It Just Takes Some Time

Chapter 3: Times Have Changed

"Ron, wake up, wake up," Hermione whispered, shaking him to try and get him to wake up.

Opening his eyes slightly, he saw who it was and quickly shut his eyes, smiling. "Why don't you help me up, love?"

Hitting him playfully, Hermione laughed. "And what do you mean by that, Mr. Weasley?"

Grinning wider, he responded. "You know what I'm talking about, 'Mione."

"Oh," she said, pretending she had just gotten an epiphany. Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, she bent in and kissed him. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, but before long, Hermione moved back.

Opening his eyes, Ron smiled at Hermione. "You're amazing, Ms. Granger. And bloody beautiful, in case you didn't know."

Smiling, Hermione played with that same strand of hair again. "Well, I'd better go," she said, randomly. Before he could object, she had vanished.

***

"Ron, wake up, wake up!" Harry shouted into Ron's ear, using both of his arms to force his best friend awake. "Get up you lazy git!"

Rolling over on the chair in the Common Room, Ron moaned, trying to find Harry with his hands to push him away. "Go away, Harry. I was having a very nice dream. A beautiful woman walked over to me and kissed me, and then she walked away. And then you came. Why did you have to ruin my dream?" he asked, wearing that boyish grin he always got on his face when he thought of Hermione.

"Sorry for ruining your dirty dream, mate, but you have to go and take a shower. We have...err... practice in twenty minutes, and I do not think that Dumbledore will want you to be late."

Opening his eyes and rolling them, Ron sat up. "Don't call it "practice"; call it what it is, training. No one is awake to hear us, anyway, so you can calm the fuck down. Even Parvati and Lavender sleep sometime, right? But I am not the one to know about Parvati, now, am I? Speaking of dirtiness, my dream was not dirty. In case you did not hear me, I said that the beautiful woman walked away, so how naughty could it have been? But you are right about one thing, we don't want to be late for "practice", as you call it, so you should be happy to know that I took a shower last night."

"Oh yeah, I am really proud of you, Ron. It is nice to know that you are capable of taking care of yourself. Then again, you are the one wearing naught but a towel, so maybe you should go upstairs and get dressed into something more because Dumbledore won't want you late or nude, eh?"

"Oh, shut up, Harry!" he said as he stood up, throwing his damp towel at Harry's face and running up the stairs.

"How very nice," Harry muttered to himself. "Now, I will be scarred for life; throwing your soiled towel at me, just wonderful. Remind me to thank you."

"If you want to be reminded, I will remind you," said a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey, Hermione," said Harry, not even turning around. "What are you doing up so early? I expected that after...err...your argument last night that you would have stayed asleep and not gone to the Great Hall again."

Sitting down in the chair where Ron had been just a few minutes ago, Hermione scowled. "Am I being followed? Or have you been using your Marauder's Map on me because everyone seems to know where I go to have some peace and quiet in the morning. It is sort of disturbing to feel like you are being followed. Anyway, what are you doing up so early? You are the one who needs sleep more than any of us."

Out of frustration, Harry threw the towel to the ground and sat down next to Hermione. "Don't change the subject, Hermione. What are you doing every morning down in the Great Hall?"

Harry was not as hard an obstacle to pass as Ginny, so Hermione knew that she would be able to get by with a simple explanation. "I like the peace and quiet that you can find down there. It is very soothing and calming, plus I am able to read." Motioning to her book, she looked at him.

Shaking his head, Harry smiled. "Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. Maybe it's because I am up earlier, but I am more alert this morning, and you are not going to get away with that copout answer. So start talking because I am not done with you. Ron may be thick enough to believe your story that the rows are getting to you, but I am not letting you get away with that excuse." Folding his arms, he sat there, looking up into her shifty eyes. "We don't have much time to waste. Ron will be down any minute, and I do not think that you are ready to tell him the truth, so I will be nice and let you go. But, let me warn you, Hermione Granger, you will not get away so easily next time. So go take a shower or whatever you came up here to do."

"Thanks, Harry. You're right, I am not ready to face Ron, but I do not know if I am ready to face you either. So I am going to go and shower now, and I'll see you at breakfast." Waving goodbye to him, Hermione breathed in and out, thankful that she got away. Of course she knew that Harry would not let her get away as easily next time, but she had to think of now; and now she was lucky.

***

Unfolding his arms and letting his elbows rest in his lap and his palms hold his head, Harry felt frustration overwhelm his body. Everything had happened so fast, and he could not help thinking it was his fault. He knew that Hermione was unhappy about breaking up with Ron; he knew it as well as he knew his name. And he knew it because he knew how much they loved each other, enough to make him sick on any given day. But today, he wished that he could see them snogging in the corner of the Common Room instead of crying in their rooms. Whether Ron wanted to admit it or not, he knew that was why he had spent the remainder of the night in the Common Room instead of in his bed; he knew that Ron was ashamed to cry. Harry did not blame him though; nor did he blame Hermione; he blamed himself. He felt that they would still be together if he had not roped them into the war. And as much as they hurt, he hurt twofold. He hurt for each of his friends, and he hurt for himself. Lately, there had not been much time for relationships, so his relationship with Ginny had gone awry. But that fact had not hurt him as much as Ron and Hermione not being together anymore did. Maybe it was because he felt that they were meant to be together, even if Hermione could not see it and Ron did not have enough strength left to promote it. But he vowed to himself, at that moment, that he would not let Hermione give up on her relationship. If it was the very last thing he ever did, he would make sure that Ron and Hermione got back together. Of course, he would have to enlist a Ms. Weasley to help him, so he rubbed his eyes and made his way to the Great Hall. After all, birds of a feather flock together, and if Hermione enjoyed the Great Hall, then so did Ginny.

***

Buttoning his robes, Ron walked down the stairs and made his way into the Common Room. Not looking up from his busy fingers, Ron called for Harry. "Okay, Harry, are you ready to leave now? I don't know about you, but I am...starved." Looking around the Common Room, he could see that he was the only one left there. "Nice to wait for me," he said, running his fingers through his messy, fire-red locks.

Coincidently, Hermione walked down the opposite stairs at that moment. When their eyes locked, she smiled. His red, puffy eyes had huge bags under them. Those same eyes had looked at her with love in them, on more than one occasion. The defeated look in his eyes pierced her heart. She could feel the hurt in his eyes that was just one portion of the hurt coursing through his body. But there was nothing she could do at that moment but try to be a good friend. "We can walk down to the Great Hall together, if you want."

Great, just his luck; the last person he wanted to see, yet, the first person he wanted to see was there. But he could use this time to show her how much he cared. That was what she wanted, right? "Uh, hi, Hermione, it is nice to see you this fine morning. I am surprised that you are not already in the Great Hall, but it is nice to...err...see you."

"Yeah, it is nice to see you, too. I was actually in the Great Hall earlier, but Ginny told me to take a shower, so I came back. In fact," she began, smiling. "I came back just in time to see you throw your towel at Harry and run up the stairs in naught but your bare skin."

He could not let her do this to him, not if she was not his. "Hermione, please, it is not fair to me for you to do that. Can we just walk to the Great Hall?"

"Of course we can. I am sorry."

"Don't tell me you're sorry, Hermione. Show me that you're sorry," he said, in his coldest tone.

No matter how much that hurt her, she knew she deserved it. No, she did not deserve it. She deserved much worse, but Ron was too kind to hurt her, and she was...well, thankful for that. Smiling at him, she said the password and waited for him to exit before leaving the Common Room. The two of them walked to the Great Hall, stealing glances at the other one, at different times, of course, so that the other one would never know. But they each knew how much the closeness hurt, especially him. He was still extremely confused with the whole situation, but if he tried talking to her again, he knew that nothing positive would come out of it. So he continued staring in front of him and walked.

When they reached the Great Hall, Ron opened the door for Hermione and let her walk in first. Even if he was broken inside and out, Ronald Bilius Weasley was still a gentleman. Upon entering the Hall, they met a practically deserted room, save for a select few, as it had been every other morning that year. Among the elite were some professors, namely, Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey. On occasion, ex-Professors Lupin and Moody would make an appearance, but not this morning. And there were the students, as well, an even lesser number; they were Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Ginevra Weasley.

On this specific morning, Headmaster Dumbledore, Professors McGonagall and Snape were sitting at the head of the table, whispering to each other, with worried and serious looks on their faces. Dismissing the expressions, Ron and Hermione saw that Ginny was sitting opposite Madam Pomfrey, naturally. They were always talking about Healer business, since Ginny had chosen to enter this field of magic. Next to Ginny was Harry, who was eating his bacon and eggs and holding his head in his hand. As always, he looked defeated and alone, so Ron and Hermione made their way to him. "Hello, again, Harry," said Hermione, sweetly. She sat down in her usual seat, across from Harry.

"Hey, mate," said Ron, purposely sitting next to his friend. On any given day, he would have sat down in his normal seat, next to Hermione, but he felt that, in light of recent events, it would be best to put as much distance between them as humanly possible.

Hermione noticed this, but she felt that the distance was not uncalled for, and it would allow her to focus on her best friend's condition instead of Ron's broad shoulders, warm eyes or soft, red hair. Then again, they were right in front of her, practically asking to be stared at. But she had to keep her mind on Harry and not Ron. So she took an apple from the plate in front of her and asked how he slept the night before. This was a traditional question that she asked them both every morning, even though she knew the answer. She always asked them, even though she knew that they slept poorly and that they were exhausted and not looking forward to the morning's rigorous training and the following classes.

"Fine," they both replied in unison. She also knew, as well as they did, that this was a downright lie, but she always dismissed it and smiled. It was all she could do.

"So what classes do we have today?" asked Ron, stabbing his eggs with his fork. He knew that it frightened Hermione when he did this, but they all needed a wake up call, and this was just that.

Jumping in her seat, Hermione collected herself. She smiled and replied. "Well, today is Friday, so we have Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. But I have Arithmancy after that, while you two have off, so today should be pretty relaxing."

Relaxing, that was a laugh. But before Harry had anymore time to ponder the irony of Hermione's words, Dumbledore had stood up and was asking everyone to settle down. The trio looked at each other nervously as all of the pairs and little groups ceased talking. They knew that if Dumbledore made them all quiet down that something must be up.

"Good morning," Dumbledore began, smiling weakly. Harry had seen this smile before, when he gave the speech during fourth year about Cedric. Recognizing the smile, Harry nudged Ron and gave him a concerned look. After spending seven years with Harry, Ron could read him pretty well and knew that something was up. But he did not think on it but listened to Dumbledore. "All of us know that there are many risks when involving one's self with the Order," Dumbledore continued, still smiling," and that it is very easy to get captured or killed. But these are risks that each and every one of us took and were informed of when we joined. They are not pleasant to think of, but they are things that all of us should be thinking of, not at all times, but every so often. Even so, sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. Sometimes there is nothing you can do but be defeated." Seeing the worried and fearful looks on each person's face, Dumbledore sighed. "Of course that is not our goal, to be defeated, but it is sometimes what ends up happening."
He paused again before continuing. "I am not trying to frighten any of you, I will have you know. But, in light of recent events, I feel that we should all try to get our affairs in order and..."

Get our affairs in order? What affairs? Hermione could not take it anymore. She had chewed pretty far down her fingernails and felt that she could not just sit there while Dumbledore danced around the news, or recent events, as he put it, so she stood up and interrupted him. "Sir, I am sorry, but can you please tell us what happened? We are old enough to handle whatever it is, honest." Everyone was staring at her, and Ron's jaw had dropped. She had never defied an adult she admired before, least of all Albus Dumbledore. She had to admit that even she was a little surprised at her own nerve, but times had changed, and Hermione was no longer the goody-goody she used to be.

Dumbledore sighed again, but this time it was longer and more defeated sounding. Harry did not recognize the defeated tone in Dumbledore's voice; it was very discouraging, especially for a man who always had a boyish twinkle in his eye that made you feel sure that everything would be alright, even when you were convinced the world was about to end. Frantically searching Dumbledore's face for some sort of comfort, Harry felt like the world was closing in on him. He had always felt the pressure and fear of the War, but Dumbledore had been there for him all year, and now, he felt like he was back in fifth year. Just thinking of how alone and confused he had been just two years ago gave Harry the chills. For the first time in his life, he did not care where he was or who was watching; he was on the verge of tears. Putting his head in his hands, Harry tried to calm down.

And just in time, for Dumbledore cleared his throat and was about to continue speaking. "I know that you are all anxious to know what happened, but I am not sure if I should tell you all at once. So would Ron and Ginny please leave their seats and follow me into my Office while the rest of you finish eating? Training will be cancelled for today, so you can make your way to the library or remain here, but please do not follow us. I need to sort some things out with Ron and Ginny first," said Dumbledore, looking straight at Harry and Hermione.

As the two of them nodded and exchanged glances with Ron and Ginny, the two siblings left their seats and made their way over to the Headmaster, stomachs full of butterflies.