Harry glanced at Ginny. She was pretty and funny and kind and a million other things he could name but he couldn’t help being uncertain. About this relationship, he meant. He would remember everything that had happened in Hogwarts, everything from his childhood starting with the letter from Hogwarts accepting him into the school, everything from that major turning point in his life when everything changed. He would look at Ginny and think, ‘She wasn’t always there for me…the whole time.’ In fact she’d hardly been there at all until near the end of his stay at Hogwarts. Who had been?
‘Hermione,’ Harry would think but instantly regret it. Yes, Hermione was always there through everything he’d been through. She’d always been there to help out in the many difficult things that came up through his life…maybe; just maybe he liked her better.

Harry would instantly scold himself for thinking these things. Hermione was Ron’s girlfriend and Ginny was his. Besides he didn’t know if he liked Hermione or not. Maybe he just liked her as a best friend and was confusing himself. He liked Ginny, and Hermione like Ron…right?

Hermione was sitting on the forest green couch in the living room of the Burrow, reading a file and writing things down in a notebook. She slid her hand through her slick, straight brunette hair. Once at a hideout she’d been inspecting with Harry, Ron, and Ginny, an earthquake occurred and many potions came crashing down. Two had fell upon Hermione, mixed together, and she’d been knocked unconscious. The skin on her face had stiffened, making it look straight and tight, as well her bushy hair being instantly straight. She’d been cared for at the hospital and her face was released from the agonizing tightness but her hair couldn’t be fixed back to normal. Not that she was upset about it. Harry couldn’t help but notice how pretty her face was now that it wasn’t enclosed in a brown bushy mess.

Ron returned from work and entered the Burrow. He kissed Hermione on the cheek and Harry noticed she looked uneasy. Was she too having doubts about whom she fancied? He wondered but instantly shot down the idea. Harry said hello to Ron then went upstairs got his broom out and went outside. He was thinking too much. What better way to lighten up then doing something he loved best. He flew up on his broom and the cool air whipped his face and hair. This was truly something he loved…

“So how was work Ron?” Hermione asked.

“Oh it was good. I found many leads to the Lament case. We’ve found clues and we made maps so we may be able to track down the culprit a few days or so considering that we get a few more leads,” Ron, an Auror like Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were. Ron was working on a different case then Hermione.

“Well that’s good,” Hermione said distractedly.

“It’s not as good as coming home to you every day,” Ron replied lovingly.

Hermione gave him a weak smile but felt guilty and uneasy because it was obvious that he loved her so much and she couldn’t really say she loved him as much, her jealousy of Lavender Brown in their 6th year was what she thought, merely a foolish crush. Although she admired him she didn’t think they had a very strong connection.

“Yes well…” she drifted off, glad of the distraction of Ginny’s sudden appearance on the stairs.

“Where’s Harry? I was thinking the four of us should go out for dinner tonight,” she said.

“A marvelous idea!” Hermione exclaimed and she started shuffling though the papers in the folder, putting them in the right order, and she gathered up her notebook as Ron told Ginny that Harry was outside, flying. While Hermione ran up stairs and put everything away, brushed her hair and grabbed her small pouch of money and dropped it in her robes. She then hurried downstairs where Ron, Ginny, and a flushed, windblown Harry. Hermione stared at him remembering all those times he’d been so caring of her, saved her many times, and well they’d been through a lot together.

“Hermione? We’re going,” Ron interrupted her thoughts. She flinched and came out of her daze. They all went outside and decided upon the Brass Kettle, a cozy new, wholesome restaurant and quickly apparated there.

Upon arriving at the chocolate brown and maroon building they entered and got a table. They sat down and started reading the menu. Harry looked up at Hermione again. She was so… Hermione also glanced up at Harry and he quickly looked down at the menu. During dinner they discussed the Lament case Ron was working on and the mysterious case Ginny and Hermionie were working on with several other Aurors and Harry’s case. However, Ron was a tad bit uneasy.

‘Why does Hermione keep glancing up at Harry like there is something wrong about him?’ he wondered. The next time he saw Hermione glance up at Harry, Ron set his fork down.

“What’s wrong Hermione? Is there something going on with Harry that’s puzzling you, because you keep looking up at him. Is everything all right?” he asked, a little loudly and Hermione looked up, startled. Ginny couldn’t help but notice Harry was doing the same thing, looking up continually at Hermione.

“Yeah, Harry, you keep doing the same thing, looking up at Hermione this whole time. What’s going on between you two?”

“Nothing!” said Harry and Hermione simultaneously as they both looked down at their plates.

“Nothing?” Ron and Ginny both questioned skeptically. Harry and Hermionie continued staring at their plates, thoughts running through their head. ‘Harry kept glancing at me? Well it probably doesn’t mean anything…special. Maybe he found out I don’t know that I’m in danger or something?’ Hermione thought, not believing the thoughts very much, but forcing herself to.

Harry was thinking along the same lines. ‘Hermione kept glancing at me? What does this mean? She likes Ron. She does… doesn’t she?’

All throughout this Ron and Ginny were thinking, ‘Is there something going on between them? No, no, that’s not possible they don’t like me… right?” It was an awkward moment for them all. Ron and Harry paid the check and apparated back to the empty Burrow (Ron’s parents had gone on a vacation to celebrate their anniversary) and Hermione and Ginny walked out and on the streets of Hogsmeade, until they reached the robe shop, as the holes in their current ones called for new robes.

They were both measured and bought the robes and Hermione went into another shop and bought a small box of chocolate frogs. She and Ginny found supplies to make dinners at home and they apparated back. Together they put away the food they’d bought and Hermione went up to Ron’s room where he was giving Ledming (his new owl) a letter and Ledming flew off.

Hermione entered and went up to Ron. “Hey…Um I just wanted to say sorry for being all weird at dinner tonight. I was just spaced out and all. Here, have these.” She handed Ron the Chocolate Frogs.

Harry gave Ginny a rose and apologized for acting all weird at dinner earlier, he told her he was just spaced out. However neither Harry nor Hermionie could shake off the feeling that Ron/Ginny weren’t right for them. Perhaps they didn’t love them after all. But how could they know? Well, that is soon to come…

---

Much thanks to KelSid, my beta!!

Chapter 2
Relationships

“This case is of utmost of importance and we will be choosing some of you to attend to this. You will all spread out from each other but you’ll be with someone else as a pair. I’ll be giving you your partner now,” said the head Auror.

Hermione was skimming over the file with the case description when head Auror came up to her. “Granger, you’re with Potter,” he said. She looked up startled. Then she looked at Harry and shrugged like it was nothing. But for some reason she couldn’t deny the butterflies in her stomach. She looked down. ‘Whatever it’s nothing,’ she thought and looked back down at the file.

Harry looked up when paired with Hermione. She didn’t look like she cared much. She was reading the file. He didn’t care much either though, maybe. Both Harry and Hermione were thoroughly confused with how they felt. Both Ron and Ginny were completely ignorant of Harry and Hermione’s disloyal thoughts.


***


It was much later, and the two couples had finished dinner and were now sitting in the living room eating cookies and talking when and owl started pecking at the windowpane. Ron opened the window and the bird sat on his shoulder. Ron took the letter the owl had for him but the brownish red owl didn’t leave. Apparently it was waiting for a reply. Ron opened the letter.


Dear Ron,


We haven’t spoken in awhile and I’ve decided to send you a letter, it would be a shame to lose our friendship. So, I was wondering if you would meet me at the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer and a chat at three-o-clock tomorrow afternoon. I’m hoping you’ll be able to, I have missed you Ron. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow.

Love,

Lavender Brown


By the time Ron had finished reading the letter Hermione and Ginny had gone back into the kitchen. Harry walked over and skimmed the letter. “So…should I go? I mean Hermione is my girlfriend and maybe Lavender thinks I still want to…you know have the kind of relationship we had in our sixth year.” Ron’s ears turned pink and he looked down. He was still embarrassed by his foolish attempt to make Hermionie jealous.

“Well… it doesn’t have any references to her still loving you… so maybe she just wants to be friends. I guess it would be fine if you went,” said Harry slowly.

“What about the ‘love, Lavender’?” Ron said skeptically.

“That’s a...er…plutonic ‘love’,” Harry put in. For some reason he really wanted Ron to go out with Lavender.

“Okay, I suppose I’ll go.” Ron took a quill off an end table and at the empty space on the lower half of the parchment he wrote,

Lavender-


I suppose I’ll be free then. I’ll meet you there. See you tomorrow.

-Ron


Then he folded up the parchment and gave it back to the owl that flew off. Ron went to Hermione’s room to find her peacefully sleeping. So was so beautiful. Ron fixed her in his mind promising himself that he would stay loyal to her because they loved each other and Lavender wasn’t going to ruin that. If only he knew that Hermione didn’t feel the same way anymore.

***


Ron stepped into The Three Broomsticks and he saw a beautiful girl smile and say, “Ron, over here.” He sat down across from Lavender and she pushed a butterbeer in front of him. He sipped it and he couldn’t help notice how much prettier she was now then when at school. Her hair was now chocolate brown with golden highlights that made her copper eyes sparkle. It was twisted in ringlets that fell on her shoulders. Her complexion was beautiful and she was very slim and had a perfect smile with sparkling white teeth. Ron was stunned. At school she’d had mousy brown hair cut in a bob and acne and…well, he hadn’t seen such a change. He blinked.

“So, you’re an auror now aren’t you?” she asked smiling.

“Uh…yeah. What’s your occupation?” he asked, regaining his posture.

“Oh, I’m a manager for Ruby’s Robes,” she said nonchalantly. Ron’s eyes widened. Ruby’s Robes was a top-of-the-line-robe shop; all the wealthy people bought their robes there. ‘That’s where famous people bought theirs too!’ thought Ron. ‘That job must pay a lot. I wonder how she got it anyway. I suppose she’s well off.’

He noticed her robes did look very classy and were a very high quality. He looked back at her face. ‘Maybe she’s prettier then Her-’ he stopped his thoughts and before he could think anymore Lavender said,

“So how’s being an auror? Is it dangerous?” Ron gratefully started telling her stories of cases he solved.

***

Harry and Hermione weren’t taking their lunch break. Instead they sat in Harry’s office, viewing the memory of spells cast from a bloody wand found by a pond. As they worked Hermione and Harry chatted. “So who was that letter from? The one Ron got yesterday. I hope it wasn’t from work. He’s been getting letters all week for the case he’s been on and I hope he’s not overworking himself. I mean this is such a change from when we were in school. He hardly did any work at all except for copy me,” she said in amusement mixed with worry.

“Oh, it wasn’t from work it was from Lavender Brown-from school.” Harry expected to see Hermione narrow her eyes and get jealous but she just looked surprised and interested-not angry. That was odd.

“Humm…Well that’s nice. What did she say?” Harry looked at Hermione, puzzled about how little she cared.

“To see if they could meet at The Three Broomsticks today at three o’ clock. Just to catch up. They are just meeting as friends,” he added quickly but Hermione just nodded. Harry couldn’t help but smile at the fact that she wasn’t in a rage. She was acting as though it mattered only in the manner that she and Ron were just friends and she didn’t mind at all that he was meeting someone he’d…been with in their sixth year. Harry was glad of that but he didn’t know why.

***


Ginny sighed as she looked at this week’s letters. She always had a lot from men she’d been acquainted with in school and others she’d met while investigating cases. They all seemed to be falling for her and they all sent letters constantly asking her to meet them for dinner or go to a ball with them or letters of them just ranting about their lives. She didn’t answer any letters (which was quite tricky when they sent an owl to be waiting for a reply and the owl didn’t go away).

She was in love with Harry and she had to be loyal to him. Harry was out with Hermione investigating something and she was lonely sitting here, the only one in the house. She opened up an envelope that was a shocking white with gold lining. She took out the letter. It was from Seamus Finnegan. Apparently this was his first letter.


Ginny-


Haven’t spoken to you in awhile. I’ve just been going through my friends from Hogwarts and decided to send letters to them just to catch up with them- don’t want to lose any good friends right? So how have you been? I read in The Daily Prophet that you’ve become an auror. Nice work, I’ve heard of how hard it is to become one of those. Must be a tricky career itself. Anyways, I’m inviting friends to The Three Broomsticks (well isn’t that an obvious place to go? Everyone seems to like it though!) tomorrow for dinner at six o’ clock. I was wondering if you wanted to come. Your friends Harry, Hermionie and your brother Ron are invited too. Hope to see you there.


Your friend,

Seamus


Well. That sounded fun. She sent back a reply saying that she’d be there and then took out her work files and started working so she wouldn’t have to do it all later.

***


“Well, it’s getting late. I’d better go. It was nice talking to you Ron,” Lavender said and smiled her perfect smile. She paid the check and left. Ron looked outside after her. DARNET!!! It was already six in the evening. He must have gotten so caught up in talking to Lavender that he didn’t check the time. He was going to be in so much trouble for not returning to work after his lunch break but it was worth it.

Ron got back to the Burrow. It was annoyingly quiet. Ron did some work until Harry and Hermione came home. They had dinner and Harry and Hermione told Ron and Ginny about the trip they had to take. A group of aurors were going somewhere to track down someone… Ron didn’t really hear much, he was distracted because he kept thinking of Lavender. She was so sophisticated and mature and beautiful and she never once led on that she liked him any more then a friend.

Dinner ended and they all went upstairs. Harry and Hermione went to sleep right away on orders since the Head Auror wanted the aurors going on the trip to be well rested.

***

Harry and Hermione apparated to the site where all the aurors were to meet. Where they were going was strangely protected against apparating so once you were there you couldn’t apparate and you had to use a portkey to get there. The two friends put their hands on the portkey and they went spinning. According to Head Auror they were supposed to land on a cobble brick road with a few buildings on the side. When the portkey stopped they looked around. They were in a swamp. And the portkey had lost its magic. They were stuck. “I don’t think this is where we’re supposed to be,” Harry stated flatly.


“You think?” Hermione replied and looked around. She muttered the four point spell and said, “Point Me”. Hermione waded through the water and mud and watched the red dot on the map that signified herself move. She walked some more. Harry followed. They walked for miles until they finally stopped and sat on a fallen tree, exhausted.

They both drank some water out of a water bottle they had charmed to keep filling up so it never ran out of water. Then they talked. They talked about the time they’d gone through all those enchantments to find the Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry told Hermione about going into the Chamber of Secrets (since she was petrified then). The more they talked, the more sure both of them were that they had a connection.

They walked a few more miles talking the whole way. The day darkened and dusk fell upon them. Hermione set up the tiny tent and cast a spell on it making the insides a huge expanse, not something you’d expect by seeing how small the tent looked from the outside. Harry and Hermione went inside and plopped on their beds which were on opposite sides of the tent.

Hermione lay awake staring at the ceiling of the tent, thinking. The more time she spent apart from Ron, the more refreshed she felt. She didn’t feel guilty or uneasy like she usually did around him. With Harry, she felt safe, reassured, happy. She was just more comfortable around him. What did that mean?

The attack came when Harry and Hermionie were both sound asleep. The ground rumbled from the sound of hundreds of stomping, running feet. Unfamiliar cultural battle cries filled the air. Harry woke up first. He looked around the tent where Hermione was sleeping with a smile on her face still and untroubled. Harry quickly grabbed his glasses and shoved them on, took his wand out from under his pillow and walked outside. He saw hundreds of dark-skinned men in animal skins with swords and axes and other muggle weapons. In the middle of them all, carried on a chair made of dark wood, sat a man in wizard robes with a wand. Harry narrowed his eyes. He had to move, fast. He ran back in the tent.

“Hermione! HERMIONE!” He shook her awake. She woke with a start.

“What are you doing? What’s going on?” She sat up.

“We’re being attacked. Come ON!” Harry said, dragging her out of bed, but he didn’t really need to. She jumped up, wide awake now. She grabbed her wand and the two of them rushed out of the tent. She cast a spell to make the tent fold itself up and put itself into a plastic bag. “Reducio.” The bag shrunk and she put the bag in the pocket of her robes and turned around. Where was Harry?

“Psst! Hermionie!” a voice whispered urgently. Harry was behind some bushes. She crept over to where he was. Harry explained the situation and they started stupefying the muggles. With the muggles gone the wizard woke up at the silence that had fell upon the grounds. Harry and Hermione stepped out of the bushes to face the old wizard. He saw them holding their wands and then he looked at his army of muggles, all stupefied. His eyes narrowed.

“Think you can easily stupefy me?” he asked, then laughed hysterically. Harry and Hermione looked at each other. This guy was crazy. Hermione opened her mouth and held up her wand but before she could cast a spell he stopped laughing. “Silencio!” he said. Hermione glared at him. The wizard smiled at her and started giggling like a maniac. Harry raised his eyebrows. The wizard then pointed his wand at Hermionie and stopped giggling. He looked straight at Hermionie. “Imperio!”