Hey guys! Lauren here with chapter nine. And boy, it's a long one, sorry! I admit, I got a tad carried away. But boy was it fun to write. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this one! And make sure to review afterwards! Love ya all!

Lauren

Disclaimer: look, I know that this chapter took me a while to write, but come on, stop comparing me to J.K….I'll write faster next time! Besides, I don't own Harry Potter, so it's not like I'm getting paid to take my time here…

Chapter nine

Farewell Fiasco

That night, Hermione said good night to Ron and watched him head toward the guest bedroom, sighing heavily. This is insane…although I can't say I didn't expect it… She turned around and headed to her own room. Ever since she had started at Hogwarts, she had always found that returning to her room during the summer never held the same comfort it had before. It just wasn't as, well, magical as Hogwarts. But still, she sat on her bed, got under the covers, and began to read the book that sat on her nightstand. After awhile she got extremely bored and, deciding that her parents were asleep, quietly got up and snuck over to the guest bedroom. She opened the door slowly to ensure it didn't creak, and slid inside, closing it just as carefully. She snuck over to Ron's bed and saw that he was asleep too, so she pulled back the covers and lay next to him. Just as she was about to snuggle next to him and fall asleep, Ron stirred and turned over.

"Mione? Wha-what are you doin here?" he asked sleepily.

"Shh…it's okay, I just came to visit you. Do you mind if I sleep here next to you?" she asked sweetly.

"But what about your parents! They'd murder me! If they knew avada kedavra…I'd be in serious trouble…"he whispered, his eyes growing large at the thought.

"Ron, it's okay, don't worry about it, they won't find me in here. They'll probably be leaving in the morning and they won't even think about it. And if you're that worried, I'll make to sure to wake up early and sneak back to my bed, alright?" she said, and the tone in her voice told Ron he had no option but to say yes. Ron nodded and snuggled next to her. Within a few minutes, they were both asleep.

The next morning…

"HERMIONE GRANGER!!! What in god's name are you doing???? Hermione, that better not be you I see in that bed…"

A very angered Mr. Granger stormed over to Ron's bed and yanked back the blankets, and lo and behold, Hermione was indeed in bed next to Ron, sleeping peacefully. Well, she had been, until now.

"Dad?" she asked blearily.

"I gave you separate rooms for a reason you know!!!" he bellowed.

"Daddy, wait, before you wake Ron up, let's go in the hallway, please," she reasoned.

"I don't know why I should be concerned for his well-being, but fine, we'll go in the hallway."

In the hallway…

"Hermione, dare I ask why I found you in bed with, with him this morning? What is going on?? Did he touch you? ::gasp:: Oh my, did he…" Mr. Granger began to feel faint.

Luckily (or maybe not), Mrs. Granger was drawn into the hallway by all the noise and held Mr. Granger up.

"What is going on here?" she asked, but received no answer or acknowledgement.

"DAD! No! we did nothing of the sort! And he has a name you know, Ron! His name is Ron! Not 'him', all right! And there is nothing to be concerned with, I merely slept next to him!"

"Hermione, what is a boy like him, er, Ron, doing in my house? You know how I feel about people of that sort…" he said, with a grimace spreading over his face. Hermione knew he was referring to his social status.

As all of this was happening, Mrs. Granger looked back and forth between the two, and she was beginning to see what was really going on…

"He's here because I'M MARRYING HIM!!!! We came here to TELL you this! That's why we're here! I didn't want to tell you because I knew that something like this would happen, and look, it already is, and before I even told you! And so you know, I love him very, very much, and I don't care if he's rich or poor, if he's a wizard or a muggle, because I LOVE him! Can't you understand that??" she finished with a heaving sigh.

With that, Mr. Granger was frozen, a mix of anger and shock taking over his face. It was pretty interesting, since his face was sort of red and pale at the same time, like he'd been tie-dyed. Mrs. Granger, who was still holding him up, gave a relieved sigh and smiled at Hermione. 'it's okay dear,' she mouthed.

There were a few moments of silence, then…

"and what makes you think that I'll let you marry him??" he whispered angrily.

"Do you think that you have any say in this matter? I'm marrying him whether you like it or not! I could have just not told you, but I thought it would have been nice to see my parents at my wedding. I guess I was wrong…" she said resentfully.

Mrs. Granger gave her a sympathetic look, and decided to speak up.

"Hermione, I'm very happy for you. I think Ron is a very nice boy, and I'm sure you'll be very happy together," she said proudly, a tear forming behind her eye.

"I've decided that I'm not letting you leave this house. There is no way in hell you're marrying that boy," he said calmly.

At this point, Ron joined them in the hallway.

"Hermione, what's going on?" he asked, but as soon as he got a good look at everyone, he understood:

Hermione stood as still as ever, her hands balled up in fists. Her chest was rising and falling steeply, she was absolutely seething, and her eyes were squinted. Ron could see she had a hint of a tear welling up, though she tried her hardest not to let it show.

Mr. Granger was beginning to find his legs again, so he wasn't in need of Mrs. Granger's assistance anymore. He had a look of victory on his face, and he broke into a smile.

Mrs. Granger had a sad look on her face; she felt for her daughter, but knew that her husband was relentless. Hermione probably wouldn't win this one.

Ron looked at Hermione fearfully. He understood what was going on. He walked back into his guest room resignedly, and decided it was best to pack.

"Dad, I-"

"I've said my piece. You're not leaving. But your friend is. If I guess correctly, he's already packing. I'm surprised by his insight…"

Hermione simply growled. It isn't worth it, it isn't worth it…just give in…she thought. She turned sharply and headed into Ron's room.

She sat down on the bed and began to cry. Ron stopped packing and sat next to her. But for some reason Ron wasn't the least bit upset. Instead, he put his arm around her and smiled.

"Ron, you don't get it, they're not gonna let me leave! I'm sorry. I love you, but I guess there's nothing I can do…"

"Hermione, did you think I'd give you up that easily?? You've forgotten one thing…"

She looked up at him, wondering what on earth he could be talking about.

"Well, you know, we are wizards…for one thing, you could put a memory charm on them…" he noticed the look of concern on her face… "Well, if you feel bad about that, we do know how to apparate…in case you forgot," he said slyly.

Hermione looked like she had just found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She hugged Ron tightly and kissed his cheek.

"Now why didn't I think of that??" she said, taking off for her room. She didn't even care that her parents saw her pull her trunk back out of the closet. She began packing when her father came into her room.

"Hermione, what are you doing? I thought I told you that you weren't leaving…" he said, the anger returning to his face.

Hermione didn't respond. Instead, she began to laugh as she closed her trunk and locked it. She pulled it into the hallway and called for Ron. He came out of his room and placed his trunk next to hers.

"Well father, it was nice seeing you again!" she said with a smile.

"Mother, I do hope you'll come to the wedding, I'll send you an invitation as soon as I can. I love you mum, see you later!"

She took the handle of her trunk in one hand, and with one last smile and a *pop*, she was gone. Ron took up the handle of his trunk and smiled.

"It was very pleasant to meet you both, again. Thank you for the room, and uh…well, I guess that's all!" He was about to take off as well when a thought crossed his mind.

"Er, Mr. Granger, you might want to uh, relax, or your face may stay that way…"he said with a smirk, and with that he took off, waving as he popped.

Mr. Granger paid no attention to his warning and continued growling. Mrs. Granger, however, looked at him cautiously, and took his face into her hands.

"Honey, smile for me…" she asked sweetly.

"There's nothing to smile about! She's gone! And she's going to marry him! Er, Ron."

"Well, why don't I make you your favorite breakfast to take your mind off of it…" she said, leading him downstairs to the kitchen. Mr. Granger smiled at the thought of his favorite pancakes…

But when he passed the mirror in the bathroom on the way there, he found that he wasn't smiling…

"ROOOOOOOONNNN!!!!"