Reviewers (Yay!):

hereford cow: Sorry about the missing thuds Hanusia . Yes, I am very proud of you for pressing the scary button. Thud. Thud...

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Me: Nice name . Thanks for that – just glad that someone liked it!

kuty kt: Bows to crowd Oh, what's that? You want more chappies? One comin' right up!... Thanks for your review Katie – Ron/Hermione all the way! Draco/Ginny ain't so bad either...Hmmmm... strokes chin in evil manner

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ashley48506: Yeah, I was thinking that. I should try to make my chapters longer and I realised that it was a bit fast when I was reading it earlier on today. I guess I had the plot in my head and my thoughts were moving quickly so my writing showed that a bit. Thanks for being so honest though.

Eve: Thanks – that was so nice of you to say that!

steph Yeah... I will let Ron (and everyone else) know very soon – maybe in this chapter! If you want to find out keep on reading.

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Tald: Thank you very much to my first reviewer! I was so happy when I found out – yay! As I have said, the chapters will be longer.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed – I am so grateful.

Author's note: I am so sorry for the delay – I've been really busy and had writers block. I hope this didn't cause anyone too much annoyance... I'm not really sure where I want to go from here, but I will keep all of my reviewer's comments and suggestions in mind. Oh yeah, Hermione, Ron and Harry are in their 6th year at Hogwarts. I will be adding a touch of romance throughout the story so please don't be confused by the description that says Drama/Action/Adventure.

Dedications: I dedicate this chapter to my sister, Experimentally Sarcastic. No, she did not slap me... He he he...

Disclaimer: Considering this is a fan fiction site, I am writing fan fiction. This means that the characters are not mine because they belong to somebody else – I just love the characters and their potential.

Chapter 3: Grief Disclosed

A sun slowly rose over the misty hillside, bathing everything in wondrous shades of gold and pink. Outside the birds were singing a beautiful melody of joy. The world was at its best – so peaceful and lovely.

Hermione Jane Granger noticed nothing of this.

She was perhaps the only person in the whole household awake, but she didn't seem to particularly mind either. She lay on her back staring at the ceiling, with her thick brown hair spread out on the pillow her head was resting on. Hermione was lost in her own world where she was hard to reach; a place of dull, deep, pure despair.

It was 9:00 and the whole Weasly household was awake, willingly or not. A bleary – eyed Ron was one of the latter, and he aimlessly stirred his porridge as he sat at the table. "Mum" he complained, yawning. "Why couldn't I sleep in? It must be five or something."

Mrs Weasly hurried over to the table and briskly relived it of the dirty plates and bowls. "Its 9:00 Ron dear, and you'd better hurry up and finish your porridge."

"9:00?" Ron groaned and buried his head in his arms. "No wonder I'm so tired." He yawned heavily. "Why can't I take my time? Hermione's in no fit shape to talk to, so what's the point?"

His mother whisked the half finished porridge bowl out from under him. "The point is, Ronald, that your Father left this morning while you were snoring to go and pick up Harry. They should be back any moment now. I simply must make the house presentable – heaven knows what the poor child has been through. We don't want to make him feel unwelcome."

Ron, who had brightened up considerably at the fact that Harry was coming rolled his eyes. "Mum,you worry too much. Harry loves it here – you know that. Anyway, he isn't really a very tidy sort of person... you should see his area of the dorm at school."

Mrs Weasly brushed her hands on her apron and hung it up. "Yes, well I think that..." What ever Mrs Weasly did think, Ron never found out as she was interrupted by the flames turning green in the fireplace. "Oh, good" she said. "I was beginning to think that they'd never show up."

A whirling figure materialised in the fireplace, their silhouette licked by harmless green flames. "Harry!" Ron yelled in delight, running over to his friend.

"Ron!" Harry looked equally pleased, his emerald eyes glowing with happiness. Behind the two boys, Mr Weasly stepped out of the hearth.

Mrs Weasly hustled over to him. "Arthur, what kept you? Was there any trouble getting Harry here?"

Mr Weasly smile wanly. "Not really." He suddenly grinned and Harry noticed the similarity to the twins. "Harry's aunt and uncle were a bit... ah...unwilling to let Harry come, but I talked them into it."

"Arthur..." Mrs Weasly cautioned. "We've talked about this..."

Mr Weasly looked flustered. "Molly, please. Not in front of the kids..." he broke off and looked meaningfully at his wife.

Ron and Harry exchanged curious glances, but decided to let the matter drop. An awkward silence followed, but it was soon broken by Ron slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Hermione!" He exclaimed. "We need to go see her now that you're here. Come on, I'll fill you in on the way." Ron raced up the stairs, followed by a bemused Harry.

"Hermione?" Harry rapped sharply on the door. "It's Ron and I... Can we come in?"

There was no answer, so Harry slowly pushed open the door. Hermione lay there on her bed, oblivious to pretty much everything. Harry walked over to her and sat on one side of the bed, taking her limp hand in his. Ron sat on the other side, trying hard to cleanse his face of obvious worry and concern.

"'Mione?"

There was no response. Harry glanced briefly at Ron, who looked up and met Harry's eyes. Harry cleared his throat. "Ron" he said, choosing his words carefully. "What's going on here?"

Ron looked down at Hermione's still face silently before answering. "I... I don't know" he whispered, his voice breaking. "She came last night via floo powder and just started sobbing. I just didn't know what to do, she seemed so helpless." Ron sniffed. "After Sirius left us I was just so scared for her. I mean, Sirius was always so strong – after all he had been through I thought that he could get through anything. That night at the ministry just proved how powerless we are. I was so worried, I was always having dreams about her. I kept on thinking back to our second year at Hogwarts and how she was petrified. Then when she came..." Ron's voice choked and tears sprang into his eyes.

Harry looked at his best friend that he thought he knew so well, bewildered. "You like her that much?" He asked, slightly confused.

Ron's ears turned red. "Of course I like her, she's my friend." He said, a little too quickly.

Harry grinned. "You know what I mean, Ron. You like like her."

Ron looked uncomfortable. "Well... I..." he stammered.

"Ron" Harry said, slightly smiling.

"Yes, I do" Ron spluttered, his freckles indistinguishable from the rest of his face as it was all the same colour now. "I mean, I didn't want to say anything 'cause now you've broken up with Cho and I thought that... well..."

Harry shook his head, bemused. "Ron, Ron. I like Hermione a lot, but as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

Ron met Harry's eyes. "You mean that you aren't mad at me? At all?"

Harry laughed. "Of course not. You're my friend and I'm really happy for you. I must admit though, I had absolutely no idea that you felt this way towards her."

Ron grinned too. "Neither did I, really until last night. The feeling was always there, but..." He broke off suddenly, and they both looked at Hermione, who had stirred since the first time they had entered the room. Both of the boys turned their minds to Hermione's condition anxiously, Ron gripping her hand.

"Hermione?" he said earnestly. "It's Ron and Harry. we're here."

"Hermione?" Harry repeated. He turned to Ron. "She must be in shock."

Ron looked confused. 'What's that? Some kind of Muggle illness?"

Harry shook his head. "I think we need to put her feet up or something to help the blood flow to her head." As Harry moved to get pillows and cushions from Ginny's bed to prop up Hermione's feet, Ron regarded him with a new admiration.

"Wow, Harry. How did you know that?" he asked, moving around to help Harry with the pillows.

Harry gave a short laugh. "Oh, when I was 14 my cousin Dudley was informed he had to go on a diet. He promptly fainted in the doctor's room (nearly causing a mini earthquake) and woke up in shock."

Ron tried to hide a grin as he lifted Hermione's feet onto the pillows.

The hours passed and Harry and Ron kept their constant vigil by Hermione's side, passing the time with talk of Quidditch, The Order of the Phoenix, Daily Prophet articles and, most importantly, the return of Voldemort.

It was about 3 past 1 in the afternoon when Hermione's eyes fluttered open as she groaned. Immediately, the two boys raced to her side.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, looking concerned.

Hermione moved her head slightly. "Ron? Harry? Y... You're here?"

Harry squeezed her arm gently. "Of course we're here, 'Mione. We're your best friends.

The girl shook her head and sat up, dislodging the pillows carefully stacked at the end of her bed. The previous night's events came flashing into her mind making her gasp in horror.

Ron looked concerned and sprang up. "Hermione? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Hermione turned to look at Ron with dark eyes. "My parents, Ron." She said shakily. "Voldemort murdered them."

To be continued...