After a pleasant lunch of roast beef sandwiches, potato salad, pumpkin pie and many other delightful dishes prepared by Mrs. Weasley, Harry motioned for Ron and Hermione to follow him. They went outside and walked out into the forest behind the Weasley's house.
"What's up Harry?" Ron asked as he sat down beside the pond. Hermione sat down next to him and started picking the petals off a small daisy.
"Well," Harry said, "I got a letter from Sirius right before I got here." He pulled out a short piece of parchment from his pocket. "It sounded kind of weird to me, so I thought you guys should hear it."
Hermione stopped picking at the daisy. "Is he alright?" she asked worriedly.
"Listen," Harry said, as he began to read the letter. "Dear Harry, Lately I've been starting to question myself. I don't quite understand what's wrong with me, and I need some time to myself. I can't tell you where I'm going, but I will let you know when I return. Tell Ron to continue working hard on the Quidditch Team, and make sure to take care of Hermione. Until we meet again. Snuffles."
Neither Ron nor Hermione quite knew what to say.
"What does he mean, 'I've been starting to question myself'?" Ron asked. "Did he give any hints of what's going on?"
"No," Harry said as he took a seat on the cool grass. "This is the only letter I've got from him all summer. I tried to write back, but Hedwig came back with the letter still tied to her leg."
"Should we tell someone?" Hermione asked. "I mean, Ron's parents know Sirius now...they could try to help him."
"I don't know," Harry said. "Sirius is a grown man; if he needed help, wouldn't he know to get it himself?"
Ron shrugged. "You know how he can be," he said. "Maybe he's too ashamed to ask for help."
"Well whatever's going on, he doesn't sound too good." Hermione answered.
"If we could just find out where he is..." Ron began.
"And just how do you suppose we do that?" Hermione interrupted. "He didn't give us any clue as to his location. We can't just travel the world looking for him."
Suddenly there was a rustle in the trees behind them. As the three teenagers whipped their heads around, they saw Ginny walking towards them. "Hey guys!" she called.
"Merlin, Ginny, you scared me!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Sorry," Ginny said softly. "Mum wants everyone back to the house before nightfall. Plus, we need to finish packing."
There was a few seconds of awkward silence, then finally Harry spoke. "So, Ginny...shall we head back?"
"Sure!" Ginny exclaimed rather quickly. Grinning, Harry stood up and walked off with Ginny.
"See you guys at the house!" Ginny called back.
"Yeah, later," Ron said. As soon as Harry and Ginny were out of sight, Ron turned to Hermione. "Do you suppose there's something going on between them?"
"Who knows. But if there is, it's none of your business!"
"None of my business? It's all my business! That's my little sister!" Ron argued.
"Oh, calm down." Hermione said. "Besides," she reached over and fixed a misplaced piece of hair on Ron's head, "you don't want them to know about us yet, right?"
"Alright, I see your point." Ron agreed.
A/N (Warning; from this point on, this story just goes downhill. I'm extremely unhappy with it. It has only been edited once so far, and I have no idea how to fix it. I'm not good with physical romance! Any advice? Well, enjoy the rest, I guess.)
Hermione laughed quietly, and then continued picking petals off of daisies. Ron gazed into Hermione's eyes. "I feel like kissing you," he said.
"Then why don't you." Hermione smiled slightly as Ron put one hand on her cheek, leaned in and planted a soft, gentle kiss on her lips. He then put his other hand behind her back and continued kissing her.
Suddenly Hermione pulled away from him. "We should be heading back," she said, standing up.
"What?" Ron asked, sounding surprised.
"C'mon!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron hesitantly stood up and began to follow Hermione, but called her back.
"Wait, Hermione. Come here!" he said.
"What, Ronald?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"I just really want to do this..." he started, walking slowly towards her. Ron grabbed her arm.
"Ron, what are you..." Hermione screamed and started laughing as Ron picked her up in his arms and started carrying her. "What are you doing?" she asked, laughing.
"This!" Ron exclaimed, and he tossed Hermione into the pond. She quickly stood up, wiping the water out of her eyes.
"I can not believe you just did that!" she said. "You're mother is going to be so angry!"
"Oh, live a little," Ron replied, then he jumped into the pond with her.
Oy, this is so crappy, I'm going to cry!! Sorry everyone. But please review anyway; if you do, I'll love you forever! Aaaand I'll review your stories! Yup! Thanks!