Ginny stood in the dormitory, tearfully helping Hermione pack for the last time. It was the last day of term, and the seventh years had only twelve hours to say goodbye to the school that had been their home for seven years.

'I'm really going to miss you, Herm,' she sniffed, folding clothes into the chest.

Hermione looked over at her, tears filling her own eyes, and wrapped her arms about her young friend.

'I'll miss you, too,' she whispered. 'But we'll still see each other. I'm not about to just abandon you because I've left school.'

Ginny smiled brokenly into her shoulder.

'It's not that I'm worried about,' she said, pulling back to look into Hermione's eyes. 'It's whatever's going to happen about your father. Be careful, Herm. Even if there is some loving old man buried inside him, you can't count on him being able to keep you safe. If you cross him, we could very well never see you again.'

'I know.'

The girls gazed into one another's eyes for a long moment, both knowing there were things that didn't need to be said. Hermione broke the silence, lifting her school robes from the trunk with a sigh.

'I'm not going to need these any more,' she said, unfolding them. 'Would you like them?'

Ginny grinned.

'Are you kidding me? Of course, I would.'

'You're sure? You're not just saying that?'

Ginny took the robes from her with an exaggerated sigh.

'Hermione, I'd rather wear elephant skin than have to put on Ron's cast-offs for another year. These look almost new, in comparison to what he hands down to me.'

They giggled quietly, the seriousness of the moment passed.

'Where will you go?' Ginny asked quietly.

Hermione hesitated.

'If I get through today, they'll move me to a safe house with the Fidelius Charm. Then all I have to do is wait until he is gone for good.'

'What do you mean, if you get through today?'

'They say today is his last chance to grab me, so he'll probably have a final attempt to grab me. Stay out of harm's way, Ginny. I won't see you hurt again.'

As Hermione turned back to her packing, Ginny stared at her, unable to believe what she had just heard. Could this really be the last time she would ever see Hermione as her friend?



*~*~*



The station platform was packed with students, all waiting for the Hogwarts Express to take them home at the end of another year. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood off to one side, exchanging tearful goodbyes.

'Take care of yourself, Herm,' Ron said gruffly, hugging his friend so tightly she thought he might strangle her. 'I'm here if you need me.'

Hermione wiped her eyes, and smiled up at him. What had she ever done to deserve a friend like Ron?

'Thanks, Ron. You take care, too.'

He made a face at her, and turned to Parvati, who was almost in tears herself.

Harry gazed down at Hermione, his green eyes misted over in pain.

'Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?' he asked.

Hermione nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

'There's no point us both disappearing for the next few years. The Ministry are going to need you, Harry, I'm sure of it. I'll be all right.'

He gathered her into his arms, tears rolling down his cheeks as he held her close. Hermione sobbed into his shoulder, unwilling to let him leave her, yet knowing it was for his own good. Harry gazed down at her, his eyes burning into her own. He gently took her face in both hands, leaning down until their lips almost touched.

'I love you, 'Mione,' he whispered, covering her lips with his own. The kiss was so gentle, so tender, Hermione thought her heart would burst with sheer love of him. Pushing herself closer, she deepened the kiss, her hands snaking about his neck, to let her fingers tangle in the hair at his nape. Harry's hands dropped from her face, slowly running down her arms, and wrapping around her slender waist. Instead of pulling away when the kiss broke, Harry began to place tender kisses along her brow, and down into the curve of her neck. Hermione writhed against him, wanting him never to stop.

Slowly he raised his face to hers. They were both crying, the pain of the farewell too much for either to bear. As the train pulled in with a shriek, Harry placed a final tender kiss on her love-swollen lips.

'Harry, be careful,' she said, clinging to him.

'I will.'

He smiled sadly down at her before being borne away by the flood of people, his hands slipping from hers. She was left, standing alone on the platform, to gaze unhappily into his eyes through the glass and the steam.

But as the train pulled away, Harry saw two dark figures come up behind Hermione as she watched him go. They knocked her unconscious, catching her slight form as it fell, and lifting her into their arms.

'Stop the train!'

Harry leapt up from his seat, searching for the emergency cord. Ron looked at him in confusion.

'Harry, what's -'

'Hermione! Look!'

As Ron squinted out of the window, he, too, saw Hermione's unconscious body being carried out of the station to a waiting carriage. He and Harry watched in horror, as the carriage rumbled off, leaving no one in Hogsmeade any the wiser that the Dark Lord had regained his daughter. Harry thumped against the glass in despair, his cry of anguish almost more than his friends could bear.

'Hermione!'