How Fifth Year Changed My Life

How Fifth Year Changed My Life

Chapter 02

The day Hermione was to arrive I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life. I thought there was something wrong with me. I had never been nervous to see or be around Hermione before. But then again, I had never been faced with the prospect of being alone with her for very long. I decided to go see what Ginny was up to, just to pass the time. "Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" I asked, exasperatedly. After all, what did she think I was standing there for?

"Umm, sure. What's wrong?"

"What? Something has to be wrong for me to visit my little sister?" Ginny chuckled slightly and continued to stare at a blank piece of parchment with a quill in her hand. She had a look of both excitement and sorrow on her face as she was obviously contemplating how to begin the letter. I had no idea who it was to, though I was certainly wondering. "Who are you writing to?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"I, I can't tell you Ron. I wish that I could, honest. But I just can't," she sighed, slowly and with honesty.

"Why not?"

"Because, I just don't want to ruin anything..." she trailed off.

"Right. It doesn't matter to me anyway. Well, this sure has been fun Gin, but I'm going to go." I said, with a note of sarcasm in my voice.

"Ron wait," she paused. She sounded almost as desperate to tell me something as she had that time during second year when she had been writing in Riddle's diary. "-have you heard from Harry lately?"

"Only to tell me Dumbledore won't let him come to stay until a week before term. Why?"

"What about Hermione?"

"She said he's been rather short with her, Why?" I said, slightly more forcefully than the last time.

"I just, worry I guess."

"Ginny, you haven't heard from Harry, have you?"

"It's not important. I'll be down when Hermione gets here," she said, in a tone of surprising defiance.

I decided not to push it. What ever it was, whether it was abut Harry or not, I had more pressing problems at the moment. How was I supposed to treat Hermione? How should I greet her? She had kissed Harry on the cheek... should I kiss her on the cheek? Or should I just hug her? I decided that the hug was probably the safest bet but then I saw a car stop at the bottom of the driveway and realized it was her. I saw a childhood friend from out of the window walking to the door. When I opened the door I saw the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Suddenly I couldn't remember what I was supposed to say or how I had planned to greet her. The only thing I could think was that I couldn't believe a girl like this was here, to visit me.

"Oh, Ron! It's so good to see you again," Hermione sighed, with a sense of vulnerability in her voice which I only detected hours later as I ran over each and every word she had spoken to me that day before I could fall asleep.

"It's good to see you too, Herm," I said, hugging her. It was a natural sort of hug. In the heat of the moment I had forgotten the hug that I had choreographed in my head, opting to go with the flow instead. That was the beauty of the way I was around Hermione. I could plan what to say to her, and how to hug her, and what to do with her while she was at The Burrow, but the fact was that when I was around her everything happened naturally. That was one of the first ways I came to appreciate my relationship with Hermione, the knowledge that I didn't have to try with her. The knowledge that I could be myself with her and know that we would have fun together, no questions asked.

I watched Hermione struggle for a second with her bags before offering to help her. I didn't do this to make her mad, but because I knew that if I offered straight away she would have scolded me for assuming that just because she was a girl she needed help with her bag. "I can take one of those," I said, fighting back a smile.

"Took you long enough to offer!" she exclaimed, half seriously. I should have seen this coming a mile away; I could never win at a fight with Hermione. Although I found this oddly reassuring after not seeing her for a month. I was glad to know that she was still the good ol' Hermione that I missed.