts that I post on. Yeah… apparently you make one little Facebook complaint about us serving rotten candy apples at the last state fair we did and you get labeled as a malcontent Carny worker. Go figure. It's not like the paying customers didn't noticed the live caramelized apple worm when they bit into it.

Anyway, I now only have a deleted Facebook account, a Photobucket account to safely store my pictures of all the Circus clowns' beatings and murdering… they are a scary bunch especially when they pull out the "balloons." Yeah, that's code for your about to get 32ed in the face as they honk away on that stupid clown horn of theirs. "Honk, Honk, BAM!" It just gives me shivers every time I think of poor little Jimmy interrupting them during their lunch break asking for a balloon animal.

As you can see, I have to keep that Photobucket account for insurance. I also have a Google+ account for my new cellphone, a LinkedIn account that I network on with the other Carnies, and lastly I have this FanFiction account. When I told my bosses that I have a Harry Potter FanFiction account they sort of chuckled and thought I was a bit touched to be a Carny worker. I said nothing of course, because I didn't want to have to take it down. I like my FanFiction account. The best thing about it is I can occasionally blow off some steam on my profile and not have to worry about the bosses or the clowns catching me. Sadly, one of the scariest clowns I know of did catch one of my recent postings and I've had to go silent for a while now. Stupid miserable lying two-face clown.

So what I'm saying is - don't pay attention to my profile. I'm just occasionally blowing off some steam. And… if I suddenly go missing please go to my Photobucket account and take the pictures to the Feds. That and be very afraid of the Clowns!

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Chapter 36 – Ron makes a Decision

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Ron's POV:

"Congratulations, Ron, on your license." Jack Croix one of Ron's co-workers at the Preserve said to him as he walked over to another table in the Preserve's Cafeteria.

"Thanks, Jack. Are you playing tonight?" Ron asked from his own table during breakfast.

He was warmly smiling over at the Caribbean Dragon Handler and a pretty good Quidditch Chaser to boot. The same one he prevented from scoring a single time during their last game.

"Yeah man, how about you letting me score tonight?"

"Not if you gave me a case of your Rum and stuck me on an island with beautiful Caribbean women." Ron cracked, earning a few chuckles out of his co-workers eating breakfast alongside him.

"Ron, drinking is bad for you." Jane nagged to him as she was sitting beside him with Charlie and Tania on the other side of the table.

"I was just joking." Ron defended himself as he tried to avoid Jane's thirty-minute speech against drinking.

"Humph." Jane pouted and squinted her brown eyes at him.

Ron pointedly looked away before she added anything more on the subject. Luckily, Charlie had something to say.

"After breakfast, we need to fly out on broomsticks to the Northeast perimeter and strengthen the wards," ordered Charlie, as he looked over at a frowning Ron.

"I thought we were going to collect data on the new Romanian Longhorn baby twins?" Ron remarked, as he was not too excited in the least of a half-day setting up wards versus spending time with a pair of baby Dragons.

"After lunch and Jane can help us too," replied a smiling Charlie to a relieved Ron and a smiling Jane.

"Thank you, Uncle Charlie. I have some mail that just came in. Tania, you have a letter from your Mum. Charlie, here is your monthly Dragon Life and Quidditch Monthly. Ron, I have a bunch of letters for you too." Jane said quickly while she pulled out the letters and magazines from a mailbag that she carried around with her.

Jane's mailbag was being protected by her magical stuffed pet Dragon, Danny, sitting inside it. He would flap his wings every time Jane would run her hand down in the mailbag.

"Great… ugh, letters from Professor McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick. Probably giving me more essays to write," Ron complained as he was going through his mail.

"Yes! We can work on them tonight." A smiling Jane celebrated as she completely ignored Ron rolling his eyes and frowning at doing even more schoolwork.

"My sister is getting married," announced an excited Tania.

"Congratulations, Tania." Many of them murmured.

"Ron, you don't have to do them if you're staying here." Charlie suggestedily reminded him and shook his head in laughter as Ron's face lit up. Charlie is right! Ron suddenly realized that he wouldn't have to do any more homework as he was staying on at the Preserves.

Charlie looked over and started to chatter with his girlfriend, "Tania, so ... you planning to take anyone with you? I mean... when you go see your family for the wedding?"

"Right! Jane - it's all yours!" Ron celebrated as he handed off his Professors' letters to a shocked Jane with a huge relieved smile on his face.

"You're staying?" Jane and Tania asked excitedly, as Ron continued to look through his other mail.

Ron didn't answer, but he smiled at their reaction.

"One from Ginny... Harry... Wait!" Ron ordered to Jane who was about to make a hasty retreat before Ron finished going through his mail. "Okay, Jane, what did you do with my Chocolate Frogs?"

Jane's body flinched as she paused a second before answering Ron. He could practically see the fictional wheels in her head spinning around to manufacture a lie about his missing shipment of Chocolate Frogs.

"Well... uh... they were sent back due to the medical recall of chocolate contamination." Jane said with her best serious tone.

Ron kept a straight face, as he listened to her tall-tale.

"There were these news reports about it and everything."

Charlie and Tania were softly laughing as Ron gave her his best Professor McGonagall's stare of you-been-caught-after-hours-walking-in-the-hallways scowl.

"Come again?"

"Ah... Chocolate containment... er... contamination. All right - I have them! Please Ron, let me have some. Please, please, please!" Jane pleaded after breaking down from Ron's stare.

"Merlin! Bring them to me and I'll give you some. Okay?"

"Thank you, Ron, thank you!" Jane cried out and took off running out of the cafeteria to get Ron's hidden shipment of Chocolate Frogs.

Ron smiled to himself as he continued to sort through his mail.

"A letter from Bill... Hey we might be uncles." Ron commented to Charlie before drinking his coffee.

"I hope not, Mum will be on to me next to settle down." Charlie sniped and immediately went red in the face as he suddenly realized he was sitting next to his girlfriend. Tania was smiling at him as she too slowly drank her coffee.

"Not that I'm against the idea... I... I just. I... so what else you got there Ron?" Charlie called for him to say something in the hope of changing the subject after stumbling with an on-looking Tania.

"Just a letter from your pride wanting to know when it's safe to come back home again." Ron joked, and got punished for it by a kick from underneath the table by a red-face Charlie.

"Ha-ha," Tania laughed at Ron's cheek and Charlie's reaction.

"Ow! Ha-ha. Let's see-" Ron stopped flipping through the letters to see the unmistakable red colored envelope of a Howler. "Bugger!"

As soon as he had touched it the Howler started to magically shake and smoke in his hand.

"It must be from Mum!" Charlie yelled with a tint of fear in his voice and gaining the undivided attention of some of the older staff members; who remembered the infamous Mrs. Weasley's howler incident after Charlie told his mother that he was staying on at the Preserve.

"Your mother sent you a Howler!?" Director Vargas inquired from another table over as he was looking at the howler smoking in Ron's hand.

"Everyone - DUCK!" Charlie bellowed.

Everybody dropped what they were doing or carrying and crawled underneath their tables and behind walls, except for a sweating and scarred Ron gulping air in fear before opening his letter.

"RONALD WEASLEY! DO NOT TAKE THAT JOB! Please Ron, I beg you do not take that position at the Dragon Preserve! You need to come back home and finish school! Ginny needs you, Harry needs you, and ... I ... I need you! Ron, I can't believe I'm going to say this but… I'm sorry! I never meant to hurt you, I swear! I was just being blind, and too stubborn to see the truth. Ron, we need you back at Hogwarts! These lasts months without you here have been nothing but horrible so please be more careful and come back to Hogwarts! COME HOME, RON!"

-Puff!-

Ron's eyes went huge as the voice of Hermione filled the cafeteria, followed by the letter giving him a kiss causing a paper cut on his lips. Ron meekly touched his bleeding lip amazed at what just happened as the Howler teared itself up.

"I take it, that's your Hermione who doesn't care for you anymore?" Tania analyzed, as she crawled out from underneath the table. She reminded Ron what he had said earlier to her, when he asked for advice on girls.

"Lucky bloke! Mine exploded on me from Mum's yelling. It took them half a week to repair the damages." Charlie reminded him of his Mum's infamous anger as he too crawled out from underneath the table.

Ron looked around the cafeteria to see that everyone was looking straight at him. He quickly looked down and moved his hands back to the letters in an effort to hide from his embarrassment and shock. The last letter had no return address and was over three weeks old as it was shipped by sixth class postage in Serbia. Ron wondered who would be that cheap and opened it to see whom it was from.

"Hey Ron, should I tell Mum first or Fred and George about Hermione," cracked Charlie and was swiftly hit by Tania's elbow for it.

"I think it was romantic and Ron should definitely write her back," Tania suggested to Ron, who was going wide-eyed the more he read his last letter.

"Director Vargas! Sir, I need to talk to you." Ron said, as he stood up hastily then folded the letter up and put it safely into his Dragon-hide jacket.

Charlie knew something was up as Ron's mood changed to anger and deadly seriousness.

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Hermione's POV:

For the next several days, Hermione was in a zombie like daze. She couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't read any of Ginny's and Lavender's Romance novels, and worse of all she couldn't do homework. It was all just meaningless to her and by the middle of the week; she finally broke down in her bed beside Crookshanks with a huge fit of crying. In short, she was miserable and with each passing day without knowing what Ron had decided to do made it even worse. She would never ever forgive herself if Ron left her by taking the job at the Preserve. Her only light of hope was the Howler that she sent to him in desperation begging and pleading for him to come back home to Hogwarts - safe and sound.

To make matters worse, Draco Malfoy had been strutting around the castle whistling in a cheery mood since Ron's last letter. Not to mention, he had been taking every opportunity to remind the Hogwarts' Golden trio that they were now a 'Knut-less' duo. Which seemed to make Harry madder than she ever seen him before. Ginny had to restrain Harry several times throughout the week from punching Draco's lights out every time he walked by to mention that the castle just seemed to smell better without the odor of one less Weasel. Instead, Harry took out his anger on everyone besides Draco. Something that even she was unprepared for as Harry chewed out poor Neville for blowing up another cauldron in Potions sending both of them to the Hospital wing yet again. Harry continuously sniped at her anytime she tried to carry out her Head Girl duties by trying to enforce the Dress code or said anything about Ron. Harry even went so far as to tell Luna that she was going to have to face the fact that she couldn't wear her ruddy Butterbeer necklace.

Luckily, Ginny made Harry apologized to Neville and Luna, however somehow Hermione got the feeling that his apology to her wasn't going to be forthcoming anytime soon. He gave her a rather nasty look the last time Draco had walked by the Gryffindor table and started to make loud sniffing sounds. She could've sworn she heard Harry muttered something nasty to the effect of "Once you get to know him - my bloody arse."

Hermione wisely pretended that she didn't hear Harry's snipe or Ginny elbowing him to be quiet. Still, it only added to her loneliness and she didn't know how much longer she could hold on. Fortunately, during Hermione's weekly cleaning of Professor Dumbledore's office did she finally find out Ron's decision about returning to Hogwarts.

"I just got through chatting with Vargas, Arthur. And you will be happy to know he has declined the job offer." Professor Dumbledore said into his fireplace at Mr. Weasley's floating head. "Said he wanted to finish school."

"That's my BOY!" Mr. Weasley roared back at a smiling Professor Dumbledore like a proud fatherly lion.

Hermione instantly stopped broom sweeping and fell down onto a chair in total relief from the news. It was like a lifting of a deep fog on her brain and her heart. She hadn't felt this relieved since she final got her OWL scores.

"I'm also glad to see him returning, Arthur, however I have to admit Charlie and Ron are our best scouts we have on the continent." Professor Dumbledore happily informed Mr. Weasley, and then glanced over at a relieved Hermione sitting down. His face offered a warm smile at her and a knowing stare.

A proud Mr. Weasley offered more news on the subject. "I have some other great news. The Wizengamot Court and the Minister just approved of your's, Alastor's, and Remus' recommendation for the Order of Merlin First Class to Ron."

That's Alastor, Remus, and your. Hermione thought as she corrected Mr. Weasley's grammar. It was more proof that her mind was clearing up even though she was starting to wonder why she was so worried in the first place.

"He told me he didn't want it, Arthur, but he certainly does deserve it."

"Albus, I'm just happy he's alive to get it. Speaking of which - Hello Hermione!" Mr. Weasley bellowed in his happiest of voices.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley." Hermione answered weakly as if her voice hadn't yet fully returned to her.

"Hermione, I want to personally thank you for solving that parchment scroll and I want to invite you over for dinner - anytime."

"Thank you, sir." Hermione replied even weaker as she was nauseated with the memory of deciphering the parchment scroll and almost getting Ron killed because of it.

"Thank nothing of it dear, we be happy to see you!" Mr. Weasley praised to her with a huge smile on his face as he looked fondly at Hermione. "And I'm certain Ron will be too."

Hermione felt her heart jump as she looked over at a fatherly Mr. Weasley smiling at her.

Sensing Hermione's discomfort under a knowing stare from Mr. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore spoke up. "Now, Arthur, I wanted to tell you first before I told the staff and the students that he's returning."

"I understand, but Molly probably won't hand him over without feeding him a meal or two."

"I'm sure of it, can we say I'll expect to see him on Saturday."

"I'll schedule a Portkey for him on Friday afternoon. It will give Molly a chance to cook dinner and breakfast for him, then he can Apparate to you on Saturday."

"Excellent, we might even have a small celebration for him in his honor."

"He will be happy to hear it. Bye, Albus!"

"Bye, Arthur!"

Hermione jumped up from her chair as the idea instantly hit her. She made her way straight to in front of the Headmaster Dumbledore's desk and patiently waited for him to sit back down in his high chair before speaking.

"Headmaster, I would like to make a personal request. I would like to have permission to leave school grounds on Friday night."

"I see ... I think a special wavier can be arranged, so long as there is no more five kilometer runs off school grounds again."

"Yes sir, that I can promise," replied Hermione a little bit embarrassed under the Headmaster's perceptive stare.

"Good, also I would like to point out that locking up a certain Head Boy in a broom closet for the night-." Professor Dumbledore advised with a twinkle spark in his eyes and a small smile on his face.

Hermione wrenched in fear at being caught and immediately interrupted with an apology. "I was so busy that night trying to keep an eye on him and the rest of the school for the entire night-"

Headmaster Dumbledore held out his hand for her to stop before he spoke again. "No apologizes are necessary, Miss Granger. In fact, I found your solution to be quite brilliant."

"Thank you sir," said Hermione smiling.

"And Miss Granger, tell Molly, I said hello."