A/N (so I wont get into trouble again)

Random fact- I have swings hanging from the ceiling in my living room!

Just a PSA. I am not very educated in childhood cancers, CF, or any other illnesses that I may touch on in this particular story, which is why I will not be going into (much) detail about these things. If I say something you know to be incorrect, or see anything (unintentionally) insensitive, please let me know so I can fix it, thanks :)

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A lot of work still had to be done, and everyday McGonagall had them all doing chores from sun-up til sun-down. She made it perfectly clear that everything had to be one hundred percent ready before the campers and their families arrived, and she really meant it. After every strenuous day, Hermione fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, and she hadn't even been reading before bed like she usually did. Although she was exhausted, and her muscles ached more than they ever had before, she had to admit that she was loving every minute of it.

Life at the camp was considerably better for Hermione now that Cormac was no longer there. In fact, she tried not to think of him at all, except maybe as a life lesson that she didn't want to repeat. With him gone, she felt like she was now truly part of the camp. She had made many friends, but she had stayed especially close to Ginny, Luna, and Harry. The four of them, along with Ron and Lavender, ate all of their meals together, and were with each other every spare moment that they had, which as much work was being done, wasn't often.

Hermione tried to push down her growing...attraction, or whatever it was that she felt for Ron Weasley, but it was getting harder by the day to do so. She was irritated and frustrated at herself, not to mention, she felt incredibly guilty every single time that she looked at Lavender. Lavender had never done anything wrong to her, and she certainly didn't deserve to have her cabin mate secretly lusting after her boyfriend.

Whatever fight that Ron and Lavender had had that day of the volleyball game, it was long over, and they were back to their usual lovey dovey selves as they had been before. Hermione purposely didn't look at them whenever they were all over each other, as it made her feel irrationally jealous. It wasn't just when they were snogging either. It was the way that he looked at Lavender, the way that he gently took her hand, or the way his voice was impossibly soft as he spoke to her. Hermione couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if he spoke to her like that, or if he touched her like that. The images of him doing so came into her head, as unwanted as they were, and every time they did, she would feel herself heating up from the inside.

Hermione hadn't talked to Ron one on one since the day of the shed incident, and honestly, she was glad not to have a reason to. Even while they hung out as a group, Hermione managed to avoid the happy couple for the most part. They were usually in their own little bubble anyway. She was sure that her little infatuation with Ron would run its course, and one day, she would laugh about how ridiculous that it had been.

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The bell rang bright and early on Monday morning, and when Hermione opened her eyes, she couldn't help but smile. Today was the day that the campers and their families would be arriving, and she couldn't wait. Yesterday, McGonagall had handed out their weekly schedules, and today Hermione was to be in charge of the arts and crafts table. She was glad that her first day with the campers would be easy, as her job would merely be handing out art supplies. She wasn't the only one that was excited, she and her bunkmates laughed and happily chatted as they all got dressed. Together, all six of them walked out of the cabin, and while the Patils went and joined some boys that they had met last week, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Lavender made their way towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

As they walked, Hermione spotted Ron in front of them making his way over, and she bit her lip in order to keep a straight face at the sight of him. He was wearing a white t-shirt that was a bit tight, and dark blue basketball shorts that clung low on his hips. When Lavender saw him, she sped up and ran right into his chest, Hermione's stomach clenching at the sight of his long arms squeezing his girlfriend tightly. They kissed gingerly for several long seconds before taking hands and then falling into step beside them all, Hermione determined not to look at them anymore. Harry joined them shortly afterwards, and together, they all made it inside the building and loaded their breakfast plates before sitting down at their usual table.

Hermione squeezed between Harry and Luna, turning to tell Harry good morning. She had really taken quite a liking to the black-haired green-eyed boy. He was humble and kind, and had been extremely nice and welcoming to her. They had talked quite a bit, and gotten to know each other a lot better. Harry's parents had died when he was just a baby, and he had been raised by his aunt and uncle, who apparently had been very awful to him. When he and Ron met at school as eleven year olds, they had quickly grown close. The Weasley family had taken him under their wing soon after that, and ever since then, Harry had considered the Weasleys his real family. Ginny had had a crush on him since the very first time that she had seen him, but he had always looked at her as a kid sister until just over a year ago. Hermione could tell that he was head over heels for Ginny now, and they were obviously very happy together, even if Ginny did not hide her irritation that it had taken him so long to notice her in that way.

They were all talking excitedly about the upcoming day, when Lavender let out a loud laugh, distracting Hermione from her conversation with Harry. When she looked up, she saw that Lavender had used her spoon to purposely smear grape jelly all over Ron's lips. He was laughing and mumbling something about getting revenge as he leaned over and reached for a napkin. Before he could reach it though, Lavender grabbed him by the sides of his face and took his lips between hers, successfully sucking the jelly off of them. Hermione was hit with an overwhelming urge to taste the jelly directly from Ron's lips, to do what Lavender had just done. When she realized what she was thinking, she quickly averted her eyes, as if doing so would hide her thoughts. What was wrong with her? This was getting beyond ridiculous, and she knew it.

"That is so gross," Ginny piped up. She had obviously watched the scene as well.

"Actually, it tasted pretty good," Hermione heard Ron say, and she could tell that he was smirking by the sound of his voice. "Chill out Gin, Lav just wanted to taste some jelly in the best possible way," he teased as Lavender giggled beside him.

She heard Ginny scoff. "I will do the same thing to Harry, and then you can tell me how you feel. How about that?"

Hermione looked up to see Ron making a disgusted face at his sister. "Yeah- no thanks."

"Well, now you understand how I feel, so cut it out!"

Ron looked at Lavender, who was still giggling. He nudged her with his elbow as he spoke to Ginny, his eyes still on his girlfriend. "Noted. Although, to be fair, I was innocent this time. It was all her!"

"Yeah," Lavender agreed with a small giggle. "It was me. But really Ginny, I can't help it! Your brother is irresistible!"

Ginny scoffed again at Lavender's words, while Hermione quickly spread jelly on her toast. She wanted to hurry up and finish so she could get to the arts and crafts table to set it up. She had also already reached the daily limit of being around Ron and Lavender.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, and she was snapped out of her thoughts to see Harry's eyes looking at her curiously.

"Yes?" she asked, giving him a tight smile.

"You're using grape jelly today," he stated, a question in his voice.

Hermione looked down, and saw, indeed, that she had been spreading grape jelly instead of her usual strawberry. "I just wanted to switch it up, I guess," she responded before taking a bite.

"I just remember you saying something a few days ago about how you didn't like grape jelly, so I was just curious," Harry said with a small smile.

"Hermione swallowed her bite nervously. "Well, I don't usually like it. I just decided to try it today, and it's- it's actually pretty good," she finished as she took another bite.

When she looked up, she found that Ron was looking at her strangely. When her eyes met his, he quickly looked down at his food before lifting his breakfast burrito and taking a large bite. Sometimes she would catch him looking at her, but she wasn't quite sure why. There was nothing suggestive in his look, nor was he looking at her as if he wanted her or anything like that. It was a look of curiosity, as if he couldn't quite figure her out. She didn't understand it at all, and honestly, she tried not to think too much into it as her thoughts were already too full of Ronald Weasley.

After breakfast, they headed to where they were supposed to be, as the families were due to start arriving within the hour, and would then start going around to their preferred activities. She was told that the crafts table had already been set up near the mini golf course, so she said her goodbyes before she headed there after a quick stop to the bathroom. When she got closer, she passed by the Patil twins, who were standing at the mini-golf entrance, chatting to each other. She let out a sigh of frustration when she saw that Ron was standing with Neville at the place where 'mini-golf lessons' were to be held. She apparently couldn't escape him. Oh well. At least she didn't see Lavender near. She set her sights and her mind on her job, pulling the supplies out of a plastic tub. and arranging the materials on the table so that everything was aligned perfectly.

Before she knew it, the families were arriving. Everyone seemed extremely happy to be there, especially the children, and she found that she was immensely enjoying herself. She noticed that a lot of them didn't have any hair, and some were wearing scarves on their heads. She knew that the majority of the campers had cancer, and it broke her heart to imagine what these kids were currently going through, but she was glad to be able to help make them just a bit happier while she was there. She enjoyed greeting the children as they started to come up to the table, and she let them pick out whatever they wanted. They had the option to draw, or create something on paper, or they could make bracelets or necklaces.

When there was nobody at her table, she watched Ron out of the corner of her eye. He and Neville had all of the kids lined up as they taught them how to properly swing the clubs. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the way Ron interacted with the children. He obviously loved kids, and it showed as he patiently taught them the right way to hold and swing the golf clubs. He bent down at eye level every time he instructed one of them, and although she couldn't hear what he was saying, she saw the smile on his face, and oftentimes, the kids would be laughing at whatever he was saying to them. Every time he bent over to pick up the discarded golf balls, she couldn't help but notice that he had a great shaped bum, especially in those shorts. She was interrupted by this thought, when a small girl showed up at the table and cleared her throat, making Hermione snap her head forwards and start to blush.

"Hello!" the girl said cheerily, and Hermione took a deep breath before giving her a big smile. She was a tiny thing, probably not yet five, and she had large glasses and long blonde hair in pigtails.

"Hello!" Hermione replied, "What's your name?"

"I'm Juliet!" she said happily, jumping up a bit as she pushed her glasses back when they slid forwards. "I'm Matty's sister. But he always wants to be with Ron, so my mum said that I can make a bracelet."

Juliet gestured to her left, and Hermione looked up to see a boy who looked to be around eight years old who was talking animatedly to Ron. Hermione could tell by the way that Ron interacted and ruffled the boy's hair, that he knew and cared for him. The boy had a nasal cannula and was dragging an oxygen tank behind him.

"So Matty knows Ron well then?" Hermione asked as she pulled out an assortment of different coloured strings.

"Yep!" the girl answered happily. "Ron is his hero. We were here last year too."

Hermione smiled at this before holding the strings out in her hands. "Which color string do you want for your bracelet?" she asked.

The girl eyed the strings intently, her face scrunched up in indecision. "Uhmm, blue."

Hermione went to grab the blue string, when the girl cried out. "No! I changed my mind! I want green!"

"Hermione went to grab the green, but the girl stopped her yet again. "No! I changed my mind again! I want purple!"

Hermione let out a laugh. "Are you sure this time?"

The girl nodded emphatically, and Hermione picked up a piece of the purple string and handed it to her along with a small jar full of different colored beads.

"Can I have two purple strings please?" she asked sweetly, and Hermione handed her another.

"Just remember to bring the jar back with any of the extra beads you don't use," Hermione told her as Juliet nodded happily, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she ran back to the table where both of her parents were sitting.

The weather was beautiful, and although it was hot, there was a constant breeze in the air cooling everyone off. She couldn't help but watch the way that the breeze picked up Ron's hair as it blew around in the wind. She saw that Ron couldn't care less though, as he was having too much fun with the kids to even seem to notice. She shook her head. Merlin, she needed to stop staring at him! He was driving her mental! She knew her feelings were ridiculous, as there was no way that they would be reciprocated, but she really couldn't help it. He was like a magnet, constantly drawing her eyes and thoughts to him, regardless of how much she fought it.

Just then, a very attractive boy with dark features who was around her age, or possibly a bit older, walked up to the table with what appeared to be his little sister. He smiled warmly at Hermione, and introduced himself as Jonathan, and the girl, who did happen to be his sister, as Cynthia. They chatted for a bit, and Hermione found that she quite liked him. He was into dog rescue back where he lived, and he took some time to tell Hermione about it as she was intrigued. She saw a few girls eyeing them, seemingly jealous, but she tried to ignore it. She didn't get the feeling that Jonathan was flirting with her, he really was just being friendly. Soon though, his sister got tired of standing there while they talked, and he told Hermione that it was nice to have met her as he was dragged off to a table.

Juliet then ran back to the table, her eyes bright as she handed Hermione a beaded bracelet while showing her an identical one that had already been tied on her wrist.

"I made you this bracelet! Now we are friends!" the girl squealed, and Hermione felt her heart melting.

"Thank you so much," she said as she tied it around her wrist. "I won't take it off."

The girl grinned widely before her mum dragged her off so that they could do more activities. Several hours passed, and then before she knew it, the dinner bell was ringing. Hermione packed away all of the craft supplies back into the plastic tub before placing it under the table and walking away. When she made it to the usual spot in the Great Hall, she saw Juliet's older brother Matty sitting down next to Ron, and the pair were the only ones there so far. Hermione knew that the campers and their families ate their meals in a separate building, so she was curious as to why the boy was even there as she sat down across from them and told them both hello.

The boy looked at her and smiled. "Hi! I'm Matty, but Ron calls me shadow!"

Hermione laughed. He apparently was just as friendly as his sister. "Nice to meet you Matty, I'm Hermione. Why does Weasley call you shadow?" she asked, glancing at Ron.

"Because he follows me around like a shadow," Ron laughed. "Met him last year and-" he changed his voice to a loud whisper as he leaned a bit forward. "Don't tell any of the other kids, but shadow here is my favourite," he told her before giving Matty's hair a light ruffle as the boy beamed up at him.

Just then, Ginny and Harry sat down at the table, closely followed by Luna.

"Hey shadow!" Harry said happily as he high fived the boy right before Ginny did as well. "How've you been?"

"I've been good I guess. I'm really happy to be here. I've been waiting for what seemed like forever for camp to start."

"We're really happy you're here too kid," Ron said earnestly, giving him a one-armed side hug.

"Where's Brown?" Harry asked Ron as he took a bite of his food.

Ron looked uncomfortable. "She- she's uh..."

Ginny furrowed her brow at her brother. "Come on, spit it out Ron. What's going on with Lavender?" she asked as she took a bite out of her string cheese.

Ron leaned in towards her. "For fuc- for goodness sakes Gin," he hissed. "She's in the cabin laying down. She's got cramps okay?" He took a sip of his drink. "Not that it's not any of your business what she's doing," he added in an irritated tone.

"Why does Lavender have cramps?" Matty asked, looking at Ron, confused.

Ron gave Ginny a look that clearly said 'see what you did?' before turning to the boy. "Well, shadow, sometimes girls have cramps, uh- in their tummy. She'll be fine though, don't worry," he added when the boy looked overly concerned by this news.

The boy shrugged before starting to talk a million miles an hour. He explained to Hermione and Luna that he had cystic fibrosis. He told them that his case was one of the worst cases his doctors had ever seen, and that he was on the waitlist for a lung transplant. His family and his doctors were optimistic that he would be getting the transplant soon, and Mattie didn't seem worried about it in the slightest, as if he were confident that it would be happening soon as well. Then he went on and started talking about how camp had gone last year, and how much he had loved it.

"He won the dance competition last year," Ron bragged to them. "The boy knows how to groove."

Matty looked pleased, but Hermione could tell that he was a bit embarrassed as well. "Yeah, but sometimes when I'm dancing, I get paranoid that people think I'm a bad dancer."

Ron scoffed. "Listen mate, you won the bloody trophy. You are not a bad dancer."

Matty beamed at this, and then the rest of the dinner held light and happy conversations around past camp events, and events that they were all looking forward to.

After dinner, everyone was headed back to their cabins when Hermione heard her name being frantically called out. She turned around to see Juliet running towards her, the little girl's face anguished, tears running down her cheeks. Hermione immediately bent down, and the girl threw herself into her arms and started crying into her shoulder.

"Hey," she asked, stroking the shaking girl's hair. "What's wrong?"

"My bracelet!" the girl cried, breaking out into another round of sobs, "I lost my bracelet!"

Before she could respond, Juliet's mum appeared, out of breath as if she had been chasing her daughter. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "She thinks she left her bracelet in one of the canoes, and I told her we could look for it tomorrow but-"

"I want it now though," Juliet cried, lifting her head to talk to her mother. "What if a turtle eats it?"

"Turtles don't eat bracelets sweetie. You know that we have to head back to our cabin now to give Matty his medicine. We can find your bracelet tomorrow."

The girl turned to Hermione with a pleading look.

"I can go get it," she said quickly. "I'll go get it now, and I will give it to you first thing tomorrow, okay?"

The girl nodded as she stepped away from Hermione and took her mum's hand. "Thank you so much Hermione," said the woman, her face relieved.

"It's no problem," Hermione said honestly. "Really."

They bid each other goodnight, and went their separate ways. It was now dark, so Hermione went to her cabin first to grab a flashlight before heading out to the boathouse. When she made the long walk to the other side of the lake and went inside the wooden building, she shone her light onto the aluminum canoes. They had already been stacked up on top of each other, and there were two stacks of five. Luckily, there was enough room for her to shine her flashlight into them one by one, and she started from the bottom up, looking for Juliet's bracelet.

She couldn't see into the top two, so she carefully climbed them, and let out a breath of relief when she spotted the bracelet in the very top one. She leaned over to grab it, and just when she grasped the bracelet in her hand, she felt the canoe that was under her foot moving, causing her to fall backwards. She held tight to the canoe on top, but it was no use, and she fell, landing with a thud on the wood. She let out a scream of pain as the top two canoes came down on top of her left leg, effectively pinning her to the floor. She could feel that her ankle was twisted at an awkward angle and she felt tears stinging her eyes when she tried to move her leg out from under the canoes, but was unable to. Using her hands, she tried to lift them off of her, but they were both about sixty pounds, and even if she had been strong enough to lift them, she couldn't do it from the angle that she was at. It was getting pretty late by now, and all was completely silent. All of the cabins were on the other side of the lake, and she knew that the chances of anyone finding her before morning were slim.

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Yes, sorry. Cliffhanger. But I am pretty close to finishing the next chapter, so keep an eye out!