Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter/Wizarding World. They were all created by the genius that is J.K. Rowling.

Summary: Harry wasn't sure when Hermione became the voice inside of his head. Now that he knows he can't keep his feelings from her any longer.

Author's Notes: This is a story that I started working on back in 2011 unfortunately I suffered some terrible writer's block. This story hasn't been far from my thoughts I just wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. I've decided that a major rewrite was in order. I just feel like it could not only have been written better but I also feel like there should be some lead up to Harry and Hermione getting together. So don't worry the chapters that you all have come to love will be coming back all of them better written and condensed into longer chapters.

This story starts during chapter 5 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and will continue on through the Deathly Hallows and possibly after. I've always felt that Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione lacked the chemistry that Harry and Hermione had in both the books and the movies. I am taking liberties with some of the characters such as Lavender Brown, my Lavender isn't as annoying at least I don't think she is. Though I'm diverging from cannon I don't bash Ron, Ginny, the Weasleys, or Dumbledore I think they are all wonderful characters who have flaws and those are what make them human. And finally…it's been a very long while since I've written fanfiction so please go easy on me.

As always reviews are not only appreciated, they are welcome, and all thoughts are taken into consideration.

Chapter 1: Back at the Burrow

It was hard for Harry to believe that he was back at the Burrow. It seemed aged since he'd last been there. He'd always thought of it as a kind of surrogate home and the Weasleys the family that Voldemort had denied him all those years ago when he murdered Harry's parents. During the holidays from school the prior year his holidays had been spent at Grimmauld Place, the home to both the Order of the Phoenix and that of his godfather Sirius Black. After the tragedy that happened at the Ministry of Magic thinking about Number 12 still cut Harry to his core. While he no longer blamed himself for Sirius's death the pain was still there and probably always would be. Being back at the Burrow though, it helped to ease the ache in his heart and the fact that he'd spent a short time at his aunt and uncle's house on Privet Drive went a long way as well. Harry had been surprised when barely a week into his summer holiday he'd received an owl for Dumbledore. It had been the first time the Headmaster had sought to write Harry and even more of a surprise when he'd said that he would be coming to pick Harry up to escort him to the Burrow. Seeing Dumbledore at his staunchly nonmagical family's home had been quite amusing. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had always been repelled by magic and their discomfort at having Dumbledore in their living room would be a memory that Harry would always cherish.

He had also been surprised when Dumbledore hadn't just planned to take him from Privet Drive to the Burrow. They had made a pit stop on the way to ambush one of Dumbledore's former colleagues, a former Hogwarts professor. Dumbledore had said he needed Harry's help to convince Professor Slughorn to come out of retirement. Harry still wasn't exactly sure why Dumbledore needed him or why the headmaster thanked Harry for helping convince Slughorn to come back. Harry was sure that he hadn't really done anything at all. By the time they had arrived at the Burrow though he was exhausted.

After Dumbledore handed Harry off to Mrs. Weasley she swept him into the kitchen sitting him down at the table as she started busying herself at the stove. "Look at you, you're like Ron." She said, "He's grown four inches since I've last bought him school robes. It's like the both of you have had a stretching jinx put on you. Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving." Harry said as a ginger colored cat with a smushed face hoped into his lap and started purring. "Hermione is here?" he asked petting the cat, his stomach doing the thing where it flips over at the mention of Hermione's name.

"Yes she arrived a few days ago." Mrs. Weasley said banging pots and pans around. "Everyone is in bed of course. We weren't expecting you for hours." She set the plate down in front of him. "Here you are."

Harry's mouth watered as she set a bowl of steaming onion soup in front of him. "Thanks Mrs. Weasley." He said picking his spoon up and taking the bread when she offered it.

Mrs. Weasley set down across from him, "So did you convince Horace Slughorn to come back?" she asked.

Harry nodded his mouth full of hot food. "Yeah I think so."

"He taught Arthur and me, he was a Hogwarts for ages. I think he started around the same time Dumbledore did. What did you think of him?" she asked.

Harry shrugged, "I'm not sure if I like him or not."

She nodded, "I know what you mean, he can be charming when he wants to be but Arthur never liked him much. The Ministry is littered with old favorites of Slughorn's, he was always good to give leg ups but he never had much time for Arthur-didn't seem to think he was enough of a highflier. That just goes to show that even Slughorn makes mistakes. I don't know if Ron told you in one of his letters, it's only just happened but Arthur has been promoted!"

It was clear to Harry that Mrs. Weasley had been bursting to tell him about it. He knew that money had never been the most important thing to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He also knew that one of the things that had drove a wedge through the relationship between them and their son Percy was what he'd called Mr. Weasley's lack of ambition. What Percy had failed to realize, but it was something Harry had always understood. Mr. Weasley was passionate about his work with Muggles, he was passionate about keeping them safe from wizards who would seek to hurt them. The problem was the Ministry of Magic didn't find that kind of work valuable. It also bothered Harry that the people he considered his surrogate family struggled so while he, Harry, had a small fortune in his vault in Gringotts bank. Now that he'd inherited the Black fortune as well, he was even more flush with gold and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley refused to let him help them. "That's great!" he said with genuine happiness.

"Rufus Scrimgeour has set up several new offices in response to the present situation. Arthur is head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. It's a big job and he has ten people reporting to him." She gushed.

"What exactly-" he started.

Mrs. Weasley answered before he had a chance to finish asking. She went on to explain, that since the return of Voldemort the sale of objects that were supposed to protect against Him had also sprang up. Most of the items were a load of rubbish and some of them were actually harmful to the people who tried to use them. It was Mr. Weasley's job to confiscate these objects and put a stop to the trade of them. It was according to Mrs. Weasley a much more important job than fussing over muggle rubbish.

They chatted on a bit more as Harry finished eating his food. Just before he headed up to bed the hand on that had Mr. Weasley's name on it moved from "mortal peril" to "traveling" and then home. While Mrs. Weasley went over to let her husband in, since the return of Voldemort everyone had started taking security more seriously. Harry looked down at Crookshanks who was still sitting in his lap purring. It was then he allowed himself to think about why his stomach and flip flopped when Mrs. Weasley said Hermione was here. The feeling had taken him off guard but it wasn't unpleasant and it wasn't a surprise. He'd been thinking about Hermione a lot since the events in the Department of Mysteries. Sometime between them tackling that mountain troll during their first year, and now she had become so deeply ingrained not only in Harry's head, for she was the voice inside of his head that drove him to not only be better but do better. She was also ingrained on his heart and in his soul. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened or what he was going to do about it. What he did know was that it was going to have to wait, he could barely hold his eyes opened. After sitting Crookshanks down and bidding Mr. and Mrs. Weasley good night Harry headed up to Fred and George's old room where he fell into bed and into a deep sleep.

It was a beautiful morning at the Burrow, Hermione Granger thought as she made her way down the stairs. Already there was the smell of breakfast wafting through the air making her mouth water in anticipation. Mrs. Weasley was an amazing cook. However, before she had a chance to enter the kitchen, Ginny stopped her. "I would wait until mum calls us." She rolled her eyes, "Phlegm is in there."

Hermione bit back a laugh not wanting to encourage Ginny's bad behavior. "I thought she worked with Bill."

"She only works part time to 'eemprove er Eenglish." Ginny said adopting Fleur's French accent. "I swear she goes out of her way to drive mum mad. This morning she offered to help mum make eggs poached in wine with hollandaise sauce for breakfast."

Hermione whose family often holidayed in France thought the pouched eggs sounded lovely but refrained from saying so. "How long is she here for?" she asked.

Ginny shrugged, "According to Bill, forever. They are engaged, mum hates it. She'd much rather have Tonks marry Bill and I agree with her."

"She can't be all that bad." Hermione reasoned.

Ginny snorted, "You haven't seen Ron around her."

Hermione tried to stomp out the overwhelming surge of jealousy fighting to take her over. "I have." She said curtly, she would never forget how mindless Ron became around Fleur during their fourth year at Hogwarts.

Ginny frowned as she as she watched her friend "You're not still hung up on him around you?"

Hermione gave Ginny a defeated look, "It's stupid, I know."

"I would never say that." Ginny said, "Ron is my brother and I can honestly say he's not worth your time."

"If only it were so easy." Hermione said.

Ginny gave her friend a sympathetic look, "I dimly recall being in a similar situation, so much so that I couldn't even speak when a certain Boy Who Lived was in the same room. Not to mention how often I made a blundering fool out of myself during my first year a Hogwarts over him." She laughed, "Do you remember what you told me?"

"That you should relax and be yourself around him." Hermione said, "But Ginny this is different, Ron knows me."

"You also told me that nobody should have the power to make me feel inferior and that if Harry or whoever couldn't see me for who I was and appreciate me then he didn't deserve me. It's something I never forgot. Now Harry is one of my best mates and I have a wonderful boyfriend, Dean. So, I'm offering you the same advice you gave me."

"Are you disappointed that it's Dean who's you're boyfriend and not Harry?" Hermione wasn't sure what caused her to ask that question. After all Harry was her best friend but the idea of him dividing his attention between her and someone else did give her a twinge of jealousy.

The other girl shook her her head, "I love Harry and I would do anything for him. When I was finally able to get to know him, I realized that I love him like the brother I'd always wanted." She laughed a little when she saw Hermione's confused look. "I know what you're thinking I have 6 brothers, but none of them are the brother I would have chosen. I don't know what I would do without having any of them, even though Percy is being a prat. Harry is my brother who's kind and considerate, I can talk to him about things and he gives me advice. He also has so much baggage that comes with him, and that's not his fault. With Dean, I get to be the center of attention. I don't have to worry every of everyday that something horrible is going to happen, that he's going to die. He's safe."

Hermione didn't have a chance to respond before Mrs. Weasley called to them. "The two of you, get in here before your breakfast gets cold." The girls looked at each other and smiled neither of them missed the almost desperate sound in Mrs. Weasley's voice.

They had both had just set down a the table when Ron skulked in, "Good morning." Hermione said looking up at him and giving him a small smile.

Ron nodded at her as he dropped down in his chair, "Morning." He said then frowned at his mother who was still fussing about. "Who's the tray for?" he asked piling his plate with scrabbled eggs.

"It's for Harry." Mrs. Weasley said.

Hermione felt a small flutter in her heart but ignored it, "Harry's here?" she asked.

Mrs. Weasley nodded, "Poor thing arrive dead on his feet last night. Dumbledore brought him."

Fleur who'd been quiet up until now perked up, "Oh I em most 'appy to see 'Arry again."

Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes, "I just bet you would." She said under her breath.

"Professor Dumbledore was here?" Ron asked with a tone of almost reverence.

"Why didn't you wake us?" Ginny asked.

Mrs. Weasley covered the Harry's breakfast tray, "Why would I wake you; he was only here to bring Harry not for a visit. He's a busy man."

"He's our headmaster we should have been told." Ron said indignantly.

"He's never came here before." Ginny said her tone raising a little.

"We should have been up to welcome Harry," Hermione added.

"Nonsense, like I said Harry was dead on his feet when he got here and Dumbledore only stayed long enough to drop Harry off." Mrs. Weasley said buttering a piece of toast, "Now I want you all to keep it down and let Harry rest. Poor thing doesn't look like he's had much. Can't say I blame him not after what happened to Sirius."

Harry felt like he'd only just closed his eyes when the door to his room flung open and the curtains were pulled back letting the sunlight pour in. "Whasgoinon?" he groaned trying to find his glasses then shielded his eyes from the bright light.

"We didn't know you were here already, mum told us at breakfast." Ron said thumping Harry on the top of the head causing him to grunt.

Hermione set down on the edge of Harry's bed, "Ron don't hit him." She said.

Harry was disoriented and slightly overwhelmed with everything going on. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. More than that he tried not to think about Hermione sitting on his bed instead he looked over at Ron who was grinning like an idiot. "Alright?" Ron asked.

Harry grinned, "Never better." he slumped back against the pillows, "You?"

"Not bad." Ron replied as he set down on a cardboard box. "When did you get here?"

"About one this morning."

"Did your Aunt and Uncle treat you alright?" Hermione asked her voice full of concern, she started to lay her hand on Harry's which was by his side but the moment her fingertips touched the back of his hand they both quickly pulled back.

"Same as usual, they didn't really talk to me all that much." He said looking at Hermione. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but he was sure that she was even more beautiful now than she was a few weeks ago when he saw her last. "How are you, Hermione." He asked straightening in the bed a little more. He hoped that the tone of his voice didn't give away how he felt about, well her.

"Oh, I'm fine." She said giving him a strange look. Harry was sure that she was worried about him because of Sirius and honestly, he didn't want to talk about his godfather or Voldemort for that matter. Not yet anyway, Dumbledore had asked him about Sirius the night before. Harry had explained that he was alright for the most part. He couldn't blame the headmaster for asking, after all when they'd last been together Harry had tried to smash everything in Dumbledore's office. "So um…what time is it?" he asked, "I'm sure I missed breakfast."

"Don't worry about it, mum has you a tray downstairs. She kind of told us not to come wake you but…like I wasn't going to see my best mate." Ron said. "So what's been going on?"

"Not much." Harry shrugged, "I've been with my aunt and uncle haven't I?"

Ron sighed in frustration, "But you've been off with Dumbledore haven't you!" he exclaimed.

Harry laughed and then went on to explain how it had all happened and what they'd done. He told them about their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry still wasn't exactly sure what he thought about the man, well other than he looked a bit like a walrus. He wondered why it was so important that Slughorn come back to Hogwarts at this moment. He knew Dumbledore had his reasons but he just couldn't see it.

"Oh and Dumbledore is going to be giving me private lessons." He finished up lamely. Harry could see the look of shock and envy in Ron and Hermione's faces.

"Did he say what he'd be teaching you?" Hermione, who loved learning, asked.

"Well I mean has to be defensive spells right?" Ron asked, "You know really advanced dangerous stuff that the Deatheaters wouldn't know."

Neither Harry nor Hermione had a chance to answer as the door to the room opened and Ginny walked in. "Hi Harry." She said, "I thought I would give the lot of you a three minute warning. Mum is on her way up with Harry's tray and she'd not happy the lot of you woke him up."

"It's alright, really." Harry said.

"Also Phlegm will probably be coming to."

"Phlegm?" Harry asked.

"Don't call her that." Ron said.

Ginny rolled her eyes and Harry didn't miss the look she shot Hermione. It was then that he remembered a fact that he'd known for quiet a while. Hermione had feelings for Ron, that complicated things. Not that Harry was sure exactly what he wanted to do about how he was feeling for Hermione. It did piss him off a little that Ron was so oblivious to what an amazing girl Hermione was and that he would be lucky to have her. Of course, the part that wanted Hermione for himself didn't want Ron to wise up and see what Harry had been seeing for years. What mattered to Harry most was that she was happy, if she thought Ron would make her happy then Harry would let it lie.

Alright so that's chapter one, I will have chapter to for you all soon and it will finish out them being at the Burrow leading to them going to Diagon Alley. So let me know what you all think.