CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SWEET SIXTEEN
Harry woke with a start. What was that noise? He thought as he pulled his wand from under his pillow. He looked around his bed and found nothing out of the ordinary and decided to peek out of the curtains. He heard a shuffle by the door and looked.
"Ron!" He whispered in surprise. "Are you moving back in?"
Ron was startled at being caught. "No." He said flatly. "I forgot something and I thought I'd come and get it while everyone was asleep." He went back to digging between the mattresses of his old bed.
"Ron ... We ... We have to talk, mate." Harry started tentatively. Is it the right time? Has he had enough time to cool down? His thoughts were racing.
"Don't mate me, Harry." Ron returned with a scowl. "I trusted you. I thought you were my friend and you go and take Hermione from me." Neither had noticed that the snores had stopped. "You've got some nerve! I was right about you during the tri-wizard tournament. Yeah, I know you didn't put your name in the goblet, but I knew you loved the attention. I knew you wouldn't be happy until you were able to show me up at everything I do!" Ron was seething.
"Ron, listen, can we go to the common room? Please?" Harry was starting to regret having brought anything up. I should have realized that it was too early.
"Harry, this is as good a place as any. I have what I came for," he held up a square, wrapped package, "but I'll give you one minute. I am not going to promise that I'll listen."
"What I have to tell you I need to tell you in private, Ron. Can we please continue this downstairs?" Harry pleaded with some hope that his friend would allow him at least some small chance to talk to him.
"Fine!" Ron snapped and turned from the room. Harry quickly followed.
They sat in opposite chairs in front of the fire and Harry raced to collect his thoughts.
"Your time is slipping away." Ron said slowly.
"Alright, where do I start?" Harry looked frantic. "Ok, I know you're not going to believe what I'm going to say, but here it goes. I didn't plan to take Hermione from you, that was the farthest thing from my mind." He admitted immediately. "I do love her, Ron, I really do. I didn't expect to have fallen for her. I just brushed those feelings aside as friendship and the kind of love you have for a sister."
Ron rolled his eyes and shifted.
"But I'm not here to make excuses. I just wanted to finish telling you what I had started when you left the other night."
Ron snapped his face to Harry. "I know perfectly well what you were going to say, Harry!"
"You jumped to conclusions, Ron!" Harry retorted quickly. "I couldn't choose between the two of you. I still can't!" Harry was out of his seat pacing like a madman. "Bloody Hell, Ron, with what we've gone through, how on Earth do you expect me to choose between the two people I love most?!" He turned on Ron so fast his friend flinched.
"Harry, the point of the matter is you took Hermione from me when you knew that I liked her. You both snuck around behind my back while I was in the hospital and even after I was released!" Ron was now on his feet with his voice echoing through the tower.
"We put that all on hold for you, Ron! We realized the implications and stopped ourselves because we didn't want to hurt you! I didn't ask to fall in love with Hermione! I didn't even see it until after the fight with Mosag!" Harry was fuming at this point. "Now that I realize what I've been feeling all these years, there's no changing it. I love her, Ron! Everything about her! I'd give my life for her!" Ron was about to say something back but Harry cut him off. "No! Let me finish! I don't want the same mistakes happening again! I may love her, but I love you too. You are my best friend and for all intents and purposes, you are my brother. I'd give my life for you in a heartbeat as well!
"You know bloody well that I hate all the attention, all this fame that I have because I was lucky enough to not be killed by Voldemort." Ron flinched but said nothing. "I've never had anything in my life that I cherish more than your friendship and Hermione's. Nothing in the world could change that! I could care less about winning the tri-wizard tournament, about the fame, about any of it! I don't want that and you know it!
"Did you know I was jealous when you were made prefect? Did you know that?! I was surprised that they gave it to you and not me! How many times have I had to face danger? How many times have I saved people? I was lucky that I survived any of it! You know what got me through it? DO YOU?!" Harry stood a scant few inches from Ron's face.
"No." Ron said simply.
"YOU, Ron! You and Hermione." Harry took a deep breath and sat down. "Hermione was right, I have a saving people complex." He said softly. "She knows me better than I know myself. Remember first year when she quoted all that stuff about me and my parents?" He smiled at the recollection. "It's been that way ever since." He wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Anyway, the point of it all is this. I was going to choose neither of you. The friendship between the three of us is important to me. If I know Hermione, it's important to her too."
"It is." Came Hermione's trembling voice from the stairwell.
Ron and Harry looked up to see the tears flowing down her face. Harry started to go to her but stopped himself and sat back down. "There's ... There's something else that I haven't told you and you need to hear it. It's about the prophecy." Ron didn't move so Harry continued. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."
Ron was staring at his dark-haired friend. "What?"
"Professor Trelawney has made two predictions that have both been accurate so far. The second was the rebirth of Voldemort. The first ..." Harry brushed his hair back. "The first was about me. It means that if I am to live then I must murder Voldemort. If I fail, then he will murder me."
Hermione was next to him at that point with her hand on his shoulder. Ron was staring in disbelief at Harry's scar.
"I'm sorry about that, Harry." Ron said quietly. "But I'm still angry that you and Hermione ran around behind my back."
"I know you are, Ron. I know and I don't blame you in the least." Harry looked at the floor. "Unfortunately, I'm not blind to my feelings for her anymore and I can't make them go away. Not now. I'll do whatever you want, Ron, but I can't stop loving her. I'll do anything else to repair this mess I've made."
Hermione sat next to him. "We've made, Harry. It's my fault as much as it is yours. Don't lay all this on your own shoulders." She looked at Ron. "I'm sorry that I did that to you, Ron. I should have told you how I felt ..." She joined Harry and looked at the floor.
"Here." Ron said quietly, holding out the package he had retrieved from upstairs. "It's after midnight. Happy Birthday, Hermione."
She looked at him for a moment and took the package with trembling hands. Pulling at the knot, the twine unraveled and she pulled the paper wrapping free. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she looked at the present and quickly pulled Ron into a hug.
Blushing, Ron hugged her back then gently pushed her back into her chair.
"I love it, Ron!" She said between sobs. She held it out to Harry so he could see the picture of the three of them in a field next to the Burrow. Ron and Harry were bruised and covered in dirt. Both were laughing and waving as they clutched their brooms. Hermione was between the two waving at the camera and would playfully hit one of the others at some unheard joke directed at her.
Harry smiled at the memory and looked up at his best friend.
"Mum gave that to me when I was laid up at St. Mungo's ..." Ron said quietly. "It really helped me to know that you two would always be there for me. It felt like I lost all that when I found out about what you had been doing." Tears started to trace lines down his cheeks. "It hurt a lot. It still hurts. I don't know how long it will take for that hurt to stop and I just want some space right now. Just give me some time, Ok?" As he finished he got up and left the room. Harry and Hermione just sat in silence as they looked at the picture Hermione had just received.
"You were right, he just needed some time." Harry whispered to her after a while.
"I'm always right, you know that." She said with a pained smile.
Harry laughed and caught her in a big hug and didn't want to let her go. "It's a start and Happy Birthday by the way."
Hermione hugged him as hard as she could. "I love you, Harry."
"I love you too."
He heard a whimper by the girl's door and looked to see Ginny wiping her eyes. She looked up and gave him a quiet smile before she retreated to her room.
"Everything is going to be ok. I can feel it." He whispered softly in Hermione's ear. "Everything will be fine."
They broke apart after a few minutes and he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Why don't we get some rest? We have a big day ahead of us." He wiped his eyes and sniffed as he got to his feet.
"We do?" She asked as she joined him, still rubbing her eyes.
"It's Thursday. Our roughest day of the week for classes is today." He said with a non-plussed look. "I don't think either of us wants to fall asleep and miss out on note taking, now do we?" He finished with a smile.
Hermione laughed and caught a sob at the end. "I guess you're right." She put her arms around his waist and pulled into him as he wrapped his arms around her. In a few moments, she had stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips against his. They kissed for a few moments then broke apart. "Goodnight, Harry." She said breathlessly.
"Goodnight." He replied.
They parted and went back to their own beds.
Neville, Dean, and Seamus were sitting up when Harry finally arrived.
"It's about bloody, sodding time!" Neville burst out when Harry entered the dorm room.
Harry laughed. "Took us long enough, didn't it? Yeah, well, you know."
"Listen, Harry," Dean put in, "about that prophecy ..."
"I had a feeling that you guys were listening." Harry interrupted with a laugh. "I know. And thanks, guys."
With that the three friends understood that Harry got the picture and they got back under their blankets without pushing the matter.
Harry lay on his back and slipped into an occlumency induced state of mind. He fell back asleep almost immediately with a content smile on his face.
Harry met Hermione in their normal seats at the end of Gryffindor table the next morning both of them feeling quite a bit better than they had in a long time.
"Morning." He said with a smile as he sat down next to his girlfriend and started filling his plate with eggs and bacon. "Were you able to get some sleep?"
"Some." She replied with a slight yawn. "I'm hoping that things will work their way back to normal." She looked down the table to where Ron was sitting. "At least Ron's not avoiding us anymore."
Harry smiled lightly. "That's a good thing. He'll come around." Harry glanced at his red-headed friend then back to his plate and busied himself with breakfast.
"I made the team! I made the team!" Harry looked up to see Natalie jumping up and down before throwing her arms around Ron and thanking him profusely.
"You were good, Natalie." He said sheepishly as his face started to turn pink. "Welcome to the team."
She laughed and joined Geoffrey Hooper in celebration toasts (with orange juice) at the table.
"It looks like Ron picked a couple of good players for the team." Harry observed with a smile.
He stood up and crossed to the two newest members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and clapped them both on the shoulder. "Welcome to the team! I told you that you were good." He beamed at his two ecstatic teammates.
"Thanks, Harry!" Natalie said with a blush. She busied herself with her orange juice and looked nervously at the table.
"Yeah, thanks! When is practice?" Andrew asked excitedly.
"I'm still working on the schedule. We probably won't start until last week of September or the first week of October." Ron put in with a smile. Andrew looked a little disappointed but smiled after a few moments.
Hermione walked over with Harry's bag. "Hey, we're going to be late for History of Magic if we don't get moving." She said with a laugh.
Harry took his bag and waved a quick goodbye before taking Hermione's hand and leaving the great hall. Ron joined them but he kept his distance, following a little ways behind them.
History of Magic went by as it always did. Professor Binns droned on in his usual manner.
"That's when the new goblin leader, Gripclaw, took the initiative and started the rebellions of 1902." He droned on and on. Most of the class was in a complete stupor by this time and it was difficult even for Hermione to continue her note taking.
Before anyone realized it, the bell rang for lunch and everyone filed out of the room in a rush to get somewhere where they weren't drooling on desks.
Hermione had Runes after lunch but luckily for Harry he was free the rest of the day. He kissed her quickly before she left for her afternoon classes and he made his way to Professor McGonagall's office.
"I never thought you'd get here on time, Mr. Potter." The deputy headmistress huffed as he entered the room. "Now hurry up and get a move on. You have one hour. I've made sure that Nymphadora is aware of this time limit." She ushered him to the fireplace. "The address is number 156 Diagon Alley."
Harry nodded as he repeated the address. "Thanks again, Professor. I'll be back on time. Oh, and Tonks hates that name, you know?"
Minerva smiled evilly. "I know." She said with a chuckle.
"Number 156 Diagon Alley!" Harry said clearly as he let the floo powder fly. He shot through the floo network spinning and tumbling as always. Ugh. I really have to learn how to apparate! He thought. Just as he felt he couldn't take it anymore he slid into the shop at the other end of the connection and tripped up a dark skinned woman.
"Ouch! What bloody hell?!" Angelina Johnson said as she picked herself up off the ground.
"There you are, Harry!" Tonks said excitedly. "Ready for our hour of shopping?"
Harry brushed himself off and apologized profusely to Angelina. "Sorry about that." He said as he helped her clean up.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" Came Fred's voice from behind the counter. "Do you know how many rules you're breaking right now?" He said, his chest puffing with pride.
Harry laughed. "I'm fully aware of that, Fred. But I got wise and asked permission this time. Professor McGonagall let me take this trip. I've only got an hour though."
"What are you up to?" Angelina asked.
"Well, I'm looking for a present for Hermione. It's her sweet sixteen today." Harry replied with a blush.
"So the rumors are true then!" George beamed as he entered from the back room. "That'll be 10 galleons, Fred!"
"Rats! And here I thought they would have been together later than this!" Fred handed over the coins with a fuss. "How'd Ron take it all?"
"Not well at all." Harry replied. "I sort of forced the issue last night and we're on the road to recovery, but he's going to need more time."
Fred and George both shook their heads. "We tried to tell him at the beginning of summer that it was a bad idea. We didn't tell him why, though."
"Was it so obvious? About Hermione and me that is?" Harry asked bemused.
"Of course it was!" Angelina and Tonks burst out at the same time then everyone laughed.
"We don't have much time to chat, Harry." Tonks reminded him. "We need to get you shopping then get you back."
Harry nodded and waved to his friends. "Sorry I can't stay, timetable is a mess, you know." He and Tonks left the store shortly thereafter and started down the street.
"So, where to first, Harry?" Tonks was asking as Harry was looking around thoughtfully.
"Well, there are a few things that I know Hermione likes. Almost all of them are book related." He chuckled. "I want to get her something other than just a book." He thought hard.
"How about some earrings or some type of jewelry?" Tonks suggested. "Women love that kind of stuff."
Harry shook his head. "It can't be something mundane if it were to be jewelry." He looked up suddenly. "I think I know where to go." He smiled briefly at his friend and started down the street. "There's a store I went in a couple of times back in third year." He explained as he walked down the cobblestone laden alley. He stopped in front of an antique store.
"Past and Present Antique Emporium?" Tonks was reading the sign. "What are you thinking about getting her?"
"Well, it might sound kind of sappy." He said as he held the door open for her. "There is a special cameo/watch/locket that I saw here and I am hoping is still there."
They entered the small, dark store to a u-shaped, glass display counter. There were several sorts of odds and ends on shelves and on display. There was an average looking fellow with auburn hair and a neatly trimmed, red beard sitting behind the counter. He looked up from polishing the display cases.
"Ah, welcome to Past and Present!" He said happily. "I see you've come back, Mr. Potter, anything I can do for you?"
"I was wondering if you had the forget-me-not cameo I looked at a couple years ago. I know that it's wishful thinking, but I had to try." Harry replied as he glanced around the store.
"Ah, yes." The shopkeeper nodded. "I remember that one well. I was surprised that you didn't buy it for your brown-haired friend that you had met across the street."
Harry blushed. "Who on Earth didn't know?"
Tonks let out a laugh. "It seems that you were the only one, Harry." She clapped him on the shoulder.
"Well, I was hoping you'd have it. I am finally going to get it for her." Harry replied after clearing his throat.
"I thought you might." The man nodded. "I had it put aside for the time you would come back for it." He rummaged around under the counter and pulled out a blue-velvet box. He set the box down on the counter and opened the lid.
Tonks gasped. "Harry, that's beautiful! She's going to die!"
Harry blushed again. "Um ... Does it come with instructions?" He asked.
"Yes it does." The store owner pulled out a small velvet book about the size of a compact disc case. "Everything's in here. All you have to do is provide two or more pictures and follow the incantation on page three." He instructed.
Harry nodded as he picked up the box. "How much extra to engrave it?" He looked at the salesman.
"A standard engraving charm runs three sickles and twenty-one knuts." He replied with a smile. "The package will have the appropriate charm instructions."
Harry looked down at the forget-me-not cameo then back to the salesman. "Ok, I'll take it and I'll take the engraving charm package as well." He handed over the eighteen gold galleons for the cameo and the sickles and knuts for the engraving.
"Can I wrap that for you?" The clerk asked as he put the coins in his money pouch. "Free of charge, of course."
Harry smiled. "That'd be great! But I need to enchant it first." He pulled out a picture of Hermione and another of himself. Both had been taken that first year on the Hogwarts Express. He followed the instructions and set the forget-me-not cameo with the charm. He thought a few moments and his eyes lit up as he determined exactly what he wanted the engraving to say. Following the instructions, he wrote a few lines down on a piece of parchment and then repeated the engraving charm. Looking the cameo over, he smiled his satisfaction and put it back in its box.
"I'll have it ready for you in ten minutes." The clerk said happily as he accepted the box back.
"That'll give me enough time to get Hermione's feint." Harry said with a sly grin.
"What's that?" Tonks asked in surprise. She was already touched by what the inscription said and that Harry had gotten the forget-me-not cameo in the first place.
"She loves books." Harry said simply. "I saw a book that had a self-transfiguration charm on it that turned it into a book holder in addition to what it's about, The History of Transfiguration." He finished with a smile. "You think we can get to Flourish & Blotts, back here, then back in time?"
Tonks looked at her watch. "It'll cut it close, but we should be able to do it." She said with a smile. "Now what's this about 'Hermione's Feint'?" She asked as they hurried to the bookstore.
"Well. The book is also a container. I'm going to put the cameo in the book so that she'll think she only got the book." He said as his smile turned to that of mischief. "She'll be able to change the password so that only she will know how to get into the compartment. Good for hiding things like diaries." He said quickly.
They got the book and Harry set the password to 'Happy Birthday, Hermione', then they rushed back to the antique store where a beautifully wrapped package awaited them. He quickly said the password and placed the parcel in the secret compartment and closed the book.
"Time to head back." Tonks reminded him and they both made their way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes where Harry waved goodbye and grabbed his connection back to the Professor's Office.
"Well, it's good you kept your promise, Harry." McGonagall said with a smile as he slid to the floor at her feet. "SCOURGIFY!" She said with a wand pointed at Harry and he felt like thousands of little scrub brushes ran over his body. He looked himself over and there wasn't a speck of dirt on him anywhere. "Did everything go well?" She asked.
Harry held up the book he had just purchased. "Everything is going according to plan." He said with a gleam in his eye. "Perfect gift is safe in hand."
"Here's the package that Mrs. Granger sent." Minerva said as she got a long box out from under her desk. "You've gone to some great lengths here, Harry."
The young man smiled as he accepted the box. "Well, it's not every day that a young woman celebrates her sweet sixteen."
Professor McGonagall blushed. "No, Mr. Potter, it isn't. I do believe that you have some preparations to make?"
Harry nodded. "Thanks again, Professor. You're a life saver!" He headed for the door and closed it quickly behind him.
"Mr. Potter, Sir!" Came a familiar voice from beside him. "Everything is ready in the tower, Sir, just as you requested. Is that the box you want me to deliver?"
"Yes, Dobby, and I can't thank you enough!" Harry beamed at his friend. "I've got to talk to two more people and get ready. Thanks again!" He said after handing the box over to Dobby and rushing off to find Lavender and Parvati.
The two girls were sitting in the Gryffindor common room working on their latest divination charts when Harry found them. "Hey, can I ask you two a favor?" He smiled as the girls looked up at him curiously.
He laughed as he made his way to the bathroom to shower and change for tonight. The two friends squealed so loudly that he thought he would have gone deaf. They had quickly agreed to meet Hermione at the prefect's bathroom to help her get ready and swore secrecy to him. They loved a good romantic gesture it seemed.
It took Harry a half an hour to get ready and another fifteen minutes to get to the astronomy tower unseen by Hermione. She was being carted off by Dobby at sixteen-thirty and to her irritation he was refusing to explain what was going on. After they had passed him, Harry made for the tower and waited patiently in the newly decorated observation area.
He paced back and forth nervously as the sun settled quietly behind the mountains and the moon started to rise. It was almost at half but there was still enough light coming from it to wash the area in a gentle, sliver glow. The candles that lined the parapets lit of their own accord and a soft melody started to play from an enchanted harp.
Harry glanced at his watch. She should be here any second! He thought nervously. He ran his hand through his hair and began pacing again. He stopped suddenly when he heard a trembling voice from the stairwell.
"Oh my god, Harry, it's beautiful."
Harry turned around, his heart racing and his hands started sweating. When he caught sight of her all sense dropped from his mind and he stared in shock. "You ... You're beautiful." He stammered. Her pale blue dress fit her like a glove. It flowed down her body to the floor. It was a strapless number with a split up the side. Parvati and Lavender had done a wonderful job on the makeup and hair and Harry vowed he would thank them a thousand times for their help.
Hermione blushed instantly as she looked him over. "You're looking pretty sharp yourself, Harry." He was wearing black dress pants and a white shirt. His tie was black to match and his hair was behaving somewhat normal for once.
Harry snapped to and walked over to his girlfriend. He offered her his arm and she took it shyly. "Are you hungry?" He asked as they made their way to the solitary table at the far end of the tower.
"I'm famished." She replied with a trembling voice. "How did you get this all arranged?" She asked after a failed attempt to compose herself.
"I've got help in the smallest of places." He laughed as he pulled her chair out and helped her into her seat. He took his seat across from her and couldn't help but stare at the girl ... woman in front of him.
Dinner started at precisely seventeen-thirty and they laughed as they dined on Hermione's favorite foods.
"This is all a bit much." She said more than once to Harry's laughter which she found to be infectious. It was time for dessert when the harp changed songs and started playing Happy Birthday. As if on cue, the table cleared itself and a birthday cake appeared in the center of the table. It had sixteen candles arranged in a heart formation around the words Happy Sweet Sixteen, Hermione. It was covered in double Dutch chocolate frosting and had cheesecake filling between the layers.
"Go ahead, make a wish." He urged her.
Hermione thought for a moment then blew out the candles in one breath. Harry clapped and she smiled as he offered her a knife to take the first piece of cake for herself. He followed suit after she had her plate full and they enjoyed the spongy dessert.
Harry got up afterwards holding a wrapped gift and walked to her side of the table.
"Happy birthday, Hermione." He said simply as he handed her the heavy gift.
She smiled at him as she unwrapped the book. "Oh, Harry. I don't have this one." She said with a smile. "What's this?" She pulled a folded note from under the front cover. "Happy Birthday, Hermione?" She asked and she looked down at the book.
Harry smiled. "Go ahead and open the book again." He said as he pulled his chair around to her side of the table and took the space right next to her.
She did as she was instructed and found a hollow compartment where the pages of the book should be. In that compartment was a beautifully wrapped package. She looked up at him with tears forming in her eyes. "Harry?" She said as her voice started trembling again.
Harry just smiled at her and motioned that she should open the new present.
She reached in with a trembling hand and retrieved the package then carefully unwrapped it. She placed the wrapper back in the compartment and opened the box.
"Oh, Harry!" She gasped as she looked at the forget-me-not cameo. "It's beautiful!" She wrapped her arms around him in a second with a slight laugh. "Where did you get this?"
"As I said earlier, I have my sources." He said with a smile. "Why don't you open it? It's a locket too."
She lifted the cameo with great care and gently released the clasp that held it closed. Tears fell down her cheeks as she saw the smiling faces of the two of them beaming up from the inside of the cameo. Small plaques were under their pictures that simply said: 'SCHOOL'. "Wait, weren't these pictures taken during our first year?" She asked.
Harry nodded. "The first time we met, actually. Remember when Fred and George were taking pictures as proof to Ginny that they met me and they got one of everyone else? Well, I got a hold of those and here they are." He finished with a grin.
She was looking at him like she'd never seen him before. This was a side of Harry she had caught glimpses of but didn't think she'd see first hand.
"There's more." He said. "Look on the back."
She closed the locket and turned the charm over and saw the inscription.
Someone told me that there were things far more important than books and cleverness: friendship and bravery. She
neglected one other thing, love. I love you, Hermione.
-Harry
If Hermione hadn't been crying before, she sure was now. He had her in his arms in an instant as she hugged him with everything she had.
"This is the most wonderful night I've ever had, Harry." She said as Harry wiped her tears away. "I love you."
"I love you too, Hermione." He smiled at her. "Happy birthday." He said as he got to his feet and clasped the chain around her neck. She turned and adjusted it so he could see and he smiled. "It fits you perfectly." He said finally as he pulled her to her feet.
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately and he deepened the embrace. She lay her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart as the harp continued to play soft music. They danced for what seemed to be ages, lost to the world, alone with the stars. Someone cleared their throat by the stairs.
"Sorry to interrupt." Professor McGonagall said quietly. "It's time for you to head back to the dorms."
Harry and Hermione smiled awkwardly at the intrusion but reluctantly headed back to their house's tower after packing up what they were taking.
Harry placed a coat over her shoulders as they started their way down the stairs and he whispered "Thank you" over his shoulder as they left.
"What was that for?" She asked with a smile.
"I was just thanking the crew that helped me put this together." Harry said as he smiled back at her.
Professor McGonagall wished them a good night outside the common room and made her way back to her own quarters.
"GILLYWEED." Harry said to the portrait and it swung open for them to enter. The common room was empty and the couple weren't tired yet so they stood by the fireplace and danced for another hour or two.
"Thank you for tonight, Harry." Hermione said softly in his ear. "I'm never going to forget this."
Harry smiled and they kissed one final time before heading to bed. Harry smiled and waved to her not wanting to see her go but after a soft smile and a wave of her hand, she disappeared up the stairs to her room.
Harry turned and walked slowly to his dorm and found a pleasant surprise waiting for him.
"It's about time you got back." Ron said from his bed.
"Hey, welcome back." Harry said with a slight smile.
Ron grinned slightly. "I got tired of hearing Creevey yap in his sleep." He lied.
Harry laughed.
"How'd the date go?" Ron asked as Harry got ready for bed.
"It went well. I think I might be stuck with her, you know." Harry said tentatively.
"It's going to be weird, Harry. But I'm happy for you two. Sorry I acted like such a sodding jerk."
"Don't be." Harry retorted. "It's understandable. And thanks."
Ron smiled slightly and pulled his curtains tight. "Night, Harry."
"Night, Ron." Harry replied as he slid under his covers. His mind was racing and he fought to calm it down. After an hour, he was back in a trance and falling into a deep sleep.