Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Ron awoke early the next morning. Can't I sleep in anymore? He wondered to himself as he got out of his sleeping bag. It seemed as if he had been getting up early a lot that summer. When he got out of his tent he saw Ginny trying to stoke a breakfast fire.
"Hey, Gin," Ron said quietly. He didn't want to wake anyone else up, and it was that time of the morning where any normal sounds are just too loud.
"Hey, Ron," Ginny replied absently. She went back to poking the fire, which by this time was just about right for breakfast. Still, she kept poking at it.
"What's wrong?" asked Ron, concerned. Ginny normally didn't brood like this.
"What makes you think anything's wrong?" asked Ginny as she took an uncharacteristically hard poke into the coals of the fire pit.
"Because you're going to stoke that fire until it's cold!" Ron replied.
"It's nothing, Ron," said Ginny. "It's just silly. I'll work it out by myself, and everything will be fine."
"Are you sure?" Ron asked cautiously. Ginny was not normally this secretive, especially with Ron. Those two were the closest of the Weasley siblings, and they normally shared everything together.
"I'm sure. It's just confusing, and I just need to think about it. I'll work it all out," said Ginny with an unconvincing smile on her lips. The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes, then they heard a tent flap behind them. Harry came out, stretching, his hair messier than normal, in his boxers and t-shirt. Ginny's ears began to turn a little pink, but Ron didn't notice.
"Morning," said Harry in the middle of a yawn. He shook his head to wake himself. "What's for breakfast?"
"You sound like Ron," laughed Ginny. Ron gave her a cross look. "I think Hermione brought something like a self-heating griddle or something. We could make blueberry pancakes," Ginny suggested.
"Ooh, those sound great!" exclaimed Ron, who, after being reminded that morning was a time to eat by Harry, had suddenly become very hungry.
"We'd better wait until Hermione wakes up, though," cautioned Ginny. "She's the only one who really knows how to work that griddle. The others agreed a little grudgingly, for they were both very hungry. They sat around the fire, and every minute or so Harry and Ron would glance over at the girls' tent, hoping for some sign of Hermione waking.
"I can't wait anymore," said Ron about 20 minutes later. He got up and strode over to the girls' tent.
"Ron, don't wake Hermione up!" exclaimed Ginny.
"Oh, come on, she's always up before us. If I don't wake her up now, she'll be upset that we all let her sleep while we were awake, and waiting for her to eat. With that Ron entered the tent.
Hermione lay inside her sleeping bag. She looks so peaceful, thought Ron. He let himself stare for a minute and then he shook himself awake, reminding himself once again that this was Hermione, his best friend. Ron bent down and gently shook Hermione's shoulder. She stirred a little, but didn't show any signs of waking. Ron got braver, bent down, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Wake up, 'Mione," he said gently.
"Hermione stirred a little, and with her eyes still closed she said sleepily, "What did you call me?"
""Mione, it's time for you to wake up," replied Ron. Hermione opened one eye a crack, saw Ron, and gave a little smile.
"Good morning Ron," she said, her eyes both closed again.
"You know, you're the last one to wake up this morning," Ron said gently, liking the quiet in the tent. With that both of Hermione's eyes shot open, and the smile went away from her face.
"What!" said Hermione in disbelief.
"I thought you'd want to wake up," said Ron, smiling. Hermione was already out of her sleeping bag, pulling some socks on. Ron smiled even bigger. Hermione was in her own boxers and shirt from bed, and her hair was wilder than ever, and tangled here and there. He liked that look on her. It made her seem…..human? It was not the perfect Hermione everyone else saw, and he liked it.
Hermione came to her senses as she finished putting on her socks. "What are you still doing in here! I have to get changed…get out!" Hermione exclaimed as she shooed Ron out of the door.
Ron left the tent, smiling. "Breakfast's on its way!" he announced.
"I heard that!" the three heard Hermione call from the tent. She emerged and said, "So that's why you woke me up. Not because you knew I'd want to be woken up, but so I could shut your stomach up?" She sounded mad, but it was plain to anyone who saw her face that she was trying not to laugh. "You must be so incapable to not be able to make your own breakfast. I would think that with your stomach growling all the time, that you'd be an expert chef. You'd have to be to keep that thing quiet!" Ginny and Harry laughed as Ron scowled at the three of them.
"Here, I'll get my griddle and we can make breakfast," said Hermione.
After breakfast, the four sat around digesting their food. Ginny kept sneaking looks at Harry, but Ron didn't notice because he was doing the same to Hermione. He was in a sort of a trance when Harry broke in and said, "Let's go swimming today!" Ron's hands immediately went to his stomach and he thought about how stuff with pancakes he was. The last thing he wanted to do at the moment was move, much less swim.
"You go on ahead, Harry," said Hermione, "at the moment, I'm just too full. I'll join you later."
"I'll go with you, Harry," said Ginny excitedly. For a moment Ron thought he saw the excitement he first saw in Ginny when she met Harry her first year.
"What about you, Ron?" asked Harry.
"I'll catch up with you later. I'm also a little full."
"I bet. You ate more than the three of us combined," said Harry, a grin on his face. He and Ginny went to their tents to get ready. Ron sat there, looking up at the sky, really thinking about nothing. It was too early to think. He heard a noise next to him, and saw that Hermione had gotten up from her seat to sit next to Ron. For a second he felt a little tingle, but only for a second, because he quickly put a stop to it. She's your best friend. How many times has she sat next to you? Ron smiled at Hermione. As he did, Harry and Ginny emerged from their tents and ran down toward the lake.
"I'm going to get there first!" shouted Harry.
"No way! You may be faster in the air, but I'm definitely faster on land!" shouted Ginny back. Ginny caught up with Harry, but as she was about to fly past him, he picked her up by the waist and ran, carrying her, into the water. When he got deep enough, he threw her in against the shrieks and shouts coming from Ginny. A person couldn't tell what
Ginny was saying, though, because she was giggling too hard.
"She sure looks different now than she did this morning," commented Ron.
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, watching Harry and Ginny in the water.
"Something was bothering her this morning. When I woke up, she was absently over-poking the fire. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong. She just told me that she was confused about something, but that she'd figure it out herself. It's not like her to keep her feelings from anyone," said Ron, a concerned look on his face. "Has Ginny mentioned anything to you?"
"No, she hasn't," Hermione replied. The look on her face told Ron that she was thinking hard about what could be wrong. Hermione glanced at the lake and watched Ginny and Harry for a second, then with a knowing smile on her face she said to Ron, "but I'm sure that it will all be fine."
"I don't like this. We used to tell each other everything," said Ron.
"Everything? I'm sure that you haven't told Ginny everything that has happened in your life," commented Hermione wisely.
"You know what I mean. We always confide in each other. Well, almost," Ron added, thinking about those shivers he'd started to have around Hermione. "I'm worried that we're growing apart."
Hermione looked at Ron, shocked at the sensitive nature of the words coming from his mouth. He had never confided in her like this.
"I'm sure you're not growing apart Ron. You're growing up, and there are things that a girl just can't tell her older brother. Especially when he's as protective and caring as you are," replied Hermione, putting a hand on his shoulder. Ron's shoulder burned where Hermione's hand was, but he tried to ignore it.
"Like what?" asked Ron, knowing the answer already, but not wanting to think about it. It was like Hermione read his mind.
"You know very well what. I'm sure that Ginny will tell you when she's ready, but for now she just has to figure things out for herself."
"You sound pretty sure about this. Are you sure that you don't know what's going on?" asked Ron, raising an eyebrow.
Hermione laughed, "I'm sure, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what might be going on. C'mon, I think it's about time that we joined those two in the water," Hermione said, nodding toward Harry and Ginny. Hermione got up and headed to her tent to change.
"Good idea," said Ron, but he sat there for a minute more, thinking about how it felt when Hermione had her hand on his shoulder.
A/N: Thanks for your patience. Not only did I have writer's block and the new book out, but my mom showed up for a surprise visit, and that also postponed this chapter! Here's something for you Harry/Ginny fans! I know that this chapter is a little fluffy, and may be over the top, but I'm going to try to balance the upcoming chapters better! Thanks for the reviews!