Disclaimer: I own nothing remotely related to Harry Potter or the characters in J. K. Rowling's wonderful books.
July 20th had finally arrived. Hermione was up early, making sure she was completely packed. She wouldn't be coming back home before leaving for Hogwarts, and she didn't want to forget anything. As she was rummaging in her dresser, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Sighing, she ran her hand through her hair, only succeeding in making it look even bushier. She opened a drawer and pulled out her container of Sleekeasy's Hair Potion (which hadn't been touched since the Yule Ball in her fourth year). Though she wasn't like many girls who thought their appearance was their most important asset, Ron's fascination with Fleur Delacour still lurked in the back of her mind. She decided she could at least try to tame her mass of hair.
Fifteen minutes later, her hair lying smoothly on her shoulders, she finished packing and locked her trunk. She straightened up as her mother first knocked briefly then entered her room.
"Are you packed, Hermione? Oh, your hair looks lovely, dear. You should fix it like that more often."
Hermione smiled. Maybe she would. After all, the Sleekeasy's was now packed in her trunk.
"I've been meaning to ask you, how are Ron's parents coming to pick you up? Do they have a car?"
"No, Mum. I hope it's OK, but I had Ron tell his father that they could temporarily hook up our fireplace to the Floo Network. Remember I told you about traveling by Floo Powder?"
"Er...yes," Mrs. Granger said uncertainly, not entirely sure she was ready to see her only child jump into a fire and disappear. She changed the subject. "They'll be here at 10?"
"Yes." Hermione looked at her watch. "In just about an hour." She hugged her mother tightly. "Thank you so much for letting me go to the Burrow. I'll miss you and Dad very much."
"We'll miss you, too, dear. I know you enjoy being with your friends, though, and you'll have a lot of fun." Mrs. Granger stepped back and looked seriously at Hermione. "I realize you don't like to worry us, but I know there has been some trouble surrounding Harry. Do be careful."
Hermione nodded, knowing her mother didn't realize the full extent of the "trouble" and reflecting dolefully that it was nearly impossible to be careful when Voldemort and his Death Eaters decided they wanted to kill you. But she was determined not to worry about such things (aside from her concern for Harry) until they had gone to Grimmauld Place.
***
Ron also woke up fairly early and, unlike most mornings, jumped out of bed anxiously. Hermione was coming today. Stretching, he went into the bathroom and stopped before the mirror. Same freckles and messy red hair as yesterday. He also noticed a small streak of mud on his face, which he had missed when having a quick wash the night before. "Why in the world would she look twice at you, mate?" he muttered to his reflection. On an impulse, he started digging through the cabinet, looking for some special soap or something, anything. He came across the bath crystals that belonged to his mother and Ginny and wrinkled up his nose. No. Too "girly". Finally, in the very back of the cabinet, he found some soap that he remembered Percy buying when he was dating Penelope. He smelled it experimentally. Not too bad. He got ready for a shower.
Nearly an hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood by their fireplace, waiting impatiently for Ron. "Come along, Ron, we're going to be late!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs. "Where is that boy?" she muttered.
Ginny snorted. "He's still in the bathroom, making himself pretty for Hermione," she said, giggling.
"Now, Ginny, that's not nice. I'm sure Ron is..."
"Honestly, Mum!" Fred interrupted. "He's been in the bloody bathroom for an hour! We can't..."
"...even use the loo!" George finished.
"Watch your language, George!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.
"I didn't swear, Fred did!"
"Well, watch your language, both of you!" Just then, Ron came down the stairs and sheepishly entered the room, knowing what was coming from his brothers.
"Oi, look! Ickle Ronniekins even tucked in his shirt. And how did you get that mess of hair to actually lie down?" George exclaimed.
Fred sniffed dramatically. "And I don't think I've smelled that particular scent for a while. Not since Percy was..." He shut up quickly at a sharp look from his father. Percy was still a touchy subject in their house.
Ron was blushing furiously. "Why don't you two keep the shop open on Sundays, too, then we wouldn't have to endure your presence all day. It's wonderfully quiet here the other six days of the week!"
George clapped him on the back. "But then who would be here to guide our little brother through his first romance?"
"Maybe we should close the shop for a while and help Mum keep an eye on you two," Fred said, grabbing George and running upstairs to escape Ron's fury.
"You two will NOT behave like this when Hermione is here, do you hear me?" Mrs. Weasley shouted up the stairs. She turned to Ron. "Now, dear, you look very nice." She glared at Ginny who promptly stifled her giggles. "Let's run along now and pick up Hermione."
***
Hermione was nervously sitting on her trunk, watching the clock on the mantle when Mrs. Weasley suddenly appeared in the fireplace, followed closely by Mr. Weasley. They stepped into the room and greeted the Grangers warmly.
"Hello, Hermione," Mr. Weasley said, smiling and shaking her hand. He then stepped away to talk to the Grangers about their plans (and also to discuss Muggle life).
“Hello, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, hugging her tightly.
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley." As Mrs. Weasley released her, she looked toward the fireplace. "Where's Ron?"
"Oh, he'll be along in a minute." Mrs. Weasley smiled. She guessed correctly that Ron had gotten nervous and had hesitated at their house. In a moment, though, he appeared, blushing.
"Hi," he said softly to Hermione.
"Hi," she almost whispered.
They stood there quietly for a moment, Mrs. Weasley watching them knowingly. Mrs. Granger interrupted the silence by greeting Ron and commenting on how tall he had gotten. Ron smiled and thanked her, his ears turning red. Then Mr. Granger stepped over and shook hands with him.
"Hello, sir," Ron said, standing up straight and shaking hands firmly. He had never been nervous meeting Mr. Granger before, and he suddenly realized why this time was different: he was now thinking of Mr. Granger as "her father". And was it his imagination or was Mr. Granger looking at him appraisingly, sizing him up?
"Well, we'd best be on our way," Mr. Weasley interrupted, clapping his hands. "Ron, if you'll grab Hermione's trunk, you can go ahead and head back to the Burrow." He turned to the Grangers as Ron lugged the heavy trunk toward the fire. "Our older sons are visiting us on holiday, and we'll be having a large family dinner tonight." Hermione noticed that he didn't mention that one member would be missing--Percy.
"We would love it so much if you could join us," Mrs. Weasley offered graciously. The Grangers politely declined, saying they had some paperwork to attend to in their dental office, but promising to come some other time. They watched nervously as Ron stepped into the fire, declared, "The Burrow!" and disappeared.
Hermione hugged her parents tightly and somewhat tearfully, promising to write often. She noticed her mother turn away as she walked toward the fire, not wanting to watch her daughter use the Floo Powder, and she realized there were some things her parents would never get used to. The next thing she knew, she was at the Burrow.
She stepped out of the fireplace and was hugged by a beaming Ginny. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! It gets so hard, being the only girl around with these idjits," she exclaimed, meaning her brothers. Hermione hugged Ginny back, laughing. She noticed Ron standing nervously by her trunk as Mrs. Weasley bustled over.
"Now, Ron, why don't you take Hermione's trunk up to Ginny's room. Ginny, you go find Fred and George. No doubt they're up to some mischief somewhere." She turned to Hermione. "You're part of the family, dear, so just make yourself completely at home," she said kindly.
Hermione smiled, touched. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." Mrs. Weasley patted her on the arm and hurried into the kitchen. Hermione saw Ron lifting her trunk and starting toward the stairs. "I'll help you, Ron," she said, hurrying after him.
"S'Ok, Hermione. I've got it," he said, straining. They went slowly up the stairs and into Ginny's room.
Ron set her trunk down with a grunt and straightened up. He caught his breath for a moment. "So, had a good summer so far?" he asked, not quite meeting her eyes.
"Oh, yes. I've done some shopping with my parents in London, we went to the shore for a few days one weekend, but mostly we've just relaxed at home. It's been wonderful. And I needed the rest after...well, you know."
Ron nodded and looked toward the window. "No trips...out of the country?" he asked, trying to be nonchalant.
Hermione smiled. "No, Ron, I haven't been to Bulgaria."
His head snapped back toward her. "I didn't ask that!"
She was still smiling. "No. You didn't have to." Their eyes met and neither looked away. Hermione slowly stopped smiling as she felt some type of tension building between them. She was acutely aware of how close they were standing. She could smell the soap he must have used and without thinking said, "You smell nice." She groaned inwardly when she realized she had actually said that out loud.
Ron didn't look away, but he reddened slightly, looking mildly surprised that Hermione had said such a thing. "I do?"
"Um, yeah...clean." She winced when she realized the implication of that statement. Maybe he thought she meant he was not usually clean. "I...I mean..." she stammered.
"Your hair looks nice," he broke in, then blushed furiously.
"Oh," she said, reaching up and touching her hair as though to remind herself what was different about it. "Thanks..."
They continued to stand there, staring at each other, whatever was building between them still growing. Ron swallowed hard and moved a little closer to her. "Hermione..." he whispered. He was interrupted by the door slamming back against the wall as Ginny stormed into the room. Hermione and Ron jumped apart guiltily.
"Honestly! Fred and George are going to drive me crazy! Look what they did!" she exclaimed, pointing to her hair, which was a lovely shade of puke green. "I'll be glad when they go back to their shop tomorrow!" She looked from Ron, who was lying on the bed laughing in great gasps, to Hermione, who was politely trying to hide her laughter behind her hand (and failing miserably). "Am I interrupting anything?"