As if on cue, Professor McGonagall stood up from her place at the front of the Gryffindor table and walked up four stairs and stood before everyone on the raised platform, Dumbledore's usual spot. Once positioned there, she nodded towards Kingsley, who had just been named Temporary Minister of Magic, to come join her in front of the crowd.
"May I have your attention, please?" she hollered to those sitting in the Great Hall. Instantly, the crowd quieted down to silence.
"Hopefully, you all have had enough time to recuperate after the battle. Now, it is time to take care of business. Starting today, we will begin to restore Hogwarts to its former glory. We will need skilled wizards and witches to come forward help us repair the school. If you would like to help, please sign up on the sheet up here.
"There is also another sign-up sheet up here, but for a very somber reason. To honor those who passed in battle, Hogwarts would like to host a memorial to pay homage to your loved one while we are all still together. If you are a family member or friend who lost someone dear to you, please come up to the stage and sign their name to fill one of the time slots. I know this may seem like a disrespectful way to remember our dead, but we want to honor your loved one all together on Hogwarts soil.
"One last thing: Minister Kingsley and I need to speak to all students who have just completed their seventh year at Hogwarts under the direction of Professor Snape and the Carrows. Students, if this applies to you, please follow us to the Library for a brief meeting.
"Thank you for your attention," she said, before she and Kingsley left the platform and strode out of the Great Hall. I looked to Ron, Neville, and Luna, who all began to stand up. "Are we included in this meeting?" I asked Ronald, but McGonagall nodded as she passed us.
I stood up and trailed Kingsley out of the Great Hall, the first of about twenty-five behind me. We were walking up a staircase when I realized something. "Where's Harry?" I exclaimed to Ron. He rolled his eyes and went to open the door to the nearest broom closet. Harry and Ginny, feverish from all of the snogging, rolled out of the cupboard. I knew that their intensity bothered Ron, so he stomped away.
Harry and Ginny looked absolutely confused, until I grabbed Harry's arm and yanked him off the floor. "Come on, lover-boy. We've got a meeting to attend," I said to him as I dragged him down the corridor.
"Meet up with you later, Gin!" he winked before I pulled him around the corner.
We caught up with Ronald quickly, who looked as if he had steam coming out of his ears.
"Sorry, mate, it's now or never, isn't it?" Harry said, using Ron's exact same words when he kissed me during the war.
"Honestly, man, she's my sister. Can you guys just cool it and not do it in broom closets?" he asked.
Harry nodded, and the whole conversation topic died down. We reached the empty library and hurried to an empty banquet room. I sat down between Harry and Ron, eager to hear what McGonagall and Kingsley would have to say.
"Keep coming in. Take a seat, students," Kingsley said, as the last students filed into the study room.
"Alright, we called you in here to discuss your future plans. We understand that you have had a less-than subpar year, so we are offering you an opportunity to redo your seventh year. Unlike the upcoming seventh years, you will have more freedom: a completely separate common room and dormitories, a very flexible schedule, internship availability, and much more. It will be a very unique experience, and we hope some of you will consider it.
"However, there is another option for some of you. While we understand the importance to your education, we are hoping that some of you will immediately join us at the Ministry of Magic. You are a very skilled and advanced group of wizards, and we don't need N.E.W.T. scores to tell us this. The Ministry is in complete disarray, and we need your clever minds and your avid spirits to restore the broken Wizarding World.
"Now, you don't have to give us an answer today, but we would like your response at the end of the week. That way, we can begin to prepare your roles in the Ministry or your classes if you choose to stay at Hogwarts," Kingsley explained.
We all nodded and some began to stand and leave the study room. Harry, Ronald, and I stood up until we heard, "You three, wait up!" It was Kingsley's voice.
We turned, and he gestured us to sit back in our seats. We did and he nodded to us.
"I'm sorry to say this, but you three don't really have a long time to make decisions. Harry, I know you have previously voiced interest in becoming an Auror, and we would be glad to have you. You two, as well, Ron, Miss Granger. You three are fierce and strong-headed, the traits of a great Auror. We need to start hunting down Dark wizards immediately, before they have enough time to escape the country, and we believe that you will be the perfect people to begin the hunt. We would like to put you three on the case within a week," Kingsley stated, sending Ron and Harry into a smiling frenzy. They were still lusting after blood.
"I'm sorry, Minister, but what about school?" I asked.
"Well, Miss Granger, I'm sure we could use your talent during the summer, but that will be difficult, considering all of the preparation it will take to train you three. We would like to send you to the Ministry next week to begin your training. There, you will strengthen your body and your mind. An Auror must be physically and emotionally prepared for what they will face on their journeys. To be honest, Hermione, we won't send you out until late August, early September on actual missions, and you'd already be at school by then."
"So, what you are saying is that I shouldn't even bother training to become an Auror?"
"If it is something you probably won't pursue after school, then I wouldn't," Kingsley declared and I nodded. I was completely content with not training to become an Auror. "But Harry, Ron, are you two still interested?"
They nodded excitedly, and after discussing a few more things with the two boys, Kingsley and McGonagall dismissed us from the library.
We were walking down the hall when Harry said, "Hermione, what are your plans for the summer?" I hadn't thought too much about my short-term future, but I knew that I would leave as soon as possible to find my parents and restore their memory. They would be disappointed that I lied to them and frightened once I explained to them all I had been through, but those were just minor worries. I was just praying to Merlin that my spell would be lifted without difficulty.
"I need to go find my parents in Australia and restore their memory," I said to them, as we wandered around the school.
"How long do you think that will take?" Ronald asked, sadness in his voice.
"Well, I'll probably been gone for a while, spending time with them. But I will return as quickly as I can!" I smiled as I grabbed his hand. His tense face relaxed quickly; it was obvious that my words put him at ease.
"Ron, do you think we will be ready for this 'extensive' training?" Harry asked him.
"I'm not sure, mate, but I'm ready to blow off some steam."
"What do you mean?" I cut in.
"Well, I'm still feeling frustrated about Fred and the outcome of the battle and other things, and I'm just ready to run some laps and kill some Death Eaters, you know?"
"I understand," I said, although I never pictured Ronald as much of a runner.
"It'll just be weird being away from you for so long," Ron said to me, releasing my hand and throwing his arm over my shoulder.
"Really?" I giggled.
"No, I know what you mean, Ron," Harry said, but stuttered when Ron sent him death glares. "Oi! It's not like I'm in love with her or anything! But we've been together at all times for the past year. We're going to start going in different directions, and it's kind of weird…"
"I know, it's going to be tough to be away from you. You guys mean everything to me," I said simply. My throat was becoming dry and there was a lump the size of a baseball wedged in there. I swallowed it back, trying my hardest not to cry. I slowed my walk to a halt, the boys standing in front of me. I wrapped my arms around their necks and pulled them into me. It was an awkward group hug, but very sufficient.
"I love you guys," Ron said, squeezing my side.
His little love pinch sent me over the edge, and tears began to stream down my face. We pulled away from one another, and I saw Harry and Ron wiping tears from their eyelids. We stared at each other in disbelief for a moment and burst into laughter. After the short bit of amusement, I began to cry again at my overwhelming happiness.
"Okay, I have to get out of here before Hermione makes me start to cry again!" Harry said, planting a quick kiss on my cheek and clapping Ron on the back. He left us in the deserted corridor, probably in search of Ginny.
We watched his retreating back in silence and turned to face each other, a soft smile on my face. Ron took his thumb and wiped away one remaining tear on my cheek. He stared down at me for a moment, and I looked up into his blue, sparkling eyes.
"You are so beautiful," he said, as he laid a kiss upon my lips that left me somewhat breathless. We broke apart after a moment, when he said, "Hermione, I have something to say."
I looked up at him in expectancy. I was nervous to hear what he had to say, seeing as Ron was spit-balling his feelings into the open lately. We began to walk down a corridor or two, when I realized we were outside, headed towards the lake.
"Over the past year, or over the past couple of years, actually, I've developed strong feelings for you. It was probably in second year when I started to feel different around you. You were petrified by the basilisk, and I was petrified in fear and worry about you. I guess I tried to mask that anxiety as something else, but it didn't work too well. Then, it's just kind of escalated over the past years. Finally, I came to realize my true feelings for you when we were at the Malfoys, and Bellatrix was torturing you. I would have done anything to have them spare you, and when that thought popped into my head, I knew that I was in love with you," Ron explicated to me.
I stared at him, a war of emotions raging inside of me. Everything he was saying made complete sense to me, and I knew that I had strong feelings for him, too. But did I love him? Was I head over heels, his and her towels, let-me-bare-your-children in love with him? I didn't know.
He was looking at me with so much hope shinning in those sapphire eyes, and there was no way I could let him down. After a moment of hesitation, I smiled and said, "I love you, too." He grinned a smile so large that I thought his cheeks were going to explode, and he lifted me off my feet and into his arms, kissing me passionately.
Honestly, what had I gotten myself into? I could tell I was in trouble when he was kissing me with strong intensity. He was expressing his love through his kisses, and I wasn't able to return his passion because I wasn't sure if I had felt it. I loved Ron, but as I was kissing him, I was led to believe that my heart didn't burn for him.
After a couple minutes of snogging in his arms by the lake, he set me down. He was positively giddy. He smiled that dumbstruck smile of his. "Well, are you ready to go inside?"
"You know, I might sit out by the lake for a few minutes. But you go on in! I'll meet you later for lunch!" I said. He kissed me quickly on the lips, murmured 'I love you', and hurried on his merry way.
I sat down by the lake and let my eyes roll to the back of my head, reflecting on my morning. It wasn't even noon, and my day had already been crazy. Was this only an example of how high-speed my life would be?
"Nice save, Granger!" a voice complimented me from behind my back. I whirled around and noticed that I was about six feet away from Draco Malfoy. I rolled my eyes and turned around to face the lake again. Malfoy did not do well with girls not paying attention to him, so he came and sat down next to me. "But seriously, in the future, you should make it more belivable, Granger! I could smell your hesitation from a mile away."
"Bug off, Malfoy," I muttered quickly and stared off in another direction.
"Or am I mistaken? By the way you were responding to his kiss, I would say that my first assumption is still correct."
My approach to having him leave was just to ignore him. If I didn't respond to any of his antics, he would become bored and leave me to my thoughts. However, that was not the case.
"You know, Granger, you wouldn't kiss me like that."
"You know, Malfoy, you're actually right!" I said sarcastically. He was taken aback, however, because I could tell that he was suggesting that he was a better kisser than Ron.
"I am?" he asked.
"Yeah, I would never kiss you, so your statement was correct." I stood up, leaving my comfortable patch of grass by the lake. I knew that this would be my only time for escape, and I was desperate to take it. I began to walk towards the castle.
"I meant to say that you wouldn't have any hesitations with me!" he hollered at me, as I stalked away.
"You should have said that when you made your previous declaration! Looks like you should think about what you want to say before you let it slip out of your mouth, Malfoy!" I winked.
I definitely could have given a better comeback, but after the morning I had been having, I had very little energy to respond with something good. However, when I release an groan and a slap on the forehead behind me, I knew I had succeeded.