27th June 1998: Grimmauld Place

After the night they had spent sleeping in the library, Remus avoided Hermione harder than ever. Neither had brought up any mention of that night, unaware that Harry had discovered them in the morning, leading him to keep a closer eye on them both. Hermione's nightmares continued, leaving Harry completely clueless as to what to do to help his best friend.

Remus was utterly exhausted. Though Hermione hadn't asked Ron to sleepover at Grimmauld place again, he still felt uncomfortable going to her room at night to comfort her every time she woke him with her screams. He kept telling himself that it wasn't his place to do so, that he had boundaries to respect. So he kept his distance, lying awake at night listening through her silencing charms to her muffled screams.

She was sitting across from him at the table, and as she read the Daily Prophet, he couldn't help but notice how drained she looked. These days, the dark circles under her eyes didn't fade and Remus knew Harry was just as worried as he was.

As an apron-clad Sirius hummed happily as he served everyone bacon and eggs fresh off the pan, two owls arrived holding identical ministry sealed envelopes, stopping in front of Harry and Hermione. With a brief look of confusion, Harry untied his letter and ripped into it immediately, eyes going wide and his chewing slowing as he processed the contents. Hermione however was staring at hers suspiciously, as though wondering why on earth the ministry would be writing to her. She opened it slowly but read it with speed, her eyes going just as wide as Harry's. Harry finally peeled his eyes away from his own letter and turned to Hermione.

"Are they being serious?!" Harry asked her in disbelief, brandishing the letter in his hand.

"Apparently so," she murmured without looking at him.

Remus noticed that Hermione didn't seem too pleased at the contents of her letter, if her frown and stiff posture were any indication. He caught Sirius' eye over the table, whose eyebrows raised at him in question with bacon half hanging out of his mouth.

"Everything alright Hermione?" Remus asked quietly, leaning towards her across the table.

She looked up quickly, startled. "Hm? Oh … yes I suppose. It's just …"

Suddenly, Ron burst into the kitchen, still in his pajamas and clutching a piece of parchment in his hand, brandishing it frantically in the air.

"I JUST GOT … HARRY … DID YOU?" he yelled excitedly, having spotted a letter clutched in Harry's hand identical to his.

At Harry's nod, Ron's grin grew even brighter. He turned expectantly towards Hermione, the silent question obvious. She nodded, causing Ron to let out a loud whoop.

Hermione smiled at that, though it didn't quite reach her eyes,

Sirius and Remus both sat there, equally confused, until Sirius cleared his throat loudly.

"Care to fill us in?"

"We've been offered a place in the Auror training program!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, before Harry or Hermione even had the chance to open their mouths. Remus and Sirius both sat there in shock for a second before the both of them jumped up from their seats to congratulate the trio.

"Wow that's … wow. Congratulations Harry! I'm so proud of you … and I'm sure your parents would have been too," Sirius said, beaming brightly as he embraced Harry. Harry's smiled hugely at Sirius' words, obviously enjoying having a parent figure to praise him for once.

Remus was the first to reach Hermione who was still in her seat, a strained smile on her face at the scene in front of her.

"Congratulations Hermione! What an honour," he exclaimed as he embraced her, genuinely happy for her, despite the twinge of anxiety he felt at the prospect of her doing such a dangerous job.

"Thanks Remus," she replied, tight smile still plastered on as she spoke.

He frowned at that, but before he could ask her if everything was alright, Ron had come and embraced her around her middle. Remus watched curiously as Ron spun Hermione around, feeling something off about her behaviour. She looked awkward and stiff in Ron's arms as though she wanted to escape as soon as possible. Though she was smiling as she congratulated Ron and Harry, the smile quickly dropped when she thought no one was looking.

"We've got to write back Kingsley!" Ron said, his arms flailing around, clearly too excited to wait another minute.

While Harry beamed and nodded enthusiastically in agreement, Hermione was looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Oh er … actually I might think about it first …"

"What's there to think about?" Ron frowned, genuine confusion on his face on why Hermione would want to waste a single second.

"I just … want to think about my options first, before I commit to anything," she answered vaguely.

"What? But … you're going to do it right?"

Hermione hesitated, looking conflicted. "I don't know if I want to be an Auror, Ron. It's always been your dream … and Harry's. Never mine."

An awkward silence filled the kitchen as Ron just stared at Hermione incredulously. Harry, Sirius and Remus stood awkwardly off to the side, as they watched the painful exchange between the pair.

"But … what will you do then?" he asked, still extremely confused by Hermione's answer, as though it had never occurred to him that she would do something other than be an auror.

"I don't know … I was thinking I might do my NEWTS …," Hermione said, keeping her eyes downcast.

"WHAT?! That's barmy Hermione! Why do your NEWTS when anyone will hire you regardless?! You're a war heroine remember!"

As soon as Ron said this, the intake of breath from everyone else in the room was heard instantly. Remus could already feel the indignation building up in Hermione as she looked at Ron with incredulous eyes.

"I don't want people to hire me because I'm a war heroine! I want them to hire me because of my skills and what I can offer … not because of a title!" Hermione burst out angrily, the force of her tone so harsh that Ron actually shrank back a little.

"But Hermione … everyone knows that you're brilliant already …," Ron said uncertainly.

Hermione seemed to deflate instantly, as though she just couldn't be bothered to fight anymore. Remus felt a pang watching her retreat into herself.

"I just … nevermind," she said in a small voice."I've got so many things to sort out and I just … now is not the right time for me to be thinking about careers."

Ron scoffed. "What do you need to sort out? What the hell could be more important than this?"

Hermione stared at him for a moment, as though she couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. No one dared to breathe, waiting for the impending explosion that everyone but Ron could sense.

"I think it's pretty important I find my parents. Don't you think?" she asked, her voice dangerously quiet.

Ron paled instantly at her tone, now realizing that he hadn't just dug himself a hole, but had managed to dig and bury himself in a trench in a matter of seconds.

With that she stalked out of the room and up the stairs. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the bang of a bedroom door.

Instead they got the quiet click of the door closing, softly echoing in the silence of the house.

oOo

Hermione was sitting on her bed when Ron came in, staring at the wall, her expression vacant. She knew he would follow her up.

"Hermione, I'm sorry … you know that I always seem to put my foot in my mouth and blurt things out without thinking about how they sound. I know I must've been really careless with what I said back there. You're brilliant Hermione, and even though I sounded like a prick back there, you know I'll support you whatever you want to do."

"I know," she said simply, betraying no emotion.

The silence seemed to stretch on. Ron didn't seem to know what to do and he stayed standing by the door, wringing his hands.

"Ron …" Hermione said slowly. "I think we need to talk."

She knew it sounded cliche, but really there was no other way to say it.

He gulped, his shoulders dropping, as though he knew what was coming.

"I don't think this is working," Hermione finally said.

He didn't say anything for a long moment.

"I know," he said quietly. "I think I've known for a long time, but I convinced myself we could work through it, and that we'd work out somehow but …"

Smiling sadly Hermione reached out for his hand, and he took it gratefully, gripping it like a lifeline. "I know, me too."

"But I'm glad you brought it up … I was afraid it was all in my head. I don't want to lose you as a friend Hermione," he said thickly, his eyes suddenly looking slightly damp.

"I don't want to lose you either," she said softly, staring at their joined hands. "Maybe we just need some breathing space first. Then when we're both ready … back to friends again?"

"Back to best friends?" Ron said, his eyes looking at her hopefully.

Hermione smiled, relieved that their friendship could be salvaged."Yes, I'd like that."

oOo

Harry had seen Ron leave and the utter look of sadness on his face had a pit of dread forming in Harry's stomach. Before Harry had gotten a chance to ask him what happened, Ron had disappeared in the thick green flames back to The Burrow.

Dinner was quiet that night. Too quiet. Harry, Remus and Sirius sat in silence around the dining table, only the sound of cutlery slicing through the tense mood. No one voiced what they were all thinking.

Where was Hermione?

After disappearing upstairs she hadn't reappeared, and even Sirius had the grace to keep quiet for once.

Finally, Harry couldn't take it anymore. He was worried and afraid of what might have happened between her and Ron. He couldn't shake the feeling that deep down he knew exactly what had happened between them, but a part of him hoped it wasn't true.

Reaching her door, Harry stood hesitantly outside it, before knocking tentatively.

"Hermione?" he called softy. "Hermione. It's Harry, can I come in?"

Silence.

He tried again, a little louder this time. "Hermione please, you need to eat something. Do you want me to bring you up a plate?"

Still no answer.

He opened the door, ready to drag Hermione out of her bed if it came to it, but the room was empty. Frowning at her empty bed, he tried to think of where she could be. It only took him a moment's deliberation before he turned around and headed straight for the library. Everyone that knew Hermione knew that the library was her safe haven.

When he didn't immediately find her in the library, a sense of panic settled over him. In every place he looked, she wasn't there, the sense of panic got stronger. He frantically went from room to room, but as he passed by the library a third time he almost collided into Remus, who seemed to be going for his own visit to the library.

"I think you'll find her on the top floor balcony, Harry." Remus said, giving him a small smile as he passed him to enter the library.

Harry nodded, not even bothering to ask how he knew, and turned to hurry up the stairs. He left out a sigh of relief when he finally found her exactly where Remus had said she would be.

"Hey," he said cautiously, dropping gently to the floor of the balcony beside her.

"Hey," she replied in a dead voice, not even turning to look at him as she stared out at the sky with unseeing eyes.

"Is everything alright?" he asked slowly, as though afraid she would break any second.

She shrugged. "I suppose so."

Harry didn't believe that for a moment, but he stayed silent as he moved to place a comforting arm around her, which she immediately leant into, placing her bushy head on his chest.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until she whispered quietly into his chest, "Ron and I broke up."

There it was. Confirmation of what Harry had been fearing would happen eventually. For a second, Harry didn't know what to say. He had seen it coming, since that night he found her and Remus in the library and realized that things between her and Ron had changed, but he hadn't expected it to have been so soon.

"I … are you okay?"

Hermione shrugged, sniffling a little. "I'm … mostly relieved, but still it hurts. We've been dancing around each other for years and I thought we'd finally sorted ourselves out but … I think all it did was show us we weren't meant for each other."

Harry nodded, realizing that his two best friends were just too different, and ultimately weren't meant to be.

Hermione suddenly sat up, looking up at him with teary, scared eyes. "This won't change anything between us right?"

Surprised that she even had to ask that, Harry wrapped her tightly in a fierce hug. "Hey, no of course it won't change anything between us. You're my best friend Hermione, that's not going to change just because you and Ron didn't work out."

When her only response was to sniffle loudly against his chest, he hugged her even tighter.

"Hermione, to be completely honest, I was always afraid of you and Ron being together. Selfishly I was afraid it meant I would get pushed out," he confessed, feeling how silly it sounded now that he had said it out loud.

Her sniffling stopped and she pulled away to look at Harry incredulously. "Oh Harry, is that how you felt? You're our best friend, we've been through so much, did you really think Ron and I would leave you out?"

"I know, I was being stupid. But just because you and Ron didn't work out doesn't mean I'm going to stop being your best friend."

Hermione blinked, realizing that Harry had basically used her own logic to comfort her. She let out a small smile of gratitude. "Thanks Harry. Sorry I'm being silly aren't I?"

"Definitely silly. You're like my family Hermione, and family is always there for each other. No matter what happens, you'll always be my sister."

He wanted to ask her about Remus, if she noticed how he acted around her, how he looked at her as though she was his world, but he held his tongue, knowing it was too soon after her break up with Ron to ask what she thought of or even felt towards the older werewolf. So he kept quiet, as he held her tightly, rocking them back and forth.

A/N: FFN was being super weird and kept doing a weird formatting thing! Thanks to everyone who let me know!

I had no idea it would take me almost a year and a half to finish this chapter … I'm sorry guys! I have no other excuse other than life happened, and kept me very very busy. I hope you're all well and if you're still reading this fic .. please let me know! I read every single one of your reviews and every review makes me want to keep writing this story, so please help keep the motivation for this alive! I'd like to update this more often and if you guys are still here, I'd be more proactive in making that happen

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