A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait. Things have been a little hectic lately. Between my brother's baseball games, the course my mom is taking over the summer, and my summer reading, it's been tough to find time to write. And to top it off, vacation bible school started this morning and tomorrow is my birthday (by the way, reviews would make great presents!) Anyway, this chapter is a little longer, so I hope you like it!

Reunions

Ron stood by the fireplace saying goodbye to everyone. Mrs.Weasley had him in a particularly tight embrace.

"Oh Ron!" she wailed, "You were gone for so long, and now to have you home for only a few days before you leave again!"

"But Mum," protested Ron, "this is just a visit. I'll be back sooner this time. See, I've only got one bag." He held it up to show her. When his mother finally released him, Harry took him aside.

"Ron, Hermione does know you're coming right?" he asked.

"Last night after dinner, I wrote to McGonagall to confirm that I'd be there today, and I wrote to Hermione to let her know. She sent a reply that just said, 'see you tomorrow' it was kind of distant."

"Maybe she was just in a hurry," said Harry reassuringly.

"Yeah, maybe," said Ron, but he didn't sound entirely convinced. After one more hug from his mother, Ron stepped into the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and said clearly, "Hogwarts!"

He landed in the fireplace in what he recognized as Dumbledore's office, though he knew it must now belong to McGonagall. Upon seeing him, she stood up from her desk. "Ah, Mr. Weasley, it's good to see you."

"You too, Professor," said Ron, nodding to her.

"Well, I-" she started to speak but was cut off by a voice coming from the portrait behind her. "Ronald!" exclaimed Dumbledore, "How wonderful to see you again! How have you been lately?"

"I've been great Professor, and you?"

"Oh wonderful, wonderful," he answered with a wave of his hand, "I have quite a few portraits painted so I can go lots of other places when I want to. Now, I understand Harry and your sister had a baby not long ago?"

"Yes, he's about seven months old now. They named him Sirius." said Ron.

"Ah," Dumbledore said, "a good choice of name." Before Ron could respond, Professor McGonagall interrupted. "Albus!" she said she said sternly.

"My apologies Minerva," said Dumbledore, bowing slightly and gesturing toward Ron.

"As I was saying," she continued, "you will be staying in the extra bedroom in Professor Granger's chambers. I can have your bag sent there now, and you can go visit some of your teachers. All the classrooms are the same."

"Thank you Professor," he said, setting his bag on the floor and exiting her office.

As he walked down the corridor, he thought about what she had said. Professor Granger's chambers. He was staying with Hermione! These thoughts were still whirling around in his head when he came to a stop before the Charms classroom. He knocked slightly on the open door to announce his presence as he entered. Everyone looked up from what they were doing.

Professor Flitwick gave a big smile. He motioned for Ron to come closer and said, "Class, I would like to introduce to you Mr. Ron Weasley. I'm sure you all know who he is." The class nodded and began murmuring to each other, seemingly in awe of him. It was strange for Ron. Harry had always been the famous one, but since the war and the work he had been doing over the past few years, he had begun to be recognized as well, but he had never quite gotten used to it.

From the look of them, Ron deduced that this was a class of first years. Professor Flitwick instructed them to return to practicing, and he and Ron talked for a few minutes about his work, how his family was doing, and so on. As he turned to leave, Ron noticed a girl with a bossy tone correcting the rather grumpy-looking boy beside her. He laughed as he heard Hermione's voice in his head, "You're saying it wrong! It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa."

"And just what do you find so bloody funny?" asked the boy angrily.

"Nothing kid," Ron answered as he left the room, still smiling.

He strolled across the grounds on his way to the greenhouses. He stopped when he heard a voice shout, "Ron!" Turning, he saw Hagrid hurrying up the hill toward him. Ron barely had time to react before he was trapped in a tight hug.

"Hi Hagrid," he said while struggling for breath. When Hagrid let go of him, Ron asked, "So, are you still teaching Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Yep," said Hagrid answered, "but I don' have a class righ' now, and I heard yeh were here so I decided ter come find yeh."

"I was just on my way down to the greenhouses, but I'll see you later," Ron said.

"All righ' then. I'll jus' be gettin' back to Fang. You tell Harry and Ginny ter come down with that baby soon!"

When Ron finished his visit with Professor Sprout, he noticed the students preparing to move on to their next lesson. Rather than get caught in the commotion, he decided to walk down to the Quidditch Pitch. He strolled slowly across it, remembering old times; the years spent cheering for Harry, Fred, and George, joining the team in fifth year, winning the Quidditch cup, and the sense of pride he felt after beating out McLaggen in sixth year. All these memories came flooding back to him.

He leaned against a goalpost, closed his eyes, and drew a deep breath. It's good to be back. He knew that Hogwarts had always been home to Harry. The Burrow was his home- it always would be, but something about being back at Hogwarts just felt…right. He opened his eyes and began to make his way back up to the castle.

He skipped seeing Trelawney and Binns and didn't bother with Defense since he didn't know the teacher. He stopped in with Firenze and Slughorn, though he later regretted the latter, as he had been forced to sit uncomfortably through a long speech about how he hadn't been the best student in his day, but something about him made Slughorn know that Ron was destined for greatness, and now look at him! Ron knew that Slughorn had never thought anything of the sort until now, and he was relieved to finally escape him.

There was only one more stop left to make- Transfiguration. This time Ron did not interrupt. He waited until class was over and the last of the students had filed out before he went in. He leaned against the doorframe and saw Hermione standing up at her desk, straightening some papers. She looked up when she heard him clear his throat.

She stared at him, papers still in her hands, apparently frozen to the spot. Ron stood up off the doorway. He ran one hand nervously through his hair and took a few steps toward her.

"Hi."

A/N: I know, I know: bad, bad author for ending it like that! It's a terrible cliffie and I'm sorry, but I had to end it here. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and I hope you all keep reading. When I open my email tomorrow, please give me a happy birthday with lots of reviews telling me what you thought of this chapter (or the whole story if you just started reading it). Thanks. Love ya!