CHAPTER ONE
OWL POST CENTRAL
Ron Weasley hadn't been able to sleep well this summer holiday. Just a few weeks ago, he and his best friends had raced against time to try and save his best friend's godfather from You-Know-Who. During the fight with the Death Eaters that had actually tricked them, Ron had been attacked by a strange, brain-like thing that he couldn't even fathom the name of. That was one of the most horrible nights of his life. All he could feel were the tendrils wrapping around him, attempting to strangle him and as far as he knew replace his brain with itself.
He shuddered at the thought of those disgusting tentacles writhing over his body and trying to cut off his air supply. His eyes snapped open and he scanned the room before he quickly began ripping the sheets off of himself in an attempt to remove the tentacles he had imagined where wrapping around him again. When he finally realized where he was, he wiped his sweat-laden brow and sat up.
The clock chimed midnight.
I'm getting tired of this. Ron thought to himself. Maybe I'll write Harry, he'll listen, he's gone through worse than that.
Ron crossed his cramped room to the plywood stacked on cinder blocks that served as his desk. He pulled out a piece of parchment, ink and his quill and began to write a letter.
Harry,
Hey, Mate! I know it hasn't been too long since we've seen each other on the express, but I just needed someone
to talk to. How are the muggles treating you since they were confronted by your friends? Everything is the same here.
Mum has forgiven Fred and George but they've still moved out and live above their store now. Ginny started dating
Dean Thomas! Can you believe that?! He's not good enough for her, mate. But the main reason I'm writing is that
I've been having reoccurring nightmares about the Department of Mysteries. I'm sorry about what happened,
Harry. I wish I could have been able to help, but the reason I couldn't is what this is about. I can't get the
vision of that brain-thing out of my head. Every time I close my eyes, I see it flying towards me because of that
stupid summoning charm. Then I feel those tentacles ... wrapping around me. I'm at a loss what to do, Harry. Is
there anything you can suggest that might help? I hope you're doing well.
Ron
Ron shuffled back across the room and opened Pigwidgeon's cage.
"Quiet DOWN, Pig!" Ron hissed as the over-excited, miniature owl started hooting madly and flitting around the cage. "I need you to deliver this to Harry. Try not to be a pest, ok?"
The excited owl stuck out its trembling leg with the anticipation of proving that it could make another delivery. After a few moments, Ron was able to tie the rolled parchment properly and he released Pigwidgeon to the deepening night.
"Ugh, I'm so tired." He whined under his breath. He lay down on his bed in an attempt to get some sleep, no matter how little. His eyes closed and he drifted off into another tumulus slumber.
Ron was awakened not by the feeling of groping tendrils, but by the flutter of feathers and the feeling of suddenly being dusted by an animated feather duster.
"GEROFF, PIG!" Ron hissed through clenched teeth. After the flurry of feathers left his face, he sat up sleepily and groaned. "It's only three?" He looked grumpily at his excited owl. "Good job, Pig." He said absentmindedly and he untied the reply. He unrolled the parchment and read it over quickly.
Ron,
Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts. I'll be fine, I guess. It's going to take some time to deal with
everything. I know how you feel about reoccurring nightmares, believe me. Madam Pomfrey would give me potions that
would help me sleep through the night without having dreams. Maybe you could check with your mum, I know she'll
understand, after all, you are her Ickle Ronnykins! Sorry, had to be said. I don't know why you have such a problem
with Dean. You've always treated him well before he and Ginny liked each other. I think you need to let her have
some room. She's not an Ickle Firstie anymore, Ron. She's the same age that Hermione was when she went to the
Yule Ball with Krum.
Um, speaking of which, do you know if Hermione is still seeing him? It's not that I'm not happy for her or
anything like that, I was just wondering if she was still seeing him or if she's just stayed friends with him.
Well, um, I should be going to bed, I think that last snort wasn't a snore but one of the muggles moving around the
hall.
If you know anything, could you let me know? Hermione wasn't too talkative on the trip home and anytime I mentioned
Cho she seemed to back away from me. It felt weird.
Hope you can get some sleep, and please don't tell Hermione I asked, she'd just start worrying.
Harry
Ron sat in his sleepless stupor. Why does Harry want to know if Hermione is still with Krum? Why does he need me to tell him and not ask her directly? He shrugged.
"I guess I could write her and ask." Ron mumbled under his breath. "It's not like I can sleep right now anyway."
Crossing back over to his desk, Ron pulled out another piece of parchment and began to write.
Dear Hermione,
How are you? I bet you're missing Hogwarts and all the homework already, huh? Well, may as well get to the point of
why I'm sending Pig to you in the middle of the night. I was just wondering if you were still dating Krum, or if
you just stayed friends. I was just curious is all. Oh, and I noticed that you weren't talking to Harry as much as
you normally do. Could that be because of Cho? I was worried that she might have been a reason that would cause you to
ignore him or something. ARGH! I'm so tired I don't think I'm making any sense.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Ron
Once again, he let an even more excited Pigwidgeon out of his cage. Not wanting to deal with the hyperactive bird hopping around the room while he tied the letter to his leg, Ron grabbed him and held him still as he tied the parchment to Pig's leg.
"Sorry about that, Pig, but I'm tired and didn't want to chase you. Could you take that to Hermione, please?" Ron said nonchalantly.
The bird didn't seem to mind as long as it got some kind of attention or was given a task to complete. He hooted merrily and rocketed out the window as fast as its stubby wings could take him.
Ron crashed on the bed again and had fallen asleep before he knew what hit him. For once he didn't dream and he fell into that warm, dark, safe feeling that a night of dreamless sleep can bring.
He woke to what he thought were bells being rung in a church but there weren't many churches near the Burrow, at least no church that had bells that sounded like lead pipes and groans. Ron grabbed a loose two-by-four that was lying next to his bed and he pounded the ceiling with it.
"OI! I'm trying to sleep down here, you bloody ghoul!" He shouted. The racket upstairs stopped only to be replaced by a high pitched scream from downstairs.
"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! KNOCK OFF THAT RACKET AND GET BACK TO BED THIS INSTANT!"
"YES, MUM!" Ron yelled back and he slumped back into bed. With is eyes half closed, he had to squint to see the clock. "Bloody ghoul! It's five. I don't think mum will let me sleep in tomorrow." Just as he closed his eyes, the tell-tale fluttering of midget owl wings assailed his ears. Without looking, he reached up and snatched Pig from the air and deftly untied the attached note. "G'Night, Pig." He mumbled as he unrolled the latest bit of correspondence.
Dear Ron,
I'm doing fine. I do miss Hogwarts though. I can't believe you still don't take my word for it that Viktor
and I are just pen-mates now. We haven't gone any farther than dancing at the Yule Ball and I turned down his
invitation to go to Bulgaria. Not that it's any of your business but there you are.
About Harry, though. How is he doing since he lost Sirius? I wish I could be there for him. Ron, please don't let
him know, but I never really liked Cho. I don't think that I'll like any of the girls that he dates. Oh, please
don't tell him, please? He has too much to deal with now without another girl like me fawning all over him. Please
owl me back and promise that you won't tell him I told you?
Hermione
Ron's eyes went wide. "Hermione is fawning over Harry?" He whispered the words but he couldn't believe what he had read or had said. He went to his desk as quietly as he could.
Hermione,
Are you bloody telling me that you like Harry? As in girlfriend kind of like Harry? Is that why you were so quiet on
the Express and the way you acted when he talked about Cho? Don't worry, I won't tell him a thing. Please write
back as soon as you can.
Oh, Harry said that he's all right concerning Sirius. I don't believe a word he says of course, it's
probably tearing him up inside. Why don't you owl him and let him know that you are there to talk to if he needs
it?
Write me back,
Ron
He quickly wrapped the note and tied it hurriedly to Pig. I can't believe it! Hermione likes Harry! He thought wildly.
"Pig, take this to Harry ... Wait! Take it to Hermione." He corrected quickly. "Hermione, remember that."
Pigwidgeon flew happily into the night. He seemed overly happy that he got to make another delivery, three in one night was a rare thing and Pig loved to deliver owl post.
"Whew." Ron sighed in relief. "I'm so out of it I almost sent that off to Harry. What a shock that would be."
Ron tried to lie back in bed again, but to his surprise, Hedwig landed softly on the windowsill and hooted quietly.
"Hedwig? What a surprise, got a letter for me from Harry?" Ron asked with a smile.
Hedwig looked around the room nervously before she went in.
"Don't worry, you just missed Pig. He left a few minutes ago." Ron reassured the snowy-white owl.
Apparently satisfied with the news, Hedwig hopped into the room and stuck out her leg as if she were showing Ron how an owl should deliver post. After he retrieved the letter, Ron gave her an owl treat and read the letter over quickly.
Ron,
After I wrote you, I did a lot of thinking. I don't know how to say this because I don't want it to affect our
friendship in any way. Well, here goes nothing. I think the reason that I really didn't care about Cho after the
fight at the Ministry was ... this probably sounds stupid, and I'm sure she doesn't care about me in the same
way, but I think I might have feelings for Hermione. Please don't be upset, mate, I know you fancied her for a
while now, but after everything we've been through this past year I've realized that I really like Hermione as
more than a friend. Could you please let me know how you feel about this? If it's going to cause any problems with
us, I'll back down, honestly. I've told Hedwig to wait for your reply. Please don't tell Hermione?
Harry
"Oh, this is rich." Ron said with a smile. For once in his life, he knew something that Hermione didn't and he felt the power that came with secret knowledge. Without realizing it, the wheels in his head started to turn. "Hmm, how do I get these two together?" He said to himself. "Both are too stubborn to make the first move and if I know Harry, he doesn't want to take the chance that Hermione doesn't like him that way. Hermione isn't the type of person to make the first move."
He began pacing his small room as the first rays of light peeked over the trees and began flooding his room. The light reflected off of his severely orange walls and it looked like he was walking through a pit of fire. The members of his favorite team began to wake as the light hit their posters and they began their practice for the day.
Hedwig hooted anxiously from the window.
"In a minute Hedwig." Ron said absentmindedly. "I'm trying to think."
A few seconds later, he suddenly realized why his friend's owl was so impatient. Pig had returned with another reply from Hermione. The small bird flew in the window and landed straight-away on the bed and went to sleep. The number of deliveries were just a bit too much for the little pest.
Without a word, Ron removed Hermione's reply from his exhausted messenger.
Ron,
You better not tell him or so help me I'll hex you so bad that your grandchildren will call you grandfather slug!
But, yes, I do like him as more than a friend. I hope you're ok with that, I don't want you to be upset because
of this! If it means that there will be a problem, I'll not act on any of it! Besides, he probably doesn't feel
that way about me. I don't think I'm the type of girl he finds interesting anyway.
Now, about Harry and how he feels, is there anything that we can do to cheer him up? Maybe we can find a way to take
him shopping in Diagon Alley? Find a weekend where he can sleep over, or maybe we can all come to the Burrow earlier
this year? He seemed really quiet and depressed on the train home. I told him that I'd see him really, really soon.
Oh, what can I do to help him?
Please write back with any thoughts,
Hermione
The edges of Ron's lips curled up into a devious grin. A plan began to form.