It was nice to think about Ron's family wanting him there for his birthday, especially since he hadn't even met half of them yet. He was having some doubts about his fight theory now though. Sure, Ron's against studying when he doesn't have to but Harry doubted things would've escalated enough to be called a fight over it, let alone result in any "awkwardness," as Hermione put it.
He hoped Ron's next letter would help clear things up.
'Hiya Harry,
Don't know if you got my first letter or not. Errol looked more tuckered out than usual when he got back and it wouldn't be the first time the old coot dropped a letter. When I told her you hadn't wrote back Hermione said she sent you one too. Maybe that's why Errol looks dead. Does Hermione even have an owl?
Can you believe she's already onto us about our homework? We've got two whole months left! I said it before, mate, she's bloody mental. Nosy is what she is. What do you think, and what'd she say to you anyway?
I let slip that you hadn't ever had a proper birthday so now Mum's all on board for having you around before then if we can swing it. Dad's been bogged down at work a lot so who knows when they'd find the time. Fred and George said we should just steal the car and fly there ourselves, and if we miss your birthday we might just have to do that.
Anyway, hope to see you soon and don't do any more work than you have to!
Ron'
This letter did more to damage his fight theory than anything else. Sure, Ron seemed a bit more agitated about being prodded into studying, but that might've just been for something to say or get a response. Calling Hermione 'bloody mental' and 'nosy' certainly wasn't the way to keep a friendship going though. Harry was beginning to wonder if there ever had been a fight at all. But if there hadn't, what had Hermione's second better-to-bin-them letter been about?
Harry didn't think Ron had any ground to stand on to call anyone nosy though since he tried to find out what Hermione had said to him in the first place. He doubted Ron had ever heard the phrase "pot calling the kettle black" but reckoned if he threw in 'cauldron' for 'kettle' he'd get the gist.
His theory now horribly strained, Harry opened the last letter, hoping he hadn't built this whole thing up over nothing.
'Dear Harry,' Hermione started. 'I hope your summer's going well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk my parents into stopping by Diagon Alley on our way out of London so I'm afraid it's going to be a very long ten weeks for me until school starts back.'
Harry actually smiled at that. Leave it to Hermione to think ten whole weeks without a new book to be the definition of a grueling summer.
'Luckily there's always homework,' she continued. 'I've taken the liberty to write professors McGonagall and Flitwick asking if there was anything I could do in the meantime to prepare for next year. Hopefully they'll write back with something, though hoping they respond with copies of the relevant texts would probably be too much to ask.'
Harry had to cover his mouth for fear that any escaping laughter would draw the Dursleys down on him like a pack of hungry hippos. He wouldn't put it past Hermione to try and set up some sort of owl delivery summer check-out program for the library as soon as she got back, just to make sure this never happened again. 'A book a day's just an owl away!' Harry thought humorously.
'Perhaps you could use this opportunity to actually do the History of Magic reading you were supposed to this year? That was a joke, by the way. It'd be nice to think you would but I don't honestly expect you to do it. I'm not sure Ron gets that there are times when I'm somewhat less than completely serious.'
'Speaking of vexing concerns,' Harry could almost see her eyes rolling and lips thinning in frustration here, 'there's been an issue weighing on me that I hesitate to bring up.'
Harry sat up in his chair. He had been right after all it seemed; there wasn't just "basic stuff" here.
'I tried addressing it while you were still in the Hospital Wing but that led to a rather awkward conversation with Ron. I know I shouldn't have, given the conversation we just had, but under the circumstances I really didn't have anywhere else to turn, so I asked him to ask you about it. I don't know whether he has or not but it's time to pluck up the Gryffindor courage I'm supposed to have and simply do it myself. I apologize in advance if I start to ramble or go on tangents, it's not often I write without a concrete outline.'
Harry smiled and shook his head.
'I suppose it all started during those three days you were in the hospital wing - I'm so sorry, by the way, I never should have left you to face You-Know-Who alone. As soon as I saw Professor Dumbledore I knew that Snape would have made those potion bottles refill themselves somehow. How else was the trap supposed to work an indeterminate number of times, let alone let Professor Dumbledore pass through after you had already gone?'
She had a really good point there, Harry had to give her that. How could they have missed it? Then again, they were more concerned with Ron being knocked unconscious and the possibility of Harry's own imminent death to really give the matter much thought at the time.
'I suppose it'd be more precise to say it had started last Halloween, and I had only realized what was happening later on. You see, all my life I've been driven to prove to myself and others- ,' she added in a nasty scrawl, nearly tearing the parchment with the force she used. '-that I'm good enough.
You didn't just save my life that night, Harry, you changed it. Before then, I never really had a friend. I never really saw the point in them besides having someone to review with. Even then no study buddy I had ever seemed to be able to do it for very long before wanting to run off and play and I always had far too much to do to let myself join them.
That's what you did that night. I don't know if it was the shock of almost dying or the fact you jumped ten feet in the air just to get the troll away from me, but whatever it was you became the one person in the entire castle I was comfortable with. I didn't have to push myself to learn everything all at once. I still studied, but that was to show snots like Malfoy they weren't better than everyone because of an accident of birth.
For the first time though I had people around me I liked, people who liked me, and I was able to just give time to myself too. I read what I was interested in, not just to supplement what we learned in class, and even went out with the rest of the House to watch you play Quidditch. I'll never get how the game's supposed to be competitive when catching one ball is enough to score as many points as fifteen goals combined, but while I'm watching I found that I don't care!
This last year has been an amazing one for me, and it all started that night. I'm just now starting to see a completely different route my life could take, one where I could do things for myself - not just because they're expected of me. All of those possibilities came crashing down though when I left you to face You-Know-Who alone.
It was only then I realized just how central a figure you had become for me. I know it sounds corny but I honestly couldn't imagine what my life would be like without you. It certainly wouldn't be anything good. I also realized just how little I actually knew about you. I guess what I'm saying - in a roundabout way - is that you've really impressed me, Harry, and I would like to get to know you better. Whether that evolves into something more later on - would certainly be a possibility worth looking into.
Always Yours, Hermione'
'Well,' Harry thought as his face began turning a brilliant shade of Gryffindor red. 'That certainly wasn't about a fight.'