Disclaimer: It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own any of the characters used. Chewbacca, of course, belongs to George Lucas.

A/N: A huge thanks to everyone who's reviewed! I love hearing how much you like the story but to be honest I'm surprised so many people could like my writing. I've always thought my style was a little weird but thank you for not thinking that! This chapter is longer than the other chapters (it's a little over 2,600 words) but I went to see a movie with my friends yesterday so I didn't have loads of time. Anyway I'd like to give a special thanks to Kellie Mclean. Wow! That's a really awesome thing to say and I appreciate it a lot. I do try to get my grammar right most of the time (I don't always succeed). My English teachers deserve most of the credit since I'm not a natural at grammar or punctuation (Verb tense and commas are my downfall!). On to the story!

The Warning

A continuous light tapping on my shoulder woke me up the next morning. Hoping that the person trying to get me up would leave, I kept completely still so he or she might think I was still asleep. Apparently the "tapper" wasn't to be discouraged because the annoying tapping continued undeterred. Flipping over onto my back, I cracked my eyes slightly and glanced around groggily to see who or what had woken me up.

"Time to get up sleepy-head," said Ginny who was standing over me with an amused grin on her face. For spending the night on the floor she looked well rested in her jean skirt and black tank top.

"Yeah I'm getting up," I said though I didn't move an inch.

Ginny just looked at me with an incredulous look on her face and said, "Well we're all about to start breakfast. You had better get down there before Ron eats all the food." At that she turned on her heal, stalked across the room, and headed out the door. Grunting faintly, I sat up slowly and stiffly pushed myself up off the floor. Twisting my neck slightly to the left I felt and heard it give a satisfying pop. As I made my way to the small bathroom connected to our room I vowed never again to sleep willingly on the floor. Flicking on the light switch, I glanced in the mirror and gave a start at my appearance. I looked like a cross between a stunned bug and Chewbacca on a bad hair day. Considering the fact that this probably wasn't a good look for me, I decided that a hot shower would make me feel better (and hopefully look better).

After slipping back into the now crumpled skirt and top that I had worn yesterday, I made my way down the rickety stairs in search of breakfast. I didn't have to go far. The Weasleys, Harry, and my parents were all situated around a very large wooden table, which was laden with all sorts of yummy breakfast goodies. To my delight the only empty chair happened to be next to Ron so I happily made my way over. Plopping (elegantly of course) down into the chair I started to pile my plate with slightly burnt sausages, scrambled eggs, and fluffy pancakes.

My mum, in a very cheery voice, said, "Good morning Hermione! Mr. Weasley has just asked us if you might spend the rest of the summer at his home. We'd be more than happy for you to go but you need to come home to pack up your things. You don't want to have to make the trip back just for luggage. Is that all right with you Hermione?"

Washing my food down with a gulp of orange juice I said, "Yeah mom that's what I was thinking as well. Thanks for letting me go."

Apparently not done with me yet she said in a stern voice, "Now Arthur has very kindly offered to come pick you up at the house in a couple days so that your father and I don't have to make the trip. We won't see you again before school starts but I expect you to be on your best behavior. Is that clear young lady?" She made it sound as if I was a wayward third grader who liked to super glue the other children's butts to their seats.

Trying hard not to laugh at the picture forming in my mind I said, "Yes mum. I'll play nicely with the other children."

With a satisfied smile she turned to Mr. Weasley who was talking to my father about electric can openers (Mr. Weasley looked as if he might pee his pants from excitement).

After taking a few more bites of food I glanced over at Ron to see how he felt this morning after our "moment" last evening. He was halfway through his eighth pancake before he even noticed that I was looking at him.

Bits of pancake flying from his gaping mouth he said, "What? Need the syrup?" My eyes grew to the size of saucers as I looked at him and said, in a sarcastic tone, that I didn't need the syrup. My sausages and eggs forgotten, I sat my fork down on my napkin and excused myself, claiming that I needed to grab the pajamas I had borrowed from Ginny. I stomped off toward my room, slammed the door behind me, and flopped face first onto the bed. "Need the syrup?" That had to be the best one yet. I muffled my scream of rage in my pillow and tried to calm myself down. I told myself that perhaps he hadn't forgotten about the night before but was planning on talking to me about it when no one else was around.

Sitting up suddenly I said, "Yes that has to be it." He hadn't forgotten. No, even Ron couldn't be that absentminded. I headed back down stairs having decided that I would try and get Ron alone to talk. Breakfast was over by the time I had gotten down to the dining hall and my parents were saying their good-byes to the Weasleys. Ginny and Harry, who were staring at each other in a corner, looked as if they wouldn't notice if Professor Snape walked in naked.

Deciding that now would be the perfect time to make my move I walked over to Ron and said, "Err...Ron can you come with me...I need to ask you something." Looking as if he hadn't the faintest idea what I wanted to talk to him about, he followed me into a musty room connected to the dining hall.

Turning around to face him I asked, "So Ron did you want to talk to me about something?"

Ron looked absolutely bewildered now and his expression would have been funny if I wasn't so upset. "No Hermione...I don't think so. I thought you needed to ask me something?"

Getting a sinking feeling in my stomach I said, "Well...yes but I don't...remember what I was going to ask. Are you sure you don't have something you wished to discuss with me?"

He looked at me strangely and his face screwed up in thought. Then all of a sudden an expression, as though a light switch had been flipped on in his head, came over his face and I figured he had finally remembered about last night. "Oh yeah. I needed to know if I could borrow your copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I lost my copy and I need it for that essay Hagrid assigned over the summer. How did you know I needed to ask you about that?" My face turned beet red with rage but before I could scream at him Ginny came in to tell me that my parents were ready to go. Ginny, Ron, and Harry came out to see me off and I gave them all a hug goodbye (making sure to stomp on Ron's foot 'accidentally' as I embraced him).

As we drove home that afternoon I couldn't help but think about all that had happened on my trip to Diagon Alley. I had almost kissed Ron, I had witnessed Ginny and Harry finally getting together, and I had found out about what the Dark Lord had been up to all summer. Though why Ron kept ignoring me was very confusing I knew that Voldemort was the more important issue. Most of my attention had been focused on Ron while I was at the Leaky Cauldron but now I had time to really think about Voldemort. No matter which way you put it my final year at Hogwarts was going to be dangerous and frightening. Unless he suddenly died in the next couple weeks everyone I knew was going to be in grave danger. Hogwarts was strong but you had to wonder how much it could take. Dumbledore could protect us from Voldemort but what about all the Deatheaters. How could one man stand up to so much evil? Sure Dumbledore had most of the students backing him up but none of us were anywhere near as powerful as the Deatheaters. Ron had said the Order was planning something and I only hoped that their plans would turn into action soon. I propped a pillow behind my head and looked out my window at the trees flying by. After a while my eyes started to droop and, as hard as I fought it, I finally drifted off to sleep.

A shrill scream woke me up but as I opened my eyes a bright light blinded me. Blinking repeatedly, I bolted upright in my seat and let out a startled gasp at the vision before me. Apparently we had arrived back at our house but it was not how we had left it. Bright orange flames were licking at the rooftop and I could see that our windows had been smashed in. In huge blood red letters the words 'Your time has come mudblood. The Dark Lord will not rest until you and your family are dead' were scrawled across the front of my house. Jerking my head around I looked at the front seat to make sure both my parents were still in the car. My father had a look of pure terror on his face and my mother had tears trickling down her pale cheeks. Looking wildly around me I tried to see if anyone was around but my eyes didn't seem to want to focus properly. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. The first thing we needed to do was to get away from our house incase one of Voldemort's supporters had stayed behind. There were large bushes planted all around the front yard and the dark woods nearby offered a good hiding place.

Thinking about this I stuttered to my father, "We h-had b-better leave. I don't k-know i-if it's s-safe t-to b-be around h-here." Without a word my father started the engine, whipped the car around, and zoomed off in the direction we had come from.

I saw him glance in the rear-view mirror and in a fright filled voice he said, "We're heading back to the Leaky Cauldron. The Weasleys will still be there and I know Arthur will know what to do. I'm afraid we can't go to the police with this. Things have gotten out of hand Hermione." No one said another word but I could sense how frightened my parents were. I knew they had been aware that Voldemort was dangerous but I think how dangerous he was had finally hit home. I hoped now, more than ever, that whatever the Order had planned, it worked. Voldemort and his cronies wouldn't be easy to defeat but it was definitely possible. I caught glimpses of pastures, woods, houses, and headlights as we zoomed back toward the Leaky Cauldron.

It was well past midnight when we arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron and it appeared that all the lights inside the ramshackle inn had been extinguished. Visibly shaken, my mum, dad, and I climbed out of the car and made our way to the door of the Leaky Cauldron. With a trembling hand my mother pulled at the door handle but it didn't budge.

Looking sullenly up at my father she whispered, "Well naturally it would be locked at this time of night. I hadn't wanted to make a commotion but it seems we'll have to knock." Nodding, my father raised his fist and knocked loudly a few times before letting his arm drop down back to his side. After a minute or two Tom the landlord appeared at the door in a faded gray dressing gown looking very groggy. As soon as he realized who we were Tom ushered us into the inn and, with a flick of his wand, had three armchairs pulled up beside a roaring fire. Sickened at the reminder of how my house had been lit up in flames, I pulled my armchair over to a dark corner and let my parents get warm by the fire.

I heard Tom ask, "Is there anything I can get you? All three of you look like death."

I saw my father flinch in the flickering light and he replied urgently, "Tom I need you to get Arthur Weasley for me. He's staying in one of your rooms. Something...has happened and I need to speak to him immediately. If you could get him down here for me I'd very much appreciate it."

Nodding jerkily, Tom uttered a "yes sir Mr. Granger" and shuffled off up the stairs. A faint knock came from the upper floor and then I heard Mr. Weasley shout in a sleepy voice, "Plugs, did you say? No I've got plenty thanks." Indistinguishable whisperings could be heard before I perceived the sound of quite a few pairs of slipper clad feet making their way down the stairs. Mr. Weasley, resplendent in royal blue pinstripe pajamas, came rushing into the room with a very tousled looking Mrs. Weasley tagging along right behind him. Right to the rear of them followed a rumpled Harry, a sleep deprived looking Ginny, a yawning Ron, and a very excited looking Tom. Ron, Harry, and Ginny spotted me in the corner and quickly rushed over to me. Just before they closed in on me I saw Tom amble into the other room in search of some more lanterns and I saw my parents deep in conversation with the elder Weasleys. Before I knew it I had three very concerned looking teenagers all trying to hug me at the same time. Ron managed to grab me around the torso while both Harry and Ginny each got an arm.

In a voice muffled by Ron's head (which smelled quite nice) I said, "Ret gro uh me!" They all three let go of there death grips and settled onto the floor surrounding my chair.

Ron, who had his arm rested up against my leg, was the first one to speak. "What's happened Hermione? Dad's yell woke us all up and we couldn't believe that you were here. Is everything okay?"

Feeling tears burn behind my eyelids I looked down at my hands and said, "No, everything's not okay." I proceeded to recount the whole story to them and by the time I was finished I thought their eyes were going to pop out of their heads. After what I had said finally set in Ginny burst into tears, Harry pulled her onto his lap to comfort her, and Ron just gaped up at me with a funny look in his eyes. Not being able to handle the stress any longer, I finally let the tears fall. Before I knew what had happened I was sitting in Ron's lap while he rubbed my back reassuringly. He kept whispering "you're all right" and "I'll keep you safe" over and over again. It only made me sob harder because his words brought back all of my insecurities about how he felt about me. After a while the noises around me dulled and my tears turned in to dry sniffles. The shock of seeing my house up in flames had finally caught up with me and I could barely keep my eyes open. Nuzzling my head into Ron's solid chest I tried to clear my mind of all the evil things that had happened that night. My last coherent thought, before I drifted off to sleep, was that I could spend the rest of my life with these two arms wrapped around me and never get tired of the feeling.

A/N: Ha ha. I got my fluffy bit in there at the end. This isn't going to be just about romance. I wanted there to be other things contributing to the plot. Hermione's going to have to go through a lot more "stuff" before she gets to happily ever after. Ron's being a typical boy. Being all love dovey one minute and then acting as if he's never seen you before the next minute. Ahhh...the trials of teenage love. Reviews decide how fast I can write (hint hint) :)

Lots of Love - Miss Dissendium