By the time Hermione woke up the next day, it was already lunch time, and Mrs. Weasley brought up a tray for her.

"You can try walking downstairs for dinner, but until then, you stay in bed, or I'll have your hide. Do you understand me?"

Without waiting for an answer, she left the room, leaving Hermione to eat alone, but not for long. Harry appeared, grinning, just a few minutes later, with a tray of his own.

"Ron and Ginny are helping Fred and George stock up the joke shop for the sart of term rush. I thought you might want some company," he said.

"Thanks Harry," she said, although she couldn't help but feel disappointed that Ron wasn't there.

As if he had read her mind, Harry commented "They'll be back in time for dinner, though." At this, Hermione brightened, because it meant he would be home to see her walk for the first time since the accident. They sat and talked as they ate, and Hermione was very happy to have the company. She loved Harry almost like an brother, someone she could talk to about almost anything. When they had finished eating, Harry stood up.

"You should get more rest if you're going to try walking tonight," he said.

"I suppose," She replied, "Can you close the curtains then?"

After he closed them, he walked over next to her bed.

"Anything else you need?" he asked, and Hermione shook her head.
He stood by her bed for a second, then bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He left the room quickly, leaving a very puzzled Hermione to try to get some sleep.

When Hermione woke up later that day, Ron was sitting next to her bed
with a letter in hand.

"Our school lists are here," he said, "and our O.W.L. results as well."

"Well, let me have mine, then," she said impatiently. He handed her
the envelope, and she opened it nervously, as though it might bite
her. Inside the envelope were the usual letters and booklist, but
there was also a smaller envelope labeled:

Hermione Granger
O.W.L. Results

Before opening hers, she turned to Ron.

"What did you get?" she asked.

"I haven't opened mine yet. I thought we could open them at the same
time," he said.

"Alright, well, here it goes," she said. They opened the envelopes and
pulled out pieces of parchment. Hermione quickly read her results:

Astronomy: E
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Potions: O
Transfiguration: O
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
Charms: O
Arithmancy: O
Ancient Runes: E
Herbology: O
History of Magic:E

She looked at Ron.

"Can I see what you got?" she asked, "It's okay if you don't want me
to. I understand,"

"No… It's okay, Hermione. You can see," He said, handing her his piece
of parchment. She did the same, and then she read his.

Astronomy: A
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Potions: O
Transfiguration: E
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
Charms: E
Divination: P
Herbology: E
History of Magic: A

"Well done Ron!" Hermione said, "You got an O in potions! You can
study to become and Auror!"

"I know," he said. He seemed to be in shock, but then, as Harry walked
into the room, he asked a question that caught Hermione completely off
guard.

"You never told Harry and I what 'Career Path' you were going to take.
What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Well," she said, "I was actually thinking of becoming a Healer."

"Really, Hermione? That's great. I think you'd really be suited for
the job," Harry said, "Would you like to see what I got?"

Hermione nodded and he handed it to her. Ron read it over her shoulder.

Astronomy: E
Care of Magical Creatures: O
Potions: O
Transfiguration: E
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
Charms: E
Divination: P
Herbology: E
History of Magic: D

"I did pretty well, except for that D," he said, " and that was
because I got a total of about five questions done before I had that
dream, you know, about Voldemort and…" At the last few words, Harry
slowed down and a pained expression filled his eyes.

"Harry?" Hermione asked slowly, "Do you want t-"

"No. I've been trying not to think about it," he said, getting up. "I
think I'll just go see if your mom needs any help with anything, Ron."

He turned to leave, but Hermione was sure she saw him wipe his eyes
with his sleeve.

Hermione sat and talked with Ron for awhile, then Ron left her to
rest, but she was still thinking about Harry. They all missed Sirius,
but no one more than Harry. What was worse was that he blamed himself
for Sirius' death. She didn't know what she could say that would help
him any.

Then there was the kiss. She didn't know what to make of it. She
couldn't tell whether it had been a friendly kiss or whether there was
feeling behind it. She wanted to ask Harry, but there seemed to be
some sort of unspoken agreement between the two of them. She sighed
heavily and rolled over. I might as well get some sleep, she thought.

Later that day, Hermione could be found playing Wizard's Chess with Ginny in her bedroom when Harry walked in and announced that Mrs. Weasley said Hermione could walk downstairs. She managed to get most of the way down without any help, but about ten steps from the bottom, she leaned suddenly onto the banister, feeling a little fatigued. Harry and Ron rushed forward to help her, but she waved them off, determined to get to the kitchen on her own.
She finally managed to get there, and when she did, they had a cheerful, delicious dinner, though she noticed that Harry would not meet her eyes. After dinner, she managed to get back upstairs and into the room she and Ginny were sharing without incident. Before Ginny came in, however, Ron came to say goodnight. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, which reminded her of Harry's kiss. As Ron turned to leave, she stopped him.

"Err, Ron?" Hermione asked tentatively

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Has Harry been, err, acting strange?" she asked.

"I don't think so," he said, brow furrowing. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," she said, thinking quickly, "because of what happened the earlier today when he remembered the dream."

"Oh… No, I don't think he has," he said.

"Oh, ok." She said, trying to make sense of it. If Harry wasn't acting weird, then that must mean the kiss hadn't meant anything. But why hadn't he said anything about it, then? Was he just embarrassed? Or had it meant something, and Ron just wasn't noticing Harry acting weird? There didn't seem to be any sense in trying to figure it out, because her mind just kept going in circles. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.