Hey everyone! I know last chapter was a little light on our favorite couple, but this chapter will have some, don't you worry! :)

Shoutout to last chapter's lovely reviewers: WWWheezes, katzy8, JustSupermione, and rhmcac12!

Disclaimer: Not Jo because…well, I'm not Jo.

Ever since the boy had left, Hermione had been drifting in and out of troubled sleep. They were dreamless, in a sense, her vision was cloudy throughout, and everything was dark and gray and empty. Except for once…she thought she heard a voice, a boy's, and there was water, water everywhere. Then there was warmth, one that seemed to ignite Hermione's soul. She had no idea what it was, but it was the one happy highlight of her troubled mind.

When she woke up, there was a shock of red hair leaning over her. For a second, her heart leapt in an inexplicable way, maybe it was the boy again. Yet, she realized, with a slight twinge of disappointment, that the mane of hair was in fact long, and they had brown eyes instead of blue. It was the girl.

As Hermione gained focus, she could see the young woman was wearing a set of green and yellow robes, tailored in what looked athletically. Hermione still couldn't fathom why everyone she saw wore such things, but she had kept her tongue. She was sure her curiosity would come out at some time or another, so better later than sooner.

The girl leaned back a little, sensing Hermione was awake. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I thought you were asleep."

Hermione nodded as she shifted her busy head of brown hair. "It's fine. I just woke up anyway." Realizing she was impolite for not offering a name, she stuck out her hand and said, "Hermione. Hermione Granger."

The girl gave a light laugh, and her previously downcast features turned upward in a second. Hermione thought she was quite pretty, with her flashing smile, bright brown eyes, and shiny red hair. She wouldn't be surprised if she all the boys lining up down her doorway. "I know. I'm Ginny Weasley. We've been friends since…well, about five years, but I guess you wouldn't know that, would you?" The woman said it nonchalantly, but Hermione could tell by the look in her eyes that she sincerely hoped that she somehow remembered.

Hermione shook her head, sad to disappoint the girl. She was very friendly, from what Hermione could tell. "No, I'm sorry, I don't. I don't even remember having…well y'know." She gestured discreetly to her chest area. Something very serious must've happened if she didn't even remember going through puberty.

The woman shook her head, muttering half to herself, "Oh Merlin. It must've been quite the Obliviate charm."

Hermione shook her head, not comprehending. "I'm sorry, a charm? It almost sounds like you're suggesting that magic-"

"-Is real?" The girl finished Hermione's sentence before it could come out of her mouth. "You're a witch, Hermione." And then, on an afterthought, she said, "And so am I."

Hermione shook her head defiantly. Maybe she finally had lapsed into a dream. None of this could be real, none of it-but then why did the girl have such an earnest look on her face? Her voice shook slightly as she said, "Prove it. Prove you can do magic."

The girl hesitated for a second, and then shrugged. "It's not like you're a Muggle or anything. You did do magic too, not that long ago. I mean, you were the brightest witch of your age, for heaven's sake! Alright, wait one second, let me just get my wand-"

Hermione started to protest, but before she could, the woman drew a finely sanded foot-long stick from her pocket. She opened her mouth to speak-

But before she could, a deep, husky voice broke through the silence. "WIngardium Leviosa!"

Hermione watched in utter shock as the glass of water on her bedside table suddenly floated into the air. It hovered for a few seconds, not a drop spilling out, before it set itself down gracefully again. She couldn't help exclaiming, "That was brilliant! Brilliant!"

Only then did she see that Ginny was not watching the cup like she was. The girl was instead turned to the other side of the room. Curiously, Hermione whipped around, and then she saw him.

Her heart beat faster in her throat, and she had no idea why. She didn't know how, but the sunlight filtering in from the hospital window made the red-haired boy's eyes look even bluer. She hadn't even noticed that Ginny had stood up until the words tumbled out of her mouth, strange and loud in Hermione's ears. "Ron? Wait Ron, come here!"

The woman ran to grab his arm, but he had turned away before she could reach him. Just before he walked out the door, he stopped briefly, his gaze fixed on Hermione. She shivered, but the air wasn't cold.

Softly, so quiet Hermione could barely hear him, she could hear the boy speak. There was a sad smile on his lips, and something about it felt like a stab in Hermione's heart. "I had a good teacher. You were always the smartest of the three of us, Mione. Always."

Then the shock of red hair disappeared down the hospital corridor, with the petite redheaded girl running after him, calling still, "Wait, Ron! Wait!"

But all Hermione could think about was the look on the boy's face, etched in her mind like a bright, bright firework. Who was he? Who was she?

And what had happened between them?

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