Disclaimer: I own nothing. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The characters and the settings belong to JK, and the brilliant and wonderfully fresh plot belongs to my older sister. (To be called Harry Plotter.) I just put it in writing. My own plots are corny and conventional. Anyway, you can expect longer chapters and faster updates here.

Ronald Weasley was lying on his bed, thinking.

Yeah. Kind of surprising, isn't it?

What's even more surprising, though, was that he was thinking about the person he usually paid the least amount of attention to.

No, not Eloise Midgen… Hermione Granger.

She's always helped Ron and Harry out of terrible scrapes and horrible grades. (No matter how much she'd complain about it at first.) Suddenly Ron felt guilty. He'd never really repaid her, except when he stood up for her in the regular Malfoy situations. In fact, he never even told her that he loved having her as a friend. And he had to admit, she sometimes knew more about him and Harry than they did.

And this year would be N.E.W.T. year, it being the seventh, and Ron would need Hermione's help more than ever. "I'm definitely going to make it up to her this year," he told himself.

(Now let's go to the notorious Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. What on earth are the twins doing?)

Fred, George, and now Lee Jordan were doing the usual: enforcing sinister (or nearly so) ideas into innocent children's minds with their half-dangerous inventions and ignoring the impatient tuts of cautious parents. "They are the limit," they'd say, as Hermione once did or, "You could really get hurt with those things," ("That's kind of the point, lady," Lee would mutter under his breath) and sometimes even "This so-called shop of yours is a waste of time and money; can't you three do something worthwhile?" Of course, they were used to it.

"Hey, Forge," said Fred one day, just after shooing away another wary, ranting mother.

"Yes, Gred?" replied the other, closing the door behind the same woman.

"Ever thought of finishing school?" asked Fred.

"Are you feeling okay?" said George, somewhere between genuine and mock concern.

"I'm serious," said Fred, grinning. "I mean, that scum-bag Umbridge is gone—"

"—and Hoggy-warty is the best place to advertise—"

"—since business is kind of bad from September onwards… right, Forge?"

"You're absolutely right. Lee, hear that?" yelled George, his voice filling the basement of the building, "You're going to have to take over while we're gone!" Lee shouted an "Okay," in response.

Little did George know that his twin was up to something much more than advertisements.

(A few days later…)

Ron was walking around Diagon Alley with Ginny and Harry for school supplies. Hermione said she'd meet them later that afternoon at Flourish and Blotts (where they were heading). Harry was unaccountably happy (well, nearly; nothing really made him that cheerful anymore) because he had already found a place of his own. It was hard for him not to gloat. Because of this, it was hard for Ginny and Ron not to laugh. "Well," Ginny said, "now we know where we'll celebrate Christmas when Mum's cross." Ron was laughing absentmindedly when…

BANG!

"Watch where you're—Fred? George?"

"Hello, ickles," they replied in a very Peeves-like way. "What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, surprised. "Well," started Fred, "we sent a letter to Dumbledore saying we want to finish our studies. We were in our last year after all, so we figured we'd have another go at it. He said we could, and he gave us our lists. So here we are." Harry snorted. "You want to finish your studies? As if," he said. "What's going on?" interrupted a familiar voice. They all turned around to see Hermione Granger. "Hello, fourth ickle," said George. Fred just waved and smiled (Ron noticed this and found it very odd). "Hi, Hermione," said the remaining three cheerfully. "Will someone not call me ickle and tell me what the twins are doing in a bookshop?" she laughed.

"You wouldn't believe it even if Dumbledore told you," Ginny retorted. "Try me," Hermione said in mock threat, waving her hand in a bring-it-on sort of way. "Well," Harry began, "they're going to finish school… willingly." He laughed again. "That's… well, wow! That's wonderful! If either of you need help… I'm an open book!" she said, in the same tone she had used when she found out that Ron, instead of Harry, had been made prefect. "You can say that again," Ron whispered to Harry, "she's read so many that she's become one." A moment later he felt guilty again.

Soon—too soon, for Ron especially—September 1st came and all six of them made their way to Platform 9 ¾. They loaded their trunks a few minutes later and seated themselves comfortably in a compartment. Astonishingly, Hermione and the twins were discussing N.E.W.T.'s quite enthusiastically, and to Ron, Fred was talking to Hermione as though she were some foreign exchange student or something like Fleur Delacour. He could sense Fred was up to something… he just wished he knew what…

"Ron?" Hermione called later that afternoon, while the train was still moving.

"Yeah?" he replied, his mouth full of Chocolate Frog.

"Can I have a Chocolate Frog?"

As this was a question Hermione had never asked before, and since Ron wasn't exactly keen on giving up any sort of confectionery, it took him several seconds to think it over. Then he remembered how much Hermione had done for him… it was the least he could do, after all. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Ron passed her one, with a half-audible "Sure." Ginny, who was sitting opposite him, was giggling uncontrollably, for she knew her brothers well—they were very protective of their Chocolate Frogs. Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, Fred said, "Here, Hermione, have two of mine." "Thanks, Fred!" she said in genuine appreciation, taking both his offer and Ron's 'sacrifice'. Harry made a mental note to talk to Ron about this in the near future, as he knew that Ron Weasley didn't give his Chocolate Frogs to just anyone.

Later, in the Great Hall, the six of them found seats together as Professor Dumbledore made his usual welcome speech. It was a while before he said, "Tuck in!" and the food appeared. Ginny was laughing at Ron and Harry because they were stuffing their faces—as usual—with all the food they could reach without leaning over and staining their robes. But Ron paused when he saw, on Harry's other side, Hermione chatting animatedly with Fred. For once, Hermione was enjoying herself with Fred—Fred, of all people.

Ron saw this as very peculiar indeed.