Conflicting Adoration

Hermione sat quietly in the fading afternoon sun, wishing time would hurry up so she could return to Hogwarts. Not that she didn't enjoy the summers she spent with her parents, or the time she'd been with Viktor, but nothing compared to her days at school.

She sighed as she thought about Harry with his raven black hair and emerald green eyes—she'd heard from him the day before and was infuriated by the typical mistreatment he was receiving from the Dursleys. Then her mind went to Ron and she felt her heart skip a beat as she thought of his flaming red hair and ocean blue eyes…those beautiful eyes, how they seemed to search her, to know her even more intimately than she knew herself. Oh how she wanted him to know her—not merely as the drab, rule-abiding bookworm she'd been, but as the vivacious and beautiful young woman she'd become… She shook herself. Why was she thinking like this?? She was with Viktor and she was happy with Viktor. He was quiet and sweet—not to mention handsome! Ron was her friend—nothing more. He'd made sure of that himself—Hermione frowned as she remembered the fights she and Ron had had over her new found relationship. His eyes flashed (oh those beautiful eyes!) as he accused her of 'fraternizing with the enemy', and she'd fought hard to leave the room without slapping him. After that, she'd pretty much lost hope for any relationship beyond that of friends with him—he'd never want someone who had 'fraternized with the enemy'. It didn't matter though, she told herself with a sigh, I'm with Viktor and I like it that way.

Suddenly a minute owl popped over her back fence and, upon seeing her in the hammock, began twittering madly. She recognized it at once as Ron's owl and felt a bit of a blush come on as she realized she'd just been thinking about him again. She took the letter from the owl, who seemed happy at having been relieved of its charge. Quickly opening the parchment, she read,

         

Dear Hermione,

How's your summer going? Mine's great—so far I've managed to survive Fred and George's experiments, but I don't know how long that'll last. They haven't come out of their room for ages, and you know what that means.

Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come and stay at the Burrow with us for the last two weeks of summer. Harry's coming, of course, and we could all go to Diagon Alley to get our supplies together. Besides, Ginny's been complaining like mad that she doesn't have any 'girl company' and I figured this would be one way to shut her up.

Ask your parents and send your answer back with Pig as soon as possible! I need to know when you're coming, because there's someone I want you to meet.

See you soon,

Ron

          Hermione felt as if a lead weight had dropped in her stomach. "there's someone I want you to meet", she read again. Who could it be? Surely not a girlfriend, not Ron! But who else would he care for her to meet? His friends were all at Hogwarts—she knew them already. Pushing the image of Ron snogging some faceless girl out of her mind, she thought of Ginny and laughed. Having six brothers did have some draw-backs and she was anxious to go and spend time with her estrogen-deprived friend.

*****

A/N: So what do you guys think?? I know it's short, but it's my first fic and I thought I'd get a couple of reviews before continuing!! (*hint hint*) =)

Disclaimer: If JKR is me, then I'm her…but she's not, so I'm not and don't own her stuff.

****