And So it Goes

Summary: Ron now knows about Harry and Hermione, how will this rift be mended? Also in this chapter, while it is only just a glimmer, we are starting to steer down the darker side of this tale. 'Dark and difficult times ahead, Harry.' EXCERPT: As they lost sight of the hippogriff in the distance, Harry looked at Hermione, "We are back for three days, THREE DAYS, and it has already started."

A/N - Thank you for all of the reviews everyone! I originally was not going to get this chapter out until Saturday, but what can I say, you inspire me. As we move on, I hope you continue to enjoy. Either way, please continue to review - I do take to heart your compliments and your suggestions. Oh - two more things -yes, I did use “Somewhere I Belong” in the middle of chapter two, but it's lyrics and music really capture his pain for me, hence, why I am using it a second time. Lastly, this is shorter the the other chapters since it is really the bridge into a very long chapter 6.

Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong

*When this began I had nothing to say

And I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me

I was confused, and I let it all out to find that I'm

Not the only person with these things in mind

Inside of me

*But all the vacancy the words revealed

Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel

Nothing to lose

Just stuck, hollow and alone

And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own

*I want to heal, I want to feel

What I thought was never real

I want to let go of the pain I've held so long

*Erase all the pain til it's gone, I want to heal, I want to feel

Like I'm close to something real

I want to find something I've wanted all along

Somewhere I Belong

*************************

"Well, that went well," Hermione said sarcastically. She hadn't moved from the couch, but rather was now sitting there cross-legged, staring into the fire.

Harry bent down, picked up the paper, moved to stand behind the couch, and while looking at Hermione's writing added, "So much for 24 hours."

"He'll be fine, a right sight mad at us for a while, but he can't be mad forever," said Hermione.

"Well, I know that he fancied you last year, but that's only because of the way he acted when he was around you. And even then, it wasn't all the time. Plus, he never actually said anything directly to me about how he felt. I'm not so sure that he is mad about us, but more so, he is mad that we didn't tell him straight off," Harry said, as he stepped around the couch, wadding the paper up and throwing it into the fire.

"Still, I hate when he is mad at either one of us," Hermione said, as Harry moved to sit next to her but then stopped.

"Hang on..."Harry said, as he shifted his gaze towards the window.

"What is it, Harry?"

"I swear I just saw Buckbeak."

"What?"

Hermione was now up and moving towards the window with Harry. As soon as they spotted the scene below, Hermione let out a gasp and covered her mouth, while Harry silently remained transfixed with what they were watching.

Red sparks were flying everywhere across the lawn. All that Harry and Hermione could make out from the high common room window was that the battle was four against two. It was too dark to make out faces, but the four were successfully pushing the two away from the castle. Suddenly, one of the two receding figures pulled out, from the pocket of their cloak, a small box which was pulsing a golden light from all sides. They held the box out toward the four, who upon seeing the glowing object, ceased their attack. The other part of the duo was hiding behind the first and had shot up blue sparks from their wand when the attack had momentarily stopped. The hippogriff, Harry now realized, was not Buckbeak. It had been circling near the castle until it spotted the sparks, to which it swooped down, landed, and the two bodies jumped on to it's back. Within seconds, they were flying off into the Eastern night sky.

As they lost sight of the hippogriff in the distance, Harry looked at Hermione, "We are back for three days, THREE DAYS, and it has already started." He returned his focus back out the window.

"Harry, how do you know that this is about you?"

Harry continued to look outside for a moment more before he turned and faced Hermione, leaned in and softly kissed her on the lips, and answered her saying, "I'm going upstairs to get Ron."

As he passed her, her expression changed to one of confusion. "Wha - why now?" But Harry continued to climb the steps.

************

Harry stepped into his bed chamber to find Seamus, Neville, and Ron all at the bedroom window, deep in conversation. On spotting him, they all ceased talking.

"I take it you saw what just went on outside?" Harry asked.

They all nodded. Ron then spoke up, "Could you make out who any of them were?"

"Not at all, you?"

Ron shook his head 'no'. He then stood up and headed to the door, motioning for Harry to follow him. Once they were just outside the door, Ron opened the conversation.

"Ya know what...I was mad earlier because you hid it from me, mate. I have known you wanted to be with her since the end of last year. Why else wouldn't I have gone after her myself? It's just, I had to find out from my sister, and that was pretty embarrassing since you are MY best friend."

Harry's eyes flew wide open in shock at finding out that Ginny had told Ron about the paper, but he chose to dismiss it for the time.

"Why are you suddenly alright with this, when just an hour ago your looked so angry? I mean, don't get me wrong, I was coming up here to apologize."

"You saw what just went on outside, right?" Ron asked.

And then there was a pause. Ron knew. He knew that those people out there DID have something to do with Harry, even though neither Ron or Harry knew what that 'something' was right now. That knowledge was the same thing that motivated Harry to come up to smooth things out with Ron in the first place. Sirius always told him to keep his friend close and he needed Ron and Hermione more than ever.

Ron broke the silence again by trying to comfort Harry, "I mean...maybe it doesn't have something to do with you. None of the professors are up here yet, and you haven't been summoned to go see Dumbledore or McGonagall, so for right...."

"It's alright Ron," said Harry, interrupting Ron's rambling, "just give it time, they'll be here." Another pause momentarily consumed their conversation.

"I'm sorry, for not telling you sooner, about Mione and me," Harry said.

"No need, just don't feel you have to keep things from me...well, some things you can keep - I don't want to know any details from when you two snog and all that, but everything else is fine."

Ron's attempt to lighten the mood worked, and they both laughed, before Harry said, "You have a deal, Ron. Speaking of which, I just left her down there, I have to let her know we are all fine now."

***************

Once Harry reached the bottom of the steps, he scanned the common room, but didn't see Hermione.

'Maybe she went back up to bed?' he thought.

He crept back up to her dorm and snuck in, only to find her bed empty.

'That's strange, I don't think she would have left the common room, not right now.'

He headed back down the stairs, and as he glanced over at the fireplace, he noticed some spirals of brown hair dangling over the arm of the couch. Hermione had curled up on the couch and had used the invisibility cloak as a blanket to cover herself. Harry softly laughed at how funny this picture was - just Hermione's hair and eyes, everything else invisible.

Harry quietly crept over to the side of the couch and knelt down to wake her up. 'Deja vu,' he thought, as he gave out a little laugh.

Hermione heard him and her eyes slowly opened to focus on his.

"I figured out why you left...that's why I didn't come after you. Is he O.K.?"

"He's actually better than O.K., he's fine with us."

"Then why was he so angry?"

"Ginny."

"Come again?"

"She told him."

Hermione just closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "Why would she do that to me?"

"Hermione, you've seen how she looks at me. It has been that way since we first met. She probably figured that if Ron disapproved, than you and I would split out of concern for how he felt."

Harry waited for second, just staring at her, and then leaned in a gave her a small kiss "Come on, we have to go get some sleep, 'Mione. I don't know what the events of tonight are going to play into my tomorrow."

Hermione paused before she answered. "You know what, I don't know about tomorrow either, but...," she sat up and moved the cloak aside as she started to pull him down to lay next to her, "I do know about the present, and that's all that is going to matter to me right now, I just want you near me."

Harry disregarded his first impulse, which was that they should not fall asleep in the common room. He also disregarded his second impulse, which was to at least go and get his old watch, so that they had an alarm and could be up before the rest of the house. He followed his heart instead. He covered he and Hermione with the cloak, laid alongside her, and they spent the next few hours wrapped in each others limbs. Every now and then during the course of the night, they would wake up to kiss the other on the cheek, on the neck, or on the lips; passionate ones fueled by simple raw urges, or soft, lingering ones fueled by fear.