Hey everyone! How's it going? I've been out of town and really busy
with school so that's why I've waited so long to put up another
chapter. I would have had it up a little bit sooner, but my computer
has decided to stop reading floppy discs for the moment so I had to
retype everything, which really makes me mad because I had some really
good things already typed up. Oh well!

And tograceheartrupie9110, I went out and rented Win a Date with Tad
Hamilton after your review (I've been wanting to see it anyway), and
you're right, Topher Grace's character is sort of similar to Matt.
They both like to joke around, but I think Matt is more playful than
Pete and a bit less sarcastic. But, we'll just see if the ending is
the same. Well on that note, here it goes! I hope you like it!

"I'll have a butterbeer, please." Hermione wanted to flee as far away
as she could, far away from her problems and her woes, a place she
hoped she would find no one she knew. It was only natural that she
decided to escape to a place of her childhood, a time when things
between Ron and her self had been so much easier. Now she sat in the
Three Broomsticks, sipping a butterbeer, occasionally allowing a tear
to escape as she thought over what had just happened.

"Hermione?" It was Harry. Hermione quickly began to blink hoping her
tears would recede. "I haven't seen you for nearly a month," he said
as he took a seat next to her. Noticing her red irritated eyes he
asked, "Is something wrong?"

"N—no, I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly. "Really." There was no
way he believed that.

"Have you and Ron been arguing again?"

"We—"

"What happened?"

"I don't really want to discuss it right now, Harry."
Harry didn't respond for a moment, trying to decide if he should
further press her for answers. "Alright," he responded. "But just
remember, if you ever need to talk to someone, ever, I'm always here
to listen, ok?"

Hermione nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Harry."

Harry leaned forward to hug his dear friend. "Anytime." She was so
lucky to have such great friends. "Well, I'm supposed to meet Ginny
somewhere in a minute," he said as he stood up. "Remember, stop by
anytime."

"I will. Bye Harry."

……………………………………………………………………………

Harry apparated to the spot he had designated to meet Ginny at 1:30.
"Sorry I'm late," he said leaning in a kissing her cheek. "I ran into
Hermione at the Three Broomsticks."

"Really? How's she doing?"

"I think we'd better stop by Rons."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I'll explain on the way."

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

"And when exactly were you planning on telling us," asked a furious Ginny.

"It wasn't a sure thing, yet," replied Ron.

"You called the wedding off, Ron. Sorry, but I think it was a sure
thing," said Harry.

Ron slouched in his chair, fiddling with the ring, the one he had
given to her when he had asked for her hand in marriage. Hermione had
taken off and dropped to the floor seconds before she left. The ring
had hit the ground, and she had disappeared. "Oh what's the point," he
asked. "What's the point of living if I've lost her?"

"Ron stop being so dramatic," snapped Ginny. "You were the one who
originally called it off."

"Besides, you haven't officially lost her yet."

"She said she needed to think it over. When she left she took off her
ring and dropped it on the ground." Ron sat back up for a moment.
"Yeah, I think it's officially over, Harry." He once again slouched
into his chair.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Ron and Hermione were no longer
together; if those two couldn't stay together, who could? "Well, what
are you going to do," asked Ginny quietly.

"What can I do? The next time I see her she'll be announcing her
marriage to Matt. She's staying with him, you know."

"Do you really think she's going to leave you for Matt?"

"No," responded Ron. "I talked to Matt the other day. He actually
sort of seems to be on my side, which is odd because I thought he was
in love with Hermione as well."

"That was a while ago though, wasn't it," asked Harry.

"I don't think Matt would take advantage of the situation and ask out
Hermione. When I met him he seemed really nice," said Ginny. "He's
really funny too." She ignored the look she received from Harry.

"It's not Matt that I'm worried about. It's 'Mione."

"I don't think you have to worry about her," said Harry. "What you
need to worry about is winning her back."

"And how am I going to do that?"

"Well," said Ginny. "She said she's going to think about it, right?"
Ron nodded. "Don't let her focus on the negatives. I know if I were in
her situation, I would want to hear from you. If you sit around and
say nothing, she will definitely say no."

"But I want to give her time to think. Don't you think I might annoy
her if I'm always popping up?"

"You don't need to pop up all the time. Just send her a note every
once in a while to let her know you're thinking about her."

"Plus, if you've got Matt on your side, he'll help you out."

"One problem. As far as I know, he hasn't a clue Hermione is a witch.
If Pig showed up at his house he might begin to wonder."

"Make sure Pig arrives while Matt's at work."

"Or," suggested Harry. "You could call her at Matts house."

"Whatever you decide to do, Ron," said Ginny. "You've got to get her back."

Ron nodded as he stared at the ring that should still be on
Hermione's finger. Tears filled his eyes. "I know."

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Hermione returned to Matt's apartment, feeling a little more
talkative about her situation.

But only a little.

"Hey." Hermione walked in and locked the door behind her. She was
happy to be returning.

He looked over at her from the couch as she entered. "I was starting
to get worried about you." Hermione took a seat next to him. "So
what's up?" He knew something was wrong."

"I spoke with Ron today."

"And you don't seem very happy about it."

Hermione didn't respond for a while. "You said to give him one more
day." Hermione looked up at him. "You knew he was coming, didn't you?"

"No, I—"

"Just tell me."

"I thought he would come today, but I didn't know it was a fact."

"So you guessed?"

Matt sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you, Hermione. The other day I
went and spoke with Ron."

Hermione came to a realization. "So that's where you went the other day!"

"Yes."

"Why did you—"

"I had to see what was going on."

Hermione stood up and headed towards her suitcases. "If you wanted me
out of your apartment you could have just told me instead of driving
all the way out to—"

"Hermione, you know that's not why I went to talk to him," She
continued heading towards her suitcases.

Matt reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her. "The truth of the
matter is I would rather you stay here than go anywhere else.
Hermione, you know I'm protective of you. I hated seeing you miserable
and watching you wait around for Ron everyday hoping he'd come for you
was terrible for me. I didn't want you to wait for no reason. So,
that's why I went to see Ron. I wanted to make sure you weren't
wasting your time."

Matt looked down at her hand. "You gave him back your ring?" He
looked up at her with surprise.

Slowly Hermione began to nod, biting her lip. Tears escaped down her
cheeks. "Yes."

Maybe it's a good thing my computer isn't working. I like this
version more than my earlier one. Anyway, the next couple of chapters
I'm trying something a bit different. I'm not too entirely sure how
it'll help the plot, and a few of you may get angry with me for it,
but it's fan fiction so really I can do what I want. Anyway, I really
hope you all liked it! Review and let me know what you think! Misty