Life As A Phoenix

Life As A Phoenix        By Sirius Sidekick

Chapter 1

"Please! Oh please mother! Let me go!"

Hermione had been begging her parents to let her go to Lupin's place for the summer. Ron was off to the side with Harry, Lupin, his parents, Ginny, Fred and George, and Bill and Charlie. They were all congratulating Ron and Harry on graduating from Hogwarts, basically their home for the last seven years. Gone. Forever. But Ron wasn't paying attention to any of that. Not even when Harry tried to speak to him. He just kept watching Hermione. He wasn't even listening to her begging anymore. Just staring. Watching. He couldn't stop. Why would he? He was now free from this school. He was able to make his own choices. And he knew what his choice was. He wanted to be with Hermione. And he wasn't the only one thinking. Hermione had begun to get a lot more deeper into a friendship than ever lately. He didn't want to get cocky, because that never helped him, but he was sure she wanted something... something more...

He was broken out of his own little trance when Hermione finally came skipping back over to the group with the biggest grin he had ever seen in his life.

"They said yes! They said yes!!!"

"Great!" said Lupin. "Now all three of you will be able to keep me company over the summer," he said laughing a bit.

They laughed back with him and Ron, Hermione, and Harry knew otherwise. Lupin had told them ahead of time. This was their first chance to be treated as adults. Here, for their first summer as adults, they would be treated like adults, instead of how they would be treated at home. "Babied" as Lupin put it. They would be on a first name basis. He would call them what he usually called them, and they would call him, Remus. This was really only for Ron and Hermione because Harry had not wanted to go anywhere else.

Just as they all were laughing, Hermione's parents came over to the group to meet the person who would be watching their daughter for the whole summer.

"Oh, yes. Mom, dad, this is Mr. Remus Lupin. He's a very reliable person. I told you you wouldn't have to worry about me. But if you don't believe me, talk with the Weasleys and Mr. Lupin."

They did so. Ron pulled Hermione to the side. He wanted to know what her parents rules were, if she had any. He was going to do it this summer. He was going to tell her. He had to tell her.

"So I'm guessing," Ron whispered, "that you haven't told them he's a Werewolf?"

"If I did, do you think I'd be allowed to come?" she whispered back.

Ron laughed, and so did she. He liked it when she laughed. It was... soothing. It made him feel strong. Like he could do anything. But then again, he would for her. She just didn't know it.

Or did she?

Ron began to think up a whole new scenario in his head. What if she already knew how he felt? Was he making a mistake? What if she didn't feel like that about him? He wasn't sure now if he was walking into a trap for his emotions or not. He struggled to get these thoughts out of his mind. All he wanted to think about was the fact that soon, she could be in his arms, held tightly and not wanting to get out. This is all that was on his mind. That was all that stayed on his mind as he waved his family goodbye for the whole summer. Lupin had arranged for them to travel by the Knight Bus. The Weasleys and the Grangers followed Remus and the trio to the spot to catch the Knight Bus. As the bus pulled up, Harry was at the front of the line. The doors opened and Stan Shunpike, the same man that had been on the bus the first time Harry caught it was standing there. All of his pimples and Acne had gone and he looked more professional. Looked...

"'Arry Potter? What are you doin' 'ere?"

Ron couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Harry's face. Remus stepped up.

"We are boarding. These children just graduated from Hogwarts."

"Well then, they should get in fo' free, righ'?"

"That seems fair Sir." Lupin said, trying not to laugh at Stan's accent.

"ALL ABOARD THEN!" Stan shouted so loud Ron was sure he woke up the witches and wizards asleep on the bus.

They wasted no time. The group of four got on the Knight Bus for free and headed as far away from Stan as possible.

Remus turned to Harry with a big smile and said, "Harry, do you know him?"

"All too well," he responded.

"Too bad," Remus said with a little laugh. "Well, I'd better tell them exactly how to get to my place. They'd never find it..."

Ron turned away from Remus and Harry as Remus got up to go talk to Stan. He turned around to Hermione. She was already sitting with all of her stuff peacefully. Ron noticed she was looking at him. As soon as he had turned around, she waited a few seconds and turned around and was getting something out of her bag. Ron swung around and looked at Harry who was smiling for a change. He knew Ron's plans and "Go ahead" motion with his hands. Ron mouthed "No" and turned around. He wanted to tell her so bad. But more importantly, he wanted to see how she felt. But he couldn't do it on a bumpy ride in a bus. Especially not with all of these people surrounding them that he didn't know. And one old witch with long brown hair kept looking at them. Ron gave her a huge look, and she layed down and pretended to fall asleep even though every once in a while she looked up slightly to see what was going on. Harry was reminded of his Aunt Petunia.

After about twenty minutes, Remus came back, looking disgusted.

"I had to explain it ten times. Apparently, he doesn't understand real English."

The three of them laughed and Hermione too. Then she got a serious look.

"Um, Remus...that sounds so weird... I have been wondering ever since you asked us if we wanted to come, what will we do at the full moon? Where will we go?"

"I knew you would be the one to bring that up," Remus said with a smile. That smile quickly faded. "I'm not sure. My thought was you will just have to go to your house for the night," he said nodding his head at Ron.

"WHAT???" exclaimed Ron as the witch with the long brown hair jumped up and looked around. "No way! This is supposed to be like a holiday for us!"

"Don't worry," Remus said calmly. "The full moon for this month has already passed. You'll have to stay for a day in July, and then a day in August. In September, it comes after you leave. I think you can take two days, can't you?"

"I can," said Harry.

"I can too," said Hermione. She looked at Ron, almost desperately.

He paused and said, "Okay. I can."

"Good. Then that takes care of that. We should be there within the hour. So just relax."

Ron nodded. He turned around to Hermione and wanted to say something. But he didn't know what. So he turned around the other way again and asked Harry, "You wanna play a game of wizard chess?"

"Sure," he said.

So Ron took out his chess set and they sat there and played a game. Though it was very difficult because of the bumps every minute from objects jumping out of the path of the Knight Bus. When they finished, they still Weren't at Lupin's place. So Ron decided to have a conversation with Hermione. Just a plain conversation. He didn't want to say anything like what he was thinking even though most of the people had cleared off of the bus, including the old witch with the long brown hair.

"So, were your parents proud?"

"So much, Ron. I don't know if they were as proud as yours though. You're mother almost killed you by hugging you so much," she said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Lucky me."

"You are! Your family loves you so much! All of them!"

Then there was silence. Hermione had forgotten about Percy. How he had walked out on his family. How he didn't care what happened to any of them. How he didn't show up for his youngest brother's graduation from Hogwarts...

"I'm sorry Ron. I forgot. I should've been more-"

"It's fine. None of that was your fault. It's all his. He doesn't care anymore. Well he doesn't care? I don't care. Forget that bastard. I want nothing to do with him!"

He banged on the wall of the bus and put his head down. Hermione moved next to him and put her arms around him.

"No. It's fine. You don't have to-"

She suddenly gripped on Ron tighter. He paused, and put his arms around her, and felt a feeling that he had longed for for years now. Hermione looked over, and saw that Harry and Remus had broken from conversation and were staring at them. She pulled away. And Ron got the idea and did the same.

He cleared his throat. "Thank you. I... I needed that."

"No problem." She hesitated when she spoke.

Ron didn't even bother to look at Harry. He just looked at Hermione and she looked back as she went back to the bed that she had been on before. He knew. Hermione would've never done that before if had gotten angry like that. She had to... didn't she? That had to mean she felt the same. He suddenly felt a great deal of uprising inside of him. Perhaps in his soul. He felt stronger then he ever had before and he liked it. Not that he liked the power. He didn't crave it. It's not what he looked forward to. He liked the fact that someone could make him feel that way from a touch. From one short piece of contact that felt like an eternity. Had she felt it too? Or was it just a momentary flash of heat? Did she just overreact? No. He had to stop thinking like this. He was going to ask her. He was going to tell her. He was going to find out...

Just as he was deep in thought, the Knight Bus came to a jumpy, screechy halt and the beds slid around the floor. He broke out of his thought stage and began to get his things.

Then Remus said, "What are you doing?"

"Getting my stuff. We're here aren't we?"

"No. We still have about fifteen minutes to go. With this speed I wouldn't doubt a half an hour..." said Remus, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

Ron set his things back down and tried to find something to do. But Remus had sat down with an issue of The Quibbler and surprisingly, Harry was fast asleep. Ron couldn't see how, with all the bumps, Harry fell asleep in a few minutes time. This was going to bother him now trying to figure out how that was possible. He looked around and saw that all of the witches and wizards around them were asleep also, and this toggled his mind even more. But a thought came to his head. Now was his chance. He would talk to Hermione now. He would find out now. He looked towards her. She had taken out a book and had begun reading it. He got up and went over and sat down next to her. She put the book down right away.

"Hermione, I need to talk to you."

"Okay," she said, with hesitation.

"I have... been feeling certain things for a long time now. About..." He sighed. "About you. And I can't hide them anymore."

"Ron-"

"Just-Just let me get this out. I can't hide them anymore. Every time I see you, I can't stop looking at you. Everytime I touch you, I feel like I could fight off every witch and wizard in the world. I have been hiding these feelings for so long. When I was younger, when we used to fight, I thought it was because you were annoyed by me. But I did it so my true feelings wouldn't show. Remember the Yule Ball? Yes, I got jealous. I got so incredibly jealous. Every time you mentioned Viktor, my insides swelled with pain and fury. And I wanted so bad to be him. Not for the sport. Not for the fans. Not for the other women. For... you. Hermione, I would give anything to be with you, and that's the truth. I felt something back there. That meant something when you put your arms around me. That's why I have to ask you this. Hermione, do you-"

"Yes."

"Is that a question, or-"

"No."

He looked at her. She stared into his eyes. And now he knew. Yes. Hermione and him. Him and Hermione. It finally happened. He reached over and grabbed her hand and held it tight. She put her other hand on top of his and nodded. He thought he would cry. But she beat him to it. Tears began to drip from her eyes and this made him cry. He could feel the water dripping down his cheek. Most men would feel weak if they began to cry. But this was different. He now felt stronger then he had ever felt in his whole life. He took his other hand and ran it through her great, long, brown hair and the whole time, no one broke eye contact. It was the most special moment of his life.

All of a sudden, the Knight Bus came to a halt and the bed they were on tipped on its side and they fell over.

"Damn!" Ron said as Remus told them they were here.

Ron and Hermione looked out the window of the Bus. It was a fairly good sized house with a light greenish color. It needed a few repairs on the shutters and such, but other than that, it looked like a very nice place. Meanwhile, the pair realized that they were still holding hands. Ron started to turn red and Hermione got a little red also. The slowly let go and just looked at each other for a moment.

Then, "Are you two coming?" Remus yelled from behind Harry at the front of the bus.

Ron nodded and began to get his stuff. Hermione looked at him.

"Ron," she said.

"Yes?"

"I am so glad that we finally... That I am..."

She couldn't finish.

"Yeah. Me too," said Ron with a smile. He was going to cry again.

Stan walked back to them. He didn't look annoyed as much as impatient.

"Okay you two. Les' go. You can' stay 'ere all nigh' you know?"

Hermione smiled and mouthed the word "inside."

Ron nodded.

She got up and walked out of the bus. Ron picked up his bags and began to walk towards the front of the bus.

He turned to the driver.

"Can I say one thing?"

"Sure!" the driver said happily.

Ron dropped his bag, pulled the driver out of his seat, and hugged him.

"Thanks for the great ride."

He picked up his bag, and jumped out of the bus.