Author's note: I didn't get as many reviews as I had hoped, but I guess we can't always get what we want. But, I do hope everyone enjoyed my first chapter, even thought it was slightly mysterious. Also, if anyone knows what color Ron's eyes are really, please tell me and I'll change it right away. I wrote that they're blue, but I could be wrong.

Where we left of last time:

Suddenly, I heard a horn honk and something hit me on my side. I flew backwards and a heavy weight was on top of me. A weight that I knew well that went along with a smell and a patch of hair that was oh so familiar.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine once you get off me, Ron."

----------------------------------------------

"Hermione, are you okay?" Ron asked, as he got up and offered me a hand.

I took it and pulled myself up. I noticed that my outfit was soaked with mud and no amount of non-magical cleaning was going to get it out. I let slip a groan; Ron mistook it as a groan of pain. "Are you sure you're okay? I didn't break anything, did I?"

I looked at his rugged face and noticed his concerned blue eyes; the same eyes that gave me that same look five years ago.

"I'm fine," I said, trying not to show that I was sore pretty much everywhere. I noticed people staring at us. "What are you gawking at?" I demanded. They hurried away, pretending they hadn't just been staring at my mud-stained clothes; and probably disapproving.

"You don't look fine. I'll take you back to your flat."

"No!" I cried out. "I mean, um... I'd rather not."

"Okay..." Ron replied slowly. "How about I take you to Mum?" I gave him a quizzical look. He still lived at home? That wasn't right; he had owled me his new address last year. Realizing my confusion, he explained: "The building I live in caught fire last week and everyone needed to leave so the police could figure out what happened. So I'm staying at Mum's for a while."

I nodded. "Okay." A sudden thought entered my mind and I panicked slightly. "We're not Apparating, are we?"

It was his turn to give me a confused look. "Why, does that bother you?"

I was at a loss for words. "I um... well, I haven't done it in a while, so I'm rather rusty..."

I was surprised when he nodded. "Okay. You can just hold on to me and I'll Apparate. Merlin knows that we've done it enough time when one of us got injured." I nodded this time and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I stiffened for a moment, but relaxed when he gave me a friendly squeeze.

"He's not like HIM," I told myself. "Just relax and don't let Ron find out what's happened to you. The sooner you get this over with, the sooner you can leave."

We slipped into a little alley off the street, so people wouldn't see. Even though Muggles knew some things about witchcraft now, there was no point in flaunting powers. I all of a sudden felt a rush of air and a sick feeling; all the common stuff linked with Apparating. I was just not used to it nowadays.

The Weasleys' house stood right in front of us and I suddenly felt warm all over; like I was home.

Ron took my hand gently and started walking towards the Burrow. He didn't go far because I was still rooted there, staring at the house that was more of a home to me than my flat..

"Hermione?"

"Mmm."

"You coming?" Those bloody deep blue eyes were looking at me again and I sighed. I followed him inside and was hit with the smell of home-cooked food. Suddenly, my stomach rumbled. Those eggs and bacon hadn't lasted long.

"Ron dear, is that you? Did you get... Hermione!?" Mrs. Weasley dropped the spoon she was holding. Her hair was now almost all gray and she had lost a few pounds from the last time I saw her; probably from all the stress of the war.

"Mum, I..."

"Mrs. Weasley, Ron..."

Before Ron or I could explain what I was doing there, or the fact that our hands were still clasped, I heard a familiar pair of voices arguing.

"Harry, I really think that you shouldn't..." Ginny halted at the bottom of the steps and Harry walked into her, making Ginny fall flat on her face. Harry caught himself in time, but nearly stumbled over the red-head on the floor. A rather farcical entrance for the greatest hero I knew.

"Hermione? Is that really you?" Harry asked, his green eyes wide with surprise. I was started to get annoyed.

"No, it's someone who looks exactly like me." I knew I was being kind of rude, but of late, I couldn't care less.

Ginny finally scrambled up and hurried over to hug me. I let go of Ron's hand and wrapped my arms around my best friend. Tears stung my eyes as memories of the last hug we shared whipped through my mind.

"He's in critical condition, Miss Weasley. There was severe trauma. We aren't sure if he's going to wake up. I do hope so though, for he will be famous."

Ginny silently walked into the room; I followed closely behind. Harry was lying on the bed, a bandage wrapped all around his head. He had stitches in three places on his face, which was pale. His arm was in a sling and his left foot had a cast on it. The hospital gown and blankets covered up any other bruises and bandages.

"Harry, love, wake up. I need you," Ginny sobbed, gripping my best friend's --and the world's hero's– hand tightly. "I love you."

I walked up to her and held her tightly but not too tight; after all she had broken two ribs. She cried on my shoulder for at least ten minutes before she composed herself. "You need to go check on Ron," she told me. "I need to be here for Harry."

I nodded, knowing it was futile to argue with her.

I walked into Ron's room and sat next to the bed; he was sleeping. I noticed how calm he looked, how peaceful. I wished that none of this had happened. "It should have been me," I said to dead-air. I knew Ron was out of it with medication. He was in too much pain without it. "It should be me lying in that bed, not coherent to the world. It should have been me that the curse stuck. But, you had to be so bloody chivalrous and push me out of the way. You had to push me and get hit."

I could hear people walking about in the halls stop for a moment, but I didn't care.

"Why did you do it Ron?"

"Because... I...love... you," I looked up so fast my neck cracked. But, Ron was still asleep and his eyes weren't even fluttering. I gaped at him for a moment before getting up and dashing out of the room. I never went back...

"Hermione, where have you been?" Ginny asked. "I've owled you so many times, but the letters just come back."

"I've been," I chose my word carefully, "around."

"Well dear," Mrs. Weasley said, "I think before anyone else interrogates you, you should get out of those wet and dirty clothes. I'll clean them for you. Ginny dear, give Hermione something of yours to wear."

I followed my friend upstairs and into her old bedroom. She closed the door and turned to me. "Spill."

"Spill what?"

"Hermione, I am not stupid. There is something you are hiding." I could tell her green eyes were calculating me.

"Nothing," I said. "Can I get those clothes? I'm getting cold."

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, and I could tell she wanted to argue, but she decided against it. She pulled a pair of sweat pants and a warm jumper out of her closet. "Here."

"Thanks," I said, before taking off shirt and skirt, cringing when I saw the extent of the damage. Luckily, I knew Mrs. Weasley would have them out in no time.

"You know," Ginny said, her back towards me as I changed, "a lot of things have changed around here. For instance, Harry and I are getting married next week."

My eyes almost popped out of my head. "What!?"

"Yeah, well I tried to send you an owl, but it just came back." It was more of an accusation than a statement.

I remembered the brown envelope with "SUPER IMPORTANT" written on it, but I thought it was just another way to trick me into writing back to her. "I'm sorry."

Ginny turned around once I was done. "Sorry? Hermione, we haven't seen or spoken to you in 5 years! After you left the hospital, no one could find you, you sold your flat, took all your stuff and haven't tried to contact us! If you had showed up here two years ago, I would have thrown your arse outside and told you to go crawl back under the rock you came from."

Her words hurt, but I had expected them. "I really am sorry. I couldn't stand myself anymore. I couldn't live with myself for what happened to Ron. I had to go. It hurt too much," I said, trying to force the tears back. Ginny hugged me tightly.

"Why didn't you just tell us that? You didn't have to ignore everyone."

Ginny had always been my confident, even at school. We had shared the same bedroom at Gryffindor ever since Ginny arrived, a year behind me. There were things I just couldn't tell Ron or Harry. But now, it seemed too hard.

"I'm so sorry Gin. Please, forgive me."

"I do forgive you, Mione, but I really don't think Harry or Ron ever forgave you for leaving."

"I doubt they ever will. Even I don't forgive myself for it."

Ginny gave me one last squeeze, although that one hurt the bruises forming on my back. "Let's go get you some hot food. You look like you haven't eaten in a few days."

I smiled grimly, not wanting to reveal that I didn't have enough money to actually buy decent food; that I lived off instant pudding, biscuits and water. "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry."

Even before I went downstairs, I could smell the rich aromas making their way upstairs. My mouth was watering and my stomach grumbled loudly.

I sat down at the table next to Ron, Ginny sitting in front of me next to Harry. The table was filled with different foods and everyone began scooping stuff on their plates. I followed suit, trying not to show that I was in fact famished. But before I could spoon the tasteful morsels of actual food in my mouth, I was interrupted by Ron, who had watched as I extended my --".

"Hermione, what are those bruises on your arm?"

----------------------------------------------

Author's note: And that concludes chapter 2. Kinda slow to get off, but I promise chapter 3 will be better. There's also a little about what happened to Hermione and why she was living in a dump. REVIEWS PLEASE! It makes me oh so happy.