A/N- Thank you once again to my wonderful reviewers!! You guys make me so happy!! I believe it was amber and Dana (who I have already spoken withlol!!) who said I they thought the fic was moving a little slowlyI am sorry. Unless I get many, many, many more complaints I am not going to speed up, because there is so much I want to get into this fic, and I like to keep it as real as possiblesorry you guys, but I hope you keep reading!! My story id beginning to develop plot, and I am hoping it has some depth to it! I was planning out the sketchy plot for the rest, and this could turn into a rather long fic, but we will see what happens! On with the show!!

P.S.- I also use the expression "yanking her cord," meaning making her mad, some people would do kindly to get their minds out of the gutter when reading that line! Thank You! J

Chapter Five-

Ron got up to answer the door, looking at the clock. "Herm, that is probably the guy from the Ministry, you may wanna get dressed, he may want to ask you some questions about what happened."

"Oh, right, yeah I forgot about that! Where do you want me to put your clothes?"

"There is a clothes bin inside my bedroom door, they can go in there." Ron smiled a bit guiltily, "It's a bit full, so you may need to put it next to the bin instead."

"Eww, Ron, that's gross! You still live in a pigsty? How old are you?"

Ron chuckled, "I'm male, what do you expect? Men get married so that they can have picky people like you pick up after them."

"Excuse me, Ronald?!" Hermione was looking at Ron, hoping she was right when she assumed he was joking.

"Well, what else are you good for?" He smiled evilly and Hermione's suspicions were confirmed, Ron was yanking her cord on purpose.

"No wonder you live in a pigsty, Ron," Hermione figured she could at least get him back for those comments, even if he didn't mean them. "You are a chauvinistic, sexist pig!" Leaving Ron with that on his conscience, she left the room to change.

()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()

There was another knock on the door. Oops, Ron thought. He had been so busy flirting with Hermione, he had forgotten about the person at the door.

He walked aver and opened it, to find Dean Thomas standing on the other side. His eyes grew wide, he hadn't seen the man on the other side of the door foroh, God, how long had it been? Ron couldn't remember, but he knew it had been a long while.

"Dean!" he said shaking his hand like the old friend he was. "How are you? What have you been up to?" Ron led Dean into the living room as he answered.

"Oh, plenty! I marred Lavender a couple months after leaving Hogwarts then got a job at the ministry looking into potential Dark Arts cases. Which is why I was sent over today." Dean smiled, and opened his mouth to speak when another voice came through the house, calling to Ron.

"Who is it, Ron?" Hermione couldn't see the two of them in the other room, but she could hear the friendly way they were talking, and figured that they had probably know each other for a very long time. She walked, now fully dressed in another pair of jeans, and a green t-shirt with "Abacrombie and Fitch" written across the front.

"Dean, oh, it's so good to se you!" She ran over and gave her old friend a hug, then stepped back next to Ron. Dean had a quirky smile spread across his lips.

"Hey, Hermione! What have you been up to?"

"I am going to school in the States, right now, actually. I have come home for a weekend visit though." She didn't feel the need to tell Dean the rest of the complications this story held.

"And you are staying with Ron?" Hermione saw where this conversation was once again heading. Why do I always have this type of conversation with people, Hermione couldn't help pondering.

She felt it was better not to get too into the matter, and broaden the grin on Dean's face so she answered simply, "Yes, yes I am." Ron's mouth dropped open, but then closed quickly as he realized he didn't want Dean to think that this was news to him.

"Ah, I see." Dean then turned a bit more business like and said, "I hear you have some potential Dark Arts activity that needs to be looked into."

Ron led Dean into the kitchen with Hermione bringing up the rear. He went over and pulled open the freezer, revealing a bunch of popsicles, ice cream, a few loaves of frozen bread, and Hermione's shoe.

"Elemental," Ron stated handing the shoe over to an interested Dean. "We found the stuff over in Windsor, on Peascod Street. Earth, if I am correct, and there was a bin of blooming flowers next to the puddle."

"Blooming flowers are not so irregular." Dean commented rationally.

"They are if it is ten o'clock in the evening." Ron looked at Dean. I know Elementals only leave this behind when they do something they're not supposed to, but I am no expert, so I figured I'd ask one. What do you make of it?"

Dean studied the shoe carefully, placing a freezing charm on it with his wand. "You're right, Ron. Earth Element, but why? We will have to check the area it was found in, and the whole drill. Do you mind if we take the shoe?" Dean looked at Hermione, as it was obviously her shoe.

"I don't have any other shoes, Dean. If it is really necessary, then take it, but otherwise I would like to have it back." She looked at him apologetically.

"I understand completely Hermione." Dean rose walked over and asked Ron if he had any plastic bags. He pulled a Zip-Loc out of the kitchen drawer and handed it to him. Carefully, using his wand, Dean extracted all the goo off the shoe and handed it back to Hermione. "We will let you know as soon as we get any more information. Or, at least I will. The ministry doesn't keep up with the people we get evidence from unless they are directly involved or threatened by it, but I know that if it were me, I would want to know, so I'll be in touch."

Hermione and Ron showed him out of the apartment, and collapsed onto the couch. Hermione cuddled up against Ron, her head on his chest, and they sat there in deep silence for a while, thinking what anyone would accomplish killing a plant.

At around 1:30, Hermione finally broke the comfortable silence. "Ron, I have to go back to school tomorrow."

He looked at her as though she were very dense, "So?"

"So," Hermione began, "do you think I need to stay here, because of the stuff we found? I really need to go, I will be graduating in 3 months, and I need to start drawing up my study schedule for the finals!"

Ron let out an exasperated sigh. Hermione was no longer leaning against him, she was sitting up straight with a worried look on her face. "Herm, calm down. I will ask Dean if he needs you to stay, alright?"

Hermione was chewing nervously on her fingernails. "But, Ron, If the need me to stay, how am I going to do my school work, if I am here?"

Ron put a hand on each of Hermione's shoulders, and looked at her. "If you have to stay, we can probably get the ministry to send a letter to the college. Your professors can send all you homework, and schoolwork to you, where ver you end up staying."

Hermione smiled at this solution to her pressing problem. "Oh, good! That way I won't fall behind! Thanks, Ron!" She was so ecstatic, she threw her arms around him, a huge smile across her face, all the way to her ears.

Ron had to use extreme amounts of self-control, not to pull back and kiss her gently, like he really wanted to. He put his arms around her, the smell of Hermione swirling into his nose. "Only you, Hermione," Ron breathed, almost inaudibly, as she was still holding her. He had meant it only to himself since she was the only one who could just stand in a room with him, and make his head spin, never mind what happened to him when they were this close.

Hermione, however, heard that low whisper and pulled back, her large smile was gone, but she still had a twinkle in her eyes. "Only me what, Ron?"

"Only youwould be this happy about not missing your school work," was the lame excuse he came up with, for she said she still "needed more time."

Hermione puled away from him, and went back into her room to write a couple owls. As Ron watched her go, he hips swinging lazily and her bushy hair bouncing a little as she walked, he couldn't help thinking that it was going to be very hard, and exhausting, to keep his hands off her, if they ended up living together for a bit, no matter how short it may be.

A/N- sorry it took me so long to get this ridiculously short chapter out (but I wanted to get something out soon, and the next one should be longer), but I have had every single little thing that could happen to me to put off this chapter, happen! First I got a new computer, and then my old one died before I could get the files for this chapter transferred on to it. Then once it was up and running again, I had this huge project due for school, and was spending all my time on that! So I finally have been able to finish this chapter, and I swear that it will never take me this long to get out another chapter again, unless I warn you all before hand! ;-) Review if you like, and I will try to work a bit faster on the next chapter. Something I want to say about reviews thoughif you hate my story, tell me so. Reviews are the only way I can learn to improve! ;-)

One other thing to bother everyone with. I wrote another story called The Song of Reincarnation, but I have no reviews, and I don't know if anyone has read it at all. It may be because I suck at writing summaries, or it is just badI don't know, someone give me some feed back on it somehow! Thank Very Much!