It has been three months. Three long months since Hermione has spoken or heard from nearly all of her friends. She's been missing them.

After Harry and Hermione's encounter with Ron, Hermione had written a letter to Ginny, apologizing for the years of lies and hurt that she had caused. Neither Hermione nor Harry had meant to hurt the very people they considered family – but the truth was, they had done it. And they would have to live with it.

Ginny responded to the letter asking for space. So space was what they gave.

She avoided Diagon Alley and Hogsmead. She avoided sending owls to her Neville or Luna, or anyone else in the Weasley family. She even took a leave of absence from work and focused all of her energy into figuring out her new life – one in which she could be honest to herself and the world. The one she now shared with Harry.

But just yesterday, Hermione had received an owl from Neville, asking her to meet him at their favorite restaurant. Her stomach tied itself into knots at the thought of it and yet she felt excited to finally be seeing one of her friends. She felt so disconnected from them now and she missed their companionship.

Hermione entered the restaurant and she was greeted with the smell of fresh baked bread. I've missed that smell. Her eyes began to search the room for Neville and she finally found him, seated at a table in the corner of the restaurant. As she began walking over to him, he smiled at her. Her heart beat in her throat.

"Hermione," Neville said welcoming. He stood and gave her a hug. "It has been too long," he said in a warm tone.

"Much too long," Hermione agreed, returning the hug. "It is so good to see you." They broke away from the hug and each took their seats, facing one another.

"How have you been?" Neville chimed in.

"I've been well. How have you been? How is the green house progressing?" Hermione asked. She wanted to take the focus away from herself, still unsure as to how much Neville knew about the events of the past three months, and still unsure of his feelings about it.

"Been doing rather well, actually. The green house is coming along nicely. I finally hired an assistant yesterday, so that should give me some free time," Neville finished.

Hermione nodded and smiled. "That's great, Neville."

"But how are things with you? Are you doing alright?" he asked, giving her a sympathetic eye.

She moved her focus to the middle of the table and took a long sigh in. "Yeah," she began, "I'm doing alright".

"How are you really doing?" Neville asked, moving to catch her attention. "I know you've been avoiding everyone for a while, and I didn't write for so long because I wanted to give you some space. But we've missed you. We've all missed you."

"I'm doing fine. Really," Hermione finished. While she was finally happy to be with Harry and not hide her feelings any longer, a part of her truly felt guilty for hurting the people that did nothing but love her. These people were family, and she had hurt them so deeply. She couldn't help but wonder if things would ever be the same.

"Hermione…" Neville pressed. "You don't have to pretend like you aren't happy. No one faults you for being honest."

"I am happy."

"But…"

"I just… I don't know," Hermione said, looking defeated. She couldn't explain it.

"Listen to me," Neville said seriously. "No one faults you for falling in love. No one," he finished firmly.

"But – "

"But nothing. You cannot help who you fall in love with. It happened. You shouldn't feel guilty for it."

"But I wasn't supposed to fall in love with Harry."

"I don't remember reading that in the rule book," Neville countered. Hermione gave him an annoyed look.

"Hermione… It'll be fine. Give it time and everything will return to normal,"

"I'm not so sure," Hermione said quietly, looking down at the table again.

"Well I am," Neville said firmly. "Give them time. I know they miss you. Things aren't the same without you and Harry."

Hermione let out a loud sigh and contemplated what Neville was saying.

"I won't tell you that it will happen right away. They aren't pleased you two waited so long to say something, but they love you and want both of you to be happy."

Hermione gave him a nervous look. "How… how are they?"

"Doing well," Neville answered matter-of-factly. "Ginny's been spending more time at Shell Cottage to help out with the kids while Fleur is on bed rest."

"Oh, she must be losing her mind stuck in that bed! This pregnancy hasn't been treating her well, has it?"

"Well she is due at any day now."

"Wow… has it really been that long?" Hermione asked quietly, more to herself than Neville.

"Ron's been working a lot at the Ministry and the shop with the twins. I think he is just trying to determine what direction he wants his life to go in."

Hermione just looked down, trying to hold back the pang of guilt that hit her stomach.

"We should probably order something to eat," Hermione said quietly. She couldn't talk about Ron any longer.

"Yeah…" Neville agreed. Feeling defeated, he wondered if things would ever return to normal.

After their meal, Hermione and Neville parted ways.

"Promise you won't be a stranger?" Neville asked

Hermione gave Neville a smile. "Of course". She gave him another hug before she started walking down the cobblestone road. All she wanted was to go home and hide from her fears that her friendships were too far gone to be salvaged. The only stability she had anymore was Harry – but even that made her feel guilty.

Hermione finally reached the alley and she closed her eyes to apparate home.

"Hermione?" came an all too familiar voice, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

She turned around, greeted by a familiar red head and a clumsy smile. Her eyes were wide with surprise as they met his. She swallowed hard, as if attempting to push down the butterflies that suddenly erupted in her stomach. She was desperate to not look as terrified as she felt.

"Hi," she finally mustered.

"He looked down at the ground, as if trying to hide something. Anger? Disappointment? Fear? Hermione wasn't sure. She could hear him take a deep breath and then his eyes met hers again.

"Hi," he said, clearing his throat. "How have you been?" He tried his best to hide his emotions and put on a friendly face.

"I've…I've been well. Keeping myself busy," she lied. She tried her best to keep her voice calm and smooth, acting as if this was a normal encounter.

Ron only nodded and looked at the ground. He knew she was lying.

"How have you been?" Hermione asked. She could feel her voice squeaking slightly – she wanted things to return to the way things were before. She missed being able to talk to Ron.

"Doing fine," Ron answered. "I haven't seen you in this area for a long while".

"Yeah…well…" Hermione began.

"-You've been avoiding everyone." Ron finished. His voice was calm.

"Yes," Hermione admitted.

"Why?" His voice was still calm but she sensed a tinge of curiosity. How could he not know? He had to know.

"Ron… I… I thought that space was best for everyone. I'm only trying to stop further pain from happening. I've caused enough already…"

"I don't blame you for anything." Ron said. He blue eyes met Hermione's and she knew he was sincere.

"Ron-"

"I don't. It was my fault for leaving that night. It was my fault for making you feel like you couldn't talk to me. Above all else, we are friends – best friends – best friends that share something no one else in the world will ever be able to understand. I should never have expected to just return as if nothing was wrong. We were teenagers then. We're not teenagers anymore. It is time we stop acting like it."

Hermione was taken aback by his honesty and his sense.

"I… I…"

"Save it," Ron said, holding up his hand.

A silence fell between them. Hermione stared up at Ron, silently debating her next move. Suddenly, without a word, she moved towards him and hugged him tightly.

"I've missed you," she said quietly, not releasing him from the embrace.

"I've missed you too," he said quietly.

The trio had never been separated for so long and seeing Ron, as terrified as she was initially, made her feel better. Perhaps things would be alright after all.

"How is Harry?" asked Ron as they walked away from the alley and down the street.

"Well. I know he misses you though. I think he has been desperate for someone other than me to talk with," Hermione said with a small laugh.

"Have you been torturing him by talking about books nonstop?" Ron asked with a smile.

"Oh shut it," Hermione said, faking an angry voice. "I know he would love to see you".

"It would be great to see him too," Ron replied. He looked down at the ground nervously and lightly kicked a few of the small pebbles around.

"Do you think he has forgiven me for nearly killing him?" Ron asked quietly. His face was beginning to turn red and place his hands in his pockets. He looked down, trying to hide his feelings of shame.

She laced her arm in his and stood in front of him. She tried to meet his eyes, but he continued to avoid his gaze.

"Ronald…" she began. He continued to ignore her gaze. "Ronald," she said more forcefully, pulling his arm. He slowly looked up at her.

"I will not allow you to feel guilty about this. What… what we… what we did," she paused for a moment. "We hurt so many people. It was wrong for us to hide it for so many years. After we… after we betrayed you like that, we should be begging for your forgiveness." She couldn't help but feel somewhat disgusted with herself.

"Hermione…" he began with a sigh. "All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy. And all I've ever wanted was for Harry to be happy. I hadn't seen it coming that you two would be happy together, but that doesn't mean I don't still want both of you to be happy." Ron finished. This time, it was he who was trying to force Hermione to look him in the eye.

"I know but-"

"But nothing. I'm sorry for the way I reacted. I never should have threatened him like that. I lost control of myself and to be honest, there was a moment…" he went silent. Hermione stared at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. "There was a moment when I thought I might actually hurt him. He is like my brother and for a moment, I had actually convinced myself that he had somehow stolen you from me," he said. He kept his gaze adrift. "In reality, I stole you from him. I made you feel like you couldn't be honest with me. And for that… I'm truly sorry."

"Oh Ron... It wasn't that I felt I couldn't be honest with you. I just couldn't imagine hurting you the way I did. I wanted to believe that I could hide it forever, that it was just a fluke, an accident. I wasn't ready to face my own feelings. I was a coward and because of it, we hurt so many people. I never would have allowed you to lose control."

"Can we just admit that mistakes were made on everyone's part?" Ron said gently. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. Hermione understood and nodded.

"Where are you living now?"

"Just outside of London in a Muggle neighborhood," she answered.

"And Harry?"

"We live together". Ron only nodded.

"Why a Muggle neighborhood?" he asked, curiously.

"Figured we would have a bit more privacy, be out of the way. After Ginny asked for space, we wanted to respect her wishes. We wanted to give her as much time as she needed. We didn't want to get in your family's way… they must be furious with us," she said, attempting to cover up the sadness that was creeping into her voice.

"Since when did Hermione Granger start sounding depressed?" he teased. "You both should know by now that you are a part of the family whether you like it or not".

Hermione smiled at this. "I know".

"Do you really? Just because you won't have the Weasley last name does not mean that you aren't in the family. Mum has never cared about an official title – you'll always be like her daughter. And Harry her son. That won't change."

"I just hope she can forgive us. Especially Harry. I know how excited she was to be planning a wedding." Hermione said.

"Oh – you two aren't out of the ball park yet. Mom will still be expecting a wedding out of the two of you".

"A wedding?" Hermione asked surprised.

"Am I over stepping my bounds on that subject?"

"No, no, not at all. I've just… we've never… discussed it."

"You've never discussed it?" Ron asked surprised.

"We've alluded to it perhaps. But we've never discussed it."

"What exactly are you two waiting for? Don't you think you wasted enough time?"

"Well… we're just waiting".

"For?"

"I think we weren't going to get married unless we knew that our family was going to be there".

"Hermione, we've discussed this. Of course your parents can attend the wedding. Just because they are Muggles does not mean they can't-"

"That isn't the family I was referring to," she said with a smile. "You can be so thick sometimes."

Ron smiled. "Ah. I see."

"It just wouldn't be right without you there. And I couldn't possibly plan an entire wedding without Ginny's advice and I'd need your Mum there to help me make decisions my Mum can't help with. Harry and I couldn't get married without you lot there."

Ron smiled. "So… when is the wedding?" he teased.

"Don't you think you should talk Harry into asking me first?" she laughed.

Finally, things were starting to feel normal again.