Disclaimer: Harry Potter, etc. are the intellectual property of JKR; no infringement is intended.

A/N: Yes, as you might be able to read, this is the last chapter. However I've good news for those of you who actually didn't want this to end. Though this is the last 'chapter' it's much too long to include in just one part. I realized this fact as I got about halfway through writing it (it's still not completely done) and had about twenty pages of hand-written material in front of me. Sooo… this part is only the first half (possibly even third) of what in its entirety would be the last chapter. That means that there's at least one more part coming after this and possibly two. Enjoy!

Chapter the Last

Why am I writing about a summer that we spent together when everything I've written so far has covered the milestones of our relationship? After all, nothing earth-shattering happened in those three months; life continued as normal, and so did we. No, nothing earth-shattering might have happened during that summer at least as fear as you ever knew. For me, though, it was the summer that changed my whole life, and you'll soon see why I'm writing about this. After all, it has everything to do with the reason I started writing this journal in the first place.

Three days; it would be three whole days before I would see you again.

"Well, theoretically, it's two and a half because she's driving down on Monday morning," Ginny pointed out. She was sharing the train car with the three of us. This on its own failed to alert me to anything being amiss, as I was too busy feeling sorry for myself, but she usually traveled with the other Gryffindors in her year.

"Three days!" I whined, ignoring what my sister had just said, burying my head in your hair. 'Hermione, how am I supposed to last three days?"

"Ron, at least you get to see me all summer after that. Other couples might not be so lucky," you said, slightly subdued, and I thought you threw a glance across the way at Harry.

"I'm going to go get a glass of water," Ginny announced, her voice sounding slightly choked—I assumed her throat was dry—and left the compartment.

"I think I'm going to do the same," said Harry—the first words he'd said on the trip so far. Granted we'd barely left Hogsmeade, but he'd been quiet as we'd waited at the station, too. End of year was always a gloomy time for Harry as it meant going to live with the Dursleys.

"It must be tough for him, going to live with those dreadful Muggles. Maybe he can come to the Burrow early this year," I said, and you nodded though your mind seemed to focus on something else as you watched him leave the compartment.

"Poor Harry; he has a lot on his plate right now," you said as you snuggled into my side, resting your head on my chest and closing your eyes as you relaxed against my side. I did the same and reveled in the moment. Your words came back to me and for some reason it felt as though you you'd been talking about two things at once when you'd lamented Harry's dilemma. I didn't have a chance to question you on it, however, as Harry and Ginny walked back into the compartment together, then.

"That was quick," I remarked, for they'd barely been gone a few minutes, it seemed. They both gave me meek little smiles as they sat back down on the other seat, Harry staring pensively out of the window and Ginny wringing her hands in her lap, looking downwards. Had I not been so wrapped-up in myself right then, I probably would have noticed that Ginny's eyes were rimmed with red as though she'd been crying, but I was still thinking about how I was going to survive three days—all right, two and a half—without seeing you.

"How about a game of Exploding Snap? Girls against boys?" you suggested. You'd straightened in your seat when my sister had walked in with Harry. I supposed it was residual instinct from back when all of Gryffindor didn't know we were dating and we'd sometimes had to quickly move apart.

Ginny pulled out a pack of cards that Fred and George had sent her on her birthday in April. I only hoped it wouldn't turn any of us into any weird object, but my concerns remained unvoiced as you and Harry traded seats. Seven games of Exploding Snap, two giant toads, four canaries, and one ton-tongue later, the sky had darkened outside the window and both Harry and Ginny had fallen asleep, having resumed their original positions on the seat across from us. As the train's normal movements hook the car from side to side, Ginny's head slid onto Harry's shoulder and I watched him shift in his sleep so that soon he was resting his cheek on top of my sister's head. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Ginny's reaction if she were to wake and see the position she'd ended in with a boy she'd once had a very obvious crush on. She'd obviously gotten over her awkwardness towards Harry, however. They'd made friends the year before, and during the course of the trip I'd seen how comfortable they seemed with each other—almost as comfortable as we were, in fact—and then something hit me.

"Hermione, does Harry have a girlfriend!?" I asked you. It would have been very bizarre for him to start seeing someone without having told me, but it would explain a lot: the dreamy look, his "other things" comment a few nights before, and why he'd been looking so forlorn all trip.

"What?" you asked, and I realized that you too had been sleeping and probably hadn't heard my question.

"Ssh, don't worry about it, love," I whispered, ushering you back to sleep. If he hadn't told me he probably hadn't told you either, and if he hadn't told me it was probably because he thought I wouldn't approve—which could only mean one thing. He was dating someone horrendous like Padma Patil or Millicent Bulstrode (though I gave him more credit than that). Whatever the case…and the girl...I was going to make it my duty to find out who it was (when I wasn't busy snogging you, of course, which really wouldn't leave me much time in a day).

~*~

I'd fallen asleep too during the trip, and woke up only too soon to realize that we'd reached Kings Cross. A look out of the window revealed my parents. As Ginny and Harry rose (they must have awakened after I'd fallen asleep) I shook you lightly to wake you up.

The goodbye was slightly awkward. Harry and Ginny had dallied back in the train and emerged slowly together while you and I stood in a corner of the station, talking. I wanted desperately to kiss you goodbye, but at the same time, I must admit that doing so in front of my parents was much different than doing so in front of Neville, Dean, and Seamus.

"I'll see you on Monday, all right?" I said, pulling you into a tight hug which you returned just as tightly. I held you for a full minute before reluctantly letting go of you. Ginny and Harry were talking to Mum, both looking tired and drained. I saw Harry squeeze Ginny's shoulders as he said goodbye and he walked towards us.

"Are you ready to go, Hermione?" he asked you, his voice still choked up slightly from his nap. Your parents would be waiting outside, unable to cross the barrier, and you would probably be dropping him off at the Dursleys as they were very unlikely to bother themselves in picking him up.

"Yeah," you answered, giving me a parting smile after Harry and I had hugged (a most manly hug, of course) and promised to write when we got home. I told him that I would talk to my parents to see if we might be able to have him come earlier, and he seemed to brighten at the thought. As I watched the two of you walk back through the barrier, I looked at my watch. Only 60 hours until I would see you again.

~*~

I fancy myself a relatively caring and empathic bloke. I wouldn't win any sensitivity awards, nor would I want to, but most of the time, if you or Harry are upset I can pick up on it immediately. I suppose it would come from having known each other for so long. The same thing, then, goes doubly for Ginny as I've known her all her life—16 years of mine.

In second year when she'd tried to tell Harry and me about the Chamber, I knew instinctively that something bad was going on even after Percy had thought that she'd been referring to him and Penelope. This, however, was not to be one of those times where I would instinctively know that something was bothering her and instinctively know what that thing was. I knew that she was upset about something, and part of me was vaguely aware that it was relatively serious. She'd locked herself in her room the moment she'd arrived, and on my way to my own room I thought I'd heard muffled sobs coming from behind her door. I'm ashamed to say that my hand was frozen in mid air, ready to knock and comfort t her as any older brother should have done, but a look at my watch told me that it had been two hours since I'd left you, and I wanted to owl you to say goodnight. I dropped my hand to my side and told myself that Ginny probably just missed Hogwarts and her friends. Instead of opening the door, I continued on to my bedroom, where Dad had magicked my trunk and Pig flew around in circles in his cage, getting dizzy and crashing before beginning all over again, making me smile and shake my head at him before I opened it to let him free. I loved the feathery git even if he was out if his mind. I ignored the fluttering of wings above my head as I sat to write.

Dear Hermione,

Only 57.5 hours until I see you again. I'm going out of my mind already (though you must be used to it).

Dying to kiss you goodnight;

All my love,

R.W.

Short and sweet (like you), the letter was tied to Pig's leg and I gave him a piece of treacle fudge before letting him out of my room. Taking a piece of fudge for myself, my eyes practically watered at how sweet it was and I began to wonder if maybe taking Pig off his high-sweets diet might calm him down a little. Of course, the thought had entered my head for barely a second before I'd decided that taking anyone off sweets as cruel and unusual punishment and I quickly rid myself of the notion. Instead, I stripped down to my jeans, kicked-off my shoes and socks, and lay on my bed, watching the Cannons in their never-changing blue sky, waiting for your reply.

I must have drifted to sleep as I waited for I dreamed of you. When I opened my eyes it was light out and Pig was sleeping on my chest, his head tucked into my neck. He was the only bird I knew who slept on his back and he hooted softly in his sleep, your letter still tied to his leg. I ran my finger affectionately along his feathers, untying your letter and placing him on my pillow. Though I tried not to wake him, he opened one eye.

"Hoot?" it sounded like a question to me.

"Go back to sleep; I don't have anything for you yet," I said softly, and to my surprise he did…closing his eyes and hooting in what must have been owly snoring.

I could barely contain myself as I opened your letter. Had anyone seen me, he or she might have thought me a five-year-old, opening his Christmas presents.

Dearest Ron, (your reply read)

Are you really counting down the hours? You know what they say about a "watched pot" don't you? Regardless, you officially owe me one goodnight kiss made payable Monday, under the moonlight, in your yard.

Miss you already,

Hermione

You'd dotted your 'i' with a heart again and I couldn't help but press my nose to the letter, inhaling deeply as though it might hold traces of you which, inexplicably, id did. Taking another deep breath, I carefully placed the letter in my desk drawer along with every other single letter you'd ever sent me (I'd kept all of Harry's too, though his tended to get thrown in the drawer whereas yours were always neatly stacked and bundled together). Shutting the drawer and realizing that I was still wearing last night's jeans (the shirt, shoes, and socks lay on the floor by my bed) I padded my way, barefooted, to the bathroom which was thankfully unoccupied, and turned on the taps, turning the water as warm as it would go before it became scalding. I stepped under it, letting the hot spray wash over me as clouds of steam hugged my form and escaped over the shower curtain into the small room beyond.

I was rejuvenated when I walked down the stairs and stepped into the kitchen, several minutes later. The smell of pancakes and ham rounds wafted up to greet me, and my stomach instantly growled. At school I usually made due with a bit of marmalade toast but I knew Mum would never have that pass on my first day back and I looked forward to reliving my mother's delicious home cooking.

"Ah, Ron, you're up," Mum greeted me, placing a heap of food on my plate which I graciously accepted.

"'nks m'm" I said with my mouth full. Ginny had also come down from her room and was sitting across from me. Unlike I, however, she had barely touched the food in front of her and I noticed for the first time how pale and drained she looked, as though she'd barely slept all night.

"You okay, Gin?" I asked between mouthfuls.

"Fine," she replied, giving me that same meek smile she'd given me on the train last night; the same smile Harry had given me as well. I began to cough uncontrollably as I swallowed a piece of pancake the wrong way.

"Chew, son, chew," my father said, clapping me on the back as my mother rushed over and lifted my arms over my head. Finally catching my breath and wiping at my water eyes, I peered across the table at my sister, who'd barely uttered a word. The signs definitely fit; in fact they looked to be the same as Harry's and if that had meant that my best mate had a girlfriend, it could only mean that my sister had a boyfriend. Neither of them had mentioned a single thing to me and as you hadn't said anything I gathered that they'd said nothing to you either. At first, with Harry, I'd thought he'd failed to mention his relationship because he was dating someone I otherwise wouldn't have approved of, but now through my superior powers of denomination I'd found that both Harry and Ginny were seeing people and neither had mentioned anything. They were obviously hiding their relationships purposely and they could only be doing it for one reason. I was shocked! I was outraged! They were obviously getting back at us for hiding our relationship from them!!

Well! I was insulted, frankly! But my offense quickly dissipated as my mother put more food in front of me and instead of a reproachful look, I gave Ginny a reassuring smile as she looked back at me. Being lonely was never fun. In fact, being lonely felt incredibly…lonely. Knowing that blowing up at Ginny would only make her more upset than she was, I decided not to say anything for the moment…though the second her spirits had improved I would never let her live it down, just as she and Harry had made certain that you and I had suffered through our share of kissy faces, the brunt of which we'd experienced once Harry had found out that Ginny knew and they'd decided to join forces. Once you got here, and once Harry got here, it would be our turn to let them have it. I still had no idea who it was that Harry could possibly be seeing, but I had a strong suspicion about Ginny's beau.

Ginny and Colin Creevey had always been good friends—their mutual admiration of Harry in the early years had made it an almost certainty that they would hit it off—and I remember having heard Ginny telling her friend (Rose or Hyacinth or other) that she suspected Colin fancied her last year. I'd thought nothing of it at the time for it seemed to me—no matter how much I disliked the thought of it—that a lot of blokes seemed to be taking a notice to Ginny. Of course, I would strangle anyone who came close to her, but Colin was a nice enough fellow…even if he had tried to photograph me belching slugs that one time. I thought all this as I shoveled more food into my mouth and when Ginny excused herself from the table, Mum didn't even make a fuss about her having barely eaten. Dad looked up at her, his eyes dancing across the room to meet Mum's. It always amazed me to look at them when they were in the middle of this type of silent communication.

"Remember, Molly, when we had to spend our summers apart? I used to mope around the house for days," my father reminisced and it was hard to think of them as ever having been our age.

"Yes, poor Ginny," my mother agreed and on a completely unrelated note continued with "perhaps we should owl Dumbledore and convince him to let Harry come early again," she suggested. I failed to see the relevance between Harry coming over and Ginny being lovesick but ignored it as I jumped in.

"Mum's right, Dad. Harry's miserable at the Dursleys. You should have seen him on the train yesterday. He looked almost as bad as Gin, I reckon."

"Well yes, of course he would," my Dad started and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Mum throwing him a pointed look, "feel horrible about the prospect of spending time with his, er, family. I'll write to Dumbledore from the office and see what I can do," he finished, and I beamed my thanks at him before running up to my room.

It was a mess. Well actually, to my standards it was quite clean, but to you it would have been a disaster. Though I'd often protested that it was easier for me to find things in a messy room (as my messes were "organized") than it was in a clean room, I was willing to compromise this once. Picking up the dirty clothes I'd thrown on the floor the night before and this morning, I brought them downstairs to Mum, who looked at me as though I'd grown a second head.

"I know, I know," I explained—I wasn't exactly known for being neat around the house—"I wouldn't get used to it, Mum, but seeing as Hermione is coming on Monday I thought…" I trailed off, not really feeling like explaining myself. Mum didn't seem to mind, though. She simply gathered-up my clothes and pressed a kiss on my cheek (she might have been aiming at my forehead but she couldn't reach that far up).

"I've always liked Hermione," she said, giving me a secret smile. I felt the blush creep up my neck. Though I'd never come right out and told them that I was dating you, this was the closest either of my parents had come to acknowledging that they knew about our relationship. Feeling only slightly embarrassed but elated nonetheless, I returned to my room to finish the task of making it presentable for when you and your parents would arrive.

~*~

I was in a bad way. The physicality accompanied with cleaning one's room had temporarily made me forget about how much I missed you already, but having cleaned for hours on end, cleaned until my hands were raw (for there was no magic to be used) and until I'd developed a slick coating of sweat and dirt over every exposed inch of skin on my body, I was suddenly hit with that dull ache in the pit of my stomach and that longing to see you accompanied with the disappointment of knowing that I couldn't…at least not yet. My first instinct was to send you an owl but I'd let Pig outside an hour before when the dust level in my room had become unbearable for him. A shower also seemed appealing but I could hear the water running in the loo. Looking out my window and across the fields, my eyes fell on the pond in which we'd gone swimming when we were little. It would still be near frigid this time of year…jus what I needed, actually.

Making a snap decision I made my way down the stairs, across the kitchen, and through the bush surrounding the pond, dropping articles of clothing along the way until I was left in my orange Cannons trunks, jumping in the water and causing a large splash as I hit the surface. Coming back up, I caught my breath and stood (the water was deep even at the edges and reached almost up to my mouth whereas the water towards the middle went several feet above my head). Remaining in the shallow parts I felt the mud between my toes as I let the cod water surround me. It was both refreshing and relaxing…and oxymoron of sorts I suppose, but regardless it was true.

Flipping onto my back, I let myself float and closed my eyes as images of you flickered behind my eyelids. I would have been content to float there forever, thinking about you, but soon I heard my mother's voice bidding me o come eat dinner and I gathered my clothes in my arms along the way, leaving water to trail behind me as I made my way aback to the house.