Hermione unlocked the door of her apartment and let herself in. She shrugged her cloak off and dropped her broom on the ground. As she was changing into more comfortable clothes, she was distracted by an insistent rapping on her window. She sighed, not wanting to open it but knowing she had to. She unlatched the window and in flew 3 owls, each with a letter tied to its leg. She removed the pieces of parchment and the two unfamiliar owls immediately flew right back out the window. The third, a snowy white owl, remained.

"Hello Hedwig. I know Harry probably told you to wait for a reply, but I just can't do that right now, okay? I promise I'll send him a note as soon as I can."

Hedwig gazed at her for a few seconds and seemed to understand. She nipped Hermione's finger affectionately then flew off into the night.

Hermione unrolled each of the three parchments: one each from Harry, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley. All three of them bore practically the same message: that they heard what happened, and that they were there for her if she needed anything.

She tossed the letters on the table, frustrated. They had broken up for three hours and already everyone knew.

They had broken up for three hours and already she missed him.

She let out an anguished cry, lay down on her bed and stained her pillow with her tears.

---

Very early the next day, Hermione left to run a few errands at Diagon Alley. She had decided to have an early start to avoid running into anyone she knew that day, but fate had other plans. The long line at Flourish and Blotts was held up when the young man working the counter pressed all the wrong buttons, effecting the cash register unusable.

As he went off to find the manager, Hermione heard a loud voice coming from behind her.

"How brilliant! A muggle cash register! I've never seen one. Oh I do hope the line speeds up a bit, how I'd love to see how it works!"

"Oh dad, not so loud! People are already getting upset because of that muggle contraption, they might turn on us if you keep admiring it."

Hearing that voice would've made her smile had it been any other day. Unfortunately for her, that day wasn't one of them.

She won't see me. There are at least 5 people in between us, she thought. Still, she tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. She decided to browse through one of the books she had picked up while waiting in line. Perhaps she'd be less noticeable if she didn't move around, she thought.

Ten minutes later and the register still wasn't working properly. Hermione hadn't noticed, but the more impatient customers had begun to leave the line. She was on page 16 of The Unauthorized Biography of Harry Potter (which she had bought just for kicks) when she finally realized that the 6 people behind her had left. She panicked, seeing that there was just one other person left to act as a shield for her.

She had barely finished thinking that last thought when the person behind her huffed, left the line and dropped the book he was supposed to purchase on a display table. That was it. She was exposed.

"Hermione!"

She forced a smile. "Gin! Hey!"

Ginny smiled uneasily, then hugged her friend. "I didn't know you were here!"

"Oh, yeah... I was just picking up a few things. Hello, Mr. Weasley."

"Hello Hermione." Mr. Weasley replied, not taking his eyes off the cash register up ahead, which had just started to work again.

"Don't mind him, 'Mione. You know how he is with anything to do with muggles." Ginny grinned, but it only lasted for a second before turning her expression serious. "Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah! Of course I am. Perfectly fine."

"He... He asked me to give this to you. I was supposed to owl it over but since you're here, I might as well give it," Ginny handed her a cream-colored envelope.

"Oh, great. Thanks Gin."

"Hermione..."

"Gin, I'm fine. I promise." Hermione gave her another forced smile as she approached the counter. She handed her books over to the cashier. "Look, I can't stay. I've got a few more errands to run. Anyway, I'm alright, so don't worry about me. Send my love to everyone."

She hurriedly paid for her books and grabbed the bag. Waving hastily to Ginny and Mr. Weasley, she scurried out of the store. Deciding all the other errands can wait, she apparated back to her apartment.

A large pop signaled her arrival, followed by a crash when she dropped all the bags she was carrying. She was ripping the envelope open while walking to the couch, which proved to be a challenge with her trembling hands.

She let herself fall onto the couch as she opened the letter.

My Dear Hermione,

I know you don't believe me, and I know that you won't believe me no matter what I say. But just please hear me out.

I've been with you for 5, long, wonderful years. I love everything that you do. The way you joke, the way you pout, the way you have a serious expression on your face whenever you read. I love how you make the world so much better just by holding my hand. And I love you.

Those girls are just friends, nothing else. You are my love; you are all that matters to me. If it will take an earthquake to keep us together, I'd start finding a way to get all the giants to hop around. A bunch of spiders, perhaps?

Seriously, though. Please give me another chance. I swear I'll make it up to you.

Promise me you'll give it some more thought, ok?

Love always,

Ron

For the rest of the day, all she did was to read the letter over and over again. She stayed on the couch, unable to move, confused. She had no idea what to do. Finally, after having reread the letter a hundred or so times, she fell asleep.