"We're going to be late..." Hermione walked through King's Cross station excitedly. She leaned against the wall between platforms 9 and 10 and fell through, grinning as the bright red Hogwarts Express slipped into her view, waiting to return the students back to Hogwarts.
Ron followed a second after her, grumbling under his breath as he glanced at the clock above the platform. "Nowhere near late... we still have 20 minutes before the train leaves!" He dragged her trunk sullenly behind him as they moved down the bustling platform towards the front of the train and located the spot where they agreed to meet Ginny and Harry. "Look, they're not even here yet..."
"They will be..." Hermione slide her arms around his waist and pressed a kiss against his lips before cuddling up to him. "Stop being grumpy..."
"I'm not being grumpy..." He pouted as she raised her eyebrows at him. Sighing he pushed her closer to him, his fingers playing with the ends of her curls. "I'm just going to miss you..."
"I'm going to miss you too! You're moving into the flat tomorrow though; you and Harry will be so busy there and at the shop that I bet you won't even notice I'm gone. Plus you have those pictures now..." She nudged him slightly, smiling as he gave her a smile back.
Hermione had spent the last few evenings showing him more "tricks" on his mobile phone, eventually getting to show him how to take photos and store them. Ron had become obsessed with taking her picture and was amazed every time he snapped one on the phone. He had suggested taking a few photos that were a little bit naughtier and had had a mini strop when she'd refused.
"I know you wanted something a little more... indecent... but your dad has already shown great interest in that phone. I don't want him to come across something he shouldn't see..." She buried her head against his chest, cringing inwardly.
"It's okay... it's all stored up here in my mind anyway!" He grinned and started to lean down for a kiss before getting distracted by his sister and an odd-looking man walking towards them. "Oh for fucks sake..."
Hermione lifted her head and laughed as she spotted the awful disguise Harry had attempted. His nose was crooked, looking more like it had been modelled with playdoh, and the scars on his face had the faint air of Mad Eye Moody about them. "Oh come on Harry, you'll have to get better than that if you're going to be an Auror..." She reached out to ruffle his new sandy blonde hair.
"Yeah..." Ron grunted. "Plus there's absolutely no point. Me, Hermione and Ginny are stood here and they're not going to say, 'Oh I wonder who their new friend is?' They're just going to think 'what the fuck has Harry Potter done with his face?!'" Ron eyed him suspiciously.
"See! I told him that!" Ginny threw her hands up in exasperation. "Come on Harry, everyone else is too busy saying their goodbyes to pay attention to you. Nobody even cares now you're no longer the 'chosen one'!" She watched as Harry muttered the counter charm and his appearance turned back to normal. "Much better..." Grinning, she reached up to kiss him.
Ron started to make noises of protest but winced as Hermione punched his shoulder softly. "Oy!" He let go of her and rubbed his arm with a frown.
"You'll have to get used to it, you and Harry will be living together - which means Ginny will be visiting at the same time as me. You know we'll end up doing some cheesy double dating in Hogsmeade..." She smirked as Ron pulled a face as Ginny and Harry carried on kissing. "Come help me get loaded on to the train."
Ron let out a heavy sigh as he pulled her trunk towards the front carriage. Reluctant to let her do it, he hauled it on to the train and stowed it into the luggage rack in the Prefect compartment. Hermione passed Ron the basket containing a sleeping Crookshanks then climbed up to join him.
"Right, cat!" Ron held the basket up to his face, frowning as the big ginger cat opened one eye to look at him sceptically then went back to sleep. "Now I know you're an old cat, and you're used to just snoozing in the Burrow and getting fed loads by my mum but it's time to earn your keep. You need to look after her. I know we've never seen eye to eye, so that means I won't even need to think twice about skinning you and turning you into a hat if she comes to harm this year." He turned and grinned at Hermione as she joined him. He shoved the basket in the luggage rack next to her trunk and shuffled over to her, giving her a chaste kiss as some of the other prefects joined them.
"No goodbyes, remember?" She said as she returned his kiss and wiped the lone tear that had escaped her eye. "Oh this is ridiculous; it's only Scotland and I doubt it'll even be a month before the first Hogsmeade visit..." She nestled close to him and held him until the warning whistle went. Hermione sighed and let go of him, watching as he stepped off the train and joined Harry in the crowds of parents waving goodbye to their children. She tried to keep eye contact with him until the train left the platform before taking her seat and settling in for the journey with a book.