Chapter 7
In the hospital, Hermione awoke and sat up suddenly. She looked around her and saw five worried faces looking at her, and the nurse. On one side was Ginny and Harry, Ginny very pregnant, and on the other were her parents. And sitting, for some odd reason cross-legged at the foot of the bed was Dumbledore, with Crookshanks curled up in his lap. Hermione didn't even KNOW old men could sit cross-legged.
"Ron isn't dead," she said. This statement, of course led to complete confusion, especially when Mrs. Weasley walked in and became ver flustered, indeed. Upon hearing the story, everyone tried to convince her that it was only a dream, and didn't mean anything, and that they knew for certain that he was dead.
"But you don't!" Hermione had cried, over and over again. "How do you know? He went missing, didn't he? Missing people have been known to turn up years later!"…None of it had worked.
Hermione looked up at Ginny and said quietly," It isn't denial, Gin. It's believing the truth."
The Christmas spirit got over them both, and they both dropped it. A fast number started and Ginny grinned, grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her into the center of things.
The Christmas holidays passed quickly, and soon it was New Year's Eve. The Weasleys and Hermione were in the living room, talking quietly, and basking in the warmth of the roaring fire in the fireplace. Soft music was playing, and they were eating Mrs. Weasley's delicious cooking. It was 11:58.
Mrs.Weasley glanced at the clokc and announced," It's almost midnight."
"Find your special someone," said Bill. It was tradition in the Weasley family that you would dance with someone who was special to you at midnight on New Year's Eve. Hermione, of course, never got to participate in this tradition. So she settled herself into a chair by the fire and watched the couples dance, looking so happy, off in their own little worlds, with a smile on her face. She glanced at the clock, the one that said where everyone was. Currently, everyone's name (including her's and Harry's, which had been placed there in their sixth year) were pointing at either school or home, except for Ron's, which was at Someplace Unimaginable. This clock was too morbid, she suddenly realised. So she looked at the ordinary clock.
Thirty seconds 'till midnight………Hermione gazed into the fire…….Fifteen seconds until midnight……….She gasped in surprise as the firplace turned green………Ten seconds…….The flames lept high…………Five seconds…………The fire went out completely………Three seconds……Two……. One……..A figure fell out of the fireplace……..It was midnight.
Standing up, the figure pushed their hair out of their face, glanced around and grinned at the sight before him.
"Sorry I'm late," he said. "What did I miss?" Hermione stood up suddenly and stared at the figure.
" Hello, Hermione," he said cheerfully.
" Ron," she whispered.