Opening Author's Note: Soooo, yeah... I guess it has been a while since I have added to this 'Missing Moments' series. Whilst I did say that updates would be infrequent, it has been a bit too long. So after a hiatus of—oh bloody hell—six years? Well, my sincerest apologies to anyone that might have been awaiting an update. If it is any sort of consolation, I did also just release another short Hermione and Ron one-shot yesterday (or the day before?) that is a bit of a 'Missing Moment'. That one, however, takes place in First Year and is called Chess. If you enjoy this series and/or this chapter or any other chapters, I would appreciate you reading that as well and leaving your thoughts.

Disclaimer: All characters, places, etc. are the intellectual property of Ms J.K. Rowling and her affiliates. I own nothing but this somewhat creative and hypothetical potential missing moment.

Background: At the end of chapter fourteen in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione approaches Ron and Harry after they had stopped talking to her for a period of time in order to inform them that she had heard back from Hagrid about Buckbeak's case and that they had lost. At the start of chapter fifteen, Ron and Harry read Hagrid's letter and Hermione informs them that Lucius Malfoy had threatened and coerced the committee members into voting to execute Buckbeak before Hermione adds:

"There'll be an appeal though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope… Nothing will have changed."

"Yeah, it will," said Ron fiercely. "You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I'll help."

"Oh, Ron!"

Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down completely. Ron, looking quite terrified, patted her very awkwardly on the top of the head. Finally, Hermione drew away."

—Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, pp 290-292 US Edition

Growth and Reconciliation

Continuing past the patrolling trolls to return to Gryffindor Tower together, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter walked back in silence, though in a much more comfortable silence than the 'Golden Trio' had experienced for a little while. Everything that had transpired between them had seemingly been forgotten as the need to support Rubeus Hagrid and Buckbeak weighed heavily on their minds.

Upon reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry stepped through and announced that he needed to meet up with Oliver Wood for yet more training sessions for the upcoming Quidditch final. Hermione and Ron followed him through the door and wished him luck as he raced upstairs to grab his broom.

"Hey Hermione?" Ron asked as Hermione and he made their way into the Gryffindor Common Room. "You're going to be working here for a while, right?"

Hermione nodded silently, unsure whether she trusted herself to speak in her current state. The amount of reading she had to complete, the essays she needed to write and review, the note from Hagrid, recently making up with her two best friends, and remembering that she had just broken down and literally thrown herself at the boy speaking to her resulted in Hermione feeling the beginning of a headache and the return of the now frequently occurring sense of being completely overwhelmed.

Ron paused for a moment before he nodded in return and turned to follow Harry upstairs. Feeling a familiar sense of loneliness as she watched his retreating form, Hermione took a deep breath before sitting down in her favourite armchair and set down her overpacked and heaving book bag next to her just in time to catch Harry rush back through the portrait door with a hurried 'good bye' on his way out. She murmured another 'good luck' to him and managed a tired smile as he left, looking down before the portrait closed behind him to begin yet another long night of solitary study in the Common Room, missing the sound of the portrait opening and closing a second time after Harry's departure.

As she began unpacking several books, quills, parchment, and ink, Hermione paused momentarily as she considered what to start on first. Catching sight of Hagrid's letter amongst her rolls of parchment, she dug out a couple of books she had checked out from the library to assist in Buckbeak's defence as well as a neat, separate roll of parchment that she had compiled with her notes and references for the case. Looking back and forth between one of the books and her notes, Hermione sighed and again began the process of looking up dates and court cases that she had bookmarked. Becoming so absorbed in her work, she completely missed both how much time had passed as well as the faint sound of the portrait opening and closing again.

It was with a rather large shock that she was brought out of her concentration by the sound of another book bag being dropped down next to her and the sudden realisation that a second armchair had been moved beside her own. Looking up in surprise, her vision was met with a saucer and a large steaming cup of tea complete with a small selection of biscuits. Looking up further, her confused brown eyes met the cool, blue eyes of Ron that had an expression mixed of concern, unease, and regret.

Still unsure what was going on, Hermione's gaze went to the floor where Ron's surprisingly full book bag sat beside her own, to the chair that Ron seemed to have pulled up to sit next to her, back to the cup of tea and plate of biscuits, and then finally back to meet Ron's eyes again. Hermione's mouth opened ever so slightly in clear confusion. Ron's ears were rather pink as he cleared his throat nervously before speaking.

"I, err... I figured you probably had not eaten much like you have had a bad habit of doing as of late so, err... On my way back from the library, I stopped to get you something. I know it's not much, but..." he trailed off as Hermione continued to stare at him, her expression nearly bordering on absolute bewilderment.

"You... you went to the library? On your own?" she asked hoarsely.

Had she been feeling better, she might have considered goading him by teasing him with a remark questioning how he managed to find it on his own and whether he had ended up there on purpose or not. Instead she watched him set the cup and saucer and then the small plate down onto the table in front of her gently before she simply asked, "Why?"

He pulled out two books from his bag, An Exhaustive Review and Analysis of Notable Court Cases of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Fourth Edition and Hippogriffs and Wizards: A Thorough History, Discussion, and Analysis of the Unique Relationship. Hermione's face somehow managed to appear even more confused as Ron finally seemed to relax a little bit and sat down next to her. His ears, however, remained a vibrant shade of pink. Looking over at the books and notes in front of her, he nodded towards them as he opened his bag to grab some parchment for himself.

"Is that your work for Hagrid and Buckbeak's case I assume?"

Feeling thoroughly speechless, she merely nodded as Ron gently pulled the parchment towards him and shifted her books closer to himself.

"I'll take this over then. You should take a short break before you start your homework in your mad desire to take every single class Hogwarts has to offer. You have enough on your plate," he said as he nudged the saucer and plate towards her. Looking up at her to meet her eyes with a nervous, yet cheeky grin he added, "Finish this plate before you tackle what's on the rest of yours."

Hermione heard a soft giggle that she realised had come from herself. Looking down at the still steaming cup of tea and plate of biscuits, she looked up at him in question again. Perhaps misinterpreting her expression, Ron looked down at his trainers abashedly.

"It's not much," he repeated as he nervously ran his hand through his hair. "But Dad always brings Mum a hot cuppa Earl Grey and a few biscuits when she's stressed and hasn't eaten much."

Hermione felt her eyes beginning to water as the overflowing 'plate' she had previously reviewed internally suddenly saw the addition of more emotional contents in the form of Ron Weasley being what she considered to be the kindest, most generous, and thoughtful friend ever. A friend she thought she had lost. The subtle comparison he had just made through his sharing of the background of his decision to get her tea and biscuits further added to the emotions that were flooding her to the point she was close to bursting.

Whilst the potential meaning behind the comparison probably went completely unbeknownst to him, Hermione felt herself flush ever so slightly and managed to restrain herself to an extremely uncharacteristically nervous smile. It took an impressive amount of what little remained of her composure to hold back the beaming smile that was straining to be freed—a smile that might have seen some of her most private thoughts be expressed in a way that would surely be mortifying (perhaps even worst of all, potentially another giggle!). She took a shaky breath as she willed herself to keep all of her now bubbling emotions from overflowing again and overwhelming her. She noticed the plate of biscuits shift closer to her as Ron pushed it nearer to her, his ears now colouring to the point that they were rivalling his hair.

"I know we haven't exactly been on the best of terms and we haven't really been having meals together... And you obviously don't want to be listening to me try and tell you what to do..." he rambled slightly. "I do know that you haven't been eating much though. So please eat a little something Hermione. I've been—I mean we, as in me and Harry, we've been worried about you."

That was it. With that last nervous admission (even with the obvious near slip-up/coverup), Hermione felt everything just break. For the second time in just a couple of hours, she found herself yet again throwing herself into the arms of her slightly scared, partially panicked, but overwhelmingly confused best friend.

When she thought her emotions could not be strained any more as her face lay buried in his chest with her eyes soaking the front of his jumper, she felt the typically immature and incredibly confused boy pause halfway towards patting her on her head again. In a move that sent a slight surge in her stomach and made her heart warm, she felt Ron awkwardly wrap his lanky arms around her.

Sure, his arms were stiff and she could almost see his eyes probably going wild in confusion and could almost hear him confirming to himself that girls were indeed absolutely mad, but it was a hug. Sort of. It was progress at least and in the end, she knew that she had her best friend back. She recalled briefly how he had called her out weeks or perhaps even months ago on her schedule that should have been impossible without time travel or being in two places at once, and how he noticed her disappearances when no one else did. He saw her.

This was more than just a simple friendly gesture for her; it was a confirmation that Ron truly was a loyal friend. It was a confirmation that yes, he was still immature, and he might have a temper and speak before thinking sometimes, but he cared. This moment, whilst emotionally overwhelming for both of them and something that would never be brought up again, this was more than mere reconciliation. It was growth.

Closing Author's Note: I'm thinking I should try and patent or trademark my typical storytelling ploy of getting Hermione and Ron together alone—make Harry have to go play Quidditch or something and make him go bugger off haha. Now if you are concerned at how overwhelmed Hermione comes across here, hear me out! Remember that as I hinted at earlier in the story, Hermione has an immense workload that probably includes reading several chapters per class and homework that most likely is comprised of writing lengthy essays, all for an ungodly number of classes—so many classes that she needs a ruddy Time Turner just to attend them all! In addition, she has been having a row with her two best mates, potentially leaving her with little to no real friends, and then she has had the additional workload of researching court cases in order to try and help Hagrid and Buckbeak, only to find out that it was essentially all for naught due to the slimy actions of Mr Lucius Malfoy. Combining all of these factors and then throw in a recently renewed friendship with her two best mates and Ron's rather uncharacteristically thoughtful actions throwing her for a loop… Look, I'm a bloke and just the mere thought of trying to process all of those emotions is a bit overwhelming and I wrote the bleeding scenario! Regardless, I hope if you found Hermione a little out-of-character that you can take it with a pinch of salt and/or at least enjoy the story and hopefully will leave me some feedback as well.

Tell me what you liked, your favourite part, favourite line… Did anything actually make you smile, genuinely make you say 'aww', or perhaps even literally make you laugh out loud? As always, I do of course welcome constructive criticism. I am not a professional story writer—far from it (random and unnecessary fact: I am a recently graduated history student)—so my storytelling skills are extremely amateur. My procrastination skills and ability to become distracted and forget about things, however, are top class! In all seriousness though, I will genuinely try and make an update happen more often than one should receive a tetanus shot. Cheers.