Chapter Five
Hermione walked up the stairs to Dumbledore's office after dinner assuming the Headmaster wished to speak with her about her Head Girl duties. She was therefore surprised on arriving to see that Ernie wasn't present for the meeting. She took a seat opposite the Headmaster who smiled reassuringly at her.
"Miss. Granger I asked you here today as I wanted to alert you to some new protective measures being taken by The Order. Now there has been no specific threat, but as you know all too well, Voldemort will do anything to get to Harry, and he is most certainly not above baiting Harry. Also, in light of recent attacks of Muggle settlements certain Order members are being dispatched to prominent families. Now I don't want you to be alarmed dear, but we're issuing a guard to your parents. Tonks will be monitoring magical activity around them and protecting them. I thought perhaps you would like to hear this news from myself so you were not unduly alarmed when you heard the news from your parents. Hermione nodded.
"Thank you Professor." She said softly.
Hermione stood to leave the office, but paused and turned.
"Yes Miss. Granger?"
"Professor, would it be possible for you to arrange so that Remus could visit Harry? He'd never say anything, but, Remus is the last of the Marauders, Harry's last connection to his parents, and he thinks of Remus as his only family…I think they need some time to talk. You know, he still feels guilty about Sirius…" She said softly.
"Thank you Hermione. I will speak to Remus and let him surprise Harry."
Hermione left the office with a smile and Professor Dumbledore again turned to the portrait and chuckled.
"You don't even need to say it. They are quite remarkable young people." He said before again approaching the fireplace and clearly saying "12 Grimmauld Place".
Harry looked up as the portrait hole opened and Hermione entered the Gryffindor Common Room. He was sitting opposite Ron, a potions book sitting ignored in front of him as the two discussed Quidditch. Hermione had an unreadable expression on her face, he stood knowing she was coming straight from Dumbledore's office, and was unsure of what her reaction would be to the news.
She took the last few steps towards him and threw her arms around his neck hugging him tight. He smiled in surprise and hugged her back.
"Thank you Harry." She whispered.
He pulled back and looked at her in surprise.
^Dumbledore told you?^
^No, I knew it was you. It means a lot to me. Thank You^ She replied with a smile before taking a seat on the sofa and pulling him down next to her.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked curiously.
"My parents are getting a guard." Hermione said quietly so they wouldn't be overheard. Ron looked at her intently for a moment and then nodded his understanding.
"Well, now you have one less thing to worry about, how about helping Harry and me out with this potions essay?" Ron asked cheekily. Hermione looked at him in amazement and Harry laughed out loud as Hermione recovered and threw a cushion at Ron laughing as she did so.
"Alright then. I'll help you with Potions, but you're not copying my essay." She said with a smile as Ron grinned in triumph.
Neville, Dean, Ginny and Lavender soon joined the three of them, and Hermione gave up trying to help Ron with his essay. Harry and Hermione spent the next hour detached from the rest of their friends as they sat next to each other, Harry working on his potions, Hermione revising Arithmancy and checking Harry's work while they conversed silently. Ron looked up from his conversation with shi girlfriend and observed his best friends for a moment. They both appeared to be working quietly, but then he saw Hermione laugh lightly, apparently at nothing, though he saw Harry smirk and the two of them shared a secret look of amusement and he realised they were happily chatting away as they worked. Lavender followed his gaze and smiled. She leant over and whispered in Ron's ear.
"Do you think we should give them a push in the right direction?" Ron looked at her in surprise until she winked and whispered that Hermione had told her earlier about you-know-what. Ron grinned back at her and looked thoughtful for a minute.
"I have a plan…"
Lavender and Ron waited until the Common Room emptied out and the Gryffindors headed up to bed, before discussing their plans.
"Ok what's the idea?" Ron asked Lavender.
"Well, it's only a basic idea, I'd better fill you in on what happened earlier today…" She said with a grin. Ron's eyes widened as she updated him on events.
"So Hermione was trapped outside the bathroom in nothing but a towel and Harry went and rescued her?" He asked.
Lavender nodded happily.
"Well we definitely have something to work with here. It's obvious they have feelings for each other, we just need to get them into more situations where they'll be forced closer together…" Ron said thoughtfully.
"And we need to get them thinking about the other, if they can hear each others thoughts maybe they'll pick up on it eventually."
"Ok. So we'll start trying to plant thoughts in their heads, and we'll get them into some awkward situations…we may need some help with this, and I think I know just the person…we need Ginny." Ron said with a grin and Lavender nodded.