Chapter Five

"You are not going back to Hogwarts?" Hermione felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks, her heart dropped and she could hear it shatter as it hit the floor. She always imagined the three of them finishing school together. Harry and Ron were her first friends ever. Harry more than Ron as he hadn't made fun of her book-loving nature, and now to think that he wouldn't be finishing school with them was very disconcerting to her. He had to know that even Voldemort couldn't touch him in Hogwarts.

"Harry, you have to come back to Hogwarts. Its safer there than anywhere else in the world-," Harry cut her off with a look. He looked sad and as though he had already made his mind up.

"But Harry-," she started to say, they were communicating silently again which made Ron mad because sometimes when they started doing that he would end up falling behind on what was going on.

"Mione, I can't go back to that place. Too many people in that castle have shed their blood and lost their lives trying to protect me. I can't keep facing that anymore. Please understand. I know you love school too much to not go back that's why I didn't want you to know about when I would start hunting for the Hocruxes and not going back to Hogwarts." he said, his tone saying he clearly saying he didn't want to discuss this topic anymore.

She knew she had lost, but that was only for now. She would try to convince him to go back before the summer ended.

"Okay Harry, if you aren't going back then I won't go back either," she said and she knew she meant it when she said it. If he wouldn't go back she wouldn't, because she didn't think she knew how to cope if something were to happen to him.

"Hermione, you can't give up school for me. That's…That's," Harry said shock covering his handsome face, he couldn't even find the right words to finish his statement. He wouldn't let her do this. He knew how much she loved school and he couldn't take that from her.

"I'm not going to school either, if you are not going Mate. I won't let you have all the adventure to yourself, I want in. I think we should stay at Grimauld Place when you turn seventeen and we can start doing magic in the Magical world. We'll have to take our Apparating licenses before summer ends. Sorry Hermy you won't be allowed to take your test until September, when you turn seventeen." Ron said a smirk on his face.

Hermione didn't even acknowledge the fact that he had used her much hated nick-name, instead, she was still stuck on the fact that he was actually supporting Harry on not going back to school.

"Ronald," she stressed his name. "He is much safer there; they have more wards protecting that school than anywhere else in all the schools of magic. Harry will have access to books and so many more things from that school than anywhere else in this world. He just has to go to to the Restricted Section, and I'm sure Professor-, well Headmistress McGonagall would allow him because it will have something to do with saving the Magical World,"

"Yeah, but Hermione, how will McGonagall support that when she thinks, "Potter is just a boy,"" he said pitching his voice high to be womanly, like and more specifically the teacher in question's.

"If Harry or I aren't prefects then you would have to use your privileges and take the books out for us." she told him in her you-are- a-first-year and-you-don't-understand-stuff-that every-seventh-understands tone.

"I like both of your ideas but no matter what you decide, in the end I am still not going to Hogwarts," Harry said and stood up and left.

He walked out of the compartment and made it look as though he was going to the bathroom. They had five minutes left to get to 9and ¾ so he turned around and made his way to the language compartment. He had already switched to his Muggle clothes; all he had to do was take his Robe off which he did. He folded it and put it in his worn school bag, and took Hedwig's cage. She wasn't in her cage so he figured she had gone hunting.

He made his way back to his compartment, he noted the tension that was between nis two friends and decided to not even ask about it. He wasn't ready to hear other people's relationships problems as he had his own. He had dumped Ginny in order to protect her but he had found out the real reason they had broken up. He had found his feelings for Hermione start to surface up, that's when he had known with Ginny it was a safety thing. She felt easy, and not complicated. He knew if he stayed with her eventually she would bore him. There relationship was based on what everyone wanted, Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, but Harry wasn't one to follow rules. He realized how people had come to the conclusion that Ginny and he would work, "they would all be a big Weasley family," as Molly, Ron's mother had once said.

The only problem was that you couldn't fake love even if you tried. Eventually you would get tired and bored with the relationship. He wanted to protect Ginny, but he thought of her as a sister but, it was different with Hermione. He pulled back from his thoughts as he knew that was some dangerous territory he was about to go into. He didn't want his feeling to become too overpowering that he wouldn't be able to control them around Hermione.

The train stopped a couple of seconds later and he figured he should be the first to leave.

"See you sometime during summer you guys. Have a good summer and make sure to spend as much time with your family as possible," he said then turned around and left the compartment toward the exit door of the compartment.

Hermione was the first to move. She ran after Harry and caught him just as he was just about step out. She took his hand in hers and they walked out together with Ron trailing right behind them.

"Harry, I'm sorry," she said as she pulled him to a stop close to their already cart packed luggage.

Harry was startled to hear her apologizing to him. He had been the jerk in this so why was she the one apologizing? "No, Mione don't apologize to me. You did nothing wrong, I didn't tell you what was going on and you have been my best friends for years now and I should know that I can tell you two anything. If anything I am the one who is sorry Mione, I didn't give you enough credit to be able to make decisions of your own safety. Do you forgive me?" he asked softly.

Hermione nodded her head and drew him into another hug, their fingers still intertwined. She liked this closeness between them better than just being friends. She lifted her head from Harry's neck and pulled back a little, she pulled Ron into the hug and they group hugged for a moment before pulling back.

She felt the difference between giving Ron a hug and Harry a hug almost immediately after he came into the hug. There was no magnetism that drew her closer to him as with Harry, he didn't feel as though she could spend a life time in his arms as with Harry. She didn't feel that sparkle of electricity she felt with Harry every time their bodies grazed.

When the hug was over, Hermione remembered she had written her house number down that she was supposed to give to Harry. She used her other hand that wasn't clasped with Harry's to take and give the paper to him. He took it and looked down at the paper and looked questioningly at her.

"Call me on that number Harry, anytime." She told him the hugged him, then Ron again then left.

Harry looked at his best mate, "You have a good summer Ron, and try to get in some exercise as much as you possibly can. Ron nodded and smiled at Harry. See you in a few." He said and gave him a clap on the shoulder. He turned to his cart and pushed it towards the Durselys. Only Petunia and Dudley were there which meant either Vernon was at work or out of town with his work.

A/N: I don't really like it when a guy is dating a girl who is older than him so I changed Hermione's age and a few more thins I can't remember. Thanks for reading and please Review.