Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Anything that you recognize is the idea of the amazing JK Rowling, whom I think is a genius! Okay, on with the story.

They walked slowly, as always, following the familiar route around the lake. The evening air around them was crisp and cool; the perfect weather for a walk. They strode in a comfortable silence, knowing that words were unnecessary between good friends. As they walked, his hand discreetly reached for hers, and they interlaced fingers, never showing any emotion that a first sign of affection had taken place, besides the irrepressible grins on the two teenagers' faces. They walked around for a while longer, before he tugged on her hand and brought her to him, placing his lips briefly on her cheek, and telling her that it was time to go inside.

Hermione Granger awoke in her bed of the 6th year girls' dorm, and, though her mind groggily started to function, her eyes stayed shut. She wanted that dream back; that bliss that had ended so peacefully. But, she knew that it wasn't coming back. The dream had ended, and it was time for reality to take its place.

She sighed deeply and looked at the clock. It was only 7:00 in the morning on a Saturday. Her roommates were all late sleepers, which meant that she would have at least 3 hours to shower and get some reading done. Plenty of time.

She quickly grabbed a pair of grey sweat pants and a sweat-shirt and moved into the bathroom. She turned up the water as hot as she could stand it, and stepped in carefully, moving into the stream inch by inch so that her skin could get used to the heat.

She let out a deep breath once she was all the way in, and let the water run down her face. There was something soothing about this place; this, and her dormitory bed. Here, she could come and burn feelings that she didn't want off of her skin and out of her mind, while her bed was simply quiet and private.

The purpose for today's shower was the same as all the rest; to try and get rid of any wants for Ron Weasley. She did want him, though not in any improper way. Simply in a nice, 'I want to spend the rest of my life with you' sort of way. Hermione had realized long ago that it wasn't lust, but love. She loved Ron Weasley, and she hated herself for it. She knew that he would never see her as any more than a sister.

As she began to wash her hair, her muscles, tense from a stressful week, began to relax, and her mind drifted. She began to hum a new Weird Sisters song that she had heard yesterday. Unfortunately, it reminded her of her relationship with Ron.

If you only knew

The way I feel for you

Then it wouldn't be this way,

Whoa, yeah, it wouldn't be this way.

Once she was finished washing up, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed her towel. She fiercely dried her hair with it, trying to get any thoughts of the red-headed prat out of her mind. She slipped into her sweat-pants and sweat-shirt, and pulled her wet hair back into a loose bun.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Okay, so she wasn't as pretty as Lavender was, but she could hold her own. Her smile was much better now that she no longer had beaver teeth, and as she had grown up, her body had developed quite a bit. Hermione blushed at her thoughts, and promptly turned away from the mirror. She'd had this argument with herself a thousand times over, and it wouldn't do to have it again.

She walked into the dorm to find that it was only 7:30. She grabbed her book off the nightstand by her bed, and her hand paused over her diary. She debated for a moment, but decided not to write today. It would just be the same old thing. "Dear Diary. Last night I dreamed about Ron again and…" She was tired of pouring her feelings into something that couldn't help her.

Hermione made her way into the common room to find that someone was already there.

"Good morning, Ginny," she said.

The red-headed girl looked around behind her and smiled at Hermione.

"Morning, Hermione."

"What are you doing up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're up, though. This is normal for you, isn't it?"

"It is. I find it a lot easier to get things done in the mornings when it's quieter, and you don't have so much going through your mind," Hermione replied.

She made her way over to the chair opposite Ginny, and sat down, curling her legs under her in a comfortable position. She opened up her book, and began to read. But immediately, her thoughts were brought to Ron, who had given her the book in the first place. She loved his hair, how it vibrant it was and how it perfectly matched his personality. His crystal blue eyes, how they were always filled with emotion. His sense of humor and how, though she'd hate to admit it, it always made her laugh despite herself. She felt her mouth tug upward in a grin, but was immediately shaken out of her reverie when Ginny spoke.

"Hermione? You okay?"

"Of course, Ginny. What would give you the idea that I wasn't?" Hermione replied readily.

"Well, first of all, it's been almost ten minutes since you sat down, and you haven't turned a page of your book. And even if you had been reading, I seriously doubt that," she craned her head to look towards the book, "Dark Wizards of the Ages is all that funny." She turned her head upright again, and pinned Hermione with an amused look.

Hermione breathed a sigh of defeat. Ginny was extremely smart and observant, even if she didn't get very good marks in school. There was no getting this past her.

"I…it's…"

"Ron," Ginny finished for her.

Hermione looked up in surprise and horror. "Is it that obvious?"

Ginny laughed. "Are you kidding, Hermione? Everyone in Gryffindor knows that you two fancy each other! Well, besides you two, of course."

"How could that be, Ginny?" Hermione asked disdainfully, "He's dating Lavender."

"He's not dating Lavender, Hermione." Hermione gave her a look, silently asking if she was blind. "He's not! They're just snogging partners. Honestly, have you ever seen them have a decent, intelligible conversation?"

Hermione mulled this over in her mind. It was true, she'd never really seen them talk all that much. But Ron wasn't the type of person to just…snog someone without feeling anything for them. When she voiced her opinion, Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Hermione, the only reason he's with Lavender is because he's a boy, and boys are stupid." Hermione smiled a bit at this comment. It was one she'd thought many times, but not one that she would ever voice. "Not to mention that, because he's known you for so long, he refuses to believe that you could be any more than a friend, even if he knows that's not all he wants with you," Ginny finished with a devilish grin.

"Ginny!" Hermione reprimanded, but she smiled anyway. Ginny could always make her laugh. One of the many traits that she shared with her brother. Immediately, Hermione's smile faded away, and the sparkle in her eyes was replaced with a rim of tears threatening to spill over. Ginny seemed to notice, and she moved to sit in front of Hermione, and Hermione moved to sit down on the floor.

"Hermione, what is it? There has to be something else," Ginny asked with worried eyes.

"It's just…I…" Hermione took a deep breath, and prepared to tell Ginny what she had been blatantly trying to ignore all morning.

"I dream about him sometimes, at night. About he and I being together." She paused as Ginny tried to stifle a laugh, and blushed at her choice of words. "Ginny! Not in that way!"

"I know, I know. But having six older brothers has corrupted me. Fred and George alone have done enough damage that Mum would curse them into the next millennium!" Hermione laughed, and Ginny motioned her hands, indicating that she should continue.

"So, I do dream about him a lot. Never anything…improper. But, it all has the same effect. I used to just brush it off, trying to convince myself that they were just dreams, just petty little things that didn't mean anything. But last night's dream was different. Last night's dream hurt." Ginny's eyes were peaked with curiosity, but the word "hurt" had brought the concern flooding back into them.

"What happened?" She asked worriedly. Hermione took a deep breath, and started.

"Well, it started out, and we were just…walking. On the Hogwarts grounds, around the lake. There was no talking, no noise at all…just walking. And all I can remember is how much I wanted him to do something, show some sign of affection. Then, we were holding hands. He didn't say anything, and I didn't either. But somehow I knew that the simple gesture meant more than words ever could. And as we came back around the lake, he kissed me on the cheek. And that's when I woke up." Hermione was crying, tears streaming down her face. Somehow, recounting the dream and made it so much more real, and it made her long for it even more.

"Oh, Hermione." Ginny moved forward and collected Hermione in a tight embrace, rubbing her back, soothing her. Hermione let herself be comforted, and though she wasn't crying very hard, she knew that Ginny understood her perfectly. When she pulled back, she saw that Ginny's eyes were red, too.

"I just-I've wanted it for so long." she began thickly, "And I thought he did. The way he was acting towards me…it was so obvious. Or so I thought. And then, we come back from that-that spectacular Quidditch match, and he was-was…" Hermione felt a fresh wave of tears coarse down her face, but she didn't stop. "How could I be so stupid? How could I have read the signs so badly that I actually let myself get worked up about it? I promised myself that I wouldn't get my hopes up. I knew this would happen, and it's my fault entirely and…"

"Shhh. Hermione. You know that it wasn't your fault. You know that he's just being a git. I promise you that he does fancy you." Through her tears, Hermione gave a laugh of disbelief. Ginny grabbed Hermione's hands.

"Hermione, look at me. Look." Hermione lifted her head. "You know that I wouldn't lie to you like this. You know that I don't tell lies just to make people feel better. You know that. Ron does fancy you. You know how I know?" Hermione shook her head fiercely.

"He kept every single one of the letters that you wrote him last summer. Every single one. He used to keep them in his pockets, and read them over and over again. I even found him reciting one in his sleep once. He still has them in his room. He keeps them in his trunk, and he reads them whenever he's alone. I caught him once, when I was trying to steal some socks."

Hermione laughed despite herself. Ginny stole everyone's socks. She had even stolen a couple of her own pairs. But Hermione's mind went quickly back to what Ginny had said. She hoped it was true…she wanted it to be true. But she didn't want to suffer another heart-break. Ginny seemed to sense her indecision.

"Hermione, I swear it's true. He really does fancy you."

"Then what is Lavender?" she asked softly.

"Lavender is…an experiment. Lavender is someone for Ron to date before he comes to you. Lavender is his way of testing his feelings for you."

Hermione thought about this, and then gave a slight nod of her head to show that she both accepted this theory and believed everything that Ginny had just said. The two girls moved forward to embrace one another again, each feeling slightly better.

"Thanks, Ginny. I don't know where I'd be without you."

"You know, I don't either. I think that the only reason you're still sane is because of me."

"Well, aren't you modest?"

"Oh, don't I know it!"

And the two girls dissolved into laughter.

Okay, so, I hope you enjoyed the story. Mi hermano told me that it could be a story with anybody, but, I chose to write it Harry Potter style. This story has no editing to it, hence the reason that it sort of sucks, but I'm welcome to any comments. Same as the last story, any comments welcome, but reasons behind them, if you don't mind. Thanks. Hope that you enjoyed! Byes.

Brdwybnd09