A/N: I've gotten good feedback, so thank you to everyone who left a review. This story was written for a contest at The Third Corridor. Read on!

Brighter

"And I won't let you fall away

From me.

You will never fade away.

I won't let you fall away

You will never fade away.."

'Oh Star' - Paramore

Chapter 4: Missing you

The next morning, Hermione woke up bright and early. She took a quick shower, dressed, and then surveyed her room one last time, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She went downstairs and to the fireplace. With a handful of Floo powder, she stepped into the hearth and yelled out. "Northstar!" She felt the familiar swirling feeling, and saw the different grates swirl past her, until she landed in a very cozy looking office. A young woman came rushing over to her.

"Oh, you must be Hermione Granger! It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand.

Hermione shook it and smiled. "Professor Guarino, it's nice to finally meet you too."

"Oh, please call me Beth." She smiled. "And welcome to Northstar American School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. Please, have a seat." She motioned to one of the comfy looking chairs sitting in front of her desk. Hermione sat down and surveyed the room. It was a comfy office, with pictures hanging on the walls of old headmasters, and of wizarding actors and actresses. Beth noticed Hermione looking around. "If you couldn't tell, I'm a big Shirley Temple fan. She was one of the greatest child witch actresses of all time." Beth smiled. "But lets get down to business. Classes start in a week, which will give you enough time to start making some lesson plans."

Hermione smiled. "I've already got plans set up for the first month and a half of classes."

"Wow! Well, I heard you liked to be well prepared, but that's amazing! Good, then. It'll give you a week to get settled in and meet the rest of the staff. Breakfast starts at 7 in the dining hall, lunch is at 12 and dinner is at 6. The students 3rd year and up get day trips to the local wizarding town, Holly Hill, once a month starting in November. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask." Beth stood up. "I'll show you to your office then." She smiled and Hermione stood up to follow her.

"So, are you just the Headmistress, or do you teach also?" Hermione asked as they walked down the hallway.

"Oh, I'm also the Charms teacher here. You and I are the youngest teachers here, actually. I got the position of Headmistress because my Father passed on and left the position to me. It's been tough trying to prove myself, but I seem to be making progress. Okay here we go." Beth stopped in front of a doorway. "Your password is Chudley Cannons, but you can change it to whatever you want. I'm sure you know the spell."

Hermione nodded. "You pick the password yourself?"

"Yes, I'm a huge Quidditch fan, especially the Cannons. My whole bedroom was done orange when I was a kid."

"You, and my friend Ron would get along famously." Hermione grinned.

"Ron Weasley, you mean? He's a Cannons fan?"

"Yes, huge. His whole room is still done up orange." Both the girls giggled. Beth said the password and they walked into the room. It was a large office, with a desk sitting towards the back with two comfy chairs in front of it. There were floor to ceiling book shelves. There was also a fireplace, and a small grey owl was sitting on an owl perch in the corner. Off to the side was another doorway.

"That door leads to your bedroom, you've got your own bathroom also. Owl's yours, name him what you'd like. It's a welcome gift from me. If you need anything, just floo me through your fireplace. I've got some paperwork to get done." Beth smiled.

"Thanks so much, Beth. It's wonderful."

"Happy unpacking, and I'll see you at lunch." The blonde witch smiled and turned, walking out the door, leaving Hermione to her new rooms. Hermione looked around and sighed. She was homesick already. She walked over to her new owl.

"Hello." She stroked the owl's head. "I think I'll name you Mac." The owl hooted, as if to agree with the name. Hermione turned to her desk and sat down, pulling a quill and a fresh piece of parchment from her bag. She scribbled out a quick note and rolled it up, attaching it to Mac's leg. "Take this to George Weasley for me, please." The owl hooted once again and flew out the open window. Hermione sighed again and began to unpack her belongings.

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George sat behind the counter at the shop, picking at the wood in front of him. Hermione had only been gone for one day and he was already missing her. It wasn't even like she was around all the time, it was just the thought that she was further away than normal. He looked up at Fred finished up with a customer and walked over.

"George, will you stop moping already?"

"Sorry, Fred. Can't help it." George felt a little guilty, since Fred had much more of a reason to mope, and George was wallowing in self pity over something that just wasn't as big a deal.

Fred waved a hand. "Don't worry little brother, I understand."

George stood up. "Hey! I'm only 3 minutes younger than you."

"Yes, which makes you my little brother." Fred grinned. "Now that's better. Let's close up early and go get some dinner at mum's."

George nodded, and the twins began closing up the shop. Fred flipped the sign on the door to 'closed' and the two walked into the back room and up to the flat they shared. Fred walked into the living room and called to his brother.

"Oy, there's an owl here for you."

George walked into the living room and saw a small grey owl with a bit of parchment attached to his leg. He took the parchment off and unrolled it.

"It's from Hermione!" George grinned.

Fred smiled. "I'll go find some owl treats." He disappeared into the kitchen.

George plopped down on the couch and began to read.

George,

I just got in a little while ago. I wanted to let you know that everything is going well so far. The Headmistress is very nice, and about my age. Classes don't start for another week, so I'll be doing nothing until then. Maybe you could come visit? There's a wizarding town just outside the grounds called Holly Hill, maybe we could visit it. Well, please write, as I'm sure I'll be bored out of my mind.

With love,

Hermione

P.S: My owl's name is Mac. Give him an owl treat and a rest before you send him back please?

George re-read the note 6 times. Fred walked back into the room with an owl treat and gave it to the bird.

"What'd she say?"

"She wants me to come visit. Hey, didn't we look into a place called Holly Hill to open up a shop?"

"Yeah, we were supposed to go check it out, but then..." Fred stopped and turned pale.

"Oh...yeah...sorry Fred." George felt guilty for bringing it up.

"No matter. I'm going to go lay down, I'm not feeling great. Tell Hermione I said hello." Fred wandered towards his bedroom.

George sighed and rubbed his eyes. They were supposed to go visit Holly Hill, but then the final battle had started, so they instead had gone to fight. He always had a knack for bringing up the wrong things. He found a piece of parchment and scribbled back a response.

Hermione, my dear,

I'm glad to hear everything is going well. I'd love to come visit you! I might need to tend to some business in Holly Hill this week, so it'll work out nicely. Please let me know when is a good time for me to come visit. I'm sending this letter with my own owl so Mac can have a rest. I trust you'll do the same with my owl, Miss Granger. Insert Weasley grin here. I hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

George

P.S: Enclosed is something to help cure your boredom.

George went downstairs and picked out one of the large barn owls that they used for shipping and attached the letter and gift to it's leg. "Deliver this to Hermione Granger, Please." The owl flew out the window and George watched it go. He'd be going to visit Hermione in a few days, and he couldn't wait. With the burden of his secret crush off his shoulders, he was free to be giddy about her. He practically skipped back up the steps to the flat thinking about her.