A/N: This is still short, but it's longer than the prologue. I probably could have written a longer chapter, but I wanted to get something a little more up today. Didn't want to piss too many people off by giving them 10 lines to read and then making them wait. Let me know what I can improve on, if you have any ideas. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, or lack thereof.

Hermione woke early the next morning next to a snoring Ron. As carefully as she could, she slipped out of bed from underneath his arm. She found some clean clothes and combed her fingers through her hair, hoping it wasn't too unruly. Quietly, she snuck out of the room and went downstairs.

There were few who believed in early mornings at the Burrow. Arthur was already gone to work, and Molly was cleaning and preparing to make breakfast.

"Good morning, Molly," Hermione said pleasantly, taking a seat at the table. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The usual, "Nope, I have everything under control, dear," followed. Crookshanks circled Hermione's ankles and then leapt onto her lap with his expectant gaze.

"Good morning to you, too." Hermione dazed off as she stroked his long fur, daydreaming about her return for her seventh year at Hogwarts the next day. Excitement fluttered in her stomach. She loved the Burrow, but she couldn't wait to have a bed to herself again, as well as the library at her dispense.

"Have you got everything you need for school?" Molly asked, as she absentmindedly tore through her morning chores.

"Not quite. I think I'll be needing a trip to Diagon Alley today. I just need to get a few odds and ends. I'd like to stop by the bookstore, as well."

"Do take the boys with you and make sure they have everything. I look forward to the day Ronald doesn't owl me, telling me he's forgotten something." She smiled at Hermione, who smiled back knowingly.

Hermione was surprised that Harry and Ron had made the decision to come back to school with her. She knew Ron was only coming because of her, but Harry had already been offered a job working for the Ministry as an auror. It was what he always wanted to do, and she couldn't figure out why he had turned it down.

"Of course. We can make a day of it."

They saw a lot of people that day in Diagon Alley. It was wonderful to see them, and to find out who was going back to school, but it was also a harsh reminder of those who would never walk the streets of Diagon Alley or the halls of Hogwarts again.

Hermione had eventually managed to shake off the boys at a quidditch shop and told them they could find her at Flourish and Blotts. She always hated when they tried to come to the bookstore with her. They would follow her around and constantly look over her shoulder. Then they would try to talk to her. She always got so frustrated. The new and not-quite-improved Hermione would probably have something to say about it. The old Hermione never did.

Her encounter with Draco Malfoy came as a complete surprise to her, as she never expected to see him again after what happened at Malfoy Manor. He stood on the sidelines and watched as his aunt tortured her for information. His presence always used to be enough to cause her to shake with anger, but now she couldn't care much less.

Malfoy's mouth lifted into a smirk when he saw her. "It's unfortunate that they decided to keep letting mudbloods into the stores, let alone back into Hogwarts this year…"

"Isn't it just?" Hermione asked, with mock disgust. She turned away from him and moved to look at different shelf of books. She hoped that he had nowhere to go with that, and would just shut up.

"What? No hexes? Or slaps?"

"Not today, Malfoy. I'm choosing to pretend your physical being doesn't exist. Now if only that snarky little voice of yours would get of my head, I could forget you altogether." Hermione's annoyance with him showed in her voice. She thought she had successfully avoided being bothered while she browsed for books when she got rid of the boys.

"Where are your bodyguards? Are they embarrassed to be seen with a mudblood?" Malfoy asked with a sneer, clearly referring to Harry and Ron. He continued following her all the way to the section on human transfiguration.

"Aren't you, you moron? If you don't stop following me, people are going to think you're staring at my filthy mudblood arse."

"Such language, Granger. Sounds and looks like you've changed a bit," he said with an even bigger smirk, as he eyed her up and down, "and not for the better."

Hermione realized her appearance had done nothing but go downhill since the beginning of the war. She had not been particularly gorgeous to begin with, but there was a softness to her that some admired. Her face had lost all of the innocent, wide-eyed curiosity it once held, and her body had lost all its soft curvature and hardened into a slim, toned figure.

"Sounds and looks like you haven't." She turned and looked him up and down, not realizing how close behind her he had been. She was shocked to look into his face and see something different from the terrified little boy he once was. He looked hardened, too. And much bigger. And much more attractive. There was something in his eyes she didn't recognize, something that she didn't like. As these thoughts raced through her mind, she maintained her calm, analytical composure. "Yep, just the same stupid, little prat you've always been. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to look at books here. In peace." She pushed past him, bumping into his arm as she went by. She turned back to look at him and saw him frowning, probably surprised that he didn't get the rise out of her he was expecting to.

Later, when she met back up with the boys, she decided not to tell them about her encounter with Malfoy. He had always been a sore spot with Ron, particularly after all that happened in the manor. Like Hermione, Harry could see that Malfoy had just been a scared, young boy pushed by his family into doing what he did, as well as a very poor decision maker, but that didn't mean he disliked him any less. T

They arrived back at the Burrow in the evening, just in time for dinner. Everyone looked happy as they ate and talked animatedly about their return to Hogwarts. Looking next to her at Harry and Ginny she realized why Harry was coming back to Hogwarts. He was so in love with that girl, and she him. Hermione wondered why she couldn't feel this way with Ron, and turned to look at him while he stuffed his face. It was disgusting to see, but endearing at the same time.

Feeling an elbow jab lightly into her side, Hermione turned to face Harry, who had a grin on his face. He whispered to her, "Try to keep it down tonight, will you?"

"Oh, fuck off, Harry," Hermione said quietly, with a small laugh, "It's not like we don't hear you sneaking into Ginny's room every damn night." Harry's grin faltered. "Oh, don't worry, Ron's oblivious. Just can't seem to wrap his head around his little sister having sex." Harry blushed this time, at her blunt way of putting it, with a grin back on his face.

Harry and Hermione had always had a great friendship full of mutual understanding. He had become her main support starting around fourth year, when the Lavender incident occurred. She had not expected him to be by her side during that, but was pleased to have him there. She could tell him anything. And she often did. She didn't really get along with other girls her age to begin with, and she doubted she would fare any better in the girls' dormitory this year. A lot of girls were jealous of her because of her closeness with Harry, many mistaking their relationship for a romantic one. The others just couldn't understand her, and the feeling was mutual. She just couldn't grasp their fascination for boys and makeup.

"Be careful, though, Harry. If Arthur or either of the twins catch you, you might lose your ability to provide children." Harry laughed nervously.

Ginny was one of the few girls Hermione could almost see eye to eye with. While Ginny liked shopping, and dresses and all that shit, she was still a rational, down to earth girl. Hermione could hardly imagine how she dealt with being stuck on the sidelines during the war. Things were a little tense between the two girls when the war was over. Hermione couldn't understand Ginny's concerns with how long she and Harry were living alone in small quarters during Ron's absence. Harry talked to her, however, and cleared everything up. Ginny was the closest thing to a female friend she'd ever had.

After dinner, Ron grabbed Hermione by the hand and dragged her upstairs to his room. He shut the door behind them. He embraced her and kissed her passionately. When he pulled away, Hermione had to resist wiping her mouth clean of his saliva as to not hurt his feelings. She just did not understand how someone could have quite so much spit. And did he really have to share it?

Ron sat down on the bed and summoned her over, patting the spot next to him. He looked nervous, which in turn, was making Hermione very nervous.

"Hermione… can we talk?"

"Of course," she replied, with a smile.

"So, back to school tomorrow…" Hermione noticed the small grimace on his face.

"You know that you don't have to go back if you don't want to, don't you?"

"I want to. Don't worry. I want to be with you. That's… what I wanted to talk about, actually. I was going to wait until after this year, but I was talking to Harry, and since I already have it..." Ron pushed a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

"Oh, shit." Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she let slip out. Ron must have taken her dismay as excitement, and didn't falter as he opened the box in front of her.

"I know we're young, but I also know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Hermione?" Ron was beaming at her.

"Oh shit," she muttered under her breath again, "Oh, Ronald. I just… I…" Hermione, for once in her life, was lost for words. The smile on Ron's face disappeared.

"I thought you wanted this too…" He sounded so confused.

"I'm just not ready for this yet, Ron. I'm so, so sorry. I just can't." She could see Ron's sadness slowly turning to anger, as she expected.

"I thought you loved me, Hermione. Apparently not like I love you."

"I do love you, Ron. Please… please don't be mad," she pleaded with him. She grabbed for his hand, but he quickly pulled it away and turned from her. She knew she had hurt him. She saw the tears in his eyes before he turned away. She also knew there was nothing else she could do.

She turned when she reached the door. "I'm sorry."

"Just get out."