A/N: I don't own Harry Potter

This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Word Count: 606

Dean handed Hermione the warm cup. She took a sip. She'd been sitting against one of the larger willow trees surrounding the lake.

"Tea? How'd you know?" she asked.

"I've seen Ron running around asking how to make tea enough times to know it's what you drink. Why are you out here anyway? It's the dead of winter, the lake is frozen over and the ground is covered in snow."

"It's quiet. I came out here to think. I didn't realize someone was going to follow me."

"I can leave if you really want to be alone. I saw you from the window and figured you could use something warm to drink."

"Thanks, Dean. I did need some time alone, and I think, maybe I've had enough time to think about what I'm going to do."

"About what? Staying at the school to help rebuild?"

"No, I've already decided I'm staying. I'm going to finish my schooling too, now that muggle-borns are allowed back. No, I did something kind of stupid in the heat of the moment and I was trying to figure out if I really wanted it to mean something or not."

"Kissing Ron?" Dean asked, sitting on the snowy ground next to Hermione.

"You know about that?" she asked, her golden brown eyes opening wide. "Of course you know, Ron must have told everyone that we were together now."

"He kind of did. Harry didn't say otherwise, but he didn't really agree with Ron either. So you're trying to figure out if the kiss meant anything? Or if it was a heat of the moment, about to die, completely emotional response when you had no clue what to do?"

"Pretty much, kind of silly isn't it? I mean, everyone's always figured Ron and I... that we'd be a couple, either him or Harry," Hermione said, taking another sip of the tea. The steam tickled her nose. She wrinkled it giggling.

"No, it's not silly to want to make sure before you get too far into something. If he doesn't make your heart pound, doesn't make you want to give up everything and follow him everywhere, don't. You don't want to live with a decision you'll regret the rest of your life."

"Are you talking about me and Ron or you and Seamus?" Hermione asked, looking at Dean. "I heard about you two breaking up. I'm sorry."

"It was stupid, a stupid fight and now... now I just wish I could tell him how I feel. Tell him how I've always felt."

"It's not too late, Dean. Seamus isn't dead, sure, he's injured and probably really lonely in the hospital wing. He's going to live."

"I doubt he wants to see me."

"You won't know until you try. Maybe he's feeling the same things?" Hermione suggested. Dean nodded, staring at her.

"Thank you, Hermoine. You really are brilliant, too brilliant for Ron, if you think about it. I'm going to grab a bunch of sunflowers from the Hufflepuffs. They always have some somewhere, somehow... Never mind, they're Seamus' favorite. Thank you, and if it means anything... I think you can do better than Ron," Dean stated, climbing to his feet and dashing off towards the castle. Hermione watched him for a moment, a smile forming across her face. Maybe Dean was right, maybe she was just settling for Ron? There was a huge world out there, a whole magical world she'd never seen, thousands of people she'd never met, and something told her, that maybe she wasn't quite ready to tie herself down. She had a whole life time ahead of her before then.