Thanks again to those who have reviewed. This is becoming quite a lot of fun to write!
Hermione didn't really know where to go. She couldn't go home; she didn't want to face her parents. She couldn't go back to the Burrow; she didn't want to be in the middle of Harry and Ginny's little fling. She sneered, if only school had started up again already, but she wasn't really looking forward to that. She had to face it, she couldn't get away.
Without Hermione realising it, the Knight Bus had pulled up next to the Burrow. The door opened and Stan stood in the doorway, gawking at her tear- stained face.
"Oy, 'aven't we seen you before? Did ya 'oliday get cut short?"
Hermione gave him a withering look, "Leaky Cauldron please."
She handed over her money and picked up Crookshanks. She walked down the aisle of the bus to sit on one of the armchairs that seemed to be awaiting her.
Hermione was thankful to have a place of her own for a little while. She looked around the musty, damp room and felt grateful that she hadn't seen anyone she knew. She didn't feel like seeing anyone right now.
All of a sudden there was a hoot, and a snowy white owl flew into the room, half dragging another ancient owl along with her.
"Hedwig and Errol!" She said aloud, forgetting her problems in the excitement. They came back to her quickly though, and she sullenly took the messages from the two birds. Both had the same story.
"They probably put their heads together to come up with it." She thought maliciously.
Hermione took a quill and a piece of parchment and sat at the old brown desk in the corner of the room.
"Harry and Ginny, all you have done is confirmed to me that you are closer than I first thought. Thank you so much for under-estimating my stupidity, it gives me so much respect for you both. Tell Mrs. Weasley thank-you very much for having me, but I had to leave suddenly and I will send her an owl in the near future. Hermione."
She attached the message to Hedwig's leg after giving the pair a much needed drink from Crookshank's bowl of water and watched them fly out through her window.
The most intelligent girl at Hogwarts lay down on her bed, buried her head in her hands and sobbed. She fell asleep a few hours later, fully dressed on top of her bedspread with Crookshanks lying on her back.