When the day came for Hermione to go to Bulgaria, she also found that she was feeling a little down at the thought of her friends whom she missed very much. Don't be silly, she told herself - it's not like you're never going to see them again. But try as she might, the awkwardness was still there. Perhaps it was the idea that Harry, Ron, and Ginny were going to be spending a lot of time at Grimmauld Place with members of the Order and involved with things that could be dangerous, while she was away enjoying herself. Ginny she didn't have to worry about as much because being underage she couldn't do certain things, but the boys…well, that was a different story. They had both talked about joining the Order. Ron was going to seek employment with the Ministry and help out as a member of the Order of the Phoenix whenever he had the spare time. Harry, on the other hand, she distinctly remembered having said that he'd like to work full-time for the Order since he had the fortune that had been left to him and could afford to volunteer however much he wanted. If anything were to happen to him, anything at all…no, she thought as she packed her suitcase - that would be too much to handle. Although she could have packed using magic if she wanted to, Hermione was instead folding and accommodating her things the Muggle way. Crookshanks looked on curiously, having rarely left her side lately, like he understood how she had been feeling. These days she found that her mind was much too preoccupied and being busy, though it didn't help very much, was all she could try to keep it from getting worse.
A week later, Ginny was sitting in her room at the Burrow when a handsome gray owl flew through the window and landed next to her. Attached to its leg was a letter from Hermione:
Dear Ginny,
I hope this letter finds you and everyone else well. Bulgaria is wonderful. Viktor is an excellent host. He's been taking me out a lot and won't let me do anything for him around the house. In case you're wondering, nothing has happened between us. He's a good friend and a great person to be around, but that's all. I'm really enjoying myself here, but it will feel good to get back too. I really miss all of you. Tell your mum that I'd like to go and stay with you for at least a few days after I'm home and let me know what she says. Take care and tell Harry and Ron hello for me.
Love,
Hermione
Ginny smiled as she finished reading. So, Hermione was enjoying her visit and nothing significant had happened between her and Krum. If it had, she was sure Hermione would have mentioned it somehow. Clutching the letter tightly, she ran to tell the others that they had news from their friend.
Ron was unusually cheerful when he found out that Hermione and Krum were still only friends, and Harry was extremely relieved. They discussed it later in Ron's room when they were about to go to sleep.
"I'm glad Hermione at least had sense enough not to get involved with Krum. If she had said in that letter that she was going out with him or something, I think I would've been sick," Ron said, turned over on his side to face Harry across the room. Harry could have sworn he saw him roll his eyes, even in the dark. "Anyway, it's good news for you, mate. She's still not taken, and she's coming to visit," he added.
"I think Krum is an ok person. He probably would treat her right and everything, but I can't pretend I'm not happy that they're still just friends. Sounds like he was trying pretty hard to impress her, too - taking her out and all. And to think that in fourth year he thought there was something between me and her. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and I'm the one who's jealous. Funny how things work out like that sometimes, isn't it?" Harry said thoughtfully and shifted in his bed.
Indeed it was a bit ironic to him that his feelings for Hermione could have changed so much. She had always been there for him, sometimes when no one else was. Now he couldn't understand why he hadn't thought of her as a potential dating partner before. Cho had been jealous of his friendship with Hermione as well as Krum. Could it be that they, from a more outside point of view, could have been seeing something that he didn't at the time?
Ron spoke again, "It has to be a bit strange to practically grow up with someone and then discover that you might be falling for them."
Harry remembered the argument Ron and Hermione had the night of the Yule Ball and couldn't help thinking that Ron must have felt something for her too, at least for a while, though he never admitted it. Whatever it might have been that he was going through at the time, it didn't seem to bother Ron now that Harry wanted to be with her. They had never talked about it before, and Harry saw no point in bringing it up now, after it had been so long.
"It's the weirdest thing, Ron. Like I was blind before to the fact that she was such a wonderful girl, and then…I don't know. I guess it was like I was seeing her for the first time as she really was. What's really crazy is that I don't even know when it happened," Harry said, in a dreamy voice that Ron had never heard him use before.
"I think maybe you loved her all along, and she's always cared about you, Harry. You have to know that. There's still a good chance that the tide will turn in your favor. I'm confident of it."
"I hope you're right. Are we still going to the Ministry tomorrow? Your dad was going to take us so you can apply for a job right?" Harry asked, no longer wanting to talk about Hermione.
"Yeah, he's still going to take us. It'll be cool now that we can apparate. We can sleep in a while longer. Harry, are you sure you don't want to try applying too? I'm sure they'd take you on."
"I'm sure. Until Voldemort's caught, I want to work for the Order. After that, we'll see," Harry replied.
That night thoughts went through Harry's mind of the future - his future, Voldemort, and how it would all play out. Then those thoughts were replaced by the image of a pair of soft brown eyes and a beautiful smile framed by a cascade of wavy brown locks. She wasn't dating Krum, and she was coming very soon. The rest that he got that night was the best it had been since he'd gotten to the Burrow. Luckily for him, Ron didn't hear him talking in his sleep.
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