The next morning, there was a letter for George. "Angelina wants us all to play Quidditch the day after Solstice," he said. "Are you up for it, Ron?"

"Uh," Ron said, glancing at Hermione who was reading the paper and nibbling on a piece of toast in a way that made him want to throw her on the table and nibble on her. He shook his head to clear the image. "Unless you need me for anything," he said to her.

She glanced at him over the paper. "No. I'm fine. Go ahead."

"Yeah, alright," he said somewhat glumly to George. She didn't want him to help at her parents' house then. He could already feel her pulling away. She'd move back to London, spend her days going to Hogwarts or revising at home. In the evenings, she'd meet with former classmates in Diagon Alley, which probably wasn't far from her parents' place. Eventually, some bloke would buy her a drink at the Leaky Cauldron while Ron was stuck penniless in Devon. This imaginary bloke was better looking than him, smarter, funnier, and had a great job. Maybe it would even be another bloody professional Quidditch player. That would be just his luck. Tonight was it then. They'd go to the Solstice party and then everything would change. He felt sick.

xXx

Early in the evening, Hermione was trying to pick out an outfit to wear to the party. Nothing looked right.

Ginny was lying on her bed watching Hermione discard outfits.

"I don't have any clothes for this," Hermione said.

"It's going to be a warm night," Ginny said. "Just wear shorts and a T-shirt. It's dancing and drinking outside. Not the kind of thing you really dress for. You want to be cool and comfortable. And sexy."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No pressure then."

Ginny smiled. "Exactly. You're overthinking this."

Hermione frowned at her. "You get out of bed, run a brush through your hair, throw on whatever is at hand, and you look amazing. Not everyone is like that. Most people aren't like that."

"Oh, come on," Ginny said.

"Come on what?" Hermione said in exasperation. "You're ridiculously beautiful. You know that. Guys were practically cued up to date you in school. That bears no resemblance to my experience. I want to look good tonight, but not like I'm trying too hard. You wouldn't understand that because you've never had to try at all."

"Wow," Ginny said, wide-eyed. "You are seriously wound up."

Hermione frowned at her. "It's your stupid brother's fault. I don't know what he wants or even how he sees us. I want him to want me, but I don't want to throw myself at him, because frankly, I've done that, and well, we see how that worked out."

Ginny grimaced and got out of bed and dug around in her own dresser. She threw a pair of khaki shorts at Hermione. "Try these on."

"But—" Hermione said.

Ginny held up a hand to stop her. "Just try them on." The shorts fit perfectly but were shorter than Hermione would normally wear. "Excellent," Ginny said. "Now, which of Ron's T-shirts that he gave you fits tightest."

"Gin—"

"Which one," Ginny asked.

Hermione sighed and held up one of the orange T-shirts. "This one."

"Great, put it on."

Hermione pulled it over her head.

Ginny smiled. "Perfect. If you were trying to attract anyone else, I'd tell you to wear a different shirt, but Ron really likes it when you wear one of his."

"Seriously?"

"Of course," Ginny said. "Short of peeing on you, it's the easiest way for him to mark you as his."

"Oh, right." Hermione chuckled but then she asked seriously, "Do you think he thinks I'm his?"

"I think he'd like to think that."

"But you don't think he does?"

Ginny shrugged. "I think he's not sure, but wearing his shirt to a party full of your friends says you are."

Hermione looked in the mirror. "I don't know."

"That's the problem," Ginny said.

"What is?"

"You don't seem to recognize that you're attractive. Your skin is beautiful, kind of like milky coffee and your hair is wild but also great. You can do anything with it. Your eyes are such a dark brown they're almost black. You're very striking, but even if you weren't, you have loads of the most attractive attribute in the magical world."

Hermione wrinkled her brow in confusion. "What?"

"You're incredibly powerful. That's the biggest draw of all."

"Come on," Hermione said, blushing.

Ginny arched an eyebrow at her. "You know it's true. No sense in pretending otherwise."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't recall anyone coming up to me and saying he loved the way I use a wand and asking me out."

"How do you think you managed to pull Viktor Krum at fifteen?" Ginny asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Well," Hermione said. "Um…"

"Didn't you tell me you two talked a lot about magic?"

"Yes, but—"

"And McLaggen, all you had to do was show a little interest and he came running."

Hermione pulled a face. "But he was awful."

"Maybe so, but that doesn't change the fact that he wanted you. If you'd shown the same interest to any number of other guys, you would've gotten the same response," Ginny said.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione said. "That doesn't affect how Ron feels."

"Of course, it does," Ginny said. "You know he doesn't handle the pressure of open competition well."

Hermione recoiled. "Please. I'm not a Quidditch match."

Ginny smiled sympathetically. "Aren't you?"

"What?" Hermione said.

"You think so much like a Muggle sometimes. There aren't billions of us on the planet, are there? Competition is fierce for a mate in our crowd."

Hermione snorted. "I thought the big draw was pure blood."

"Sure, among the nutters, but the sane among us are drawn to magic and you have loads of it. Just wait, guys are going to come sniffing around. Ron knows that and it worries him."

"That's crazy," Hermione said.

Ginny shrugged. "If you say so. I'm going to go get in the shower. Harry and I are leaving for Hogsmeade soon."

"Yeah, alright," Hermione said, looking in the mirror again. She cast the spell to braid her hair and put on her canvas trainers. She cast a cleaning charm on them. They'd seen better days. She wished she had sandals, but didn't have any with her and she wasn't ready to go get a pair of hers from her parents' house. She knew she had to get over that and soon, but the idea of going into that house was so daunting. She heard Ron and George come in downstairs. She looked at her image in the mirror again and picked up the black silk scarf she'd purchased for the funerals. She rolled it and tied it around her neck, tucking in the ends. She looked in the mirror again. She hated wearing the scarf, but couldn't stand the idea of people asking what happened, so there wasn't much to be done about it. She cast a charm and the scarf was Cannons orange, and then she did a simple glamor charm to give herself some color in her cheeks and lips and a little eyeliner and called it good enough.

Ron was coming upstairs as she was going down. "Hey," he said. "I'm going to shower and change." He stopped and looked at her, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Nice shirt."

She smiled back at him. "I'm glad you approve. I wasn't sure orange was my color."

"You look smashing in orange," he said. "I won't be long."

"Alright. We don't have to meet Luna for the Portkey for a while yet."

"Great." He winked at her before running upstairs.

Ginny was standing in the bathroom door. "Told you," she said before going into her room to change.

Hermione continued downstairs to find Harry waiting in the parlor. "Ginny will be down in a minute."

"Good," Harry said, looking at his watch. "We need to get going. Are you excited about tonight?"

Hermione shrugged. "I guess. I hope it's fun. We could use some fun."

"I hear you," Harry said. Ginny came downstairs and he got up. "I guess we're off."

Mrs. Weasley came into the parlor. "You two have a good time. We'll be at the Patil's party. Probably not too late though. Your father is tired."

"Alright, Mum," Ginny said and kissed her mother on the cheek.

Hermione sat down in one of the worn armchairs and thumbed through a Quidditch magazine while she waited for Ron. There was an article on Viktor, but she ignored it. The last thing she wanted was for him to come downstairs to find her reading an article about Viktor. On second thought, she tossed the magazine aside and went to find something on the bookshelf. She was still perusing when Ron came downstairs. He too was in khaki shorts and trainers, but he had on a blue plaid camp shirt instead of a T-shirt.

"You ready," he asked.

She nodded and they went outside and Disapparated to the Rook. Luna was waiting in the yard when they arrived. Neville, Padma, Parvati, and Cho were all waiting with her. Hermione was delighted with the mini-DA reunion. Everyone hugged each other and chatted happily while they waited for the Portkey to activate. Ron was talking to Cho about the upcoming match between the Chudley Cannons and the Tutshill Tornados. Hermione smiled. The night was starting well. When the Portkey glowed, they all took hold of the old umbrella and Hermione felt the nauseating sensation of something hooking behind her navel. A minute later, Ron was holding her arm as she bent double trying not to vomit. She hated Portkeys. Thank goodness she could Apparate home. After a minute of deep breathing, she straightened up.

"Are you alright?" Cho asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione said weakly.

"She doesn't travel well," Ron said. "Unless she's in complete control. She can Apparate like a champ, but she's not so good at other forms of travel."

"How odd," Cho said.

"No, it isn't," Luna chimed in. "You probably have Snarfgiggles," she said quite seriously to Hermione. "That's why you get sick."

"She probably has what?" Cho said, but Luna was already wandering off.

"Best not to ask for clarification," Neville said. "You'll only end up more confused."

Ron nodded in agreement.

Hermione just shrugged. "So, what are you doing these days, Cho?" she asked to change the subject.

"I'm studying to be a healer at St. Mungo's," Cho said. "And I've never heard of Snarf-whatevers."

"Who has?" Ron said, as they followed Luna and Neville up a path between rows of stone until they reached a bog. On the other side, up the hill, a huge bonfire blazed in the night. They each Apparated over the marshy ground. An age line was drawn around the stone circle and in the center was a bonfire where several hundred people were dancing and talking and drinking. They all crossed the age line and Ron took Hermione's arm.

She looked up at him. "What?"

"Let's get a drink."

"Alright," she followed him to the bar set up next to the tallest of the stones which looked to be about two meters high.

xXx

Ron hadn't expected the wave of anxiety that poured over him as they entered the crowd. He could see Aurors all around the edge of the circle. He knew that most of the Death Eaters were either dead or in Azkaban, and the few that were left were too busy hiding to attack a big event like this, but despite repeating that to himself over and over, a cold fear crept up his spine. He didn't want to be there. Hermione seemed unaffected as they kept running into former classmates, many of whom had been in Dumbledore's Army, which should have been a comfort, but instead just reminded him of the battle at Hogwarts.

His height helped him get the barkeep's attention, so he got them both a Dragon Scale and handed Hermione one. He drank his down quickly, hoping the alcohol would calm his nerves. Hermione was happily chatting with Parvati who was introducing them to her cousin, Bikram. Ron shook his hand without really registering anything about him. The music was throbbing and the crowd was surging around the fire which was casting weird shadows on the moor. He wiped a hand down his face and ordered another ale.

Parvati tugged Hermione's arm. "Come on, let's dance."

Hermione turned to Ron. "You want—"

"Not right now," Ron said. "You go ahead." He tried to ignore the look of disappointment on her face while Parvati pulled her away. He walked over to one of the large stones and put his back against it, scanning the crowd for problems. Harry was their best fighter and he wasn't there. If something happened, it would be down to just him and Hermione. No, he reminded himself, the Aurors were there and so were the others from the DA. This was fine. He swallowed more ale and told himself to calm down.

Hermione danced for a couple of songs and then came back over to where he was standing. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Ron said.

"Did you want to get something to eat? There's a grill set up on the other side of the circle."

"Nah, I'm good." He reached into his pocket for a Galleon. "Get something if you want," he said, holding out the money to her.

She frowned at him. "I'm fine. Do you want to dance then?" He shook his head. She looked back at the crowd where he could see some of their classmates dancing in a group. "Well…" she said uncertainly.

"I'm not much of a dancer," Ron said. "Go ahead."

"Hermione!" Dean shouted. "Come on. Prince!"

She looked at Ron and then back at their friends. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said without meeting her eyes. He knew Prince was a half-blood singer from America that Dean and Hermione both liked. Apparently, her parents liked him too, which seemed weird. He couldn't imagine liking a band his parents listened to. She gave him one more disappointed look and went to join the others. He didn't even understand how they were going to dance to this song. It just seemed like talking to him, but then it picked up. He frowned as Dean leaned over and said something to Hermione. She laughed and snapped her fingers and her hair came out of its braid spilling over her shoulders in a curly sable mane. Ron frowned.

"What are you doing?" George asked as he walked up holding two Dragon Scales.

"Nothing," Ron said. "Just standing here."

"I can see that," George said. "Why?"

Ron shrugged.

"Your girl is over there dancing. You should be too or she'll end up going home with someone else tonight."

Ron snorted. "She's not like that."

George shook his head sagely. "Pour a few drinks in and we're all like that." As he said it, Ron noticed Bikram Patil twirl Hermione around and she laughed. He scowled.

"Excuse me," Ron said and waded into the crowd until he was standing right behind Hermione, who turned as she danced and bumped into him.

She smiled. "Hi. I'm so glad you decided to join us," she shouted over the music.

"I'm not joining you," he shouted back. "I want to leave."

"What?"

He took her elbow and led her out of the crowd, past the age line, and further from the throbbing music.

"What did you say?" she said.

"We should go," Ron said.

Hermione looked around. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ron said, scowling. "This is lame. It's too loud and I'm done. Let's just go home."

"Go home? But you haven't even danced yet. There's sure to be a slow song soon. Besides, all our friends are here." Hermione said, clearly confused as to why he wanted to leave.

"Harry isn't," Ron said.

"No, but he's not at the Burrow either. He and Ginny are at a concert in Hogsmeade. Do you want to go there instead?"

"No," Ron said. The idea of a different crowd wasn't any more appealing than this one. "I just want to go home."

"We haven't even been here an hour. Why did you invite me if you didn't want to come?" Hermione said. She was getting upset and he didn't know how to explain without seeming like a weakling. It was crying on her in bed all over again.

"Look, you wanted—"

"Me? I didn't even know about this party until you invited me. This was your idea and now you don't want to stay. I don't understand."

Ron shook his head, furious at her for questioning him. Why couldn't she ever just go along? Why did everything have to be a fight with her? "Fine. Stay then," he said, pulling his wand. He Disapparated before she had a chance to say anything else.

xXx

Hermione stood there for a long time staring at the place Ron had been. She couldn't believe he'd left like that.

"Aren't you Hermione Granger?" a man's voice asked.

She turned to see a sandy haired guy who looked to be about Percy's age maybe a bit older coming toward her. "Yeah."

He held out his hand. "Robert Hilliard. You probably don't remember me. I was a Ravenclaw prefect your first year. She shook his hand and he smiled. "I was consistently surprised that whole year that we didn't get you, but now that I've read about your exploits with Harry Potter, I can see the hat was right to sort you into Gryffindor."

She shrugged. "I suppose."

"I'd love to take you out sometime, dinner maybe?"

"Oh, um, I'm flattered, but I'm sort of with someone now," she said awkwardly.

"That guy who just Disapparated on you? Wasn't he a Weasley?"

"Yes, Ron."

"Ah," Robert said. "The one who was with you and Potter. I knew his brother Percy. Sharp guy."

"Yes, well, Ron just popped home for a bit. He'll be back. It was nice meeting you, but I should get back to my friends." He nodded and she hurried back to the other members of the DA who were still dancing together.

"What did Robert want?" Cho asked as Hermione slipped in next to her.

"Oh, um, to take me to dinner."

"Ooh," Cho said, raising her eyebrows. "He's quite a catch, a real rising star at St. Mungo's."

"Well," Hermione said.

"Where did Ron go?" Luna shouted over the music.

"Back to the Burrow," Hermione said. "He's not feeling well." She wasn't sure whether she lied to cover for herself or for him. Either way, the lie fell from her lips before she'd even considered what to say.

"That's too bad," Luna said. "Are you going to stay?"

The question made Hermione angry, angry that Ron had invited her to this party and then clearly didn't want to spend any time with her. She couldn't understand why he'd bothered. "Yes!" she said.

"Good!" Luna grinned.

Hermione flicked her hand at the bonfire and the flames began to pulse with the beat of the music.

"Nice!" Bikram shouted and took her hand. She let him twirl her. It was Solstice and she was a witch. She would not let Ron's surliness deny her this night. She spent the next two hours dancing with other members of the DA and Bikram. After they were all ready for a break, they headed over to the grill and got dinner. Luna had brought blankets that she'd shrunk with a spell and put in her pocket. She enlarged them and they laid them out and all sat around chatting as they ate. Lee, George, and Angelina joined them. Cho talked about St. Mungo's. Luna talked about the upcoming year at Hogwarts and how weird it would be to go back there. Everyone commiserated. Bikram sat near Hermione and talked about his work with enchanted furnishings. He was handsome, but not terribly interesting.

George plopped down next to her. "How's it going, Granger?" He said her last name in a slow drawl.

"Fine," she said.

"Where's Ron?" George asked.

Hermione sighed. "He went home."

Angelina leaned around George. "What? Did you two have a row?"

"No," Hermione said. "He didn't feel well." George gave her a knowing look and she glanced away. "I'm going to the loo," Hermione said and got up and hurried toward the toilet tent.

While she waited in line, a tall, blonde woman behind her said, "Aren't you Hermione Granger?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes."

"Wow," the woman said. She looked familiar. Hermione thought she might have been in Hufflepuff. "You don't remember me."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "Were you in Hufflepuff?"

"Yes," the woman said with a big smile. "Margaret Cornfoot. I played Quidditch."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course. How are you?"

"Good, good. I play for the Falmouth Falcons now. Chaser."

"That's great," Hermione said, wishing the line would move faster.

"Nice trick with the fire back there," Margaret said. "You didn't even use your wand."

"Oh," Hermione said, kicking herself for showing off. "You know..."

Margaret smiled. "I do. Listen, would you like to have a drink sometime?"

"Um," Hermione said, unsure of what she was being asked. "Are you-?"

"Asking you out? Yes, I am," Margaret said, leveling a smoldering gaze at her.

"Oh," Hermione said. "Um, I'm sorry, I don't…I mean…I like men."

"Too bad," Margaret said. "But it was worth asking." She winked at her.

Hermione chuckled awkwardly, realized a stall had opened and gratefully slipped inside. What was going on tonight? And then Ginny's words came back to her. Power was the biggest draw of all and she had loads of it. She'd never really thought about that before. She knew spells came easily to her, but that was about so much more than power. There was so much work involved in learning new spells and practicing to perfect them, although, she knew she didn't have to practice most spells more than once or twice to have them right and she supposed that was down to power. She shook her head, and yet, Ron seemed unaffected. She wanted to go home and she realized she didn't mean the Burrow. She wanted to go to her own home, to her own room, and sleep in her own bed. She sighed. She was ready. Tomorrow, she would go to her parents' house and air it out and see what all she'd need to stay there. Tomorrow, she would move on. It was time. She flushed the toilet and went to wash her hands.

As she walked back toward Luna and the others, she decided she was done for the night. "I think I'm going to head out," she said as she approached the blanket where they were sitting.

"So soon?" Bikram said, getting to his feet.

"Yeah," Hermione said. "I've got a big day tomorrow."

He smiled. "I understand. I don't know what the situation is with you and that ginger, but I'd love to take you to dinner sometime this week, if you're interested."

"Um, thank you," Hermione said. "But…it's complicated with the ginger."

"Oh," Bikram said, his smile fading. "Perhaps some other time then, if it gets uncomplicated."

She smiled but didn't answer. "I'll see you all later," she said to the others and started for the age line. She had to be beyond it and the wards so she could Disapparate.

Justin Finch-Fletchley was walking up the path from the bog. He was smoking a cigarette. "Hermione," he said with a smile.

"Hello Justin," Hermione said. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"My parents and I went abroad last year for safety."

Hermione nodded. "I understand."

"Do you? You're Muggleborn but were right in the thick of it."

"Well, you know," she said awkwardly.

"Number two on the Ministry's Most Undesirable List, very impressive," Justin said.

She smiled. "Thanks. It was a life-long dream," she joked.

He laughed. "I'm sure. You know, I was talking to McGonagall about challenging the exams so I can finish my N.E.W.T.s and she said you and a few others are doing that as well."

"Yes," she said. "Hey, can I bum one of those?"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but held out the pack to her. "Sure, I didn't know you smoked."

"I don't," she said automatically, but then corrected herself. "Very often anyway."

He nodded. "Yeah, me either, until last year." He snapped his fingers and lit the cigarette for her. "It was bloody awful and I wasn't even in England."

"Yeah, that it was."

"On the lam with Ron and Harry, what was that like?" Justin asked and took a drag on his cigarette.

"Exhausting," she answered honestly.

"I bet. So, are you leaving?" Justin asked.

"I need to get back," Hermione said vaguely.

"I'm surprised you came at all, but good for you. I guess you and Ron are married now. Is he home with the baby?"

"What?" Hermione said.

"I saw in the paper that you two had a son. Not much of a surprise, I guess."

Hermione shook her head. "That was a misprint." She took a long drag on the cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke into the night. "I'm no one's wife and no one's mother. That was a friend's baby."

Justin smiled. "It's nice to know the Prophet still works hard to get things right."

Hermione chuckled. "At least they're consistent."

"Which is so important in these uncertain times," he said and gave her an appraising look. "Well then, if you're not doing anything, I have tickets to the Harpies versus the Wasps Wednesday night."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks, but I already have plans Wednesday."

Justin nodded. "Another time then."

"Maybe," she said. "But I need to get going." She smiled. "Gotta feed the baby."

"Right." He chuckled.

"Thanks for the cigarette," Hermione said.

"Any time." Justin nodded and stepped over the age line. She Disapparated.

xXx

A moment later Hermione appeared just outside the garden gate at the Burrow. While she finished smoking, she looked at the lopsided house and wondered if anyone was home. She supposed Ron was if no one else. When she stepped into the kitchen though, Harry was holding his wand to the kettle and Ginny was getting a box of tea out of the cupboard.

"Hi," Hermione said.

"Hey," Harry said. "You're back early. Where's Ron?"

"Isn't he here?" Hermione asked.

"We haven't seen him," Ginny said. "But we only just got home. Why? Did something happen?"

Hermione could feel tears threaten. She closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself and then said, "It was his idea to go, but then, from the moment we got to the party he didn't want to be there. Then he left."

"He left?" Harry said.

"Yes," Hermione said, sitting at the table. "He left a few hours ago."

Ginny got out another cup and Harry filled them all with hot water. They sat across from Hermione and he slid one of the mugs over to her.

"Thanks," she said, wrapping her hands around the warm cup. "It's been a very strange evening."

"I don't understand why he left," Ginny said.

Hermione sighed. "He said it was lame and too loud, but it wasn't lame, although it was loud. Still, loads of our friends were there. The music was good. Even the food was good."

"He left you there?" Harry said crossly. "On your own?"

"Well," Hermione said. "It wasn't as if I wasn't safe. There were a lot of Aurors there and I was with DA people."

"Still," Harry said. "That's not on."

"Seriously," Hermione said. "It's fine. I could have gone back with him. I chose not to."

"Oh," Ginny said, "So, he wanted to come back here, just the two of you. Well, only it wouldn't have been because Mum and Dad are home. She made sure we knew that the moment we came in."

"Right, well, he didn't say, 'let's steal back to the house for some time alone.' He was cross," Hermione said. "Clearly, we can't manage social occasions. They never work out for us."

"Oh, come on," Harry said. "That's not…well…"

Hermione frowned at him. "Please. You know what? I'm just going to go to bed. I need this night to end."

xXx

Harry and Ginny sat at the table for a while after Hermione went upstairs. Harry was fuming. "This is bollocks," he finally said. He stood and put his mug in the sink. "I'm going to talk to Ron."

"Alright," Ginny said, standing. "But before you do, can I just say…" She put her arms around him. "What a lovely night I had."

Harry smiled and kissed her. "Me too. But now I have to go knock some sense into my best mate before he completely wrecks things with my other best mate."

Ginny smiled sympathetically. "You saved the world. Surely, you can handle this."

Harry shook his head. "You'd be surprised."

She kissed him again. "For luck."

"Thanks, I'm probably going to need it."

xXx

Harry blew out a frustrated sigh and knocked on Ron's door.

"Bugger off," came the reply from inside.

Harry opened the door. "I don't think so." He was shocked to see Ron sitting on the floor in the corner of the room looking as despondent as he'd ever seen him. "Hey," he said, and closed the door behind him.

Ron looked up with red-rimmed eyes. "Seriously, bugger off. I don't want to talk."

Harry stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I get that. Only you left Hermione on her own at a massive party tonight and…" He shook his head. "Not only is that not on, but it's so unlike you, I'm thinking maybe you should tell me something, so I know it's really you."

Ron covered his face with his hands. "Hagrid has big hairy spider friends. And she was safe. All the surviving members of the DA were there and loads of Aurors. I kept telling myself it was safe. I kept trying to relax. I just…couldn't." He let out a half-choked sob and shook his head, trying to rein himself in.

"Ron," Harry said quietly, kneeling in front of him. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I was fine right up until we got there, but then there were all those people and the music was so loud and I thought what if something happened? You weren't there and all those people…" He shook his head. "I know that's crazy. I know most of the Death Eaters are dead or in Azkaban and the others are all in hiding. There's no way they're organized enough right now to plan an attack on a big event like that. And even if they had, there were loads of Aurors there. I know that. I kept telling myself that, but the longer I stayed the more panicky I got."

Harry sat down. "And you couldn't have told Hermione that?"

"What?" Ron said, looking up. "No!"

"Why not? She would've understood."

"I know that," Ron said. "But that would be just another example of me being a bloody baby. She was fine, dancing, and laughing. She was totally fine and I was a complete nutter."

Harry shook his head. "We all have different things that set us off. Seeing Draco and Narcissa at that funeral caused her to come undone. I can only sleep for about four hours a night and that's not continuous. We're all suffering in one way or another Ron. Don't shut her out, you need her. She needs you and you really hurt her tonight."

Ron sighed and pressed his fists to his eyes. "I know, but I can't talk to her right now. I've got to pull myself together before I do that. I'm so sick of this." He wiped his face on his sleeve.

Harry blew out a frustrated breath and got to his feet. "Alright, but don't let it go too long. Seriously."

Ron looked up at him. "I'll talk to her. Don't worry about it."

Harry nodded and let it go for the night.

xXx

Hermione was getting ready for bed when Ginny came in. She closed the door behind her. "Are you alright?"

Hermione sat on the edge of her bed. "I don't know. I've had a really weird night."

"I'm sorry Ron was such a prat," Ginny said, sitting across from her.

"It wasn't just that. You were right earlier."

"About what?" Ginny asked.

Hermione sighed. "I got asked out four times tonight after Ron left."

"Oh, my," Ginny said, raising her eyebrows. "That's impressive."

"Well, I don't know about that, there was a lot of drinking going on," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"So, who asked?"

"Robert Hilliard—"

"Who?" Ginny asked.

"Ravenclaw prefect from our first year."

"Oh, okay," Ginny said. "Was he good looking?"

Hermione shrugged. "I guess."

"But you said no."

"Of course, I said no," Hermione said crossly. "Even if I wasn't stupidly in love with your brother, I don't even know Robert. I barely remember him from school, he was so far ahead of me."

"Okay," Ginny said. "So, who else asked you?"

"Bikram Patil."

"Ooh," Ginny said. "I know him. He is seriously handsome."

"Yes," Hermione said. "But not terribly interesting. He's big into charmed furniture. I think he runs his uncle's shop or maybe it was his uncle's and now it's his or will be. I don't know. He talked a lot about it."

"That doesn't sound very interesting," Ginny said.

"No. Then I went to the loo and Margaret Cornfoot asked me out while we were waiting in line."

"The Quidditch player?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," Hermione said.

"Wow," Ginny said. "Too bad you're not gay, she's amazing. Wow, Margaret Cornfoot, I'd love to meet her."

Hermione sighed. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you with my sexual orientation."

Ginny chuckled. "That's okay. I forgive you. Who was the fourth then?"

"Justin Finch-Fletchley asked me out right before I left, but not until after I told him that Ron and I didn't have a baby together. I guess he reads the Daily Prophet but not the Quibbler."

"Too bad," Ginny said. "The Quibbler is, in many ways, the superior paper."

"Yes, well, he had tickets to the Harpies versus…I don't remember, but the match is Wednesday night."

"They play the Wasps on Wednesday," Ginny said. "Too bad you're in love with Ron. That's going to be a great game."

"I'm sure," Hermione said. "Maybe I should've accepted. Justin is nice enough."

"Nice enough for what?" Ginny asked with raised eyebrows.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "A Quidditch date. It would serve Ron right, ditching me like that."

Ginny gave her a concerned look. "You're not serious."

"No, of course not. I don't want to date other men, but I might have to, if Ron keeps on the way he has. I don't understand him. It's exhausting."

"You two need to talk, really talk," Ginny said. "I'm sure if you just say how you're feeling, you'll work it out."

"I think you're making a big assumption there," Hermione said.

"Maybe, but isn't it worth trying?"

Hermione frowned at her, but then stood up. "You're right. This is ridiculous."

"What?" Ginny said. "I didn't mean now. It's after midnight."

"I don't care," Hermione said.

"But if Mum and Dad see you sneaking up—"

"I don't care about that either and I don't intend to sneak," Hermione said and opened the door. She walked upstairs with a purpose and a growing head of steam. She didn't even bother knocking, she just walked into his room. He was getting dressed for bed and was pulling off his T-shirt. He already had on pajama bottoms.

"Bloody hell, Hermione," he said, holding the T-shirt up in front of him as though he were a Victorian lady.

"Oh, please," she said, closing the door behind her. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Right," he said and angrily tossed the T-shirt on the floor.

She was unprepared to talk to him shirtless. It was too distracting. She shook her head and reminded herself what a bloody prat he was. She stood for a moment trying to collect her thoughts and trying not to feel guilty about the spiral scar that spread out from the missing chunk of his left bicep.

"Did you need something?" Ron said, clearly irritated. "Or have you decided to be like the rest of my family and burst into rooms unannounced now."

"I'm not family," she said in a low tone. "I came in here to tell you how unfair it was for you to invite me to a party and then ditch me there."

"I didn't ditch you," Ron argued. "I told you to come with me."

"Bollocks," she said.

"Hermione," Ron said, clearly taken aback by her language.

"Bollocks," she said firmly. "You invited me and then didn't want to do anything. If you didn't want to go, why did you invite me in the first place?"

Ron walked away from her and looked out the window. "I thought I did want to go, but then when we got there…" he shrugged.

"That's it? You just didn't want to be there?" She couldn't believe him. None of this made sense.

"Yeah, that's right," Ron said, but he wouldn't look at her.

"So, you didn't want to be there with me or—"

"I didn't want to be there at all. It's nothing to do with you."

"Except I'm the one you ditched," Hermione said angrily.

"I didn't ditch you," Ron repeated.

She looked at him. He'd gone red in the ears, a sure sign that he was lying. He'd filled out a bit in the last few weeks. All that good food coupled with endless chores had built muscle on his lean frame. She hated how much she wanted him and despaired that he didn't return those feelings. "Yes," she said. "You did." She turned to leave.

"Hermione," Ron said, stepping toward her. "Please, don't be angry. I—"

"I'm not angry," she said, realizing that she meant it. She wasn't angry. She was hurt. Hurt that he'd ditched her, hurt that he didn't want her the way she wanted him, hurt that she'd loved him for so long, and now it looked like he would never love her back the way she wanted him to.

"Well," Ron said, "uh, good then. Look maybe tomorrow, when I get back from Quidditch, we can—"

"I have plans tomorrow," Hermione said, cutting him off.

"Yeah, what?"

"I'm going to go clean my parents' place and see what I need to get sorted to start living there."

"Tomorrow?" Ron said.

"Yes." She didn't understand why he was surprised. They'd talked about this.

"Oh, well, do you need help. I don't have to play Quidditch."

"Thanks, but no." Here he was again, offering to be her best mate, but she needed space. She knew they'd always be friends, had to be, she couldn't imagine life without him, but she needed a little distance right now, to get her head straight.

"Yeah, but," Ron said inching closer. "When you get back, maybe we can take a walk or something."

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm not even sure I'll come back here tomorrow night. I just…you really hurt my feelings—"

"I didn't mean—" he started.

She cut him off. "Maybe not, but still." He moved forward like he was going to hug her, but she held up her palm to stop him. "Please don't. I need some time."

"Oh," he said. "Sorry. Really. I'm sorry."

"Okay, but I still need some time," she said, and opened the door.

"Yeah," Ron said. "Of course. Sure."

She walked downstairs with a heavy heart. Instead of going back to Ginny's room, she went into the kitchen to compose a letter to the Portkey Office requesting a Portkey from Istanbul to the airport in Guangzhou, China. She'd been thinking about going to Australia for a several days now and how she would go about doing it. She was afraid to request a Portkey directly to Sydney, because if there were still any Death Eater sympathizers left in the Ministry they would know where her parents were. She couldn't Apparate to Sydney, it was too far and she'd never been there, although her parents had before she was born and always spoke fondly of it, which is why she'd chosen to send them there. The furthest east she'd ever been was Istanbul. Her plan was to Apparate from city to city across Europe until she got to Turkey, where she'd pick up the Portkey to China. Once in Guangzhou, she could take a Muggle flight to Australia. She didn't speak Chinese but knew enough about translation and revealing spells to make do if she had to. She still had a lot of Muggle money left, so getting a flight wasn't a problem. When she was in London tomorrow, she'd pop into a travel agent and have them book the flight for her, so she could pay in cash. When she'd finished the letter, she sent it off with Pig, who was fluttering around the kitchen. Anxiety tightened her chest as she went upstairs to bed. She spent most of the night staring at the ceiling. She had to do this, but it was daunting to say the least.