A/N: This is for you, Strelly.... I know you'll love it.
Chapter 3: Alley
The rest of their breakfast had gone on in quiet conversation about the seventh year only Hogsmeade trip. In a few hours they would be lined up with the rest of the seventh years to go to the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. Regularly, the first Hogsmeade trip would have been in two weeks time, but the seventh years were given many extra privileges.
When the hall started filling with students, Hermione and Ron had opted to leave and go outside. It was a nice warm day. They would be damned if they would spend the day inside being ogled at by students who had found out about the events of last June. They finally knew what it felt like when Harry would walk anywhere public.
"I'm going to my brother's shop first. They always give me free stuff." Ron said while sitting down on the grass leaning on a tree.
"Accio money!" Hermione exclaimed while pointing her wand at a window she knew to lead to her dormitory. She heard the bag of money crash against the window. She did quick wand work and opened the window letting the money zoom to her. Ron repeated his actions while pointing to the Gryffindor tower further up.
"Is your Mum still upset with them for quitting school?" Hermione asked while sitting on the grass and laying down on her back, her head on her hands.
"You would think after two years she would, but she isn't. She still curses at them occasionally and throws them nasty looks. For the most part though they've gotten the point across that they wouldn't be going back." Ron chuckled. He opened up his money bag and started to count.
"Well you have to think about it this way. Your brothers are the only ones out of all your siblings that weren't made Prefects. As disappointing as that is, they go on and just quit before even taking N.E.W.Ts!" Hermione replied while willing a stray cloud to come to them.
"They're making plenty of money, though." Ron quietly said. Money would always be a delicate subject for him. She figured once he became an Auror he would never have to worry about that again.
Hermione didn't answer and instead just closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Silent days were relished. Her peace was interrupted by the doors opening and seventh years walking out onto the carriages that were coming to take them to Hogsmeade. Ron got up and dusted himself off before putting out his hand for her to take. She pulled herself up and dusted herself off like he had.
They watched the seventh years pass them loudly and get into carriages that were led by beasts Hermione had never wanted to see. How she would have loved to not be able to see them, to be naïve. She looked to Ron and saw a blank expression plaster itself onto his face. Last year's massacre had put them off wanting to come back to Hogwarts. They had the pleasure of not having to see them when they left which was quite odd. Only when their train this year had pulled into the station did she truly dread going to school. She was on the verge of just apparating to the gates and walking the rest of the way in the rain until she realized Harry hadn't gotten his license. He was just newly 17 while Hermione and Ron has both been of age for quite some time.
She looked to her companion for any kind of hint of what he was thinking. He showed no emotion nor any kind of movement. She took his hand gingerly and wrapped her fingers in his and pulled him. His feet had slowly started working on their own and they got into the last carriage that was only occupied with Neville.
"Hello, Neville." Hermione voiced as she stepped into the carriage still pulling Ron along.
"Hermione. Ron." He said eagerly while holding a pouch with presumably his money, "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" The boy always had a smile on his face. He had too been at the battle and seen people die at the end of last year.
"Yes. We needed one of these kinds of days. Perfect Quidditch conditions, huh?" She nudged Ron in the ribs. She really didn't want to listen to Ron start on Quidditch, but she needed him to snap out of the trance he was in.
"Our first practice is tomorrow morning! Gryffindors got a great team this year. We're sure to win the Quidditch Cup, but it is rumored that the Slytherins had a professional Quidditch player transfer into Hogwarts just to play for them. I wouldn't put it was the sneaky little bastards to do something like that." He excitedly responded just the way she thought he would. She praised herself for once again thinking on her feet.
The ride quickly ended. They stepped out of the carriages and separated from Neville. Hermione saw a shop to the right with large green letters that were made to look like they were covered in some kind of goop. The sign read: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! Hermione was quickly dragged into the shop by Ron.
"George! Look who it is! It's our fickle little Ronnie with his girlfriend!" The one she recognized as Fred yelped the second they entered.
"She's not my girlfriend." Ron said through gritted teeth as George came out of the back. Hermione took her time to examine the shop. It was set up like Zonko's was.
Before either of the twins could reply, Hermione took the opportunity to speak, "How has the business been going?"
"Great!" George exclaimed.
"Fantastic!" Fred added.
"Bloody brilliant!"
"Wickedly on schedule."
"Well… except for that one bloke."
"Right… that one bloke…"
"What happened?" Hermione asked curiously while George departed them to go back into the back.
"This bloke came in here a few weeks back and bought a bunch of products. We thought we'd seen the last of him when he came back yesterday with a broken arm and some kind of bird growing out of his head. He hadn't followed the instructions clearly labeled on the packaging and got injured. He came here to try and make us pay for St. Mungos. I told the bloke, 'If you can't read the instructions, don't buy from us!' He won't leave us alone now. We've referred him to the Department of Magical Reversal Squad and told him if he wanted a trial in front of a member of the Wizengamot then all he had to do was say the word and we'd owl them. He, of course, knew he had no case so he's just been settling for bothering us and trying to get rid of business." Fred summed up.
"Why don't you just curse him?" Ron asked bluntly while fingering his wand.
"Stop being daft, Ron. They would lose so much business from that, and they could end up getting an actual visit from an Auror fining them." Hermione looked to Fred to see him nod in agreement.
"Oh." Ron said dumbly.
"So, where's Potterkins?" Fred asked.
Oh how she wished he was there with them. Ron was right, though. They had to let him brood and 'get off his high horse' as he said. She wondered what he was doing at the moment. He was probably sneaking to the kitchens to get a Butterbeer before going somewhere like the Astronomy Tower or just sitting alone with his mirror. She hoped he was on grounds though. The last thing she needed was for him to be in the Ministry of Magic.
She thought he was practicing his Occlumency, but she thought he was practicing it in their fifth year also. She hoped Voldemort couldn't get through and send him messages. All Harry needed was the perfect motive to go to the Department of Mysteries and sneak in. No one would stop The-Boy-Who-Lived from getting in. He would take the mirror to the veil, and then he would…he would…
"Hermione, look at this!" She didn't wand to complete the thought in her mind and was glad for the interruption. She looked at the Ron who was holding up a piece of candy. He took it in his mouth and turned see through and started floating, "I wonder if I can-" Ron cut himself off and tried to walk through a wall. He fell down immediately.
"You get dafter as the years go." Hermione said. Her companion didn't notice as he was too busy trying to stand up and take the other candy. He managed the feat and promptly connected his feet to the ground, turning solid color again, "I'll meet you at The Three Broomsticks at eleven. That gives you an hour to browse your brothers' shop while I browse the book store."
"Alright." Ron agreed, not even giving her a second glance before scuttling into the backroom.
She waved to Fred and exited the shop. She had never seen the streets so empty. Maybe ten seventh years were walking along the street while most were probably hidden inside stores like Ron was. She saw her destination marked and began walking toward it.
How she loved books! The smell of the musty library! The thirst of learning overpowered every inch of her body. Hermione never had any real friends before Hogwarts. She had spent most of her time in primary Muggle school reading on her spare time. That's how she began to love books the way she did. It was something she would never stop doing.
Just a few meters from the shop, she felt a familiar touch roughly on her hand. She was swung from the open street into a dark alley. Hermione was glad it was an annoying git like Malfoy instead of lethal Deatheaters.
"Are you scared?" He asked her just like he had the previous night. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Yes, I am." She said, sarcasm dripping in her voice.
"Glad to know I have that kind of an effect on you, Mudblood." He said, knowing perfectly well that she hadn't been serious. She rolled her eyes once again while extracting herself from the position she was in.
"If you'll excuse me Malfoy. Not that you have a choice." She spat at him while walking out of the alley. Once again, she felt his hand on hers, pulling her back against the wall.
His lips roughly connected with hers. She let an involuntary moan escape her lips before pushing him. He didn't move but instead latched his lips more firmly onto hers. She searched her robes for her wand like she had previously and was more than just a little glad she found it quickly. She began to think of spells that would incapacitate him from having any interaction with his 'family jewels'. She lost all thought when he bit onto her still sore bottom lip.
He was stronger than her; that was no competition. She needed an opportunity to strike, and it was given when Malfoy left her swollen lips and began to trail surprisingly soft kisses along her jaw. Her wand tightly in her hand, she couldn't help but postpone her cursing. He bit into her neck and her attention snapped back in place.
With quick wand work, she had him on the ground clutching his gentiles. Hermione had learned quite a few spells that effected people as if she had kneed them while at the Burrow. Ginny Weasley was not one to be messed with.
"Malfoy, I'm warning you now. Do not, I repeat, do not ever, under any circumstances, try that on me again. I will make that pain permanent." She motioned with her wand at him before healing her lip. She gave him one look and saw him heal himself with his wand. She snorted at him before turning around and walking out.
She walked in their cozy, furnished living room. Ron was madly talking at her side, but she waved him off when she saw Harry sitting on the couch. It was a little past eleven now, and she was not as surprised to see him awake as she was to see him out of his room. They were threading on egg shells around him, no matter what Ron had said in the morning.
"Hey, Harry. What's kickin'?" Ron asked rather loudly. He had no sense, and Hermione was about to tell him off for it when he shot her a dirty look. Wow, Ron telling her off for something. He was right though. They did need to treat him like normal.
As she thought, he got no response. Harry was still bitter. When she thought about it, when was Harry not bitter. He ought to have fun before the final battle. No matter how much they tried and wanted to ignore it, the fact of the matter was that it was coming up that soon. It would probably be Voldemort attacking the castle.
The first and second years would either be scared out of their wits or like they were, they would try to prove something. No matter how skilled the first year, the Deatheaters didn't fight fair. If it was the most experienced, smartest first year, they still wouldn't be able to take on a Deatheater by themselves, and knowing them, they would probably have another to take them out. Of course the students fiercely outnumbered Voldemort's army, but most would not fight. Even if they did, the Deatheaters would just knock them with Avada Kedavra.
She could imagine it now even with some of her fellow seventh years. However much it scared her, she couldn't let the image of someone like Terry Boot, or Dean Thomas, or Susan Bones taking out their wands and fighting. They would hit them with a Disarming Spell while some would try to draw up a shield with something like Protego. Then what would happen? The Deatheater would take their opportunity to use the Killing Curse. It would go right through the shield, and they would just fall down while their hair lightly fluttered. It would stop their hearts, and they would die. Whose fault would it end up being? Harry would blame himself for not defeating Voldemort sooner. That is, IF he came through it.
She couldn't help but shake that thought that Harry wasn't going to make it without something changing drastically in him. He would fight the most noble battle while everyone around them were having their own battle. She might be trying to take on Bellatrix Lestrange while Ron might fight Lucius Malfoy. He would throw curse after curse, Voldemort dodging it with ease. He would fight and fight until he put all his energy into his final curse that would hit Voldemort.
She would probably run to see what happened and if Voldemort or Harry were alive or dead. Ron might do the same, and end up being hit by Lucius Malfoy. They were already all damning themselves for not taking out the Ministry officials first. If it hadn't been for those bloody buggers, they would have traded Order Members were the Dementors sooner. Then, maybe half of Azkaban wouldn't have escaped last year.
She shook the images from her mind and looked to Ron. He was saying something to Harry. She watched with curiosity as Harry's lips twitched upwards in a smile. Then, just as fast they were in a thin line, his eyes a light shade of green. She frowned as she heard Ron continuing on with what he was saying before. Harry, catching himself, didn't even try to smile this time.
"If you want to be like that, go ahead. We'll be in Hermione's room not bothering you since you're obviously so busy trying to suck all the happiness out of the room." Ron snapped at Harry. I looked to see Harry's face contorting with anger.
"I'm sorry that I can't goof around all the time. Someone has to worry about that bloke in the prophecy who has to fight Voldemort. Oh, wait…" The sarcasm in his voice dripped heavily as he continued, "That bloke… He's me!" He tried to look as if he had just figured out that there was another species walking into the room.
"Be sarcastic, if you'd like. I'm tired of thinking about you all bloody day and having nightmares about you even while I sleep. You think we don't care about you? Fine, I won't." Ron barked at Harry. It looked like it was the last straw for him, and she worried about how this was going to effect him.
She looked to Harry and saw him completely unfazed. His face contorted again, and in a second, it was as blank as their west wall. Ron looked at Harry for a few more minutes before coming over to Hermione. He took her in a tight hug and kissed her cheek, his touch lingering. He removed his lips and replaced where his lips had been with his hand.
"I understand if you want to stay here, but I'm going before I turn into a Dementor." Ron softly whispered. Hermione couldn't help but smile at his freckled face, "I'll see you at breakfast, 'Mione." He let go of either sides of her waist.
"I'll see you then, Ron." She replied. Ron smiled at her, his cheeks brightening to the color of his hair. His breaths came in heavy bursts. He moved to the portrait hole and opened it with one hand, waving before stepping out with one last smile toward her.
A/N: Okie, next chapter is err... Rated R for... well I won't ruin the chapter, but let's just say that Hermione will be very very hurt afterward. Review... Cheers
Chapter 3: Alley
The rest of their breakfast had gone on in quiet conversation about the seventh year only Hogsmeade trip. In a few hours they would be lined up with the rest of the seventh years to go to the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. Regularly, the first Hogsmeade trip would have been in two weeks time, but the seventh years were given many extra privileges.
When the hall started filling with students, Hermione and Ron had opted to leave and go outside. It was a nice warm day. They would be damned if they would spend the day inside being ogled at by students who had found out about the events of last June. They finally knew what it felt like when Harry would walk anywhere public.
"I'm going to my brother's shop first. They always give me free stuff." Ron said while sitting down on the grass leaning on a tree.
"Accio money!" Hermione exclaimed while pointing her wand at a window she knew to lead to her dormitory. She heard the bag of money crash against the window. She did quick wand work and opened the window letting the money zoom to her. Ron repeated his actions while pointing to the Gryffindor tower further up.
"Is your Mum still upset with them for quitting school?" Hermione asked while sitting on the grass and laying down on her back, her head on her hands.
"You would think after two years she would, but she isn't. She still curses at them occasionally and throws them nasty looks. For the most part though they've gotten the point across that they wouldn't be going back." Ron chuckled. He opened up his money bag and started to count.
"Well you have to think about it this way. Your brothers are the only ones out of all your siblings that weren't made Prefects. As disappointing as that is, they go on and just quit before even taking N.E.W.Ts!" Hermione replied while willing a stray cloud to come to them.
"They're making plenty of money, though." Ron quietly said. Money would always be a delicate subject for him. She figured once he became an Auror he would never have to worry about that again.
Hermione didn't answer and instead just closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Silent days were relished. Her peace was interrupted by the doors opening and seventh years walking out onto the carriages that were coming to take them to Hogsmeade. Ron got up and dusted himself off before putting out his hand for her to take. She pulled herself up and dusted herself off like he had.
They watched the seventh years pass them loudly and get into carriages that were led by beasts Hermione had never wanted to see. How she would have loved to not be able to see them, to be naïve. She looked to Ron and saw a blank expression plaster itself onto his face. Last year's massacre had put them off wanting to come back to Hogwarts. They had the pleasure of not having to see them when they left which was quite odd. Only when their train this year had pulled into the station did she truly dread going to school. She was on the verge of just apparating to the gates and walking the rest of the way in the rain until she realized Harry hadn't gotten his license. He was just newly 17 while Hermione and Ron has both been of age for quite some time.
She looked to her companion for any kind of hint of what he was thinking. He showed no emotion nor any kind of movement. She took his hand gingerly and wrapped her fingers in his and pulled him. His feet had slowly started working on their own and they got into the last carriage that was only occupied with Neville.
"Hello, Neville." Hermione voiced as she stepped into the carriage still pulling Ron along.
"Hermione. Ron." He said eagerly while holding a pouch with presumably his money, "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" The boy always had a smile on his face. He had too been at the battle and seen people die at the end of last year.
"Yes. We needed one of these kinds of days. Perfect Quidditch conditions, huh?" She nudged Ron in the ribs. She really didn't want to listen to Ron start on Quidditch, but she needed him to snap out of the trance he was in.
"Our first practice is tomorrow morning! Gryffindors got a great team this year. We're sure to win the Quidditch Cup, but it is rumored that the Slytherins had a professional Quidditch player transfer into Hogwarts just to play for them. I wouldn't put it was the sneaky little bastards to do something like that." He excitedly responded just the way she thought he would. She praised herself for once again thinking on her feet.
The ride quickly ended. They stepped out of the carriages and separated from Neville. Hermione saw a shop to the right with large green letters that were made to look like they were covered in some kind of goop. The sign read: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! Hermione was quickly dragged into the shop by Ron.
"George! Look who it is! It's our fickle little Ronnie with his girlfriend!" The one she recognized as Fred yelped the second they entered.
"She's not my girlfriend." Ron said through gritted teeth as George came out of the back. Hermione took her time to examine the shop. It was set up like Zonko's was.
Before either of the twins could reply, Hermione took the opportunity to speak, "How has the business been going?"
"Great!" George exclaimed.
"Fantastic!" Fred added.
"Bloody brilliant!"
"Wickedly on schedule."
"Well… except for that one bloke."
"Right… that one bloke…"
"What happened?" Hermione asked curiously while George departed them to go back into the back.
"This bloke came in here a few weeks back and bought a bunch of products. We thought we'd seen the last of him when he came back yesterday with a broken arm and some kind of bird growing out of his head. He hadn't followed the instructions clearly labeled on the packaging and got injured. He came here to try and make us pay for St. Mungos. I told the bloke, 'If you can't read the instructions, don't buy from us!' He won't leave us alone now. We've referred him to the Department of Magical Reversal Squad and told him if he wanted a trial in front of a member of the Wizengamot then all he had to do was say the word and we'd owl them. He, of course, knew he had no case so he's just been settling for bothering us and trying to get rid of business." Fred summed up.
"Why don't you just curse him?" Ron asked bluntly while fingering his wand.
"Stop being daft, Ron. They would lose so much business from that, and they could end up getting an actual visit from an Auror fining them." Hermione looked to Fred to see him nod in agreement.
"Oh." Ron said dumbly.
"So, where's Potterkins?" Fred asked.
Oh how she wished he was there with them. Ron was right, though. They had to let him brood and 'get off his high horse' as he said. She wondered what he was doing at the moment. He was probably sneaking to the kitchens to get a Butterbeer before going somewhere like the Astronomy Tower or just sitting alone with his mirror. She hoped he was on grounds though. The last thing she needed was for him to be in the Ministry of Magic.
She thought he was practicing his Occlumency, but she thought he was practicing it in their fifth year also. She hoped Voldemort couldn't get through and send him messages. All Harry needed was the perfect motive to go to the Department of Mysteries and sneak in. No one would stop The-Boy-Who-Lived from getting in. He would take the mirror to the veil, and then he would…he would…
"Hermione, look at this!" She didn't wand to complete the thought in her mind and was glad for the interruption. She looked at the Ron who was holding up a piece of candy. He took it in his mouth and turned see through and started floating, "I wonder if I can-" Ron cut himself off and tried to walk through a wall. He fell down immediately.
"You get dafter as the years go." Hermione said. Her companion didn't notice as he was too busy trying to stand up and take the other candy. He managed the feat and promptly connected his feet to the ground, turning solid color again, "I'll meet you at The Three Broomsticks at eleven. That gives you an hour to browse your brothers' shop while I browse the book store."
"Alright." Ron agreed, not even giving her a second glance before scuttling into the backroom.
She waved to Fred and exited the shop. She had never seen the streets so empty. Maybe ten seventh years were walking along the street while most were probably hidden inside stores like Ron was. She saw her destination marked and began walking toward it.
How she loved books! The smell of the musty library! The thirst of learning overpowered every inch of her body. Hermione never had any real friends before Hogwarts. She had spent most of her time in primary Muggle school reading on her spare time. That's how she began to love books the way she did. It was something she would never stop doing.
Just a few meters from the shop, she felt a familiar touch roughly on her hand. She was swung from the open street into a dark alley. Hermione was glad it was an annoying git like Malfoy instead of lethal Deatheaters.
"Are you scared?" He asked her just like he had the previous night. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Yes, I am." She said, sarcasm dripping in her voice.
"Glad to know I have that kind of an effect on you, Mudblood." He said, knowing perfectly well that she hadn't been serious. She rolled her eyes once again while extracting herself from the position she was in.
"If you'll excuse me Malfoy. Not that you have a choice." She spat at him while walking out of the alley. Once again, she felt his hand on hers, pulling her back against the wall.
His lips roughly connected with hers. She let an involuntary moan escape her lips before pushing him. He didn't move but instead latched his lips more firmly onto hers. She searched her robes for her wand like she had previously and was more than just a little glad she found it quickly. She began to think of spells that would incapacitate him from having any interaction with his 'family jewels'. She lost all thought when he bit onto her still sore bottom lip.
He was stronger than her; that was no competition. She needed an opportunity to strike, and it was given when Malfoy left her swollen lips and began to trail surprisingly soft kisses along her jaw. Her wand tightly in her hand, she couldn't help but postpone her cursing. He bit into her neck and her attention snapped back in place.
With quick wand work, she had him on the ground clutching his gentiles. Hermione had learned quite a few spells that effected people as if she had kneed them while at the Burrow. Ginny Weasley was not one to be messed with.
"Malfoy, I'm warning you now. Do not, I repeat, do not ever, under any circumstances, try that on me again. I will make that pain permanent." She motioned with her wand at him before healing her lip. She gave him one look and saw him heal himself with his wand. She snorted at him before turning around and walking out.
She walked in their cozy, furnished living room. Ron was madly talking at her side, but she waved him off when she saw Harry sitting on the couch. It was a little past eleven now, and she was not as surprised to see him awake as she was to see him out of his room. They were threading on egg shells around him, no matter what Ron had said in the morning.
"Hey, Harry. What's kickin'?" Ron asked rather loudly. He had no sense, and Hermione was about to tell him off for it when he shot her a dirty look. Wow, Ron telling her off for something. He was right though. They did need to treat him like normal.
As she thought, he got no response. Harry was still bitter. When she thought about it, when was Harry not bitter. He ought to have fun before the final battle. No matter how much they tried and wanted to ignore it, the fact of the matter was that it was coming up that soon. It would probably be Voldemort attacking the castle.
The first and second years would either be scared out of their wits or like they were, they would try to prove something. No matter how skilled the first year, the Deatheaters didn't fight fair. If it was the most experienced, smartest first year, they still wouldn't be able to take on a Deatheater by themselves, and knowing them, they would probably have another to take them out. Of course the students fiercely outnumbered Voldemort's army, but most would not fight. Even if they did, the Deatheaters would just knock them with Avada Kedavra.
She could imagine it now even with some of her fellow seventh years. However much it scared her, she couldn't let the image of someone like Terry Boot, or Dean Thomas, or Susan Bones taking out their wands and fighting. They would hit them with a Disarming Spell while some would try to draw up a shield with something like Protego. Then what would happen? The Deatheater would take their opportunity to use the Killing Curse. It would go right through the shield, and they would just fall down while their hair lightly fluttered. It would stop their hearts, and they would die. Whose fault would it end up being? Harry would blame himself for not defeating Voldemort sooner. That is, IF he came through it.
She couldn't help but shake that thought that Harry wasn't going to make it without something changing drastically in him. He would fight the most noble battle while everyone around them were having their own battle. She might be trying to take on Bellatrix Lestrange while Ron might fight Lucius Malfoy. He would throw curse after curse, Voldemort dodging it with ease. He would fight and fight until he put all his energy into his final curse that would hit Voldemort.
She would probably run to see what happened and if Voldemort or Harry were alive or dead. Ron might do the same, and end up being hit by Lucius Malfoy. They were already all damning themselves for not taking out the Ministry officials first. If it hadn't been for those bloody buggers, they would have traded Order Members were the Dementors sooner. Then, maybe half of Azkaban wouldn't have escaped last year.
She shook the images from her mind and looked to Ron. He was saying something to Harry. She watched with curiosity as Harry's lips twitched upwards in a smile. Then, just as fast they were in a thin line, his eyes a light shade of green. She frowned as she heard Ron continuing on with what he was saying before. Harry, catching himself, didn't even try to smile this time.
"If you want to be like that, go ahead. We'll be in Hermione's room not bothering you since you're obviously so busy trying to suck all the happiness out of the room." Ron snapped at Harry. I looked to see Harry's face contorting with anger.
"I'm sorry that I can't goof around all the time. Someone has to worry about that bloke in the prophecy who has to fight Voldemort. Oh, wait…" The sarcasm in his voice dripped heavily as he continued, "That bloke… He's me!" He tried to look as if he had just figured out that there was another species walking into the room.
"Be sarcastic, if you'd like. I'm tired of thinking about you all bloody day and having nightmares about you even while I sleep. You think we don't care about you? Fine, I won't." Ron barked at Harry. It looked like it was the last straw for him, and she worried about how this was going to effect him.
She looked to Harry and saw him completely unfazed. His face contorted again, and in a second, it was as blank as their west wall. Ron looked at Harry for a few more minutes before coming over to Hermione. He took her in a tight hug and kissed her cheek, his touch lingering. He removed his lips and replaced where his lips had been with his hand.
"I understand if you want to stay here, but I'm going before I turn into a Dementor." Ron softly whispered. Hermione couldn't help but smile at his freckled face, "I'll see you at breakfast, 'Mione." He let go of either sides of her waist.
"I'll see you then, Ron." She replied. Ron smiled at her, his cheeks brightening to the color of his hair. His breaths came in heavy bursts. He moved to the portrait hole and opened it with one hand, waving before stepping out with one last smile toward her.
A/N: Okie, next chapter is err... Rated R for... well I won't ruin the chapter, but let's just say that Hermione will be very very hurt afterward. Review... Cheers