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The time between exams and being sent home had always been odd but there was an added layer of suspense this year, waiting for something to happen. Dumbledore had seemed certain that You-Know-Who wouldn’t announce himself but it didn’t stop Ron from feeling anxious.
Harry didn’t seem to enjoy their company very much. He hadn’t fought very hard to get out of the hospital wing and now that he had he spent a lot of time off on his own. It meant that most of the time Ron spent was with his family who, while not possessing the knowledge that they did, knew something was happening. But Ginny had yet to come back from dinner and the twins had gone off with Angelina and Lee. It left him alone with Hermione, which he didn’t mind. Even when she wasn’t the most enthralling company, like tonight.
Ron looked over at Hermione who was crouched over a book and couldn’t help but grin in amusement. It looked so normal to see her reading frantically from a text as large as a quaffle.
“What are you reading?” Ron asked of her, poking her with his foot to get her attention. “O.W.L. Prep already?”
She jumped a little and he felt bad for startling her, but she still managed to finish jotting down her thought before really looking up at him.
“No, a letter to my parents,” she explained, shutting the book and looking weary.
“Oh were they just dying to know more about, he paused, plucking the book from her lap as she dried the parchment with her wand, “Eighteenth-Century Advancements in Transfiguration?”
He looked at her questioningly and all the teasing disappeared from his voice. “I thought you didn’t talk to your parents about school.”
Suddenly Hermione looked rather suspicious and glanced around the common room before speaking to him in a low voice.
“It’s a cover,” she explained. “I knew they wouldn’t be happy about me not coming home, but if I were doing an advanced course they might understand.”
“Oh,” Ron said stupidly.
He’d taken for granted that no matter what happened next his family would be alongside him. And for all his concern about getting Harry away from the Dursley's it had never occurred to him that this meant that Hermione would no longer be able to spend time with her parents either. When he glanced up she was staring at him anxiously, he knew she hated lying especially to the people that loved her.
“A course then?” he asked, reaching out his hand in an offer to read it over. Hermione passed it over eagerly, coming to sit beside him.
“I just thought, Dumbledore would be around and it seems McGonagall will be too if I need to make it more believable,” she rambled.
“It looks good,” Ron assured her, not really understanding half of what she was talking about. The strain in her expression eased a little at his approval.
“What if they ask too many questions?” Hermione asked, “What if I slip up and they decide-“
“You won’t have taken the course yet will you?” Ron pointed out and she let out a breath. “Besides, they’re muggles, Hermione, you could just spout off questions from the end of year exam and they wouldn’t know any better.”
“I hate lying to them,” Hermione admitted in a small voice. “I know it’s for their protection and mine but I just hate it.”
“It’ll be all right,” Ron promised her, passing the letter he’d skimmed back to her. “It’s what’s best.”
“I just wish,” she said in a small voice, folding up the parchment slowly. She sighed and still not looking at him. “And then I feel horrible for wishing because it’s not even about me, not really.”
“I know,” Ron agreed, understanding what she was saying even with her not really saying anything.
They both looked back towards the entrance to the boys' dormitory where Harry had disappeared without even bidding them goodnight. For a moment Ron considered going up and seeing if he was alright but he knew that Harry would be faking sleep and he’d already tolerated them through a very early dinner—so early that they’d been the only ones dining at all— and exactly one round of chess before wandering off to the boys dormitory.
“We could ask McGonagall for a pamphlet,” Ron said suddenly as the thought occurred to him. “For your course.”
“Pamphlet?” Hermione questioned.
“The heads of houses were handing them out to the fifth years so they could decide on their courses post-O.W.L.s. Haven’t you noticed them laying around the common room these past few weeks?” Hermione shook her head and Ron grinned. “Of course you wouldn’t’ve, you were too focused on preparing for exams.”
“It’s brilliant,” Hermione said to him, looking impressed.
Ron felt himself blushing a little, which was odd all things considering. It wasn’t that great of a plan, and Hermione almost always went along with his plans that didn’t involve breaking school rules.
“I’m sure there’s one we could alter a little, give it to your parents, make it look more believable,” he finished, standing up.
“What now?” Hermione asked, standing up anyway.
“And why not?” Ron asked her. It was only a little after five and he didn’t really fancy sitting around the common room for the rest of the evening. “I’ll go get Harry. He can come under the cloak if he likes but there’s no need for him to keep pensioners hours.”
Hermione reached for his sleeve as he made for the stairs, “Only, don’t tell him, about my parents. I don’t want to worry him.”
Ron nodded at her, glad she’d thought of it. “Yeah, just tell him you’re so eager for exams that you’re already started revising.”
Hermione shook her head, but looked pleased “It’s such a nice a day, we should try and get him outside.”
Even though they weren’t really, Ron couldn’t help but add, “Need to get all our sneaking out in before next year when you’re prefect and will turn us in.”
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. “I won’t be prefect.”
“Of course you will,” Ron replied, looking at her to see whether she was being modest and decided she wasn’t. “Come-on Hermione, you’re top of our class.”
“Yes, but-“ she stopped mid-sentence and stared at him.
“And they call you the brightest witch of our age.” Ron shook his head teasingly, “Come on then, lots of rule-breaking to do and so little time left to get away with it.”
He left her standing in the middle of the common room but when he looked back there was a small smile on her face and Ron found himself rather pleased that he was the one to put it there.