Disclaimer: I obviously don't own it.

A/N: Sorry for the longer-than-usual delay, but I've been sick and completely unable to sit in front of the computer for any extended period of time. Happily, that seems to finally be going away, so you get a new chapter. I hope it doesn't reflect my weakened state of mind. ;)

By the time Hermione got back downstairs, Harry was waiting for her in the living room, and Ron was nowhere to be seen. She looked at Harry quizzically, and he patted the couch beside him, encouraging her to sit.

After a moment of silence as each tried to figure out the best way to break the news to the other, they both said at the same time, "I want to stay."

They turned to one another, surprise written plainly on each of their faces – surprise that turned quickly to concern. They glanced back down at the couch, and Hermione was the first to speak.

"How – how was Ron?" she asked, and Harry winced. He still hadn't figured out how much to tell Hermione and how much to let her figure out on her own. He settled on shaking his head meaningfully and hoping she'd understand. Her answering cringe showed that she did. He cleared his throat.

"How was Ginny?" he asked, and Hermione sighed.

"I think she needs a lot more help than she's been getting," she said slowly, and Harry felt himself stiffen with indignation.

"I've tried to," he started to say, but Hermione looked up, and he stopped speaking when he saw the look in her eyes.

"I know you have," she said softly, "and I'm not saying any of how she's feeling is your fault. I just know that she feels very alone and like everyone else is relying on her. And I can't say I blame her," she added. "They can't help it, of course, but her brothers definitely are. I'm not sure about you," she hastened to say, thinking she'd offended him. But Harry wasn't angry.

"It's just…," he started, and as Hermione looked at him questioningly, he found that he had to look away. He cleared his throat. "It's just hard," he said. "I want to be there for her, of course, but whenever I try, she pushes me away. But then whenever I'm – upset," he said, flushing and avoiding Hermione's eyes, "she's there. I can't avoid her. I don't understand how she's so good at avoiding me."

He turned away from her, and Hermione sighed and pushed her hand through her bushy hair. She wanted to reach out to Harry, to squeeze his shoulder, to tell him she knew how he felt, but she knew better than to do any of that right then, as much as she wanted to, because she knew how much this was upsetting him. As good as he might have been at avoiding his emotions with most people, she wasn't one of them, and she honestly thought that any more charged conversations in one night would make her head explode. Instead, she looked straight ahead as she spoke.

"I don't think you've pushed her enough," she said distinctly. Harry turned to look at her in surprise, almost against his will. His eyes were suspiciously bright, but Hermione chose to ignore this.

"Listen," she said. "You know Ginny, and you know how hard it is for her to open up. But she loves you and she trusts you. You just… you can't let it go. You have to make her talk."

Harry looked at her for a long moment and then was forced to look away. "But I don't know how," he choked. His voice was strained, but he forced himself to continue. "Look, you know I love her too. And you know I trust her. So I open up to her. But I can't force her to do the same, can I? And Hermione, she won't. And what … what does that say about how she feels about me? I know you said she loves me and trusts me, but it doesn't feel that way when she won't talk to me."

Hermione stared at the back of his head, stunned into silence. These were the last words she'd expected to hear, and Harry was the last person she'd ever expected to have relationship problems, but here they were, and now she had no choice. Slowly, she reached out and put her hand on her best friend's shoulder. It was trembling, and he didn't turn around, but he reached up to cover her hand with his own.

He couldn't believe himself. He couldn't believe how upset he was getting about this when there were so many more things to be upset about, but he couldn't seem to stop the tears. Hermione wasn't saying anything, but he could only imagine the look on her face even though he couldn't bring himself to look at her. He swallowed hard and sniffled.

"Sorry," he grunted, and he felt her squeeze his shoulder for an answer. He wiped his eyes quickly, and then he forced himself to turn back although he dreaded having her see his face. The look of sympathy she was giving him was overwhelming, and he had to swallow the fresh wave of tears it almost provoked. Mercifully, she spoke, so he wouldn't have to.

"She does love you," Hermione said softly. He stared at her blankly, and she nodded. "I know she does. You know it too. I think – I think she just might be scared to let herself show it. Harry, you've lost people before. You know that caring about someone new is a risk, but you also know that it's a risk you have to take if you want to go on with your life. Ginny's never really lost anyone before, and even though I think she knows this intellectually, emotionally, she's not there yet. You did leave her once – even though you both know it was out of love. You're just going to have to keep showing her that you're not going anywhere ever again. She might just need a little more time to really know that this time, you're here for good."

Harry thought about this for a moment. He shook his head and sighed.

"You do know that you're always right, don't you?" he asked. His voice still didn't sound entirely normal, but he was glad that he could use it again, and Hermione smiled. She was glad too.

"Well," she said, a hint of her old know-it-all coming back, "I have heard that once or twice before."

They both laughed, Harry's a weak imitation of his own, but it was enough to restore the conversation to some sense of normalcy.

"Are you going to go up and talk to her now?" Hermione asked, and he nodded, a hint of resolve appearing in his eyes.

"I am," he said. "And – and you should go see Ron," he added.

She looked at him and saw everything he was afraid to tell her in his eyes, and she sighed.

"I will," she said. As they made their way up the stairs, she turned to him and said, "I hope you realize that you and I are essentially dating the same person."

Harry stared at her for a minute before he understood what she was saying, and this time his laugh sounded a lot more like his own.

"You're right," he said. "Scary, isn't it?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as she turned off at Ron's bedroom. "More like terrifying."

She was about to raise her hand to knock when she felt Harry's hand on her shoulder.

"Wait," he said, and he surprised her by pulling her into a hug. "Thanks," he murmured into her hair. "I don't – I don't know what any of us would do without you."

Hermione hugged him harder, a lump in her throat. "Thanks," she whispered, and then she shoved him away. "Go to Ginny."

He smiled sheepishly at her and continued on up the stairs. She looked after him for a moment before quickly drying her eyes and turning back to Ron's door. Her life might have been easier if she'd found girls to be friends with, she thought, but these boys– they were her family.

A/N (Part 2): It only seems fair to have one more chapter to wrap up these couples and then get on to the next day and get back to George and everyone else.