A/N: Thank you to all those who left me a wee comment about chapter one, it's always great to hear anything from people who are reading!
This chapter is a bit more of the build up again, but I hope it becomes clear why this is necessary for the rest of the story!
It was a crisp, clear August day – the sun was sharp as it rose in the sky and doused the countryside with its light; and in the azure blue sky, two owls were nearing the end of their journey. Their destination, the Burrow, was still quiet – with only a few individuals awake. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen, doing what she enjoyed most – preparing food for her family and friends. Ever since the end of the War, the Weasley's had been living close together again – the loss of Fred had been devastating, but it had brought the family close together. Bill and Fleur visited every weekend; Charlie, although still in Romania for work, had made extra effort to make trips home; Percy had moved back home after his return during the fighting, he was still under ministry employ, but his attitude could not have altered more drastically; George – on whom the loss had been worst – spent a lot of time at home, his assistant running the shop in London while he was away. Ron and Ginny were still at home, and Hermione and Harry had been staying with them for the past few months, while the rest of the world began to rebuild itself. Mrs. Weasley knew, however, that the family wouldn't stay this closely knit forever – Ginny and Hermione intended on going back to school for their final year, which she approved of; she knew the school would need the help of old students if it was going to recuperate from its losses. Ron and Harry, too, were going travelling around the world, an old rite of passage for newly qualified wizards – if it had been before everything that had happened last year she would have worried; but they had faced worse than anything that could ever happen now… Mrs. Weasley was interrupted from her task by the arrival of the owls, that perched upon the kitchen window sill, waiting for her to relieve them of their burdens. She pulled off the letters, allowing them to fly off once more, and placed the items – which were addressed to Hermione and Ginny – upon the table. No doubt it would be Hogwarts letters.
"Breakfast!" She shouted, banging on one of her saucepans to rouse the residents of the house from their rooms. She could hear the instant movement coming from the floors above the kitchen; in a very short space of time, the kitchen was full – Ron, Harry, George and Percy were already seated at the table when Ginny and Hermione appeared. "Oh girls, you've got mail – I think its Hogwarts letters." She picked up the two envelopes and handed them across to Ginny and Hermione in turn.
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said, accepting her letter.
"Thanks mum." Ginny muttered, flipping her envelope over and ripping it open. Harry noticed that Ron, in the seat beside him, had stiffened as his mother had handed the letter across to Hermione; but Harry ignored this right now, as he looked over Ginny's shoulder to read her letter. He had received a pang of longing as he watched her opening her letter, but it was nowhere near strong enough for him to wish he was going back to school himself.
"Will we need to make a trip to Diagon Alley?" Mrs. Weasley asked, while simultaneously loading food onto everyone's plates.
"I think we'll need to go and get new robes and stuff." Ginny nodded. "There's only one new book on the book list, but we'll need to get restocks of potion ingredients, eh Hermione?" Ginny looked up at Hermione; Hermione didn't respond, she was just staring down at the parchment in her hand. "Hermione?" Ginny repeated, Hermione raised her eyes, as though coming out of a deep preoccupation, her mouth slightly open.
"I'm head girl…" She said, sounding disbelieving and bemused.
"What?!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly, leaning across the table and almost grabbing the parchment out of Hermione's loose grip. "Oh Hermione! This is fantastic!" Hermione stared at her, almost as though this wasn't actually happening. She turned the envelope upside down, and a metal badge clattered out onto the table top.
"Congratulations Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, clapping a hand onto Hermione's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Hermione was staring at the badge glittering on the table top; she reached out her hand and picked up the gold badge which had 'HG' superimposed on top of the Gryffindor lion.
"I - I don't know what to say…" She was staring down at the badge. "I hadn't even thought about Head Boy and Girl, or even the Prefects…"
"Well done Hermione, you deserve it!" Harry nodded, grinning at her – if they hadn't left Hogwarts last year, Harry was sure that Hermione would have been Head Girl – so at least she was getting that chance now. "Doesn't she, Ron?" Harry prompted Ron, who was staring glumly at the badge. Ron gave a rather non-committal grunt, and Harry could see the hurt on Hermione's face; this was something that meant a lot to her, and Ron was acting as though he didn't care at all.
"It really is an honour, Hermione." Percy chipped in from the other end of the table. "It was really good fun when I was Head Boy, so no doubt you'll enjoy it – especially if you get on well with whoever is Head Boy."
"Does it say who Head Boy is?" Ron questioned gruffly, not looking up from his plate.
"No, why does that matter Ron?" Ginny shot across at her brother fiercely.
"Just thought it would be good to know who you're going to be spending your year with." He said, folding his arms across his chest and looking decidedly stubborn.
"It's none of your business who is Head Boy!" Ginny snapped.
"I think you'll find it is!" Ron slammed his hand down on the table, "She's my girlfriend!"
"And you should be happy for her!" Ginny was frowning, and Harry placed his hand on top of Ginny's, as though in warning.
"I am!" I was just asking a question!" Ron stated harshly; Hermione was no longer smiling – in fact she looked rather upset.
"And asking who Head Boy is is more important than congratulations?" Hermione asked quietly.
Don't make such a big deal of it! I was only wondering!" Ron responded, but Harry could see tears forming in the corners of Hermione's eyes.
"Excuse me." She muttered, pushing the chair back from the table and almost running out of the table. Ginny was glaring at her brother with her eyes narrowed.
"You really are an insensitive pray sometimes Ron!" She exclaimed.
"What?!" Ron shouted.
"Ginny, don't…" Harry warned quietly, but she stood up from the table and followed Hermione out of the room.
Hermione was perched upon the edge of her bed, her hands covering her face.
"Hermione?" Ginny whispered, sitting down on the bed next to her. "Don't let Ron get to you, he's just being an idiot." Ginny couldn't see Hermione's face, but she heard her sniff quietly.
"I don't know if I can keep on doing this…" Hermione wiped her eyes with her hand, not necessarily trying to hide her tears from Ginny. "He's just been so… uncaring lately…" She sighed. "It's like everything that I do, or want to do, doesn't matter…"
"He does care, I promise you he does…" Ginny assured, putting her arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"He's not showing it though…" She said exasperatedly. "I… I don't think I can be with someone who doesn't act like my life and my choices are important to them…" Tears were leaking down Hermione's cheeks and falling into her lap; Ginny bit her lip.
"I can't advise you on anything…" Ginny said eventually. "Just, think about whatever you're going to do."
"I am… I have been…" Hermione sniffed again. "But I can't see this working when both of us want completely different things…"
Ron was acting very coldly and distantly, not just to Hermione, but to Ginny and Harry as well. Harry had tried to distract him by offering to play quidditch out in the Weasley's orchard with him, but Ron didn't appear in the mood for this – especially not after Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Hermione had departed to Diagon Alley to do their shopping for school. Harry almost wished he had gone with them with the mood that Ron was in, but he busied himself –preparing for the trip that he and Ron would be embarking upon.
After dinner, in which Ginny had recounted their trip to Diagon Alley, commenting that they had met several old students who were also returning to Hogwarts; Hermione approached Ron, asking him to go outside with her on his own.
Ron leant against the fence which ran around the proximity of the Burrow, not looking at Hermione.
"Ron… I've been thinking," She started, quietly and tentatively. "We've been friends for years and we've had some really good times together…" She took a deep, steadying breath. "I just don't think that the two of us being a couple is the best thing in the long run…" There was a short silence while Ron stared at his feet.
"Yeah." He grunted eventually. "You're right."
"I… I really hope that it won't her friendship…" She said quickly. "Because you are my best friend – I just don't think the two of us want the same things."
"Yeah…" He repeated, "It's probably best we do this now… especially with both of us going off to do our own things."
"Yeah, I'm – I'm glad you understand…" She murmured, rather deflatedly.
"I do… and you're right, we just wouldn't work."
A/N: Thank you for reading, I'd love to hear what you think about it so far! :)