These characters do not belong to me. They are the creations of JK Rowling. The song "Never Had a Dream
Come True" is by S Club 7.
A/N: Okay, just a little pre-fic ramble. For all those who were worried about the similarities between the first
chapter of this story and *Manu*'s story "When Words Aren't Enough", it freaked us out too. I swear I have never
read that story before at all... so, yeah, be afraid. Be very afraid. We've come to the conclusion that we might
actually be the same person. For anyone who doesn't know what I'm on about, read that fic. It's much better
written than mine, anyway. So yeah, now that we all know that I am NOT involved in plagiarism, on with the
story!
~~~Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby~~~
Hermione sat by the lake lazily. It was mid-July, the last day of school. The last day of school ever, thought
Hermione. It was odd, but true. Harry, Hermione and Ron had finished their seventh year. They were going out
into the world as fully qualified wizards, and even Hermione was nervous. After all, Harry and Hermione had been
at school since they were four or five, almost for as long as they could remember. Ron had never bothered going
to a Muggle school, but it was still strange to suddenly be told: you're an adult now, you don't belong here
anymore.
Hermione sighed. Ron had it the hardest. He was going to work for Gringotts over in Salem, Massachusetts.
Hermione couldn't bear the thought of one of her best friends living so far away. After all the things they had been
through together. Saving Harry's life on multiple occasions, living through Snape's potions classes, outdoing
Malfoy, and finally, only a few months ago, defeating Voldemort... It was amazing how many places their
friendships had taken them. And to think, thought Hermione, that ten years ago I didn't even know this place
existed... come to that, neither did Harry.
Life had been hard for Harry, Hermione reflected. Imagine not knowing your real history until you were eleven! It
would be terrible for almost anyone, but Harry bore the terrors of his life so well that his friends barely ever
remembered what had happened to him. He was just... a normal boy. But now Harry was going to be doing what
he'd really wanted; he would soon be playing Quidditch for the Appleby Arrows, and for England. And after that,
the real Mad-Eye Moody had hinted at a job as an Auror...
Hermione sighed again. Her two best friends were going to be doing jobs that were either dangerous or a long way
away. And as for Hermione... she was going into the Department of Mysteries. She had been told it was dangerous
and difficult, but Hermione had replied that life around Harry Potter had prepared her for the job in every way
possible. She had no idea what she would be put through, and she knew that she would never be able to speak
about her work to another living soul. Hermione corrected herself. She wasn't allowed to tell any type of soul,
living or dead. After all, Moaning Myrtle wasn't all that trustworthy, was she?
***
Ron and Harry were upstairs packing the last of their things. They were packing much slower than usual, perhaps
because they wanted to stay as long as possible, or perhaps because they didn't really want to have to be adults yet,
or perhaps, on Ron's part anyway, because there was always the possibility that Hermione was crying downstairs.
"That's the last of it, I think," said Ron reluctantly. "Insane, isn't it, but I really don't want to leave."
"What, because of our 'happy memories'?" Harry asked sarcastically. Ron threw a pillow at him.
"No, you git. Just because... it's just like... I don't know, leaving a part of ourselves behind."
Harry knew what Ron meant, despite his cliched way of saying it. Hogwarts was a part of all of them, whether
they liked it or not. What amazed Harry was the fact that thousands of other wizards and witches had lived
through this day before them. It was nothing new. But to Harry it felt almost as new as his very first day of
knowing that he was a wizard. Just as exhilarating, just as frightening.
"Ron..." said Harry slowly. "I need to ask you about something, you know, before we leave."
"What?"
"Well..." Harry smiled. "What about Hermione?"
Ron looked blank. "What do you mean 'what about Hermione'?"
"Umm, well you know..." Harry said awkwardly. "In fourth and fifth year... you two got a bit... closer... and then
you just went back to normal again. Well, nearly normal." Harry recalled the way Ron got very annoyed whenever
Hermione had a date with anyone. "So, umm, what was that all about?"
Ron shrugged. "We fancied each other a bit, I suppose. We were fifteen, Harry. Give us a break."
But Harry persisted. "So don't you even -" He broke off. He realized that he wouldn't get anything else out of Ron,
and perhaps it was time to give in before their last day at Hogwarts became clouded with misunderstanding.
"Yeah, okay," he said at last, and smiled at his friend. Then he looked at his watch. "I need to go and talk to
Dumbledore. He said he had something he wanted to say. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," said Ron quietly, watching Harry walk through the door. "I think I'll go and see what Hermione's up
to..."
~~~I never found the words to say
You're the one I think about each day~~~
Hermione was still sitting on the grass, staring out at the lake, when Ron sat down beside her. She jumped.
"Oh, Ron, it's you," she laughed. "You startled me."
"Sorry," said Ron. "Didn't want to disturb you."
There was a pause as they both stared over the lake.
"Odd, isn't it," said Hermione dreamily.
"What is?"
"Leaving all this. It's... going to be difficult adjusting again." She turned to him. "Especially for you. Out in
America."
"Yeah," said Ron vaguely. He didn't know quite how to answer this. He looked at Hermione more closely. "You
haven't been crying, have you?" he asked warily.
"No," said Hermione, turning away. "Why would I cry?"
"Because, like you said, it's difficult to leave this all behind us. I don't know."
"Ron," said Hermione in a patronizing sort of voice, "since when did I ever cry about things like that?"
"Never, I guess." Ron shifted position. "You might have cried because you were going to miss Harry. Or me." The
last two words were said in a different and strangely un-Ronlike tone, but Hermione pretended not to notice.
"Of course I'll miss you. But there are always owls. And Christmas holidays."
"There you go, being practical again," said Ron in mock annoyance. "It really is one of your worse features."
"Well, excuse me!" Hermione laughed. "At least I can keep my head in a crisis!"
"What, you mean like thinking you can't light a fire without wood?"
They both laughed over the old memory. For a long while they just sat there, staring at the lake and the Forbidden
Forest, until Hermione said, "Do you think you'll enjoy Gringotts?"
"Hope so," said Ron. "And no need to ask if Harry is going to enjoy his profession, eh?" He smiled. Harry as a
world-famous Quidditch player was an image he hadn't quite got used to yet. "What about you?"
"Well, it's not so much about enjoying being an Unspeakable, is it?" Hermione replied. "But it will certainly be...
satisfying. I think I'm very well suited to the job."
"I still don't really like the idea of you doing such a dangerous thing with your life, Hermione," said Ron.
"Especially when you have a choice about it. You could quite easily do something else."
"Just because I've got a choice doesn't mean I have to take the easy road, Ron," said Hermione hotly. "After all,
you could have walked out on Harry hundreds of times, but you didn't. You stayed and did the dangerous thing.
And it made you a better person."
"But... well..." said Ron, trying to put his feelings into words. "That was when You-Know-Who was still around,
and..."
"It's no different now, Ron," said Hermione, sounding very much like Hermione again. "There are still Death
Eaters at large. Wouldn't you help to capture Malfoy's father if you could? And it's not just things like that,
anyway. I'll be getting all sorts of missions, not just things to do with Death Eaters."
Ron muttered something under his breath.
"What was that?" Hermione demanded.
"I said, they shouldn't let girls do jobs like that."
"I resent that!"
"Tough," said Ron, and Hermione knew the subject was closed. When Ron used that tone of voice, he had
something on his mind.
"Ron? Is something the matter?" she asked quietly.
"Not really," he said, not looking at her. "Well, yeah, sort of. Harry just said something earlier that made me
think."
"Really?" said Hermione in a tone of mock astonishment.
"No, seriously," said Ron. "He asked me about... you and me... in fifth year." He paused. "He asked why we
stopped... you know, blushing every time the other one spoke."
Hermione considered this and then said, "Well, it was just a weird idea we both had. That we were in love, or
something. I don't know. We were just kids."
"I know, that's what I said, and then Harry dropped the subject," said Ron quickly. "But then I thought... what if it
wasn't?"
"What if it wasn't what?"
"What if it wasn't just a weird idea we both had?" He looked at her. "What if it was real?"
"I don't know quite what you mean, Ron," said Hermione nervously. Ron was looking at her in a very odd way, as
if he was trying to see through her eyes into her soul. It was as if he was reading her thoughts.
"What I mean is, what if we had got together then and there?"
"It never would have worked out. We would have fought too much," said Hermione. Ron was still looking at her
in that odd way...
"Yes. That's what we told ourselves, wasn't it?" said Ron in a very low voice. "But what if we were wrong? What
if it would have worked? What if it would have been the one way to make ourselves happy?"
"Ron," said Hermione desperately, getting to her feet. "This is ridiculous. We can't spend our whole lives
wondering what might have been! The world doesn't work like that! And tomorrow you're going to Salem, and I'll
never see you again!"
"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Ron asked, baffled, as he stood up. "Of course you'll see me again!"
"But it won't be the same, will it?" Hermione cried, a tear coursing down her cheek. "Will it?"
Ron just looked at her for a long moment, as teardrop after teardrop ran down her face. "But I don't have to go."
Hermione was so shocked that she stopped crying. "What? Of course you do! You have a job to go to - a whole
new life to start!"
"But what if it was like what you were saying earlier? I have a choice here, who says I have to take the easy one?
Who says I have to go to America?"
"Ron, what are you talking about?" Hermione said, believing her friend had gone completely mad.
Ron just looked at Hermione, her eyes filled with tears, her whole face asking him to tell her. But he just couldn't
find the words.
So he kissed her.
For a fraction of a second, Hermione felt an electric current run through her body, but she jumped backwards.
"Ron, what are you doing?" she shouted. "What are you doing to me?" And she ran, crying, all the way up to the
castle.
Ron just stood there and watched her go. He had no idea what he'd just done, but he had a horrible feeling he'd
never be able to face Hermione again.
But he also knew, with amazing certainty, that just as he could never completely leave Hogwarts behind, he could
never leave Hermione.
***
When Harry woke in the morning, he saw that Ron's things had gone. In a panic, he pulled aside the hangings
around his friend's bed.
Ron was gone, and all that was left was a note in his hurried handwriting.
"Had to leave early. Sorry. I'll send you an owl as soon as I get to Salem. My love to Hermione."
~~~And no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you~~~
A/N: Before anyone asks, yes, there will be another chapter. Or two. Not sure yet. Anyway, thanks to
everyone who reviewed the first chapter (especially those who put this story on their favorites list!).
And a very VERY big thank you to *Manu* for being so lovely and not accusing me of stealing ideas.
Long live R/H, everybody, now R/R! Well, actually, you've already read... so you're half done! Please
review, I like people's opinions, even if they hate my writing.
Come True" is by S Club 7.
A/N: Okay, just a little pre-fic ramble. For all those who were worried about the similarities between the first
chapter of this story and *Manu*'s story "When Words Aren't Enough", it freaked us out too. I swear I have never
read that story before at all... so, yeah, be afraid. Be very afraid. We've come to the conclusion that we might
actually be the same person. For anyone who doesn't know what I'm on about, read that fic. It's much better
written than mine, anyway. So yeah, now that we all know that I am NOT involved in plagiarism, on with the
story!
~~~Even though I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby~~~
Hermione sat by the lake lazily. It was mid-July, the last day of school. The last day of school ever, thought
Hermione. It was odd, but true. Harry, Hermione and Ron had finished their seventh year. They were going out
into the world as fully qualified wizards, and even Hermione was nervous. After all, Harry and Hermione had been
at school since they were four or five, almost for as long as they could remember. Ron had never bothered going
to a Muggle school, but it was still strange to suddenly be told: you're an adult now, you don't belong here
anymore.
Hermione sighed. Ron had it the hardest. He was going to work for Gringotts over in Salem, Massachusetts.
Hermione couldn't bear the thought of one of her best friends living so far away. After all the things they had been
through together. Saving Harry's life on multiple occasions, living through Snape's potions classes, outdoing
Malfoy, and finally, only a few months ago, defeating Voldemort... It was amazing how many places their
friendships had taken them. And to think, thought Hermione, that ten years ago I didn't even know this place
existed... come to that, neither did Harry.
Life had been hard for Harry, Hermione reflected. Imagine not knowing your real history until you were eleven! It
would be terrible for almost anyone, but Harry bore the terrors of his life so well that his friends barely ever
remembered what had happened to him. He was just... a normal boy. But now Harry was going to be doing what
he'd really wanted; he would soon be playing Quidditch for the Appleby Arrows, and for England. And after that,
the real Mad-Eye Moody had hinted at a job as an Auror...
Hermione sighed again. Her two best friends were going to be doing jobs that were either dangerous or a long way
away. And as for Hermione... she was going into the Department of Mysteries. She had been told it was dangerous
and difficult, but Hermione had replied that life around Harry Potter had prepared her for the job in every way
possible. She had no idea what she would be put through, and she knew that she would never be able to speak
about her work to another living soul. Hermione corrected herself. She wasn't allowed to tell any type of soul,
living or dead. After all, Moaning Myrtle wasn't all that trustworthy, was she?
***
Ron and Harry were upstairs packing the last of their things. They were packing much slower than usual, perhaps
because they wanted to stay as long as possible, or perhaps because they didn't really want to have to be adults yet,
or perhaps, on Ron's part anyway, because there was always the possibility that Hermione was crying downstairs.
"That's the last of it, I think," said Ron reluctantly. "Insane, isn't it, but I really don't want to leave."
"What, because of our 'happy memories'?" Harry asked sarcastically. Ron threw a pillow at him.
"No, you git. Just because... it's just like... I don't know, leaving a part of ourselves behind."
Harry knew what Ron meant, despite his cliched way of saying it. Hogwarts was a part of all of them, whether
they liked it or not. What amazed Harry was the fact that thousands of other wizards and witches had lived
through this day before them. It was nothing new. But to Harry it felt almost as new as his very first day of
knowing that he was a wizard. Just as exhilarating, just as frightening.
"Ron..." said Harry slowly. "I need to ask you about something, you know, before we leave."
"What?"
"Well..." Harry smiled. "What about Hermione?"
Ron looked blank. "What do you mean 'what about Hermione'?"
"Umm, well you know..." Harry said awkwardly. "In fourth and fifth year... you two got a bit... closer... and then
you just went back to normal again. Well, nearly normal." Harry recalled the way Ron got very annoyed whenever
Hermione had a date with anyone. "So, umm, what was that all about?"
Ron shrugged. "We fancied each other a bit, I suppose. We were fifteen, Harry. Give us a break."
But Harry persisted. "So don't you even -" He broke off. He realized that he wouldn't get anything else out of Ron,
and perhaps it was time to give in before their last day at Hogwarts became clouded with misunderstanding.
"Yeah, okay," he said at last, and smiled at his friend. Then he looked at his watch. "I need to go and talk to
Dumbledore. He said he had something he wanted to say. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," said Ron quietly, watching Harry walk through the door. "I think I'll go and see what Hermione's up
to..."
~~~I never found the words to say
You're the one I think about each day~~~
Hermione was still sitting on the grass, staring out at the lake, when Ron sat down beside her. She jumped.
"Oh, Ron, it's you," she laughed. "You startled me."
"Sorry," said Ron. "Didn't want to disturb you."
There was a pause as they both stared over the lake.
"Odd, isn't it," said Hermione dreamily.
"What is?"
"Leaving all this. It's... going to be difficult adjusting again." She turned to him. "Especially for you. Out in
America."
"Yeah," said Ron vaguely. He didn't know quite how to answer this. He looked at Hermione more closely. "You
haven't been crying, have you?" he asked warily.
"No," said Hermione, turning away. "Why would I cry?"
"Because, like you said, it's difficult to leave this all behind us. I don't know."
"Ron," said Hermione in a patronizing sort of voice, "since when did I ever cry about things like that?"
"Never, I guess." Ron shifted position. "You might have cried because you were going to miss Harry. Or me." The
last two words were said in a different and strangely un-Ronlike tone, but Hermione pretended not to notice.
"Of course I'll miss you. But there are always owls. And Christmas holidays."
"There you go, being practical again," said Ron in mock annoyance. "It really is one of your worse features."
"Well, excuse me!" Hermione laughed. "At least I can keep my head in a crisis!"
"What, you mean like thinking you can't light a fire without wood?"
They both laughed over the old memory. For a long while they just sat there, staring at the lake and the Forbidden
Forest, until Hermione said, "Do you think you'll enjoy Gringotts?"
"Hope so," said Ron. "And no need to ask if Harry is going to enjoy his profession, eh?" He smiled. Harry as a
world-famous Quidditch player was an image he hadn't quite got used to yet. "What about you?"
"Well, it's not so much about enjoying being an Unspeakable, is it?" Hermione replied. "But it will certainly be...
satisfying. I think I'm very well suited to the job."
"I still don't really like the idea of you doing such a dangerous thing with your life, Hermione," said Ron.
"Especially when you have a choice about it. You could quite easily do something else."
"Just because I've got a choice doesn't mean I have to take the easy road, Ron," said Hermione hotly. "After all,
you could have walked out on Harry hundreds of times, but you didn't. You stayed and did the dangerous thing.
And it made you a better person."
"But... well..." said Ron, trying to put his feelings into words. "That was when You-Know-Who was still around,
and..."
"It's no different now, Ron," said Hermione, sounding very much like Hermione again. "There are still Death
Eaters at large. Wouldn't you help to capture Malfoy's father if you could? And it's not just things like that,
anyway. I'll be getting all sorts of missions, not just things to do with Death Eaters."
Ron muttered something under his breath.
"What was that?" Hermione demanded.
"I said, they shouldn't let girls do jobs like that."
"I resent that!"
"Tough," said Ron, and Hermione knew the subject was closed. When Ron used that tone of voice, he had
something on his mind.
"Ron? Is something the matter?" she asked quietly.
"Not really," he said, not looking at her. "Well, yeah, sort of. Harry just said something earlier that made me
think."
"Really?" said Hermione in a tone of mock astonishment.
"No, seriously," said Ron. "He asked me about... you and me... in fifth year." He paused. "He asked why we
stopped... you know, blushing every time the other one spoke."
Hermione considered this and then said, "Well, it was just a weird idea we both had. That we were in love, or
something. I don't know. We were just kids."
"I know, that's what I said, and then Harry dropped the subject," said Ron quickly. "But then I thought... what if it
wasn't?"
"What if it wasn't what?"
"What if it wasn't just a weird idea we both had?" He looked at her. "What if it was real?"
"I don't know quite what you mean, Ron," said Hermione nervously. Ron was looking at her in a very odd way, as
if he was trying to see through her eyes into her soul. It was as if he was reading her thoughts.
"What I mean is, what if we had got together then and there?"
"It never would have worked out. We would have fought too much," said Hermione. Ron was still looking at her
in that odd way...
"Yes. That's what we told ourselves, wasn't it?" said Ron in a very low voice. "But what if we were wrong? What
if it would have worked? What if it would have been the one way to make ourselves happy?"
"Ron," said Hermione desperately, getting to her feet. "This is ridiculous. We can't spend our whole lives
wondering what might have been! The world doesn't work like that! And tomorrow you're going to Salem, and I'll
never see you again!"
"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Ron asked, baffled, as he stood up. "Of course you'll see me again!"
"But it won't be the same, will it?" Hermione cried, a tear coursing down her cheek. "Will it?"
Ron just looked at her for a long moment, as teardrop after teardrop ran down her face. "But I don't have to go."
Hermione was so shocked that she stopped crying. "What? Of course you do! You have a job to go to - a whole
new life to start!"
"But what if it was like what you were saying earlier? I have a choice here, who says I have to take the easy one?
Who says I have to go to America?"
"Ron, what are you talking about?" Hermione said, believing her friend had gone completely mad.
Ron just looked at Hermione, her eyes filled with tears, her whole face asking him to tell her. But he just couldn't
find the words.
So he kissed her.
For a fraction of a second, Hermione felt an electric current run through her body, but she jumped backwards.
"Ron, what are you doing?" she shouted. "What are you doing to me?" And she ran, crying, all the way up to the
castle.
Ron just stood there and watched her go. He had no idea what he'd just done, but he had a horrible feeling he'd
never be able to face Hermione again.
But he also knew, with amazing certainty, that just as he could never completely leave Hogwarts behind, he could
never leave Hermione.
***
When Harry woke in the morning, he saw that Ron's things had gone. In a panic, he pulled aside the hangings
around his friend's bed.
Ron was gone, and all that was left was a note in his hurried handwriting.
"Had to leave early. Sorry. I'll send you an owl as soon as I get to Salem. My love to Hermione."
~~~And no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you~~~
A/N: Before anyone asks, yes, there will be another chapter. Or two. Not sure yet. Anyway, thanks to
everyone who reviewed the first chapter (especially those who put this story on their favorites list!).
And a very VERY big thank you to *Manu* for being so lovely and not accusing me of stealing ideas.
Long live R/H, everybody, now R/R! Well, actually, you've already read... so you're half done! Please
review, I like people's opinions, even if they hate my writing.