Circle of Friends

Author’s Note: This story begins as Ginny Weasley is sitting in her parent’s house. The story starts out with Ginny relating her feelings on the events that will occur in this story. The idea for this story came from the movie “Circle of Friends”. This story will not follow that plotline verbatim or anything like that, but if you’ve seen the movie, you might pick up on some similarities. The movie “Circle of Friends” is really quite good and one of my favorites. It is based on a novel by Maeve Binchy. If you have the chance, you should either read that book or watch the movie. Again, this story is inspired from that movie/book, but is not a retelling of that particular story. Now, that I’ve thoroughly confused you…ha ha ha! I will try not to use too many cliffhangers (that’s probably an empty promise). Anyway, this story is set during the Trio’s seventh year at Hogwarts. I hope you enjoy this one. I look forward to writing it. This first chapter is quite short, and I apologize for that, but I hope you aren’t disappointed.

Chapter One

Beautiful Disaster

“He's magical myth
As strong as what I believe
A tragedy with
More damage than a soul should see”

(Kelly Clarkson/Beautiful Disaster)

Ginny sat down on the comfortable sofa in the Burrow and pulled out her journal. She’d kept one for the longest time. This had been a gift from her brother Charlie when she turned 16. She’d neglected it the first few months she’d had it, but she’d needed an outlet to air her feelings and her emotions through all the drama that had enfolded these past few months. The journal had been quite cathartic for her. She pulled out a quill and ink from her bag and started to write…

“In retrospect, I suppose we should have told everyone the truth to begin with. It would certainly been for the best and it would have saved a lot of people a lot of heartache. Well, there’s nothing that can be done about it now. We did what we did and now we have to live with the consequences of our actions. I never meant to hurt anyone. I just got myself into a very bad situation that I had no idea how to get out of. My savior came along and yes, I admit, I did pressure him into helping me. I played on his sympathies. I made him feel as if he owed me for it. When in all honesty, he didn’t owe me a damn thing.”

“It was I, who got me into this mess. Well, that’s not entirely true. There was someone else involved, but he chose to stay out of it and left me alone, scared and terrified. If my family had known the truth…I don’t really like to think about that now. They would have killed him, disowned me and then where would we be?”

“I was selfish. I realize that now. I couldn’t see past anyone’s pain, but my own. In the process, I hurt people who I considered good friends---one of which, I thought of as a sister. I also inflicted great pain upon my family---my parents, my brothers. They don’t look at me the same now. I’m damaged goods, so to speak.”

“I would do anything for their forgiveness, but I know I don’t deserve it. I deserve the disparaging looks I get on a daily basis now. I don’t like them, but I realize that they are a punishment for what I did.”

“The worst bit, though, is how I feel about what I did. I hate myself for it. I’ll never forget the looks on their faces when I gave them my version of “the truth.” They had no idea how bad it actually was.”

“I made my bed and now I have to lie in it, as that old proverbial saying goes. I wish someone could perform a memory altering spell on me so I can forget what I’d done. Yet, I know that wouldn’t be right. I have to live with the consequences of my actions, no matter how vile and horrible they were. I had honorable intentions, didn’t I? That’s what I like to comfort myself with when I have doubts and am feeling at my lowest. How can I say that, though? It’s never an honorable thing to hurt your friends; to betray them in the worst way. It’s hardly honorable to bring shame upon your family. Yet, with my silly actions, that’s exactly what I did.”

“I’m not saying these things to make you feel sorry for me. I’m not saying these things to get your pity. I don’t want those things, at all. I just want you to understand why I did what I did.”

A year ago…

The seventh and final year at Hogwarts for Harry, Ron and Hermione started out with a sense of promise and peace. Harry had seemingly finally been able to come to terms with the loss of Sirius. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d made it through, mainly with help from Hermione and Ron, who’d been at his side through it all.

Harry had vanquished Voldemort fully and finally last year. The battle had been long, hard and tough. Harry had never fully discussed with anyone, save Dumbledore, about what had actually transpired that night in the Forbidden Forest. Hermione and Ron had wondered of course, but he’d remained tight-lipped about it. Having to relive it once for Dumbledore had been hard enough. He didn’t need to do it again. Ron had been quite cross about it all, but Hermione had figured that when Harry was ready to talk, he would. You never got anywhere with Harry if you pushed him to reveal more than what he was ready to let you see.

Stories ran rampant, not only in the papers, but also on the Hogwarts grounds and throughout the wizarding villages. Harry, when asked, would politely decline to answer and would say that he wasn’t comfortable talking about it.

Hermione had to admit that it hurt that he didn’t feel like he could talk about it with his best friends. Yet, she also knew that sometimes, people had certain things going on in their lives that they just weren’t ready or willing to talk about yet. She accepted that, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

The worst part was that Harry had seemed sort of quiet and withdrawn lately. It was to be expected after all that he’d been through. He would still laugh and joke around with them, but sometimes, Hermione would look at him when he was studying or sitting in the common room, and he’d have this lost little boy expression on his face. This only made her heart go out to him even more.

She wanted to have a chance to talk to him, face to face and one-on-one, but her schedule hadn’t allowed it. She and Harry had been named Head Boy and Girl and these duties had kept both of them pretty much preoccupied.

Hermione had to admit that one of the perks of being Head Girl had to be the fact that she had her own bedroom. Don’t get her wrong, she hadn’t hated living with Lavender and Parvati these past six years. That was a little strong. She just didn’t think she’d be able to put up with their incessant squealing and giggling for another year. It was just too much to deal with when you’re trying to study or read.

The Head Boy/Girl suite was absolutely fantastic. Hermione had heard about it for years, but she’d never expected it to be as great as it was. The room was a large suite with its own common room that had two large, comfy couches. There was a large, stone fireplace and a large bay window with a comfortable window seat that seemed like the perfect place to read and study. Hermione had fallen in love with it immediately.

Her bedroom and Harry’s bedroom were separated by a large bathroom that had both a shower and an antique looking bathtub. Hermione looked forward to having nice, soothing bubble baths in that tub.

That evening, Hermione arrived back at their suite carrying an armload of books.

“Hermione?” Harry asked, getting up from the couch and helping her with the books.
”What is all this?

“Books,” Hermione said simply. “I had to check them out now. McGonagall said they’d help me out with N.E.W.T.S. You’re welcome to them, too, you know.”

“Thanks,” he said. He watched as she placed them on the big table in the corner of the room. “I brought you back some food.”

”Thanks,” she said, smiling gratefully at him. “I was wondering what I was going to do for dinner. I lost track of time in the library.”

“Imagine that,” Harry said, bringing her the sandwich he’d nicked from the kitchens for her. He poured her a glass of juice and she sat down at the table to dig in to her food.

“This is so good,” she said, taking a bite. “I was famished. “

“You’re welcome,” Harry said, starting to walk away from her and go back to the sofa.

“Sit with me, please,” she said, calling after him. “I mean, if you’re not busy or anything. I’d really like the company.”

He looked a little confused, but smiled at her as he came back to the table and took the seat beside her again.

“I’ve missed you,” she said.

”What do you mean?” he asked. “We see each other everyday.”

“You know what I mean,” she said. “We haven’t really had a proper conversation since we got back.”

“Well, we’ve both been busy,” Harry said evasively. “I was beginning to think you were going to take up residence in the library.”

“As much fun as that’d be,” Hermione said with a laugh. “I happen to know that all work and no play make Hermione a dull girl.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?” Harry asked. “Are you feeling well?”

“I’m fine, Harry,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes at him. “I mean, I know I can, at times, seem obsessed with school, but I know that there are more important things than schoolwork.”

Harry looked at her quizzically again.

“Oh, come off it,” Hermione said. “You know that I’m not just all about school. I care about my friends. I care about how you’re doing. I hope you know that.”

“I do,” he said, patting her on the arm. “I know that.”

“Good,” she said.

“Believe me, with all the patrolling we’ll be doing together, you’ll probably be sick of talking to me before too long,” Harry said.

“That would never happen,” she said. “As long as you don’t start talking about Quidditch all the time. Ron has become a walking, talking Quidditch machine lately. He’s always talking about it. Fred told me that he’s talking about quaffles and snitches in his sleep.”

“Well, he wants to try and make a go of it professionally, you know that,” Harry said.

“I know,” Hermione said. “Molly isn’t too happy about that.”

“No,” Harry said. “But, if it’s what he wants to do, I know she’ll support him.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said.

For a long time, they sat in silence. Hermione took another bite of her sandwich and offered Harry some.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “This has to be the biggest sandwich I’ve ever seen. I’m never going to be able to finish it all myself.”

“Okay,” Harry said, taking the sandwich from her and taking a big bite.

“Hey,” Hermione protested.

“What?” Harry said, with his mouth full.

“That was a bite?” Hermione said, taking her sandwich back. “Merlin’s beard!”

“You said I could have some,” Harry said, stifling a laugh. He covered his mouth as he continued to chew the bite of sandwich.

“I said a bite, not the whole bloody thing,” Hermione said.

“Note to self,” Harry said, winking at her. “Next time Hermione offers me any food, just say no to avoid all conflict.”

“Good idea,” Hermione said.

For the next few minutes, they talked and enjoyed each other’s company. Nothing earth-shattering was discussed, but that was alright for Hermione. Harry seemed to be getting back to normal. She enjoyed just talking with him. Too often in the past, she’d had to share him with Ron. Although she’d never told them this, at times, she felt a little like a third wheel where they were concerned. Although she loved them both, if she was being honest, she knew that she was closer to Harry than she was with Ron. Harry was someone she could always talk with. She knew that he’d always listen. She hoped he thought of her the same way.

After Hermione finished her sandwich, she and Harry decided to retire for the night. As Hermione approached her bedroom door, Harry called after her.

“Hermione?” he said.

She turned to see him gathering up his shoes and books from in front of the couch.

“Yeah?” she asked him.

“I missed you, too,” he said, smiling at her.

She felt as if she could have melted right then and there with those four little words from him. What was happening here? She couldn’t help, but wonder.

“Good night, Harry,” she said, smiling at him.

“Good night, Hermione,” Harry said.

Author’s note: Two chapters in one day. Don’t get used to it. This was probably a fluke! I had a productive Sunday with this one. I hope you enjoy. You will get a hint as to what’s going on with Ginny in this chapter…

Chapter Two

Complicated

“I'm so scared that the way I feel,
Is written all over my face
When you walk into the room,
I wanna find a hiding place.
We used to laugh, we used to hug, the way that old friends do.
But now, a smile and a touch of your hand,
Just makes me come unglued.
Such a contridiction, do I lie or tell the truth.
Is it fact or fiction,
Oh the way I feel for you.”

(Carolyn Dawn Johnson/”Complicated”)

“Is she looking over here again?” Ron asked in a hushed tone to Harry.

“Is who looking over here?” Harry asked confused.

“Loony Lovegood, of course,” Ron said. “She keeps looking over at me with a spacey look all over her face.”

“When has she not had a spacey look on her face, Ron?” Harry asked. He was about to look over at the Ravenclaw table when Ron nearly jumped out of his seat.

“Don’t look over there!” Ron exclaimed.

“You just asked me if she was looking over here,” Harry asked. “If I’m going to tell you whether or not she is, I’d have to look over there, Ron.”

“If you look over there, it’ll just encourage her,” Ron said. “She’s mental.”

“I believe that’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Harry mumbled.

Ron was about to say something in response, when Hermione came in and took her customary seat across from the boys.

“Hey,” Harry said. “I was going to wait for you for breakfast, but you were gone by the time I woke up.”

“I know,” Hermione apologized. “I had to do some—“

“Reading,” Harry and Ron finished for her.

“Am I that predictable?” Hermione asked with a smirk.

“Yes,” Ron said. “But that’s what we love about you.”

Hermione smiled as she helped herself to some toast and marmalade.

“So what heated conversation were you two on about?” Hermione asked.

“Nothing,” Ron said. At the same time Harry said, “Luna Lovegood.”

“Ah,” Hermione said, smiling at Ron. “The woman who’s captured your heart.”

“She has not captured my heart,” Ron said crossly. “She’s looking over here at me.”

“Hermione turned around to look at the Ravenclaw table.

“Don’t look over there!” Ron exclaimed.

Hermione snickered as she saw that indeed, Luna Lovegood was looking in their direction with a dreamy expression all over her face.

“She is staring at you, Ron!” Hermione said, turning around to face him.

Ron’s face flushed red.

“Well, with the two of you looking over there at her, she’s going to think that I fancy her, too,” Ron said.

“What would be bad about that?” Hermione asked him. “She’s a nice girl when you get to know her.”

“She’s a nightmare, Hermione,” Ron said. “Back me up on this, Harry.”

“She’s not that bad, Ron,” Harry said. He caught Hermione’s eye and they shared an amused glance with each other.

“You wouldn’t be saying that if she was after you,” Ron protested.

“Well, I don’t think I’m her type,” Harry said. “It seems to me that she prefers tall, red-headed prats.”

Hermione snickered and nearly spit her orange juice out.

Ron slammed his spoon down and stood up at that remark.

“Ron,” Hermione called after him, but she dissolved in a fit of giggles.

“I pushed that a little too far, didn’t I?” Harry asked her.

“A little, but he deserved it,” Hermione said when she’d managed to get it together. “You know, if he’d give her a chance, he might find out that he likes her.”

“Well, you know how he is,” Harry said, taking a sip of his juice.

“Yeah,” Hermione said. “He’s too into appearances. You know, you can never judge a book by its cover. You know, if you had done that, we’d might not have been friends.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked her, confused.

“Well,” Hermione began. “I mean, I know how I was when we first came here. All bushy-haired bookworm-ish. I was a nightmare.”

“No, you weren’t,” Harry said.

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it for me,” Hermione said honestly.

“Well, you might have been a little,” Harry said. “But I for one am glad that you’re my friend. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Hermione looked up at him in surprise. For the longest time, her brown, chocolate eyes were fixed on his green, emerald eyes. No words were spoken.

“Really?” Hermione finally whispered.

”Really,” Harry said, his gaze still focused solely on hers.

“What did you two do to my brother?” Ginny said, sitting down beside Hermione. Harry tore his eyes away from Hermione and looked at Ginny.

“What, um, what are you talking about?” Harry asked her.

“He came running into the common room complaining about you two and not having his back on important things,” Ginny said. “Having his back? Where in the world did he get an expression like that from?”

“My fault,” Harry said. “I took him to see some Muggle movies this summer. I think he picked up on some of the lingo, so to speak.”

“We were just teasing him about Luna, Ginny,” Hermione said.

Ginny nodded knowingly.

“She’s crazy about him,” Ginny said. “I can’t tell you how much she talks about him. I think she knows more about him than I do, and I’ve known him all of my life.”

Ginny helped herself to some oatmeal and toast as she watched Harry and Hermione gather up their belongings.

“Are you guys going?” Ginny asked.

“Yeah,” Hermione said. “We have to meet with McGonagall about the patrol schedule.”

“Oh,” Ginny said. “Alright, then.”

“See you,” Hermione said, following Harry out of the Great Hall.

Ginny took out her book to finish up her reading assignment, but to her surprise Draco Malfoy sat down beside her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, not looking in his direction. “People can see, you know.”

”Since when do I care what people think?” he asked her.

“Since when haven’t you?” she asked coolly.

“Meet me tonight in the empty classroom on the third floor,” he whispered.

”Not tonight,” she said. “I have homework.”

“As do I,” he said. “But you’ll be there, right?”

“I shouldn’t,” she said softly. “We might get caught.”

“That’s part of the fun, isn’t it?” Draco said. “The thrill of it all, actually.”

“How romantic you are,” Ginny said sarcastically.

“Thank you, Red,” Draco said, smirking at her. “You will be there, won’t you?”

She looked down at her plate of food. She knew she shouldn’t. She knew it was wrong. Yet, she wanted to go. She needed to go.

“Okay,” she said, finally looking at him. She saw the hint of warmness in his eyes and nearly felt as if she’d melt. “What time?”

“Nine,” he said. “Don’t be late.”

With that, he got up from his seat and walked away.

“What am I doing?” Ginny thought to herself. This was all getting way out of hand. If her parents knew what she was doing, what would they think? If Ron knew, he’d probably kill Draco.

She’d never told anyone this secret—the deepest, darkest secret she’d ever had.

It had started the last month of school last year. Malfoy had cornered her in the library. He said he needed help on his charms homework. She hadn’t wanted to help him, but he’d actually been nice, to her surprise.

She’d been attracted to him, almost from the start. She knew it was foolish. He was a Slytherin; the bitter rival of her brother, Harry and Hermione. She knew he’d done terrible things. Yet, when he was with her, he was nice and sweet. She laughed even now as she thought of the words nice and sweet to describe Draco Malfoy.

Yet, he was those things when he was with her. Their late night study sessions evolved quickly into something more. When he’d kissed her that first time, she’d been pleasantly surprised.

Now, everything seemed to be spiraling out of control. They hadn’t gone all the way yet, but it was getting harder and harder to stop.

It hurt, though, that they couldn’t walk down the halls together. They couldn’t share meals together. They couldn’t go into Hogsmeade together. Some things just weren’t done. No matter how much you wanted them, sometimes it just wasn’t possible to get everything you wanted, Ginny would tell herself.

She tried to stay away from him, but that had been a losing battle. She was in love with him. She didn’t know if he felt the same way. He’d never said it, but sometimes…

Well, she didn’t need to think about that now. She had to get to class. She quickly took one last bite of her oatmeal and then packed her book away and walked briskly out of the Great Hall.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Harry was sitting in Transfiguration trying to concentrate on what McGonagall was saying, but finding it awfully difficult. He and Ron were sitting at their desk right behind Hermione, who was sitting with Neville.

He and Hermione hadn’t mentioned what had happened earlier that morning at breakfast; which was a blessing, because to be honest, Harry had no idea what had happened.

Maybe he was just reading too much into it. It was just a perfectly innocent longing look between two people, right? Harry tried to reason with himself.

Longing look---where did that come from, Harry wondered. If Harry was being honest, he’d felt differently toward her for a long time. He wasn’t sure when he’d started to think of her as more than a friend, but here it was.

She probably didn’t feel the same about him. Why would she? She’d dated Viktor Krum, hadn’t she? Well, that was another thing. She never really came right out and told them what she and Viktor Krum were actually. She’d only confirmed that they’d written to each other over the past few months. Her trip to Bulgaria had never materialized.

He never broached the subject with her, because frankly he didn’t want to know the answer. He didn’t want to hear that they’d been dating or having a long-distance relationship.

“Mr. Potter,” Professor McGonagall was saying, interrupting his thoughts.

“Yes, professor?” Harry asked, focusing his attention on his professor. He tried to ignore Hermione’s concerned expression. She was turning around staring at him; her eyes wide.

“I’m sorry if my class is interrupting your daydreams, but could you please focus your attention for just a little longer, please?” McGonagall said sternly.

“Yes, professor,” Harry said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

McGonagall nodded and went back to her lecture. Hermione continued to look uncertainly at Harry. She mouthed the words, “Are you okay?” to him.

He nodded and tried to smile convincingly at her. She didn’t seem to buying his “everything’s okay” stance. Nevertheless, she turned back around and went back to taking notes.

This was about to get complicated, Harry said to himself. Very complicated.

Author’s Note: I’m so glad you guys liked the beginning of this. I promise you will see more of Ron/Luna in the next couple of chapters. This one is going to deal mainly with H/Hr and D/G. Please read and review.

Chapter Three

The Right Kind of Wrong

“I know all about,
Yeah, about your reputation
And now it's bound to be a heartbreak situation
But I can't help it if I'm helpless
Every time that I'm where you are
You walk in and my strength walks out the door”
(The Right Kind of Wrong/Leann Rimes)

Later that evening, Harry and Hermione were patrolling the corridors. They were supposed to each take a certain wing of the castle, but had decided that it would make the time go by faster and more enjoyable if they patrolled together instead.

Neither of them would admit to the other that they just wanted to spend time together.

“This has to be one of the perks of the job,” Harry said, somewhat sarcastically. “Walking the halls at all hours and making sure no mischief is being done.”

“It’s not that bad,” Hermione said.

“Yeah, well I feel sort of like a hypocrite when I tell the younger students to stop doing something or that they shouldn’t be somewhere they shouldn’t be,” Harry said. “Ron and I and you pretty much brought rule breaking to an all new art form, didn’t we?”

Hermione looked a little taken aback. “We didn’t rule break, Harry. We may have bended the rules a little, but our intentions were always good. We never did anything out of spite or to get anyone else into trouble.”

“That’s an interesting way to put it,” Harry said, stifling a laugh. “So, let me get this straight. Rule bending is okay, rule breaking isn’t okay?”

“Not exactly,” Hermione said, enjoying the banter with her friend. “I think that in some cases, rules are meant to be broken. In other cases, they’re meant to be bent. It all depends on the individual situation.”

“Okay, so sneaking out of the dorms to go chasing after the Sorcerer’s Stone, and stealing ingredients from Professor Snape’s potions cabinet-“

”Not stealing,” Hermione interjected. “Borrowing. Big difference.”

“Uh-huh,” Harry said, his eyes twinkling at his friend. “Ron and I have corrupted you, you know that? I swear you never used to think like that.”

“You know I don’t always go along with the establishment,” Hermione said pointedly. “I mean, there’s been numerous times when I could have toed the line, so to speak, but I didn’t.”

“Thanks to Ron and I,” Harry said.

“Well, you should be very proud of yourselves,” Hermione said. “You’ve corrupted Hermione Granger, bookworm and rule-bender extraordinaire.”

“One of my most important accomplishments,” Harry said. “In fact, if I ever make it onto a Chocolate Frog card, I want to make sure that they put that on the back.”

Hermione laughed and then there was a sort of awkward silence between them as they walked the silent, deserted halls. Hermione shivered as she wished she’d worn a thicker sweater under her robes.

“Cold?” Harry asked her as they turned the corner.

“No,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “I’m fine.”

“I didn’t know that the sound of teeth chattering meant that you were perfectly fine,” Harry mused. “I must have missed that somewhere. Well, it goes to show you that you do learn something new everyday.”

”I’m a little cold,” Hermione admitted. “It was a lot warmer this afternoon, you know?”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “You want to take my robes?”

“I couldn’t do that,” Hermione insisted. “Besides, you’d be cold.”

“I’ll be alright,” Harry said. “Take it.”

He took his robes off and handed them to Hermione. She looked a little uncertain. Harry was wearing a flannel shirt and a t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

“You’re sure?” Hermione asked.

“I’d be insulted if you didn’t take them,” Harry said, holding them out to her again.

“If you’re sure,” Hermione said.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake, Granger,” a cold voice drawled from down the hall. “Take Potter’s robes.”

Hermione and Harry turned around to see Draco Malfoy, smirking as he walked toward them.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked him.

“Walking, Potter,” Malfoy said coolly. “What does it look like I’m doing? And to think they made you Head Boy. It must not have been for that keen intellect. You make Longbottom look like Einstein.”

“Sod off, Malfoy,” Hermione said, glaring at him. “It’s after nine. You’re supposed to be in your dormitory.”

“The day I start taking orders from a Mudblood like you is the day I’ve lost my bloody mind,” Malfoy retorted.

Harry quickly rounded on Malfoy and grabbed hold of the Slytherin’s jumper. He pushed Malfoy hard against the wall.

“If you ever call her that again, I’ll beat the brains out of you, Malfoy,” Harry said angrily.

“Harry, don’t,” Hermione said, trying to hold him back. “He’s not worth it.”

“Listen to your girlfriend, there, Potter,” Malfoy said, sneering at Hermione over Harry’s shoulder.

“Malfoy,” Hermione said, pulling her wand from her jeans pocket. She pointed it threateningly at Malfoy.

“Ease up, Potter,” Malfoy said. “You, too, Granger. I was just walking back from the library.”

“The library is in the other direction,” Harry said, letting go of Malfoy.

“So, I took the scenic route,” Malfoy said. “Is that a crime?”

“Twenty points from Slytherin for roaming the halls after hours,” Hermione said.

“Why don’t you take those twenty points and shove them up your-“ Malfoy began.

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I was you, Malfoy,” Harry said, taking another step toward his rival.

“Go on about your merry little stroll with Granger, Potter,” Malfoy said. “I’m just heading back to my dorms now. I didn’t mean to intrude on the sickeningly sweet flirtatious banter between the two of you. Carry on.”

With that, Malfoy strode away. Hermione looked at Harry, whose fists were clenched tightly at his side.

“Well, that was certainly eventful,” Hermione said, at a loss for anything else to say.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked, turning to look at her properly.

“Yeah,” she said. “I don’t take anything he says seriously, you know that.”

“I know,” Harry said. “I’m so sick and tired of dealing with him though. You’d have thought when his dear, old dad was sent to Azkaban, he might have mellowed out some. Instead, it looks as if he’s trying to take Lucius Malfoy’s place as the cold, heartless bastard in the Malfoy family.”

“He’s doing a pretty good job,” Hermione said. “Let’s not worry about him, anyway. We were having a perfectly, normal, boring time patrolling, weren’t we?”

“Fantastic,” Harry said, with a smile. “It doesn’t get better then this.”

Hermione laughed as they walked on. Harry wanted to stop her and say that he really did enjoy spending this time with her. Despite the fact that they were walking down cold corridors and keeping the peace, he enjoyed spending time with her, one-on-one.

He, on the other hand, had no idea, that she felt the same way.

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

“You’re late,” Ginny whispered as Malfoy finally made it to their designated meeting place.

“Don’t blame me,” Malfoy said. “I was cornered by your brother’s best friends in the hall.”

“They didn’t know that you were coming here, did they?” Ginny asked, worriedly. “I mean, they surely couldn’t have suspected.”

“Relax, Red,” Malfoy said, stepping closer to her. “They’re none the wiser.”

“Easy for you to say,” Ginny said softly. “I’ve never liked sneaking around like this behind everyone’s backs.”

“You say that every time we meet,” Malfoy said, his voice seemingly softer. “Yet, you keep coming back, each and every time. “Why is that?”

Ginny didn’t answer. She sat down on the edge of the table.

“I’ll tell you why,” Malfoy said, stepping closer to her. “You keep coming back because you can’t get me out of your head any more than I can get you out of mine.”

His face was inches away from hers. She felt her breath catch in her throat as he put his hand to her face. He cupped her chin in his face and then hungrily leaned in for a passionate kiss.

Ginny forgot all about her guilt. She forgot about her shame. She forgot about everything, but the sensation of his warm lips on hers.

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

“So,” Harry said, as they finally made their way back to their suite and through the portrait hole. They both fell back onto the couch and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

“So,” Hermione echoed. She stifled a yawn.

“Tired?” he asked her.

“A little,” she admitted. “This year is going to bloody kill me.”

“Don’t get carried away,” he told her. “Have a little fun every now and then.”

“Easy for you to say,” she said.

“It’s easy for you to say, too,” he said. “You’ve just got to prioritize.”

“I do prioritize,” she said. “I’m famous for prioritizing.”

“Well, schedule in some downtime, every now and then,” Harry told her. “You’re not a machine, you know? You need to relax and unwind just like everyone else.”

“Well, when am I supposed to schedule this downtime?” Hermione asked him.

Harry looked thoughtful for a few moments. He snapped his fingers.

“Leave it to me,” he said. “I will show you the rewards and benefits of downtime.”

“And when is this going to start?” Hermione asked.

“This weekend,” Harry said.

“Hogsmeade weekends don’t start until next month,” Hermione reminded him. “We can’t leave school grounds.”

Harry grinned almost wickedly at her.

“I think it might be time for some of that rule-bending again, Miss Granger,” Harry said, beaming at her.

“Rule-bending, Mr. Potter?” Hermione asked, laughing. “What did you have in mind?”

“That would spoil the surprise,” he said. “Leave it to me.”

She looked a little skeptical, but nodded her head.

“Okay,” she said. “But, it better be good.”

“Oh, it will be,” he said, getting up from the couch. “It will be.”

“Don’t I even get a hint?” she asked, watching in shock as he walked toward his bedroom.

“Not even a hint,” he said, laughing.

Hermione felt a large smile playing at her lips as she watched him walk into his bedroom and close the door softly behind him.

“What is he planning?” she mused silently to herself. She lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. A few moments later, Harry came back out of his own bedroom and saw Hermione asleep on the couch. He smiled as he stepped quietly toward the couch. He pulled a blanket from the armchair and draped it over her.

“Good night, Hermione,” he whispered.

Author’s note: Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. I really appreciate your comments and feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter. You’ll see some Ron/Luna interaction as well as some more Harry/Hermione. No D/G in this chapter, but Ginny and her odd behavior lately will be mentioned. The next chapter will be Harry/Hermione’s night out.

Chapter Four

You Set Me Free

“When I was alone
You came around
When I was down
You pulled me through
And there's nothing that
I wouldn't do for you

'Cause I wanted to fly,
so you gave me your wings
And time held its breath so I could see, yeah
And you set me free’

(Michelle Branch, “You Set Me Free”)

The following Friday afternoon, Hermione and Ron were in the library studying. Well, to be honest, Hermione was the only one studying. Ron was leafing through a Quidditch magazine. Hermione would look up every now and then to roll her eyes at her friend, but if he noticed, he didn’t even let on.

“You’ve been in here for two hours, Ron,” Hermione said, not looking up as she scribbled some notes on her parchment. “And you’ve not accomplished a thing.”

“I have so,” Ron said indignantly. “I’ve learned all about how the Chudley Canons put together winning season after winning season.”

“And that will help you on McGonagall’s test tomorrow, how?” Hermione asked, looking up at her friend.

“I’m going to study,” Ron said, shutting his magazine. “I’m pacing myself.”

“Pacing yourself?” Hermione asked. “Procrastinating is more like it. Do you know if you put any of your energy into reading and studying as you do with Quidditch, you might make a fairly decent student?”

“Why bother?” Ron asked. “I mean, I’m going to be a professional Quidditch player. I’m not going to need to know any of this stuff.”

“You will,” Hermione said. “Besides, as my dad always says, it’s always good to have something to fall back on in case your original plan doesn’t pan out.”

“I could work for Fred and George,” Ron said. “They’d have to hire me…I’m family.”

Hermione suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at her friend.

“Where’s Harry?” she asked. “I thought he was going to meet us here after he met with Professor Dumbledore.”

“He was,” Ron said. “He said he might be a little late. He was going to help Ginny with some Quidditch plays that she was having trouble with.”

At the mention of Ron’s little sister, Hermione put her quill down.

“Ron,” Hermione said. “About Ginny, I’m sort of worried about her. She hasn’t been herself lately.”

“She seems okay to me,” Ron said, picking his magazine back up and quickly leafing through it again.

“Well, maybe it’s female intuition, but something seems a bit off,” Hermione said. “She seems a little withdrawn.”

“Now that you mention it, she does seem a little spacey lately,” Ron said. “And jumpy, too. I ran into her this morning in the halls and she nearly jumped out of her skin.”

“You don’t think she’s gotten mixed up into something again?” Hermione asked, concern showing all over her face. “I mean, you remember how quiet she was during her first year here. None of us knew what was going on with her and that diary and Tom Riddle.”

“I don’t think it’s anything like that,” Ron said, reassuringly. “She’s probably just stressed out. She’s always saying she needs to go to the library.”

Hermione looked taken aback by this last sentence. Hermione, who spent the majority of her free time in the library, knew for a fact that she hadn’t seen Ginny in the library at any time in the past few weeks.

“Maybe,” Hermione said softly. She went back to looking at her own book, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on with Ginny. She didn’t want to pry, but maybe if she offered to listen if the younger girl needed to talk, that would help. Ginny was definitely hiding something.

At that moment, Harry came striding toward them and Hermione looked up and felt the butterflies in her stomach as he winked at her.

He sat down beside Ron and dropped his own books on the table.

“Did you get Ginny sorted out?” Ron asked.

Harry nodded. “Yeah, she showed up 15 minutes late, though.”

“That’s not like her,” Hermione said. “What was her excuse?”

“She said she stayed after class to help Professor Sprout clean up,” Harry said, absently. He opened up his book and settled in to begin reading.

“Don’t worry so much, Hermy,” Ron said. “She’s okay. She’s just probably stressed like I said.”

“Don’t call me ‘Hermy’, Ron,” Hermione snapped at him. “You know I can’t stand that name.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Ron said, trying not to laugh. “I think it’s a term of endearment. I call you ‘Hermy’ because you’re my friend.”

“Oh?” Hermione asked. “Well, if we’re following that line of thinking, surely you wouldn’t mind if I called you ‘Carrots’ or ‘Ickle Ronniekins’. Or, while I’m at it, I could start calling you ‘Big Stupid Prat’.”

Harry laughed. Ron looked affronted at his best friend.

“Harry,” Ron said.

“Sorry, mate,” Harry said. “But that was funny.”

“Yeah, hilarious,” he said. “I’m always happy to amuse you.”

“We’re always happy to be amused,” Hermione said sweetly.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “Thanks for that.”

“Okay, okay,” Ron said, defeated. “No more ‘Hermy’ from me.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Well, I better get going,” Ron said, putting his magazine away in his knapsack.

“Why?” Hermione asked him.

“I think I’m going to squeeze in a nap before dinner,” Ron said.

“Did all this studying wear you down?" Hermione asked, sarcastically.

“Yeah, it did,” Ron said, yawning. “I think I owe myself a nice, quick nap for all my hard work.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said. “You’re studiousness inspires me, Ron. I hope to be just like you when I grow up.”

“Work hard enough and you just might,” Ron said, cheekily, getting to his feet.

“See you guys later,” Ron said, walking away.

“He’s a piece of work,” Hermione said, watching as he walked away.

“Yeah, there’s only one like him,” Harry said.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other and said at the exact same time.

“Thank Merlin!”

They both snickered at this and shared a look before they both returned to their studying.

***********

“You aren’t a very good student are you?” a dreamy voice said behind Ron.

He was nearing the staircase to Gryffindor Tower when he heard the female, dreamy voice coming from behind him. He turned around expecting to see a beautiful girl behind him, but frowned when he saw it was just Luna Lovegood.

“What?” Ron asked, continuing to walk up the stairs.

“I was watching you in the library,” Luna said softly. “You were reading a magazine and driving your friend Hermione Granger absolutely mad.”

“You were watching me?” Ron asked, turning around to face her. “Do you follow me around, too?”

“Just a little every now and then,” Luna said simply.

“Why?” Ron asked. “Surely, I can’t be all that fascinating to watch.”

“On the contrary,” Luna said demurely. “I find you positively mesmerizing.”

“Me?” Ron asked, rolling his eyes. “What could I possibly do that’s ‘mesmerizing?’”

“You have nice eyes,” Luna said softly. “A girl could get lost in them.”

What in the world was going on, Ron wanted to ask. All he wanted to do was head up to his bedroom for a quick nap and here he was face to face with Loony Lovegood, who was basically admitting to stalking him.

“You need your head examined,” Ron said.

“Why?” Luna said. “Maybe it’s you that needs your head examined.”

“Me?” Ron asked.

“Don’t be so close-minded, Ronald,” Luna said. “You know, sometimes you can miss out on things because you just write them off as nothing. If you really give someone or something a chance, you might find out that they or it could be a worthwhile experience if you’d only let yourself be open to it.”

“Are you speaking English?” Ron asked her, flustered.

“I think so,” she said dreamily. “Think about what I said.”

He watched as she smiled at him before turning to walk away. He stood there, frozen in place, not really sure what had just happened. That girl was absolutely off her rocker, Ron muttered to himself as he ascended the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

*****************>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

“So,” Hermione asked, looking up at Harry. “What are you planning?”

“I can’t tell you,” Harry said. “It would spoil the surprise. You don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“Well, can’t I have a hint?” she asked, pouting.

“The puppy dog look isn’t going to work, Granger,” Harry said. “I’m not budging on this one.”

“Oh, just tell me one thing,” Hermione asked. “Tell me one hint and I’ll keep quiet.”

“That’s such a sacrifice, Hermione,” Harry said, still looking down at his book. “Being as we’ll be doing this thing tomorrow evening.”

“Ah-hah!” Hermione exclaimed. When a couple of students looked crossly at her, she cupped a hand over her mouth. “So, it’s happening at night.”

“Yes,” Harry said. “There’s your hint. Tomorrow night after lights out, you and I will be setting off for a pre-determined location.”

“Are you sure we won’t get caught?” Hermione asked, a touch of worry to her voice.

“You are giving the rule-benders of the world a bad name,” Harry said, his eyes twinkling. He was enjoying knowing something that she didn’t and holding it over her head.

“Okay,” she said. “I won’t worry about that. I’m sure that you have it all covered. I put all my faith and trust in you that we won’t get caught.”

“Good,” Harry said.

Hermione smiled at him.

“Are we going to tell Ron about this?” Hermione asked him.

“No,” Harry said. “It’s just you and me. If that’s alright.”

Is that alright? Hermione asked herself silently. She had to stop herself from screaming out “That’s bloody fantastic!”

“Sure,” Hermione said. “If that’s what you want. That sounds good to me.”

She hoped that she sounded nonchalant.

“It is,” Harry said, seriously. “It is what I want.”

Harry’s cheeks flushed red as the realization of what he said hit him.

“I mean, it’s no reason to get Ron into trouble, too,” Harry said quickly. “You know that if we were to get caught---purely hypothetical---we wouldn’t want to get him into any trouble, as well, right?”

“Right!” Hermione said, nodding. “Of course. Great thinking, Harry.”

Harry looked down at his watch. “We better go and get Ron for dinner.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said, putting her books, parchment and quill away.

“So what should I wear tomorrow night?” she asked, as she waited for Harry to put his own things away.

“Clothes,” Harry said. “Clothes would be a good idea. I mean, if you wanted to go stark naked, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but where we’re going, they might look down upon that.”

Hermione opened her mouth in surprise. She gave her friend a look of indignation and punched him hard on the arm.

“Hey!” Harry said. “I said that I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

“What am I going to do with you, Harry Potter?” she asked, as they walked out of the library.

“Put up with me like you always do,” Harry said, his eyes twinkling at her.

“That sounds about right,” she said, following him down the corridor. “That sounds about right.”

Author’s note: You can credit a snowy day in North Carolina for this chapter. I had nothing else to do but drink massive cups of hot chocolate and write this chapter! I hope you enjoy it. The song for this chapter comes from an old, old song that I absolutely love.

Chapter Five

The Way You Look Tonight

“Someday, when I’m awfully low

When the world is cold

I will feel a glow

Just thinking of you…

And the way you look tonight”

“Oh, but you’re lovely

With your smile so warm

And your cheeks so soft

There is nothing for me, but to love you

Just the way you look tonight”

(written by Jerome Kern and Dorthy Fields and sung by many artists)

Hermione awoke Saturday morning with a smile on her face. Today was the day. The day for what, she didn’t know. The suspense was nearly killing her. Harry was walking around all last night, smug and content over the fact that he knew something she didn’t. It was infuriating beyond belief. Yet, tonight all her questions would be answered. A small part of her wondered if after tonight, she’d just have more questions.

She told herself not to think like that. This was probably just a little friendly get-together. It was probably just his way of being a good friend to her and getting her out of the castle to have a good time. There was no need to get all romantic and gushy over a guy who was never going to see her as more than a friend or a sister.

At least, that’s what she told herself to think. It didn’t matter that her heart wouldn’t allow her to think like that. Though she was a sensible, logical person, she was also a romantic at heart. She liked sweet, sappy movies. She cried at weddings. She even listened to sad music every now and then. She was a girl, after all, even if her two best friends refused to see it.

She quickly showered and dressed. She pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a plain grey sweatshirt. She pulled her hair back with a headband and slipped on some socks and trainers. She knocked on the door to Harry’s room, but was surprised when he didn’t answer. She looked down at her watch. It was nine o’clock. Usually, Harry slept in on Saturdays, unless he had Quidditch practice. Yet, it couldn’t be Quidditch because he had mentioned to her that he hadn’t scheduled a practice this weekend.

Oh, well, she muttered to herself. He was probably out planning whatever it was they were going to be doing tonight, she thought.

As she was making her way out of the portrait hole to their suite, she caught sight of Ginny walking down the corridor just a few feet ahead.

“Gin!” Hermione called out. “Wait up!”

Ginny turned around and Hermione’s heart went out to the younger girl at once. She looked pale and listless. Her hair was a little messy and she wore no makeup. Her clothes were somewhat wrinkled and she looked as if she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in Merlin knows how long.

“Hey, Hermione,” Ginny said softly. “I was just heading down for breakfast. You’re up early.”

”Yeah,” Hermione said, falling into step with her friend. “But this is normal for me. You know that I’ve never been one to sleep in.”

Ginny gave a half-hearted laugh.

“So, I haven’t seen much of you these past few days,” Hermione began. “Is everything going okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Ginny said. “I’ve just been really tired lately with all the classes and things.”

“I can understand that,” Hermione said sympathetically. “You know that if you ever need help or someone to study with, I’d be happy to help you. I mean, I know we’re not in the same year and everything, but I had the same lessons last year that you’re having now, so…” she let her voice trail off.

“Thanks, Hermione,” Ginny said. “But I think I just need to sort everything out for myself right now. I appreciate the offer, though. I’ll keep that in mind if I get too bogged down in everything.”

“Please do,” Hermione said. She stole a glimpse at Ginny and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was definitely going on with Ginny. Yet, Hermione didn’t want to pry. At least, she’d told Ginny that if she needed someone to talk to, Hermione would be there to listen.

“So, have you got any plans for this weekend?” Hermione asked her as they walked into the Great Hall. The place was not full, by any means. Most of the students did take advantage of the weekends to sleep late. If Hermione had to venture a guess, she reckoned there were only about 30 students in the room at the moment. No teachers were present at the staff table.

Ginny simply shook her head. “Not really. How about you?”

Hermione thought for a moment.

“I don’t really know,” she said truthfully. “I guess I’ll just see where the weekend takes me.”

Ginny nodded.

Hermione didn’t notice that as she and Ginny took their seats at their house table, Draco Malfoy walked into the Great Hall, followed by his ever-present cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione also didn’t see Malfoy wink discreetly at Ginny, who stifled a smile.

“Have you by any chance seen Harry or Ron this morning?” Hermione asked Ginny as she helped herself to some toast and marmalade.

Ginny didn’t answer.

“Ginny?” Hermione asked, looking at her friend, who seemed to be staring off into space behind Hermione. Hermione turned her head to see Ginny staring at the Slytherin table.

“What’s going on?” Hermione asked Ginny. Her friend broke out of her reverie and focused her attention back on Hermione.

“Nothing,” Ginny said. “I was just looking at Crabbe and Goyle stuffing their faces. They’re almost as bad as Ron.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said, still not really convinced. “Don’t go telling Ron that. I don’t imagine he’d like hearing that he had anything in common with those two thick idiots.”

Ginny smiled. “You’re probably right.”

Ginny and Hermione continued eating and for awhile, Ginny seemed back to normal. They discussed simple, easy things and everything seemed fine. Hermione was glad. Maybe, she’d worried for nothing over her friend.

Luna Lovegood approached their table.

“Would you mind if I sat with you?” Luna asked. “I know we usually don’t do that, but there are not many people here and I didn’t think anyone would mind.”

”Of course,” Ginny said, ushering her friend to have a seat.

“Thanks,” Luna said. “So, I guess I’m not the only one who gets up early on the weekends.”

“No,” Hermione said with a smile. “So, how have you been, Luna?”

”Okay,” Luna said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. “I’ve been wanting to ask McGonagall if she’d let me publish a school newspaper.”

“Really?” Hermione asked, intrigued. “I think that’d be an excellent idea.”

Luna smiled. “You think so?”

“Yes,” Hermione said. “I’ve always thought it a little odd that we never had one before now. You’re not, I mean, it’s not going to be like—“

“Like my father’s paper?” Luna finished for her. “No, I wasn’t thinking of a tabloid style paper or anything like that. Maybe, a little like The Daily Prophet, but with less nonsense and rubbish.”

“I think that’s a great idea, Luna,” Ginny chimed in. “I’d love to help you out.”

”Me, too,” Hermione said. “I mean, my schedule’s pretty full now, but I’d love to help you anyway I can.”

“Thanks,” Luna said. “Well, the first thing is getting McGonagall to agree.”

“She will,” Hermione said. “She loves stuff like that. I mean, it’s not like you’re asking Snape for permission. Then, I’d say you had a snowball’s chance in hell for that to happen.”

Luna giggled. “Isn’t he creepy? I mean, I’m into the strange and unusual, but he’s about more than I can take.”

Ginny snorted with laughter. “That’s putting it mildly.”

She looked up to see her brother and Harry walking into the Great Hall.

Ron stopped nearly dead in his tracks when he saw who was sitting at their table.

“Did you forget how to walk, Ron?” Harry said, who had nearly bumped into Ron when his friend had stopped abruptly.

“Look who’s at the table!” Ron hissed to his best friend.

“Ginny, Hermione, and Luna,” Harry said, looking at the three girls.

“Exactly,” Ron said. “What does she want?”

“Probably to eat breakfast,” Harry said. “Like I want to do.”

“Harry!” Ron said, pulling his friend back. “We can’t sit with her.”

“Why not?” Harry asked. “She’s just sitting there, eating. Do you think she’s just waiting for you to sit down so she can jump your bones?”

“Well,” Ron said, flushing. “Yes, to be honest.”

“You give yourself too much credit,” Harry said. “She’s harmless.”

”You wouldn’t be saying that if she was chasing after you,” Ron said.

“That’s because she’s chasing after you,” Harry said. “Which come to think of it does prove she’s kind of mental. I mean, anyone who would fancy you must have a few screws loose.”

Ron smirked at his friend. Harry walked toward the table, laughing. Ron, reluctantly followed. He made it a point to sit far away from Luna. He took a seat on the other side of Ginny, while Harry sat down beside Hermione.

“Good morning,” Harry said to the girls.

“You sure are in a happy mood this morning, Harry,” Hermione said, looking at him.

“Of course,” Harry said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione said, staring at him. “You were out and about early this morning, weren’t you?”

“Ron, Seamus, Dean and I had a pickup game of Quidditch,” Harry said.

“You didn’t clear it with the wife, Harry?” Ron asked, laughing.

Hermione’s cheeks flushed hotly.

“I didn’t say he had to clear everything with me, Ron,” Hermione said crossly. “I just know that he doesn’t usually get up early on weekends. I was a little concerned when I knocked on his door and he wasn’t there.”

“Oh, I was wrong,” Ron said, inhaling a scrambled egg in nearly one bite. “You didn’t clear it with your mum first.”

“Ron, you are a disgusting pig,” Hermione said, her mouth agape at him, shoveling his food in. “You must have been raised in a barn.”

“What?” he asked, his mouth full. “I’m a growing boy. Can I ever eat a meal in peace?”

“I was just wondering when you’d eat a meal with manners,” Ginny said.

“See, now you’ve got my sister in on your mothering act, Hermione,” Ron snapped.

“Leave me out of this,” Ginny said. “I just spoke the truth. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt you to learn some manners.”

“I’ve got manners,” Ron said, as a piece of jam from his toast fell onto his shirt.

While Hermione and Ginny looked at him in disgust and Harry with amusement, Luna was looking over at him with a look of utter adoration. Ron, who’d been trying to ignore her, was now acutely aware of her.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“Hello,” Ron said, uncomfortably.

Ginny, Hermione and Harry shared a knowing look.

“Harry,” Hermione said. “Why don’t you take your breakfast back to our suite? I was going to help you out with that assignment.”

She looked pointedly at Ron and Luna. Harry’s clueless expression went away as he caught on.

“Oh,” he said, gathering up his plate and mug of juice. “Yeah, right.”

Ginny, too, wiped her mouth with her napkin.

”I better get going, too,” Ginny said. “I have some reading to catch up on.”

Ron looked helplessly at his friends.

“Guys,” Ron said.

“Bye, Ron,” Hermione said sweetly as she led Harry away. Ginny followed behind them.

Ron gulped as he and Luna were alone.

“Alone again,” Luna said.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a sip of his juice. “I guess so. You, um, don’t have to stay here to keep me company. I’m a big boy. I can eat alone, you know.”

He prayed she’d take the hint.

“I don’t mind,” Luna said. “You sure do have a hearty appetite.”

“Not you, too,” Ron said, rolling his eyes and putting his fork down hard on the table. “Why does everyone have to pick on me about how I eat?”

“I wasn’t going to pick on you, Ron,” Luna said. “I was just making as astute observation.”

Despite himself, Ron found himself smiling.

“So you don’t think I’m a pig?” Ron asked her.

“No,” she said. “I know you are, but its okay. It’s who you are. You can’t expect anyone to be any different than who they are.”

“I wish more people thought like that,” he said, relaxing for the first time since he’d sat down.

“You shouldn’t care so much what people think,” she said. “It can hold you back.”

Ron looked up at her in amazement.

”You don’t care what people think, do you?” he asked her.

“Not especially,” she said, helping herself to a muffin. “I mean, I have to life my life as I want to and do the things that make sense to me. It doesn’t really matter to me if anyone else understands it as long as I do.”

“I know what you mean,” Ron said. “It’s like me with Quidditch. My mum thinks it’s a total waste of time to think about a career in that professionally, but I absolutely love to play. I can’t see anything else that I want to do with my life, but that. You probably think it sounds like rubbish, too, huh?”

Luna looked thoughtful for a few moments before answering.

“Not at all,” she said. “I’ve seen you play before. You look like you’re having the time of your life. I get that way about my writing. Nothing else on earth is quite like it.”

For the first time since he’d known her, Ron actually enjoyed talking with her. It surprised the hell out of him, but at the moment he didn’t question it or wonder what everyone must think. He just talked to her and at the moment that was all that mattered.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For the first time in a long time, Hermione was finding it absolutely impossible to concentrate. When she and Harry made it back to their quarters earlier in the day, he’d left her alone in the common room. He hadn’t divulged any information to her other than that she should dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes because they’d be doing some walking where they were going.

She’d expected him to elaborate a little more, but to her disbelief he’d left her alone in the common room. But, not before saying, rather cheekily, “And, if you wanted to opt for the ‘no-clothes’ thing, again, I would not be opposed to that.”

She’d laughed and thrown a pillow at him, which had missed him completely and knocked over a glass on the table.

Her curiosity had threatened to get the best of her the majority of the afternoon. She’d tried to listen at his door, but had only been greeted with silence.

So, she’d read. She’d written some letters and even walked up to the owlery to send them off. These things had occupied her time, but certainly hadn’t occupied her mind. She couldn’t stop thinking about this evening and what it could possibly hold.

When she’d returned back to their suite later that evening, she’d found a note that told her not to eat dinner because they would be eating out tonight.

She smiled as she read the note. She looked at her watch. It was nearing 7 p.m. In just a couple of hours, she’d know exactly what he had planned.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Harry, too, was nervous. When he’d first suggested this to Hermione, to be honest, he had no idea what they would be doing. Yet, with some help from Fred and George, who’d he’d sent an emergency owl to, he formulated a plan.

They were to take a portkey into Muggle London. It was totally undetectable according to Fred and George, who gave it their 100 percent guarantee that this would not fail him. They’d also teased him unmercifully about Hermione. Yet, he’d expected as much when he turned to the two of them for help.

He had thought about Hogsmeade, but they’d been there together many, many times. He wanted to take her somewhere special. He hoped that she’d like what he’d chosen for them to do tonight. He was still a little uneasy about this, but not because it was her, but because the last time he’d been on an actual date had been with Cho Chang, and to make himself feel better, he’d told himself that it couldn’t be possible for anything to be worse than that.

He felt stupid as he agonized himself over what to wear. It was just a casual night out, he tried to tell himself. Yet, here he was trying on shirt after shirt and jumper after jumper trying to find the right one. He’d also fought a losing battle with his hair, trying to get it to sit right on his head.

He checked his watch and noticed that it was now 8:55 p.m. It was time to collect Hermione and head on out. He grabbed the book that Fred and George had sent him that would serve as their portkey.

He took a long, deep breath as he opened his bedroom door and walked into their common room. He felt his pulse quicken as he walked over to her bedroom door and knocked softly.

She opened the door and he caught his breath as he looked at her. She wore a pair of simple blue jeans and a pretty white lace top and a grey cardigan sweater that had embroidered flowers along the neckline. She wore a silver necklace around her neck and had even put on a little makeup, which Hermione usually didn’t bother with at all. She looked different, but not too different.

“Your mouth is hanging open,” she said, blushing at him.

“Uh, um,” he muttered. “Sorry about that.”

“I’m not overdressed am I?” she asked. “I mean, this will be fine for the-, well whatever it is that we’re doing?”

“You look absolutely amazing,” he said sincerely, unable to take his eyes off of her.

They stared at each other for what seemed like a long time.

“Well, I guess I’ll just get my coat,” Hermione said. Harry took her coat and helped her put it on. She was pleasantly surprised.

“Let me guess, I have to pay extra for the chivalry,” she said.

“No, that’s free,” Harry said.

She smiled. “So, how are we doing this?”

“Portkey,” Harry said, picking up the book.

“Portkey?” Hermione asked, intrigued. “How did you get a portkey?”

“I have my connections,” Harry said, mysteriously. “Namely two red heads with a history of troublemaking and rule-breaking behind them. I figured that I needed to go to the very best for help on this one.”

“Good idea,” Hermione said. “So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Harry said. He offered the book to her and she placed a tentative hand on it. She felt the familiar tug on her navel and then felt her feet lift off the ground and though she couldn’t see Harry, she could feel him beside her as his shoulder kept banging into hers. She closed her eyes. She didn’t like traveling like this, but it would be worth it.

A few moments later, she felt herself fall to the ground with a thud.

She looked up to see Harry dusting himself off. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

“Thanks,” she whispered. She took in her surroundings. She and Harry were in an alley.

“Not exactly the safest place to arrive in, is it?” Harry apologized. “Let’s get out of here.”

Hermione nodded and took his hand as they walked quickly out of the alley. She recognized the street corner they were on.

“Harry!” she exclaimed. “What are we doing here?”

”Having a very Muggle style evening,” Harry said. “No magic tonight. Just you and me.”

She beamed at him. “So what have you got planned?”

“Dinner, first,” he said. “And then there’s a movie at the Palace Theatre. They’re showing some old films. You told me once how your dad used to take you there when you were little. I thought you’d like to do something like that again.”

Hermione was utterly speechless.

“That’s--,” she managed to get out. “That’s absolutely the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me in the longest time.”

Harry grinned at her. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“Me, too,” Hermione said. “The last thing I ate today was some biscuits for lunch.”

“Well, let’s get going,” Harry said, offering her his hand. She took it willingly and they set off down the street.

They had a great time at the restaurant. It was a nice, small Italian restaurant. The scene inside was intimate and cozy and warm. Hermione loved everything about it—from the red and white-checked tablecloths to the Italian family who owned and operated the place.

For the first time in a long time, she and Harry just talked. Not about school or about warding off evil spirits, but about each other. They talked about what they liked to do when they were kids and about their families. Hermione listened with indignation as Harry told her tales about growing up with the Dursleys. He’d laughed when she told him about the time when she was six and she’d snuck some chocolate toffees into the house. Her parents had been none the wiser, until she’d eaten way too many and had promptly gotten sick.

Hermione hadn’t eaten so well in a long time. She’d ordered Eggplant Parmesan and try as she might, was unable to finish it. Harry had ordered lasagna and had managed to eat his food, plus the leftovers on her plate. They’d even shared some tiramisu. All in all, it had been quite an enjoyable first part of the evening.

They walked out of the restaurant and toward the movie theatre in silence. They were both enjoying each other’s company so much that words weren’t really necessary. Harry had taken her hand as they walked and she hadn’t been surprised by it at all. It had just felt right, much as most of the evening had.

Hermione didn’t even notice that they’d reached the cinema. She smiled at Harry as he pulled her toward the ticket booth.

“Two for Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Harry said, handing over some money to the ticket taker.

Hermione gasped. “That’s one of my favorite movies!”

“I know,” Harry said. “You know it’s not like I just picked you up and this is our first date. I’ve been your friend for six years, Hermione. I would hope I would know things about you by now.”

Harry let go of her hand to open the door to the theatre, but Hermione stopped in her tracks.

“What?” Harry asked, looking at her.

“Um, you consider this a date?” she asked him uncertainly.

“Yes,” he said nervously. “I mean, I asked you out and you said yes and we’ve been to dinner and now we’re going to see a movie. I mean, this is sort of a date when you think about it.”

He noticed her expression and quickly stammered, “I mean, you don’t have to call it that unless you really want to and then it wouldn’t matter because you know that’s the problem with everything these days, people having to put labels on everything.”

“Harry!” Hermione interrupted, smiling at him. He was adorable when he was uncomfortable.

“Yes?” he asked her.

“If you wanted to call this a date, I wouldn’t mind,” she said softly. “In fact, I’d like that a lot.”

He smiled at her.

“Then, it’s a date,” he said, ushering her through the doors.

“Definitely,” Hermione said, smiling at him. “Besides, guys don’t usually go to ‘chick flicks’ without having an ulterior motive.”

“Oh, so you think I’ve planned this whole thing to seduce you, do you?” Harry asked her with a look of indignation.

“Yes, well, you’re plans have been foiled, Potter,” Hermione said, smiling at him. “I’ve seen right through you.”

“Well, I guess my skills are going to need some work,” Harry said, as they walked toward the theatre their movie was showing in.

“You have skills now?” she asked him, teasingly. “I had no idea.”

“Yes, well,” Harry said, laughing. “They’re still in the developmental stage, but I have them nonetheless.”

Hermione giggled as she and Harry found seats in the middle of the theatre.

She couldn’t believe this was happening. She was on a date. She was on a date with her best friend, to top that all off. Few things in life were perfect, she thought, but this was about as close to perfect as you could get.

Author’s note: A snow day off from work can lead to productive things…okay, well I spent the first half of the day curled up on a couch with a blanket watching soaps and talk shows, but I did manage to squeeze in some writing, which led to this. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed…

Chapter Six

Saved the Best for Last

“And now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place
Just when I thought our chance had passed
You go and save the best for last”

”Sometimes the very thing you're looking for
Is the one thing you can't see”

(Vanessa Williams/”Saved the Best for Last”)

While Harry and Hermione were enjoying their truly Muggle date, Ginny Weasley was pacing back and forth in the Astronomy Tower, waiting as per usual for Draco Malfoy’s arrival. She cursed herself again for not having the willpower to turn him down. She wasn’t usually weak about anything, but in this one area, she was definitely defeated. He had her where he wanted her, and a part of her thought he truly enjoyed it. She sometimes couldn’t shake the sinking suspicion she had that he was possibly doing all that he was to get back at Ron, Harry, and Hermione. It was no secret that there was no love lost between the four of them.

Yet, when she felt like that, she reminded herself that while he may have seemed uncaring, selfish, arrogant, and priggish to the “Dream Team”, he wasn’t that way with her at all. When he was with her, Draco was caring, attentive, and sweet. She laughed to herself as she thought about the look on Ron’s face is she tried to describe Draco Malfoy in any of these terms. He’d look at her as if she’d just sprouted another head.

“Hi,” the familiar voice of Draco Malfoy called to her. She turned around and saw him staring at her.

“Hi,” she whispered, a faint smile playing at her lips.

“I didn’t know if you’d come,” he said. “I know it was short notice and all, but I wanted to see you.”

“You knew I’d come,” she said, smirking at him. “Don’t play like you didn’t.”

He looked somewhat sheepish as he came toward her. “Well, I had hoped you would.”

“Yeah,” she said. “So, what did you want?”

He had a gleam in his eye as he ran his hand down her arm.

“You know what I want,” he said huskily. “You know what I’ve always wanted.”

“I told you that I wasn’t ready,” she said, shivering at his touch. “Not for that.”

He nuzzled her neck and she smiled as his tongue tickled her skin. “You’re saying what you think you’re supposed to say.”

“Oh?” she asked coyly. “Am I now? When did you get to be such an expert on me?”

He lifted his head away from her neck to look her in the eyes. “I know everything about you, Red. I know how you think. I know how you feel. I know what you want.”

She felt breathless as he smiled at her and leaned in for an intense kiss.

“You know what you want, too,” he said, rubbing her cheek with his hand. “Don’t fight it anymore, Ginny. Don’t think about it. Just do what you feel.”

She tried to keep control as he began to unbutton her jumper. She knew she should stop him, but she didn’t want to. She didn’t want him to ever stop. Any coherent thought she had went away as he gently unbuttoned the last button and she watched as her jumper fell to the floor.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Harry and Hermione were giggling as they made it back to their common room just a few minutes after 1 am. They’d both enjoyed the movie and when it let out, they’d found they’d had a few minutes before they had to use the portkey to get back to Hogwarts.

Hermione had mentioned a craving for ice cream and they’d gone to an all-night store and bought a small container of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Harry had neither tasted of it nor heard of it before, which Hermione found so hard to believe she insisted they had to buy some to take back with them.

“You just wait until you try this,” Hermione said. She took her wand out and transfigured two quills into spoons and she and Harry settled in on the couch. “Harry, you will absolutely love this.”

“You have the same look on your face that you get when you get a good mark on a test,” he said. “It must be pretty good then.”

“It is,” she said. She took a bite of the ice cream and then offered Harry the container. He pulled out a spoonful and tasted it.

“That’s really good,” he said.

Hermione greedily took back the container.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m the one who has never had any of that before.”

“Well, now you have,” she said, grinning mischievously at him and leaning back on the couch.

“So, did you have a good time?” he asked as he finally managed to get the container back.

“I did,” she said, smiling at him. “That was without a doubt the best date I’ve ever been on. Mind you, I haven’t been on too many.”

“Great,” he said, trying to look taken aback. “So, how do I compare to the great Viktor Krum?”

He instantly regretted saying this. Why had he brought up Viktor? Would this make her uncomfortable? It sure as hell was making him uncomfortable, Harry thought, cursing silently to himself for his stupidity.

To his surprise, Hermione didn’t seem insulted or uncomfortable at the mention of the Bulgarian.

“Well, you’ve gotten my name right,” she said. “So, you are way ahead of him in that regard.”

Harry took another bite of ice cream. “I could call you Hermy-own-ninny, if you really wanted me to.”

“No,” Hermione said, deadpan. “That’s quite alright.”

“So things between you and he never worked out?” Harry asked, looking away from her.

“No,” she said. “There wasn’t really anything in common between us.”

“I can’t say that I’m sorry to hear that,” he said truthfully. He sure was being bold tonight, Harry chastised himself.

“Well if we’re being entirely truthful, I wasn’t sorry to hear about you and Cho Chang, either,” she said frankly. “I never really liked her.”

“You didn’t?” he asked her. “I never really liked Krum, either.”

“I wonder why that is?” Hermione asked thoughtfully. “I didn’t like Cho and you didn’t like Viktor.”

“I don’t think I would have liked anyone you dated,” he said. He’d been honest with her all night. He figured he shouldn’t stop now.

She blushed a little as his remark.

“What?” he asked. “I was just being honest.”

“Okay,” she said, looking at him. “I don’t think I would have liked anyone you dated either.”

“Why is that?” he asked her, seriously.

“I think we both know why, but we’re afraid to say it,” she said, returning the intensity of his gaze.

“It’s funny that we should be like that when we’ve known each other for so long,” he said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable and completely at ease at the same time with the direction this conversation had taken. “You’d think we’d be able to say anything to each other.”

She gave a half-hearted laugh at this. “Maybe, its’ because we’ve known each other so long,” she said. She put the ice cream on the table and leaned back on the couch once more.

He took her hand is his.

“I like you, Hermione,” he said nervously. “I’ve liked you for a long time.”

”We’re best friends,” she said, avoiding his gaze. “I would hope that you liked me.”

“No,” he said. “Please look at me.”

She did and he felt her hand shaking somewhat in his.

“I don’t just want to be your friend, Hermione,” he said. “I want us to be more.”

She didn’t say anything. She just stared back at him.

“I’ve not been able to think of anything else but you for a long time,” he said. “I know it sounds a little cheesy, and maybe it is, but it’s the truth. I want to be more than just your friend.”

She still didn’t speak a word.

“You’re killing me here,” he said, with a slight laugh. “Now, would be a great time for you to say something.”

She didn’t think she could speak. She looked into his green eyes and felt herself leaning in to him. Their faces were inches apart. She closed her eyes and felt his lips brush against hers. She felt his arm rest on her waist as he pulled her closer and he deepened the kiss.

“Does that answer your question?” she asked breathlessly when they finally pulled away from each other.

He nodded.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he said. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder as they both looked at the fire, feeling content and happy.

“I’ve wanted you to do that for a long time,” she said happily.

“You want to know something funny?” he asked her a few moments later.

“What?” she asked, her head still rested on his shoulder. Their hands were intertwined.

“I think somehow I always knew it would end up with you and me right here,” he said softly.

“Okay, Trelawney,” Hermione said with a laugh.

“Not like that,” he said, laughing. “You’re the only one that I feel I can be myself with. It’s not like you expect me to be someone I’m not. You just know me as me. And I’m babbling, aren’t I?”

She lifted her head up and smiled at him. “A little, but I know what you mean. I feel the same way about you.”

He kissed her again softly. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and they fell back onto the couch. He pulled away from her as they lay down on the couch. Hermione laid her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her as they fell asleep.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was after four in the morning when Ginny walked back through the portrait hole into Gryffindor Tower. The room was deserted to Ginny’s great relief. She stifled a yawn as she ascended the stairs to her dormitory.

Her fellow roommates were all asleep and snug in their beds. Ginny quickly changed into her dressing gown and slipped into the warmth and comfort of her four-poster bed. She was sleepy, but she didn’t feel as if she would fall asleep straightaway. Too much was on her mind at the moment. She was still on an emotional high from what had happened just a few short hours ago in the Astronomy Tower.

She’d been scared, but he’d been quite gentle with her. He hadn’t been rough at all. He’d been caring and tender and he’d held her close when it was over.

He’d even told her he loved her. She hadn’t expected that. She’d cried when he’d finally said the words. She confessed the same to him. It hurt that they couldn’t walk hand in hand down the halls. It hurt that she couldn’t share her feelings for him with anyone. She wanted so badly to tell her mother that she’d finally met a boy who loved her as much as she loved him.

She couldn’t do these things, though. He was a Malfoy. She was a Weasley. She was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin. It was almost like Romeo and Juliet, Ginny thought as she turned over on her side.

Someday, with a little time and understanding, maybe they could be together. Her family would be a little angry at first, and possibly alarmed by the relationship, but they’d understand, wouldn’t they, Ginny thought. They’d see how much he cared about me and they’d accept us, Ginny said.

It’s just going to take time for them to get used to it, Ginny said to herself. It was the last thought she had before she finally succumbed to sleep.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The next morning Hermione awoke to find Harry gone. She was a little surprised by this, but she found a note on the table apologizing for leaving, but that he’d planned on meeting Ron for an impromptu Quidditch game.

Hermione smiled as she threw away the now melted container of ice cream.

She had loved sleeping in his arms last night on the couch. She had felt safe and content and warm there. She’d always felt that way with him. She knew some people might find that strange. In fact, she’d often heard people talk about how she could be friends with someone who often put her in danger just because of who he was. She didn’t care about that, though. She knew that he’d never let anything happen to her. She knew that he’d never do anything to hurt her.

Besides, he made her happy. He made her so happy. She never in a million years could have imagined going on a date with him or hearing him say the things he’d said to her last night. She’d always hoped she’d hear him say those things, but she’d never thought it was possible. Yet, here she was. It hadn’t been a dream. It had been real.

She was about to go into her room and change her clothes, when she heard a tapping at the window. She looked over and saw one of the barn owl’s tapping impatiently at the door. He was holding an envelope. She crossed the room quickly and unlatched the window. The owl dropped the envelope in her hand before flying quickly out the window.

She recognized the envelope immediately. It was her parents’ stationery. She’d given her parents the stationery set last Christmas. She opened the letter and gasped as she read.

Dear Hermione:

I hope that you are doing well with your studies. Your father recently had his annual checkup with Dr. Phillips. Apparently, his cholesterol level was elevated and the doctor has recommended that he cut back on his hours at the office.

I’ve been telling him for months now that he shouldn’t take on so much, but you know you’re father and his stubbornness well, as I think you inherited that from him!

Don’t be alarmed, sweetheart. We just wanted you to know how he was doing. I’ll keep you posted. Dr. Phillips thinks that with rest and relaxation your dad will be okay.

We’re going to hire another colleague to help with the patient load.

Dad and I are so proud of you, sweetheart!

Love,

Mum

Hermione read and re-read the letter. She had tried to tell her father that he should take it easy, but he always brushed her off.

She hoped that her dad would heed his doctor’s advice and take it easy.

She made a mental note to write her father that afternoon and let him know that she was thinking about him. She loved her parents dearly and she had no idea what she would do if anything should happen to them. She worried about them so especially when she was so far away.

Everything would be okay, she told herself. If there was really any need to worry, her mother would have said.

She exhaled in relief and walked toward her bedroom, saying a silent prayer that her father would be okay.

Author’s Note: To clarify---in this chapter, Harry and Hermione didn’t go all the way---they just fell asleep on the couch. I wasn’t sure if I made that clear enough or not. Ginny and Draco, however, did go all the way.

Author’s note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Snow days! Gotta love ‘em! Another day off from work, another chapter! My yard looks like an ice skating rink! Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter…

Chapter Seven

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

“It’s sad, so sad
It’s a sad, sad situation
And it’s getting more and more absurd
It’s sad, so sad
Why can’t we talk it over
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word”

(Elton John/Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word)

The following Monday morning, Harry and Hermione walked hand in hand into the Great Hall. At first no one seemed to notice. Until Draco Malfoy chimed in with “Look, everyone, Potter and the Mudblood.”

“Just ignore him, Harry,” Hermione whispered, when he tightened his grip on her hand. “He’s not worth it.”

Harry nodded, and looked coldly in Malfoy’s direction. It took every ounce of willpower Harry had not to walk over and slap that smug smirk off Malfoy’s face.

They finally made their way to their house table and took seats across from Ron, who was eying their intertwined hands somewhat suspiciously.

“Hang on, one moment,” Ron said, looking at them both. “Hang on one moment, here. What’s going on with you two?”

“Breakfast. Great Hall,” Hermione said coyly. “What’s going on with you?”

“Don’t give me that,” Ron said. “What’s with the handholding?”

“What handholding?” Harry asked. He looked conspiratorially at Hermione. “Were we holding hands, Hermione?”

“I don’t think so,” Hermione said, fighting off the urge to dissolve into giggles. “I would have remembered that, I think.”

“No, no, no,” Ron protested, shaking his head. “Back the hippogriff up, okay? The two of you walk in here with smiles plastered on your faces and holding hands. Now, I know I wasn’t the only one who saw it! For Merlin’s sake! Malfoy practically announces it to the entire hall!”

“Should we put him out of his misery?” Harry asked Hermione.

Hermione crinkled her nose and looked deep in thought. “But, it’s so much to watch him get all flustered like this, Harry.”

“Hermione,” Ron said, warningly.

Hermione laughed and suddenly became acutely aware that the rest of the Gryffindor table was looking at them, taking in every single word.

“Okay,” Harry said, also noticing this. “Okay, Ron. Hermione and I are dating.”

“Since when?” Ron asked.

“Since this weekend,” Hermione said simply. “But, to be honest, we’ve had feelings for each other for a long time.”

Ron looked, in disbelief, back and forth between his two best friends.

“Say something, Ron,” Hermione said.

“I don’t think he’s able to speak,” Harry said, looking at his friend in amusement. He watched in disbelief as Ron pushed his plate of food away.

“My goodness,” Hermione said, shocked. “Mark the date and time down. Ron Weasley actually pushed away a plate laden with food. I never thought I’d see the day. I wonder what you’d do if we told you we were getting married.”

Ron focused his attention at those words. “WHAT?”

“Shhhhhh!” Harry exclaimed. “Keep your voice down, Ron!”

“You’re not really getting married, are you?” Ron asked.

“No, of course not,” Hermione said, with a laugh. “I was only being facetious. The look on your face just now, though…priceless. Honestly, Ron. We’re just dating. That’s all. No need to go out and pick up the wedding gifts.”

“Yet,” Harry chimed in.

Hermione looked at him with a smile. He winked back at her.

“So, how do you feel about this? Are you okay with it?” Harry asked; a serious tone to his voice.

“Yeah,” Ron said after a moment’s hesitation. “Yeah, of course. It just took me by surprise, that’s all. It’s not everyday that your two best friends come in and announce they’re dating.”

Harry and Hermione both exhaled in relief. “We were worried about how you’d react.”

“No need to worry,” Ron said, pulling his plate back in front of him. “I’m happy for you. About damn time if you ask me.”

Hermione beamed at him. “Thanks, Ron.”

Harry nodded in agreement.

“So, what did you do this weekend?” Hermione asked a little while later.

“Nothing much,” Ron said. “I, um, hung out you know with some people.”

“Some people?” Harry asked. “Now look who’s hiding something. Who were these people you hung out with?”

Ron looked away from his friend’s penetrating gaze. He took a bite of toast and then drained his glass of juice.

“You know, different people,” Ron said evasively. “I just hung out. That’s all.”

At that very moment, Luna Lovegood came walking over to their table. Harry wondered if it was his imagination that Ron’s cheeks reddened somewhat.

“Good morning, Harry,” Luna said warmly. “Good morning, Hermione.”

“Good morning,” Harry said. “How are you doing, Luna?”

“Fine,” Luna said. “Ron, here’s that book we were talking about this weekend. I thought I’d bring it to you. You said you thought it sounded interesting, so I checked it out of the library for you. Madame Pince said you could keep it out for a week.”

Ron sheepishly took the book. He tried not to acknowledge Harry and Hermione’s somewhat amused expressions.

“Thanks, Luna,” Ron said, taking the book. “I appreciate it.”

“You’re quite welcome,” Luna said happily. “Well, I better head on back to my table. Busy day ahead. So, I guess I’ll see you later, Ronald?”

Ron mumbled something which Luna apparently heard and she nodded and with a wave to Harry and Hermione, walked away.

The table was quiet for a few moments as Harry and Hermione stared knowingly at their red-headed friend, whose cheeks were practically glowing red.

“So,” Harry said. “Luna Lovegood would be the people you hung out with this weekend, huh?”

Ron mumbled something under his breath that neither Harry nor Hermione caught.

“What was that?” Hermione asked, leaning across the table.

“I said that I may have gone for a walk with her,” Ron said, a little more audibly.

Hermione smiled. “Ron, that’s great.”

“Why?” Ron asked. “So, you can have a go with me on this?”

“No,” Hermione said sincerely. “I think it’s great. She really likes you Ron.”

“I’m not dating her, if that’s what you’re implying, Hermione,” Ron said, finally looking up from the table.

“Well, I think it’s a big step that you’re now at least willing to talk with her,” Hermione said. “I mean, that’s something.”

“I’m not dating Luna Lovegood,” Ron said, a little more loudly than he’d intended. “I’m not that hard up for a date, you know?”

“That’s not what I was saying-“, Hermione interjected.

“I would never, ever date Luna Lovegood, okay?” Ron said. He got up to leave, but he noticed the stricken expression on Hermione’s face. He turned around slowly to see Luna standing right behind him.

“I, um,” Luna stammered. “I wanted to see if you wanted to have lunch today, but I guess you wouldn’t.”

Ron was about to say something when Luna walked quickly away.

“Nice job, Romeo,” Harry said scathingly to his friend.

“Ron, that wasn’t very nice,” Hermione said softly.

“It’s your fault,” Ron said angrily. “You were the ones getting on me about seeing her this weekend.”

”No, we weren’t,” Harry protested. “We were just asking you about it and you were the one who got all defensive.”

Ron sank back down on his seat. “Now, I feel like shit.”

“You should,” Hermione said. “You hurt her feelings, Ron.”

“How long was she standing there?” Ron asked.

“Long enough,” Harry said.

“I should probably try and find her and apologize,” Ron said, looking at the floor.

“You probably should,” Hermione agreed. “It would be the mature thing to do, Ron.”

“Yeah,” Ron said, nodding his head. “I’ll, um, see you guys later, alright?”

Harry and Hermione watched as Ron hurried out of the Great Hall.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Finding Luna wasn’t as easy as Ron would have thought. For one thing, he had no idea how here schedule was. For another thing, he had to worry about getting to his own classes. It didn’t help that in nearly all of his classes, he had either Harry or Hermione or both of them asking if he’d found Luna yet to apologize.

He’d even thought about looking for Ginny, who happened to have some classes with Luna as they were in the same year. Finding his sister was nearly an impossible job as well.

He was relieved when lunch time finally arrived. He was making his way toward the Great Hall, when he heard his sister’s voice in the corridor. He turned back around and as he got closer, he heard her voice more clearly.

“I shouldn’t have,” he heard her saying. “It wasn’t right to-“

As he turned the corner, he saw that Ginny wasn’t alone; she was talking to…Draco Malfoy.

“Oi!” Ron called out to them, startling the unlikely pair. “What are you doing skulking about my sister, Mafloy?”

Malfoy sneered.

”None of your damn business, Weasley,” Malfoy said scathingly. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“You do when you’re bothering my sister,” Ron said, stepping closer to them. He looked to his sister. “Gin, you okay?”

Ginny simply nodded. “Fine, Ron.”

“If I see you near my sister again, you’ll regret it,” Ron said warningly. “Count on it.”

“I’m quaking in my robes,” Malfoy said, laughing as he walked away. “See you later, Red.”

Ron watched in disbelief as Malfoy arrogantly walked away.

“He has some nerve!” Ron exclaimed. He turned his attention back to his sister.

“Did he hurt you? Did he say anything to you?” Ron asked. “You don’t have to be afraid of him, you know that? If he did anything, all you have to do is say the word and he’s toast.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “He didn’t do anything, Ron. Quit playing the big brother routine. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Ron said. “I’ve been worried about you for a long time. You haven’t seemed yourself these past few weeks.”

Ginny looked up at her brother.

”Really, I’m fine,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. “Really. I’ve just been studying too much. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Well, you know that if there was anything wrong, you could talk to me?” Ron asked her, his eyes full of concern. “I mean, I’ve always thought of you and I as a team.”

Ginny smiled warmly at her brother. “We are a team. And you’re a wonderful brother to worry about me, but you needn’t bother. I’m okay.”

Ron looked unconvinced. “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

”No,” Ginny said. “Honestly. He was just being his usual Slytherin self. I can handle Draco-Sodding-Malfoy.”

“Okay,” Ron said, smiling at his sister; seemingly convinced. “Now, how about you and I go and get some lunch.”

”Always thinking of your stomach, aren’t you?” Ginny said, with a laugh.

“Of course,” Ron said, walking alongside Ginny toward the Great Hall.

“Listen, have you seen Luna today?” Ron asked Ginny.

“As a matter of fact,” Ginny said. “Now that you mention it, I don’t remember seeing her in class. I think Rebecca Brandon said she saw her in the girls’ bathrooms on the second floor. I think she’d said she’d been crying.”

Ron looked crestfallen.

“What?” Ginny asked him.

“On second thought, I need to go check on something,” Ron said. “Can you save me a seat?”

”Sure,” Ginny said, nodding. “Is everything alright?”

Ron started to run down the halls. “I hope so!” he called back to her.

Ron made it to the second-floor girl’s bathroom in nearly breakneck speed. He was going so fast that he didn’t see someone coming out of the bathroom; he bumped into her, knocking both he and the girl to the floor.

“Ow, you know, you should watch where you’re going!” he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead.

“Me?” the girl said, looking up. “You?”

Ron focused his attention and saw that the girl in question was Luna!

“Luna?”

“Yes,” she said, dusting herself off. “What were you doing running into the girl’s bathroom?”

Ron got to his feet and looked a little embarrassed as he said, “Looking for you.”

“Well, you obviously found me,” she said, starting to walk away.

“Please, wait!” Ron called to her.

“Why should I?” Luna asked him. “I guess its okay to walk around the lake with me when no one can see, but when you’re with your friends, you forget that you even know me?”

”I’m sorry, Luna,” Ron said. “I was a jerk. Does that make you happy? I was a complete, insensitive arsehole who doesn’t deserve to walk the earth.”

“You forgot pig-headed, stubborn, infuriating, and too wrapped up in what other people think,” Luna finished for him.

“I was getting to that,” Ron said, smiling at her. “You just didn’t give me time.”

Luna smiled.

“I have a bad habit of sending girls crying into the girls’ lavatory,” Ron said.

“Oh,” she said. “You have that effect on girls, do you?”

“I sometimes tend to let the first thing I think of out of my mouth before thinking,” Ron said. “It’s a bad habit of mine. I really should work on that.”

“Yes, you should.” Luna teased. “Among other things.”

“I’m really sorry, Luna,” he said. “I didn’t mean to say the things I said.”

“You hurt my feelings,” she said, looking at him.

“I know,” he said, his eyes pleading with her for forgiveness. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Yes, you will,” she said.

“So, what am I supposed to do?” he asked her.

“Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out at a later time,” Luna said.

“So you forgive me?” Ron asked hopefully.

Luna looked a little dreamy-eyed at him.

“I forgive you,” she said.

Ron beamed at her.

“So, how about you’re eating lunch with me?” Ron asked her, extending his hand. “I mean, I know you might not want to be seen with a pig-headed, stubborn, infuriating, insensitive jerk, but I’m kind of hungry.”

“I guess we could eat lunch together,” Luna said with a sly smile at him. “But, don’t you go getting any ideas, Mr. Weasley. I do have a reputation to protect after all.”

“Duly noted,” Ron said, taking her hand. “Duly noted, Miss Lovegood.”

Author’s note: This is a purely Harry/Hermione chapter. I wrote the last part of it when I wasn’t feeling all that great…I think I have some sort of a stomach bug, but I won’t get into that with you now…I know you don’t want to hear about that anymore than I want to talk about it! Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please read and review! The song for this chapter comes from one of my favorites. I think you’ll see after you read this that it kind of fits the mood of the chapter.

Chapter Eight

Let’s Get it On

“I've been really tryin , baby
Tryin to hold back these feelings for so long
And if you feel, like I feel baby
Come on, oh come on,

Let's get it on
Lets get it on”

(Marvin Gaye/”Let’s Get it On”)

The following Thursday evening found Hermione in sort of a sticky situation. It had all started out quite innocently enough. Harry had Quidditch practice, so she’d decided to use the time wisely and get a head start on that Arithmancy essay she was supposed to be writing.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat in the Great Hall with Neville and Lavender, she’d gone back to the comforts of her suite. She’d changed out of her school uniform and pulled on a pair of her favorite, most comfortable blue pajama pants and a white camisole top. She had pulled her hair back with a clip and was enjoying the warmth of the fire as she read over her Arithmancy text and jotted down notes on her parchment.

This was one of her favorite things to do…sit in front of a warm fire with her homework and just enjoy the quiet, comfortable surroundings. It was so great not having roommates this year. Hermione liked Parvati and Lavender---she really did, but her fellow seventh-year Gryffindors were more giggling, flirting and squealing over makeup and dating and boys. It wasn’t that Hermione didn’t enjoy a good laugh and didn’t like talking to Lavender and Parvati. It just got to be too much sometimes; especially when Hermione wanted to read or study or sleep.

This suite proved that working hard and getting good marks paid off. She absolutely adored this place. Most of all, she treasured the fact that she and Harry were able to share it together. It was a place they could call their own. It was a place where they could be themselves and relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Hermione smiled as she thought about him. She immediately cursed herself for veering off course. She was supposed to be working on her essay not getting all dreamy-eyed over her boyfriend. There was a time and place for that, and that time wasn’t now. She had an essay to finish.

__________________________________________________

Nearly an hour later, a sweaty Harry came barreling into their room. He looked exhausted.

“How was your practice?” Hermione asked as she watched him set his gear down on the table.

“You don’t even want to know,” Harry said, taking a seat on the couch.

“That bad?” she asked, not looking up at him, as she furiously wrote on her parchment.

“Yeah,” Harry said, looking at her in amusement. Hermione was obviously not paying attention to a word he was saying. Harry decided to have a little fun with his girlfriend.

“So, we were practicing, right?” Harry began, looking down at his girlfriend, who was still writing away like there was no tomorrow. “And then Ron strips down to his underwear and starts singing show tunes at the top of his lungs. We were all shocked at first, of course, but in the end, we were yelling out requests. He was singing everything, Merlin bless him. He’s really a true professional that Ron Weasley. He’s even thought about taking his act on the road with Snape.”

Hermione absently turned a page in her book as she just muttered, “Uh-huh.”

Harry stifled a laugh.

“They might even do one of those compilation albums like you see on television,” Harry said, looking at her. “I mean, can you just see the two of them singing Britain’s greatest love songs. Once Ron Weasley and Severus Snape sing a song, it’s eternally theirs.”

Hermione looked up to nod her head and then looked confusedly up at her boyfriend.

“What’s this about Ron and Snape?” Hermione asked.

“So, you were listening?” Harry asked, pinching her shoulder affectionately.

“Not really,” she said. “I heard the important parts.”

“Uh-huh,” Harry said, getting up and heading toward the bathroom.

“I’m sorry,” Hermione called after him. “I promise to be better company when you get out of the shower.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Harry said, with a laugh.

“I will,” Hermione affirmed. She crinkled her nose at him. “Besides, you smelled bad.”

“Well, let’s see how you smell after a Quidditch practice,” Harry said defensively.

“I was only kidding,” she said, smiling at him. “You don’t smell-“

”Thank you,” he said.

“That badly,” Hermione finished, with a twinkle in her eye.

“Ha, ha, ha,” Harry said, walking into the bathroom. “That was sooo funny, Granger.”

Hermione laughed as she returned to her reading.

A few minutes later, Harry returned to the common room in pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. His hair was still damp from his shower and he was carrying a couple of his own textbooks.

Hermione was still sitting on the floor in front of the fire. Harry took a seat on the couch behind her.

“I’ll just sit up here so the stench won’t bother you too much,” Harry said.

Hermione rolled her eyes and closed her book. She pushed her books away and got to her feet and took a seat beside Harry, who pretended to ignore her.

She looked over at him and placed her hand on his knee.

“I see how you are now, Miss Granger,” Harry said, opening his book. “I come in here after a tough practice and you can’t even bat an eyelash at me all because I was sweating and may have had an odor to me.”

”May have had an odor?” Hermione asked, relishing their banter.

“Okay, I stunk,” Harry admitted. “But, the moment I take a shower and smell like an Irish garden, you want to sit with me. You sure are a fickle kind of girl, you know that?”

“I know that,” she said. “What can I do to make it up to you?”

“I don’t know if you can,” Harry said, trying to hide a smile. “You’ve cut me deeply, Hermione.”

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. She watched Harry “reading” and then an idea came to her head. She got up slowly from the couch and came around and placed her hands on his shoulders and slowly began to massage.

“How’s that for a start?” Hermione asked.

“It’s okay,” Harry replied coyly. He leaned forward a little bit as she gently kneaded his shoulders. “Actually, that’s pretty bloody fantastic.”

“Thank you,” she replied. She leaned down and planted a kiss on the back on his neck. “How about that?”

“That’s good, too,” Harry said, a little flustered. “How did you get to be so good at this?”

“Just a natural I guess,” Hermione said, gently running her fingers down his back.

“You like that?” she asked, amused.

“It’s alright,” Harry said, huskily.

An idea suddenly came to Hermione and she moved her hands lower down toward his waist. She smiled devilishly as she suddenly tickled his side and he began to laugh. In the commotion, he was able to grab her hand and pull her over the couch. She nearly fell off, but he was able to grab her just in time. They were both laughing hysterically and Hermione went in for the kill again, but this time Harry’s seeker reflexes kicked in and he retaliated by tickling her on her side.

“Okay,” Hermione said, breathlessly laughing. “Okay. I give. I give!”

They were both laughing as Harry looked down at her and thought he’d never seen her look more beautiful as she did, looking up at him, with her eyes shining and her face full of laughter. His own laughter died away as he took his hand and softly caressed her cheek.

“What is it?” Hermione asked.

“I love you,” he said simply.

“What?” she asked, not sure if she’d heard him right and wanting to have him say it once more.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“You’ve never said that to me before,” she said, her own voice soft and emotional.

“I’ve never said that to anyone before,” he replied.

“Harry,” Hermione said, her eyes now shining with tears.

“I love you, too,” she said quietly. “I always have, I think.”

He smiled down at her and not knowing what else he could say or do, he did the thing that felt most natural and right. He leaned down and kissed her softly. He felt her arms wrap around him as he deepened the kiss. She moaned softly as he settled himself over her.

Hermione knew that this was getting out of hand quickly, but she didn’t have the willpower to tell him to stop. She wasn’t sure---no, she knew---that she didn’t want him to stop. This felt right. She could feel his warm hand on her stomach as he pulled her camisole top up. She shivered a bit as his hand worked its way up to her breasts.

All coherent thought and rationality went out the window as she gave into the sensation of his hands on her skin. Not wanting him to have all the fun, she allowed her own hands to lift up his white, cotton t-shirt as she let her hands roam around the warm skin on his back.

They were both so wrapped up in each other that neither of them heard the persistent knocking on the front door to their suite. They didn’t hear the door open and they certainly didn’t hear the soft footsteps approaching them.

“Miss Granger? Mr. Potter?” a familiar voice called out to them from somewhere in the room. Hermione and Harry froze in place. Professor McGongall was in their suite!

“Do you think she saw us?” Hermione whispered to Harry.

“I don’t know,” Harry said, easing himself away quietly from Hermione.

“Where are you two?” Professor McGonagall called again.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that from Professor McGongall’s viewpoint, she only could see the back of the couch and most certainly hadn’t seen what they were doing. Now, the tricky thing would be getting up from the couch without making it seem obvious what they had been doing.

Hermione shoved Harry down off the couch and he yelped as he hit the floor.

Hermione then arose from the couch and smiled as nonchalantly as she could muster at Professor McGongall.

“What are you doing here, Professor?” Hermione asked.

Harry got to his feet from in front of the couch and smiled innocently at McGonagall.

McGonagall looked quite suspicious as she took in the sight before her. Hermione suddenly noticed that her camisole top straps were hanging low on her shoulders and her hair looked a fright. She looked helplessly at Harry, whose own glasses were sitting askew on his face.

“I was knocking at your door for nearly twenty minutes,” Professor McGonagall said. “When I didn’t get an answer, I remembered the password to your suite and let myself in. I was afraid that something was the matter.”

“Nothing’s the matter,” Hermione stammered. “We’re just fine, a-aren’t we, Harry?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, nodding. “Perfectly fine.”

McGonagall didn’t look convinced for one moment.

“I, um, was just helping Harry find his book,” Hermione said quickly. “It was under the couch and we were just, um,-“

She looked to Harry for help---to corroborate what she was saying.

“We found the book,” Harry said. He bent down and picked up a textbook from the floor and held it up for McGonagall to see.

“See?” Harry said. “A book.”

“I can see that, Potter,” McGonagall said. She looked pointedly at the two of them. Her eyes were glaring into them, almost as if she could see right through them. “I’m old, you know, but not senile.”

“Of course,” Harry said, uncomfortably.

“What brings you here, Professor?” Hermione asked quickly.

“You two were supposed to be patrolling the grounds tonight?” McGonagall said. “Remember?”

“I completely forgot!” Hermione exclaimed, hitting herself on the forehead with her hand. “I was working so hard on my essay and—“

“Helping Potter find his book, Miss Granger?” McGonagall finished for her.

“Exactly,” Hermione said, sheepishly, looking away.

“Well, if you two would hurry along now and get to your patrolling,” McGonagall said. “If not, I could get some of the prefects to carry out.”

“No,” Hermione said. “That’s okay. It’s part of our duty to do that. It’s our responsibility.”

McGonagall nodded.

“Good evening to you both,” she said, looking again at them as if she didn’t buy their story for one moment. They both braced themselves for the lecture they knew was to come. To their utter amazement, it didn’t. With one last reproachful look, McGonagall turned on her heels and walked quietly out of the room.

Harry and Hermione stood frozen solid in place until they heard the door shut behind their professor.

“That was close,” Hermione whispered.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, sitting back down on the couch.

“In more ways then one,” Hermione said, sitting down beside him.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked her.

“Well, if she hadn’t have shown up, what would have happened?” Hermione asked. “I mean, we were—“

“We were just snogging,” Harry finished for her.

“We weren’t ‘just’ snogging, Harry,” Hermione said, looking at him. “We were doing a hell of a lot more than that and you know it.”

He nodded. “I would never pressure you, you know that? If you’d told me to stop, I would have.”

“I know,” she said, smiling at him. “Which is one of the things I love most about you. I love you, Harry. I do.”

“I know that,” Harry said, taking her hand. “I love you, too.”

“I think we should talk about this,” Hermione said.

He nodded.

“I don’t think I’m ready to do that, just yet,” Hermione said. “I know this is going to sound so old-fashioned and stupid, but I’ve always thought I would wait until I was married before I did that.”

She looked away from him, not wanting to see the look on his face.

“That’s not stupid,” Harry said, giving her hand a squeeze.

“It’s not?” she asked, looking up at him properly.

“No,” he said. “If that’s what you’ve decided, I respect that. I won’t lie to you by telling you that I didn’t want to be with you like that, because I do. I really do.”

She smiled.

“But not until you’re ready,” he said. “And not until I’m ready.”

Hermione threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” he said, resting his head on her shoulder.

“We better go and get dressed properly to do the patrolling thing,” Hermione said, letting go of him.

“Yeah,” Harry said, leaning in and kissing her softly and chastely.

He got to his feet and offered his hand to help her to hers.

“How embarrassing was that?” Harry asked. “You don’t think she saw what we were doing, do you?”

“No,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “But I think she knew exactly what we were doing.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Harry said.

Hermione turned toward her own bedroom and Harry toward his. As Hermione grabbed the doorknob, she stopped and turned around.

“Harry?” she asked, calling to him.

“Yeah?”

“It could have been worse, you know?”

“How do you mean?” Harry asked, looking at her.

“It could have been Snape who walked in here,” Hermione said, deadpan.

“Perish the thought,” Harry said, feeling a sickening feeling come over him at the thought.

“But, then again,” Hermione said cheekily. “He and Ron were probably cutting their album of love songs.”

Harry grinned at her. “Ah-hah! You were listening!”

“Always,” Hermione said, beaming at him. “Always.”

Author’s note: This is another setup chapter. I promise it will be getting more interesting as the story progresses. Again, thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate each and every one.

Chapter Nine

For Once in My Life

“For once in my life
I have someone who needs me.
Someone I needed so long.
For once unafraid
I can go where life leads me.
Some how I know I'll be strong.
For once I can touch
What my heart used to dream of.
Long before I knew.
Aww, someone like you
Would make my dream come true.”

“For once in my life
I won't let sorrow hurt me.
Not like it's hurt me before.
For once I have something
I know won't desert me.
I'm not alone anymore.
For once I can say
This is mine, you can't take it.
As long as I know
I have love I can make it.
For once in my life
I have someone who needs me.”

(Stevie Wonder “For Once in My Life”)

The weeks went by as Hogwarts’ students immersed themselves in studying and classes. The professors all seemed to be on the homework warpath as they heaped assignment after assignment on the students.

Although, Harry was juggling classes, Quidditch and his Head Boy duties, he still found time to help Hermione have a little fun every now and then. They would sneak into Hogsmeade or Muggle London when the opportunities presented themselves. Sometimes, they stayed closer to the castle and just enjoyed a walk by the lake or a visit to Hagrid’s Hut.

Their relationship seemed to grow stronger with each passing day. Like every couple, they had their disagreements and their arguments. With each test to their young relationship, they emerged stronger and closer than ever.

Harry, however, couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad would soon happen. He couldn’t help it. If history was any indication, any good thing in his life didn’t seem to stay around too long. At times, he knew that this was stupid, because Voldemort was long gone; vanquished nearly a year ago. He hadn’t shared this worry and insecurity with Hermione. He didn’t want her to think he was having doubts about their relationship. For one thing, their relationship was the greatest thing in his life.

He’d heard some of the girls in his year talk about meeting that “special person”. He’d remembered laughing with Ron as he heard them gush about meeting their “soul mate”. He remembered thinking how girls were mental when they’d discuss finding that one, perfect person who was meant for them.

It wasn’t so funny, now; however, he couldn’t help thinking to himself. Because, he knew, that he had found that one, perfect person for him. It may sound clichéd and old-fashioned, but he felt that he had been looking for Hermione all his life. That person who would love him unconditionally and that he would love in return. She was all that and more. He’d wanted to tell her this, but didn’t think he could find the right words to convey to her how much she meant to him.

He certainly hadn’t told Ron. Ron would just laugh and taunt him about going all soft over Hermione.

Speaking of Ron, Harry had a feeling his best friend was hiding something. Ron spent the majority of his free time away from the Common Room. He didn’t tag along with Harry and Hermione when they’d go into Hogsmeade. Come to think of it, he’d begged off the study sessions Hermione had scheduled for the trio.

A few weeks before Christmas, Harry and Hermione were sitting in the Great Hall quizzing each other for the History of Magic exam they had later that afternoon. Ron, as usual, lately, was nowhere to be found.

“Okay, Harry,” Hermione said, reading from her notes. “Who was the only wizard to lead three revolts during the 17^th Century?”

Harry, who was looking around the Great Hall for any sign of his red-haired friend, muttered absently, “Ron Weasley.”

Hermione looked up from her notes in amusement.

“Harry?”

“Yeah?” he said, looking around the room yet again.

“Ron Weasley?” she asked. “He’s your answer.”

“Hmmm,” Harry said, turning back around to face her. “Did I get it right?”

“Well, I don’t know which Ron Weasley you’re talking about, but the one I know wasn’t alive during the 17^th Century and more than likely wouldn’t have led a revolt of anything unless it was a raid of a kitchen.”

It suddenly dawned on Harry what he’d said.

“Oh,” he said. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening. I was looking for Ron.”

“He’s not been around much lately, has he?” Hermione said, closing her book.

“No,” Harry said. “Do you think he’s, you know, feeling a little like a third wheel or something like that?”

Hermione frowned. “I hope not. He hasn’t said anything. And you know with Ron, if anything’s bothering him, he’ll usually speak up straightaway. He’s not one to keep things bottled up inside.”

Harry nodded.

“Now, let’s eat,” Hermione said. “Then, we can get back to studying. We’ll have a few minutes before Transfiguration where we can get in some last minute cramming.”

“We’ve already gone over it about two-thousand times, Hermione,” Harry said, helping himself to a blueberry muffin.

Hermione looked over at him with a laugh. “You can never be too prepared.”

“I beg to differ,” Harry said. “I’m about on study overload right about now.”

“You’ll be thanking me once you ace Binns’ test,” Hermione said.

Harry knew she was right, but he enjoyed teasing her. He liked the shine that came into her eyes when she got a little flustered over something. She always seemed to rise to the challenge, no matter how big or small. It was one of her most endearing and infuriating qualities.

“Okay, okay,” Harry said, defeated. “But, for this, you have to go flying with me.”

”There isn’t enough fire whiskey in the world to get me up on a broom,” Hermione said, shaking her head.

“Oh, come on,” he said, watching her. “It’s really quite peaceful and tranquil up there. There’s nothing quite like it.”

”Well, I prefer my feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you, very much,” she said.

“If I ace this test,” Harry said. “You are going flying with me.”

“Don’t count on it,” she said.

“Come on,” he said. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Hermione looked unconvinced.

”What is it with you and flying anyway?” he asked her.

“If you must know, I’m terrified of heights,” she said. “I’m not afraid of many things, but that is definitely one of them.”

“You just haven’t had the right experience in the air,” he said. “Besides, you’ve flown on an airplane with your parents, right? It’s basically the same thing.”

”It is not the same thing,” Hermione said. “Besides, when I fly with my parents, I always have a book to read or a magazine. It’s distracting that way. I don’t have to think about the fact that we’re thousands of miles up in the air. With a broom, you have nothing to protect you, but a broom handle.”

“After all that you’ve faced in your life,” he said looking at her. “You should be able to do this. Besides, you’ll be with me. I’d die before I let anything happen to you. You know that, right?”

Hermione’s serious expression faded and her cheeks flushed red as she looked across at her boyfriend.

“Harry,” she said, somewhat dreamily.

“Will you go, then?” he asked her.

“I’ll think about it,” she said.

“I’m wearing you down, then,” he said, smugly.

“I said I’ll think about it,” she reiterated.

They smiled again at each other and Hermione looked away a few moments later to see Ron striding in to the Great Hall. He looked a little disheveled in appearance.

Ron nodded at the two of them in greeting and sat down beside Hermione.

Hermione looked at him as he loaded his plate with sausages, eggs and a couple of muffins.

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said, looking at him bemusedly. “But, you would be?”

Ron looked up from his plate, confused.

“What are you on about?” he asked her.

“You seem somewhat familiar,” Harry added. “I think I may have met you on the train once.”

He extended his hand across the table at Ron. “Harry Potter. And you would be-?”

“Oh, sod off,” Ron said crossly. “I know I haven’t been around much lately, but I’ve been a little busy.”

“Doing what exactly?” Hermione probed.

“Studying,” Ron said, looking away from her. “And you know hanging out with other friends. You two aren’t the only ones I have if you must know.”

“Ickle Ronnie-kins is growing up,” Harry said. “It was only yesterday that he was my partner-in-crime.”

“I’m still your partner-in-crime,” Ron said. “But I’ve just had a few things on my mind lately, that’s all.”

Ron began to eat his breakfast and Harry and Hermione exchanged a look.

Hermione raised her eyebrow at Harry and tried to motion for him to say something to Ron.

“Um, Ron,” Harry said. “You’re okay, aren’t you? I mean, you don’t have a problem with Hermione and I being, you know, a couple. We aren’t leaving you out or anything, are we?”

Ron looked up from his plate and frowned. “No. I’m quite happy for the two of you.”

He turned to smile at Hermione and then smiled at Harry.

“Really,” he said. “I don’t feel like you’re leaving me out or anything. Not at all.”

“Well, what have you been doing lately?” Hermione asked again.

Ron looked a little unsure of what to say.

”If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh or make jokes,” he said. “Because, despite what I originally felt about this person, I’ve changed my mind considerably. I happen to like her a lot. I know you might find it hard to believe. So, did I, to tell the truth, but she’s really great once you get to know her and I’ve been spending a lot of my free time with her.”

Hermione and Harry both looked intrigued as Ron spoke.

“A girl?” Hermione asked. “Who is it?”

Ron looked a little sheepish.

He mumbled something that sounded quite incoherent.

“What?” Hermione asked.

“I’ve been spending some time with Luna,” Ron said, a little louder.

Hermione’s quizzical expression played into a bright smile.

“What?” Ron asked, bracing himself for the inevitable jokes and taunting from his two best friends. That was why he hadn’t mentioned his and Luna’s blossoming friendship to them before now.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Hermione said.

Ron looked at her surprised. “You do?”

“Of course,” Hermione said. “Well done, Ron.”

She punched him playfully on the arm.

“She’s right, mate,” Harry said. “About bloody time, I say.”

Ron smiled, nearly ecstatic that his friends accepted this.

“I think we should all go into Hogsmeade one weekend,” Hermione said. “I think we’d have a grand time.”

“A double date, you mean?” Ron asked her.

“Of course,” Hermione said.

“Okay,” Ron said, nodding. “Just promise me we won’t have to go to that girly tea room.”

“Deal,” Hermione said, laughing. “To tell you the truth, I can’t stand that place, either.”

“That’s good to hear,” Harry said. “I think you lose masculinity points every time you step foot in that place.”

Ron was about to say something when Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil sat down near them. They were giggling and squealing excitedly.

“Oi!” Ron said, calling to them. “What’s going on?”

“You didn’t hear?” Lavender said, looking at him. “There’s going to be another Yule Ball this year! I can hardly wait!”

“Another ball?” Hermione asked. “We didn’t hear anything about it.”

She looked over at Harry, who looked just as surprised as she was.

“Alas,” Ron said, patting her on the shoulder. “The Head Boy and Girl are always the last to know.”

Ron, Lavender, Parvati and Harry laughed. After a few moments, even Hermione joined in.

“What are the details?” Hermione asked Parvati.

“Well, McGonagall just put the notice on the board in the common room,” she said, her eyes twinkling with excitement. “It’s supposed to be really great. We don’t have to wear dress robes, so I am going to have to find a great dress. I love this. I was just looking for an excuse to go shopping, you know, other than Christmas, and this is just perfect.”

Lavender and Parvati started talking excitedly to each other again and the trio tuned them out.

“Well,” Hermione said.

“Well,” Harry said. “I guess I better start looking around for a date.”

Hermione looked affronted at him. She chucked her own blueberry muffin at him, which hit him smack dab on the nose.

“Hey!” Harry said. “That is behavior unfitting of a Head Girl.”

“You keep this up and you will really be looking for a date,” Hermione said.

“I was only joking, Hermione,” he said. “Who else would I go with besides you?”

“Well, if that isn’t a romantic way to invite someone, I don’t know what is,” Hermione said. “But, it’ll have to do, I guess.”

Harry looked at her. “Miss Granger, would you please do me the great honor and privilege of escorting you to this year’s Yule Ball?” He reached across the table and took her hand.

Ron looked at them in disbelief. “People are trying to eat here.”

“I would be honored to go with you,” she said, ignoring Ron, who was still looking at them with his mouth full of eggs and sausage.

“As if she would have said no,” Ron said, shaking his head at his two best friends.

Meanwhile, Ginny Weasley was sitting hunched over the toilet in the second floor girls’ bathroom. She’d not slept much the night before. Her stomach had been bothering her for quite sometime. She’d woken up the past few days feeling quite nauseous. She’d thrown up a couple of times. She’d even missed a couple of Quidditch practices due to her feeling under the weather.

When she finally was able to pull herself together, she got to her feet and walked over to the sinks. She splashed some cold water on her face and looked at herself properly in the mirror. Her skin was pale and there were bags under her eyes. She didn’t look or feel her best at the moment.

What on earth is going wrong with me? She wondered aloud to herself as she took out her comb and started to smooth down her hair. She resolved to visit Madame Pomfrey if she wasn’t better by tomorrow. She tried to quiet her nagging fears by telling herself it was probably just a stomach bug or something like that. This time of year everyone was getting sick from some sort of ailment. That’s all it was, Ginny told herself as she gathered her bag and walked silently out of the loo.

“There’s absolutely nothing to worry about,” she said.

She hadn’t made it but a few feet down the hall when she felt that overwhelming nauseous feeling overcome her again and she had to dash back into the bathroom.

Author’s Note: Ron/Luna fans should like this chapter. There’s a little Harry/Hermione too, and Ginny finds out some earth-shattering news and decides to tell Draco. In this chapter, during the Ginny scenes, some of the dialogue is typed in italics---this is her thoughts. I didn’t know how else to do it, so I hope you aren’t confused.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! Thanks for reading and reviewing!!!!!

Chapter Ten

You Get Me

“So I'm a little left of center
I'm a little out of tune
Some say I'm paranormal
So I just bend their spoon
Who wants to be ordinary
In a crazy, mixed-up world
I don't care what they're sayin'
As long as I'm your girl”

(Michelle Branch, “You Get Me”)

“Ron, would you please get that thing out of my face?” Hermione said. She cringed as Ron again placed a flaming red eyeball gumball in her direction.

“Come on, Hermione,” Ron said, shoving it again in her face. “It’s just gum.”

“It’s disgusting and hideous,” Hermione said.

“It’s one of our bestsellers!” George’s voice called to them from the front of the store. “Hermione, you can’t be talking down our products in here!”

Harry laughed as Hermione rolled her eyes at George.

“How about if I throttle your little brother, then?” Hermione asked him, recoiling yet again as Ron placed the gumball in her face.

“Well, that’s alright, then,” George said. “In fact, anyone who abuses—either emotionally or physically my little brother here gets a 10 percent discount on their purchase!”

George clapped his hands together, excitedly. Ron, on the other hand, scowled.

“Oh, shut it, George,” Ron said coolly. “Where did Luna run off too?”

George’s eyes lit up.

“What?” Ron asked.

“She’s in the back with Fred,” George said.

“Doing what?” Ron asked.

“Taking a look at some of your baby pictures, brother dear,” George said with a devilish laugh. “Mum sent some old photo albums to us. Fred thought Luna would enjoy seeing you in the bath.”

Ron’s face fell and he ran off toward the back of the shop.

“It’s almost too easy to get his goat, sometimes,” George said. “I do miss it. It’s probably one of the things I miss most about being with him at Hogwarts.”

“I think I should take lessons from you and George,” Hermione said. “Can I have a look at some of those photos, too?”

At that moment, Ron’s voice echoed loudly from the back of the shop, “I WAS TWO YEARS OLD! MUM MADE ME DO IT!”

This was promptly followed by Fred’s bellowing laughter and Luna’s dreamy giggles. This set Hermione and Harry and George into their own fit of laughter.

“I love seeing him squirm,” George said. “Fred must have showed Luna the photo we took of Ron when Mum was trying to knit a dress for one of our neighbor’s daughters. She used Ron to make sure it fit.”

“Oh, I have to see that!” Hermione said, her eyes twinkling. “I have to see that!”

“Yeah, I think I’d like to see that, too,” Harry said, laughing.

Fred came out from the backroom of the store, clutching the leather-bound photo album tightly to his chest. Luna followed him, laughing. Ron brought up the rear, scowling haughtily the entire way.

“This is cruel and unusual punishment,” Ron said. “I’m your brother. Aren’t you obligated to be nice to me, even if it’s just every once in awhile?”

George and Fred exchanged amused, thoughtful glances. They then turned to look at their younger brother and shook their heads. “No, I don’t think so. We are obligated, however, as your older brothers to give you a hard time whenever possible. It’s what you do to Ginny.”

“I do not!” Ron protested. “I’ve never once treated Ginny like you two treated me.”

Harry interjected, “Oh, Ron. I don’t think that’s entirely true. You remember when she was dating Dean? You kept following them around and making sure that he didn’t do anything to your sister.”

“That’s being protective,” Ron said. “There’s a big difference between being protective and being an overbearing, pompous, obnoxious pair of gits like these two.”

Ron pointed at his twin brothers, who beamed back at him.

“Overbearing, pompous, and obnoxious?” George asked. “Wow! Ron, I didn’t know you cared!”

Ron shrugged, obviously defeated.

“I thought you looked great in a dress, Ron,” Luna said helpfully.

Ron blushed.

George and Fred bit their lips not to laugh out loud at this remark from Luna.

“Are you happy now?” Ron asked. “You’ve embarrassed me in front of my girlfriend.”

Luna looked up in surprise at this. Ron had never called her his girlfriend. He’d never once mentioned her that way to anyone, let alone her.

Hermione beamed at Luna.

Ron’s cheeks flushed red as he realized what he’d just said. He suddenly became very interested in the floor.

“Hey, Hermione?” Harry asked. “Weren’t you just saying how you’d wanted to check out the new selection of books at Flourish & Blotts?”

Hermione caught on. “Oh, yeah! Yes, of course.”

Harry took her hand. “We’ll catch up with you guys, later. See ya, Fred. See ya, George.”

George and Fred waved goodbye to Harry and Hermione as a new group of customers entered the store. They left a very uncomfortable Ron and Luna alone.

“So,” Luna said, looking at him.

“So,” Ron said, kicking his foot impatiently on the floor.

“You consider me your girlfriend, do you?” Luna asked point-blank.

“Well,” Ron said, still not meeting her eyes. “I mean, we’ve been spending a lot of time together and all and I haven’t spent any time with anyone else. I don’t think you’ve been spending time with anyone else. I just thought, you know, I mean you’re a girl. You’re my friend. So, you’re a girlfriend. I mean, that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily my girlfriend. You’re just-“

He was cut off by Luna bridging the distance between them with two quick steps and planting a kiss on his lips.

“What was that for?” Ron asked when she pulled away.

“For calling me your girlfriend,” she said, smiling at him. “However, you meant it, thank you for calling me that.”

Ron smiled back at her. “So, you wouldn’t mind being called my girlfriend?”

She started to nod her head, but laughed as Ron’s eyes lit up in surprise. “Only kidding. I would love to be your girlfriend.”

“Awwwwwwww,” Fred’s voice said loudly in Ron’s ears.

Fred had snuck up behind his brother. “This is so sweet!”

“Oh, sod off, Fred,” Ron said, with a laugh.

“Yeah, sod off, Fred,” Luna echoed.

Fred, instead of being taken aback or affronted by Luna’s remark, beamed back at her. “You are going to fit in quite nicely with our family, Miss Lovegood. Quite nicely.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

While her brother and friends were enjoying the autumn weekend in Hogsmeade, Ginny Weasley was sitting on the edge of one of the beds in the hospital wing. In all her life, she’d never felt so alone.

Madame Pomfrey’s words were echoing and reverberating loudly in her head. A million questions were going through her mind. Most prominent was “How could I have ever let this happen?”

Pregnant. She was only 16 years old, for Merlin’s sake, she thought miserably to herself.

What on earth will my parents say? What about Charlie, Bill, Fred, George and Ron?

She honestly didn’t know which would anger them more---the fact that she was pregnant or the fact that Draco Malfoy, of all people, was the father of the baby.

What on earth was she going to do? She felt fresh, hot tears come to her eyes. Feeling as if she would faint, she lay back onto the bed and brought her knees to her chest.

How could I have been so stupid? I should have realized that we were taking a huge chance; a big risk. I never asked him, not once, about using protection. I was too caught up in my feelings for him, to even consider it. I was too caught up in what was happening in the present to even give a second thought to what could happen. Now, I’m paying for my carelessness in the worst possible way.

For the first time, she wondered what Draco would say; how he would react to this news. He loved her. She might not know much about what to do, but at least she did know that he loved her. He’d told her and shown her time and time again.

Maybe he’ll be happy. He talked to me just the other day about how he could see himself marrying me someday. When I’d said that our parents would never go for it, he’d assured me that we’d make them see. They’d see how much we meant to each other and they’d change their minds. They’d be all for it.

She’d believed him then. The dreamy, romantic side of her thought that he could be right. They could make them all see. It might take time, but they’d all come to see how much in love they were.

Ginny shakily arose from the bed. She felt a little bit better. She had to tell him. There was no other course of action. He had to be told and the sooner the better. She really needed his support, both emotionally and physically. She needed that now, more than ever.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Hermione clutched her bag of books to her as she looked around Flourish & Blotts for Harry. He’d left her alone as she’d browsed through the books. He’d said he was going to check out the Quidditch section while she shopped.

Hermione laughed as she watched him sitting on the floor in front of the Quidditch shelf. He was thumbing through one of the books; obviously totally engrossed in what he was reading.

“Wow,” she said, peering over his shoulder. “That looks quite interesting.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Harry said, not looking up from his book.

“What is that bloke doing?” Hermione asked, putting a hand on Harry’s shoulder as she took a look at the illustration in the book. A man was flying carefree through the air; doing spins and turns daredevil style on his broom.

“Having a bloody good time,” Harry said, looking up at her. “You know, you could do that, too. If you’d just let me get you up in the air.”

“No,” Hermione said, taking a seat beside him on the floor. “Why is it so important for you to get me to fly?”

He looked at her, his eyes serious. “Because I enjoy flying about as much as anything. I want to share that with you.”

“You do?” Hermione asked, touched. “Well, now I feel guilty. It really means that much to you?”

He nodded. “Yes, please say that you’ll go up with me. Please?”

She looked a little hesitant, but nodded her head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but okay.”

He beamed back at her.

“But, you have to promise me, you will do no flips or turns or wild turnabouts with me?” she asked. “I mean it. Besides, you don’t want me to spew all over you, do you?”

“It’s S.P.E.W,” Harry chided her. “Not spew.”

Hermione laughed despite herself. “Oh, shut up, Harry!”

He got to his feet and placed the book back on the shelf. He offered his hand to Hermione and pulled her to her feet. He kissed her softly as he did so.

“You’re going to get us thrown out of here,” Hermione said, a little breathlessly as the kiss ended.

“Well,” he said teasingly. “What a way to go, huh?”

“How about we go back to school and snog in front of the fire, away from prying eyes and in the comforts of our own room?" Hermione asked, looking up at him. “What do you think?”

“I think I have the coolest girlfriend in the universe,” he said.

“Race you back,” Hermione said, letting go of Harry and running out of the store with Harry following close behind.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It took Ginny awhile to find Draco, but she did. She found him on the Quidditch pitch, alone.

“I thought you’d be in Hogsmeade,” Ginny said, quietly coming up behind him.

“Hey, Red,” Draco said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Yeah, I thought about it, but I didn’t much feel like it.”

She nodded.

“Are you alright?” he asked, noticing her sad expression.

“I don’t know,” she said, folding her arms protectively across her chest.

“What is it?” he asked. “Tell me. Maybe I can help.”

“Maybe, you should sit down, Draco,” she said.

“Okay,” he said confused. He took a seat on one of the benches and Ginny sat hesitantly down beside him.

“I have something to tell you,” she said, looking straight at him. “I don’t know how you’ll react. I still haven’t let it sink in myself, to tell you the truth.”

“What is it?” Malfoy said, looking at her. He took her hand. “Tell me, Red.”

She took a deep breath. A single tear came down her cheek.

“I’m pregnant, Draco,” she said softly. “We’re going to have a baby.”

(CLIFFHANGER AMY REARS HER HEAD AGAIN!!!!! I’M REALLY SORRY, YA’LL! IT REALLY WAS THE BEST WAY TO END THE CHAPTER! I HAD NO CHOICE!!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME; I KNOW NOT WHAT I DO!!!)

(IF IT’S ANY CONSOLATION, I PROMISE TO HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER UP SOON!)

Author’s note: You people really, really, don’t like cliffhangers, do you? I get the point! I can’t promise that you won’t see any more in this story; you might even think the end of this chapter is a cliffie, too. They really are a great way to end a chapter! It keeps you guys coming back for more and that’s what I want. So, I hope that the fact that I update regularly helps make up for my cliffie dependence problem. Please read and review!

Chapter 11

Trouble

“Oh, no, I see

A spider web is tangled up with me

And I lost my head

And thought of all the stupid things I'd said

Oh no, what's this?

A spider web and I'm caught in the middle

So I turned to run

And thought of all the stupid things I'd done

And I never meant to cause you trouble

And I never, never meant to do your wrong

Ah, well if I ever caused you trouble

Oh no I never meant to do you harm”

(Coldplay/Trouble)

“I’m pregnant,” Ginny repeated.

Draco didn’t say anything. He sat there, his mouth partially agape in shock.

“You could say something,” Ginny said quietly.

“What the fuck do you want me to say, Ginny?” Draco said abruptly. The tone of his voice startled Ginny.

“I understand it’s a shock, but we have to decide what we’re going to do,” Ginny continued.

He stood up from the bench and paced back and forth in front of her, running his hands absently through his hair.

“You understand it’s a shock,” he repeated coldly. “I came down here to get in some flying practice and the next thing I know; you are in my face telling me you’re pregnant. I’d say that’s more than a shock, Red. I’d say that’s pretty much the end of the world.”

Ginny cringed as his words stung her.

“We have to decide what we’re going to do,” Ginny said. “I just found out a few hours ago from Madame Pomfrey.”

“You went to the nurse?” he asked, rounding on her. “Merlin’s beard, Ginny! She’s going to tell everyone about this.”

“She said she wouldn’t tell anyone,” Ginny retorted. “She said that it would be my decision to tell everyone. She was really quite helpful, actually.”

“You have to be the most naïve person I’ve ever met in my life,” he said, laughing. “She’s not going to just sit on this news while your stomach keeps expanding over the next nine months.”

“Which is why I think we need to tell our parents,” Ginny said, ignoring the coldness of his voice. “The sooner the better.”

He stared at her. “Tell our parents? What kind of dream world are you living in, Ginny? Our parents would be deadest against you and I being together, let alone having a child together. My dad is in prison thanks to that scarhead you call a friend. If he even knew that you and I were shagging, he’d be none too pleased, to put in nicely. Not to mention the fact that your parents---hell, your entire family can’t stand the sight of me.”

“I know all this,” Ginny said, getting to her feet. “I remember raising these same objections to you just a few weeks ago. Do you remember what you said? Because, I remember every single, solitary word that you said, Draco. You said that we’d make them see. We’d make them understand.”

Again, he was silent. He turned away from her.

Ginny felt hot tears welling up in her eyes, but she wasn’t about to let him get off this easily.

The realization of what he’d done hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Oh, I get it,” she said, her voice trembling. “I get it all now. You’re right, Draco. I am the most naïve person in the world. I was living in a dream world. I actually thought that you loved me; that you cared about me.”

“I do care about you,” he said quietly, not facing her.

“When it’s convenient for you,” she spat back at him. “When no one is watching. When there’s no complications. I bet you still cut me down in front of your friends, don’t you?”

He didn’t reply.

“Typical,” she said, shaking her head. “Typical Draco Malfoy behavior. But, I didn’t want to see it, did I? I didn’t want to believe that you were playing me for a fool, but you were, weren’t you? The whole entire, bloody time—that’s exactly what you were doing. Was it some sort of bet? I bet you and your Slytherin cronies sat in your common room just laughing yourselves silly over you being able to get little Ginny Weasley into bed. Well, congratulations, Draco. You went above and beyond. You’ve gotten me pregnant. Well done, Malfoy. Well done, indeed. You should be very proud of yourself.”

“You don’t understand,” he said, turning around to face her, but averted his gaze from her.

“I understand quite clearly now,” she said. “You’re not going to be there for me, are you? You’re not going to be there for me and the baby?”

He was silent.

Ginny gave a half-hearted laugh.

“Harry and Ron were right about you,” she said, backing away from him. “You’re nothing but a cold-hearted, scared coward.”

She gave him one last look before running back towards the castle. Tears falling freely down her cheeks. She barely even noticed that it had begun to rain.

Malfoy’s own eyes were aglow with angry tears.

“Damn it,” he said quietly.

“DAMN IT!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

<<<<<<<<<<<<

Harry and Hermione were just about to the castle when it started to rain. They made a mad dash for the castle as the rain started to come down in sheets.

They were laughing as they ascended the staircase for their suite. Their teeth were chattering and they were both soaked clear through to the bone.

“You know if you hadn’t insisted on stopping and kissing me on the path back, we would have escaped the rain,” she said, looking back at him.

“As I recall it was you who grabbed me,” he said.

“Yeah, well you weren’t protesting, were you?” she asked cheekily.

“Of course not,” he said.

They made it back to their suite and quickly muttered the password and watched as the portrait hole opened and they walked in. Instead of making their way to their respective bedrooms, they went and stood in front of the warm, roaring fire.

Hermione knelt down and enjoyed the warmth of the fire. Harry grabbed a blanket from the couch and wrapped it around her. As he did so, he noticed how the light from the fire illuminated her face. His hand lingered on her cheek.

“You’re all wet,” he said.

“So are you,” she whispered. She felt the blanket fall to the floor. He didn’t know if it was the fire or the rain, but he was filled with this overwhelming sense of desire and want as he touched the soft skin on her cheek. Without thought, he grasped her hard behind the neck and pulled her to him. If Hermione had wanted to say anything, she wouldn’t have been able to as their lips crashed together in an out of control kiss that nearly bordered on violence.

Their hands were everywhere on each other’s bodies. Their wet clothes were becoming a hindrance.

Hermione whispered in his ear, “Let’s go into your room.”

He smiled at her and before she could protest, he knelt down and picked her up.

“Harry,” she said, laughing. “What are you doing?

“Being romantic,” he said. “I saw this in a movie once.”

“Oh, Merlin’s beard,” she said. “I’m going to break your back.”

“You’re not heavy,” he said cheekily. “Much.”

She slapped his back.

“Just kidding,” he said. He clumsily walked toward his bedroom, which was a little hard to do when he was carrying her and his eyes were fixated on hers. He opened the door of his bedroom and then softly lay Hermione down on the bed. They were both laughing as he did so, but the laughter quickly stopped as Hermione pulled him down on top of her.

The kissing resumed with an intensity that scared and excited Hermione at the same time. She knew they should stop, but she didn’t have the strength or the willpower to do so. This felt too good and too right to stop.

She was shivering.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“No,” whispered. “I’m just—“

She didn’t really have an answer. As she looked up at him, looking down at her, all she could think was that in her whole entire life, she’d never wanted anyone or anything so much. Their lips met again in a tender kiss.

She unbuttoned his shirt and he pulled away from her so he could take it off properly. As he did so, she tugged at the t-shirt he was wearing and with one look at her, he lifted it over his head and threw it to the floor.

Hermione sat up on the bed and pulled her own jumper over her head. She felt suddenly self-conscious as she sat there on his bed, in only her jeans and bra. She looked away from him.

“What?” he asked her.

“Nothing,” she said evasively.

He brought his hand to her face and lifted her chin to look at him.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, caressing her cheek.

She smiled shyly at him and took his hand in hers.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Why?” he asked.

“We were moving a little too fast,” she said. She noticed the look on his face and quickly put her hand on his arm.

“You weren’t making me do anything, I didn’t want to do,” she said. “I wanted you so much. I do want you. It’s just that we weren’t thinking a few minutes ago. We got a little carried away. As soon as we started taking off clothes, it got to be a little too real, too quickly.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “You’re right.”

“You’re not mad?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “I won’t lie to you and say that I’m not disappointed, because I am, but I’m not mad.”

She beamed at him. “I’m disappointed, too.”

“We can still be together, you know?” he said to her.

She raised her eyebrow at him.

“Not like that,” he said. “I’m saying that you could sleep in here with me tonight. We could be close.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment and for a moment, Harry thought she’d refuse. To his delight, she nodded her head.

“I’ll just go change into my pajamas, then,” she said.

“Okay,” he said.

She kissed him quickly on the lips before getting off the bed.

“I’ll be right back,” she said with a wink.

“I’ll be waiting,” he said, smiling at her.

He got up from the bed, too, and quickly changed into his own pajamas.

He fell back onto the bed.

This was definitely a test. How was he going to be able to sleep side by side with her and not want to…

Well, first off, Harry, don’t think of it like that. You are not an animal. You can sleep beside your girlfriend and not want to have your way with her. Besides, you understand. You understand that she’s special. You understand that you will be with her one day when the time is right.

Yet, tonight, with the rain and the fire, it had sure seemed and felt right.

She knocked on the door and he stifled a laugh as he said, “Come on in.”

She was dressed in her blue pajama bottoms and a lacy white camisole top.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

She’s worth it. She’s definitely worth it.

“You better not hog the covers or snore,” she said as she climbed into his bed.

“Same goes for you,” he said, winking at her.

“I do not snore,” she said, trying to look affronted. “Besides, I’ve had to put anti-noise charms on the walls so I don’t have to hear your snores.”

“I don’t snore!” he exclaimed.

“Uh-huh,” she said.

He responded by tickling her and she dissolved into giggles.

Their lips met again and it was Hermione who deepened the kiss. She arched herself against him.

“This is how we got into trouble before,” he said, as she kissed his neck.

“Mmmm,” she whispered against his neck.

“You are an evil woman,” he said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, but you love me for it,” she said.

“I do,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.

“Good night,” she whispered.

“Good night, love,” he replied.

******

Ginny tiptoed down to the Gryffindor common room. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying. She’d given up on getting any sleep. It wasn’t going to be possible tonight.

She couldn’t believe how foolish she’d been. She could just hear Ron now telling her how stupid and idiotic she was for getting involved with Draco Malfoy.

Again, her thoughts went to her family. How on earth would they react to this news? They’d be so disappointed and angry. She couldn’t see them being any more disappointed and angry at her than she was at herself.

She had hoped that when she’d run off from Draco earlier that he would have followed her. She’d wanted him to follow her. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be okay. He hadn’t done that. She was slowly beginning to realize that he would never, ever do that.

She was alone. It would be she who would pay for their joint mistake.

Alone.

She looked around the deserted common room and walked over to one of the large armchairs in the corner. She curled up on it and pulled her blanket tightly around her.

She saw on the floor a crumpled up parchment that announced the Yule Ball. It would be held next weekend. She couldn’t believe how she’d thought of going with Draco. How romantic and naïve, she mused to herself.

Everyone would be there. She certainly couldn’t go now, could she? She didn’t have a date, for a start. Ron would be going with Luna. Hermione would be with Harry.

Ginny rested her head on the back of the chair and thought wistfully. Why couldn’t she have found someone nice, brave, sweet and handsome like Harry?

Hermione’s so lucky to have someone like Harry. I bet if he got a girl pregnant, he wouldn’t desert her and leave her to fend for herself! He’d take responsibility. He’d be heroic and strong like he always is.

A sudden thought occurred to Ginny. She quickly tried to shake it, as it was nearly too horrible to even consider.

It would solve all my problems, though. Mum and Dad, would be angry, but they’d get past it quickly. They’ve always considered Harry a part of the family. This way, he’d really be part of the family. We’d have someone to take care of us.

She shook her head vehemently. She couldn’t do that to Hermione. Hermione was her friend. She was just like a sister.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. It could solve all my problems. But, I can’t do that. I cannot do that to her or to Harry, can I?

Author’s note: Okay, I’m using a song that I’ve used in another story, but I can’t help it! I like the song and it fit this chapter, so sue me! It is “Crazy Love”, which has been covered by a number of artists, but my favorite is by Brian McKnight. This chapter deals with the lead up to the Yule Ball and will end just as everyone is about to arrive for the Yule Ball. There will be more Ron/Luna in next chapter, I promise!!! Again, the end of this chapter is foreshadowing, not a cliffhanger. Trust me on that. Read and review please!

Chapter 12

Crazy Love

“She's got love love love love crazy love
Yes I need her in the daytime
Yes I need her in the night
I want to throw my arms around her
To kiss her, hug her, kiss her, hug her tight
And when I'm returning from so far away
She gives me such sweet lovin' brightens up my day
And makes me righteuos and makes me whole
And it makes me mellow down to my soul”

(Crazy Love/version by Brian McKnight)

The night before the Yule Ball found Harry in the Gryffindor common room playing a game of chess with Ron. This was their second game of the evening and Harry was again losing to Ron.

“You know, before we leave this school,” Harry said as he contemplated his next move. “I’m going to win at least once against you at this bloody game.”

Ron guffawed. “You just need to accept the fact that I’m loads better than you at this. Yet, you keep coming back for more. You must be a glutton for punishment. It must be quite embarrassing for you, really.”

“You know,” Harry said, looking at his friend crossly. “You have quite the ego about this. You realize that, don’t you?”

“So says the Boy-who-lived. Also known as Hogwarts Head Boy and also known as Quidditch captain. You could at least let me have this one thing,” Ron replied sarcastically.

“Wanker,” Harry said, looking across the table at his friend.

“Twat,” Ron retorted.

They both laughed and then Harry went back to trying to figure out the best move. He was at a loss.

“So, are you going to make a move before we turn 60?” Ron asked, leaning back in his chair and yawning.

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking,” Harry said.

Ron was quiet for a few moments before looking toward the staircase that led to the dormitories.

“So, the wife’s been upstairs for awhile, hasn’t she? I wonder what they’re talking about,” he said.

“Clothes, makeup, and hair, no doubt,” Harry said, still concentrating on the chessboard. “Hermione was going to see if Lavender would let her borrow a dress.”

“Well, let’s just hope Lav and Parvati don’t convert her into some giggly, boy-crazy female,” Ron said.

“I don’t think we have to worry about that,” Harry replied.

Ron nodded and rested his elbows on the table.

“So, how are things with you and Hermione?”

Harry smiled. “Great.”

He looked up to see Ron’s nearly unreadable expression. What was with all the sudden talk about Hermione? Harry couldn’t help but wonder. Ron looked to Harry as if he wanted to say something, but was either working up the courage to ask it or wondering how he should ask it.

“Have-,” Ron muttered, but then stopped himself.

“What?” Harry asked, looking across the table again at his friend.

Ron leaned in over the chessboard and said quietly, “Well, I can’t believe I’m actually asking you this. I mean, it’s kind of strange. I mean, it’s like you know that your parents had to have shagged at least a few times or you wouldn’t have been born, but I just don’t want to know about it. I mean, you know it had to have happened, but you don’t want to know the details.”

Harry looked at him, utterly confused.

“What are you on about, Ron?”

Ron squirmed a little in his chair.

“Well, I was just wondering if you and Hermione have,” he began weakly. “I mean, if you have she have, well you know…shagged.”

Ron said the last word with his face scrunched up.

Harry hadn’t really expected this question. He was speechless for a moment.

“Well, I’m just asking out of curiosity, of course,” Ron said quickly. “I mean, the two of you are practically living together.”

“You know that Hermione would hex us both if she heard us talking about this,” Harry said, motioning toward the staircase. His voice was barely above a whisper. The common room was by no means crowded, but Harry didn’t feel the need to inform everyone in the room about his sexual activity or lack thereof with Hermione.

“I know she would,” Ron said. “That’s why I’m asking you and not her. I really was just curious is all.”

Harry looked thoughtful and then looked around the room before saying quietly, “Well, to put your curious mind to rest, we haven’t.”

Ron nodded. “But, you do want to, right?”

“Of course,” Harry said. “It’s really difficult to be good when we’re in such close quarters like we are. And she’s started sleeping in my bed with me sometimes.”

Ron looked shocked by this news.

“HERMIONE?” he asked, a little louder than he intended.

Harry looked around the room in shock to see the handful of students in the room looking at the two of them curiously.

“Keep it down, Ron,” Harry said in a whisper. “I don’t think they heard you in Iceland.”

“Sorry,” Ron said sheepishly. “That just doesn’t sound like something Hermione would do.”

“Well, she’s not all books and studying all the time, you know,” Harry said.

“Wow,” Ron said.

“So, you mean to tell me with the two of you sleeping in the same bed, the opportunity has never arisen, so to speak?”

Ron laughed at his own pun, but his smile faded when he saw the look of annoyance on Harry’s face.

“We’ve come close,” Harry said, a little uncomfortable, awkward feeling coming over him. Perhaps, it wasn’t right or even appropriate to be discussing Hermione with Ron. This was really the first time that they’d discussed Hermione alone together. They’d done it loads of times, of course, when all three were just friends, but now with Harry and Hermione dating, it just felt a little strange to Harry to be talking about her like this with Ron.

Truth be told, he welcomed the idea of talking to another bloke about this. With his dad and Sirius both gone now, he really hadn’t had anyone to talk to about things like this. He knew he could talk to Lupin about it, but somehow it just didn’t seem like something he wanted to discuss with him.

After all, Ron was his best friend. Best friends were supposed to feel free to talk about girls with each other, right? Yet, it still felt a little strange to Harry. Hermione would be none to pleased if she could hear them talking about this.

“So, why haven’t you?” Ron asked. “What’s stopped you?”

“Well, be both decided to wait,” Harry said. “We both want to be together like that, but she wants to wait until after we’re married. I respect that.”

Ron’s eyes grew as big as saucers at this news.

“Hang on a moment,” he said, absently picking up a broken pawn. “Do you realize what you just said?”

He didn’t give Harry the opportunity to respond before continuing.

“You just said that you and Hermione were going to wait until after you were married.”

Harry nodded.

“So, does this mean, you’ve asked Hermione to marry you?”

Harry shook his head.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief.

“Not yet, I haven’t,” Harry responded, a little affronted by his friend’s reaction. “But by the look on your face, I can tell you’d be less than thrilled by the idea of us getting married?”

“It’s not that,” Ron said quickly. “But, come on. You guys are only 17. That’s too young to be thinking about marriage. You’ll want to date loads of girls before you settle down with just one, right?”

”Well, I used to think so, too,” Harry said. “But, why do all that? I can’t see myself ever with anyone else, but her. I love her, Ron. I could wait two, three, four, even ten bloody years and I’d still feel the same way. She’s it for me. I don’t think there could ever be anyone else.”

Ron silently stared back at his best friend.

“What?” Harry asked, feeling a little embarrassed by his emotional outpouring.

“Nothing,” Ron replied, shaking his head. “I couldn’t be happier for you, really. It’s always been the two of you, hasn’t it? I mean, everyone’s seen it, even before you two wised up to it.”

Harry nodded and smiled back at his friend. “I was planning on asking her graduation night. Don’t breathe a word of this or I’ll kill you.”

“You’re secret’s safe with me,” Ron said, winking at him. “This does present a bit of a problem for me, though.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked, concerned.

“Well, being as I’m your best friend and her best friend, will I have to make a choice between being Maid of Honor or Best Man?”

“Well, Ron,” Harry said, with a laugh. “You have had that experience of being in a dress before.”

“I WAS TWO BLASTED YEARS OLD, HARRY!” Ron snapped back at him, loudly.

Harry dissolved into laughter as Ron picked up a chess piece and hurled it across the table at Harry, who managed to duck just in time.

“Temper, temper,” Harry chided. “That’s very un-lady like behavior for such a charming lady.”

“Oh, shut it, Potter,” Ron retorted. “Now, make your move while we’re both still young.”

*********

While the boys were playing chess, Hermione sitting on Lavender’s bed as Lavender went through her closet trying to find a suitable dress. Lavender had shrieked with excitement when Hermione had asked if she’d had a dress she could borrow. This was right up Lavender’s alley and she was definitely relishing the opportunity.

“So, you should come here to get ready tomorrow evening, Hermione,” Lavender was saying. “Parvati and I could help you with your makeup, like we did for the last Yule Ball. You’ll have that Mr. Potter of yours absolutely drooling.”

Hermione smiled at the mention of Harry’s name.

“Yeah, do you remember how she protested and protested with us all those years about not being remotely interested in him as anything but a friend?” Parvati chimed in, from her own bed. She was busily painting her toenails.

“Yeah, we knew all the time you were full of it, Hermione,” Lavender said.

Hermione blushed.

“See, that’s all the evidence we need,” Parvati said, with a smug smile in Hermione’s direction. “Red cheeks will get you every time.”

“Did you see Neville the other day at breakfast?” Parvati asked. “That boy has got it bad for our little Ms. Weasley.”

“He always has,” Hermione said. “I wish she’d give him a chance.”

“He was trying to work up the courage to ask her to the dance and he chickened out,” Lavender said. “It was so cute. I wanted to go up and ask her for him.”

“Is she even going to the dance?” Parvati asked, looking at Hermione. “I mean, since she and Dean broke up, she hasn’t really been seeing anyone.”

“She hasn’t mentioned anything to me,” Hermione said.

“She hasn’t looked too well, lately,” Lavender said. “She’s been keeping to her self, too.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean anything out of the ordinary,” Hermione said defensively. “She’s had a lot on her mind with schoolwork and all.”

“Well, hold on to your hat, Miss Granger,” Lavender said, looking over her shoulder at Hermione. “Because I’ve got the dress for you.”

Hermione looked up and gasped as she saw the dress. She was definitely not the type of girl to get all googly-eyed over a dress or clothes. Usually, she was the practical, comfortable type. Yet, one look at that dress and she knew it was perfect.

“This dress was made for you, Hermione,” Lavender said. “I wore it once to a formal event my father had. I didn’t like the color too much on me, but I’ve always thought it would look smashing on you. I also have shoes and earrings to match.”

“Thanks, Lavender,” Hermione said sincerely, touching the fabric of the dress. “It’s really sweet of you to do this for me.”

Lavender waved her hand dismissively. “It’s what I do best. Besides, how many times have you helped me out with letting me read over your notes? I owe you more than just a pretty dress.”

Parvati nodded.

“We both do,” she said, smiling at Hermione. “We miss you. You should come by and visit more.”

“I will,” Hermione promised.

“She’s too busy in her cozy suite with her boyfriend,” Lavender teased.

Hermione blushed.

“I don’t blame you one bit, Hermione,” Lavender said, taking a seat on the bed beside her. “I’d spend all my free time with a great guy like Harry, too.”

”He is pretty great, isn’t he?” Hermione couldn’t help saying.

“I remember the last Yule Ball,” Parvati said. “You should have seen the look on Harry’s face when she walked in looking very un-Hermione like. You turned a lot of heads that night, Hermione.”

Hermione blushed.

“We’re happy for you, Hermione,” Lavender said. “If anyone deserves happiness and peace and quiet it’s you and Harry.”

“Thanks,” Hermione said, feeling warmth for her former roommates. They really weren’t that bad when you came down to it.

“So, we’ll leave the dress here so you don’t have to chance Harry seeing it before the ball,” Lavender said. “You come by tomorrow afternoon and we can all get ready together.”

“Sounds good,” Hermione said, getting up from the bed. “Thanks again, you guys. I really appreciate it.”

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The next evening found Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus waiting around in the common room again for the girls to appear. It hadn’t taken the boys very long to get ready. Harry had chosen to wear a simple white dress shirt, black trousers and a sports coat. He wore a red tie, which was the only clue he had to Hermione’s outfit for the evening.

She hadn’t divulged much information to him, except that her dress was red.

Ron, looked impatiently at his watch. “Why do women do this? Make us wait?”

Seamus went up to Ron and put a hand on his shoulder. He gave Ron his most sage expression and said with a smirk, “Because they can.”

The boys laughed at this.

“I have to pick up Luna, too, you know?” Ron asked. “My date’s in an entirely different dormitory.”

“No one’s twisting your arm to wait here, Ron,” Dean said. “You could go ahead and pick up Luna and we’ll meet up with you outside the Great Hall.”

“Yeah,” Ron nodded. “I suppose I could go ahead and do that. I’ll meet you guys downstairs. Don’t go in without us.”

Harry nodded. “Go get her, loverboy.”

Ron’s cheeks flushed red and with a derogatory gesture at his friends, climbed through the portrait hole and out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, Parvati and Lavender came down the stairs, to wolf whistles from Seamus and Dean, their respective dates for the evening.

Harry looked past them. “Where’s Hermione?”

“She’ll be down in a minute,” Lavender said. “She looks amazing.”

Harry smiled. He waved goodbye to his friends as they promised to wait for he and Hermione downstairs. Harry took a seat by the fire as he waited. He was a little nervous as he sat there.

A few moments later, he heard a nervous giggle behind him. He got to his feet and turned around to see her standing at the foot of the stairs, smiling shyly at him.

She looked…well, he couldn’t think of a word that would accurately describe how she looked in that dress. She was wearing a deep red, fully beaded floor-length dress with silk black fabric overlay. As she turned around for him to see the entire dress, he noticed that the back of the dress, which had criss-cross lacing. She wore her hair up in a chignon with tiny, curly tendrils framing her face. She wore simple black dangly earrings and a matching necklace.

“What do you think?” she asked him, when he continued to stare at her. “I wasn’t so sure about these shoes.”

She lifted up her dress to show matching red and black satin lined shoes that had a high heel.

“But, Lavender did an anti-tripping charm on them,” she said with a sly smile. “So, you don’t have to worry about me tripping all over the place.”

Harry stared at her.

“What?” she asked. “Do I look that bad?”

“You look, um, you look absolutely amazing,” he said.

“Well, that’s better,” Hermione said. “You look quite handsome.”

“This old thing?” he asked her.

“Well, that old thing looks very nice on you,” she said. “Very nice, indeed.”

“I’m not so sure I want to take you downstairs,” he said honestly, helping her pull her wrap around her shoulders.

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“Because all those guys get one look at you in that dress and they’re going to make me jealous,” he said.

“Oh, Harry,” she said, swatting him on the arm.

“Take the compliment,” he said. “You deserve it! You look beautiful in that dress.”

“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks turning a red that could match her dress.

“So, are you ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes, I think so,” she said, taking his hand.

“Do you know of any anti-stepping on toes while dancing charms?” he asked her, as they climbed through the portrait hole.

Neither of them had any way of knowing that this would be the last happy night either of them would have for quite some time.

Author’s note: I know it’s been quite awhile for an update (for me, anyway). This chapter deals with the Yule Ball. I hope you guys enjoy it. Again, if you’ve never read the book “Circle of Friends’ or seen the movie, I suggest you do so. Both are quite good! Please read and review!

Chapter 13

And I Love Her

“I give her all my love
That's all I do
And if you saw my love
You'd love her too
I love her

She gives me ev'rything
And tenderly
The kiss my lover brings
She brings to me
And I love her

A love like ours
Could never die
As long as I
Have you near me

Bright are the stars that shine
Dark is the sky
I know this love of mine
Will never die
And I love her

Bright are the stars that shine
Dark is the sky
I know this love of mine
Will never die
And I love her”

(Beatles, “And I Love Her”)

Ron was pacing back and forth in front of the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower. He’d promised Luna he’d meet here there promptly at 7 p.m. It was now 10 minutes past that time. He hoped that the others waited for them. His stomach growled and he tried to forget the fact that he was hungry. Correction, he was absolutely starving. To him these fancy parties and balls were important and memorable for one thing—the food.

He’d nearly salivated when he’d read about the menu for tonight’s feast. Roast turkey served with roasted potatoes, rice pudding, vegetables, and every possible dessert and sweet you could ever possibly want. That along was worth getting dressed up in this suit, Ron couldn’t help thinking.

He knew that Harry and Hermione would want to wait for him, but it would just be like Seamus and Dean to tell them to come on and that ‘Good old Ron’ would catch up. They were always doing stuff like that.

He leaned back against the wall and thought for the umpteenth time that night what could possibly be taking her so long when he heard her clear her throat behind him.

“You haven’t been waiting long have you?” she asked.

He turned around and was about to tell her that “Yes, he had been waiting quite a long time’, when he lost all reasonable thought as he looked at her. She was wearing a floor-length pale blue dress with spaghetti straps. The dress was decorated with crystal sequins. She had done something to her hair, which was usually stick-straight. It now cascaded down her back in lovely curly tendrils. She wore a crystal necklace around her neck. Her face was lightly made up.

“Uh,” Ron finally managed to stutter. “You, uh, well, that’s, you know.”

Luna gave him a quizzical expression.

“You. Dress. Nice,” he said again, feeling like a complete and utter idiot as he did so. What happened to his ability to speak in clear, concise sentences?

“And they call me the strange one?” Luna asked, her eyes twinkling.

Ron laughed. “That must be why we like each other so much.”

Luna beamed at him.

“So,” she said. “You think I look okay?”

“Better than okay,” he said, staring at her admiringly. “You look beautiful, Luna. Absolutely smashing.”

She nearly melted at his compliment.

“What about me?” he asked her, spinning around. “Do I pass?”

She walked around him, looking quite intuitive as she seemed to be examining his suit. She took her hand to his shoulder and dusted off something. She stood back and smiled a half-smile.

“Well?” he asked, a little nervous as to what her reply would be.

Her eyes gleamed as she said totally deadpan, “You’ll do.”

*******

Ron had been quite right in his assessment of his friends’ odds at waiting for him and Luna to arrive. The others had waited for a few minutes, before Dean and Seamus convinced Harry and Hermione to go on inside with the rest of the group.

They’d hesitated for only a moment before following. Once inside, Hermione gasped at the transformation the Great Hall had undergone. The entire hall resembled a winter wonderland. Everything was colored either white or silver and Christmas trees were assembled along the walls, decorated with silver tinsel and ornaments and lights. The long house tables had been replaced by rows of round tables that sat about 10 people. Each table was covered by white and silver tablecloths. The centerpiece of each table was a brilliant silver candelabrum. To sound clichéd, Hermione couldn’t help thinking, it looked absolutely magical.

She clutched Harry’s arm tighter as he led her toward a table, followed closely by Seamus and Parvati and Dean and Lavender. They found a table near the front of the hall and sat down, making sure to save seats for Ron and Luna.

Harry looked around the room for a sign of his best friend.

“Don’t worry, Harry,” Hermione said. “He’ll be around. He’s probably snogging with Luna somewhere. Besides, if the situation were reversed, you know good and well that he’d be thinking of his stomach and not whether he’d promised to wait for us.”

“You’re right,” Harry said.

“I’m always right, aren’t I?” she asked, teasingly.

“That’s going to be the key to our relationship’s success, isn’t it? Admit that the girl is always right, even when she’s not?” Harry asked, his eyes twinkling at her.

“Exactly,” she said, beaming at him. “And to think it didn’t take you ages to figure that one out!”

Harry leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. As he did so, Seamus hooted.

“Get a room, you two!” he called from across the table.

“They do have a room,” Lavender teased.

“Which I think is totally unfair,” Dean chimed in. “How many guys can say they are living with their girlfriend? I think they should change his nickname to the “Bloody Luckiest Boy Who Ever Lived.”

“Sod off, Thomas,” Harry said, throwing a piece of roll across the table at him.

“Oi!” an irritated voice came from behind them.

They each turned to see Ron with Luna in tow striding up to their table.

“Nice lot you are waiting for someone,” Ron said, taking a seat. He hadn’t bothered to help Luna to hers.

“Nice lot you are to help a lady with her seat, Ron,” Luna said, playfully punching his shoulder.

“Luna, word to the wise,” Lavender said. “Nothing gets in the way of Ron and his food. Trust me. People have tried before and lost fingers in the process. He’s taken gluttony to an art form.”

“Hey!” Ron said, while stuffing a roll into his mouth. “I resent that remark.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “No, Ron, I’d say you resemble that remark.”

“Did I miss the schedule for the evening that said that this was the time of the evening to heap abuse on Ron?” Ron asked.

“Was it already time for that?” Harry asked. “I thought I’d missed that.”

“Just in time, sweetheart,” Hermione said. “We’re just getting started.”

Harry smiled.

Ron looked daggers at Hermione. “Can you give me a break just once, Hermione?”

She looked thoughtful. “No,” she said finally. “I don’t think I could. Besides, I usually have to deal with you on my own. Now, I have reinforcements. This is the best Christmas ever!”

Ron smirked at her.

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

After everyone had finished eating, people started to head to the dance floor. Dean and Seamus had already been dragged onto the floor by Lavender and Parvati, protesting the entire way. Hermione kept shooting looks at Harry, hoping he’d take the hint, but so far, he’d hadn’t.

“Hermione?” Ron asked, looking at her. “Have you got to pee or something? You’ve been bouncing about in your chair.”

She shot him a mortified look. “No, I do not have to pee, Mr. Tactful.”

“I think she wants to dance, Ron,” Harry said.

“Well,” she said, her cheeks turning a little red. “If you would like to, I’d certainly love to.”

“You sure your feet can handle it?” he asked. “I must tell you that I’m not very good at it.”

“Everyone can dance,” Hermione said.

“I’m sure they can,” Harry said. “But not everyone can dance well. I think you’ll find that I’m not very good at it.”

“Okay,” Hermione said, looking at him. “Let me get this straight. You want me to take my life in my hands and go up on a broom with you, but you won’t even get up on a simple dance floor with me? All you have to do is move your feet back and forth.”

“Okay, okay,” Harry said, getting to his feet. “When you put it that way.”

Hermione smiled gleefully as Harry took her hand, leading her to the dance floor.

Luna watched dreamily as Harry and Hermione walked away. Ron looked over at her.

“Don’t tell me you want to do that, too?” he asked her.

“Well,” she said, smiling at him. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“Do we have to?” he asked her. “I’m not all that good at it, either. I have two left feet, really.”

“Okay,” Luna said. “I’ll just go and ask Justin, then.”

To Ron’s horror, she got to her feet and started to walk away. He quickly followed suit and grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him.

“What?” she asked coyly.

“Let’s dance,” he said. “Suddenly I have the urge to get down with my self.”

“What?” she asked, with a laugh.

“I heard someone say that once,” he said sheepishly. “Anyway, let’s get on out there.”

“Hmmm,” she said, as he led her onto the floor.

“What?” he asked her.

“I never thought it would work, but it did,” she said, as he wrapped his arms around her and they moved in time to the music. He pulled away to face her.

“What?” he asked her, raising his eyebrows.

“A friend of mine in Ravenclaw told me that if a guy said he wouldn’t dance you could do one of two things,” she said sagely.

“What are the two things?” he asked. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”

”Well,” Luna said. “You can either get him pissed or you can play the jealousy card. Since there wasn’t any alcohol around, I went for the jealousy thing.”

“You’re good,” he said, shaking his head and laughing. “You’re quite good, Miss Lovegood.”

*****

For all intents and purposes, Harry and Hermione felt all alone in the big Great Hall. As they danced together, they felt as if the entire room and everyone in it just melted away. At the moment, as the band was playing another slow number, Hermione rested her head on Harry’s chest as he had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

Despite his warnings, he had yet to step on her feet and had been holding his own, much to her delight.

“You’re awfully quiet,” he whispered in her ear. “You didn’t fall asleep on me, did you?”

She lifted her head to face him and laughed. “No, you daft git, I’m awake.”

“So, what’s got you so quiet?”

“I was just thinking,” she said.

“About what?” he asked her.

She didn’t reply and instead just rested her head again on his chest.

“What?” he asked her.

“You’ll think it’s stupid,” she said softly.

“I will not,” he said. “I promise. Tell me.”

She lifted her head again and they stopped moving, but still held on to each other.

“I was just thinking that this is our first Christmas together,” she said with a slight smile.

“We’ve spent loads of Christmases together,” he teased.

“You know what I mean,” she said.

“I do,” he said. “It’s the first Christmas where we’ve been together-together.”

“Yes,” she said. “And I was just thinking how perfect it all is. I mean, we’ve had a pretty peaceful year so far. It’s such a contrast to everything we’ve gone through before. I mean, we were always on edge waiting for the next evil to come our way, but now our biggest concern is what we’re going to do when we get out of school and things like that. I guess what I’m trying to say is that everything just seems normal and I like that.”

“You and me both,” he replied. “I think after all we’ve been through, we deserve a little ‘normal’, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she said.

“It might not always be this way,” he said apologetically. “I wish I could tell you it would.”

”You don’t have to tell me that,” she said. “I knew what I was getting into when I became your friend. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

He stared down at her and smiled. He cupped her chin in his hand.

“I love you so much,” he said softly. “I hope you know that.”

She leaned in and brushed her lips briefly against his.

“For the love of Merlin,” came the cold voice of Draco Malfoy. “Could you refrain from kissing the mudblood in public, Potter?”

Harry’s arms tensed on Hermione.

“Go away, Malfoy,” Hermione said coolly to him.

Malfoy wasn’t deterred. He smiled wickedly at Harry and then turned his attention to Hermione.

“I wonder what goes on in that room of yours?” Draco asked. “Does the mudblood put out for you, Potter? That must be what you see in her, because I can’t think of any other reason to even associate with one, let alone—“

He didn’t have time to finish his sentence as Harry quickly rounded on him.

“You son-of-a-bitch,” Harry screamed into his face. All around them, their fellow students stopped dancing to watch the spectacle that was unfolding before their very eyes.

“Stop it!” Hermione said, trying to hold Harry back.

“I see,” Malfoy said huskily. “I see it all now. That must be it. The mudblood’s not putting out for you? She must be doing your homework for you then.”

Harry reeled back and punched Malfoy as hard as he could muster. His punch landed on Malfoy’s nose and Malfoy fell to the floor.

Malfoy was about to get to his feet to retaliate when Professor McGonagall hurried over to them.

“What on earth is going on here?” she asked, looking at Malfoy and Harry. “Explain yourselves, both of you!”

“I was just walking by Potter and Granger, here and the next thing I know he’s going spare on me,” Malfoy said angrily.

“You know that’s not true,” Hermione spat back at him. “Professor McGonagall, he was trying to get a rise out of Harry. He said some really awful things about—“

Hermione’s cheeks flushed red.

“Nevertheless,” Professor McGonagall said. “That is no excuse for you two boys to resort to violence. Honestly, this is neither the time nor the place. I don’t want to see either of you within 10 meters of each other the rest of the night.”

“What?” Malfoy asked, outraged. “He punches me and he doesn’t get punished?”

“You will both be receiving detentions for your behavior,” McGonagall said firmly. “And last time I checked Malfoy, I was a professor and you were a student. I will not stand here and listen to you critique my authority.”

“This isn’t over, Potter,” Malfoy said coldly. “This isn’t over by a longshot.”

Harry didn’t say anything as he watched Malfoy walk away. Professor McGonagall gave him a warning look before she also walked away.

After a few moments, everything seemed to get back to normal as the band resumed playing and students resumed dancing. Harry, however, didn’t much feel like dancing anymore. He walked off the floor. Ron walked up to him and was about to ask him something, but Harry held up his hand. He sat back down at their now deserted table.

Ron looked to Hermione.

“What happened?” he asked her.

“One word—Malfoy,” she said. She gave Ron a brief description of what had happened.

“That son-of-a--,” Ron began.

Hermione put an arm on his shoulder, “Don’t. Just leave Harry be. He needs to calm down. The last thing he needs is you going over there and egging him on.”

“Someone needs to put that wanker in his place, Hermione,” Ron said.

“I agree with you,” she said. “But you know Malfoy, he’s all talk and no action. He wants to get us angry. He wants to push our buttons.”

“He does a good bloody job of doing that, don’t you think?” Ron asked.

“Just leave him be now, Ron,” Hermione said. “I need to go check on Harry. Go back to Luna.”

“But, Hermione,” Ron began, but his voice trailed off as Hermione walked away toward Harry.

She found him sitting at the table, drinking a goblet of pumpkin juice.

“Hey,” she said, taking a seat.

“Hey,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?” she asked incredulously.

“For ruining our evening,” he said. “We were having a nice time and then I had to let him—“

“You haven’t ruined our evening,” she said taking his hand. “Don’t even give anything Draco Malfoy says any credence. You know how he is. He’s been that way since we’ve known him. He isn’t going to change.”

“I know,” he said. “I just can’t help it. When he starts spouting off at the mouth about rubbish like that, I can’t help wanting to punch his lights out.”

She smiled. “You know it was kind of cool to have you defending my honor.”

He laughed despite himself.

“Just doing my job,” he said.

“Well, you do it well,” she said. “But you don’t always have to do that. I can take care of myself, too.”

“I know that,” he protested. “I know you can.”

“Which is one of the reasons I’m so crazy about you,” she said. She held open her arms and gave him a warm embrace. When they broke apart, she had a gleam in her eye.

“How about we head on back to our suite and enjoy the rest of the evening alone?” she asked.

“Brilliant idea,” he said.

They got up from the table and made a beeline for the doors, but Professor McGonagall stopped them. She looked quite grave as she looked at the two of them. Thinking it had something to do with Malfoy, Harry tried to explain.

“Honestly, Professor,” he said quickly. “I haven’t gone anywhere near Malfoy.”

“It’s not that, Potter,” McGonagall said, her eyes focused on Hermione.

“What is it?” Hermione asked, becoming a little alarmed by the sadness on McGonagall’s face.

“Let’s step outside for a moment, shall we?” McGonagall said.

She held open the door and ushered Harry and Hermione through. They were now alone in the hall.

“Hermione,” Professor McGonagall began. “I received an urgent owl a few moments ago from your mother.”

“My mother?” Hermione asked, a feeling of dread coming over her. “What’s happened?”

“I’m afraid that your father has suffered a massive heart attack,” McGonagall said slowly. “He’s been taken to hospital.”

Harry grabbed hold of Hermione, who nearly lost her footing.

“Professor Dumbledore has set up a portkey that should get you there,” McGonagall said. “You can leave straightaway.”

Hermione couldn’t move.

“Oh, Harry,” she said through her sobs. “I—“

“It’s okay,” Harry said, embracing her and patting her back soothingly. “It’s going to be okay, Hermione.”

“Will you go with me?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Without even a glance at McGonagall, Harry nodded. “Of course, I will.”

“He can’t die, Harry,” she said softly. “He can’t die.”

“Shhhh,” he whispered. “Don’t think like that.”

She nodded. “Let’s go. I need to get to my father.”

Professor McGonagall put a hand on Hermione’s shoulder. “We should head on up to Professor Dumbledore’s office, then.”

Hermione and Harry walked solemnly behind Professor McGonagall as they made their way to Dumbledore’s office. Hermione was sobbing nearly uncontrollably as they walked. Harry wished he knew what to say or do to make her feel better, but he was at an utter loss. He did the only thing he knew to do. He held her hand and squeezed it tightly. He was going to be there for her; no matter what she needed. That was what they were to each other and that was what they had always been for each other. When times were tough and things looked bleak, they could always count on each other to be a rock. It was Harry’s turn to be Hermione’s rock. He said a silent promise to himself that he would never let her down.

Author’s note: This chapter was really difficult to write. I had a touch of the writer’s block and am not sure if I’m satisfied with this at all. I hope you guys are. I know if you aren’t, you’ll let me know. I hope you’ll also let me know if you like it! I appreciate it either way, though I am partial to the positive reviews!

Chapter Fourteen

I’ll Be There

“I'll reach out my hand to you
I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name

I'll be there to comfort you
I'll build my world of dreams around you
I'm so glad that I found you yeah
I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength, you know I'll keep holding on”

(Written by H. Davies, B. Gordy, W. Hutch and B. West, versions sung by Mariah Carey & also by the Jackson Five)

They hadn’t changed clothes. There hadn’t been much time. Harry was still in his white dress shirt and trousers, with his necktie loosened. His jacket, however, was now draped over Hermione’s shoulders. She was still wearing her beautiful dress, but her face which had been aglow with happiness only a few minutes earlier, was now pale and drawn with worry.

She hadn’t said much since she and Harry had spoken briefly with Dumbledore. He’d expressed his sympathy and she’d simply said “Thank you”. Harry had held her hand and kept trying to give her reassuring glances, but she had barely glanced his way. He didn’t mind. He understood how she was feeling. He just hoped that she knew he was there, if and when she needed him.

They’d used a portkey to travel to the hospital where Hermione’s dad had been rushed earlier that evening. Professor McGonagall had offered to go with them, but Dumbledore had said it wouldn’t be necessary.

They arrived just outside the hospital and walked quickly into the reception area.

“May I help you?” the desk clerk asked them.

”Hermione?” Harry asked, ushering her to the desk.

“Um, yes,” Hermione whispered. “My father. Robert Granger. He was brought here earlier.”

The desk clerk gave a sympathetic smile and turned away from them to key the information into the computer.

“Yes, miss,” the woman said, coming back to the desk. “You’re father is on the third floor. Room 321. The lifts are down the hall and to your left.”

“Thank you,” Harry said and held Hermione’s hand as they walked toward the lift.

A few moments later, he and Hermione were walking toward the waiting room on the third floor. Hermione instantly saw her mother, sitting on the sofas. She was holding her head in her hands.

“That’s my mum,” Hermione said softly, seemingly frozen in place.

“Come on, Hermione,” Harry said.

She quickly closed the gap between her and her mother and put a hand on her mother’s shoulder. Her mother turned and smiled a half-smile when she saw Hermione. She quickly got up from the sofas and walked around them to envelop her daughter in a warm, comforting embrace. Harry stood back, taking it all in.

He’d only dealt with Hermione’s parents on a peripheral basis. He couldn’t say he’d ever had a real conversation with them in all the years he’d been their daughter’s best friend.

“Sweetheart,” her mother was saying, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “Look at you. You look so beautiful. This must have been the night of the big soiree, huh?”

Hermione nodded.

Dr. Granger looked past her daughter and caught sight of Harry for the first time.

“Hello, Harry,” she said, and Harry could see that she’d had a tough couple of hours. Her eyes were red and puffy and her skin was as pale as Hermione’s. “It was really good of you to accompany Hermione.”

“Of course,” Harry said, stepping closer. “I’m really sorry about Dr. Granger.”

She could only nod.

“What happened, Mum?”

“Why don’t we all sit down,” Karen Granger said, ushering them back to the sofas. They followed her to the couch and took seats beside each other, with Dr. Granger sitting directly across from them.

“Um, well, your dad and I sat down in the sitting room to watch some telly right after dinner. He had been acting strange all evening. I should have picked up on it straight away. He didn’t eat much and he complained about not feeling too well. I told him he ought to go on to bed, but he said he was going to make himself some warm milk before turning in. He walked into the kitchen and the next thing I know; I hear the sound of a glass shattering. I ran into the kitchen and found him, collapsed on the floor. I called the ambulance and they rushed him here.”

Hermione felt fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

“Have they told you anything?” Hermione asked.

“They’re prepping him for surgery,” Karen said, her voice breaking. “He’s going to need bypass surgery.”

“Oh, Daddy,” Hermione whispered.

“They’ve assigned one of the top specialists to his case,” Karen said, trying hard to keep her emotions in check. She got up from her chair and went to sit down beside her daughter. “I’m so glad you’re here, sweetie.”

“Me, too,” Hermione said, hugging her mother again. “Me, too.”

*****

Do the seriousness of Robert Granger’s condition, he was sent immediately to the operating room t undergo emergency bypass surgery. The doctor in charge of the case had come out beforehand to talk to the family to let them know what was going on and what the success ratio of such an operation was. Harry couldn’t help but marvel at the strength and valor that both Granger women took this news. They took comfort in each other and listened quietly and carefully. They each asked questions and thanked the doctor for doing all he could.

Harry, feeling helpless, volunteered to go and get some coffee downstairs in the cafeteria. Hermione had offered to go with him, but he’d told her to stay with her mother. He was a little more than embarrassed when he realized he had no Muggle money on him, but to his relief Dr. Granger handed him a few pound notes from her purse.

When Hermione was alone with her mother, they were both silent for the longest time.

“So, how was the dance?” Karen asked her.

“It was nice, Mum,” Hermione said. “Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about stuff like this with Dad—“

“Nonsense,” Karen said. “Your dad would want us talking about things like this. You know how he gets when we make a fuss over him about anything.”

Hermione laughed despite herself.

“He can be pretty stubborn,” Karen said. “I think you get that from him.”

Hermione rested her head on her mother’s shoulder.

“So,” Karen said. “Harry sure cares about you a lot.”

“Mum!” Hermione said.

“I’m just saying,” Karen said. “A mother knows these things. And a mother has been listening for how many years about how worried her daughter was about Harry and how she wished she could make Harry see that there was a wonderful girl right under his nose all this time.”

”Oh,” Hermione said. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

”Just a little,” Karen said, running her fingers through Hermione’s hair, which she’d taken down from its chignon ages ago.

“Were you like this with dad?” Hermione asked.

“Well,” Karen said, a glow coming to her eyes as she thought of her husband. “Well, at least you and Harry had the advantage of being friends. I had such a crush on your dad when I first saw him. I was working part-time in the library at university. Hermione, I’ve told you this story so much, you could probably tell it to me yourself.”

“I know,” Hermione said. “But I like to hear you tell it. Please, Mum?”

“Oh, alright,” Karen said. “He used to come in with a group of his friends every Wednesday afternoon and they’d sit in the back. I thought he was the cutest, most adorable man I’d ever seen. I was so shy back then. I could barely string two words together whenever he was around. He kept coming around, though. Imagine, my surprise when he brought some books up to check out and asked me out.”

Hermione smiled.

“Come to find out that he had checked with a friend of mine to find out when I was working so he’d make sure he was there, too,” Karen said. “He was trying to work up the courage to ask me out while I was trying to work up the courage to talk to him.”

“I love hearing that story,” Hermione said.

“Well, what about you and Harry?” Karen said. “Quid Pro Quo, Hermione. How are things with you two?”

“Well, there’s nothing much to tell,” Hermione said.

“Okay, say that without blushing, my dear daughter,” Karen said.

Hermione smiled. “Things are going pretty well, actually. He’s really great, Mum. I hope that you and—“

“What sweetie?” Karen said, as her daughter’s lower lip began to tremble.

“I was going to say that I hope that you and dad can get to know him,” Hermione said, somewhat sheepishly. “I want you to like him. I want Daddy to like him.”

“We don’t have to know him very well to realize how happy he makes you, sweetheart,” Karen said. “That’s good enough for me and it’s good enough for your father. We’ve heard what you’ve said about him and what you’ve written in your letters. He sounds like a wonderful young man. Anyone who can make you smile like that is alright in my book.”

Hermione beamed at her mother.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Karen said. “Your father will be boring poor Harry to death someday talking about the new fluoride we’re using or how he can better take care of his teeth.”

“You think so?” Hermione asked, worried. “Mum? Seriously, this is you and me. Do you really think Dad’s going to pull through?”

Karen looked seriously at her daughter and though she didn’t know exactly why or how, she just had a feeling that everything would work out okay.

“Your father’s never met a challenge he backed down from yet,” Karen said. “He’s never let us down before, Hermione. If I know him, he’s not about to start now.”

Hermione smiled, hoping that her mother was right. She needed her mother to be right.

*********

A little after one in the morning, Ron made his way back through the Portrait Hole into Gryffindor Tower. He’d just seen Luna safely back to her dormitory. To his surprise, he found Ginny curled up asleep on one of the chairs near the fireplace.

He walked over to her and gently shook her awake.

“Ron?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”

Ron looked at his watch. “Just past one, Gin. What are you doing down here? I thought you weren’t feeling well?”

Ginny remembered her excuse to the others about not going to the ball as she was feeling under the weather.

“I was feeling a little better so I came down here to think,” Ginny said. “I must have dozed off.”

Ron sat on the arm of the chair and ruffled his sister’s hair playfully.

“Did you have a nice time?” Ginny asked, suppressing a yawn.

“Yeah,” Ron said. “Well, up until Draco Malfoy started hurling insults at Hermione. Harry showed him, though. Knocked his lights out.”

“What?” Ginny asked. “When did all this happen?”

”I wasn’t there to see it firsthand, but from what I gathered, Harry and Hermione were just dancing together and the old ferret comes up to them, spouting off some of his trademark Malfoy insults.”

“Is Draco okay?” Ginny asked, without thinking.

“Draco?” Ron asked, confused. “Since when do you call that article by his first name? And more than that, why would you care how he is?”

“Since never,” Ginny covered. “I just happen to have woken up Ron. I’m not exactly thinking clearly.”

Ron didn’t push the issue any further.

“Well, he’s okay, I guess,” Ron said. “Mad as hell, though. McGonagall let him and Harry stay at the dance, but they’ll have to serve a detention. I just wish I’d been there to see it all unfold.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Ginny said, listlessly.

“There’s also a bit of bad news, too,” Ron said, his face serious.

“What?” Ginny asked, concerned.

”Hermione’s dad suffered a heart attack this evening,” Ron said. “She and Harry used a portkey to go and see him at a muggle hospital.”

”That’s terrible,” Ginny said. “Is he going to be okay?”

”Don’t know,” Ron said, shaking his head. “I haven’t seen them since it happened. McGonagall came and told me and Luna. She sounded like it was pretty serious.”

“She must be beside herself,” Ginny said. “She mentioned to me that her dad was having some trouble, but I can’t imagine-“

“Yeah,” Ron said.

“I hope everything’s going to be okay,” Ginny said.

“I’m sure it will,” Ron said. “At least Harry’s with her. He’ll look out for her.”

“Yeah,” Ginny said. “He’s always doing things like that, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Ron said. “The born hero.”

“Yeah,” Ginny said. She thought again of how she wished she had someone like that in her life. She cursed herself for thinking such things when Hermione’s father was somewhere fighting for his life. This was neither the time nor the place to be thinking of that awful idea. She couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that to Hermione. It would be wrong. There had to be some other solution to this problem. She would just have to think about it, long and hard.

“Come on and go upstairs, Gin,” Ron said. “You look exhausted.”

Ginny nodded and allowed her brother to help her to her feet.

There had to be some other way, Ginny said. She didn’t know what, but there had to be some way out of this mess that wouldn’t involve hurting people she cared about. There had to be.

Author’s note: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I am trying to psych myself up to write an upcoming chapter that with me being a die-hard H/Hr will be very difficult to write. It’s all part of the plot, however, and I’ve opened up the can of worms and I have to deal with it now. I hope you guys won’t be too upset with me. I have to do it, but think positively. Don’t abandon the ride when I write the turbulence in. Please! Stay with me, people!

Chapter 15
Time After Time

“If you're lost you can look - and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you - I'll be waiting
Time after time

After my picture fades and darkness has
Turned to gray
Watching through windows - you're wondering
If I'm OK
Secrets stolen from deep inside
The drum beats out of time…”

(Cyndi Lauper, Time After Time)

Hermione’s father made it through the bypass surgery. The doctors were optimistically cautious and said that he’d need plenty of bed rest and would need to undergo cardiac rehabilitation. He had a tough couple of months ahead of him.

The last thing Hermione wanted to do was to leave school, but she knew her mother would need her now more than ever. She’d decided as soon as she heard about her father’s condition and what his recovery would entail, that she’d take a leave of absence from school. She’d not told Harry this yet. She didn’t know how he’d react, but she’d hoped he’d be supportive and understanding. Besides, she wouldn’t be gone for too long---just a month or so.

Now, wasn’t the time to be thinking about herself and her own needs. It was time to think about her father and mother and what would be best for them. She owed that to them. She wouldn’t let them down now.

Her father was still in the recovery room when Professor McGonagall came into the waiting room. At first, Hermione didn’t recognize her. She was always dressed in robes and her hair was usually hidden by the long, pointed hat she always wore. As she was in a Muggle hospital, McGonagall had made an effort to blend in somewhat. She wore a pair of jeans and a red cable-knit jumper. Her hair was pulled back into a severe bun. Harry and Hermione both couldn’t help gaping at her as she stepped closer to them; recognition and surprise at her arrival hitting them at the same time.

If McGonagall noticed their surprised reactions, she didn’t let on. She went immediately to Karen.

“Dr. Granger,” McGonagall was saying. “I was so sorry to hear about your husband. We’ve been thinking about you and your family.”

“Thank you, Professor McGonagall,” Karen said, shaking her hand. “Thanks so much for allowing Hermione and Harry to be here.”

“Of course,” McGonagall said. “I wanted to make sure that everything was okay, and to collect Harry.”

Harry stood up from his chair and was about to tell McGonagall that he wasn’t going anywhere, when Hermione put a hand on his shoulder.

He looked at her, surprised, and saw as she shook her head.

“I’m not leaving you,” he said to her. “I’m not leaving you by yourself.”

“I won’t be alone, Harry,” Hermione said. “I’ll have my mum and my dad.”

“What are you saying?” he asked her.

She took a deep breath.

“Professor McGonagall,” she said, looking over Harry’s shoulder. “I was wondering if it’d be okay if I took a few weeks off to help my parents.”

“Of course,” Professor McGonagall said. “I was going to suggest that myself. We could send you your assignments and you could complete them by correspondence.”

“Hermione,” Karen said. “You don’t have to do that. Your father and I will be fine.”

“Mum,” Hermione said firmly. “I do have to do this. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate at school knowing that you two were going through so much at home. I want to do this for you. You’ll have to look after dad’s patients as well as your own. You’re going to need someone to stay with Dad while you’re at the office, right? Let me do this. Please.”

Hermione stepped past Harry and gave her mother a hug.

“If you’re sure,” Karen said. “It would be a tremendous help.”

“Good,” Hermione said. “It’s settled then. I’ll just go back with Professor McGonagall and Harry and collect my belongings and then come back here straightaway.”

“Okay,” Karen said. “If that’s what you want.”

Karen gave her a daughter an appreciative smile. “I should probably go and check with the nurses’ station and see about Robert. I’ll see you when you get back, then?”

Hermione nodded.

Karen thanked both Professor McGonagall and Harry before walking down the corridor toward the nurses’ station.

“How are you holding up, Hermione?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“Okay,” Hermione said, with a slight smile.

“Good,” Professor McGonagall said, smiling at her. She looked to Harry and motioned for him to come closer.

“I didn’t know you even owned a pair of jeans,” Harry said, not even thinking.

Professor McGonagall smiled. “I don’t. I had to transfigure these out of an old skirt. Sometimes, you have to make do.”

*****

They arrived back at Hogwarts a few moments later. McGonagall left them at the entrance to their suite and told Hermione she’d be waiting for her near the front gates when she’d finished packing.

Neither Hermione nor Harry had said a word to each other since they’d left the hospital. Hermione walked toward her room without a word and shut the door softly behind her.

Harry stared at the closed door for a few moments before taking a seat on the sofa. He was knackered, but didn’t dare fall asleep. He wanted to talk to Hermione before she left. He didn’t understand why she hadn’t told him about her plans before springing them on him this morning. Of course, he couldn’t blame her. He supposed if the situation were reversed, he’d do the same, but he couldn’t help feeling the way he was at the moment. He was human, after all. He didn’t want to be here without her. If that was selfish, so be it. He wanted to go with her. He knew that would be out of the question. McGonagall would never go for that in a million years.

Not being able to stand the silence, Harry got up from the sofa and walked over to Hermione’s bedroom door. He knocked softly at the door.

“Come in,” she said. He opened the door to find her busily stacking jumpers, jeans, shoes and books into her trunk. Crookshanks sat purring on her bed.

He saw that Hermione had changed clothes. She now wore a pair of khaki corduroy trousers and a brown cable-knit sweater. She’d pulled her hair back into a simple, makeshift plait.

“Hey,” he said, standing in the doorway.

“Do you think you could look after Crookshanks while I’m gone?” she asked. “I’d ask Ron, but you know he’d probably intentionally leave him in the Forbidden Forest or something like that.”

“Yeah, or let Snape use him to test potions,” Harry said.

“I figure he’d be safe with you,” Hermione said, stuffing some books into her trunk.

“I’ll look after him,” Harry said, watching her.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Hermione?” Harry asked hesitantly, watching as she busily continued to pack her trunk.

“Hmmm?” she answered.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said simply.

She stopped packing and turned to see him staring at her. She closed the gap between them in two quick strides and he enveloped her in a warm embrace.

“I’m going to miss you, too,” she whispered.

“I can’t even imagine being here without you,” he said, still holding her.

“I know,” she said. “But, you do understand? Don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he answered, letting her go. “I understand.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For what?” she asked, taking his hand. “For being there for me last night. I really don’t know how I would have gotten through any of it without you.”

“How many times have you been there for me?” he asked. “I’m just trying to catch up.”

She laughed.

“You know that I don’t really want to leave,” she said honestly. “I wish I didn’t have to, but you saw my mum. She needs me, Harry. She and my dad have done so much for me, I really owe them this.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“I know,” she said. “I’m trying to explain it to myself.”

He felt a pang of guilt at his earlier selfishness. She was right, as always.

“You’re doing the right thing,” he said.

“I’m worried about you, Harry,” she said. “You know you’d be lost without me.”

He laughed. “Yes, this is true. Ron, as well. Don’t worry about us, though. Worry about Hedwig. She’s going to hate me because of all the trips she’ll be taking back and forth between here and your house.”

“You’re actually going to write to me?” she asked.

“Every minute and every second,” he said teasingly.

“Now and then would be a start,” she said, deadpan.

“Hey,” he said, with mock disbelief.

“You’re not actually known for your letter writing skills,” she said. “You and Ron both! I don’t think I’ve ever received a letter from either of you that was longer than one page.”

“This from the girl who composes novels in her letters,” Harry joked.

“Yeah, well,” she said. “I happen to write very large.”

“You happen to write large amounts,” he corrected, teasingly.

”Yeah, well,” she said, somewhat sheepishly. She sat on the top of her trunk. Harry came and sat down right beside her.

“I wish I could go with you,” he said.

“I know,” she said. “McGonagall’d never go for that.”

“I know,” he said, putting his arm around her.

“I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to him,” she said. “Either of them, actually. They’re such a part of me.”

“Your dad is going to be alright, Hermione,” Harry said. “He’s come this far.”

Hermione nodded. “It was just so scary. I’m always used to seeing my dad as this strong hero, you know? I’m not used to seeing him helpless and—“ her voice trailed off.

“I wish I knew what to say to you,” he said, taking her in his arms again. “I don’t know what to say to make you feel better.”

She pulled away from his embrace and looked up at him. “You don’t have to say anything. You’re being here is all that I need. Sometimes, it’s what you don’t say that’s important.”

He nodded.

She leaned in and her lips brushed against his. She pulled back for a moment, before he kissed her again; his arms wrapping around her again, pulling her closer to him.

“Harry,” she said, breathlessly. “I should probably get going.”

He nodded, not letting go of her, and leaning in to kiss her again.

He finally released her and they both got to their feet. Hermione took her wand out of her pocket and with a quick swish and flick, muttered, “Locomotor trunk!”

“Don’t go downstairs with me, Harry,” she said. “You should stay up here and get some sleep. I’ll be okay.”

He wanted to protest, but didn’t.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “Take care of yourself, Granger.”

“You too, Potter,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Look out for Ron, too.”

“I will,” he promised. “Give my best to your mum and dad.”

“Thanks,” she said softly. “I guess this is goodbye, then.”

He shook his head. “Not goodbye.”

“See you later?” she suggested.

“Better,” he said. “I love you, Hermione.”

“I love you, too,” she said. She gave a last look around the bedroom and then walked out into the common room of their suite, her levitated trunk following behind her. Harry closed her bedroom door and watched as she made her way toward the front door.

She gave him one last lingering look before walking through the door and waiting for her trunk to pass through. She closed the door quietly behind her.

With that she was gone.

****

The majority of the rest of Harry’s day was spent napping. He awoke a little after seven in the evening and quickly made his way downstairs to catch a late dinner.

To his surprise, the hall wasn’t completely full. He knew that a number of students had gone home after the Yule Ball for the Christmas holidays, but he hadn’t expected it to be this deserted. He looked around for Ron, but didn’t see him.

The only students at the Gryffindor table were Colin and Dennis Creevey and Ginny Weasley. Harry quickly made his way for the table and sat down directly opposite Ginny.

“Harry,” Ginny said, looking up at him in surprise. “I thought you were with Hermione.”

“I was,” he said, helping himself to some beef stew and a roll.

“How’s her dad?” Ginny asked concerned.

“He had to have emergency bypass surgery,” Harry said. “He made it through that okay, but the doctors are still concerned about him. Hermione’s going to take a few weeks off to help her mum out at home.”

Ginny stared at him for a moment.

Hermione’s going to be away.

She quickly banished the thought from her head. That was a terrible thing to think, she chastised herself.

“Oh,” she answered. “Well, it’s good that her dad’s going to be okay.”

Harry nodded.

“So, how are you doing?” he asked, looking at her. “Haven’t seen you around much these past few days.”

“I’ve, um, been busy,” she said. “I was feeling a little under the weather, but I’m okay now. I’ve been trying to keep up with my studies, you know. Mum wants me to do really well. I think she’s holding out hope that I’ll make Head Girl next year.”

“She’d be over the moon if you did,” Harry concurred.

“Well, I don’t know if I’ll make it or not,” Ginny said. “It’s not that important anyway. Sometimes, things happen that make you put other things into perspective, you know? That makes you look at the big picture.”

Harry nodded. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“Yeah,” Ginny said.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?” he asked her, concerned. “You look a little pale, Ginny.”

“I’m fine, “Ginny lied. “I’ve just had some sort of stomach bug, really. Madame Pomfrey gave me something for it. I’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” Harry said, giving her a smile. “If you need anything, Gin. Let me know.”

She nodded. “Thanks, Harry. I’ll be fine.”

He resumed eating and Ginny sat there, trying to watch him out of the corner of her eye. She could still remember how only a few short years ago; she’d had such a crush on him. She’d thought the sun rose and set around him. Those feelings had died long ago. She’d honestly only seen him as a friend these past couple of years, but as she looked at him now, she could see herself married to him and raising her child. She’d always thought that he’d make a great father someday.

My baby deserves a good father.

Ginny knew she’d messed up her own life something awful, but didn’t she owe it to her baby to provide a loving, supportive and caring household? She’d never have that with Draco Malfoy. She knew that now. Yet, she could have that with Harry. Sure, Hermione would be hurt, but she’d get over it in time, Ginny thought. This was really the only viable alternative, Ginny thought. With time, Hermione would forgive and forget. With time, Ginny could learn to love Harry and he would come to love her and the baby.

With Hermione out of the picture, this would be the perfect opportunity.

Ginny looked at Harry who was now engaged in conversation with the Creevey brothers. He was trying to be polite, but Ginny knew that he wanted to be left alone.

It was then that Ginny resolved that she had no other choice. This was what she had to do. She wondered if she’d be able to live with herself if she went through with it. There wasn’t time to think about it, however. The consequences would come later and she’d deal with them at that time. Now, she had to act. She had to before it was too late.

Merlin, forgive me for what I’m about to do.

Author’s note: Thanks for all the reviews! I am so glad you guys are reading this and am glad to hear what you think. I hope that you all still like me…this chapter isn’t so bad..it’s the next couple that you should worry about…just a little warning. Please forgive me….

Chapter 16

Fallen

“Truth be told I've tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear

Though I've tried, I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...”

(Sarah McLachlan, “Fallen”)

Ginny spent the next couple of weeks busily making plans. She didn’t have much time. It was only a matter of time before she would start to show. She was nearly two months along as it was. If she was going to act on her plan, she had to do it now and do it quickly.

This was all turning out to be quite tricky. So many things could go terribly wrong. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. Everything had to be planned just right. All her i’s had to be dotted and her t’s crossed. If even one thing went wrong, everything would fall apart.

Complicating matters even further was her nagging conscience. She wasn’t fooling herself. She knew that what she was about to do was wrong. She knew that her actions would change not only her life, but the lives of her family, and most notably, Harry and Hermione.

She tried to shake these feelings off by reminding herself that this was truly her only options. What was it that they always said? Desperate times call for desperate measures? Well, this was one of those times, Ginny would tell herself over and over again to bolster her when she had doubts. She had to think of what was best not only for her, but for her baby. There was no doubt in her mind that Harry was the answer; the only option.

Ginny could just picture herself with Harry, raising her child as theirs. They would build a happy, safe and loving home together. While it was true that she didn’t love Harry as she’d loved Draco, but Draco had made himself quite clear. He wasn’t going to be there for her and the baby. But, Ginny knew that if Harry thought he was the father of this baby, he’d stand by her side without fail. He was the type of person who took responsibility for his actions. He was the type of person who stood by you when you needed him most. He was the answer. He was someone her parents would gladly accept. He was everything that Draco Malfoy wasn’t.

There was one pressing problem at the moment, however. Harry Potter wasn’t hers and never had been. He was Hermione’s.

Ginny could still remember those summer nights at The Burrow. Hermione would always room with Ginny when she visited. They’d stay up chatting about everything under the sun.

Ginny could always tell that Hermione’s feelings for Harry ran much deeper than friendship. There were hints all along. There was the way Hermione’s eyes lit up when his name was mentioned. There was the way that she smiled when he walked into the room. There was the way she stayed up nights, worried sick about him. Even when Ginny had her crush on Harry, she’d known that deep down there was never a chance that he’d see her as anything but a little sister. Ginny could always see the close bond that Harry and Hermione had. Ginny recognized quite early that no one would ever be to Harry what Hermione was and vice versa.

Ginny couldn’t help feeling envious at what Harry and Hermione had found in each other. They had a deep, abiding love based on and strengthened by their friendship. They had their ups and downs like everyone else, but when it really counted and when it really mattered, they always knew they could depend on each other. When one was weak, the other was strong. They looked to each other for comfort, for strength and for warmth.

A few weeks ago when she and Hermione ran into each other in the library, Ginny had inquired about Harry and Hermione’s relationship was going. Ginny could still see the glow in Hermione’s eyes as she said that she’d never felt as happy and loved as she did with Harry. She’d said that Harry was like coming home, but not to any home she’d ever known before. Hermione’s cheeks had flushed red as she’d said this.

“I know it sounds crazy, and maybe it is, but I just can’t explain it,” Hermione had said. “To me, he is home.”

Ginny had nodded and told her friend how happy she was for her.

What a hypocrite, I am.

Watching the two of them as she had, Ginny knew what real love could be. She’d been so foolish and naïve to think that she’d found that with Draco Malfoy, of all people. She should have known. Hindsight being 20/20, she now knew that their entire relationship had been one huge lie; one huge deception. Now, she was paying for her mistake---her tactical error in judgment---in the worst way, while Malfoy went along carefree and unburdened. It wasn’t fair; it wasn’t right.

It would be a lie if Ginny hadn’t thought about the sheer poetic justice of passing this baby off as Harry’s. It would be a well-deserved slap in the face to Malfoy. He’d never made a secret of his animosity of Harry and all things Potter. This was her way of getting back at him the only way she knew how. She wanted him to hurt as he had hurt her. What better way of getting back at him than with his archrival; his nemesis.

Ginny had planned it all out quite carefully. Next weekend would be a Hogsmeade weekend. She had heard the Gryffindor boys talking about going to The Hog’s Head. She had to make sure that Harry got drunk. She didn’t figure it would take much to get the job done as he wasn’t much of a drinker. Come to think of it, Ginny couldn’t recall ever seeing him drink anything more potent than butterbeer.

She knew that Harry would never be unfaithful to Hermione. He wasn’t the type to betray someone, especially the one person he loved most in the world. In order for Ginny’s plan to work, she had to do two things. One was to make sure that his inhibitions were loosened and the best way to do this was with alcohol. She didn’t need him to be of a clear mind and body. She needed him to be a little out of control.

The other more important thing involved polyjuice potion. She would have to turn into Hermione. In his inebriated state, he wouldn’t question her arrival in his quarters. She knew that if he saw her as Hermione, his normal, male hormonal instincts would kick in. And then Ginny would be home free.

The glitch in her plans had been the fact that polyjuice potion wasn’t something you could just whip up in a matter of seconds. It was a complicated potion that took a month to make. Ginny didn’t have a month to spare. She’d been at the end of her rope when she’d remembered hearing about a Ravenclaw boy named Sean Brandon. Word around the castle was that he kept potions in his room. He sold them to students for the right price. She’d cornered him on the grounds one day and inquired if he’d had any polyjuice potion. He’d sold her some without question. As he had done so, he’d cautioned her again that she needed to make sure she had a bit of who she wanted to change into.

On a cold snowy Thursday evening, Ginny made her way to Harry & Hermione’s Head Boy/Head Girl suite. She’d decided to tell Harry she needed to borrow a book from Hermione’s room. While she was in there, she planned to nick some of Hermione’s hair from a hairbrush.

She quietly made her way to their suite and pressed on the button on the wall that signaled her arrival. She couldn’t just walk in as she had no idea what Harry and Hermione’s password was.

Within seconds, Harry appeared at the entrance. He was still in his school uniform, but his shirt was tucked out and his tie loosened.

“Ginny,” Harry said, with a warm smile. “This is a surprise.”

“Hi,” Ginny said, smiling back at him. “I hope I’m not disturbing you. There’s a book of Hermione’s I was hoping to borrow. If you, um, don’t mind, I was wondering if I could get it.”

Harry nodded. “I think she took most of her books with her when she left for home, but you’re welcome to take a look in her room.”

He stood back to allow her to come inside. As she did so, she smiled somewhat nervously at Harry. Harry closed the door behind her and then led her into the common room of the suite.

Ginny nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw her brother sitting on the sofas. As she stepped closer, she saw a pile of books and parchment paper on the floor. They’d obviously been studying. Yet, the sight of her brother here made her quite nervous and she blurted out without thinking, “What on earth are you doing here, Ron?”

“Playing Quidditch,” Ron said sarcastically. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Don’t mind him, Ginny,” Harry said, breezing past her and resuming his seat on the sofa. “You know how his warm, charming personality comes out when he’s studying.”

“Yeah, well don’t mind Harry, either,” Ron retorted. “He’s in the middle of his pity party.”

“What are you talking about?” Ginny asked.

“Harry misses Hermione so much,” Ron said. He affected his voice to make it sound like baby talk. She’s only been gone a fortnight. You’d think she’d dropped off the face of the earth to hear him talk.”

“Shut up, Ron!” Harry said, heaving a pillow in his friend’s direction. It landed hard on Ron’s face.

Ginny stifled a laugh.

“So, have you heard from Hermione?” she asked, conversationally.

“She wrote a couple of days ago,” Harry said. “Her dad’s doing better, but she says he has a long way to go.”

“When’s she coming back?” Ginny asked, probing.

Harry’s smile faded. “She doesn’t know.”

“She’ll be back before you know it, Harry,” Ginny chimed in.

“Well, it’s actually like she never left, to tell the truth,” Ron said, trying to lighten the mood. “He’s turning into Hermione before our very eyes.” He pointed at Harry.

“He’s been on me all morning about how we needed to study tonight for McGonagall’s exam and for Snape’s class, too. He said we needed to keep on track. I’m telling you, Gin, all he’s missing is the trademark Granger eye roll and a well placed, ‘Ron, honestly!’, and the transformation will be complete.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Harry said, glaring at his friend.

Ginny joined in the laughter with her brother, but Harry suddenly looked at his watch.

“Damn, I forgot about my meeting with Dumbledore,” Harry said, quickly getting to his feet. “He needed to talk to me about something and if I don’t get a move on, I’ll be late. You guys stay here, though. I should be right back.”

Ron nodded and called after Harry before he reached the door, “See you in a few minutes, then, Hermione.”

Without missing a beat, Harry retorted, “Sure thing, Miss Lovegood,” before walking out of the suite.

Ron resumed his reading and Ginny looked at her brother, a glassy expression on her face. Feeling her eyes on him, Ron looked up at his sister.

“You okay, Gin?” he asked concerned.

Ginny focused quickly on her brother. “Yeah, of course, why shouldn’t I be?”

Ron shrugged.

“I just stopped by to see if I could borrow a book from Hermione’s room,” Ginny said. “Harry said I could.”

Ron looked up at her again, a bemused expression on his face.

“Oooookay,” he said.

“I’ll just go and get it then, shall I?” Ginny said, making a hasty retreat for Hermione’s room, all the while under the watchful, concerned eyes of her older brother.

Ginny closed the door softly behind her and her eyes went straightaway to Hermione’s dressing table. Sure enough, there was a hairbrush. She walked hurriedly over to the table and pulled out a few strands of hair from it. She pulled a plastic bag from her jeans pocket and quickly deposited the hair inside. She stuffed the bag back inside her pocket. As she did so, her eyes fell on one of the photographs on Hermione’s mirror.

It was quite a good picture, actually, Ginny said, picking it up and holding it in her hand. She remembered the day that photo had been taken. It was a few short weeks ago when the weather had been unseasonably warm. After afternoon classes, most of the students made for the grounds to enjoy the day outside. A majority of the Gryffindors had found a spot down by the lake and was holding an impromptu picnic. Colin Creevey, with his ever present camera, had been taking candid photos of everyone. When he happened upon Harry and Hermione, Hermione dissolved into gales of laughter as Harry lifted her up and started to twirl her around.

As Ginny looked at the photo, the photographic Harry and Hermione were smiling and laughing and playfully hitting each other. They looked so happy and oblivious to everything going on around them.

As Ginny put the photo back on the mirror, she felt another sharp pang of guilt. She didn’t have time to think on it as Ron’s voice broke into her thoughts.

“What are you doing, Gin?”

Startled, she turned around to see her brother’s nonplussed expression. His arms were folded across his chest and he looked suspiciously at his sister.

“Um, looking for a book,” she said. She quickly picked up a book from the dressing table and held it up for Ron to see. She chose to ignore the skeptical look on his face.

“Well,” she continued. “I’ve got it now.”

She hugged the book protectively to her chest. “I better get back to the dorms. Loads of studying to do.”

“Uh-huh,” Ron said, following his sister out of Hermione’s bedroom.

She didn’t even say goodbye as she made her way out of the suite.

Ron stood alone, for a few moments, wondering what the hell was going on with his sister. He had always been closest with Ginny out of all his siblings. He knew her moods and her actions as well as he knew his own. Seeing her tonight, he knew that something was up with her. Something was definitely wrong. The only question was what?

Author’s note: This is the dreaded chapter. Two words for you: brace yourself. I sure the heck had to! This was not a chapter I looked forward to writing and you all probably know why, but I please ask you to read it and keep an open mind. There’s another note at the bottom of the chapter that should help you (I hope). Don’t flame me, please!

I borrow a quote from a fabulous movie in here “Moulin Rouge” and also a line from one of my favorite movies of all time “Sliding Doors”. Bonus points to the person who can figure that out.

Chapter 17

#1 Crush

“I will pray for you,

I will pray for you

I will sell my soul for something pure and true…

Someone like you.”

“Violate all the love that I’m missing

Throw away all the pain that I’m living

You will believe in me

And I can never be ignored…”

(Garbage, #1 Crush)

On that Saturday morning, Hermione awoke later than she usually did. She’d had a big day yesterday. Since her father was feeling better, she and he took a walk around the neighborhood and even took in an exhibit at a local museum. Hermione was amazed at how good her father was actually doing. His doctors had prescribed a rehabilitation program that began with him watching what he ate (which he didn’t particularly care for) and incorporating mild exercise into his daily routine. Yesterday, he’d surprised his daughter by asking her if she fancied a walk around the neighborhood.

Truth be told, she’d enjoyed being home. In the past few years, she’d only spent little time with them. She’d taken to spending her holidays at Hogwarts so Harry wouldn’t be alone, so the only time she really spent with them was during the summers. She made a vow to herself to always have a close relationship with her parents. If she’d learned anything over the last few years, it was how important time was. You honestly didn’t know how much you had, so you needed to value those people closest to you, namely your family and friends. Hermione recognized that she’d been neglecting her parents lately. She wasn’t going to do that again.

That being said, she still felt homesick for Hogwarts. It was truly her second home. What was it her mother always said? “Home is where the heart is.” Well, if that was the case, her home was Hogwarts because Harry was there. Gods, how she missed him! She knew logically of course that she would miss him, but she hadn’t realized how much until she’d spent weeks away from him.

The truth was she’d gotten used to him. She’d grown accustomed to his face being the first one she saw in the morning and the last one she saw at night. She hadn’t shared the fact that she and Harry were now sharing a bed with her parents. She had a feeling that if they knew this morsel of information that they might not take it the right way. Who am I kidding? Hermione thought to herself. They’d go ballistic!

Her parents were already wary of the fact that she was in theory “living” with her boyfriend. She knew that they might not see any of it as platonic and totally innocent. Her father was just recovering from a heart attack. Hearing this news would likely give him another coronary.

Her mother had teased her a little about mooning over her boyfriend. Hermione couldn’t help it, though. She was in love and it was the best feeling in the world to her. She laughed to herself when she’d even listed it above making top marks on an exam. That was a tidbit of information she wouldn’t share with Ron. He’d probably laugh himself silly over that information, but it was true. The other night she and her mum had watched a movie on the television. It was Moulin Rouge. Hermione had really connected to one line that was used in the movie. She truly believed, as Christian in the movie had, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

Fearing she was becoming a little too sappy and romantic, she decided to go downstairs and see what her parents were up to.

The Granger family had settled into a routine. On weekdays, Hermione’s mum would go into the office. One of the Robert’s friends from dental school offered to pitch in and help out when he could so he was taking some of Robert’s patients. While her mother was away at the office, Hermione sat with her dad and helped out around the house. The majority of her time, she’d spend working on her correspondent assignments from Hogwarts. She could usually do these while her dad worked on his cardiac rehabilitation program. In the afternoons, she and her dad would share a healthy lunch. When her mother came home, Hermione made sure to fix dinner or at least order something for takeaway (making sure that there were no high-cholesterol foods, of course).

Her mum had told her time and time again how grateful she was that Hermione was around to help out. Hermione had blushed at the compliment and said it was something she not only knew she had to do, but wanted to do.

When she made it downstairs, she found her mother and father sitting at the table, eating breakfast.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Karen said. “There’s fresh orange juice on the counter.”

Hermione nodded, but she was staring intently at her father, who was eating a whole wheat bagel and spreading cream cheese on it.

“Daddy,” Hermione said sternly. “What did Dr. McDougal tell you about that? That’s got too much fat in it!”

Robert was about to take a bite of his bagel when he stopped short and gave his daughter a wry smile.

“Relax, Hermione,” he said. “It’s fat-free cream cheese.”

He held up the container for her to see. Hermione relaxed.

“Well, that’s okay, then,” she said.

Karen laughed.

Hermione helped herself to some juice and popped her own bagel into the toaster.

“What are you looking at, Mum?” she asked, as her mother was poring over some paperwork.

“CV’s,” Karen replied, not looking up.

“Are you hiring someone?” she asked.

“Yes,” Karen said, looking through the files. “A nurse.”

“For the practice?” Hermione asked.

Karen shook her head. “No, for someone to stay with your dad during the mornings.”

“But, I’m doing that now,” Hermione protested.

“Yes, but you’re going back to school,” Karen said with a smile toward her husband.

“Not for another couple of weeks, though,” Hermione said, taking a seat the table and taking a bit of her bagel.

“Well, if things go as well as we think, we should have someone sorted out by the end of this week,” Karen said. “If you want, you could be back at Hogwarts in a week’s time.”

“A week?” Hermione repeated. She didn’t want to sound too overjoyed at this news. She didn’t want her parents to think that she’d not enjoyed spending time with them---she had really enjoyed the time they’d spent as a family.

“She says not trying to look too excited,” Robert said, with a wink at his daughter. “She’s already mentally a writing a letter to that bloke of hers, what was his name? Barry?”

“Daddy!” Hermione said, laughing.

“Just teasing,” he said. “Go ahead and take your breakfast upstairs. You know you’re dying to write that letter.”

Hermione gave a sheepish look up at her dad. “Well, I mean, I should probably tell him so he can get the suite cleaned up. There’s no telling what kind of damage he’s done to it without me there to remind him to clean up after himself.”

“They already sound like an old married couple, don’t they?” Karen asked her husband.

“Just about,” Robert said. “What are you waiting for? Go.”

Hermione smiled and grabbed her plate and glass of juice and heading upstairs to her bedroom. She had a letter to write, after all.

****

Harry, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie MacMillan hadn’t planned on getting drunk when they’d decided to go to The Hog’s Head. They were just going to order butterbeers, after all.

Seamus had been the one to ask for a glass of Ogden’s Fire Whiskey first. The others had been quite shocked to hear him ask for it, but that had nothing on the looks on their faces when the bartender actually gave it to him. The others quickly changed their orders from butterbeer to fire whiskey, as well. One drink became two and then so on and so on.

Harry had never felt so light-headed before in his life. He was nearly laughing himself silly, along with Ron, Dean, and the others as Justin and Ernie were singing at the top of their lungs a Weird Sisters song. They were both totally off-key and singing all the wrong verses, which only made their impromptu performance even funnier.

When the skies grew darker, the boys decided to head back to the castle. It was getting late, and while they were drunk, they weren’t stupid. If McGonagall caught any of them like this, she would be none too pleased, to put it mildly.

Harry and Ron broke apart from the group as they made their way back to Harry’s suite. Out of the group, Ron was the least drunk. He felt a buzz, but he was no where near the level of Harry or the others. He was trying to help Harry navigate the stairs as they made their way toward the suite.

“You know what Ron?” Harry slurred.

“What Harry?” Ron asked, wincing as his friends foot stepped on his yet again.

“You have red hair,” Harry said with a smile. “RED HAIR!”

“Shhhhh,” Ron hissed. “Keep it down! Harry, if Filch catches us like this, you’re going to be in big trouble. That whole scar thing won’t even be able to get you out of it. And try not to breathe on me. You smell like a brewery!”

“Hey!” Harry protested, with his words coming out slurred. “I’m not as drunk as thinkle peep I am, Ron!”

“You’re quite hilarious when you’re drunk, Harry,” Ron said, pushing Harry up the stairs.

“I really miss Hermy, Ron,” Harry said softly.

They’d finally made it up the stairs and down the corridor to the entrance to the suite.

“Well, I’ll bet she’d not want to see you like this,” Ron said. “She’d probably lecture you for two hours on the dangers of drinking. You’re not really at your best right now, mate.”

Harry only nodded as he stood against the wall. “You’re good people, Ron.”

“Thanks,” Ron said, pushing his friend through the portrait hole and then the door to the suite. “I like to think so.”

He supported Harry until they made it to the sofa. Harry plopped down on the sofa.

“Are you going to be alright?” Ron asked, his friend. Harry had passed out on the sofa. “Sleep this one off.”

Ron had to laugh. He supposed Harry deserved a night like this, to just let loose with his friends. He’d certainly done that tonight. Ron thanked Merlin that Hermione wasn’t here to see it. She wouldn’t be pleased at all and she’d probably put the blame on Ron for allowing this to happen.

He left the suite and made his way back to Gryffindor Tower. He hoped to see his sister either tonight or tomorrow. He was determined to get to the bottom of what was going on with her.

***

What was going on with Ginny was that she was in the second-floor girls’ bathroom. She’d taken the polyjuice potion a couple of minutes ago. She stared into the mirror and instead of seeing her own reflection; she saw Hermione Granger’s chocolate eyes staring back at her. It was quite surreal. This had worked. She didn’t have much time to think about it. She only had an hour. She looked at her watch. It was just past 1 a.m. Feeling certain that no one was in the halls, she quickly and quietly made her way to the Head Boy/Head Girl suite. It was now or never.

***

Harry awoke to a ringing sound. He felt certain it was something going off inside his head because it was a little sore. He’d sobered up a bit, but still felt quite out of it and his vision was cloudy. He didn’t know where his glasses were and he felt as if his legs were made of jelly as he tried to stand up. The ringing sound continued as he made his way, mostly on memory, toward the door.

The sight at the door couldn’t be what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus. Staring back at him was Hermione. She was a sight for sore eyes; he couldn’t help thinking to himself. He’d just been dreaming about her and here she was, in the flesh. He’d missed her so much. And here she was. It was almost a miracle!

“Hermione?” he asked, rubbing his eyes again.

“Harry,” she said, smiling seductively at him. Her voice was soft and throaty. It almost didn’t sound like her, but he didn’t care. He was so happy just to see her. He was suddenly on autopilot as she walked through the entrance and without saying a word, kissed him passionately. He didn’t have time to think of anything as she continued to plant kisses on him. In response, his arms wrapped tightly around her as they maneuvered clumsily back into the suite. Hermione broke away from him and he stared myopically after her as she made her way toward his bedroom. She crooked her finger at him and beckoned him to follow her.

“Hermione?” he asked.

She put a finger to her lips. “I’m ready, Harry. I’ve missed you so much. Let me show you how much.”

He smiled at her before following her into the bedroom. She closed the door behind them….

(AUTHOR’S NOTE: OKAY, I’M PREPARED FOR YOU ALL TO HATE ME NOW. I KNOW THIS IS A CLIFFHANGER AND THIS IS THE WORST ONE YET, BUT STAY WITH ME. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED AND I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND AND FORGIVE ME. PLEASE? COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT. PLEASE. DON’T HATE ME! I’M A NICE PERSON. I REALLY AM. JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT I AM A DIE-HARD HARRY/HERMIONE FAN---I DON’T LIKE THEM WITH ANYONE ELSE. KEEP THAT IN MIND, OKAY? PLEASE, PLEASE FORGIVE ME? I’LL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND, I PROMISE?)

“

Author’s note: Thanks for the reviews. I was actually expecting you guys to be a lot harsher with me---I half expected you all to show up in North Carolina to hunt me down! I hope this chapter---what happens in it ( or more importantly, what didn’t happen between Harry/Ginny) and the speed with which I posted it after that horrendous last chapter, makes up for it! Thanks again! I hope you hang in there with me throughout all the angst and drama!

Chapter 18

Back To Good

“And everyone here, hates everyone here for doing just like
They do
It's best if we all keep this quiet instead
And I couldn't tell, why everyone here was doing me like
They do
But I'm sorry now, and I don't know how
To get it back to good”

(Matchbox 20, “Back 2 Good)

Ginny watched Harry as he slept. She couldn’t believe she’d actually done it. Of course, things didn’t go entirely by plan. He’d fallen asleep, correction---he’d passed out, before they could do anything. Forced to improvise, she’d done what she’d had to do. She’d undressed him with a quick wave of her wand. She strew his clothes along with her own all around the room before climbing, naked, into bed beside him.

She knew she wouldn’t sleep. How could she? She was on pins and needles waiting for him to wake up and to see if he would buy the scenario that they’d slept together. She winced as she remembered how he’d kissed her and called her “Hermione.” Every time he did that, she felt a fresh pang of guilt as to what she was doing. Yet, she forced herself to go through with it because it was something that she felt that she had to do.

She prayed that he wouldn’t remember what had actually happened last night. He was pretty out of it when she’d arrived. Yet, he had bought it. He had seen her as Hermione.

Well, she thought, as she turned over on her side, I’ve done all that I can. Now, everything else is up to Harry.

Please let this work. Please let this work.

*****

Harry awoke the next morning feeling about as bad as he’d ever felt in his entire life. His head felt like it was the site of a Quidditch match and that a bludger was bouncing off his brain. Not helping matters was the fact that he felt nauseous and queasy.

The events of the day before came back to him slowly. He remembered The Hog’s Head. He remembered drinking---a lot of fire whiskey. He could vaguely recall Ron walking him up the stairs back to his room. Then everything else was fuzzy. He couldn’t remember actually making it into his bedroom. He tried, again, to open his eyes, but the sunlight from his window nearly blinded him and he shut them back quickly.

After a few moments of trying in vain to recall what the hell happened last night, he tried again to get up, but to his utter surprise, he felt a weight on his chest. He opened his eyes again, this time, only slightly wincing as he saw someone’s arm draped across his chest.

What the hell?

This person’s face was obscured by the duvet cover. He then recalled—vaguely---seeing Hermione last night. She’d returned! He smiled. He debated whether to wake her up or not, but the temptation to do so was so strong. He lifted the duvet cover and was about to kiss her awake, when to his horror, he saw that the girl beside him didn’t have Hermione’s brown hair. The smile faded from his face as he saw the girl’s familiar mane of red hair.

What the hell am I doing in bed with Ginny?

As he looked under the covers again, he saw that not only was Ginny naked, he too was starkers.

Okay, there’s got to be a reasonable explanation for Ginny and I being naked in bed together. Yeah, and Snape’s a humanitarian.

To his dismay, Ginny was beginning to stir. As she did so, she withdrew her arm from Harry’s chest and turned over, facing away from him. He stared at her as lifted her head from the pillow. She turned back around to face him and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

“Harry?” she asked huskily. “What time is it?”

He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

“What is it?” she asked him, her eyes now wide open.

“Ginny,” he said, his voice trembling. He didn’t really know what to say. He had a million questions to ask her, namely how in the world that the two of them ended up here, naked in the same bed. He wracked his brain, unsuccessfully, to remember. No details came to him.

“Yes?” she asked, sitting up, pulling the sheets tight around her as she did so.

How could he say this without insulting her? He wondered to himself. He honestly didn’t have any idea how else to find out, but to just come right out with the question.

“Ginny?” he asked. She nodded.

“What happened last night between us?” he asked, as quickly as possible.

She looked a little taken aback at his question.

“You don’t remember?” she asked innocently.

He shook his head in dismay.

She frowned.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I really don’t know what happened here. Could you tell me?”

She looked thoughtful and a little hurt as she listened to his question.

“Well, I came to drop off that book I borrowed,” she said. “I knew it was late, but I took the chance you’d be here. You were a little out of it, but you kissed me.”

“I-I kissed you?” he asked, a little louder than he’d planned. He couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t have kissed Ginny. Would he?

She gave a half-hearted laugh. “We did more than kiss, Harry.”

“W—w-what did we do, exactly?” he asked, bracing himself for her answer.

“You really were out of it last night, weren’t you?” she asked, shaking her head. “We, well, you know, we were kissing and things led to another and we, well, you know, sort of, actually slept together.”

This isn’t happening. I wouldn’t have done this. Not with Ginny. Never with Ginny. She must be mistaken. This must have all been some strange, bad dream. I’d never have done this, no matter how much I had to drink.

He shook his head.

“We didn’t?” he asked, hoping she’d tell him it was a joke.

“We did,” she said. She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. He didn’t want to be here. He wasn’t supposed to be here, with her; never with her.

It was silent for the longest time as Ginny’s words sunk in for Harry.

“Don’t feel as if you owe anything to me,” she said finally. “I mean, you know how I’ve always had sort of a crush on you, Harry. I think we should just take last night as it was---a mistake. Things just got out of hand. You’re with Hermione and I respect that. She never has to know what happened. We’ll keep this between us.”

Hermione. Oh, Merlin. Hermione, what have I done?

“We’ll put it behind us and act like it never happened,” she said. “And we’ll both be okay with this.”

Harry let his head drop into his hands and he couldn’t bear to look at Ginny. He felt so ashamed and guilty by what he’d done. He’d taken advantage of his best friend’s little sister. He’d betrayed his girlfriend in the worst way. He’d cheated on the one person he loved more than anyone else in this world.

How did this happen?

“I better go,” she said quietly. Harry looked away as Ginny scrambled out of bed and gathered up her clothes. She walked into the bathroom and Harry sat there, completely and utterly lost.

None of this makes sense. None of it.

Ginny came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, completely dressed.

“I, um, meant what I said,” she said, looking at Harry. “I won’t tell anyone what happened, Harry. I promise.”

He could only nod.

“I’ll see you later, then, “she said, with one last forlorn look at him before walking out of the room.

*****

When Ginny left his suite, she took a deep breath. He had believed her. He’d bought it. She would keep her word. She wouldn’t tell anyone. She’d wait a couple of weeks before she’d tell him she was pregnant. Then, they’d tell her parents and then everything would be okay. Everything had to be okay.

She made her way quickly through the corridors. She made it back to Gryffindor Tower in record time and climbed through the portrait hole. She was nearly up the stairs when she heard her brother’s voice.

“Ginny?” he asked. She turned to see him, sitting on one of the sofas.

She came back down the stairs, avoiding his gaze.

“What’s going on? “ he asked. “You’re not just coming in are you?”

That suspicious look he’d had for days with her was written all over his face.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. She forced herself to look him straight in the eyes. “I went for a walk this morning. You know, to clear my head. I had trouble sleeping last night and you know Caroline Beltry, one of my roommates, snores like a window rattler. So, I just decided to go for a walk.”

Ron took his hand and ushered his sister to come sit beside him. All Ginny wanted to do was run upstairs to her room, but she knew he’d never let her do that.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been a little off lately.”

“Ron,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m fine. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this. I’m F-I-N-E.”

He nodded. “Well, you know that if there was something wrong with you or if something was bothering you, you could tell me, right? I mean, you’d come to me if something was on your mind? I know I’m not as good as Mum, but if you needed to talk, I’d be there for you. I’m your big brother.”

Ginny smiled at him. “I know. I know you’re just looking out for me, Ron. And I appreciate it, I do. But, you don’t have to worry. I’m fine. I just need to get more sleep and not get so stressed out.”

He smiled at her. “Okay, then.”

She gave him a warm embrace.

“And I’m sure if you wanted to get the female perspective, I’m sure Hermione would welcome you to cry on her shoulder, too,” Ron said. “She’s been like a sister to you, hasn’t she?”

Ginny couldn’t help tensing up at the mention of Hermione.

Ginny let go of her brother and nodded, trying to hold everything together. She was nearly home-free.

“Of course,” Ginny said. “She’s always been great to me.”

Ron smiled.

”Well, I better get back upstairs,” Ginny said. “See if Caroline’s woken up, so I can get some sleep.”

Ron nodded and watched as his sister walked back up the stairs.

He didn’t believe her for a second. She wasn’t fine. He knew that for sure. She was about as far away from fine as one could possibly be.

****

Harry didn’t leave his room that afternoon. He did manage to shower, hoping it would make him feel better. While he was now clean, he most certainly didn’t feel better. He still felt bad, even worse.

How on earth would he ever be able to face Hermione again? He couldn’t keep this from her. But, if he told her the truth, she’d hate him, and rightly so. She’d never forgive him for this and he’d lose the best thing in his life. He didn’t want to do that.

Yet, he’d told her that he’d never hurt her and that he wouldn’t keep things from her. Honesty was very important to Hermione.

He didn’t know what to do.

His thoughts were interrupted by a tapping at the window. He went to it and saw Hedwig clutching an envelope. He unlatched the window and let Hedwig enter. She flew in and dropped the envelope into Harry’s hands.

There was his name, written on the envelope, in Hermione’s familiar handwriting.

With his hands trembling, he opened the envelope and pulled the parchment from it. He unfolded it slowly and took a deep breath as he read the letter.

Dear Harry:

You aren’t going to believe this, but I am coming home to Hogwarts! My mum and dad are interviewing nurses to come and stay with my dad in the mornings! If all goes well, I should be back at school within the week.

You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. I can’t wait to see you again. I hope that you’ve kept the room clean while I’ve been gone. Don’t worry, though. When I get back, I’ll be so glad to see you; I probably won’t notice that books and clothes are strewn all across the room. Well, maybe not too much, anyway!

I can’t wait to see you. I also think I’ve changed my mind about something…but I won’t get into that now. I think I should share that news with you when I get home!

See you soon!
Love from

Hermione

Harry read the letter and reread it.

He was wrong before. He now felt as low as he ever had in his life. How was he ever going to face her knowing what he’d done?

Author’s note> Thanks for all the reviews! I’m glad you guys are sticking with me. A word to the wise, it will get worse before it gets better, but please hang in there! There will be light at the end of the tunnel. I promise!

Chapter Nineteen

The Space Between

“The space between
The tears we cry
Is the laughter keeps us coming back for more
The space between
The wicked lies we tell
And hope to keep safe from the pain”

(“The Space Between” By The Dave Matthews Band)

It had been nearly a week since it had happened. They’d said that they’d put it behind them and forget that it happened. Harry had tried to keep a safe distance from Ginny, partly because he had no idea what to say to her. He honestly had no explanation for his actions and this stemmed mostly from the fact that he couldn’t recall anything save for waking up in his bed the next morning with her.

True to her word, Ginny hadn’t mentioned it to anyone. Harry figured that if Ron knew, he’d be beating the door down wanting to pummel his best friend for taking advantage of his little sister. This hadn’t happened yet to Harry’s great relief.

Harry kept mostly to himself the last few days. He didn’t venture out of his room except to go to classes or Quidditch practices. Truth be told, his mind wasn’t very much involved in either activity. He’d assigned his nightly patrol duties to prefects. He’d managed to deflect every attempt Ron had made to try and find out what was wrong. Everything around him was falling apart and for the first time in a long time, he felt absolutely powerless to stop it.

As he saw it, he had two options, neither of which held any appeal. His first option would be to tell Hermione the truth straightaway. If he chose this way, he’d certainly lose her and she’d hate him for the rest of his life. There was no way she’d ever be able to forgive him, no matter how he tried to explain it. He wouldn’t blame her…he knew that if the situation was reversed, he didn’t know if he’d be able to forgive her. The other option was to keep quiet and live with the guilt of what he’d done. Either way he went, he’d suffer. He didn’t think he deserved a reprieve. He’d done a horrible, detestable thing. He’d betrayed his girlfriend by taking advantage of his best friend’s little sister. No matter what spin he tried to put on it, Harry came out feeling like dirt.

He was dreading Hermione’s return. He wanted to see her, of course, but he honestly didn’t know how he would face her knowing what he’d done. She’d be returning today. He figured he’d better decide what he was going to do because time was running out. To make matters worse, he had no idea when she’d be arriving. Her letter only said she’d be returning on Friday.

It was with a heavy heart that he awoke that Friday morning. Well, he actually hadn’t slept much the night before. He’d had dreams of telling Hermione the truth and watching in anguish as she walked out of his life. He’d tossed and turned most of the night. He’d really given up hope of getting any meaningful, peaceful sleep and arisen out of bed at around six in the morning. He’d taken a quick shower and dressed as quickly as possible.

As he opened the doors to the Great Hall, his stomach lurched as he caught sight of Ron and Ginny sitting at the Gryffindor table. Ron was busy stuffing eggs into his mouth. Ginny sat across from him, reading a book and eating cereal.

Harry was about to turn on his heels and walk out of the Great Hall, but to his dismay Ron looked up and waved enthusiastically at him. One look at Ron’s bemused expression told Harry that he couldn’t just walk away. He’d have to face Ron and thereby face Ginny as well. He reluctantly walked toward the table.

As he sat down beside Ron, he avoided meeting Ginny’s intense gaze.

“Good morning, Harry,” Ron said, between bites of breakfast.

“Morning,” Harry said quickly. He looked at the platters of sausages, eggs, and bacon before him and felt his appetite slip away. He wasn’t hungry at all, now that he thought about it. In fact, he felt rather sick at the mere idea of food.

Ron looked at his friend’s ashen face and slumped shoulders.

“You look like shit, Harry,” Ron said bluntly.

“Thanks,” Harry mumbled in response.

“Well, you do,” Ron said, sheepishly. “You alright, mate?”

“Fine,” Harry responded, looking away.

“So, there’s no reason why you’ve been walking around like suicide on a stick for a week?” Ron asked. “I mean, I know you miss Hermione, but this is really taking it to the extreme, mate. I mean, she’s coming back today, right? You should be ecstatic.”

Harry didn’t respond.

“She is coming back today, isn’t she?” Ron asked. “She had to, Harry. Without her notes, I think I’d flunk out of here. I could just hear my mum right now talking about how I’m the wayward son. Fred and George would be on elevated status compared to me. Hermione can’t do this to me, not now. Not when I need her most of all.”

Harry gave his friend a half-hearted smile. He knew what Ron was trying to do. It was one of Ron’s better qualities. He always tried to bring humor into the situation to lighten the mood and brighten everyone’s spirits. Sometimes, he was able to do it, but Harry didn’t want his spirits lifted. He wanted to wallow.

“Yeah, she’s still coming back today,” Harry said, with a weak smile.

“So what’s the matter if it’s not that?” Ron pressed. “You look like they’ve just told you that Draco Malfoy is your long-lost brother or something. Though, I think I’d feel the same way if I were you. That isn’t the case, is it?”

Ginny looked up at the mention of Malfoy. This wasn’t lost on Ron, either. He gave his sister a quizzical look, but Ginny looked back down at her plate. Ron turned his attention back to his friend.

“Don’t you want Hermione to come back?” Ron asked.

Harry glared at his friend.

“Of course, I want her to come back!” Harry snapped.

Ron looked taken aback.

“Look, I’m sorry, Ron,” Harry said quickly, trying to cover. “I’ve just got a load on my mind right now.”

Ron didn’t look the least bit convinced, but nodded anyway.

Harry pushed his plate away and got up from the table.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” he said, starting to walk away. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

The table was silent as Ron and Ginny stared after Harry.

“What’s his problem anyway?” Ron asked, more to himself than to anyone else. He looked across the table at his sister, who was gathering up her books and placing them in her bag.

“I don’t know, Ron,” Ginny said. “I just remembered I needed to get to the library before classes.”

She, too, got up from her seat and without even a goodbye, left the room.

Between Harry’s moodiness and Ginny’s evasiveness, Ron was at an utter loss as to what was going on. He hoped that Hermione’s return would bring back a sense of normalcy.

****

Ginny walked hurriedly down the corridor. She was late to meet Madame Pomfrey. Madame Pomfrey had cornered her in the halls the day before telling her that she had to see her immediately. Ginny, who’d been avoiding the woman since her diagnosis, was forced into agreeing to a morning meeting. Madame Pomfrey had been after Ginny to divulge the information to her parents. Each time, Ginny had put her off, but Ginny knew she was running out of time.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when she was blindsided by someone who came around the corner just as she did. As she tried to regain her balance, she looked into the cold, icy glare of Draco Malfoy.

“Red,” Malfoy said.

“You should watch where you’re going,” Ginny said, dusting herself off. She started to walk away from him, but he called after her.

“Are you okay, Red?”

“Like you even care,” she said, turning around to face him. He stepped closer to her.

“You’re wrong,” he said, his voice losing its cool, detached tone. “I do care about you, contrary to what you believe.”

Ginny laughed.

“If you cared,” she began, “you’d have been there for me, offering your support when I told you about the baby, but no, you couldn’t do that, could you?”

He didn’t respond.

Ginny continued. “You like to think of yourself as this big leader, don’t you? But, let me tell you something, Draco, you’re nothing but a follower. You followed blindly after your father and now you’re toeing the line with your friends. You’re so afraid of what people would think if they saw you with a poor Weasley. You wouldn’t even know how to follow your heart.”

“Ginny,” he interjected.

“Don’t worry,” she said resolutely. “You needn’t worry about me. You have no obligation to me, not that I should have ever believed you did.”

Malfoy made a move to put his hand on her shoulder, but Ginny stepped back.

“Don’t worry,” she said coolly. “The baby isn’t even yours.”

At this, Mafloy’s face paled. He grabbed Ginny by the arm forcefully. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” Ginny said. “I said the baby wasn’t even yours. It was someone else’s mistake, not yours. Okay? So, there you have it. You’re free and clear. You’ve no obligation to me or my child. Happy now?”

He tightened his grip on her arm. “Who were you with besides me?”

Ginny wrenched herself from his grasp. “It’s none of your business.”

She walked away from him, then, knowing full well that as she did so, he was watching after her. She felt a wave of triumph wash over her. She never in a million years thought she’d have the courage to stand up to him like that, but she’d done it. She didn’t feel any pity for him. He deserved it. He deserved any suffering tenfold because of how he’d treated her. Her days of feeling sorry for him were long gone. She wasn’t going to be his puppet anymore. For the first time, in a long time, she felt as if she was finally in control. She was in charge of her own destiny and it felt good.

She hadn’t noticed that Luna Lovegood had happened upon the conversation and had heard every word.

***

Sod’s Law seemed to be the order of the day for Harry. His day started off bad and proceeded to become progressively worse as the day went on. To begin with, he fell asleep in McGonagall’s class. This didn’t sit well with the professor at all, as she had kept him after class to lecture him about how falling asleep in classes was not behavior becoming of the school’s Head Boy.

Staying after with McGonagall made him late for Snape’s class which led to a barrage of sarcastic remarks from Snape. He kept making snide comments about how classes were not scheduled to fit in with The Boy Who Lived’s busy schedule. It took every ounce of willpower Harry could muster not to throttle Snape on the spot.

At lunch, Neville accidentally knocked over a pitcher of pumpkin juice onto Harry’s lap. Neville’s clumsy attempts to magic away the mess only made matters worse. Harry snapped at his friend that he’d clean up the mess himself.

The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on Harry. He actually had no idea how to clean up the mess he’d made of his life. He was completely at a loss, both literally and figuratively.

After his last class of the afternoon, he made his way back upstairs to his suite. He didn’t feel like joining in with the other Gryffindor boys for the pickup Quidditch game Ron had organized. He’d begged off saying he was going to take a nap, which was true enough. He wanted to take a nap. As he climbed through the portrait hole and then walked through the door to the suite, his mind was on so many other things that he hadn’t noticed the trunk and bags that were situated beside the couch.

He’d just about made it to his bedroom door, when he heard another door open and the sweet sound of Hermione’s voice calling to him.

“You’re just in time,” she said sweetly.

He turned around and saw her standing beside her trunk.

Everything melted away as he took her in. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a dark blue cardigan. Her hair hung loose down her back and she was beaming back at him, her eyes twinkling. He couldn’t help smiling back at her. Oh, how he’d missed her!

“Hermione,” he whispered.

“You can help me lug this trunk into my room,” she said. “I seem to have misplaced my wand of all things and for all I know, my mum packed it in there.”

She pointed to her trunk and gave a soft laugh. She looked over at Harry, expecting him to be laughing, too, but he was silently staring at her.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, stepping closer to him. “Nothing’s happened.”

“Everything’s fine,” he finally managed to say. “How’s your father.”

Hermione smiled. “Getting better everyday. I made him promise me that he’d stick to the diet the nutritionist gave him and that he’d exercise. I also told him that he better not jump back into work and stress out like he used to. He proceeded to tell me that he was the parent and I was the child and that I should remember that. I think he was kidding.”

Harry laughed.

She took his hands in hers and looked up at him, her brown eyes shining. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

He looked down at her, not sure of what to do. This was the moment of truth, as it was. As he looked at her, her eyes full of love; he was hit with the undeniable fact that he couldn’t bear the thought of her hating him. He didn’t know what life would be like without her in it, and he didn’t want to find out.

He cupped her face in his hands and softly kissed her.

“That’s the kind of homecoming I was expecting,” she said softly, resting her forehead on his. “I missed you.”

“I missed you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him.

“I love you,” he said suddenly. His voice had a quiet intensity to it. “I hope you know that. I hope you always know that. I love you so much, Hermione. I don’t want to lose you, ever.”

She stared back at him. “What’s brought all of this on? Harry, I know when you’re not telling me everything. You can tell me whatever’s on your mind and I’ll try and help you through it.”

“There’s nothing wrong,” he said, looking down at her again. “I have you back. How could anything possibly be wrong? I just didn’t know how much I missed you until I saw you standing here.”

“Really?” she asked, still somewhat unconvinced.

“Yes, really,” he leaned in and kissed her again.

“You do realize that you couldn’t lose me if you tried,” she said, pulling away from him, but still holding his hand. “You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not. I love you, Harry. Nothing will ever change that.”

If she knew his secret, Harry knew that would change everything.

“So, are you going to help me with my trunk?” she asked, walking back over to it.

He smiled at her and nodded.

“Hermione?” he asked her.

“Yes?” she said.

“Let’s stay up here tonight and not go downstairs for dinner,” he said. “I don’t want to share you with anyone tonight.”

She smiled coyly at him. “Whatever would we do up here all by ourselves?”

“I have no idea,” he said. “I was thinking you could unpack.”

“That’s all you had in mind?” she asked, looking affronted, or at least trying to.

”Yeah,” Harry said. “I know how you like to have things neat and in place. You wouldn’t be able to go to sleep tonight if your trunk wasn’t unpacked.”

“Well, that’s true,” Hermione said. “But I honestly hadn’t planned on much sleep tonight.”

“You hadn’t?” he asked her.

“No,” she said. “I have to catch up on all that reading I missed.”

“Oh,” Harry said, now it was his turn to look affronted.

“And I should probably spend some quality time with my boyfriend,” Hermione said, her eyes twinkling. “I think he missed me while I was gone.”

Harry smiled at her, trying to bury the guilt he felt at keeping the secret from her.

“He did,” Harry said quietly. “He missed you very much.”

Author’s note: This is the last chapter before the bomb is dropped…I am really glad that you guys are hanging in their with me…the next chapter is going to be really hard for me to write…I will let you know that once I finish this whole story, I plan on doing one that isn’t so depressing and angsty…I promise! But, I am concentrating on this one for now and I hope that you guys hang on with me and I promise you won’t be disappointed. Again, this is the last “happy” chapter for awhile for Harry James Potter & Hermione Jane Granger. Hang in there!

Chapter 20

She Loves You

“She said she loves you,

And you know that can’t be bad…

She loves you, and you know you should be glad..”

(The Beatles “She Loves You”)

Something was going on with Harry. Hermione could tell. You weren’t friends with someone for as long as they’d been without picking up certain insight into their moods and behaviors. She’d always been able to do that with him, just as he had with her. They could read each other like an open book as Hermione liked to say.

Something was definitely up with him, though. She could tell. He’d been unusually quiet the past couple of days. When she’d call him on it, he’d brush her off by saying he was just tired or had a lot on his mind. She’d told him that if he wanted to talk, she’d always be there to listen. He’d nodded, but hadn’t taken her up on her offer.

Truth be told, she was a little hurt by that. She figured that they had the kind of relationship where they could teach other anything. She hoped it didn’t have anything to do with Voldemort. Logically, she knew that wasn’t possible. Voldemort had been vanquished forever just last year.

She wondered it could be some other dark forces at work. In the past, he’d always welcomed her help and had even come to rely on it. They’d fought side by side after all. She couldn’t’ help but think that now their relationship had changed from one of friendship to one of love, he might be trying to protect her. Well, if he thought he was going to do that, he had another thing coming. She’d never been one to play the damsel in distress waiting for the knight in shining armor to come and rescue her. He ought to know that about her by now, she thought, feeling a little miffed.

One afternoon a couple of days ago, she’d cornered Ron in the Gryffindor common room. One look at Hermione’s stern, serious expression and Ron’s cheeks flushed red. He placed a magazine behind his back and tried to scramble for his textbook--Standard Book of Spells-Grade Seven.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Oh, for the love of Merlin, Ron, I know you were reading that Quidditch magazine!”

“I wasn’t,” Ron said guiltily. “I was simply taking a break from studying.”

“An extended break, more like,” Hermione said, folding her arms across her chest.

”Hermione,” Ron said, rolling his own eyes at her. “I have one mother already. I don’t need another one.”

“At ease, Ron, I’m not here to get on you about your studies, which you should be taking more seriously,” Hermione pointed out, as she took a seat at the table. “I’m here to ask you something.”

Ron relaxed in his chair. “You had to get that in, didn’t you? I think you’d go spare if you couldn’t spend one day nagging at me about something.”

“I went an entire month without nagging you, if you remember,” Hermione reminded him. “I have a lot to catch up on. It was one of the hardest things about being away.”

Ron smirked. “Okay, Granger. What is it you wanted to ask me?”

Hermione rested her elbows on the table and leaned in. “Have you noticed anything different with Harry?”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, he’s been really quiet lately. He kept to himself a lot while you were gone. I was going to chalk it up to missing you and all, but I think something else was troubling him. It seems as if everyone else is catching it too.”

“Catching what?” Hermione asked, confused.

“He’s not the only one who’s been acting like that,” Ron said. “Ginny’s hiding something from me. I can tell. I’ve been trying to get her to talk, but she’s not saying a word to me. She just tells me she’s stressed out from classes and stuff, but I know that’s not all it is. And Luna…” Ron’s voice trailed off.

“What about Luna?” Hermione asked, concerned. “I thought you guys were doing okay?”

“We are,” Ron said. “It’s just that she’s gotten all quiet and preoccupied lately, too. Sometimes, I feel as if everyone knows this big secret, except for me. I’m telling you, Hermione, it’s a bad situation when I’m the only one acting normal.”

Hermione gave a laugh. “Well, maybe we’re just overreacting and analyzing things too much.”

Ron put a hand to his chest. “No! You wouldn’t do that, Hermione! Not you, not in a million years!”

“Sarcasm is duly noticed and duly unappreciated, Mr. Weasley,” Hermione said, giving him a disgusted look.

“There’s the banter I’ve been missing all these weeks,” Ron said. “It brings back a sense of normalcy in this world of ours.”

Hermione smiled. She and Ron were silent for a moment.

“What is it?” Ron asked her, his tone serious.

“I’m just worried about Harry,” Hermione said. “You don’t think there’s something going on that he’s afraid to tell us about like some Death Eater resurgence or something?”

“He hasn’t mentioned anything,” Ron said shaking his head. “I would have thought he’d tell us if there were.”

“I know,” Hermione said. “But you remember that thing with The Prophecy? He didn’t tell us that until months after he’d heard about it.”

“Well, think about it,” Ron said. “That was pretty heady stuff he was going through. I mean right on the heels of Sirius’ death, he has to deal with this news that it’s either him or the bad guy, right? That’s not exactly something he wanted to be shouting from the roof tops.”

“Yeah,” Hermione conceded. “It still hurt that he didn’t feel he could come and talk to us about it, though.”

“You don’t think he’s still feeling bad about Sirius, do you?” Ron asked. “I mean, you said that you didn’t think he’d really ever had a chance to grieve.”

“He didn’t,” Hermione remembered. “He sort of swept everything under the rug and I’m afraid it might be about to fester.”

“You know what he needs?” Ron asked her.

“Oh, please don’t be crass, Ron,” Hermione said, warningly.

“I’m not going to be crass,” Ron protested. “I can have an intelligent, capable thought every now and then that doesn’t involve eating, sex or sport.”

“You?” Hermione asked in mock disbelief. “The world is definitely coming to an end. It’s like we’re in some parallel universe.”

Ron scowled at her. “If you don’t want my help, Granger,” he said, starting to pack his books away, “I can just let you go about your merry little way.”

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said. “I apologize. Please impart your great knowledge, Mr. Weasley.”

Ron stopped packing and beamed at her. “Alright, then. What I was going to say before I was rudely interrupted by an insufferable know-it-all was that Harry needs a vacation. If I was him, I’d check out for the Bahamas or some other tropical island after graduation and take some time off.”

Hermione listened to what he said and a smile came to her face. She got out of her chair and kissed a surprised Ron on the cheek.

“What was that for?” Ron asked, taken aback.

“You are absolutely brilliant, Ron Weasley!” Hermione said, making her way toward the portrait hole. “Absolutely brilliant.”

Ron beamed at her as he watched her retreat from the room. He turned to see some first-year students gaping at him.

“What are you rug rats looking at?” Ron asked them with a sly smile. “The girl said I was bloody brilliant.”

“Absolutely,” a first-year girl said quietly.

“Thanks,” Ron said, looking at her.

“No,” the girl said, shyly. “She said you were absolutely brilliant, not bloody brilliant.”

For a moment Ron stared back at the girl. “Same difference,” he muttered. “Go back to your studying, ickle firsties.”

Luna didn’t like the position she was in---not one bit. She had overheard something she never should have and she was struggling with what she should do. Ginny hadn’t mentioned anything to her, or to Ron, for that matter. Luna knew her boyfriend well enough to know that if he knew his baby sister was pregnant, he’d give new meaning to the phrase “losing it”.

Even more troubling was the fact that Ginny had divulged this information to Draco Malfoy, of all people. She’d told him point blank the baby wasn’t his. This meant that Ginny had been involved romantically with Malfoy. Luna found it hard to believe. She thought that Ginny hated Malfoy as much as her brothers. It didn’t make sense. Ginny hadn’t dated anyone seriously since she’d broken things off with Dean Thomas last year. If Malfoy wasn’t the father, who was?

Luna couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. She wasn’t one for gossip…never had been. She just wished she could pull Ginny aside and ask her what was going on and offer her support. Somehow, though, Luna had kept quiet. It wasn’t really her place to say anything to Ron about this. That was up to Ginny. Ginny would have to come clean sooner or later, though. It would only be a matter of time before she started to show. Come to think of it, Luna remembered seeing Ginny the other day and thinking that the girl’s face had become a little more rounded and that she seemed to have put on a few pounds.

Luna knew now that was because Ginny was with child. Luna couldn’t imagine what Ginny was going through. She was only 16 years old, after all. Having a baby this young…Luna couldn’t even fathom it.

Worse still, Luna hated keeping secrets from Ron. She felt as if he had a right to know, but again Luna realized that it wasn’t her place to say anything. It would be up to Ginny to tell her brother. Luna just hoped she told him soon.

*********

Hermione was out of breath when she finally found Harry at the Quidditch pitch. Hermione had looked all over for him before it dawned on her that when he was having trouble with something, he usually took a ride on his broom to clear his mind. Sure enough, she found him circling the grounds.

She waved up to him and as he spotted her, he aimed his broom toward the ground. As he landed, she beamed at him.

“What are you so happy about?” he asked her.

“Well, I was just talking to Ron and I just had a terrific idea,” Hermione said breathlessly. “Actually, it was his idea and I’ve had some time to think about it and I think it could really work. I mean, you don’t have to say yes right away. You could think about it. It’s really a lot of stuff to think about and it’s asking a lot of you, but I really think it would do you a world of good and me, too, come to think about it.”

Harry watched as she rattled on and couldn’t help but be amused and totally taken with her. She did this when she was excited about something and it was quiet endearing actually.

“Take a breath, sweetheart,” he said, taking her arm and leading her over to the benches. “Okay, now. I’m actually glad you found me. I have something to talk about with you, too. But, you go first. You tell me what your brilliant idea is.”

Hermione smiled. “Okay. Well, you know you’ve never really been out of England, right? I mean, you’ve never really traveled have you?”

“Not really,” Harry said. “Whenever the Dursleys went on family vacations, they always left me behind with Mrs. Figg.”

“Well, I was just thinking that it would be nice to go on holiday after graduation,” Hermione said. “You know how a lot of students take a year off after graduation and have sort of a gap year? I was thinking that we could do that.”

“Hold on,” Harry said, taken aback. “You want to take time off?”

“Of course,” Hermione said. “Everyone should do that every now and again. It’s good for the soul and the spirit. Just think about it, Harry. We could go to all these great places---Egypt, Spain, Portugal, Greece. We could even go to the States if you wanted to. I’ve traveled quite a bit with my parents, but I’ve never been to Hawaii or to the Bahamas. I’ve always wanted to go there. And it wouldn’t just be all fun, we could see museums, historical sites and things like that. It would be great, Harry. It really would. And you wouldn’t always be looking over your shoulder waiting for something bad to happen. No one would be staring at you wanting to check out your scar. You’d just be you and I’d just be me. We’d be together.”

Harry couldn’t believe what Hermione was suggesting.

“Your parents would be okay with this?” he asked her.

“They’d have to be,” Hermione said. “I’ve saved up some money. And I’m of age, for Merlin’s sake. And they trust me. If this is something I want to do, they’ll let me do it. They’ll support my decision.”

“You really think they’d be okay with you being 18 years old and traveling the world with your boyfriend?” Harry asked.

“Quit being a spoilsport,” Hermione teased. “They’d be okay with it. They trust me, Harry. Come on, don’t you want to do this?”

He was silent for few seconds. Of course, he wanted to do this. He could think of nothing better than traveling and spending time alone with her. It sounded perfect to him. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that he was going to come clean with her. He’d bolstered himself to do it today.

Yet, she was staring back at him, her eyes aglow with excitement. She was watching him closely.

“Well?” she prompted. “Come on, Harry. What do you think?”

Her face fell as he stared back at her, his expression unreadable.

“You don’t want to do it?” she asked hesitantly. “I know it’s a lot to ask.”

She let go of his hands and got up from the bench. She stood at the fence with her back to him.

“Hermione Granger, you daft girl,” Harry said, smiling at her.

She turned around and watched as he, too, got up from the bench. “I’d be out of mind not to want to go around the world with you. Of course, I’ll do it.”

She looked at him and grinned. “Really?”

“Really,” he said.

She ran into his arms and as he picked her up off the ground and twirled her around, they were both laughing.

“We’re going to have the best time, Harry,” she said. “You’ll see. We’re going to have the best time.”

He nodded at her.

“Let’s go to the library, then,” Hermione said. “We can go look at some of the things we want to see and do.”

“Alright,” Harry said, with a laugh. “That’s your favorite trip of all isn’t it? A trip to the library.”

She scowled at him. “Come on.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, getting his broom and following her back to the castle. They joined hands and walked in silence. Hermione abruptly stopped.

“I nearly forgot,” Hermione said, stopping in her tracks. “You said you had something to tell me. What was it?”

His own smile faded as he remembered his vow to tell her the truth today. She was smiling back at him, her cheeks red from excitement.

“It’s not important, now,” he said.

“It is important,” she said. “I know something’s been troubling you.”

“It’s not important,” he said. “Really. I’ve just been stressed out with the Head Boy, Quidditch Captain, school work stuff.”

“You see,” Hermione said. “It’s like you always tell me. You should take time out and have fun every now and then. That’s what we’re going to do on our trip.”

Harry grinned at her.

“We sure will,” he said. He leaned in and kissed her.

“What’s that for?” she asked, when they broke the kiss.

“Just for being you,” he said simply. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

*******

They’d spent the rest of the afternoon, looking excitedly over atlases and books on magical places across the world. Hermione had made a list of everything that looked remotely exciting and said they’d narrow things down once the time drew nearer.

Shortly before seven, they decided to go back to their suite before heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. As they made their way down the corridors, Ginny Weasley came around the corner.

“Hi, Ginny,” Hermione greeted her warmly. Harry tensed as he saw the red-headed girl approach them.

Hermione gave the girl a warm hug and Harry caught Ginny’s eye as she did so.

Harry suddenly became very interested in the floor.

“I haven’t seen you around too much since I’ve been back,” Hermione said. “We have to have a talk soon and catch up. You ‘re never around anymore it seems.”

Ginny gave a weak smile.

“Yes, we’ll have to do that,” Ginny said.

“We were just going to get freshened up for dinner,” Hermione said. “You want to come upstairs with us and then we can all go down together?”

Ginny shook her head.

“I actually needed to talk to Harry about Quidditch for a moment, if you don’t mind letting me steal him away for a minute,” Ginny said.

“I don’t mind,” Hermione said. “I’ll just head on upstairs so you two can talk about wonky-faints or whatever.”

Ginny gave a slight laugh at this. With one last hug to Ginny and a quick kiss to Harry’s cheek, Hermione walked up the stairs to their suite alone.

Harry and Ginny stared after her.

“I’m sorry to come barging in like this,” Ginny said, once Hermione was out of earshot.

“It’s okay,” Harry said quietly. “You wanted to talk to me about Quidditch?”

“Not really,” Ginny admitted. “I need to talk to you about something else.”

“Can it wait?” Harry asked, anxious to get away from her and back to Hermione.

“No,” Ginny said, shaking her head. Her voice was solemn and her gaze was fixed directly on Harry. “It really can’t wait. I need to talk to you, Harry. It’s quite important.”

“Okay,” he said. “What is it?’

Author’s note:

You guys know that I wouldn’t leave a cliffhanger like the earlier one and not post soon after, did you? I’m cruel, but I’m not that bad! This one was difficult to write. I hope that you tell me what you think, as I know you will. A couple of lines that are spoken later in the chapter come directly from the movie version of “Circle of Friends”.

Chapter 21

Unbreakable Heart

”In my blue world you shone like heaven’s fire
And left me cryin’ in the dark
How could anyone be so hard?
Did you think I had an unbreakable heart?

I suppose I should know
Sometimes love just comes and goes
But I believed, foolish me
We’d go on and on…”

(Unbreakable Heart by Jessica Andrews)

Hermione couldn’t imagine what was keeping Harry. She’d left him over an hour ago at the foot of the stairs with Ginny.

Then, she remembered that Ginny wanted to speak to him about Quidditch. As she knew Harry, she knew that once he got started talking about the game, he was hard to stop. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d sat at the Burrow or in the common room listening to Harry and Ron drone on about the latest moves and plays and brooms. Hermione would usually zone out or fall fast asleep.

She was getting hungry though as she waited for him to return. To take her mind off her growling stomach, she decided to read through one of the books she and Harry had checked out earlier in the library. It was a book about magical historical sites in the Caribbean. Just looking at the pictures in the book excited her. Warm, tropical breezes and air would be a welcome respite from the cold winter of England. She could hardly wait.

While she’d told Harry her parents wouldn’t mind her going on a year-round trip around the world with her boyfriend, now that she thought about it, she wasn’t exactly sure about that. She wasn’t so much worried about her mum’s reaction as her dad’s. He’d always been a little over-protective of his daughter. She could still hear his reaction in her head when she’d asked him the summer after her fourth year if she could travel to Bulgaria to visit Viktor Krum. He’d emphatically shot that idea to pieces.

Hermione just resolved herself to the fact that she’d have to present her case to her parents logically and reasonably, not to mention quite carefully. She was about 99.6 percent sure that they’d come around to her way of thinking.

More than likely…possibly…eventually.

Her parents’ trusting her was one thing. Her trusting herself was quite another. She wasn’t fooling herself. She knew that if she and Harry went on this trip, they’d be spending time along together in some of the most romantic, exotic locations in the world.

Hermione couldn’t shake the feeling that her resolve to hold out until her wedding night would be supremely tested and would more-than-likely fall by the wayside. The most important thing to her was to not take that step until she was ready---until they were both ready. It meant so much to her that Harry understood her position on this and that he respected her decision. If it was even possible, it endeared him to her even more.

She’d been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard Harry enter the room. It startled her when she looked up to see him staring at her.

“Harry?” she asked, a tinge of worry in her voice. She placed her book on the floor and looked back at him. He looked awful. His eyes were red and bloodshot and his skin was pale and ashen. He looked shell-shocked, for lack of a better description.

“Harry?” she repeated, getting up from the couch and walking over to him. “What is it?”

He focused his eyes on her, but didn’t speak.

“What is it, love?” she pressed, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

Again, he was silent.

“Let’s go and sit down,” she suggested. She took his hand and led him back to the sofa.

“Come on, Harry,” she said softly. “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong? Maybe I can help.”

“I don’t know where to begin,” he said, his voice trembling. He ran a hand nervously through his hair.

“Did something happen?” she asked worriedly. “Is it something with Dumbledore? Oh, Lord. It’s not my father, is it?”

He shook his head. “No, Hermione, it’s not your dad. As far as I know, you’re dad is okay.”

Hermione relaxed a little, but one look at the lost little boy look on Harry’s face and she felt a sense of unease come over her yet again.

He suddenly grabbed hold of her hands. “You have to know something.”

She nodded helpfully.

“I want you to know that I love you. I love you so much and have for so long that I can’t even remember a time when I wasn’t,” he said, his voice full of emotion. “You are the only girl that I’ve ever loved. I can’t see myself with anyone, but you.”

“Harry,” Hermione said, touched.

“I don’t think I can do this,” he said, releasing her hands and getting up from the sofa. He couldn’t stand her looking at him like that. He would never be able to tell her this if she was looking at him like that.

“You can tell me anything, Harry,” she said quietly. “You should know that by now.”

“I do,” he said, still with his back to her.

“Did something happen with Ginny?” she asked, racking her brain for a cause for this change in his demeanor.

Harry tensed.

“Nothing happened with her parents? One of her brothers?” she asked, a sinking feeling coming to her.

Harry turned to face her and as he did so, his heart broke at the look on her face. He took a deep breath.

“Ginny’s pregnant,” he said simply.

“Oh, God,” Hermione said, cupping her hand over her mouth, letting the news sink in. “Poor Ginny. Was she very upset?”

“She’s beside herself with worry,” Harry said, feeling nauseous.

“It just seems so hard to believe,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “I mean, she hasn’t even been dating anyone. It would explain a lot, especially about her behavior lately. Still, she’s the last person in the world I would have expected—“

Harry nodded dumbly.

“Do you know who the boy is?” Hermione asked. “She and Dean have been broken up for months now.”

“It’s not Dean,” Harry said, feeling as if his legs were made of jelly as he struggled to stay standing. He grabbed hold of the back of an armchair for support.

“Well, if it’s not Dean, then who?” Hermione asked.

“The, um, the baby’s mine,” Harry said quickly. “She’s having my child, Hermione.”

Hermione thought she hadn’t heard him right. She felt suddenly as if someone had just kicked her in the stomach.

“No,” Hermione said, shaking her head. She gave out a laugh. “That’s not possible. You’ve…I mean…she’s… No…”

“I’m so sorry, Hermione,” Harry said. “It was all a mistake. I didn’t mean for this to happen. You have to understand that.”

He quickly bridged the distance between them and sat down again beside her on the couch. He extended his arm to her, but she shrugged it away.

“You didn’t mean for this to happen?” she asked. “W—when did this happen?”

”While you were home with your parents,” he said quietly. “It, um, it was a Hogsmeade weekend. Dean, Ron and the other blokes went down to The Hog’s Head and we got so pissed, Hermione. Ron brought me back to my room and I think I passed out and I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up the next morning in my bed with Ginny.”

“Oh, God,” Hermione said, her eyes glassy and her skin losing all shade of color. She didn’t think she’d be able to move let alone string a coherent thought together. This couldn’t be happening. “Oh, God.”

“I’m so fucking sorry, Hermione,” he said. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“That makes it okay, then?” Hermione said, looking at him properly. “That makes it okay, then? You didn’t mean for this to happen so it makes it alright?”

“No,” Harry said weakly. “Of course it doesn’t. I just—“

“You just what? You don’t want me to feel bad? You want us to still be friends?” Hermione asked, her voice rising with every word. She was over the shock now, she was angry.

“Hermione, I love you,” he said, tears falling down his face. “I love you. I don’t love her.”

She gave a laugh. “You love me? I wouldn’t sleep with you so you jump into bed with someone who would? You said that you understood how I felt about that. You said that you would wait. You lied to me!”

“Hermione,” he said, making a move to comfort her, but she pulled away from him as if he were a stranger.

“Don’t touch me,” she said coolly. “Please just leave me alone, Harry. Just leave me alone.”

With shaking legs, she managed to rise to her feet and with one last look at him, she ran as fast as she could out of the room and through the portrait hole, not caring if he was watching or if he followed. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do, but she knew that she had to get away from him. She had to get away from him as fast as she could.

****

Hermione didn’t seek out her other best friend---she didn’t want to be around anyone associated with the name Weasley at the moment. She’d found her way back to her old room in Gryffindor Tower. One look at her tear-stained face and Lavender and Parvati welcomed her with open arms.

To Hermione’s surprise, both girls were quite supportive. They’d listened attentively as she poured out the whole sordid story for them. She kept waiting for someone to wake her up and it would all be some bad dream, but it was all heartbreakingly, painfully real.

Hermione was seated on Parvati’s bed, a tissue box in her lap. Parvati was seated beside her and Lavender was sitting on the edge of her own bed, which was directly beside Parvati’s.

“It’s all my fault,” Hermione said, forlornly.

“Your fault?” Lavender and Parvati both said indignantly at the same time.

“Yes,” Hermione said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “Because he wanted me to do it with him and I wanted to as well, so much. And we so nearly did lots of times. If we had, it’d be me having his baby and not Ginny.”

Parvati and Lavender exchanged a look.

“Look, Hermione,” Lavender said firmly. “He was your boyfriend and she was your friend! Why couldn’t they just leave each other alone!”

Hermione shook her head. “They don’t know. They don’t know. It’s not like them, Lav. It’s not like either of them. Maybe someone put something in their drinks?”

“Grow up, Hermione,” Parvati said. “You remember how Ginny Weasley used to look at him like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread? Who didn’t know how she used to fancy Harry?”

“But that was ages ago,” Hermione said. “Ginny knew I was with Harry. She kept telling me how happy she was for us.”

“Look, I’m not going to speak to either of them again and if she comes anywhere near me…” Parvati’s voice trailed off.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” Hermione said sadly.

Lavender gave her friend a smile and walked over to Hermione.

“I tell you what you’re going to do, Hermione,” Lavender said firmly. “Never let them see how much they’ve hurt you. Show a brave face. We’re Gryffindors after all, right?”

Despite herself, Hermione gave a smile. “Easier said than done.”

“You can do it,” Parvati chimed in. “And we’ll help you. Stay with us for awhile. It’ll be like old times.”

Hermione nodded. “Thanks, girls.”

Hermione doubted things would be “just like old times” for quite some time.

****

Harry sat in Professor Dumbledore’s office, seemingly in a daze. He felt as if he was watching his life play out in front of him without any say. Ginny sat beside him, listening to her mother drone on about how disappointed she was in her daughter’s behavior.

“Sixteen years old,” Molly Weasley kept saying. “Sixteen years old and having a baby. Ginny, how did this happen?”

“She wasn’t alone in this,” Harry said quietly. “It’s just as much my fault as Ginny’s.”

Ginny looked over at him, gratefully. She squeezed his hand in support.

“I wouldn’t have expected this from either of you,” Molly said. “I was worried sick when Madame Pomfrey sent me the emergency owl post telling me I needed to get here as soon as possible. I had no idea that this would be what greeted me. I’m just glad that your father’s not here to see this. If he was, I don’t know what he’d say, Ginny.”

“Harry and Ginny are going to need our support as they go through with this,” Dumbledore interrupted. “This isn’t the time to point fingers or make them feel any worse than they already do.”

”Albus, you know I wouldn’t do that,” Molly said quickly. “I mean, you can understand how thrown I was at this news.”

“You’re not alone in that, Mrs. Weasley,” Harry wanted to say. But he kept his mouth shut.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve had this happen,” Dumbledore said. “I don’t see any reason why Ginny can’t continue her studies here. She’ll be under the care of Madame Pomfrey.”

Molly nodded. “Well, Harry. What are you going to do?”

“Me?” Harry couldn’t help asking. How was he supposed to answer that when he had no idea what on earth he was going to do? What he wanted most of all was to find Hermione and make sure she was okay and try and make her understand. He knew that his face would be the last one she’d want to see for awhile, if ever again.

“Yes,” Molly said indignantly. “I don’t think that question is too much to ask considering what you’ve done. I’ve always thought of you like another son, Harry. You know that. I can’t help feeling disappointed in you. This is the last thing I would have ever expected.”

“I’m so sorry,” Harry said. “I didn’t plan for this to happen and neither did Ginny. I’m not going to leave her alone in all of this. She’ll have me to depend on.”

“Are you going to marry her?” Molly asked.

“Marriage?” Harry said, nearly choking on the word. He looked over at Ginny, who to his surprise was eyeing him expectantly.

“Yes,” Molly said. “A baby needs two parents, after all. A mother and father.”

“Well, yes,” Harry said. “But,”

“But, what?” Molly asked.

“Times have changed, Molly,” Dumbledore interrupted.

Molly opened her mouth to respond, but Harry interrupted for her. With a deep breath, he got up from his chair and stood in front of Ginny. He took her hand in his and got down on one knee. He looked up at her and said the words he imagined a million times asking Hermione.

“Will you marry me?” he asked softly.

She started to cry and nodded her head. She wrapped her arms around Harry and he hesitantly put his arms around her. Molly beamed at the two of them as Dumbledore looked at the scene unfolding before him with a bemused expression.

“That’s how it should be, then,” Molly said proudly.

This is no where near as it should be.

***

Luna was trying to keep Ron calm, but was finding this a losing battle. A few minutes ago, they’d both heard the news about Harry & Ginny.

“I’m going to kill him for doing that to my sister,” Ron was saying angrily as he paced back and forth in the hall.

They were waiting just outside of Dumbledore’s office.

“Ron,” Luna cautioned. “That’s not going to solve anything.”

“How could he do this?” Ron asked. “Not just to Ginny, but to Hermione! She must be so upset.”

Luna, who hadn’t been surprised to hear that Ginny was pregnant, was nearly blown away by the news that Harry was the father. That didn’t make sense to Luna at all. She’d been around Harry and Hermione loads of times. There was no possible way, drunk or sober, that Harry would ever betray Hermione like that. Luna knew that as well as she knew that the sun would rise in the morning and set in the evening.

“Ron,” Luna said. “You killing Harry isn’t going to solve anything. For one thing, it’d put you in Azkaban.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning on killing him, per se,” Ron said. “Just hurting him. Maybe unloading a few hexes on him for good measure.”

Ron sat down on the bench beside Luna, who put a comforting arm on his shoulder.

“I should have seen this coming,” Ron said.

“How were you to have known?” Luna asked him.

“I’d noticed some strange stuff going on with Ginny for months and Harry the past couple of weeks,” Ron said. “I should have put two and two together.”

Luna couldn’t say why, but she wasn’t buying Ginny’s version of events. She had a feeling that once Ron calmed down, he’d not be so willing to take his sister at her word, either. Ginny had been carrying on like this for months. Harry had just started acting all quiet and distant in the past few weeks. The timetable didn’t add up. Luna wasn’t going to voice her suspicions yet, but she wasn’t about to forget them. People she cared about were involved in this. She wasn’t going to let them down.

“Hey, Ron,” Luna said. “They’re probably going to be in there for awhile. Why don’t you and I go down to the kitchens and nick a snack? You know you always feel better when you eat.”

Ron nodded and taking his girlfriend’s hand led her down the hall to the kitchens.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Ron said, shaking his head to Luna. “It doesn’t make sense at all.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed.

“

Author’s note: Well, let me just say that I am amazed at the response I’ve gotten on this story. Let me just say that if I had a dollar for every time someone used the term “bitch” to describe Ginny…well, let’s just say I could take a few months off from work and live quite comfortably. She’s going to get much worse, I will tell you that. I thank you all for sticking with me through the storm, it will get better I promise…just not right now. Hang with me, people!

Using one of my favorite Coldplay songs for help with the title. Not using the title of the song which is “The Scientist” but using a lyric for the title.

Chapter 22

Take Me Back to the Start

“Come up to meet you, tell you I’m sorry

You don’t know how lovely you are

I had to find you

Tell you I need you

Tell you I set you apart

Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions

Oh, let’s go back to the start

Nobody said it was easy

Oh, it’s such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh, take me back to the start…”

Hermione awoke the next morning, at first not really sure of where she was. This wasn’t her bed and this wasn’t her room. She rubbed her eyes sleepily. She hadn’t really gotten much sleep. She’d tossed and turned most of the night and guessed that she’d finally cried herself to sleep. She felt like such a cliché---the girl nursing a broken heart. All she was missing was the ice cream and chocolate and the poster child for heartbreak would be complete.

Parvati and Lavender had tried to take her mind off her troubles by offering to give her a makeover, which she’d politely declined. They’d even shared their own tales of heartbreak. Hermione appreciated their friendship. She needed it now more than ever. After all, she couldn’t very well go to her two best friends with this, could she? One was the one who broke her heart and the other was Ginny’s brother.

As she arose out of bed, she saw Lavender and Parvati still fast asleep. While the last thing Hermione wanted to do was return to her own room, she knew that she’d have to sooner or later. With a deep breath, she resolved to do it now. She took off the pajamas that Lavender had lent her and changed quickly into the clothes she’d worn yesterday. She tiptoed over to Lavender’s bedside table and picked up a quill and parchment. She scribbled a note thanking the girls for all their help and told them she’d see them later. As a postscript, she wrote for them not to worry about her. She’d never avoided her problems before, and she wasn’t about to start now. She was a Gryffindor after all. They were supposed to be brave.

A few minutes later, she found herself standing in front of the portrait leading to the suite. She felt nervous and sick all at the same time.

I can do this. I can do this.

She exhaled and quietly said the password. The portrait sprung open, allowing her entrance. Her hands were shaking as she reached for the doorknob. Before she could lose her nerve, she walked into the room.

It was just as she’d left it. The books she’d been excitedly thumbing through the night before were still on the floor. She winced as she remembered how happy she’d been just a short time ago.

As she lingered by the sofa, a wave of happy memories washed over her. This was where he’d told her the words she’d been longing to hear for what seemed like years. This was the place where they’d shared their deepest, darkest secrets. She could still remember how he’d try and get her attention away from her books as she pretended not to notice his presence, which only egged him on further.

It was all over now. All she had to show for it was a broken heart and hollow memories. She felt fresh tears welling up in her eyes and was amazed, as she didn’t realize her tear ducts were so strong. She honestly didn’t believe she had it in her to cry anymore than she already had.

“Hermione?” a familiar voice called to her, breaking her thoughts. She turned, startled, to see Harry standing at the door to his bedroom. He looked about as bad as she did. His hair, while never perfectly in place, was completely disheveled. He, too, was wearing the same clothes he’d worn the day before. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked exhausted.

“I didn’t think you’d be awake,” she said coolly.

“I didn’t really sleep much last night,” he said quietly.

For a few moments, they stared at each other, no words spoken between them. They both looked lost and confused and were fighting that instinctual reflex that they’d always had around each other. She wanted him to take her in his arms and tell her this had all been a bad dream. It was cruel joke that someone was playing on them. He couldn’t do that anymore than she could. It was all too painfully real.

“Where did you go last night?” he asked.

“I stayed with Parvati and Lavender,” she said quietly. “They were really great about it, actually.”

He nodded.

She looked away from him. “I better get ready for classes. I’ll just go to my room.”

She turned on her heels, but he crossed the room quickly and put a hand on her arm to hold her back.

“Don’t go,” he said weakly.

She didn’t dare turn around to face him. Why was he doing this to her? She wanted to know why he was making her suffer like this.

“Harry, please,” she said, still not turning around to face him. “I can’t even look at you right now without wanting to curse you into oblivion. Okay? So for your own safety and the sake of my own sanity, please just let me go.”

She was struggling to keep her emotions in check. The last thing she wanted to do was to let him see her cry.

Gently, he turned her around to face him. He didn’t say anything, just stared at her intently with those piercing green eyes.

“What did you think would happen?” she asked, meeting his gaze. “Did you think that you could break my heart and I’d be ready to just revert back into my old role as your best friend?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I didn’t think that at all. Hermione, I’m so-“

“Don’t,” she interrupted. “Okay? Just don’t. I know that you’re sorry. I know you didn’t mean for this to happen. Okay? I get that. What you need to get is that no matter how sorry you are or how much you wish things were different, it’s not going to change anything.”

She looked down at the floor, struggling with all her might to stay in control of her emotions.

“Do you want to know something that hasn’t changed?” he asked, still holding on to her forearms. He didn’t wait for her response. “I love you. I love you, Hermione Jane Granger. Nothing that will happen or has happened or could happen is ever going to change that.”

Despite her best efforts, a single tear fell down her cheek.

“Harry, please,” she said, her bottom lip quivering. “We can’t do this. We need to let go. We both need to let go.”

“I can’t,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes. “I can’t let you go. I don’t even know how to begin to try.”

“You have to,” she said resolutely. “You have to be there for Ginny now. She needs you.”

At the mention of Ginny’s name, Harry dropped his hands from Hermione’s arms. For a brief moment, he’d forgotten about her. He’d forgotten about the proposal.

“Hermione,” he began. How was he ever going to tell her about this? How was he ever going to tell her that he’d proposed to Ginny? Would she understand that he hadn’t done it out of love or for any of the right reasons? Would she know that he’d done it out of obligation? How he’d felt that this was his way of making it up to the Weasleys after he’d let them down as he had. He knew that he should be the one to tell her. While the last thing he wanted to do was tell her this, he knew that he didn’t want her to hear it from someone else. He would be the one to tell her.

“What?” she asked.

“I have something else to tell you,” he said nervously.

She gave a hollow laugh. “Something else?”

He nodded. “But I don’t even know how to tell you this.”

She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I know.”

“You know?” he asked, looking up at her, surprised.

“I heard Ginny when she came back into Gryffindor Tower,” Hermione said, looking away from him. “She was very happy. She was telling a group of second-year girls that you didn’t give her a ring yet, but it was a romantic proposal just the same.”

“Hermione,” Harry said, feeling very much like the heel he knew he was. “It was hardly romantic. You know that I don’t love her. I---“

“You don’t owe me any explanation,” she said. “I knew you’d propose. It’s who you are. You’re nothing if not a stand-up guy.”

“Then you have to know that this isn’t what I want,” he said quickly. “You have to know that I wanted it to be you. I never would have imagined in a million years that it would have been anyone but you, but Mrs. Weasley, she was---“

“I have to go,” she said, giving him a half-hearted smile. “We’re going to be late for classes if we don’t get a move on. I’ll, um, I’ll see you in Transfiguration, okay? And, um, give Ginny my best wishes to you both.”

Hermione walked swiftly toward her bedroom and closed the door firmly behind her. Only then, did she let it all come out as she collapsed against the door.

***

Draco Malfoy was sitting at the Slytherin table, nursing a mug of hot cider and eating some toast and marmalade. He was not in a good mood.

He’d been cross all morning and had told his cronies Crabbe and Goyle to leave him alone. He wasn’t in the mood for their inane conversation.

“Did you hear the news?” Pansy Parkinson said, sitting across from him.

“Go away, Parkinson,” Malfoy said, not bothering to look up from his copy of The Daily Prophet.

Pansy looked taken aback, but didn’t let this deter her. This bit of gossip was too good not to pass on.

“You aren’t going to believe what Potter has done,” Pansy said, leaning across the table.

“I don’t care what Potter has done,” Malfoy said coolly. “I never have. You should know that by now.”

“Well, I should say who Potter has done,” Pansy said giddily.

Draco rolled his eyes. “If you’ve come over here to tell me that Potter and his mudblood girlfriend have shagged, I think you’re a little late on that one, Parkinson. They’ve been sharing a room for Merlin’s sake! So, you’re big scoop was broken a long time ago.”

“Not Granger,” Pansy said. “Apparently, he’s been dipping his quill in someone else’s ink.”

“Okay,” Draco said. “I’ll play along. Whom?”

“Little Ginny Weasley,” Pansy said excitedly. “Can you believe that? Little Ginny Weasley, of all people! Not only that, he knocked her up! Can you imagine! That’s probably the only way she’d have gotten Potter to even look in her direction. You’ve got to hand it to her, though. She used what she had to get what she wanted. From what I heard from this Hufflepuff, whose cousin is a Gryffindor, he asked her to marry him in the headmaster’s office. ”

Draco felt any sense of composure he might have had slip away. He hadn’t heard Parkinson right. It wasn’t possible. I mean, he knew about Ginny’s little girl puppy-dog crush on Potter when she was younger, but that was long ago. Hell, he’d even teased her about it right after they’d started…well, whatever it was they had.

Furiously, he looked over at the Gryffindor table. It didn’t take long to find Ginny’s familiar mane of red hair. She was talking animatedly to some other girls. No doubt gushing about her engagement.

This wasn’t possible. He’d have known if Ginny was running around on him while they were together.

“Did you hear how far along she was?” Malfoy said, trying to seem disinterested.

“Nearly a month from what I gather,” Pansy said.

Malfoy let this sink in. It had been nearly two months since Ginny had told him that she was pregnant. That baby she was carrying wasn’t Harry Potter’s. It couldn’t have been.

As he looked over at Ginny, he felt a myriad of emotions: anger, jealousy, and most of all confusion.

Red, you’ve got some explaining to do.

**********

Somehow, Harry managed to get dressed and ready for classes. He was running a little late for breakfast, but he didn’t care. He’d heard Hermione slip out before he had a chance to say goodbye.

With a heavy heart, he quickly gathered up his books and wand and walked solemnly through the portrait hole and down the corridor toward the Transfiguration classroom.

He saw Ron leaning against the wall, looking every bit the protective big brother.

“Going somewhere?” he asked icily. His best friend looked about as mad as Harry had ever seen him. The way he’d reacted to Harry during the Triwizard Tournament paled in comparison to how he was looking at Harry now. If looks could kill, Harry mused, I’d be dead by now.

“Class,” Harry said. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just wondering why you’ve done what you’ve done?” Ron asked, his arms folded across his chest.

“Ron,” Harry said. “I—“

“Save it,” Ron said, holding up his arm. “Save it. Because you know what, you can’t explain it. I don’t even want to know the details. How could you have done this---not just to Ginny, but to Hermione! I thought you loved her, Harry.”

“I do love her,” Harry said crossly. “I wish I had an explanation, Ron. I really do. I wish I could explain to everyone, including myself, why this had to happen, but you know what I don’t know. It’s not the answer everyone wants to hear, but it’s all I’ve got. I DON’T KNOW!”

“This is so messed up,” Ron said, toying with the notion of hitting or hexing Harry.

“You’re telling me,” Harry said.

“This is going to take some getting used to,” Ron said. “And not just me, you wait until the twins hear about this. Not to mention Bill and Charlie…and my father. He’s away at some conference now, but I know mum will be sending him emergency owl post to tell him this. This just---I don’t even know what to say.”

“Me either,” Harry said morosely.

“I, um, just wanted to get some answers,” Ron said, his tone softening a bit. This is just---“

“I know I don’t have any right to ask you for any favors, Ron,” Harry said after an awkward silence. “But this one isn’t really for me, actually, it’s for Hermione.”

”What?” Ron said warily.

“Look after her,” Harry said. “Be her friend.”

Ron nodded. “You don’t have to tell me that. I’ll be there for her. Luna and I both will.”

”Thanks,” Harry said.

Again, Ron nodded and then without another word, walked away.

Harry hesitated only a moment before walking back through the portrait hole. He didn’t really feel like going to class today.

*******

The first class of the day for the sixth-year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students was Herbology. Luna and Ginny, who were seated at the same desk, were busy trying to clean up after class was dismissed.

Luna had been observing Ginny ever since she’d arrived in the Great Hall that morning for breakfast. She’d seen Ginny talking animatedly with her fellow Gryffindors and gushing excitedly as girls congratulated her on landing “The Boy Who Lived.”

Ginny was definitely in her element, Luna couldn’t help thinking. Yet, while she’d observed her friend, she couldn’t shake the feeling that all wasn’t well with Ginny. Her happiness seemed a little forced. She seemed to be acting as everyone would expect her to be acting if she’d landed Harry Potter and was carrying his child.

Luna had also caught sight of Draco Malfoy that morning in the Great Hall. She’d seen him shooting glances in Ginny’s direction, obviously trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Join the club, Malfoy.

“So, how are you?” Luna asked her, deciding it was time to get some answers.

“Fine,” Ginny said, clearing away some extra soil. “Why shouldn’t I be?”

“I wasn’t implying that you weren’t,” Luna said pointedly. “I was just asking a general question about your demeanor.”

Ginny smiled awkwardly.

“You sure are on the defensive, though, aren’t you?” Luna said, wondering if maybe she shouldn’t have been so bold, but figured sod it all, she’d already asked the question.

Ginny looked taken aback.

“I’m not on the defensive,” she said, with a laugh. “It’s probably just hormones. I mean, Madame Pomfrey said I’d be a bundle of nerves and emotions the next few months.”

Luna nodded. “So, how far along are you?”

Ginny’s smile faded a bit.

“A few weeks, why?” she said.

“Oh, no reason,” Luna said. “I was just wondering. You look a little bit farther along then that.”

Ginny scowled at her. “My brother always says you tell it like it is, Luna. Don’t hold back with how you feel. If you have something to say, just say it.”

Luna looked at her innocently. “Don’t get upset, Ginny. I’m just concerned about you. We’ve been friends along time, right?”

“Yeah, right,” Ginny said, gathering up her bag and looking around, hoping to make a hasty retreat. She didn’t like where this conversation was headed.

“Really,” Luna said sweetly. “If you need anything at all, just ask.”

“Thanks,” Ginny said guardedly. “Well, I need to, um, get on out of here. I was going to check in with Madame Pomfrey before my next class.”

Luna nodded. “I’ll see you later, then.”

She watched as Ginny walked out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her.

Ginny was definitely on the defensive and it wasn’t simply nerves or emotions or hormones, Luna thought to herself.

That’s quite a guilty conscience she’s got going.

Author’s note: Here you go, guys! Another chapter. You might be a little ticked with me at the way it ends, but I promise you that I won’t make you wait long for the next chapter, okay?

Special thanks to Heaven for being a great sounding board and helping me out with this one!

Chapter 23

Since I Lost My Baby

“The sun is shining, there's plenty of light (oh yeah)
A new day is dawning, sunny and bright (oh yeah)
But after I've been crying all night
The sun is cold, and the new day seems old
Since I lost my baby. (Since I lost my baby.)
Oh, since I lost my baby. (Oh, since I lost my baby.)”

”Oh, determination is fading fast (oh yeah)
Inspiration is a thing of the past (oh yeah)
Can't see how my hope's gonna last
Good things are bad and what's happy is sad”
(The Temptations, “Since I Lost My Baby”)

Draco had patiently waited to get Ginny on her own. It would draw too much suspicion if he just traipsed up to her in the Great Hall and asked her to step outside for a quick chat.

The damning problem was that she was never alone. She was forever trying to plant herself at the side of Harry Potter. What confused the hell out of Draco was the fact that Potter looked absolutely miserable. One of Draco’s best qualities was his ability to pick up on the weakness of his enemies. He’d known all along that Granger was Potter’s weakness. Malfoy saw Potter shoot glances in Hermione’s direction when he thought she wasn’t looking. That boy still had it bad for the mudblood, Malfoy mused to himself as he watched Ginny trying to engage Harry in conversation. Harry, however, was watching Hermione, who was sitting about as far away from Harry and Ginny as possible.

That’s what’s so confusing about this whole thing. Granger is still hung up on Potter and vice versa. They’re such goody two-shoes that there’s no way that Potter would have willingly cheated on the mudblood.

This brought him back to Ginny. He could still see the look of hurt on her face when he’d acted coldly to her when she’d told him about the baby. Her words held truth and they burned him just like a brand. It was true. He had been a follower. His father hadn’t been a part of his life in over two years, but here he was doing what his father would have expected of him. He’d loved Ginny, of course, and still did, but he hadn’t treated her very well. Instead of following his heart, he’d done what his father and friends would expect of him. He wasn’t proud of that.

Over the past few days, he’d tried to put himself in Ginny’s shoes. She was alone. She was pregnant. She was given the cold shoulder by the man she loved. If that didn’t scream out “desperate times call for desperate measures”, Draco didn’t know what did. If she had done what he was thinking she’d done…well, she was a lot tougher than he gave her credit for.

Of course, there was the possibility that Ginny had been playing him for a fool and had been carrying on with Potter behind his back the entire time. But, he didn’t believe that. He knew Ginny. She’d fallen for him. She wouldn’t have gone after Potter, not while she and Draco were together. It was impossible. Call it ego or call it instinct, but he knew it wasn’t possible somehow.

If that baby was his…he deserved to know. The fact was he had questions, and he was going to get answers from her, whether she wanted to give them or not.

*****

“So, did you want to walk me to class?” Ginny asked Harry, as they finished their breakfast.

“Hmmm?” Harry said, distracted. He’d been looking in Hermione’s direction. He quickly tried to focus his attention back on Ginny. “What did you say?”

Ginny fought the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn’t stupid. She’d seen what, no make that whom, he’d been staring at.

“I wanted to know if you wanted to walk me to class.” Ginny repeated again.

”Um, sure, okay, I guess,” Harry said, getting up from the table.

He felt guilty about acting so distracted around Ginny. Truth be told, he hadn’t really been all that friendly to her, either. He’d gone along with her as she had checkups with Madame Pomfrey and he’d helped her out any way he could, but his heart hadn’t been in any of it.

He was still dealing with the shock of what had occurred the night before.

Hermione had for all intents and purposes moved out of the suite.

In fact, she’d done quite a good job at cutting Harry out of her life, or at least it appeared so, on the surface. Yesterday afternoon, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team held tryouts to replace Ginny, whose condition prevented her from being able to continue as a member of the team. The tryouts had been quite strenuous, but they’d finally settled on Steven Dorsett, a fifth-year.

A tired, sweaty and dirty Harry made his way up the stairs to his suite feeling exhausted, both mentally and physically. He was looking forward to a nice bath and a quiet, peaceful evening. Upon entering the room, he was shocked to find that every trace of Hermione was gone. From her books, to her picture frames, to her jars of sugar-free candies, everything had vanished. And so it seemed was the feeling that this room was home. With her, it left too. He’d looked frantically about the place for a goodbye note, but had come away empty-handed.

As he looked around at the Hermione-free room, it hit him suddenly that it was really, definitely over. He’d known it was, but a part of him thought that maybe there was still a chance for them, somewhere.

She was trying to move on. She was trying to let go. He wished he could ask her how she was able to do it.

******

After reluctantly walking Ginny to her class, Harry quickened his pace to make it down to the dungeons in time for the start of Double Potions.

With not a second to spare, he made it just in time, a little out of breath, but on time. He took his seat next to Ron and tried to avoid looking in Hermione’s direction. In the past few days, she’d taken to sitting with Neville during Potions.

“Nice of you to join us, Mr. Potter,” Snape said coolly.

Harry’s cheeks flushed red, but he wasn’t going to say anything back to him to purposely incur Snape’s wrath.

Snape shoved a handful of papers in Neville’s hands.

”Distribute these to each of your fellow class members,” Snape said.

With shaking hands, Neville took the papers and proceeded to hand them out to the class.

Harry and Ron pored over the parchment and saw list after list of potions. There was no explanations, no directions. Just lists and names of potions. Harry and Ron exchanged looks of confusion, as did much of the rest of the class.

“Well,” Snape said when Neville had finished and taken his seat. “What you hold before you is a list of 200 of the most difficult and complex potions in the wizarding world.”

Under his breath, Ron whispered to Harry, “And we would have this because…?”

Snape turned his attention to Ron, “Good question, Mr. Weasley.”

Ron sank lower in his chair.

“You would have this list because your assignment will be to make 25 of these potions yourselves,” Snape said smugly. “As this is a complex assignment, I am not expecting you to tackle these on your own. I will be assigning you each partners. These partners have been selected randomly. It will be the job of you and your partner, to complete the assignment and in two weeks time, you are expected to present to the class a report on each of the potions as well as a flask containing each potion.”

The class inwardly groaned at this. In addition to their already busy schedules, they would now have to devote hours and hours of time to this project or face automatic failure, something that would no doubt please Snape to no end.

“I urge you not to waste your time looking for the easiest potions on the list,” Snape said, knocking the wind out of the students. “There are no easy potions on the list. They are all equal in difficulty, complexity. There is no easy way out, I’m sorry to say. This will be the assignment that was separate the good from the bad, the strong from the weak.”

The class stared back at him, utterly gob smacked at what this would entail.

“Now,” Snape said. “I will read the list of partners. You will be given some time after the list is read to acquaint yourself with your partners and determine times that you can meet to complete the assignment.”

”Without further ado,” Snape said, unfolding a piece of parchment from his cloak pocket. “Let’s begin.”

Two by two, Snape read off the lists of names. Lavender and Parvati were miraculously paired up as were Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. Harry couldn’t help feeling that maybe Snape was going to do this house by house and pair up Slytherins with Slytherins and Gryffindors with Gryffindors.

But, Harry’s expectations fell flat when Snape looked at Ron and said, “Ron Weasley and Pansy Parkinson.”

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. He turned his head to Harry and mouthed the name, “Pansy Parkinson.”

Harry shrugged.

Then, Snape went in for the kill. Harry wasn’t stupid. His name hadn’t been called yet and neither had…

“Hermione Granger and Harry Potter,” Snape finished for him.

Both of them looked at the professor, their mouths agape. If there’d been any question as to whether or not Snape kept up with school gossip, this was the answer. Snape would never in a million years have paired up Harry and Hermione as partners if he’d thought they were still a couple. He would have separated them for sheer spite. Now he knew that they had broken up, he had placed them together for the same reason.

He gave them both a wicked smile.

“You may get together with your partners,” Snape said, retreating to his desk in front of the classroom. All around them, students paired up. Ron sat there, in silent shock, not wanting to go anywhere near Pansy Parkinson.

Harry was about to get up from his seat and approach Hermione, when he saw her walk right past him and go toward Snape. Harry quickly got to his feet and followed her to the front of the classroom.

Hermione avoided meeting his gaze. “Sir,” she said, trying to get Snape’s attention.

Snape looked up from his book, expectantly.

“Yes, Miss Granger,” he said, looking bored.

“Well, I was just wondering if it would be at all possible for me to switch partners.” Hermione said timidly.

Snape looked back at Hermione and then to Harry.

“No,” he said finally. “You may not. The list has already been decided. I don’t see any of your other classmates complaining about this arrangement. I don’t see why you and Potter should get any special treatment just because you happen to be Head Boy and Head Girl of this school. In here, that doesn’t mean anything. For someone as bright as you, Miss Granger, I would have thought you’d realized that by now.”

Hermione fidgeted. “Yes, sir, and I’m not asking for any special arrangements—“

Snape gave out an evil laugh. “My decision is final. You and Potter should really get started on this. Time is of the essence.”

With that Snape got up from his chair and walked into his adjoining office, closing the door behind him. This left Harry and Hermione standing beside each other, at a loss.

“You could have said something too, you know?” Hermione hissed to him.

“Me?” he said, trying to keep his voice down so their fellow classmates couldn’t hear them. “How long have we known Snape, Hermione? Have you ever known him to change his mind just because you asked nicely? You know as well as I did he assigned us as partners on purpose.”

“Well, you know as well as I do that we shouldn’t be working together on this project,” Hermione retorted. “You could have backed me up on that.”

“Since when has Snape listened to a word I had to say?” Harry asked her, incredulously. “In case you’ve forgotten, Hermione, the man hates me. He lives to make my life and the lives of people I care about a living hell.”

Hermione looked a little affronted at Harry’s last remark. “Oh, so spending time with me is your definition of a living hell?”

“That’s not what I said at all, and you know it,” Harry said, his voice rising. “And if I recall, it was you that went to him wanting to switch partners. I didn’t have a problem with it.”

“Really?” Hermione asked hotly. She was about to say something else to him when she suddenly felt every eye in the classroom on her and Harry. She turned and felt her cheeks redden as she saw that indeed every student in the class was watching them intently, hanging on their every word.

“Maybe this isn’t the best place to discuss this,” Harry said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hermione nodded her head and sheepishly followed Harry back to his desk. She took Ron’s now vacant seat and for a moment, they were both silent. Only when the rest of the class went about their own business did Harry venture speaking.

“Look, Hermione,” he said, turning in his chair to face her. “This is going to be awkward as hell. But we’ve got no choice here. We’re stuck with each other, as it were. We might as well make the best of it. Our marks depend on it.”

Hermione was silent, reluctant to agree with him, even though she knew he was right.

Harry, on the other hand, wasn’t about to tell her that he was secretly pleased that this assignment would put them in close contact over the next couple of weeks.

“And, as I recall, we work quite well together. Always have,” Harry said, giving her a shy smile.

To his surprise, a slight smile was playing on the corner of Hermione’s lips, but just as quickly as it appeared, it faded.

“We did,” Hermione said, looking away from him.

“We still can,” Harry said, looking at her, willing her to meet his gaze. “Come on, what do you say?”

“Well, since we don’t really have a choice,” Hermione began. “I guess we’re partners then.”

*****

Nearly three hours after the last class of the day, Ron was still hung up on the fact that he would be spending hours with Pansy Parkinson of all people. He and Luna had ventured down to the library to do some studying after dinner. Well in actuality it was Luna who was studying, Ron had spent the better part of the hour discussing in detail his notion that Snape was out to ruin his life and was using Pansy Parkinson as the tool to accomplish his goal.

Although she sympathized, Luna had tuned him out and was preoccupied thinking of something else. Ron hadn’t caught on to Luna’s inattentiveness. When he looked across the table at her to gage her reaction, he was surprised to see her staring absently at her book. He snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention.

“Have you heard a word I’ve said?” he asked.

Startled, she smiled weakly at him.

“Yes, of course,” she said, “Pansy…sick, sadistic Snape….off his tree. Does that about cover it?”

“Pretty much,” Ron said, nodding. “But what’s got you so lost in thought? Care to tell me about it?”

Luna looked down at her book, looking absolutely conflicted about something. Ron reached across the table for her hand.

“Tell me,” Ron said softly.

“I’m not so sure that I can,” Luna said. “It’s…it’s about Ginny.”

“What about Ginny?” Ron asked.

“About her and Harry, actually,” Luna said, fixing her gaze on Ron. “I’m not entirely sure she’s being truthful on this, Ron. I know she’s your sister and she’s my friend, but---“ her voice trailed off.

Ron gave her hand a little squeeze to let her know that it was okay to say whatever was on her mind.

“Even you have to admit she’s been acting strange ever since the school year began,” Luna continued. “She retreated into herself. She didn’t want to do anything with anyone anymore. She was always making excuses to go and be alone. And this was all way before the one-night she had with Harry.”

Luna braced herself for Ron to go into his big brother mode, but to her surprise, he nodded in agreement.

“I’ve been worried about her for a long time, too,” Ron admitted. “She’s not been herself for quite some time. She used to be able to talk to me about whatever was bothering her, you know? She doesn’t do that anymore. It’s like she’s not herself anymore. And now this whole thing with Harry---“

He looked at Luna, who was gazing at him with a shocked expression.

“What?”

“That was really quite profound and insightful,” Luna said.

“I can be profound and insightful,” Ron said, feeling a little slighted. “I’m not all laugh-a-line Weasley all the time.”

“I know,” Luna said, reassuringly. “I was just making a comment and observation. Please continue with your train of thought.”

Ron couldn’t help a laugh. “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, it’s just that I’ve tried to look at this from every possible angle and no matter how I look at it, I keep coming up with the same conclusion. I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

“Exactly!” Luna said.

She continued. “I mean, let’s look at this from the night in question. You and the guys went to The Hogs Head, right? You got a little sloshed and you took Harry back to his room.”

“Yeah,” Ron said, following what she was trying to do.

“When you left him, he was pretty much out of it, right?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, he passed out on the couch,” Ron said. “That’s where I left him.”

“So, according to Ginny’s version, we’re to believe that she shows up at his room in the middle of the night and in a drunken stupor, Harry and Ginny have a go at each other?”

“This is my baby sister you’re talking about,” Ron said, as he wrinkled his nose at the image of his sister engaging in any sort of sexual behavior.

“Sorry,” Luna said. “But, that is basically what happened, in a nutshell.”

Ron nodded.

“I know that I haven’t known Harry or Hermione as long as or as well as you have,” Luna went on. “But in the time that I have known them, I think I could safely say that there’s not enough alcohol in the free world to make either of them cheat on each other.”

“So, if that’s not the answer, what’s the explanation?” Ron asked her.

Luna looked thoughtful. “See, that’s the problem. Harry doesn’t remember anything about that night after you left him, passed out on the couch. According to Harry, he awoke the next morning next to Ginny, with no idea what had happened and how they had gotten where they were.”

“Ginny told Harry that she’d come to his room to return the book she’d borrowed from Hermione and that one thing led to another and they…you know.”

Luna looked conflicted as she debated telling Ron the secret she’d been keeping for awhile.

“Well,” Luna said cautiously. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe Harry wasn’t the one who got Ginny pregnant?”

”What?” Ron asked her. “What do you mean? That Ginny slept around?”

“Not slept around,” Luna said quickly. “Just that there was someone before Harry. Someone who may have gotten her pregnant. Someone who didn’t react to the news well. Someone who couldn’t be there for her. Maybe she felt as if she didn’t have any other option so she thought she’d move on to Harry to cover her tracks, so to speak.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Ron asked, tensing a bit. He didn’t tell her that he’d had the same suspicions himself, but had kept quiet out of respect for his sister.

“I should have told you this weeks ago,” Luna said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted to, but I didn’t feel as if was my place to say anything.”

”What?”

“A few weeks ago,” Luna began. “I was running a little late and I came across Ginny in the halls. She wasn’t alone. She was talking to someone. And this was weeks before this whole Harry thing broke.”

“Well, what did she say and who was she talking to?” Ron asked, on the edge of his seat.

Luna looked down at the table and then, looked up into Ron’s encouraging eyes.

“She was talking to Draco Malfoy, Ron.”

Author’s note: I’m evil, ain’t I? I’m sorry. I know you guys hate it, but it was the only way to end the chapter…okay, that’s a cop-out but give me a break. I won’t keep you waiting for the next chapter long…I promise!

Author’s note: This is what a day off from work gets you…a little fluff for our favorite couple and a certain red-head gets her comeuppance, finally, right? I planned on having this up yesterday, but it was my birthday and I never got around to it, but better late than never, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Please review! I thrive on them! Again, a special thanks to Heaven for all the help!

Chapter 24

Baby, Can I Hold You?

“Sorry
Is all that you can't say
Years gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like sorry like sorry

Forgive me
Is all that you can't say
Years gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like forgive me forgive me

But you can say baby
Baby can I hold you tonight
Maybe if I told you the right words
At the right time you'd be mine

I love you
Is all that you can't say
Years gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like I love you I love you”

(Tracy Chapman, “Baby Can I Hold You?)

“Yeah, right,” Ron said, with a laugh. “My sister wouldn’t give Draco Malfoy the time of day much less talk to him for more than two minutes.”

“It’s true, Ron,” Luna said firmly.

Ron shook his head vehemently. “Ginny wouldn’t talk to that---I mean, she knows how he is. She knows how his whole family looks down on the lot of us because we aren’t fit to breathe the same air was they are. She wouldn’t…she couldn’t….Luna.”

Luna didn’t say anything, but one look in her eyes told Ron that she was telling the truth.

With a deep breathe, he asked her the question he had to know. “What, what were they talking about?”

Luna exhaled herself as she related the story for him.

“Red,” Malfoy said.

“You should watch where you’re going,” Ginny said, dusting herself off. She started to walk away from him, but he called after her.

“Are you okay, Red?”

“Like you even care,” she said, turning around to face him. He stepped closer to her.

“You’re wrong,” he said, his voice losing its cool, detached tone. “I do care about you, contrary to what you believe.”

Ginny laughed.

“If you cared,” she began, “you’d have been there for me, offering your support when I told you about the baby, but no, you couldn’t do that, could you?”

He didn’t respond.

Ginny continued. “You like to think of yourself as this big leader, don’t you? But, let me tell you something, Draco, you’re nothing but a follower. You followed blindly after your father and now you’re toeing the line with your friends. You’re so afraid of what people would think if they saw you with a poor Weasley. You wouldn’t even know how to follow your heart.”

“Ginny,” he interjected.

“Don’t worry,” she said resolutely. “You needn’t worry about me. You have no obligation to me, not that I should have ever believed you did.”

Malfoy made a move to put his hand on her shoulder, but Ginny stepped back.

“Don’t worry,” she said coolly. “The baby isn’t even yours.”

At this, Mafloy’s face paled. He grabbed Ginny by the arm forcefully. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” Ginny said. “I said the baby wasn’t even yours. It was someone else’s mistake, not yours. Okay? So, there you have it. You’re free and clear. You’ve no obligation to me or my child. Happy now?”

He tightened his grip on her arm. “Who were you with besides me?”

Ginny wrenched herself from his grasp. “It’s none of your business.”

“The weird thing is that he seemed genuinely concerned about her, Ron,” Luna said after she’d told him everything. Luna looked into her boyfriend’s eyes and couldn’t make out what he was feeling. She figured he was in shock.

“Ron?” Luna asked, hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

After a moment’s thought, he gave out a wry laugh. “Am I okay? I don’t know. You’ve just told me that my baby sister was carrying on with the school’s biggest arsehole. How do you think I am?”

This time, it was Luna who was silent.

“Are you sure it was Malfoy?” Ron asked, desperately seeking an explanation. “Was it dark in the halls? Maybe you didn’t hear correctly. I’m sure that there are loads of guys here with blonde hair. ”

Luna put a comforting arm on his shoulder. “It was Malfoy. I’d bet my life on it, Ron.”

He nodded.

“I know it doesn’t mean that Harry isn’t the father of Ginny’s baby,” Luna said. “But let’s assume for a moment that he’s not. Let’s just say that Ginny was trying to get back at Malfoy in some way for not being there for her when she really needed him.”

“Okay, it’s one thing to say that she was---Merlin, I can’t even bring myself to think it, much less say it---but are you saying that she’s in love with him now?” Ron asked incredulously.

Luna shook her head. “I don’t know, Ron. I’m just like you, trying to make sense of all of this. I’m just saying that what better way to get back at Malfoy then to do something like this?”

“Ginny’s not a vindictive person like that,” Ron said, in disbelief.

“Ron,” Luna said gently. “You have to admit that she hasn’t been herself lately. If she was in a bad situation like this, she might do anything she could to save face with her family, with her friends, with the school. It’s like they say how desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“I hope you don’t think that I’m trying to stir up trouble between you and your sister. The last thing I would want to do is cause trouble for you or your family. I just think that the truth needs to come out. People we both care about have suffered because of this. If it’s not true---we owe it to them to find out what the real truth is.”

Ron looked up at her. “This is just a lot to take in. Just when I was getting somewhat used to the Ginny-Harry thing, this comes along and hits me right between the eyes.”

“I know,” Luna said consolingly.

“What do I do?” Ron asked, putting his head in his hands. A moment later, he looked up at her.

What he really wanted to do was to tell Luna that he knew his sister like the back of his hand. He knew that she wasn’t capable of this kind of deceit or this kind of betrayal. In all honesty, he knew he couldn’t do this. He remembered seeing Ginny acting suspiciously the past couple of months. She’d not been like herself. He remembered catching her in Hermione’s bedroom a few weeks ago. She’d claimed to be getting a book, but when he walked into the room, he saw her staring off into space and the way she’d reacted when he caught her…he’d immediately knew something was going on.

“I think,” Luna began, “that you should talk to her. See if you can get her to open up to you.”

A part of him didn’t want to believe that this could be true. The Ginny that he knew, the Ginny that he had grown up with, wasn’t capable of such things. Luna wouldn’t lie about something like this. If he didn’t know anything else, he knew that.

He owed it not only to Ginny, but to Harry and Hermione to try and get to the bottom of this. But, if he confronted Ginny about this, she might go on the defensive. His relationship with his sister could be irrevocably changed. Was this a risk he would be willing to take?

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow,” Ron said.

Luna gave him an encouraging smile.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Luna said. “Did you want me to come with you?”

Ron nodded. “Yeah, I do, but I think it’d be best if you didn’t. She’d feel as if we were ganging up on her.”

“You’re not upset with me, are you?” Luna asked. “For telling you this?”

Ron shook his head. “If anything, I’m glad that I have you. You’re the one constant I have right now. You’re keeping me sane.”

He gave her a smile and she couldn’t help beaming back at him.

”Imagine that,” she said, stroking his hand. “Loony Lovegood keeping you sane.”

“Yeah,” he said, wrapping his arm around her. “Imagine that.”

*****

Later that evening, Harry was nervously preparing the suite for Hermione’s arrival. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He’d lived with her in this very suite, for Merlin’s sake! Yet, here he was, busily cleaning and tidying up before her arrival.

He hadn’t told Ginny about working with Hermione on this project. He’d seen Ginny briefly at dinner. She’d said she was working on her own assignments and would be pulling some extra study time in the Gryffindor common room. She promised to take things easy.

The more and more he thought about marrying Ginny, the more surreal it all seemed. He’d tried not to think about it, but every time he saw Hermione, he was reminded of the jarring fact that he was getting married, but it wasn’t to the girl he loved.

He’d listened to Ginny drone on about needing to set a wedding date. She was pushing for right after Harry’s graduation. He hadn’t committed to a set date and had just listened politely as she kept coming up with ideas for the wedding. As he listened to her, he felt as if she was talking about someone else.

It was times like these that he wished he still had his dad and Sirius around. It would sure have been great to have them to ask for advice. He was more or less on his own here and he had no idea what he’d gotten himself into. Sure, he’d done the responsible thing and asked Ginny to marry him, but when the time came down to it, would he really be able to go through with this? He had no answer for that and didn’t know if he ever would. Time would tell.

His thoughts were interrupted by Hermione, who was standing just inside the doorway.

“Hi,” he said, smiling at her nervously.

“You, um, didn’t change the password,” she said quietly. “So, I let myself in.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “I mean, this is still your home, too.”

They stared at each other for a few awkward moments. Harry couldn’t help thinking how absolutely beautiful she looked. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey long-sleeved crewneck sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and tiny tendrils framed her face. Her cheeks were a little rosy, no doubt from the cool chill in the corridors.

“We better get started, then, shall we?” Hermione said, coming closer. She dropped a bag full of books in front of the sofa. “I think the best thing would be to decide which potions we want to do. I know Snape said that none of these potions were easy, but from what I’ve seen there are some that are lot less difficult than the others.”

Harry nodded. He could tell from Hermione’s clipped, business-like tone that she wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible. It hurt him a little, though, but being as he was the one that had started this whole mess, he didn’t feel as if he could say anything.

It was going to be a long night, he thought to himself, as he sat down beside her.

*****

They spent the evening poring over potions books and writing in their notebooks the ingredients that each would require and the timetable that they’d have to follow to brew them correctly. Hermione had made a vow to herself to be very business-like and studious throughout the whole evening. As long as she and Harry stayed on task, there wouldn’t be any emotional outbursts or arguments.

So far, they’d accomplished this swimmingly. She’d be lying if she said that she liked the way things were going this evening. Sure, they’d accomplished a lot, but it felt so wrong and so empty. There was none of the familiarity, none of the closeness, no shared jokes or private asides. It was hard not to sit here and think about the conversations that they’d had in front of this very fireplace. The memories that they’d shared, the secrets they’d divulged to each other. Now, here they were acting like strangers almost.

Hermione was writing the ingredients down for the Draught of the Living Death, when Harry got up from the floor and walked over to the cabinets. He pulled out two bottles of butter beer and handed one to Hermione. She looked up in surprise.

“Thanks,” she said, taking the bottle. “You’re still keeping that secret stash I see.”

“Always,” he said with a slight smile in her direction. He sat back down beside her and looked at the list of potions again.

“So, we’ve picked out 15, only 10 more to go,” Harry said. “What does this one do?”

He handed her the list and pointed to one of the potions.

“Oh,” Hermione said, concentrating. “I remember reading about this one during sixth year. It’s one of the most complex healing potions. They’re usually used to heal burns, I believe.”

“I suppose that could come in handy,” Harry said.

“Yeah,” Hermione said. “I could have used some when I was seven. Too bad I couldn’t whip some up in an Easy Bake Oven.”

Harry looked at her, surprised. “You had an Easy-Bake Oven?”

“Yes,” Hermione said. “My mum and dad gave it to me for Christmas when I was six.”

“Hmmm,” Harry said, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Why is that funny?” Hermione asked him. “Loads of people have Easy-Bake Ovens.”

“And your house didn’t burn down?” Harry asked her cheekily.

“I thought we agreed we weren’t going to bring that up ever again,” Hermione said.

Harry laughed heartily, but tried to curtail it as Hermione shot him an upset look.

”Hermione,” Harry said, trying to regain control. “Even you have to admit it was funny.”

“Okay, I could see how it was a bit comical, but the important thing was that I tried,” Hermione said. “And we got the fire under control pretty quickly.”

“Not before you nearly burned down the Burrow,” Harry chimed in.

“I think it had something to do with the fact that I was used to using Muggle stoves,” Hermione said reasonably.

“I don’t think that was the problem,” Harry said. “I think it was the fact that you greased that pan too much.”

“I did what the recipe said!” Hermione said, laughing despite herself. “It said to grease the pan. How was I supposed to know that didn’t mean the whole thing?”

Harry again started to laugh.

“I was trying to be helpful while everyone was outside,” Hermione said. “I was trying to do something nice.”

“And burning down the Burrow sure is a nice gesture,” Harry said, laughing.

Hermione hit him hard on the shoulder.

“Hey!”

“That’s what you get,” she said. “I remember distinctly telling you that I was thump you if you ever brought that up again.”

“That’s probably why Mrs. Weasley gets that look on her face now every time you go in their kitchen,” Harry said.

“So, I can’t cook,” Hermione said. “Big deal. Honestly, the way Ron carried on about it, you’d have thought he won the lottery. He kept going on and on about how there was something that Hermione Granger wasn’t good at. You know, I’m sure if I read a book on it, I’d be great at it. I just have never had the time to get around to it.”

“I’m sure you would,” Harry said, smiling at her. “You should probably just start small. Maybe boiling water first and then work your way up to baking.”

Hermione grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it at him, hitting his square in the face. This knocked him off his balance, and he fell to the floor. Giggling, Hermione hovered over him.

“I’m not letting you up until you promise never to bring that up ever again,” Hermione said. “I mean it this time.”

“Come on, Hermione,” Harry said, breathlessly. “It’s too funny not to share with other people.”

She looked at him sternly. “Say it.”

“Oh, all right,” he said. “I promise never to bring up the story of you trying to cook and failing miserably at it and nearly burning down the Burrow in the process. Satisfied now?”

“Yes,” Hermione said, sitting back allowing Harry to get back into a sitting position.

She quickly picked up her notebooks and got back to work. Harry smiled at her. She pretended not to notice. This was how things used to be. She nearly lost sight of what had happened and the way things were now. She shouldn’t have gotten carried away like that.

***

They’d both been working so hard on the assignment that neither of them noticed how late it was getting. Both of them were having trouble keeping their eyes open. They’d both stifled yawns and felt their eyelids getting heavier as they tried to keep going. It was a losing battle though.

Harry was the first to fall asleep. Hermione looked up from her notebook to ask him a question and saw that he leaned his head back against the couch and was now fast asleep.

“Harry?” she whispered. “Harry?”

He didn’t move. He was fast asleep.

Hermione didn’t blame him. The fire made the room nice, cozy and warm. It was the perfect environment for a quick, peaceful nap. She knew she should probably go, but she felt too exhausted to move. Maybe she’d just close her eyes for a few minutes and then she’d go.

She closed her books quietly and then pulled a pillow from the couch and within seconds, she too, was fast asleep.

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

Sometime during the evening, they had inched closer together as they slept on the floor. By the dawn of morning, Hermione’s head was resting on Harry’s chest and he’d wrapped his arms around her.

Harry awoke first. He looked down at Hermione, wrapped up in his arms. Her skin was so soft and warm. This was why he’d slept so peacefully. He hadn’t slept this well in weeks.

She was beginning to stir. She lifted her head slowly off his chest and blinked her eyes, trying to focus. She smiled warmly at him.

“Good morning,” she said huskily.

“Good morning,” he whispered back to her.

Hermione was still sleepy as she was barely aware of her arm creeping up around Harry’s neck or the way her forehead rested against his chin or the easy pressure of his leg against hers. She eased back into the softness of his sweater and could hear his slow, deep breathing.

“Hermione,” she heard him whisper. She snuggled closer, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. She could feel him stroking her hair, but it was all a little bit hazy. She wanted to stay here, all warm and safe, just like this forever.

“Hermione,” Harry whispered again. She turned to face him. Both her hands were against his chest and their mouths were just inches apart.

“Hmmm?” she asked softly.

His green eyes seemed to be taking in her whole face. He pulled her closer to him and Hermione gave herself over to the warmth of being close to him like this. She felt herself leaning up into a soft kiss. She wrapped her arms around him tighter as they fell back onto the floor again, swept away in a sweet, warm kiss.

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

At the same time, Ron was pacing in the Gryffindor Common Room. He’d left a note for Ginny the evening before asking her if she’d meet him first thing this morning. He honestly had no idea what he was going to say or how he was going to say it. The most important thing would be to remain calm. He wasn’t to get angry with her or do anything that would make her get on the defensive.

How in the hell am I supposed to remain calm when I ask my sister if she’s been shagging Draco Malfoy?

Ron cringed and felt a shiver come over him at the thought.

“Ron?”

He turned to see Ginny standing at the foot of the stairs. She was still dressed in her pajamas and dressing gown.

”Hey, Gin,” Ron said.

“Hey,” she said, walking over to him. “Is everything okay? Your letter was kind of cryptic.”

“I just wanted to have a chat,” he said, taking a seat at the couch. He patted the empty space beside him and Ginny took a seat beside him.

“Let me guess, you and Luna are having troubles?” she asked him. “What did you do? Say something you weren’t supposed to and upset her? Ron, you really need to think before you say some of the things you say.”

Ron shook his head. “No, Gin. Luna and I are okay. Better than okay, actually. We’re doing great.”

She patted his hand. “That’s great, Ron. I’m really happy for you. Luna’s great.”

“Yes, she is,” Ron said, nervously.

“Well, then what is it?” Ginny asked. “You’re not still worried about me, are you? I’m fine. I’m doing everything Madame Pomfrey has told me to do. Mum’s busy planning the wedding. I think Harry’s finally coming around. Everything’s going to be great.”

He looked at her.

“What?” she asked, a smile fixed on her face.

“Who are you trying to convince?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” she asked, taken aback.

“I said, who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?” he asked her.

Ginny was silent.

“Tell me the truth, Gin,” Ron said. “Stop lying and just tell me the truth.”

“Tell you the truth about what?” Ginny asked, uncomfortably.

“Luna overheard a conversation between you and Draco Malfoy,” Ron said. “I didn’t even know that you even knew him well enough to speak with him.”

Ginny got up from the sofa. She couldn’t bring herself to look at her brother’s penetrating gaze.

“What’s going on with you and him?” Ron asked.

“Nothing,” Ginny said. “Nothing at all.”

“Ginny,” Ron said.

Ginny didn’t turn around to look at him. She stared out the window at the school grounds.

“Is it his baby?” Ron asked, nearly choking on the words.

Again, Ginny was silent.

“It’s his baby, you’re carrying?” Ron asked again. “Ginny! Anyone with half a brain could have told you that cold fish wasn’t going to marry you!”

“You don’t understand,” Ginny said quietly.

“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t understand how you could have done this. It’s like I’m looking at a stranger. My sister isn’t capable of doing these things.”

“You don’t understand,” Ginny repeated.

“Make me understand, then!” Ron said, his voice rising. He walked over to Ginny and put his hands on her shoulders making her look at him.

“I don’t understand how you could have done this! That’s it, isn’t it? Draco Malfoy wasn’t going to marry you, so you figured you’d steal Harry Potter from Hermione! Ginny! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? This isn’t right.”

Tears were flowing down Ginny’s face.

“You don’t understand,” Ginny said again. “I had to.”

“You had to?” he asked her incredulously. “You had to?”

“Yes,” she said. “I was alone. Draco wasn’t going to be there for me and the baby, Ron. I had nowhere else to go. You know mum and dad would have hit the roof when they found out. You know how much they love Harry, I just figured that if they thought he was---“

“That everything would be fine and we’d be one big happy Weasley family?” Ron finished for her. “Ginny, grow up. You’re not a child anymore.”

“Ron,” Ginny said. “Everything’s okay now. Harry and I are getting married.”

“No, you’re not,” Ron said firmly. “Either you’re going to tell him the truth or I will, but either way he’s going to find out.”

“It’ll ruin everything,” Ginny said, her voice pleading. “Please.”

“I don’t even know who you are, Ginny,” Ron said, shaking his head. “But you can salvage this. You can do it. I’ll help you anyway I can. Mum and Dad will understand. But, you can’t keep lying to everyone. The truth was bound to come out eventually. There’s no way you could keep up with this. Can you honestly tell me that you love Harry?”

“I’ve always loved Harry,” Ginny protested. “He’s been—“

“He’s been good to our family and to you and this is how you repay him?” Ron asked her. He looked at his sister compassionately. “Ginny. You have to realize that he loves Hermione. He always has and he always will. They’re both miserable without each other. He’s never going to feel about you the way he feels about her. How would you be able to live with yourself if you did this?”

“It just got so out of hand,” Ginny said. “I couldn’t see any other way out.”

“Ginny,” Ron said. “Come on. Go and get dressed. We’ll go and talk to Harry together. You can tell him the truth.”

“I can’t,” Ginny said between sobs.

“You have to,” Ron said sternly. “Come on.”

Ron offered her his hand. Ginny looked at him uncertainly.

“Come on, Gin.”

She put her shaking hand in his and he gave her a hug.

“It’ll be okay,” he said soothingly. “I’ll help you.”

He released her.

“I’ll wait down here for you,” he said. “Go on and get changed.”

She nodded and started for the stairs, but she doubled over in pain.

Ron went to her side immediately.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“Something’s wrong,” she said hoarsely. “Ron, it hurts.”

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

Author’s note: Remember the polyjuice potion our little Miss Weasley used earlier? It’s going to come back into play….

Author’s note: Thanks for sticking with me…here’s what you’ve been waiting for (well, one of the things you’ve been waiting for. I hope it doesn’t disappoint. Thanks so much for the reviews. I am utterly amazed at the response I’ve gotten on this one! You guys are great. Thanks to Heaven for the help!

Chapter 25

I’m Looking Through You

I'm looking through you, where did you go?
I thought I knew you, what did I know?
You don't look different, but you have changed
I'm looking through you, you're not the same

(The Beatles, “I’m Looking Through You”)

Hermione didn’t know how long they had been kissing. Hell, she didn’t really care at the moment. How she had missed his touch and his kiss and that feeling of closeness she’d always felt with him.

For one seemingly glorious moment, she’d forgotten all that had happened. She awoke in some sort of hazy mist and there he was, all familiar and cozy and warm. But, the haze was clearing away and like a light switch being turned on, it suddenly dawned on her that they shouldn’t be doing this.

This was Harry she was kissing! This was Harry who was kissing her! This was Harry who in a few months time would be a husband and a father.

What she and Harry had was over. At least, she’d told herself it was. If she’d really believed that, though, would she have done any of this? How could she have let him kiss her? How could she have kissed him back?

She abruptly, albeit reluctantly, pulled herself away from him and sat up. Harry sat back, too, surprised.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her, already knowing the answer.

“We, um, shouldn’t be doing this,” she said softly. “We shouldn’t have been alone like this. We should have met in a neutral place where there was no temptation or memories or—“

“Hermione,” he interrupted. “I’m sorry.”

He reached out for her, but she pulled back.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” she said, gathering up her books and notebooks. “It was just as much my fault as it was yours. I was stupid to think that we could do this. Putting you and me together in a room, alone, is just asking for trouble.”

She started to get to her feet, but he put a hand on her arm, pulling her back down.

“Hermione,” he said gently. “I can’t do this, either. It’s hard for me, too. You know that, don’t you? I screwed up, and now we’re both paying for it. I love you. Only you. Every time I see you and every time I’m with you, those feelings are right there. They are not going away.”

Hermione hugged her books protectively against her chest. She got to her feet.

“We have to find a way,” she said resolutely. “We can’t be together, Harry. We can’t. The sooner we both accept that, the better off everyone will be.”

He, too, got to his feet.

“I don’t want to lose you,” he said, running a hand nervously through his hair. “Can’t we still be friends?”

She shook her head sadly. “I can’t just be your friend.”

“Hermione,” he said, but didn’t really know what else to say. He knew she was right, but he didn’t want to admit it to her or to himself.

“I’ll see you in class,” she said, with a forced smile. She quickly walked out of the suite. Harry stood there, seemingly frozen in place, watching her leave.

This wasn’t what he wanted. What he wanted was to be with Hermione. Who said he had to be married to Ginny in order to raise his son or daughter? He could still be a good father to the baby. He could still offer to support Ginny and the baby with everything he had, but he couldn’t honestly marry Ginny when his heart and soul were with Hermione, and always would be. Sure the Weasleys would be upset with him and more than likely disappointed, but he hoped that they’d understand.

With a newfound determination, he ran toward the door of the suite and was about to step through the portrait hole when he nearly tripped on something.

When he looked down, he saw it was Dobby the House Elf, who looked quite anxious.

“Dobby,” Harry said apologetically, “I haven’t really got time to chat right now.”

“Harry Potter must go with Dobby to the hospital wing.”

“Why?” Harry asked impatiently.

”Ginny Wheezy is hurt, Harry Potter, sir,” Dobby said. “Madame Pomfrey is sending Dobby to fetch you.”

“What’s happened?” Harry asked.

Dobby shook his head and rocked back and forth apprehensively on his feet.

“Dobby is not knowing,” Dobby said. “But, we should go now.”

Harry nodded and followed Dobby through the portrait hole and toward the hospital wing.

*********

Harry arrived in the hospital wing a few moments later to find Madame Pomfrey hovering over Ginny who was lying on one of the beds. Ron sat on the edge of her bed. When Harry arrived, Ginny gave him a smile, although the pain in her abdomen had increasingly worsened.

“What’s going on?” Harry asked.

“Ginny and I were just talking and the next minute, she’d doubled over in pain,” Ron said. “I rushed her up here and we sent for you straightaway.”

”I’m glad you’re here, Harry,” Ginny said, weakly. Harry took her hand and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

“Miss Weasley,” Madame Pomfrey said. “Have you taken anything in the past few weeks? Any potions? Any alcoholic beverages? You’re not a smoker, are you?”

Ginny shook her head.

“The health of your baby could depend on this,” Madame Pomfrey said. “You need to tell me if there’s anything I should know.”

Ginny racked her brain to try and remember if she could have taken anything that would cause the pain. The strongest thing she’d drunk had been pumpkin juice. She’d done everything Madame Pomfrey had prescribed.

As she thought, a voice in the back of her head seemed to be calling to her.

Polyjuice.

Surely, that couldn’t be the cause of this, Ginny said. She hadn’t thought about how it would affect the baby when she’d taken it. Could that be the cause of this?

Ginny looked around at the expectant faces of her brother, her fiancé and the school nurse. Her baby’s health could depend on this. Ron already knew most of the story. It would be a matter of time before Harry did, too. She had to tell the truth, even if it cost her Harry. The most important thing now was the baby.

“I, um, took Polyjuice about two weeks into my pregnancy,” Ginny said, looking straight at Madame Pomfrey. She tried to ignore the confused looks that Harry and Ron exchanged.

Madame Pomfrey’s face paled. The room was eerily silent.

“You gentlemen are going to need to leave us alone now,” Madame Pomfrey said. “Dobby, please go and fetch Professor Snape. We’re going to need his help on this.”

Dobby nodded and with a snap of his fingers was gone.

“What could Polyjuice do?” Ginny asked alarmed.

“As you know, it transforms a person’s anatomy and biological makeup to turn them into another person,” Pomfrey said. “If this potion somehow came into contact with the amniotic fluid, it could remain dormant for awhile and cause slight discomfort over a few days, but it can progressively get worse. It’s even possible that it could poison the fetus.”

Ginny gasped. “No. Please. Save the baby.”

”We’ll do everything we can,” Madame Pomfrey said, giving a weak smile. “You two boys need to leave us now. You may wait outside.”

Ron and Harry nodded, as confused as ever.

“We’ll be outside, Gin,” Ron said, kissing his sister on the cheek. “Don’t worry. They’ll do everything they can to save the baby.”

Ginny didn’t answer him.

Sweet Merlin, what have I done?

****

Ginny’s parents and Fred and George arrived some time later. Molly was allowed to go back and sit with her daughter, while the rest of the family and Harry waited with baited breath outside for any word.

Although Ron and Harry didn’t speak, both were thinking heavily about what Ginny had said.

Polyjuice potion. Why on earth would Ginny have taken that?

Suddenly, it made sense to Ron. Ginny hadn’t been returning a book of Hermione’s that day. She’d been there to get a bit of who she wanted to change into. It all seemed to fall into place. He could almost hear the pieces interlocking.

That was how she’d gotten Harry. She knew that the only way she could get Harry was to pretend to be Hermione. With him being drunk, he wouldn’t be as alert. He’d be looser; his inhibitions would be gone.

Yet, it was still hard to wrap his head around the fact that his sister could be capable of such deceit.

Ron looked over at Harry, who was talking with Mr. Weasley. Ron got up from his seat and nodded at Harry and motioned for him to follow him out into the hall.

When they were out of earshot of anyone else, Ron looked at Harry.

“There’s something you should know,” he said quietly.

*****

Ginny awoke from a restful sleep, not knowing where she was or how she got there. She was groggy and had a little trouble focusing her eyes, but when she was able to open her eyes fully, she saw Harry sitting at the foot of her bed. As she took in the surroundings, she realized she wasn’t in her bedroom. She was in the hospital wing.

Instinctively, her hand went to her abdomen and she sat up in the bed, wincing from the soreness.

“Harry?” she asked, looking at him with concern. “How’s the baby? Is our baby okay?”

He leaned forward in his chair.

“Your baby’s fine,” Harry said. His tone quite cool and detached. “Madame Pomfrey said you need to take it easy and get plenty of rest.”

His choice of words and emphasis on the word “your” wasn’t lost on Ginny. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but she wasn’t so tired that she couldn’t pick up clues from the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes.

He knows.

“Harry,” she began, sitting up further in the bed.

“Before you get started,” he said, looking straight into her eyes. “I was just wondering what was going to come out of your mouth. Will it be the truth? Or will it just be more lies? Or do you even know the difference anymore?”

She looked away from him and absently picked at a string on her blanket.

“I deserve that,” she said softly. “I’m so sorry, Harry.”

“You’re sorry?” he asked. “What exactly are you sorry for?”

Ginny took a deep breath. “It’s time you heard the truth.”

He leaned forward.

She closed her eyes and tried to choose her words carefully. This was it. This was her moment of truth.

“At the beginning of the school year, I got myself into a mess,” she began. “I started off helping Draco Malfoy with an assignment. It developed quickly into something more. I knew it was stupid and I knew it was wrong, but he knew all the right things to say and all the right things to do and before I knew what was going on, I’d fallen for him. I thought he loved me, too.”

“I, um, found out that I was pregnant shortly before Christmas,” she continued. “I believed he’d be happy about it. He always talked about us starting a family and living happily ever after. I knew it was sudden and a lot sooner than we’d planned, but I thought he’d be ecstatic about it. As you can imagine, he was less than thrilled at the thought of him being a father and even less that people would know about the two of us.”

She stopped for a moment and took another long, deep breath.

“I didn’t know what to do, Harry,” she said, trying to keep her emotions in check. “I felt so alone and so scared. I looked around at Ron and Luna and then you and Hermione. You all looked so happy. I was jealous of what you and Hermione had. I saw how you treated her and how much you cared about her. I knew that if it was Hermione in the situation I was in, you wouldn’t have done what Draco did to me. You aren’t like him at all, Harry. You’re everything he’s not. I wanted to provide that for my baby. You’d be a man anyone would be glad to call a father.”

Harry’s face was expressionless.

“So, I came up with this plan,” she said. “I was going to seduce you and make you think that the baby was yours. But there was a flaw to my plan. I knew you’d never betray Hermione.”

“That’s where the polyjuice comes in,” Harry guessed.

She nodded. “I bought some off a Hufflepuff and nicked some hair from Hermione’s hairbrush that afternoon I told you I was borrowing a book.”

“What, um, happened the night we were together?” Harry asked her. His tone wasn’t angry or cold, just neutral.

“I took the potion and transformed into Hermione,” Ginny said, looking down at her blankets again to avoid his penetrating gaze. “I knocked on your door and although you were quite out of it, you responded to me. We kissed. We stumbled to your bedroom and just when we fell onto the bed you passed out cold.”

“Are you saying that we didn’t—“ Harry asked her.

Ginny shook her head. “We didn’t have sex, Harry. Once you were passed out, I got you undressed and then slipped out of my own clothes and climbed into bed beside you. That way, when you woke up…”

“It would appear like we had slept together,” Harry finished for her.

“I waited a couple of weeks and then I told you that I was pregnant,” Ginny said. “You pretty much know the rest of the story.”

Harry buried his head in his hands.

“Harry, I’m sorry for all of this,” Ginny said, her voice breaking. “I hated every minute of it.”

He looked up at her, incredulously. “Do you honestly expect me to believe that you hated every minute of it?”

“It’s the truth.”

He got to his feet and paced in front of her bed. “You saw how this affected your family. You saw how it affected Hermione and me. You could have stopped this at any time, Ginny. You had all the control. You weren’t under a spell. Yet, you stood by as people you cared about were hurt by what you did.”

“I still hated it,” she retorted. “You can’t understand now—“

“You’re right,” he said, with a hollow laugh. “I don’t understand any of it. I don’t understand how you could do this or even why you would have done this. Ginny! You weren’t alone. You have a family that loves you very much. They’d stand by you no matter what you did. They’d never let you handle this by yourself. They may have been disappointed or even upset, but they’re going to be there for you, Ginny.”

“What about you?” Ginny asked, looking at him.

“I would have, too,” he said truthfully. “And Hermione would have, too. You know that.”

“Would have,” Ginny said.

“Yes, would,” Harry said.

“And now?” Ginny asked dreadfully.

“Now, it’s taking a lot for me to stand here in the same room with you,” he said. “I thought I knew you, Ginny. Hearing this from you and from Ron, I realized that I have no idea who you are anymore.”

Ginny nodded glumly.

“I have to go,” he said. “Take care of yourself, Ginny. And the baby.”

Ginny gave him a slight smile.

“Your mum and dad are outside,” Harry said. “They’ll want to see you.”

Harry turned to walk away, but Ginny called out to him.

“Harry!”

He hesitated just a moment before turning around.

“Yeah?”

“I really am sorry,” she said.

He looked thoughtful.

“Are you sorry that you got caught or are you sorry about what you did?” he asked her.

Ginny didn’t have an answer for him.

“Goodbye, Ginny,” he said before walking away.

****

When Harry walked out of the hospital wing, Arthur and Molly said a few brief words to him before they went inside.

Harry walked over to a bench where Luna was sitting beside Ron, her head resting on his shoulder. They both looked expectantly at Harry.

“She’s awake,” Harry said.

“Is she okay?” Ron asked.

“She will be,” Harry said. “She just needs rest.”

Ron nodded.

Harry related for them all that Ginny had said. Although Luna and Ron knew most of the details, hearing the extent Ginny had went to, left both of them in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Ron said. “If I had known—“

“You don’t have to apologize,” Harry said. “Come on, Ron. If anything I should be thanking you and Luna for all that you did.”

“It was the right thing to do,” Luna said. “I’m just sorry we didn’t figure it all out sooner.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Harry said. “The truth is finally out.”

“Mum and dad were just telling us they wanted to take Ginny home to recover,” Ron said. “They think it’d be good for her to be home. They spoke with Dumbledore about letting her do lessons by correspondence.”

“Kind of like what Hermione did when her dad was ill,” Luna said. Luna’s eyes grew wide.

“What?” Ron asked, concerned.

“Speaking of Hermione,” Luna said. “You should find her, Harry. Tell her what’s happened.”

“Yeah, mate,” Ron said, giving him a grin. “What are you still doing here, then? Haven’t you got a certain bushy-haired, bossy-boots to make up with?”

Harry grinned. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well, get on out of here, then,” Ron said, pushing his friend toward the staircase leading to Gryffindor Tower.

Harry said a quick goodbye and was about to walk away when something dawned on him. He turned around and smiled broadly at his friend.

“What?” Ron asked.

“Ron, I’m still a virgin!” Harry said, a little louder than he’d planned.

Ron gave his best friend a bemused look.

“I’m not so sure I’d be shouting that from the rooftops, Harry,” Ron said cheekily.

Luna nudged him hard in the side.

Harry laughed and then descended the staircase. He hoped it wouldn’t be too late to salvage what they had. It couldn’t be too late. It just couldn’t be.

Author’s note: To those I confused the bejesus out of last chapter, I didn’t proofread as carefully as I should have before posting…that “and now?” line was not supposed to be there at the end. It was a typo on my part. It was late the night I posted that. I corrected it on the last chapter. Sorry about that guys. I hope this makes up for it. After this chapter, there will be one more and then an epilogue.

Chapter 26

Somebody Like You

“There's a new wind blowin' like I've never known.
I'm breathin' deeper than I've ever done.
And it sure feels good, to finally feel the way I do.
I wanna love somebody,
Love somebody like you.

An' I'm lettin' go of all my lonely yesterdays.
I've forgiven myself for the mistakes I've made.
Now there's just one thing, the only thing I wanna do, mmm, mmm.
I wanna love somebody,
Love somebody like you.”

(Keith Urban, “Somebody Like You”)

It was around seven in the evening when Harry left the hospital wing. He was a man on a mission. He wanted to find Hermione and tell her everything he’d just learned. Truth be told, he hadn’t really let the reality of it all hit him, yet. Part of him still didn’t want to believe Ginny was capable of all that she’d done.

Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any ill will toward her. He hoped that she would have the support of her family to get her through all of this. He was amazed at how he’d been able to stay in control while he’d spoken with her. He’d never been so angry in his life, but it wasn’t the time to argue with her and scream insults at her. That wouldn’t do anyone any good. What was done was done. It couldn’t be changed. And no matter how much Ginny wished it, an apology wouldn’t make it all be forgiven. Harry didn’t honestly know if he’d ever be able to forgive her.

He didn’t have time to think about that now. There were important things to worry about now. He had to see Hermione and make sure that she knew the truth. For the first time in ages, he felt a sense of hope and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of him.

When this was all cleared away, he made a promise to do something to Ron and to Luna for what they’d done. If it hadn’t been for the two of them, none of this would have ever come to light. He didn’t have the words to truly thank them for what they’d done. They’d essentially given him his life back. What did you say or do to someone who did that for you? Harry didn’t know, but he would surely try to convey to them how much it meant to him that they’d come through for him. He hoped to someday be able to return the favor.

He practically ran up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower and stopped to catch his breath as he stood in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

“Password?” she prompted.

“Carpe diem,” he said.

The portrait swung forward and he scrambled through the portrait hole into the common room. It was nearly full with students who were enjoying sitting by the fire after dinner. Harry pretended not to notice as they all looked up in surprise as he nearly ran through the room and toward the staircase leading to the dormitories.

When he made it to the seventh-year girls dormitory, he knocked hard on the door. He stood back and waited for someone to come to the door. Nothing.

He knocked again.

“Hermione?” he called loudly. “I know you can hear me! Just give me two minutes to talk with you. Please.”

Again, there was no reply.

This was the only place she could be, other than the library. Dinner ended a few minutes ago in the Great Hall. She had to be here.

To his relief, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. He heard someone turning the doorknob and he looked expectantly at the door. He tried to stop from smiling, but found he couldn’t. Well, that was until the door opened to reveal…Lavender.

“What do you want Harry?” Lavender said, her voice crisp.

“I, um, need to see Hermione, Lav,” he said matter-of-factly. “Is she here?”

Lavender looked down at the floor and then back at Harry.

”She’s here, Harry,” she replied. “But she really doesn’t want to see you. She told us about what happened last night. And I really think you should be ashamed of yourself. How is she ever going to get over you if you insist on doing things like that?”

Harry stepped closer. “Lavender! That’s precisely it! I don’t want her to get over me!”

Lavender looked at him in dismay. “And that’s precisely your problem, Harry! You are being incredibly selfish and cruel, do you even see that? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

Harry looked at her helplessly and was about to reply when she said a quick good night and before he could get a word in edgewise, she closed the door firmly behind him.

He knocked again, but no one came to the door.

“UGHHHHHHHHHHH!” he wailed.

Well, he wasn’t about to give up that easily. An idea had just come to him.

*****

“You’re doing the right thing, Hermione,” Parvati said, to her friend.

“Am I?” Hermione asked. “I don’t even know anymore.”

Lavender sat back down on Hermione’s bed and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Don’t even give it a second thought, Hermione. In a few short months, we’ll be graduating and you’ll never have to look at Harry Potter or that tart Ginny Weasley anymore. You’ll have your own life to lead. As my mum always says, ‘the best revenge is looking good.’”

Hermione nodded. She felt incredibly stupid for her behavior the evening before. She should have known something like that would happen. Although she and Harry were history, the feelings were still there, strong as ever. Putting them alone together like that was just asking for trouble. She was silently cursing Professor Snape for being so cruel, when she heard a tapping at the window.

“What was that?” Lavender asked, startled.

“It’s coming from the window,” Parvati said, pointing at the only window in their room.

Hermione got up from the bed and pulled her dressing gown protectively around her as she went to the window and pulled back the curtains. She gasped when she saw Harry, flying on his broom, just outside their window.

She unlatched the lock and opened the window.

”Harry?” she asked, angrily. “What the hell are you doing out there? If you get caught, you’ll get in trouble and you know it!”

He smiled at her and flew closer. “I know that and I don’t really care, Hermione. Besides since the mountain wouldn’t come to me, I went to the mountain.”

Hermione looked at him, bemused. “What the hell are you on about? And why are you grinning at me like that?”

“I need to talk to you.”

Hermione shook her head. “No, we’ve said all we needed to say to each other, Harry. It’s over and done with.”

“If you feel that way after we talk, fine. I’ll never bother you again, but I really need to talk to you. Please. Just five minutes.”

“Why?” she asked. “It won’t do any good. Just go away, Harry. Please.”

“Okay,” he said stubbornly. “I’ll just stay out here until you cave in, then.”

She put her hand to her forehead. “You can’t do that!”

“I bet I can,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

“Oh, all right,” Hermione said, exasperated. “I’ll talk with you. But you and I both know you’re not allowed in here.”

“How about in our suite?” Harry suggested.

Hermione shook her head vehemently. “That’s not a good idea. I’ll meet you at the quidditch pitch. Give me a few minutes.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Hermione.”

Hermione closed and latched the window and turned to see Lavender and Parvati looking at her.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Hermione?” Lavender asked.

Hermione walked over to her trunk and pulled out a pair of jeans and a jumper.

“Like having him flying outside our window is an even better one?” Hermione asked.

“What are you going to say to him?” Parvati chimed in.

“I have no idea,” Hermione said, heading for the bathroom to change clothes. “I have absolutely no idea.”

***

Harry paced in front of one of the benches on the quidditch pitch, feeling anxious. He hoped that she hadn’t told him she’d meet him just to get rid of him. It had been fifteen minutes since she’d agreed to talk with him. He was about to grab his broom and head back to her window when he saw her walking across the pitch towards him.

“Hi,” he whispered when she reached him.

“Hi,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “You have five minutes.”

He nodded. “Thank you for agreeing to talk to me.”

She didn’t respond.

“Look, Hermione,” he began. “I know I have no right to expect anything of you.”

“That’s right,” she said indignantly. “You haven’t.”

He sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“That thing with Ginny,” he began again.

She held up her hand. “I don’t want to hear about it.”

He stepped closer to her and put a hand on her arm. “You need to hear this, Hermione.”

She felt tears coming to her eyes, and she tried to stave them off.

“I didn’t sleep with Ginny,” he said abruptly. “The baby she’s carrying isn’t mine.”

Hermione gave out a laugh. “Another lie.”

“This isn’t a lie,” he said, shaking his head. “Listen, last night Ginny had a problem. She took a potion early in her pregnancy that caused some complications. Ron took her to the hospital wing.”

Despite her anger, Hermione put a hand to her mouth. She didn’t wish any ill will on Ginny or the baby.

“Are they okay?”

“They’re going to be fine,” Harry said softly. “Madame Pomfrey came through. Ginny’s in the hospital wing recovering right now.”

“Well,” Hermione said, looking at him properly. “I’m glad that they’re both okay.”

“Yeah, me too,” Harry said. “Don’t you want to know what she took? The potion that she took?”

Hermione looked at him as if she could care less, but she muttered “What?” before she could stop herself.

“Polyjuice,” he said simply.

Now, Hermione really was confused. Why on earth would Ginny want to take Polyjuice Potion?

Harry led Hermione over to the bench and they sat down. He related the entire sordid story for her down to the last detail.

When he was finished, Hermione felt…numb. It seemed too good to be true. It explained everything away. Yet, if she believed this version of events, she’d have to believe that someone she called a friend was capable of such betrayal and deceit. She knew Harry was expecting her to say something, but she didn’t think she could. She was utterly gob-smacked at what he’d just told her.

He took her hands in his. “I love you. I never loved her, Hermione. Don’t you see what this means? I was never unfaithful to you. We were both tricked into believing that this happened.”

Hermione pulled her hands away from his. “You still lied to me, Harry.”

“I didn’t want to lose you, Hermione,” he said honestly. “I know it sounds selfish, but it’s the truth. I knew that if you knew about this, you’d walk away from me. And I didn’t want to lose you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

She stood up and walked a few feet away from him, her back to him.

“I suppose I have messed things up, for us,” Harry said morosely. “I want to make it up to you. If you’ll give me another chance I will. Please.”

He got up from the bench and walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her around to face him.

“Do you think you could love me again?” he asked hopefully. “Because for me, it’s always been you. There could never be anyone else.”

She couldn’t stop the tears from falling down her cheek.

“Do you think you could love me again?” he asked again.

She looked down at the ground and then looked up at him.

“No,” she said. “I don’t think I could.”

Harry felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him with her words.

“Well,” she said quickly. “That’s a lie. I could love you again, Harry. But I’m not sure that I want to.”

He nodded. “I understand. I’ll um, leave you alone, then.”

He walked back over to the bench and picked up his broom, feeling as low and sad as he ever could remember in his life.

“That’s it?”

He turned around, in surprise. She was walking toward him.

“I thought the great Harry Potter never walked away from a challenge,” she said, wiping a tear away from her cheek and smiling at him.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Harry,” she said, looking intently at him. “The truth is that I never stopped loving you. I’m glad the truth came out and everything, but you broke my heart. I know you were tricked into doing it, but it still hurts. I’m not the same person I was back then and neither are you. So, if you’re serious about wanting to get back together, I figure you’ll have to get to know me as I am and I’ll have to get to know you as you are now, and then we’ll just see.”

He smiled at her. In an instant, he dropped his broom and picked her up in a warm embrace and swung her around. They were both laughing by the time he set her back down on her feet.

“Do you think it would be out of line to give you a quick kiss?” he asked her.

“Oh, I think you’d better,” she said, with a laugh, wrapping her arms around his waist.

He smiled as he pulled her to him and their lips brushed softly. Without pulling away, he deepened the kiss and she melted into him. There was no guilt, there was no shame. This kiss was full of hope, longing and forgiveness.

When they pulled away from each other, Harry rested his forehead on hers.

“I missed you,” he said.

“I missed you, too,” she said.

“You know there is something that I wanted to do with you,” he said, smiling at her. The twinkle in his eyes was nearly blinding. He leaned down and picked up his broom and twirled it around.

“Now?” she asked him. “You want me to fly with you now?”

“Now’s as good a time as any,” he said. “And I do believe you agreed to it.”

“I do not recall making any such statement,” she said, turning away from him.

“Besides, it’s cold out here.”

“It’s not that bad,” he said. “And I’ll let you wear my cloak. Come on.”

”It’s dark,” Hermione said, obviously trying to get his mind off the flying.

“So?” Harry asked her. “I get it. You don’t trust me up on that broom, do you? I swear, I will keep my eyes focused and my hands will be firmly planted on the broom. All you have to do is look beautiful and hold on tight. What could possibly be scary about that?”

Hermione grinned at him. “If I do this once, you will never ask me to do this again.”

He nodded. “I won’t have to. Because once you get the chance to do this once, you’ll be begging me to take you back up again.”

”Don’t hold your breath on that one,” she said. She gave out a peal of nervous laughter as she watched Harry mount his broom.

She bit her bottom lip. “Harry. I think I’ve changed my mind.”

“Are you a Gryffindor or not?” he asked, teasingly. “Come on.”

”Wouldn’t you rather go upstairs and snog?” she said, trying a new tactic. “I mean, we are supposed to be having a wonderful reunion right about now.”

“We are going to have the wonderful reunion,” he said, reaching behind his back and patting at the empty space behind him. “This is the beginning.”

She took a deep breath, and climbed onto the broom behind him.

“Promise you’ll go slow?” she asked.

“I promise I will go slowly,” he said seriously. He turned around and looked at her, his green eyes focused solely on her. “Are you ready?”

She smiled back at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his back as he prepared to take flight.

“I’m ready,” she said, closing her eyes as she felt them rise off the ground.

She didn’t dare open her eyes. To her great relief, Harry did as promised and didn’t do any jerky movements or quick turns. She didn’t realize how tight her hold on Harry’s waist was until he spoke up.

“Hermione?”

“Hmmm?” she responded.

“Oxygen is becoming an issue, here,” he said.

“Sorry,” she said, loosening her grip a little.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he called to her. “I really do like you holding on to me.”

She pinched his side playfully.

“Ow!” he said, as he maneuvered the broom just above the pitch. He looked back at her and stifled a laugh as he saw her eyes tightly closed. “You know you’re really missing a great view. Open you eyes, Hermione.”

She did and looked down and although the height scared her, she had to admit that it was a beautiful view.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“Told you,” he said. “See, flying’s not so bad, is it?”

She nestled in closer to him and smiled “It’s not so bad when I’m with you.”

*****

Author’s note: That’s it for now, folks. There will be one more chapter after this and probably an epilogue. Next chapter you can look forward to Hermione and Harry’s reunion and a little talk between Miss Granger and Miss Weasley. It will not be pretty.

And for those of you who complain about my cliffhangers, I must say that you can’t spell the word “INFAMY” without A-M-Y.

Thanks to all who have reviewed, you guys don’t know how important they are to us writers. They keep us going. I am amazed that I’ve had over 1100 on this one! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Author’s note: I know what you’re thinking! Where the heck has she been? Where’s the update? Well, I have the stock excuses---work, etc., and also that I must have written and rewritten this about three times before finally going this way. I hope you like it. The last chapter will be an epilogue. Please read and review! They keep me going! I am still in utter shock and disbelief at the response I’ve gotten on this one. I hate to see it coming to an end! I’m going to have to think long and hard about a new story…hmmm….the wheels are turning as we speak! Well, hold on for this chapter and then the epilogue (which I will try to post soon!)!

Chapter 27

Low

“Have you ever been low?
Have you ever had a friend that let you down so?
When the truth came out
Were you the last to know?
Were you left out in the cold?
What you did was low”

(Kelly Clarkson, “Low”)

“They sure have been gone a long time,” Lavender said to Parvati as she looked out the window of their bedroom window for the third time in 10 minutes.

“Maybe we should go check on her?” Parvati asked. “Hermione’s a smart witch and all, but I mean, that just goes right out the window where Harry is concerned.”

Lavender was about to agree with her best friend that they should go and search for Hermione, but were interrupted when the door suddenly opened and Hermione came barreling through the room. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair looked windblown.

She didn’t say anything to her friends. She went over to her bed and pulled open her trunk and began packing her things into it. Lavender and Parvati exchanged a look.

“Hermione?” Lavender asked cautiously. “What did that dog say to you? You told him what was what, didn’t you? I mean, you didn’t listen to any rubbish he had to say, did you?”

Hermione continued to pack her belongings into her trunk and didn’t turn around to acknowledge her friend’s question.

“You’re not leaving school, are you?” Parvati asked. “I mean, I know it’s bad now, but we only have a couple more months left. You won’t have to even look at Ginny Sodding Weasley’s face anymore in two months time. Surely, you could hang in just a little bit longer.”

When Hermione didn’t answer, Lavender indignantly went over to her bed and picked up her wand.

“Well, if I can’t get answers from you, I’ll go ask Harry Potter,” Lavender said. “I’ll hex him into next week.”

Hermione turned suddenly and quickly went over to Lavender.

”You don’t have to do that, Lavender,” Hermione said. “Harry didn’t do anything!”

Lavender stared at her friend, her mouth open in surprise.

“How can you say that? He hurt you in the worst possible way, Hermione! And he thinks he can just fly outside someone’s window like a white knight and dazzle you with slick words! He has another thing coming!”

Parvati took Lavender’s wand from her hand. “What are you going to do, Lavender? Paint his toenails? Give me that before you hurt someone with it!”

Lavender looked quite affronted at this remark.

”I’m trying to stick up for my friend, Parvati,” Lavender said, looking pointedly at Hermione.

Hermione shook her head, amused and touched at Lavender and Parvati. She had probably treated them a little unfairly in the past. They were a little flighty and they were way too interested in superficial things, but there was no denying that the two girls had been good friends to Hermione when she needed it the most.

“You don’t have to do that, Lavender,” Hermione said. “I’m okay. Harry’s okay. I’m not leaving school. Far from it. I’m moving back to my old quarters, actually. Tonight.”

“What?” Parvati and Lavender said in unison.

“I’m moving back to my old room,” Hermione said again with a smile.

“Hermione!” Lavender exclaimed. “I know how you believe in giving people second chances and all, but this is a little extreme, isn’t it? The witches’ magazines are always doing articles about this sort of thing. Once a cheater, always a cheater. If he’s done it once, he’ll do it again.”

Hermione shook her head. “But he hasn’t. He didn’t cheat.”

Parvati sank down on her bed. “It’s official. Hermione has lost her mind. Have you forgotten what’s happened? He slept with another girl---a girl you thought of like a little sister. He lied to you and broke your heart. Is any of this ringing a bell?”

Lavender put a hand on Hermione’s shoulder. Her eyes had gotten very big and she looked as if the secret of life had just dawned on her.

“Oh, Merlin! Harry cast a memory charm on you, didn’t he? He made you think that none of this happened!”

Hermione shook her head again at her two friends.

“Perhaps we should all sit down,” Hermione said, leading Lavender over to Parvati’s bed where they both sat down beside Parvati. Hermione took a deep breath and then explained everything Harry had told her a few minutes ago on the Quidditch pitch. They’d both listened intently.

There was a silence in the room after Hermione finished relating the whole story to them. It was Lavender who broke the silence.

She smiled smugly at Parvati. “I told you Harry would never do something like this! I knew it all along!”

Parvati snorted. “Oh for Merlin’s sake! Not twenty minutes ago, you were calling him a dog!”

Lavender looked down sheepishly at the floor. “Well, I didn’t specify the kind of dog, actually. I mean, I didn’t say he was an English bulldog or something like that. He’s more like a cute poodle or a schnauzer.”

Hermione laughed heartily at this. She gave her two friends a hug.

“You two are priceless,” she said, with a laugh. “I don’t know how I would have gotten through this if it wasn’t for you.”

Parvati and Lavender beamed back at Hermione.

“Well, you’re one of us,” Lavender said. “One messes with you, we miss with them right back.”

Parvati laughed. “All for one and one for all.”

“Let’s help Hermione pack, then,” Lavender said getting to her feet.

“That’d be greatly appreciated,” Hermione said. “Harry’s waiting for me upstairs.”

“Do you want to see Ginny?” Lavender asked Hermione a few moments later. “I mean to see what she has to say?

Hermione looked quite thoughtful for a moment. Then, she shook her head. “I don’t think I care about anything she has to say. What could she say? There’s nothing she can say that would either make me feel better or understand what happened? I just wash my hands of the whole thing.”

“That’s quite mature of you,” Parvati said. “If it was me, I’d want to go scratch her eyes out!”

Hermione nodded. A part of her wanted to do just that, but she knew it wouldn’t do anyone any good. There was still a little baby to consider. The health of that baby had to be paramount now. Hermione might confront Ginny after the baby was born, but for now, Hermione vowed to stay as far away from Ginny Weasley as possible. It would only be asking for trouble.

****

It was nearly midnight when Hermione finally made it back to the suite. She’d levitated her trunk behind her and breathed a sigh of relief when she set it down on the floor just inside the door. She didn’t much feel like unpacking it tonight. It could wait until tomorrow.

As she’d been longer than she’d expected, she wasn’t surprised to find Harry sound asleep on the sofa. He had a Quidditch magazine in his lap. She never in a million years would have dreamt that they would be right here, together again. As she stared down at his sleeping figure, she couldn’t help but smile. She was glad everything had worked out for them. She wasn’t fooling herself into thinking it would be exactly as it was before Ginny’s deception, but hopefully they would come out of this much stronger and with a better appreciation of each other and their relationship.

She took a few tentative steps toward the couch and leaning over it, gently shook Harry’s shoulder with her hand. His eyelids flickered and then opened sleepily.

“Sorry for falling asleep,” he said, sitting up on the couch. He motioned for her to come and sit beside him and she willingly sunk into his arms. “I’d about given up on you. I thought you might have changed your mind.”

She vehemently shook her head. “No, I got a little sidetracked from my roommates. They weren’t going to let me leave without full disclosure. Lavender and Parvati can be quite feisty when they want to be.”

Hermione rested her head on his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around her.

“Parvati and Lavender were discussing ways of castrating you when I made it back to the room,” Hermione said, jokingly.

“Ouch,” Harry said, with a visible wince. “Good friends you’ve got there, Hermione.”

Hermione smiled. “They sure are.”

They were silent for a few moments, just enjoying the peaceful, calm atmosphere of their home.

“I’m really sorry, Hermione,” Harry said finally. She lifted her head from his chest and looked him square in the eyes. She put a finger to his lips.

“Shhhhhhhh,” she whispered. “Let’s not talk about any of that now. It doesn’t matter now. Let’s just enjoy tonight.”

He nodded and smiled at her, placing a kiss on her forehead. She nestled into his chest and sighed.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Hermione asked.

“Mmmmm,” Harry said, closing his eyes. “This is pretty damn near perfect, actually.”

******

A couple of days later and Ginny was still recovering in the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey wanted to keep her at least a week for observation. At the end of the week, Ginny’s parents were going to take her back home to the Burrow.

She hadn’t really said much to anyone in the past couple of days. Her brothers were in and out to visit and offer their support, but she could see it in their faces. They were disappointed in her. She’d never seen them look at her like that, not even after the whole Tom Riddle fiasco in her first year at Hogwarts. Yet, she understood why they looked at her as they did. She deserved it. Worst of all, she didn’t know what she would possibly be able to do to make up for it.

She’d also be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed that Draco Malfoy hadn’t at least shown up to express some concern over her condition. She was carrying his baby after all. By now, the whole school must know the truth, she thought bitterly.

He could have least have the common decency to check on me and his baby!

She’d been here for nearly four days and there was no word from him. Though, to be perfectly honest, she could understand why he wouldn’t come. It would be like throwing yourself to the wolves, as it were. At all times, one of her brothers seemed to be hovering about, trying to be supportive and understanding, but Ginny couldn’t help wondering if they weren’t on some sort of guard duty. They alternated shifts to watch over the wayward youngest Weasley, to restore some of her honor.

If Draco attempted to visit her, she had no doubt her brothers would go ballistic. There had never been any love lost between them before and with this latest turn of events, there was no hope of any détente or truces.

Still, it did sting when she looked up expectantly when the doors opened and she saw someone come in. It was never him, though. The one person she wanted to see and he didn’t come. He didn’t send a card or a letter. He didn’t care. She knew it shouldn’t bother her. She had enough time to get used to it. But, it still hurt.

****

At that very moment, Draco Malfoy was standing outside the corridor leading to the hospital wing, contemplating the best way to get in to see Ginny. It would have been easier to break into a bank then to visit her. The hospital wing was populated with Weasleys every day it seemed.

He’d take a quick peek along the hall before classes and after meals to see if the coast was clear, but invariably it never was.

Ginny was right. I am a coward.

He should just go in there and face the whole lot like a man. He would apologize to them for what he’d done and ask them to please let him see Ginny. He would tell them that he wanted a chance to make things right.

They’d laugh in my face. And I can’t say as I’d blame them.

Giving up for the evening as he saw Fred and George Weasley walk into the hospital wing, he turned on his heels and made his way down the staircase toward Slytherin Tower. As he did so, he nearly bumped into Ron Weasley.

Ron stared at Malfoy coldly.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“It’s none of your business,” Malfoy replied equally.

“My sister is very well my business,” Ron spat back at him. “And if you value your so-called life, you’ll stay as far away from her as possible. You’ve done enough damage to her, haven’t you?”

Malfoy started to walk away, but he turned around and faced Ron.

“I know you find this hard to believe, Weasel,” Malfoy said, trying to keep in control. “But I happen to love your sister.”

Ron laughed.

“Love?” Ron asked him. “You wouldn’t know love if it came up and bit you on the arse! If you feel bad about what you’ve done, you can make it right. You can do that by staying as far away from her as you possibly can! She doesn’t need you! And if I hear that you’ve been anywhere near her, I’ll make you regret it so badly your grandchildren will be talking about it!”

Malfoy wanted to respond with a witty, trademark Malfoy reply, but he didn’t feel the need to do so. It would only make things worse, if that was even possible.

“I’m not scared of you, Weasel,” Malfoy said. “And you don’t have to worry. I will stay away from her. The funny thing is that I agree with you. I wish that she would have stayed away from me. Merlin knows I tried to stay away from her, but I couldn’t do it.”

Ron shook his head and rounded on Malfoy.

“I don’t want to hear you talk about my sister,” Ron said. “Just stay away from her and you and I won’t have any problems! Have you got that?”

Malfoy stared back at Ron wanting to do something---hit him or hex him. But, to even his surprise, he just nodded and with that walked away, leaving a stunned Ron in his wake.

********

While Hermione enjoyed being Head Girl for many reasons, there were certain aspects of the job that were not at the top of her list. One of them was doing nightly patrols when she had a massive assignment to work on. She and Harry were still working on their project for Snape and they’d made plans to make a lot of headway into it tonight.

Harry’ had picked up the necessary ingredients from Snape’s private stock and Hermione had checked out a couple of books from the library that would help them out even further with the project.

While they usually did rounds together, tonight they decided to split up so that the chore would go quicker and they’d be able to spend a lot of time on the project.

Hermione stifled a yawn as she made her way along the third floor of the castle. There was a bustle down the corridor and she quickened her step to check out the cause of the noise.

She found it at the staircase. A first-year Hufflepuff was cowering on the stairs. He’d obviously been knocked over or pushed and he was whimpering. Hermione’s heart went out to him immediately.

“Are you alright?” she asked him, leaning down so they’d be on eye level.

He nodded.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Some of the Slytherin boys came up from behind me and pushed me out of the way. I tripped and fell.”

Hermione smiled sympathetically at the boy.

“Did you recognize who pushed you?”

He shook his head no.

“Let’s help you up, then,” Hermione said, offering a hand to the grateful boy who tried to stand, but winced in pain as he did so.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Looks like you might have turned your ankle,” Hermione said, looking down at the boy’s leg. “Lucky for you the hospital wing is just over there. Let’s get you over there so Madame Pomfrey can check you out.”

The boy nodded and leaned on Hermione for support as they gingerly made their way toward the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey looked up expectantly as Hermione pushed open the double doors.

“What have we got here, Miss Granger?” Madame Pomfrey asked looking at the boy.

“I think he turned his ankle,” Hermione said. “He’s having trouble putting weight on it.”

“Ah,” Madame Pomfrey said. “Can you help me get him to one of the examining rooms?”

Hermione nodded and helped Madame Pomfrey lead the boy back to one of the examining rooms. As she did so, she didn’t notice Ginny, sit up in her bed at Hermione’s arrival. Ginny looked after Hermione as she disappeared into one of the rooms.

A few minutes later, Hermione emerged from the room, alone. She was walking toward the exit when her eyes met Ginny’s. Hermione froze in place as the two former friends looked at each other.

Ginny spoke first.

“Hello, Hermione,” she said, sitting up further in her bed and pulling the duvet cover protectively around her.

“Ginny,” Hermione replied coolly. She had forgotten about Ginny still being in the hospital wing.

“How are you?” Ginny asked, not really knowing what else to say.

Hermione looked at her in surprise. “How am I?” she repeated.

Ginny knew at once that this was the stupidest question she could have asked.

“I’m sorry,” Ginny said quickly.

Hermione was silent, her expression stony.

“Please say something, anything,” Ginny pleaded.

“What do you want me to say?” Hermione asked her, stepping closer toward her bed. “I didn’t expect to see you. This is just a little too soon for me, right now. I don’t think I can talk to you without losing my temper and that’s not a good idea right now with you trying to recover.”

Ginny nodded. “I appreciate your concern, Hermione. But, I do want to say something to you. If you’d just give me a couple of minutes, I’d appreciate it. I know you don’t owe me anything and I don’t have the right to ask, but I want to say this, please.”

Hermione looked doubtful, but she sat down on the edge of Ginny’s bed and looked solemnly at the girl.

“Thanks,” Ginny said softly. “I know you aren’t going to believe me, but I truly am sorry for what happened. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I do,” Hermione interrupted. “You weren’t thinking at all. You had to have known that this all would have eventually come out, Ginny. Harry’s not stupid. When your baby came out looking like a miniature Malfoy, he would have known the truth. And how could you have endangered the life of your baby by taking a potion without knowing the effects it could have on it?”

Ginny nodded and felt tears come to her eyes. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. If I was thinking, I was only thinking of myself.”

“It’s all well and good to be sorry for it now, but Ginny, did you even think about feeling sorry while you were doing this? I seem to remember a certain girl showing off her engagement ring to anyone who came around.”

Ginny looked embarrassed at this. She had done that. She’d mainly done it within sight of Malfoy to rub it in even further. Remembering this fact made her feel even worse.

“You played around with people’s feelings and emotions, Ginny!” Hermione said angrily. “How could you have done that? And you didn’t do this to total strangers, but to people you supposedly cared about and who cared about you!”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“No,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “I don’t think you do! I don’t even know who you are. This isn’t the same girl who used to stay up nights talking with me about all different kinds of stuff. This isn’t the same person who used to ask me advice and confide in me with secrets and jokes. I don’t know where that person went, but she isn’t you anymore. I don’t know if she ever really was.”

“I never meant to hurt—“ Ginny began, but Hermione got up from the bed and held up her hand.

“Don’t even start with that,” Hermione said coldly. “Don’t even tell me that you never meant to hurt anyone. You had to have some idea that by doing what you did that people would get hurt.”

“You’re right,” Ginny said.

“And you can’t make it better by saying all the apologies and spouting off what people want to hear,” Hermione continued. Tears were welling up in her own eyes as she spoke.

“I know I can’t take any of this back,” Ginny said. “I wish I could! You have no idea how much! I don’t know what to do to make up for this.”

“There’s nothing you can do,” Hermione said, her voice faltering a bit. She wanted to get as far away from Ginny as possible. “I don’t know if I could ever forgive you for what you’ve done, but if you want to make up for it in some way, you can accept responsibility for what you’ve done. You can be the kind of person that your daughter or son would be proud to call a mother. You can turn your life around. Do it for your child, Ginny. You owe them that. Not me, not Harry, not your family, but you do owe your child that.”

Ginny nodded.

Hermione looked at her once more before turning around and walking out of the room.

In the confines of the empty corridor, Hermione felt the tears fall down her cheeks.

In her hospital bed, warm and snug, Ginny, too, broke down in tears.

She heard the sound of footsteps approaching and she looked up, expecting to see Hermione’s face, but instead saw the familiar eyes of Draco Malfoy, staring at her, his eyes full of concern.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him.

He stepped closer and sat on the edge of her bed.

“I know I’m a little late,” he said. “But if you need me, I’m here.”

She hesitated a moment before letting him engulf her in a warm embrace.

Author’s note: Well, here’s the epilogue…please be sure to read the final author’s note at the end…it will give you a hint as to what my next story would be. Thank you guys for hanging in there with me through the good and bad parts of this story. I will let you know that Draco and Ginny are only mentioned very briefly in the epilogue.

Chapter 28 (EPILOGUE)

When I Fall In Love

“When I fall in love
It will be forever
Or I'll never fall in love

In a restless world
Like this is
Love is ended before it's begun
And too many
Moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun

When I give my heart
I give it completely
Or I'll never give my heart

And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
Is when I fall in love with you”

(Nat King Cole or Celine Dion, “When I Fall In Love”)

Graduation Day

Hermione was a jumble of nerves. She hadn’t slept much the night before. Ron had teased her about freaking out because she had to deliver a speech in front of her classmates and their families , but that wasn’t what had her on pins and needles. She had her speech down cold and could say without a doubt she could probably give it in her sleep.

No, what had her so on edge was what would come after the ceremony. Her parents were arriving this morning. Normally, this wouldn’t have been cause to worry. She was always happy to see them, even more so now in the wake of her father’s heart attack. Yet, today was a different story.

After putting it off for weeks, she was finally going to tell her parents that she was going away with Harry for a year. Sure, she’d talked a good game to him months ago when the idea came to her for them to take the trip. She’d told him her parents would understand. That was before Easter break.

It had started out innocently enough. She’d decided to go home for the Easter holidays and in hopes that her parents and Harry would get to know each other better, he’d come along. She could tell her father was a little uneasy with his only daughter being under the same roof with her boyfriend, but he’d relented with some coaxing from her mum. Hermione certainly hadn’t told him that she and Harry had been sharing a bed for months now. She had a feeling he wouldn’t have understood that they hadn’t done anything beyond sleeping. Well, that wasn’t exactly true…but at least her virginity was still very much intact, though just barely.

Long story short, she and Harry had actually been on quite good behavior. He stayed in the guest room and she stayed in her own bedroom. They’d done nothing other than hold hands and sit side by side in the presence of her parents. Until…that one day her parents left them alone in the house to go out for brunch with some friends.

Harry and Hermione had decided to spend the first part of the day watching movies. Well, a couple of days of hand holding and chaste kisses were not cutting it and they’d given in to a full snog session on the Granger couch. This would have been well and good if her Dad hadn’t returned because he’d forgotten his wallet.

He’d been none too pleased, to say the least. A red-faced and mortified Harry and Hermione sat there for nearly an hour as her father went over the responsibility of being a young adult. Luckily, her mother had stopped him before he went into a detailed discussion on the birds and the bees.

That being the case, she knew that they might not be too keen on her traipsing around the globe sharing hotel rooms with Harry. Time was running out though, she had to tell them today. She and Harry were scheduled to leave for Hawaii first thing tomorrow morning.

She’d spent the majority of the morning, locked up in the bathroom, trying out different ways to break the news to her parents.

“Mum, Dad,” she began, a stern expression on her face. “You’ve raised me to be a responsible adult. I hope that you trust in me and believe that I will do the right thing. Now, I’m sorry to break this to you, but Harry and I are going away on holiday for a year. See you soon!”

She shook her head.

“They’ll never buy that, dear,” the mirror said back to her.

“You’re of no help whatsoever,” Hermione snapped back.

“Just doing my job,” the mirror replied.

“Oh, bugger off!” Hermione exclaimed. With that, she walked out of the bathroom to find Harry and Ron sitting on the sofa playing a game of exploding snap. Or, at least that’s what she thought they were doing. They’d been talking in hushed tones and when Ron saw Hermione come into the room, he looked pointedly in her direction and the conversation stopped and the room became quiet.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Ron said. “Nothing whatsoever.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said, not believing him for a second. “You two haven’t got any last minute pranks on tap for the graduation, do you? Because, if you do, I only ask that you wait until after I make my speech.”

“That’s insulting!” Ron retorted. “Why would you think that I would be planning any sort of prank?”

“Maybe because I’ve known you since we were 11,” Hermione answered. “And you should really think twice about doing any pranks, Harry. You are Head Boy after all.”

“Harry, do you really want to spend the rest of your life---,” Ron began, but Harry kicked him hard on the leg.

“What did you do that for?” Ron asked, rubbing his leg.

Hermione looked at the two of them with a bemused expression.

Hermione bent down to pick up her shoes from the floor and Harry used this diversion to mouth the words, “Keep quiet” to Ron, who nodded in understanding, but still glared at him as he rubbed his injured leg.

“You two are soooo strange,” Hermione said, shaking her head at them.

“And you love us for it,” Harry said, smiling at her.

“Well, I love you for it, anyway,” Hermione said. “Ron…is another story.”

“Thanks,” Ron replied sarcastically. “You should be nice to me. You’re not the one with Draco Malfoy for a brother-in-law now are you?”

“He and Ginny haven’t married yet, have they?” Hermione asked. Ginny was still a sore subject among the trio. She’d left Hogwarts nearly three months ago. The baby was due any day now and from what Ron had shared with them, she was doing okay back at home. As she was so far along in her pregnancy, she wouldn’t be attending the graduation ceremony.

“No,” Ron said. “But mum’s busy planning away. She wanted to get his mum to help out, too, but Mrs. Malfoy has so far sent back the entire owl post unopened. I can’t believe I’ll have to be civil to that git for the rest of my natural born life.”

“Well,” Hermione said. “I’m glad that he took responsibility for what he did. Ginny and the baby are really going to need him.”

Ron nodded.

“Who knows?” Harry asked, trying to lighten the conversation up some. “Someday, many, many years from now you and old Malfoy will probably be sitting on the porch surrounded by grandkids talking about dentures and erectile dysfunction.”

Ron smirked. “Yeah, and you’ll be right there beside us, too, Grandpa Potter.”

“As stimulating as this conversation is,” Hermione said, looking at her watch. “We’re supposed to meet with McGonagall, Harry. There were some last minute things about the ceremony she wanted to go over with us.”

Harry got to his feet. “I’ll be right behind you. I just wanted to talk to Ron for a second.”

Hermione looked between her best friend and her boyfriend and an amused expression came over her face. They were up to something.

“Okay,” she said, slowly. “I’ll meet you in her office, then. Don’t be late.”

He grinned at her and then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She took one last look at them before walking out of the suite, shaking her head as she went.

“Nice job, Ace,” Harry said, looking at Ron.

“She didn’t know what I was talking about,” Ron said indignantly. “She has no idea what you’re planning to do tonight. I still can’t believe you’re actually going through with it!”

“Why not?” Harry asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling the small ring box out.

“It just seems a little strange,” Ron said honestly. “I mean, we’re only just graduating. It seems a bit sudden. Don’t you want to wait awhile? See what’s out there? Don’t get me wrong! I love Luna, but proposing to her now is as foreign to me as Snape smiling.”

Harry shook his head. “I’ve known her since we were kids, Ron. I know how I feel about her. I know how she feels about me. We don’t need time. I’d still feel the same way if we waited 10 years to do it. If Sirius’ death taught me anything, it taught me never to take anything for granted. You don’t know how much time you have left. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I don’t care if it’s 10 minutes or 100 years. She’s it, Ron. I don’t need to look anywhere else. She’s what I’ve wanted my entire life.”

Ron stared back at his friend, his mouth agape.

“What?” Harry asked, concerned.

“No,” Ron said, in awe. “When you say it like that, I’d marry you.”

***********

The graduation ceremony was bittersweet. While everyone was happy that their hard work had paid off and they’d graduated from Hogwarts, they were all sad that they would be leaving the hallowed halls of the castle behind.

The ceremony went off without a hitch; save for the time when Snape stood up to speak and he sounded as if he’d inhaled Helium before taking the podium. No one save for the seventh-year Gryffindor boys knew that it hadn’t been Harry or Ron’s doing, but Neville Longbottom’s.

Most of the Gryffindors were to attend a party at the Burrow. Ginny had cleared out earlier that day to stay with an aunt. Malfoy, as he was now Ginny’s fiancé, had been extended an invitation, but he’d politely declined. He’d decided to spend the evening with Ginny and promptly departed for Hogsmeade shortly after the ceremony ended.

By the time the party was in full swing, the Burrow was packed wall to wall with people---parents, students and friends, all enjoying pastries and pies and various dishes that Mrs. Weasley had worked so hard to prepare.

Hermione was standing with her parents and was looking around the room for some sign of Harry, but he was no where to be found. She didn’t know if his presence at this moment would be a help or a hindrance. She was on the verge of telling her parents about the trip.

“So,” her dad was saying. “We’ll have to go into London sometime soon so we can get you all set up for University.”

Hermione nodded politely.

“I can’t believe my baby daughter’s a graduate,” Karen Granger said, smiling at her daughter and giving her a big hug. “It seems like just yesterday she got her letter from Hogwarts.”

“Mum,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly at her. “This is the fifth time you’ve burst into tears.”

“You’ll understand when you’re a mother,” Karen said, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “You’ll be getting all emotional and sentimental, too.”

“You look a little preoccupied, sweetie,” her father was saying to her. “You okay?”

Hermione nodded. “Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for awhile now. I was thinking of, um, possibly putting off my studies for a year. Most students do it, you know. I remember mum telling me how she spent her gap year traveling in Spain.”

“You want to travel to Spain?” her mother asked, excitedly. “You’ve never mentioned that! You’ve never mentioned wanting to take a year off. We always assumed—“

“That I’d just go on to University,” Hermione finished, “I know, so did I. But, I think taking a year off would be the best thing for me.”

She looked up at them and saw their vacant expressions and wished she knew someway that she could read minds.

To her relief, her father broke into a smile. “I think it’s a brilliant idea!”

“You do?” Hermione asked, surprised.

“Of course,” her dad said. “Of all people, I should know the benefits of taking it easy every once in awhile. I think you do deserve a little time to take it easy. You’ve worked so hard these past few years.”

Hermione beamed at her father and threw her arms around him. He laughed.

“So, where is it you want to go?” her mother asked.

“Everywhere,” Hermione answered with a smile.

“Well, that narrows it down,” her father said, with a chuckle. “We could check in with some of the travel agents near our office. See if they could sort out a nice travel package for you.”

Hermione’s smile faded a little.

“You don’t have to do that, Dad,” she said, looking down at the ground. “I actually have something planned already.”

Karen smiled knowingly at her daughter. “Of course you do! You’ve probably been planning for months!”

Hermione smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, sort of.”

“Well, who’s going to be going along with you?” Robert asked. “One of your friends?”

“Yes,” Hermione said. This was the truth. Harry was her friend. He was her best friend.

“Which one?” Karen asked.

“Which one?” Hermione repeated. She cursed herself for not planning this conversation better.

Her parents looked at her expectantly and Hermione felt the overwhelming urge to run a mile away from her parents.

She didn’t see her parents exchange a knowing look as concerned expressions washed over their faces.

She bit her bottom lip and was about to tell the whole truth when Harry appeared at her side.

“Harry!” she exclaimed in relief. “Where have you been?”

“Outside,” he said evasively. “I need to speak with you for a moment.”

He looked at her parents who were not looking too happy at the moment.

“It’s really good to see you again, Dr. Granger,” he said, extending his hand to Hermione’s dad. “And you too, Dr. Granger.”

Karen smiled warmly at him. “Congratulations on your graduation, Harry. Hermione’s just been telling us about going on holiday for her gap year. Has she told you anything about this?”

Harry suddenly felt as if he was in the middle of that dream where you were taking a test you hadn’t studied for.

“Um,” he stammered.

Hermione took Harry’s arm and said, “We’ll talk about it later. Dad, didn’t you want to talk to Mr. Weasley about something? We’ll be right back.”

She pulled Harry toward the backdoor and left her parents, flummoxed, staring after their daughter.

*****

They’d been outside for nearly 20 minutes and Harry hadn’t said anything. They’d sat at the picnic table in the backyard. Hermione had told him all about her disastrous conversation with her parents, but he’d only contributed a “uh-huh” and a “yeah” when prompted. His mind was no doubt elsewhere. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he was quite nervous about something. Every few seconds, he looked over at her as if he was about to say something, but he would stop short before saying what he so obviously wanted to say.

“Harry?” she asked him, as he paced in front of her for what seemed like the thousandth time.

“Hmmm?” he asked, distractedly.

“What are you on about?” she asked him, concerned.

He stood still and looked at her.

She put a hand to her mouth. “Oh! It’s something bad, isn’t it? What is it? Haven’t we had enough bad news for a lifetime! Please tell me it’s not anything bad!”

He stepped toward her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It’s not bad,” he said reassuringly. “At least, I don’t think it is. I’m kind of hoping that you won’t either.”

She looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “Okay. What is it?”

“I’ve thought about this for a long time,” he said, running a hand nervously through his hair. “I’ve even practiced what I’d say to you in front of the mirror. Crazy, I know!”

She smiled. She knew all too well about practicing speeches in front of a mirror.

“I just wanted everything to be perfect and I wanted to say all the right things,” he said. “And then I figured what my problem was. You can think about something all you want to, but you aren’t really going to know what you’d do or say until that moment comes and you have to do it.”

He took her hands in his and she smiled warmly at him, willing him to go on.

“Just say it,” she said, stroking his hand with her thumb. “You can tell me anything, you know that, right?”

He nodded. With a deep breath and a smile, he looked into her eyes and he knew what he wanted to say. And he knew that this was the right time to say it.

“We’ve been through so much together,” he began. “You’ve been by my side through everything---good and bad. You’ve been the one constant in my life. When I’ve felt lost or like the whole world was falling apart, I could look to you for comfort and you’d always be there. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I’m grateful to whatever brought us together.”

Tears shone in her eyes as he spoke.

“And I know we’re young and I know people will tell us we’re crazy,” he said, with a slight laugh. “But, if you’ll have me, Hermione Jane Granger…” his voice trailed off and he let go of her hands. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Hermione felt her hands shaking as he got down on one knee. He opened up the box and she saw the most stunning sterling silver diamond engagement ring.

“If you’ll have me,” he repeated, looking up at her. “I want to marry you. Will you marry me?”

She didn’t know what to say. She was stunned, shocked, amazed, and touched all at the same time.

“What do you say?” he prompted, smiling up at her hopefully. “Yes, no, get lost? What will it be?”

She gave a laugh as she smiled back at him, through her tears.

“You want to marry me?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“No,” he said. “Professor McGonagall! Of course, you!”

She chuckled.

“Well?” he asked her.

“This is a bit sudden, Harry,” she said thoughtfully. “We’re only 17.”

”I’ll be 18 in July and so will you in September,” he said.

She grinned.

He got to his feet and dusted the dirt from his trousers.

“You don’t have to answer now,” he said, a touch of disappointment evident in his voice. “Take all the time you need to decide. I don’t want to pressure you. This is a big step.”

She nodded.

“We’d better, um, get back inside,” he said calmly. This wasn’t how he’d expected it to go. Maybe Ron was right, he should have waited.

Hermione was shaking her head at him.

“What?” he asked her, confused.

“Harry!” she said, getting off the picnic table and walking over to him.

”I don’t need time to think about it,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t?”

She shook her head.

“I’ll marry you,” she said, her eyes twinkling at him.

“You will?”

Again, she nodded. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

This time, he shook his head vehemently. “Not a chance.”

He wrapped her up in his arms and twirled her around, and she laughed with delight.

When he finally put her down, she wrapped her arms around him and they kissed, sort of putting a seal on the deal. When he broke the kiss, he pulled the ring from the box and put it on Hermione’s trembling finger.

“That’s just as it should be,” Harry said, giving her a kiss.

“It’s perfect,” Hermione agreed. “Absolutely perfect.”

***

Harry and Hermione slowly walked back into the Burrow. To their great relief, the party was dwindling down somewhat. A number of their fellow students were taking the party to Hogsmeade to celebrate sans parents.

Hermione scanned the room for her parents and spotted them near the kitchen, listening politely as Arthur Weasley talked animatedly to them about something, probably some Muggle artifact.

“We could always elope,” Harry suggested, half-joking.

“Too late for that now,” she said, giving him a slight smile. “Let’s go ahead and get it over with.”

“You know, I’ve gone up against some pretty scary things---dark wizards, Dementors, the Dursleys. They have nothing on your dad.”

Hermione laughed. They started in her parents’ direction when Parvati and Lavender stopped them.

“We’re going to head on out to Hogsmeade,” Lavender said, giving Harry, then Hermione a hug. “You are coming aren’t you?”

Harry was about to open his mouth to reply when Parvati squealed and grabbed Hermione’s hand.

“IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?” She exclaimed. “ARE YOU AND HARRY GETTING MARRIED?”

With those words, a hush fell over the dwindling crowd. Hermione looked helplessly at Harry.

****

Hermione and Harry sat at the kitchen table in the Burrow listening to Karen and Robert Granger as they spoke. As expected, they were none too pleased with this turn of events. The arguments against marriage included the phrases “much too young for marriage” and “wait a couple of years and then do something like this”. They’d both listened politely as the Grangers’ came at them with every possible point they could come up with against marriage at such a young age.

“Have you even thought about this?” Karen asked her daughter. “You’re just starting your life, Hermione. There’s time for this later. You have so many wonderful things to experience.”

Hermione shook her head. She got to her feet.

“Mum,” she said quietly, choosing her words carefully. “Harry and I have listened to what you and Dad have had to say. And I understand everything you’ve said. And I have thought about it, of course. And I know I have a lot of wonderful experiences and opportunities ahead of me, and I’m still going to have them. They’ll be even more special because I’ll share them with Harry.”

Karen sighed.

“I love him,” Hermione said, pleadingly. “I love him and he loves me. That’s not going to change.”

“You don’t know that,” Robert said firmly. “You’re just a child.”

“No,” Hermione said. “I’m not. I’m not a child anymore. I’ve never gone against anything you and Mum said. But, I am not going along with you on this. You taught me to listen to my heart and my mind and to make rational decisions. And I have. My heart and my mind are telling me that this is the right thing to do.”

Harry took a deep breath. “I love your daughter. I will do everything I can to provide a safe home for her. I’ll never let anything happen to her.”

Robert Granger gave out a hollow laugh.

“You can’t promise that,” Robert said. “You of all people can’t promise that.”

Harry nodded. “Don’t think that I haven’t thought that, too, Sir. It may have been the easy way out to just push her away and not to have fallen in love with her. But, it’s happened and there’s nothing I can do about it. Maybe it’s selfish and it probably is, but I don’t want to be away from her. And you’re right, I can’t promise that nothing will ever happen to her, but I can promise you that I will do everything I can to prevent it.”

“Hermione,” Karen said. “I just wish you’d think about this.”

“I have,” Hermione said calmly. “I have thought about it. And I’m not going to change my mind. You don’t have to like my decision, but I hope you will trust me. If it’s a mistake, it’s our mistake to make. Not yours. Please. I’m asking you to trust me and to trust Harry.”

Karen and Robert looked at each other and gave out a defeated, collective sigh.

Hermione pressed forward.

“And that’s not all,” she said, looking at her parents. “It’s about my gap year…”

******

It was near midnight when Harry and Hermione finally made it back to Hogsmeade. They were standing just outside the Three Broomsticks, watching through the window at their classmates.

“I can’t believe we made it out of there in one peace,” Harry said, with a laugh.

“They’ll come around,” Hermione said. “Eventually.”

Harry wrapped his arm around Hermione and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I can’t believe you said yes,” he said softly.

“As if there was any doubt,” she said, smiling into his chest.

“Are you sure you want to marry me? Crazy parents like mine? I can be a bit of a nag. Ron’s right, you know. Why would you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”

He pulled her to him and looked down at her, his green eyes twinkling.

“So I can kiss you anytime I want,” he said, and proceeded to do just that.

THE END

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Look for the sequel---yes, that’s right, sequel to this one. It will be posted soon. I will leave you with a hint. Have you seen the movie “Sweet Home Alabama”? It will be based loosely on that, but will continue in within the “Circle of Friends” storyline. And no, it won’t be taking place in Alabama! I haven’t settled on a title for it yet, but hopefully I’ll think of a good one! Thanks again to you guys for reviewing and reading!!!! I am amazed and honored at the response I got on this story!!!