Remember, anything you recognize of this is not mine, and I'm not making any money from it. Just playing in J.K. Rowling's back yard and hopefully not making too much of a mess. Please read and review; I am a new fanfic writer and would love to learn how to write better. Thanks!
LEARNING AND RELEARNING
Hermione's week of revision went by too quickly for her own liking, but she now knew better than to overwork herself. She had continued to sit with Neville at dinners, and they had gone for a few walks around the grounds together, discussing whatever came to mind. Neville had a surprisingly quick sense of humour, and Hermione found herself beginning to laugh again. It was good to have someone to discuss books with. Harry and Ron had always been a bit bored with her discussions of books, and it was good to talk to someone who had read most of the same books.
Hermione had also enjoyed conversations with the other faculty members, who treated her as if she was already one of them. She was greatly encouraged by this, and hoped to get along as well as she could with everyone. Professor Trelawney was the only one who avoided her, and Hermione found herself feeling perfectly alright about that. She had always felt intensely uncomfortable with the divination teacher.
Harry's letters still arrived daily, full of news about Auror training and how the Weasley's were doing, and he was interested in knowing how the restoration of Hogwarts was coming along. She told him about her conversations with Neville, and her visits with Hagrid, but she didn't mention her apprenticeship or her visits to the Shrieking Shack.
For yes, Hermione was still managing to take time to set up the Shack, and had even gone to Diagon Alley to purchase furnature for it, which she then shrunk and smuggled into the Shack. She had been astonished by how clean the place stayed, and assumed that someone might have put a permanent cleaning spell over the place at some point. She didn't dare ask anyone about it, from reluctance to have anyone know about her retreats, and instead happily spent hours arranging layouts of a library, a sitting room, a small kitchen, the necessary bathroom, and a bedroom. The only thing she locked was the desk in the library, figuring that if anyone should happen to find the retreat, at least they wouldn't find out whose retreat it was. She put a few defense wards over it and left it at that.
Finally, the day of her exams arrived, and she worked furiously in the different classrooms all day, writing all her final exams and only taking short breaks to eat or use the loo. That night she had dinner in her new quarters, which Neville had helped her move her boxes to. She was too keyed up to eat with the other faculty. She would've been analyzing their facial expressions the whole time, trying to read her results in their eyes, and besides being very odd behavior, she knew it wasn't good for her mental state. So, she ate her simple dinner, which was then whisked away by a very wary house elf, and set to making her new quarters just right.
She started by hanging some forest tapestries in the sitting room, and some plain cream colored ones in the bedroom. She left the stone wall of her bathroom bare, as she didn't want it to be a steam trap, and instead charmed the walls to be a slightly blue shade. She moved some simple antique furniture in and then spent two hours setting up her bookcases. When she was finished, she sighed contentedly, feeling perfectly at home in her space. She had familiar photos, both muggle and magical, hanging on the walls, and she was surrounded by the smiling faces of those she loved.
The next morning, she found a stiff cream colored envelope beside her plate at breakfast, and with Neville egging her on, she read her exam results, which satisfied her completely, since each professor had given her an "Outstanding" on every subject. She and Neville grinned at eachother and dove into their breakfasts happily, discussing Hermione's upcoming apprenticeship.
Hermione spent the day cleaning the library, with Neville's help, and they spent nearly as much time reading whatever books were of interest to them. By the time she stumbled back to her rooms to bathe and change into fresh robes for dinner, Hermione was covered in dust and had aching sides from laughing over some of the books she and Neville had encountered and disposed of, such as some very out of date volumes of dueling etiquette and some Muggle hunting strategies.
That evening, while everyone was still seated after dinner, Hermione's apprenticeship was formally put to the faculty and board of Hogwarts, who all voted for her induction, and she was presented with her graduation certificate along with her contract of apprenticeship. She surprised Flitwick by happily stooping to hug him after shaking hands, which was the photo the Daily Prophet managed to snap for their Hogwarts section, which would go to press that Monday.
Hermione sat down at her desk that evening and wrote a letter to Harry and Ron, detailing her decision to work as librarian at Hogwarts and take on the Charms apprenticeship. She sent the letter away with a frown, knowing that Ron would not be happy about her news.
She also knew that she would have to make a decision regarding Ron very soon.
Saturday found Hermione in the Shrieking Shack, curled up in one of the overstuffed chairs with a steaming cup of Earl Grey and a decision to make.
It just wasn't fair to keep Ron hanging on or to keep him at arm's length, and she wanted to approach her new life fresh.
On one hand, she was very fond of Ron, and thought she could love him someday. He was absentminded, but kind when he remembered, and he was very protective and loving with his family, which she admired. He was also easy going and gentle. She would always be well taken care of, and he was, after all, one of her best friends.
On the other hand, she wasn't sure that it was right to pursue anything with someone she wasn't sure she loved in that way, and she knew that she could never live up to being the kind of life parter that Ron wanted. She wanted a career and intellectual stimulation, and she wanted to travel at some point and develop new magic if she could. She wasn't ready for settling down, especially not Ron's image of settling down. She could never be Mrs. Weasley. She knew it wasn't fair to try to be something she wasn't, or to let Ron believe that she'd try to. Ron was important to her, but her own life was important too.
Hermione decided that while she was still herself, much had changed in the weeks since the battle, and she wasn't ready for a relationship with Ron, or anyone else for that matter. She returned to her rooms in the castle and wrote Ron a letter, which she then sent with Hedwig and her letter to Harry.
Dear Ron;
I am terribly sorry, but I am not ready to pursue a relationship with you. I have some things I want to accomplish, and I don't know if you and I are right for eachother. I love you as a friend, and I am sorry that I ever lead to to believe anything else. I'm not ready to be the kind of woman you need at all, and unless something changes, I would prefer that we remain good friends. Please forgive me for waiting so long to make a decision about this: I wanted to be fair to both of us, and I wanted to take the time to think things through. I wish you all the best and hope we can keep in touch.
Hermione
