Hi everyone!
Since you've landed on this page, I assume you also love Romione. I love pondering alternative scenarios for how Hermione and Ron could have ended up together. This story is an AU tale imagining what life would be like for Ron and Hermione (and the others) if there were a Hogwarts University after Hogwarts. So, university life, but still within the Hogwarts grounds. Moreover, Ron and Hermione didn't get together during the war, so they still need to navigate their feelings for each other... To make it a bit more complex, Ron has found a new group of friends, so he and Hermione don't see each other as often anymore. Now, during the summer break following their third year at Hogwarts University, Hermione is wondering whether their friendship can still be saved. And perhaps, if she succeeds in this, she will finally stop romanticizing Ron. Because after all, he is just one of her oldest friends, almost like a brother… right?
Let me know what you think!

(I do not own any of the characters in this story, of course. They all belong to J.K. Rowling. )

Chapter 1

With the book clutched under one arm, Hermione opened one of the crimson-gold curtains of the dormitory, allowing some bright, yellow light to spill in. The dormitory, adorned with mostly golden details, illuminated beautifully. The soft blue sky outside promised her that it would be a perfect day filled with sunlit hours by the lake: the perfect way to spend her holiday.

"Do you have to?" groaned a sleepy voice behind her.

Hermione caught a glimpse of Parvati's grumpy and tired face just before she pulled the curtain of her bed closed. Hermione smiled to herself. In the first week of their first year, she had already discovered that Parvati was not a morning person, and the past five years of Hogwarts, one year of war and three years of university had not changed that. However, her morning moodiness was impersonal and affected everyone between roughly 9 and 11 a.m.: the time when Parvati was awake but still in denial.

"Just make sure to close it again when you leave," she mumbled.

However, Ginny was already sitting cheerfully dressed on her bed, and when Hermione turned to her, she jumped off.

"Please tell me that's not a textbook," Ginny said as the two girls walked down the stairs leading to the common room. She made an unsubtle attempt to read which book Hermione had clutched under her arm.

"No, it's a novel," Hermione replied.

"A trashy romance novel?" Ginny smirked wickedly.

"Of course not," Hermione answered with a smile.

As the two girls stepped outside, Hagrid was just coming out too. He waved to the girls, who waved back cheerfully. Hagrid's cottage was near the student's house and looked about the same size from the outside. The student house, however, was magically enlarged on the inside. When you stepped over the doorstep, the seemingly few square meters suddenly turned into long corridors with dozens of windows that you couldn't see from the outside. The house even had four floors: one for each year at university.
The weather was beautiful, so the short walk to the castle was not a punishment. On rainy days, you would see students walking under enchanted air bubbles, magically flying with the students and protecting them from the rain. Now, many students were making their way to the castle in clothes that, before the war, were not commonly seen on the Hogwarts grounds: muggle clothes.

The Great Hall always felt a bit bigger during the summer breaks because there were so few students. Most Hogwarts students were with their families. The university students were usually more attached to their place here and didn't stay with their parents for long, so that was why most students that were having breakfast now were of age.

Hermione and Ginny made their way to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table. Despite the many changes over the last ten years - six years of Hogwarts, one year of war and three years of Hogwarts University - their familiar seats remained unchanged.

"Love your hair!" Harry greeted Ginny cheerfully as she plopped down next to him. "Good morning," he then greeted Hermione.

Ginny playfully jabbed Harry's shoulder, causing him to flinch, pretending it hurt him a lot. "Don't think I've forgotten about yesterday's debacle," Ginny said, feigning agitation.

"What debacle? Nothing happened yesterday, did it?"

Hermione chuckled but tried to contain herself. Yesterday, while spontaneously practising a Colouring Curse on an annoying insect, Harry accidentally dyed a patch of Ginny's hair green.

"Luckily, you now know not to cast spells on insects when your girlfriend's head is nearby," Ginny remarked.

"But you moved so suddenly! I told you to stay still."

"In what language did you say that? All I remember is you suddenly shrieking, and before I knew it, my hair was green."

While Ginny and Harry bickered, Hermione calmly put butter on her sandwiches and occasionally glanced at the entrance to the Great Hall. After a few minutes, her heart skipped a beat – as it always did – when a group of about eight boys entered the hall. Her eyes automatically searched for a certain tall, red-haired boy. She could see from this distance that he had rosy cheeks. They must have had training again, Hermione thought. Those training sessions were always ridiculously early. The old Ron would have found them horrible and hadn't thought about getting out of bed so early to be yelled at by a man standing at the edge of the pool. The new Ron was a boy Hermione didn't quite recognize: a boy who was sporty, confident, and popular, but above all, mysterious. When her gaze met Ron's, as always, her eyes turned away, and she felt her cheeks warm up.

Ginny, apparently noticing this, said to Hermione, "Ah, you've spotted my favourite brother again. Seriously, Hermione, you should talk to him again. Then you'd notice what an idiot he actually is." She chuckled at her own remark.

"What?" Hermione spluttered, "I don't want to talk to him. Or I mean, it's not like I'm actively avoiding it, I just don't care that much."

"Hm," Ginny hummed. "Your red cheeks say otherwise."

Hermione made a sound that could be interpreted as contempt. "No, really," she said. "It's fine that he's found a new group of friends. After all those years with just the three of us, it was good to hang out with others. Especially after the war. I mean, Harry has also made new friends, right, Harry?"

Harry, who had so far managed to stay out of the conversation, suddenly choked on his pumpkin juice. "What?" he said, confused.

"That you've made new friends too," Ginny said. "You mean Marcel, right, Hermione?"

"Well, Marcel and I aren't exactly new friends," Harry said, wiping away the pumpkin juice that had accidentally landed on the table. "We're just... a bit closer friends since we started university."

"Exactly," said Hermione. "Well, that's how it happened with me and you, Ginny, and with me and Parvati too. She's actually a very nice girl since she stopped being so attached to Lavender." Hermione again failed to pronounce the latter name without a bit of resentment, even though Lavender's relationship with Ron had ended about four years ago.

"But still," said Harry thoughtfully, "I don't think Ron would mind talking to you again. Ron and I still hang out regularly. Our friendship hasn't exactly faded."

Hermione felt uncomfortable and played with the half sandwich on her plate. She glanced briefly at the table where Ron was sitting. Noticing Hermione's eyes on him, he turned his face in her direction and smiled broadly. Hermione's stomach did something strange, causing her to forget to smile back.

After breakfast, Hermione said goodbye to Harry and Ginny, who were going to Hogsmeade that day. She walked to the lake, to her favourite spot. As she leaned comfortably against the tree trunk, she placed the open book on her raised knees. She read a few pages but then realized she had retained little to nothing. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Harry's remark during breakfast: "Our friendship hasn't exactly faded, you know."

Well, that was precisely what had happened to her and Ron's friendship. She had also discussed it with Parvati once, and she said that it was perfectly normal to make new friends sometimes and that it meant you would let go of other friends. But Parvati didn't understand what Ron and Harry had meant to her, she thought bitterly. Ron and Harry were the first real friends she had had, the first people she could tell everything to and with whom she always felt comfortable. Yes, she had bickered countless times with them, especially with Ron, but that had never mattered to their bond.

After the war, there had been a slow shift in the friendship between her and Ron. Ron had stopped playing Quidditch and had enrolled in a Muggle sports program at Hogwarts University. He especially loved swimming and had quickly gathered a team of boys around him who also loved it. Together they trained for relays and competed in university competitions: not only against magical schools but also against Muggle universities. Ron and the other boys became closer and closer: first, they had occasionally lunch together, then they increasingly went out together on Friday nights, and now, three years later, they spent almost all their time together. Harry did not seem to mind so much, as he had found a great friend in Marcel. And apparently, he was still in contact with Ron now and then. In the meantime, the times Ron and Hermione saw each other changed from 'almost every day' to 'once a week', and ultimately to 'occasionally smiling at each other during breakfast'.

After pondering over this for a few minutes, Hermione finally managed to focus on her book. She had already enjoyed a couple of blissfully uninterrupted hours of reading when she was joined by Parvati, who seemed finally awake enough.

"I thought you'd be here," said Parvati as she laid down on her stomach on the grass. She'd brought a book with her, but she didn't open it.

"Aren't you going to read?" Hermione asked.

"I'm just taking in the scenery first," Parvati replied. Hermione followed her gaze to the edge of the lake. Of course, a group of boys was walking there, and the boy in front had a ball under his arm. Ron. Some of the boys weren't wearing shirts because it was already so hot.

"What?" Parvati said when she noticed Hermione rolling her eyes. "You can't deny it's a nice view."

"Is that why you're sitting with me?" Hermione laughed.

"Don't pretend like you don't enjoy looking too," Parvati said just as Ron took off his shirt, crumpled it into a pile, and threw it a short distance away.

"Huh?" said Hermione, quickly looking back at her book and pretending to read.

"You heard me. When are you going to admit that you fancy Ron?"

"I don't fancy Ron," Hermione muttered. Parvati asked this about twice a week, and Hermione gave the same answer twice a week, even though she knew Parvati already knew the right answer.

"Well, missed opportunity, I guess," Parvati said, brushing a strand of long, black hair behind her ear. "I might be able to arrange something for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll just hook up with one of his cute friends. Then I can drop subtle hints to Ron about who he should ask to the Summer Ball."

Hermione gasped and poked Parvati in the side. "If you dare!"

"You know I would," said Parvati, now serious. "You just have to ask."

"As if you could hook up with one of his friends," Hermione said. She only said this because friends are meant to tease each other. The truth was that Parvati was indeed very good at flirting with boys; maybe too good. With her long, glossy black hair, cute face, and lovely figure, she had a striking appearance. Hermione had been jealous of her at times; she only had boring, brown hair that was often frizzy and too wide. She found her face quite ordinary too: not very pretty or interesting.

"I'd like to go out with Pete," Parvati mused as she stared at the group of boys.

"Haven't you done that already?" Hermione asked.

"Not this year," said Parvati. "He was a bit boring on our date last year, actually. But I must say he's gotten even more handsome."

"And you're hoping that it made him less boring?"

"When are you going to go on a date with someone again?" Parvati chuckled.

"Don't change the subject!" Hermione said indignantly.

"You should go on a date with Ron."

"Stop it!" Hermione laughed. But she glanced briefly at the group of boys who had magically conjured a net above the grass, over which they were now hitting the ball with hands and feet. Ron looked particularly good without a shirt. His shoulders and arms had become broader in those three years of swimming training. Those arms, combined with the face she had known for years and with the bright red hair above it, gave her butterflies in almost every part of her body.
She bit her lower lip and mentally told herself not to be so dramatic. Ron was just a guy, like all the other guys at university. Quickly, she came up with something to change the subject.

"Do you already know what you're going to do with your specialization next year?"

Luckily, this worked. Parvati could talk passionately about almost anything: from boys to international wizarding laws. That, she realized, was why she liked Parvati so much.
"Well, I read something last week about the impact of Muggle technology on the wizarding community, and I found it super interesting. I was thinking about writing my thesis on that."

"That's definitely interesting!" Hermione said enthusiastically. Parvati's major was Advanced Muggle Studies, and she found everything about Muggles fascinating. "But please don't bother me with how that technology works," Hermione added. "I use it at my parents' house, but I don't know much about it."

"Too bad," said Parvati. "I was planning on bothering you with it."

As they continued talking about their plans for the upcoming year, Hermione noticed that the net the boys were using wasn't under a very strong enchantment. It seemed to be influenced by the wind: the playing field with the boys on it was gradually moving closer to Hermione and Parvati. Suddenly, one of the boys kicked the ball too far, and it rolled quickly over the grass, coming to a stop right in front of Parvati.
"I'll get it!" Ron called out as he quickly ran over. Hermione's heart started beating a lit
tle bit faster.
"Hey, sorry," Ron said with a grin as he picked up the ball. He kicked it back towards the boys and shouted, "Keep playing!"

"Good luck with flirting!" Dean called out.

"Shut up," Ron cheerfully replied. "Hey, how are you?" he asked Hermione as he squatted down next to her.

"Hey, I'm fine," Hermione said as she fiddled with a page of her book. Meanwhile, Parvati pretended to be very interested in her book, as if she had no idea there was a conversation.

"I noticed you haven't been away this summer. Or were you gone when Ginny and I were at our parents for a week?"

"Yeah, I was in Paris with Parvati for a few days."

"How nice! But didn't Ginny ask you to come with us?"

"Yeah, she did, but I had already planned this."

"That's too bad," Ron said with a typical Ron grin. "You can always come to us for a few days at Christmas. I enjoyed it when you were with us last Christmas." He briefly touched her upper arm. It tingled, giving Hermione a warm feeling.

"That was nice indeed," she said, smiling at the thought. Last Christmas, she had indeed been with the Weasleys. Then, she, Ginny, Ron, and Harry spent a week together as they had in their sixth year at Hogwarts. It felt so familiar that Hermione was half surprised that Ron went back to doing mostly everything with his swim team after the holiday.

"And how are your classes going?" Hermione asked. "Do you still want to become an Auror?"

"Yes, definitely," said Ron. "I've actually started getting good at Transfiguration. Who would have thought? Professor McGonagall is completely surprised. I think she secretly suspects that I'm someone else who drank a Polyjuice Potion. Like I would do that to someone," Ron said disgustedly. Hermione knew he was thinking of the potion he drank in their second year to turn into Vincent Crabbe.

"She probably doesn't think that," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll succeed in becoming an Auror."

"I hope so," said Ron. "Otherwise, I'll have to do something boring, like study international law."

"Hey!" Hermione said, and she teasingly hit Ron's arm with her book.

"Sorry, sorry," Ron said, grinning. "Have you made any progress with those elf rights?"

"Definitely. I already have an idea of where the loopholes in the law are. It really shouldn't be difficult, you know, it's just two or three small rules that need to be adjusted in the law book. And then mistreating elves would be punishable."

"I think the Ministry needs to watch out once they hire you."

"Well, first I'm going to write my thesis about it," Hermione said with a smile.

"I'd love to read it," Ron said seriously.

"Don't talk nonsense," Hermione said, but she laughed.

"Okay, it seems a bit boring to read," Ron admitted. "But you should still tell me about it."

"Ron!" one of the boys shouted. Hermione thought his name was Jacques, one of the students from Beauxbatons who enrolled at Hogwarts University.

"WHAT?" Ron shouted back.

"We need you, man. Three against four isn't fair!"

"Pff, wimps," said Ron, but he got up and put his hand back on Hermione's shoulder. "Nice to have talked to you again," he said. And he walked over to the boys. Hermione watched him go with a mixed feeling, as she always did. Parvati finally looked up from her book.

"Well, that went well, didn't it?" she asked, grinning.

"What went well?"

"You know what I mean. Ron likes you!"

"No way," said Hermione. "He's just being nice to me."

"He touched you! In that 'I know what I'm doing with you' kind of way."

"You've been eavesdropping and watching us the whole time!" Hermione pretended to be offended.

"Sorry, your conversation was much more interesting." Parvati turned onto her back and stared at the sky, her book on her stomach. "Oh, it's so romantic," she sighed.

"It's so awkward," said Hermione, who stretched her legs. She placed the book beside her. "You know, I think I've figured out why it seems so awkward. I just don't talk to him enough. Only because I um… admire him from a distance, I happen to have the feeling that I like him. But when I talk to him, like just now, everything's back to normal. Like it was before the war." Hermoine did not mention that before the war, her feelings towards Ron were already a bit complicated.

"So you do like him," said Parvati triumphantly. She rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow.

"Oh, shut up," said Hermione. "What I mean is, everything might seem normal again if I saw him more often so I wouldn't fantasize about him, you know?"

"You fantasize about him? Oh, it's worse than I thought!" Parvati laughed happily. "But maybe you're right," she added thoughtfully. "It would definitely be smart to spend more time with him."