The next morning, Hermione woke up with the sun in her face and her owl hooting on the windowsill. Crookshanks (now a very old cat) was curled up in her arms, purring softly.
Crookshanks had always had something to him that Hermione could never explain. There was something to him, that only she seemed to see. They had a bond, almost.
Let's just look at this. We all know that Crookshanks loves to chase garden gnomes. Well, it was 10 o'clock now; usually he would have been out by seven. But when Hermione came in last night, all depressed, Crookshanks curled into her arms and stayed there, even when he could have been doing fun things.
" You're a great cat," whispered Hermione.
" Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr," was all he said.
Hermione climbed out of bed and dressed in a blue skirt and a tight, blue, ribbed sweater. She kept her hair down and put on mascara and some lip balm. Then she headed downstairs toward the delicious smell.
Sure enough, Mrs. Weasley was cooking breakfast. Waffles, hashbrowns, and fresh fruit were on the table. Sausages were in the pan. Hermione took a seat and couldn't help but chuckle at the people around her. She was sitting next to Harry, and together they were two dots of brown and black, lost in a sea of red. Every Weasley seemed to be there. Ginny, on Harry's other side was being pestered by the Fred and George that we love so much.
" So Ginny, get much sleep last night?" asked Fred, wiggling his eyebrows.
" What!?" asked she, very shocked indeed.
" Gin, I think it might be time for us to have a chat about the birds and the bees," added George.
" You guys! Please! Don't!" Gin begged.
Bill and Charlie were talking to their dad about some dragon that Charlie had caught in Romania.
" I swear Dad, it was HUGE! It took 30 of us to catch it! I've never seen a Norwegian Ridgeback go that nuts! And all because Hagrid showed up. Sheesh!"
Mrs. Weasley was talking to Percy and Bill's wife about... Something; Hermione couldn't really tell what. There were also some of Bill and Percy's kids sitting there, all with red hair except for one, who had brown, curly hair. They seemed to be all accounted for. Everyone except for Ron, that is.
" Where's Ron?" Hermione asked Harry.
" He's still upstairs. I don't think he had a very good sleep," he whispered back.
Speaking of the devil, at that moment Ron apparated downstairs, fully dressed, with bags in hand.
" Sorry mum, everyone, but there's been an attack and I need to leave... Two minutes ago." Ron said, very fast. He grabbed a waffle, stuffed it in his mouth, and downed it with a glass of orange juice. Hermione always wondered how he could eat so fast. He turned, looked at Hermione, mouthed 'sorry' and apparated before she could blink.
She looked around to see if anyone had seen. No one had, thankfully. Calmly, she picked up her fork and began to eat her hashbrowns, spearing them one by one. Ginny traded spots with Harry and came to talk to Hermione.
"You guys better have a kid soon, cause I'm going to miss him," Hermione said softly.
" You'll see him sooner than that. After all, he did say he was sorry," said Ginny, looking at Hermione. Hermione silently cursed Ginny for being so attentive and blushed.
" Ya, he did, didn't he..."
The rest of the festivities were fun but soon Ginny and Harry left for their honeymoon and Hermione went back home. She turned her key in the lock and went in to flop on the couch. A vase on the table caught her attention and she sat back up again. In place of her normal bouquet of roses was one of pretty yellow ones. Three fairies sat on the leaves in the bouquet, chatting away. A note was under the vase. Curious, she picked it up.
Dear 'Mione,
I'm sorry I had to leave right after we had an argument, but you know I had to. I know when I left Hogwarts seven years ago; I didn't say goodbye, as did I this time. Let's not repeat history and not see each other for another seven years. I'm coming back for Christmas and I hope you'll come and celebrate it with us. I'm bringing mistletoe.
Love, Ron.
After reading it, Hermione held it close and closed her eyes. She smiled and picked up a pen and a paper. She never like writing with quills, anyway.
Dear Ron, she wrote. I'm sorry for every word I ever said to hurt you. I was young Ron! Love was something I couldn't understand! This thought scared me so much. I refused to fall in love with you, even though I knew I already had. So when you told me Ron, I was scared. I had never experienced love before, and I didn't know if it was right. I barely ever listen to my heart, and you know that. So I listened to my head, and it was saying that loving you would be wrong. I lied and said I wasn't in love with you. Then, that day at the station, I had this old taxi driver who made me realize I did love you. But you were already gone. I had missed my chance and that made me unhappy. I tried writing to see if you still loved me, but you never wrote back. So I ran away to my books and your sister, who's the best friend anyone could ever have. And you're the best guy I could ever have and I don't want to miss my chance again. I'm in love with you, Ron.
Hermione
PS. When you're away, what do you miss most from Britain? I'll send you a package.
With those last words, Hermione tied her letter to her owl, and lay down on the couch. That was where she fell asleep.
The next day Hermione went to work and took care of patients. During her break, Lavender (who was now married to Seamus) came from the physcological ward where she worked, to have lunch with Hermione like they always did. Other than that she got a letter from Ginny + Harry telling her how their honeymoon was, the day was quite ordinary.
On the way home, she went into Flourish and Blott's to get a book she'd been wanting to read. She hailed a taxi since it was dark out and climbed in. She realized to her shock, that it was the driver who had driven her from the station, those many years ago. He was smiling, and clearly recognized her.
" Well, hello, miss. I was wondering if I'd ever see you again."
" It's simply great to see you!" Hermione said. Suddenly, she found herself telling him all sorts of things and he listened, nodding and murmuring at all the right points. They reached her flat too soon, she thought.
" Here's my personal taxi number, so if you ever need a lift, you can call me," he said, handing a card with his name and number on it.
" Thankyou," she said, giving him a tip and heading into her flat.
She made Chicken Peanut noodles and orange juice for supper, with half a pomegranate for desert. She headed into her living room to read her book when she saw and owl at the window. She let it in and took the letter from its leg. It was from Ron, she could tell by his writing.
What I miss most of all is you, was all it said.