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"It was so terrible, Harry." Hermione said as she went over the argument between Percy and the rest of the family while he was outside talking with Scrimgeour. "I feel bad for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they probably feel like they've really lost him."

Harry listened as he sat on his bed with Hermione in Ron's bedroom. Hermione had been sharing a room with Ginny while Fred and George had gone back to their own flat they rented. Ron was asleep in the bed across the room from his, he was a heavy sleeper so they didn't have to worry about him waking up as they quietly talked. Nobody mentioned Percy for the rest of the night, well except for grumbles from the twins, and Ron about what they'd like to do to him.

"I wonder if he'll ever reconcile with them." She continued. "If they'll even forgive him at this point."

Harry knew she was referring to Ron, Ginny, and the twins.

"No, they will." He finally said. "They're mad at Percy but I know they love him. I just know it."

He remembered back at his first year at Hogwarts how the twins had forced Percy into their mother's Christmas jumper and made him spent the day with them. He knew Ron looked up to him to an extent, Ginny as well. Percy may have been a little annoying and a strict rule-follower but he was their older brother and they cared deeply for him. If they didn't they wouldn't have gotten as upset as they have over his estrangement from the family.

The part he just couldn't understand was Percy's willingness to throw away such a wonderful family over some petty arguement about who was right and who was wrong last year.

"What did the minister want to talk to you about?" Hermione then asked.

"He wanted my support." Harry sighed. "He wanted me to tell the press that I thought the ministry was doing a good job handling the threat of Voldemort."

"Are you going to do it?"

"Only if they actually do something good. If they had listened to me last year then maybe…"

He trailed off and Hermione had a pretty good idea where he was headed. After the death of his godfather he was so withdrawn, she wondered if he really grieved for him. But it was more than that. She knew that Harry was keeping a lot inside, it was like he was hiding something from her and Ron.

"Harry." Hermione began. "I know how hard last year was on you."

"Forget it."

"If there's something wrong you know you can tell me."

Harry then carefully got up from the bed and walked over to the window. He looked out towards the sky for a few moments as he exhaled heavily. He didn't want to bring it up but there was no point in keeping it to himself anymore. After a few more seconds ticked by, Harry finally responded;

"It's the prophecy."

"What about it?" Hermione asked.

"It basically said that neither one can live while the other survives."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that in the end, I will kill Voldemort, or he will kill me. And there is no other option."

Things just seemed hazy after he said that. Hermione was just staring at him, a blank look on her face as she learned what was truly bothering him. Not blaming himself over the death of Sirius, but something that was much more out of his control. After that, Hermione got up and motioned for Harry to follow her as the two silently headed out of the room and back downstairs to the living room, taking a seat on the couch just as the sound of light rain drops came down and began hitting the roof of the Burrow.

"So either you or Voldemort are going to die in the end?" Hermione finally spoke. She had a feeling that Voldemort would have to die, there was no other way but never thought it would be prophesized years before on how it would go down.

"Basically"

"You still won't have to face him alone. You-"

"Yes I will." Harry interrupted. "I might have help in getting there but it's just going to be me and him when it comes down to the end."

"But you aren't ready."

"I don't think I ever really will be."

Harry then rubbed his forehead, his fingers brushing over his scar.

"I think I agree with Ron. We shouldn't be going back to school this year. I don't want to have to deal with what he has planned. It's just getting to be too much."

Hermione sighed as she understood.

"I guess it's too much to ask for us to have a normal year."

"We're not exactly normal." Harry shrugged.

"Of course we are. We're just different."

"A mad man running around killing people for not having wizards as parents isn't 'just different'".

"There are plenty of mad men in the muggle world." Hermione responded.

She had done a lot of research about muggle history, reading about dictators of countries around the world, killing millions of people for no good reason. The two of them continued to listen to the rain that was starting to come down a little harder now when Hermione suddenly asked;

"Are you afraid?"

A slight smile then appeared on Harry's face as he thought about the question.

"I...don't know." He finally said.

Hermione turned her head to look over at him.

"When I think only of myself, I'm not. But when I think about the people I care about, yes. I really am afraid. Voldemort made me see Sirius being tortured, I'm afraid of him doing it again. I can't deal with it…losing someone else."

She continued looking at him. Harry had always been a strong person, probably because he didn't have a choice. He had to deal with his parents dying when he was just a baby and having to live with his awful relatives. It was probably the thing she admired the most about Harry, his will to survive, to keep going. Most people would have just given up by now, but he didn't. But no matter how strong a person was it was only a matter of time before they reached their breaking point.

Hermione then reached down and gently took Harry's hand in hers.

"It's not going to happen this time." She assured.

Harry looked down at their hands and smiled a little, wishing that he could believe that before looking back up at her and asking;

"Why are you still friends with me?"

Hermione's brows suddenly furrowed in confusion and a bit of shock from his question.

"What are you talking about?"

"I've put your life in danger so many times...Ron's too. I'm like a walking plague."

"Don't say that." She commanded. "It's not your fault, none of this is your fault. You're my friend, you always will be."

"Is being friends with me really worth it?"

She looked him right in the eye.

"Yes."

"Do you really think that I can beat somebody like Voldemort?"

That was another thing that was on his mind. When it came down to the end, to just the two of them in a duel he knew he would lose. Voldemort was arguably the strongest wizard alive, Harry was a sixteen year old who hadn't finished school yet. How could he beat him by himself? But Hermione was still looking at him, not wavering as she squeezed his hand tighter.

"I know you can do it."

He couldn't help it but those words brought a smile to his face. They continued looking at each other until slowly…Harry and Hermione's faces moved closer towards each other until their lips touched. At first the kiss was hesitive, like both weren't sure about what they were doing, but after a few seconds Hermione placed her hands on Harry's shoulders and deepened the kiss for a few moments before they finally released each other.

Hermione smiled at him a little as Harry wondered where that had come from. Had the two of them just made a mistake or did they really have these kind of feelings for each other. One thing he did know was that it felt good.

Harry then carefully leaned forward and the two of them kissed again, both of them much more sure about it them before. They became so lost in each other they didn't know that someone else had come down the stairs and was watching them.

Ginny had been woken up by the sound of the heavy rain. Ever since she was young she didn't like rainstorms or thunderstorms and that still hadn't changed as she had gotten older. However, she took comfort knowing there was someone in the room with her but when she rolled over she saw the bed next to hers was empty. Ginny figured her friend was awake and downstairs so she headed down as well, maybe talking to her would help make her feel sleepy again.

What she didn't expect was to see a make-out session on the couch between Hermione and the boy she had a crush on since she could remember. It was like a punch to the stomach, the same way she felt last year seeing Harry with Cho Chang, only this time was much worse. Hermione was her best friend.

She watched for a few more seconds before turning away, a heavy frown on her face as she quietly headed back up the stairs to her bedroom. Ginny knew she needed to get over this stupid crush she had on Harry, he clearly wasn't interested in her. After all, she could probably count the number of times he had spoken to her over the last four years on her hands.

Getting back into bed, Ginny did her best to ignore the rain, trying to fall back asleep. To dream, to hope there was someone as special as Harry out there for her.