A/N: This chapter is about Hermione coming home, as well as the rest of summer. Hogwarts is just around the corner folks. Also, eventually I'll be getting to the coupling off stage, and while I think Ron with Hermione is a must, I'm not so sure about Harry. I was thinking with Minerva – ha! Just kidding. No seriously, I was thinking either a new character or Ginny. Any objections? Suggestions? Sorry Cho – but you're too hormonal. I think Harry needs someone a bit more stable right now.

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Everyone they'd left behind in Grimmaund place was standing around the fire; they had been waiting. Mrs. Weasley put her hands to her mouth to keep from screaming when she saw Hermione, and everyone looked horror-stricken. Molly recovered quickly, however. She walked straight up to Fred and George, and slapped each in turn.

"How dare you endanger your sister?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Get out. Now." Fred opened his mouth, but George put his hand on his twin's shoulder. Sighing, Fred left his words unsaid and they both disappeared.

Dumbledore had taken Hermione gently from Ron, and passed her on to Lupin. "Tonks, go with him. You need to admit Hermione to St. Mungo's. I need to talk to Fudge, to do some damage control. Molly, dear, why don't you take Ginny up to her room, get her some tea. Moody – please escort Neville home. His grandmother is expecting him. Arthur – would you mind having a chat with Ron and Harry?"

With his orders everyone quickly dispersed, leaving Ron, Harry and Mr. Weasley alone. Arthur sighed, and sat down at the table, beckoning for the boys to do the same. They did warily. Both felt exhausted, weren't ready after all they'd seen just moments before for a lecture.

"I know you boys had your friend's best intentions in mind." He wiped his face tiredly, staring at the table. "But two days ago the Daily Prophet reported that no English Auror's would be sent to Germany. And last night Fudge got an owl from the Germans thanking him for sending help. He contacted Dumbledore immediately, assuming he was to blame. When you told the German's you had been approved by the Ministry, you were signing yourself up for trouble. I don't know how Dumbledore is going to fix that – he's just begun to regain respect in the public's eye. But right now, we don't know what's going to happen. As it stands, anything's possible. Dumbledore could be fired – if he takes the blame. You all could be expelled. They could take away your wands." He sighed.

Harry grimaced. "Mr. Weasley, we had to do something. If you would all just trust us, if we were actually part of the Order –"

"You know you're too young Harry."

"I know you say that. But it doesn't have to be official – we know about it, after all. And this is my battle. More than anyone else's – more than the Order's, more than Dumbledore's even. And it's not my choice, it's my destiny. So no matter how much you keep from me, I'll always be fighting this."

"Harry, the bottom line is that you didn't need to go. You needlessly risked your lives – the German's didn't need help. Hermione would have been fine without you, and none of you are ready to fight Bellatrix Lestrange yet. You are not responsible – patient – enough Harry. If you can't even follow orders now, why would you follow orders as a member?"

Harry glared at Mr. Weasley; he had never felt this angry with him before. A voice in his head told him maybe Artuhur was right, but Harry rebelled against it. Maybe he had made a mistake, but at least everything had turned out. And who were they to scold him? It had been Dumbledore's mistake that had caused Sirius's death. And responsibility? Who was Weasley to talk to him about responsibility? He had a greater burden resting on his shoulders than Aruthur had ever known.

"As you said – we're too young to be part of the Order. If we're not part of it – we don't need to obey it."

"Harry – "Mr. Weasley started, pleadingly.

"If the order won't trust me – then I won't trust it. If Ron hadn't come get me, you all would have just left me in that miserable pathetic hole-"

"Harry, please-"

"You never tell me anything about the war until it's too late – you'd rather leave me alone to rot-"

"Harry, that's enough-"

"You're not my father, so if I'm such a disappointment-"

"Harry! ENOUGH!"

The shout came behind them – none of them had noticed Mrs. Weasley's appearance. "Harry, Aruthur and I have tried to be as good of parents to you as anyone has. You will not take that tone with us. We are on your side, we are all on the same side. Now you two made a mistake, and are lucky that nothing horrible happened. Ron, I'm tearing up the permission slip for you to go to Hogsmeade this year, and taking away your broom. Harry – I'm doing the same for you. If you don't want to accept that punishment, then fine. But in that case you're going straight back to the Dursley's, for the rest of the summer. It's your choice."

Harry glared at her, clenched his fists. He couldn't believe she was trapping him like this. This wasn't right, it wasn't fair. He felt like he'd suffered so much at the hands of his enemies – being punished by his friends hurt. For a second he thought about taking his broom and just flying away – even stood up abruptly to do it. But then he knew he had nowhere safe to go if not back with the Durselys. And then how would he see if Hermione was okay? He breathed in deeply, made sure he wouldn't be shouting. "Fine. I'll stay." He walked away though, quickly, and heard Ron following him.

They went to Ginny's room, where she was sitting on the ground wiping her eyes. She looked up at them apologetically. "Sorry for mum. I guess because I'm the youngest she'll always be more worried about me."

Ron sat down next to her and hugged her fiercely. "She's right." He said softly. "We shouldn't have let you come. If you'd been hurt-"

Ginny opened her mouth to argue, then just squeezed Ron harder. "We can talk about this later, can't we?"

Harry nodded absently, then quietly asked. "Are you okay Ginny? Ron? We all saw . . . I mean, they were just kids . . . and we were just . . . we didn't think . . ."

Tears started running down Ginny's cheeks again, she squeezed her eyes shut. "Mum doesn't know yet – what happened there. I don't think any of the grown ups do. But mum, if she did know, she would just-"

"Freak a bit." Ron offered with a sigh. "Yeah – no kidding." Harry sat down by Ron, hugged his legs to his chest.

Seeing Ginny crying – he couldn't help but think of the little girl he'd held in his arms. Guilt enveloped him, he felt heavy, like he would suffocate. "I'm sorry." He mumbled. "I shouldn't have had us all go. I held a little girl as she died. And if that had been any of you – "He tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "It's just . . . Hermione . . . If I lost her too . . . any of you too . . . I couldn't . . . I just can't-"

"It's okay mate." Ron said softly. He wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulder as Harry started to cry. For hours the three sat there holding each other, crying about what they'd seen and been through, until they were so exhausted they all fell asleep on the floor, still huddling together for comfort.

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By Dinnertime everyone had returned from their tasks, including Dumbledore. He went upstairs and woke the three still-sleeping children gently. "It's time for dinner. I would guess you're all starving."

The three nodded and silently followed Dumbledore downstairs. Though they were all hungry, none of them ate much. Instead they mostly looked at the food on their plate and listened to what the others had to say.

"Hermione will be alright." Tonks told them after the meal had been served silently. Even she seemed sedated by the day's events. "After the Healer's got her out of shock, she could tell them who she was. She doesn't remember most of this past week, though her memory before then seems unaltered. She'll be allowed visitors tomorrow, and can't wait to see any of you."

Harry, Ron, and Ginny all brightened at that. Harry felt a huge weight slide off him. Her eyes had been so empty when they'd found her . . .

"I talked to Fudge for great length." Dumbledore began. "He agreed not to report to the Daily Prophet that any of you had been involved, and he got agreement from the German's not to report that you were there either. You won't be in trouble: no expelling, no wand breaking. However, to better protect Hogwarts, he requested that I surrender security of the school to the Ministry of Magic. Due to their susceptibility to mind control, this worries me greatly. Alas, it seems it cannot be helped. We will still be able to add spell protection, but each has to be approved by the Head of Security first. Perhaps it will be for the best." He smiled at Harry, who looked away, down at his plate. Harry was glad Dumbledore wasn't going to lecture him too, but still felt bitter towards the man who had claimed responsibility for his godfather's death.

"Neville seemed pretty shaken, and his grandmother gave him quite the scolding." Moody told them between mouthfuls. "But the whole time she was covering him with kisses and hugs, so I think he'll survive."

After that no one spoke through the rest of dinner. It was silent save for the clinking of silverware on plates and bowls. After they were dismissed the three children quickly went upstairs. Harry still avoided meeting any of the adults in the eye. He couldn't tell if he was ashamed, or guilty, or just depressed. He was too tired to sort it all out.

Ron suggested playing a game of Wizard's chess, and Harry half-heartily agreed. Neither could concentrate much, and Ginny fell asleep watching. "Should we call it a night?" Ron suggested after their third disastrous game.

Harry nodded. "Sure. At least tomorrow we'll see Hermione again."

"Yeah." Ron agreed. "At least tomorrow won't be half as bad as today."

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Ron woke Harry and Ginny early the next morning. "You guys, I swiped a copy of the Daily Prophet. It reported what happened in Germany. It's saying the kids that died – well, it's saying they were found that way. That the Death Eater's did it. And that the Aurors that died – that they died from spell traps. They're covering it up."

"I guess we don't have to worry about Mum fretting over us then." Ginny said quietly. Harry nodded.

"I guess not."

"Wake up!" Molly shouted from downstairs. "It's time to go."

Once they'd arrived at St. Mungo's, Molly left the three at the door to Hermione's room, giving them their privacy. Harry felt nervous as he opened the door. What should they expect?

Hermione was sitting up in bed as they entered, and when she saw them she opened her arms to them and her eyes welled up with tears. All three ran to her, hugged her tightly. Hermione laughed through her tears. "You don't know how much I've missed you."

Ron smiled, sitting down on the side of her bed. "I think I have an inkling." He still held her hand, unwilling to lose contact. Ginny sat on the other side of the bed, and Harry pulled up a nearby chair. Hermione looked tons better; all the bruises and cuts were fading, she looked alert. Harry hadn't realized how afraid he'd been that she wouldn't recover until he felt the fear leave him.

After a few minutes, Ginny asked shyly, "So . . . what happened?"

Hermione looked away uncomfortably. "I only remember bits and pieces. I do remember you guys coming to me, though it's very foggy. And I –"She swallowed. "Well, thanks. I remember I could hear screaming, and I thought I was going to die. Then I saw you all . . ." She gave a small smile, then continued. "I don't think I was with the German children very much though. They wanted me for – something else." She looked at Harry quickly, then away just as fast. "I think they were asking me about you. And Dumbledore. I remember screaming . . . "Hermione closed her eyes. "They told me that when I was brought here, I still had some curses on me. On my mind. Harry – I'm so sorry. I think I told them everything about you. I'm so sorry-"

Harry squeezed her hand, tears welling up in his eyes. Since the evening before it seemed like he couldn't stop crying, though all summer he hadn't managed to shed a tear. "Hermione, never apologize to me again. It's not your fault – there was nothing you could do. I'm just glad you're alright now."

She nodded. "Me too." Wiping her eyes, she made an obvious effort to brighten up. "Anyways, I'll be staying with you guys the rest of the summer, so that's something to look forward to. We'll all actually be together for Harry's birthday." Harry brightened too at that thought – it would be nice to be among friends during his birthday. "Oh!" Hermione added. "And have you guys gotten the booklist yet? Or found out who the new defense against the dark arts teacher will be?"

Once she said that, everyone laughed – with a reassured sense that she really would be okay. Ron tousled her hair, a broad grin stretching his face. "Maybe that's all you've been thinking about – but we've had other things on our minds lately."

Hermione sighed. "You always have other things on your minds, Ron. Honestly."

The three talked about their hopes for the next year for an hour, until a Healer told them Hermione needed to rest – she'd be back at Grimmaund in only three days, after all.

Over the next three days they visited her as often as possible, and had a small welcoming home party when Hermione was finally able to join them. Hermione cried when she saw everyone (even Fred and George were invited, though they avoided Mrs. Weasley and vice versa).

For the rest of the summer, Harry was the happiest he had been in a long time. It wasn't that he had so much more to be happy about now – just that after the horrible depression he'd suffered right after Sirius's death, this felt like waking up. He still felt guilty feeling happy every once in awhile – how could he be happy while Sirius was dead? But he knew Sirius would want it that way, and so he tried not to punish himself. For his birthday he got a box full of chocolate frogs from Ron, and a book on Occlumency from Hermione.

"I found it in Germany, and had it translated for you." She told him brightly. "I even read over it a few times while I was there – before . . . you know. Anyway, I was thinking it would be a good thing for all of us to learn. Especially Ron."

Ron jumped at the mention of his name – he'd been playing with one of Harry's chocolate frogs. "What? Why me?"

Hermione tossed her hair. "Maybe if you learned to control your emotions better, you'd be a brilliant Keeper no matter who is watching."

Ron turned red, but Ginny and Harry laughed. "She's got a point." Harry said honestly.

A few weeks later they all made a trip to Diagon Alley to pick up their books. Their load seemed especially heavy this year. They'd also found out who their new Defense against the dark arts teacher was to be – a young women named Carmela Fudge. She was Cornelius Fudge's niece. "I bet that's the only reason she got hired." Said Ron dimly. "I bet Fudge made Dumbledore hire her. Now he's got someone on the inside of the school again." He sighed.

"Don't be gloomy, Ron." Hermione said. "She has to be better than Umbridge. And she was an auror for seven years. I think the only reason she's teaching now is because last March she was fired when she was caught asleep while she was supposed to be doing something official. She's a bit of a lush, I hear."

Ginny laughed. "How do you know all that?"

Hermione shook her head sadly. "Really, you guys. If you would just read the Prophet, you'd know so much more. It was a small article of course – Fudge would have been upset if it had drawn too much attention to such family behavior, I'm sure."

The last few night's in Grimmaund flew by. Before he was quite ready for it, Harry found himself lying in bed, a mere night away from beginning his sixth year at Hogwarts. It was hard to believe he only had two years left. Danger had only grown for him since he'd joined the Wizard community, but maybe, just maybe, this year would be different. With that hopeful thought, Harry closed his eyes and went to sleep.