A/N: I'm back!! Sorry about leaving you in suspense in the last chapter (well, I'm not really sorry, but I was taught to be polite! Hehe), but now that school has started, updates will be…weekly at the most, I promise! This entire story is dedicated to  Beth K., Writer, Reader, Editor, and Full-out Madwoman. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here right now (aka, writing @ fanfiction)…instead, I'd be doing something like homework or the like. Anyway, this is for her! =)

Disclaimer: What were you thinking?? Sure, sure, rub it in my face why don't ya!? I'm not J.K. Rowling and don't own her characters. Thanks for making me feel good about myself…*scowl* I do, however, own the plot and any characters I make up of my own….so =P!

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     Hermione's eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright, panting. Looking around her, she realized she was safe (and alone) in Ginny's room. The late afternoon sun poured into the quiet room through a large window. Shakily, she rose and strode to the window, peering out at the beautiful sunset. Her mind drifted back to her dream—Ron's gentle touch and that kiss; that perfect kiss…she could almost feel it lingering on her lips. Then, with a start, she remembered Viktor's entrance and the look in his eyes. A look of—well, not anger, but pain. Deep, life-sucking pain…pain she knew only she could cause. They'd been together for barely over a year now, yet they trusted each other implicitly. Having a long distance relationship required trust, and look what she'd gone and done with it! Smashed it on the ground; shattered it to pieces. Sure, it was only a dream, but wasn't that always the beginning? She sighed, attempting to make sense of her overwhelming thoughts and wishing desperately for a Pensieve to aid her.

She glanced down at the garden below and felt her heart quicken as she saw the object of her secret affection, throwing gnomes over the distant wall. His muscles rippled and, for the first time, she noticed the sexy veins in his arms that proved Ron Weasley was no longer the gangly, awkward eleven year old he once had been. The sun glistened on his hair, seemingly setting his head on fire. His black shirt (complete with orange Chudley Cannons logo on the back) clung to him, soaked with sweat. Thinking back to her dream, Hermione tore her eyes away from her love…erm, best friend and went to take a shower.

*****

    Ron sat on a rock, wiping the sweat from his brow. He took a sip of water and sighed…her hair was so soft, her skin so creamy. She'd changed so much from the last time he'd talked to her—did she still hate him? He realized he'd been a class-A jerk to her, and hoped she'd have it in herself to forgive him.

A bird whooped in the distance, and a light breeze began to blow. Ron smiled as he realized the love of his life was never far from his mind. Her gentle, perfect hands, the depth of her eyes, even the dimple in her cheek haunted him night and day. He prayed that one day she would be his in a way neither of them had ever imagined or could ever have hoped…

In the meantime, he had to be content with his dreams. Not only dreams of passion and desire, but those of the future he hoped to share with her. Spending the day at the lake with their children, each of which would reflect some aspect of her astounding beauty…coming home to her every day, waking up to her fresh scent every morning. His heart skipped a beat as he imagined such a life; it seemed almost too much to ask. 

He looked up and realized all that was left of the day were the last lingering shadows of sunset. Shivering, he stood up and went to the front of the house, only to find his father pulling up with Ginny and Harry.

"Hey!! How are you?" Harry grinned, pulling Ron into a loose, back-slapping hug.

"I'm great—what took you so long to get here?" They took Harry's things inside and set them down at the foot of the stairs. 

"Your dad kept stopping to examine everything—traffic lights, pedestrian signals, even a sprinkler system on some old lady's lawn. I'm sure she thought he was nutters when she came outside and saw him on his hands and knees in her soaking wet lawn, looking at her sprinkler." 

Laughing, Harry looked up to see a glowing Hermione come down. She'd changed a lot—her cinnamon hair was long and wavy, and her light tan made her honey colored eyes simply shine. She seemed a bit taller, too, and was wearing a deep blue three-quarter sleeved shirt and jeans, which accentuated her near-perfect figure and delicate curves. Harry glanced at Ginny, who was smiling, then at Ron who seemed entranced with the young woman that was approaching.

"Harry! How are you? I missed you so much!"

Taking in her enticing scent, he wrapped her in a tight hug and answered warmly, "I'm fine! How are you, how was Bulgaria?"

Something flashed through her eyes, but disappeared before he was able to identify it. She smiled serenely, simply replying, "I'm great and it was great. Should we get your stuff upstairs? I think dinner's almost ready."

*****

    An hour later, eight Weasleys and two guests pushed back from the dinner table, completely stuffed.

"Thank you, Mum! Dinner was great—I'm sorry I could only come for a few hours. Speaking of which, I should probably get back—the guys were hoping to move this Hungarian Horntail and her eggs to a safer region." Charlie stood up, gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and disapparated. The entire Weasley family (except for Percy) had managed to come for dinner that night, making Hermione and Harry's first day at the Burrow complete.

"Well, I guess I'd better get this mess cleaned up before someone else gets here!" Mrs. Weasley stood up and began collecting peoples plates.

"Can we help you?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ginny's glare.

"Oh, no, no—there won't be time for that." She gave a vague, knowing smile, and went into the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Harry asked, looking from Ron to Ginny. Almost as if in answer to his question, the doorbell rang. The four jumped in surprise and Ron ran to answer it. After a minute, Hermione heard a delicate, earthy laugh from the other room and felt her heart freeze in her chest. 'That was definitely a girl's laugh,' she thought, and braced herself for the worst. She looked up and saw Ron come back in the room, accompanied by a beautiful girl, who looked to be their same age.

    "Guys, this is Kalea."

*****

A/N: So what do you think?? Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out… I hit MAJOR writer's block halfway into it and took three days to figure out what to put next. =) The more reviews/ideas I get, the faster the update will come because frankly, I'm not exactly sure how to start the next chapter. Oh, also about Hermione's description: She has the right to be gorgeous—she's sixteen and sexy! LoL, I wish I looked like that…ESP the 'near-perfect figure' part! Hehe…Hey, that reminds me….do any of you know when Hermione's birthday is, or does no one know yet?


Alyce (sweetie_pie_5_au@hotmail.com): This update came especially for you... I couldn't bear the thought of your being eternally sad! Hope you enjoyed it... =)

Everyone: Thanks for all the great reviews, you guys!! =)