Disclaimer: Mhmm Mhmm Mhmm. I'm disclaiming ownership of Harry Potter just like K Fed should disclaim ownership of PopoZao. Thanks so much for all the great feedback!
It had been a nice reprieve, returning to Hogwarts. It was a bit sad to see everyone else taking up their studies again, but she had made her decision and she would stand by him it; she would stand by her decision until the end. Everyone had been really surprised to see her. She got mobbed when she first came. Everyone had so many questions! Where was Harry? What was he doing? Is he okay? Does he have a plan? Is it all going to be okay? All she could do was shake her head and say, "He's okay, Ron's okay, I'm okay. I can't tell you much more. We're just doing the best we can." It must not have been a good enough answer though because she didn't have a moment to herself! Headmistress McGonagall finally allowed her to do her research at night when the strict curfew was enforced.
Every waking moment there were pretty girls asking her about Harry and asking her to give him things from them. She took them all and promised he would get them (as soon as she got them checked out for any kind of dark magic). Her friends flocked around her like a protective shield though. They tried their hardest to keep her from all the obnoxious, nosy students. Her friends were the only ones who really seemed to take her word for it; "He's okay, Ron's okay, I'm okay. I can't tell you much more. We're just doing the best we can." Neville just nodded as Luna stared out the window. Dean and Seamus shared grave looks and Ginny excused herself immediately.
"Good to see you boys haven't destroyed the house while I was gone!" She smiled brightly as she returned to the Black House. Harry and Ron ran into the living room where she had just appeared.
"Hermione! Thank Merlin! I'm starving! All Harry can make is bacon and eggs. That gets old around day four." Ron said giving her a big hug. She smiled wide and hugged back.
"Oh poor Ronniekins! Haven't had a good meal in six days, have you?" Ron smiled.
"And Harry was trying to get me to do some research with him." Ron whined. She turned to Harry giving him a huge smile.
"Oh Harry it's so good to see you!" She hugged him tightly. Harry turned a little red around the edges, but he smiled and hugged her back tightly. "So many people have been asking about you! Everyone is supporting you." She took a step back and looked at him and Ron. She took a deep breath and looked around the house. It was still in the tattered, depressing shape it had been in before she left. "You know, I never thought I'd say this but it's good to be back." They all smiled.
"It's good to have you back, Hermione." Harry smiled as they all moved to sit down in the kitchen. They liked that room the best because it had the most windows. The two boys sat down as she set some water in the kettle to boil.
"Oh I have plenty of gifts for the both of you. Girls find the mysterious hero-type to be very charming you know." She cocked an eyebrow as she turned her back to the counter to face them. Ron had a Cheshire grin across his face as Harry played with his fingers on the table. "Oh, don't worry, I've already scanned everything for any kind of dark magic or, ahem, inappropriate magic." Now it was Harry's turn to look amused.
"Inappropriate?" He asked with a sly grin.
"You know, love potions, anything from Fred and George's shop, someone even slipped in a potion that would make their name appear in a heart on your arm." Ron snorted. "I wouldn't laugh; it's quite a bit of advanced magic." She took the whining kettle off of the stove and poured the steaming water into a mug. "Anyway, it's all in my trunk." She motioned with her head to the other room. "I can go get it all now if you'd like…"
"No, Hermione, sit down, take a rest. I want to hear how everyone is." Harry said pushing out the chair across from him with a silent cast.
"Harry! You're getting so good!" She sat down and placed her mug on the table dipping a teabag into her steaming mug.
"He's just being a show off. He's been doing that kind of stuff all week." Ron explained.
"Yeah, but that was only after you tried to hit me with that Expelliarmus when I was coming out of the loo." Ron rolled his eyes.
"I was training you! You-Know-Who is not going to ask politely for your wand." Harry turned back to her.
"So, how are all of our friends?" She clenched her mug just a little bit tighter.
"Well, Seamus and Dean are okay. They wanted me to tell you both that they're quite upset with you two for leaving because now our Quidditch team is rubbish."
"So they still have Quidditch?" Harry adjusted his glasses.
"Yes, but there are new rules like the game ends before sundown, regardless of whether the snitch is caught or not. There aren't nearly as many games either." Harry and Ron looked a bit sad that even their favorite sport was affected by all this Second War rubbish, so she quickly moved on.
"Colin and his brother miss taking pictures of you, but they did send me a bunch of photos to show you both. Neville desperately wants to help, I told him he couldn't. He's doing really well in Herbology though; he's top in the class in fact!" Ron laughed.
"Well yeah because you're not there anymore." She smiled but it never reached her eyes. She decided to continue. "Lav-Lav wanted me to give you a note. She says she misses you desperately." Harry chuckled and Ron nearly fell out of his chair he was laughing so hard.
"She's mental don't listen to her."
"Luna also wanted me to give you something, Ron. It looks quite mysterious. You'll have to open it later, I'm curious as to what it is." She faltered for a moment. Who else was there, well besides, hmmm. Harry looked up from the table and stared at her. She didn't like it, it was quite unnerving. She then realized that Ron too was staring at her. She was hoping maybe she could just leave Ginny out of the whole conversation, but that wasn't nice. "Um, also Ginny is doing well. She's, well, she's a bit broken up that she can't help. She's somewhere between furious and sad. She wanted me to give you a letter. I have it in my trunk." She looked up at Harry. Leave it to her to be playing messenger between her best friend that she may or may not be in love with and his may or may not be girlfriend. "I can get it for you now if you'd like…" Harry shook his head.
"Take a break, Hermione. I can read it later. So did you have fun?" She smiled warmly.
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"I can't believe he'd just leave like that. Without telling me anything! That's not like him." Ginny complained as she flopped down on her bed. Hermione smiled at the youngest Weasley apologetically.
"Actually Ginny, that sounds exactly like Harry." Ginny turned to her thoughtfully.
"It is, isn't it? It's just so frustrating because I still care for him, and I can't do anything about that as long as I'm here. Mum would kill me if I left school, not to mention I don't know where you three are staying… although I do have a good idea." Ginny smiled knowingly and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Has he said anything about me?"
"No," Hermione hesitated as Ginny's face dropped, "but he hasn't really said much of anything lately, so that doesn't mean anything," she quickly assured. Ginny's eyes sparkled with the very beginning of tears, but she would never let them fall, at least not in front of Hermione.
"Why does he have to be so confusing? It's so frustrating!" She balled her hands up into fists for a moment before breathing in deep and relaxing once again. It seemed she had been through this argument with herself before.
"I've never met a boy that didn't confuse me." She tried to soothe the poor girl. Ginny cracked a small smile.
"Hermione, can you do me a favor?"
"Of course, Ginny."
"Can you make sure he gets this?" Ginny took a piece of parchment from her bedside table and handed it to Hermione. "It's kind of important so, just make sure he gets it okay?" Hermione took the letter carefully from Ginny.
"Of course I will."
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"What is this?" Ron asked holding up the heavy metal pendant. It was tarnished and gaudy. She laughed as she picked up the parchment that was nestled in the bottom of the box.
Ron,
This is a protection pendant from the 1500's that has been in my family for hundreds of years. It wards off Quaffalins and Bernyinds during their mating seasons (when they are most aggressive). It can also provide mild protection from Ungpusses and Burrowing Speckots. Wear it on your jumper, trousers, or cloak. I hope this pendant brings you safety and luck.
~Luna Lovegood
She and Harry started to laugh after she finished reading the letter aloud.
"This isn't funny! What am I supposed to do with this?" Ron held up the awkward looking pendant.
"Wear it on your jumper, trousers, or cloak, Ron, weren't you listening?" Harry said as he laid down on the couch. They were all huddled near the warmth of the fireplace. She and Ron were sitting on the floor as Harry was stretched out on the couch. They were surrounded by various goodies from all the adoring girls from Hogwarts and of course Butter Beer which they had used to celebrate her homecoming.
"Oh, Harry, this one is for you from Neville." She reached into her trunk and pulled out a small square box. He opened it quickly and examined the delicate glass ball. He smiled goofily.
"It's Neville's Remembrall." It was clear. "Looks like I've remembered everything right now. How about you Hermione?" He passed the glass ball to her which remained clear in her hands. She passed it onto Ron and it filled with a crimson smoke.
"Oh bugger, it must be broken. I've remembered everything." He said handing it back to Harry.
"So you washed the dishes?" She asked him pointedly. He flicked his wand in the general direction of the kitchen.
"Scourgify. Happy?" She looked at him sternly and then rolled her eyes.
"Well, I think I'm going to bed you guys. I'm tired." She looked at him carefully.
"Have you been sleeping okay, Harry?" She looked at him with her big concerned chocolate eyes.
"I think I'll be able to sleep fine tonight." He smiled at them both warmly and headed for the stairs. They exchanged "sleepwells" and "goodnights" and she could hear his door close behind him. Ron turned to her immediately.
"Tell me Snape isn't there." She pursed her lips and shook her head.
"I didn't see him. Hogwarts is so strange now. Without Dumbledore there, it just doesn't feel the same. Everyone is on edge, and they think that Harry is going to pull some elaborate trick or something that is just going to make Riddle go away! They expect him to be their savior or something. I don't want Harry to feel like everyone is expecting a victory from him."
"He feels that way anyway."
"I know but I don't want him to feel any more pressure than he does already. It must be horrible caring the weight of the wizarding world on your shoulders."
"There's a reason why he was chosen Hermione. He can do it, we know he can."
"Oh I don't question his ability at all. He is the most brilliant wizard I have ever seen. I just- I know it's hard for him." Ron nodded and was silent for a moment.
"We don't fight nearly as much anymore, do we?" She smiled and leaned against the couch.
"I think we actually grew out of that after everything last year. Plus, neither one of us has the mental energy to bicker on a regular basis anymore."
"Don't worry I'm saving up for a big fight after all this is over." Hermione smiled.
"Gee, thanks." She rolled her eyes at him as he laughed.
"So how is my sister doing? I mean, with dealing with all of this." She knew exactly what he meant. She shrugged a bit.
"I don't know, she really cares for him so it has to be hard having him so far away."
"Yeah, I just know she was really broken up after Harry ended things with her." Hermione's head snapped up. So he had. "But now it has to be really hard with all those other girls after him. It's probably even worse knowing that one of them could be an even better match for him than she is, and just waiting for him to realize, hoping he won't realize." Hermione looked at Ron questioningly, but he just sat looking down at the protection pendant that he was turning over and again in his hands. "She's my sister; he's my best mate; I just want them both to be happy. But I think that might be where the conflict is." He refused to make eye contact with her, which she so desperately was hoping he would do. Finally he looked up, "Have you ever heard of a Burrowing Speckot anyway?" She shook her head and he sighed. "Figured not. I think I'm gonna head up to bed too. It's good to have you back Hermione." He smiled as he went upstairs and closed the door to his room.
She levitated her trunk upstairs and into her room. As she began unpacking the gears in her mind were turning. So they had broken up. She had assumed as much, but she always did prefer fact over inference. What in the world had Ron been talking about? Well, he had had two butter beers; he usually made a little less sense after two. She couldn't like Harry anyway. Ginny still cared for him, a lot, from what she could tell, and friends do not date each other's exes or crushes or whatever. At least that's what all the trashy high school romance novels (that she did not read of course) said.
Oh, honestly! Was she seriously even considering this? Now? Like her little crush or whatever it was wouldn't have been trivial enough in normal life, but in the middle of a hunt for pieces of a dark wizard's soul just made it look pathetic. There were so many better things to worry about. She pulled the last of her robes out and an envelope fell to the floor. Oh yeah…that. She picked it up and twirled it around her fingers for a moment.
Ginny and Harry made sense. Really they did. Ron and Harry would be brothers. They'd be the spitting image of James and Lily. They'd be so happy together. Ginny really was pretty…and smart too. There was just one problem. She didn't want them together. Well, only if Harry was happy, then, maybe, after a couple of years, she could get used to that. She turned the letter around in her hand again.
What if it said something that made Harry realize how much he loved Ginny and they rode (on his broom) off into the sunset? What if she wrote "I love you?" Had they already said that? It would have been quite early in their relationship to be saying- Oh shut it Hermione! None of this is your business. This is between Harry and Ginny. Harry and Ginny. You're not Ginny. You're not Ginny, so step back and get out of their way.
She turned resolutely to her door and marched out of it down the hall two doors to Harry's room. She examined the letter once more before slipping it under his doorway. There. She turned back to her room and laid down in her bed hugging her pillow. This is between Harry and Ginny. Harry and Ginny. You're not Ginny. You're not Ginny, so step back and get out of their way.
A/N: Anyway, tell me what you think.