Unofficial Portkey Archive

This Night Is Mine

Chapter 1- Breaking Up

Hermione closed the door quietly behind her. She wasn't sure why she bothered to be quiet; she could have slammed it and nobody would have heard it over the howling coming from the other side of it. She winced as she stepped away from Hagrid's hut as a particularly loud sobbing wail hit her ears almost like a physical blast.

"Oh, Hagrid," she murmured softly, shaking her head. She let her hand drop from the huge doorknob and turned away, and ran hard into something that wasn't there.

"Ouch!" she said, rubbing her forehead and peering into the darkness. "You might let a girl know you're there, Harry!"

"Er, sorry," Harry said, appearing out of nowhere with a sheepish grin on his face. Hermione was still rubbing her forehead, but she smiled as he pulled the cloak off and became fully visible in front of her. She really couldn't be mad at him for very long.

Harry glanced at the door and raised an eyebrow. "What did you do to make him cry like that?"

Hermione scowled. "It wasn't me! You're not planning to go in there, are you?"

"Well, yeah, I was," Harry said, rocking back on his heels. "Shouldn't I?"

"No," Hermione said firmly. "Trust me. He's really drunk and he'll just grab you and cry all over you. Here, feel this." She held out her arm, and Harry blinked. Then he lifted his hand and rubbed it up to her shoulder. The robe was wet all the way from her elbow to her shoulder.

Harry let his hand wander across her shoulders and down her back. She was all wet there, too. "Geez, Hermione, Hagrid did that?"

Hermione nodded soberly. "Yes. He's really upset, Harry. Madame Maxime broke up with him. She left before dinner, and he was drunk before I got here, so he must really have been putting some work into it."

Harry gave a low whistle. "Wow, that's a surprise. I thought they were serious."

Hermione shrugged. "I guess they were. I couldn't really tell what it was all about- you know how hard he is to understand when he's been drinking."

"Yeah." Harry and Hermione stood on Hagrid's front step for a moment longer, listening to the loud and pathetic sounds of Hagrid's weeping. Hermione pulled out her wand and began drying her robes with a stream of warm air from its tip.

"Well," Harry began with a sigh, "I guess we'd better go back to the castle."

"Yes, I suppose," Hermione said. She looked around. It was a beautiful autumn night. Autumn was her favorite season, especially here in the North. "I always feel like I get so busy that I miss autumn," she said wistfully. "And every year I promise myself that next year I'll do better."

"Why don't we take a walk or something?" Harry said impulsively. "I don't-" he broke off, embarrassed. "I don't really want to go back to the castle yet."

Hermione tilted her head curiously. "Yes, that would be lovely," she agreed. Together they stepped off Hagrid's stoop and by unspoken consent headed toward the lake. It really was a great night, Harry thought. The breeze was still warm, even this far into October.

"Why don't you want to go back to the castle?" Hermione asked as nonchalantly as she could. Harry was her best friend, but he seldom volunteered information about himself. She usually had to ask.

"Oh, well, because I'm-"

"You're skipping a committee meeting!" Hermione said sharply.

"Er, yeah," Harry admitted. "Geez, Hermione, I don't even know how I got on this committee. I don't know anything about this stuff. I mean, it's decorations, for Merlin's sake!"

Hermione fought to maintain her stern expression and not to laugh. "Do I really need to remind you how you got on this committee?"

Harry did laugh. "No, I guess not."

"You know," Hermione said, looking up at him out of the corner of her eye, "it's okay to say no to some things, even if it is Ginny who's doing the asking."

Harry's smile faded. He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess."

Hermione waited. It was so clear to her that something was wrong with Harry where Ginny was concerned, and she wished he'd talk about it. Then maybe she could tell him about her doubts about Ron. Tamping down on her exasperation she figured she was going to have to ask him straight out. As usual. She opened her mouth to do just that when he spoke again.

"Does Ginny talk to you?" he asked hesitantly. "I mean, you know… about me?" He could feel his face getting hot and was grateful for the darkness. It was embarrassing to talk about this, but Hermione was his best friend. He knew he could ask her anything.

"Yes," Hermione said. "Sometimes. Why?" They continued to walk and she waited, knowing that Harry would want a few minutes to figure out how to say what he was thinking about.

"It's just-" he began. He let out a frustrated breath. He was intensely glad it was Hermione he was talking to and not Ron. He wouldn't have to spell everything out. "Okay, you know we got together this summer, right?"

"You and Ginny? Right," Hermione said, nodding. Harry held out a hand to help her across a slippery patch on the path.

"It was great, because I had liked her all summer, and she said she had never really stopped liking me," Harry said.

"I remember that," Hermione said, lifting her face to the breeze. It was such a…sensual night. She was very aware of the breeze off the lake, the clouds across the moon, the glitter of starlight on the water, the fragrance of leaves that had turned or fallen, and the confused emotions of the man beside her. All her senses were on alert tonight.

Hermione had let go of Harry's hand, so he shoved it into his pocket. "Things were really great for awhile," Harry went on. "But now, I dunno…it just seems different." He stopped by the shore, picked up a rock, and skipped it out across the water.

"Different how?" Hermione asked. The wind kicked up and Hermione leaned into it. She listened to the splashes of Harry's skipping rocks and she wondered what it would feel like to take off her robes and stand here naked in the wind, beside the lake, and feel that air caress her whole body. To be here with a man and to hear the sound of their sighs blend with the breeze. She tried to imagine herself here with Ron, and she could, but she had to admit-if only to herself-that it was forced. The image didn't ring true.

Harry shrugged, picked up another rock, skipped it. "This is going to sound really stupid. I'm probably imagining the whole thing."

"Say it anyway," Hermione said. "I won't tell anyone."

Harry looked over at her in the darkness, noticing the way the breeze blew her curls across her face. No, she wouldn't tell anyone, he knew. She had stuck by him through worse than this, and there was worse still to come. She wouldn't let him down over something as insignificant as girl trouble.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath. " I can't shake this idea that maybe since she liked me for so long, you know, from a distance, before we got together-maybe now she's got me, I'm not… I mean, it's not what she-" he broke off, ran his hand through his hair. Hermione could see it silhouetted in the moonlight, sticking straight up.

"That the reality doesn't measure up to the fantasy?" Hermione suggested.

Harry nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, his face flushing with embarrassment, but a feeling of relief cutting through the embarrassment as well. He should have known Hermione would understand, would have the words to express his feelings better than he himself could.

Hermione considered him. Frankly, she had suspected the same thing that Harry had just told her. She thought the world of Ginny, who was probably her best female friend, but she had wondered all along if Ginny's relationship with Harry wasn't doomed to suffer under the weight of her unrealistic expectations.

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione finally said. "If she's feeling that way, she's never told me about it. Maybe you should ask her. I'd hate for you to go along feeling like you were doing something wrong. That's got to be stressful."

Harry sighed. Yes, that's exactly what it was, stressful. He and Ginny had fun together, he loved making out with her, but he always got the feeling that she was looking over his shoulder to something she wanted more, something he wasn't giving her. He felt like he was disappointing her, but he had no idea how or what to do about it. And, he thought, in a rare moment of self-righteousness, he was in training to fight Voldemort, they all were. He didn't need any more stress.

Hermione looked out over the dark sparkling lake. "What are you going to do?" she asked quietly. "It's only two weeks until the Fall Ball. I'd hate for you not to have a date. Are you going to break up with her?"

Harry frowned. "No, I'm not going to break up with her!" he said, more sharply than he intended. "I was just wondering if she wants to break up with me, is all."

Hermione shrugged, impatient and irritated with him and not entirely sure why. "Well, if she does, she hasn't mentioned it to me," she said shortly.

Harry glanced over at her, confused by her sudden change in mood. "Hermione?" he said, the unspoken question hanging in the soft autumn air. A golden leaf fluttered down, taking advantage of the sudden distance between them. "Are you mad about something?"

"No," she sighed, her eyes on the leaf. She made an effort to shake off her unexpected irritation. "I'm sorry…"

Harry gave her a crooked grin that she could barely see in the shadows, and she could feel the lingering irritation melting away. She smiled back at him and he reached out a hand. She took it and he pulled her into a warm hug. She rested her head comfortably against his muscular chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. She breathed the autumn air, the scents of the season blending with Harry's unique smell. She loved that smell, she thought, and she turned her head a little more toward his chest so that she could catch it more fully.

Harry rested his chin on the top of Hermione's head. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm always bringing my problems to you. It must be a pain for you."

"No, it's not. Really," she said, tipping her head back to smile at him. "Anyway, I bring mine to you, don't I?"

"I guess so," he murmured as she snuggled against his chest again. They stood there quietly for a long time. It occurred to Harry that if Ginny were with him, this would be the perfect setting for some serious making out. Then it occurred to him that if there were no Ginny, no Ron, this would be the perfect setting for some serious making out with the girl already in his arms. He smiled at that; he and Hermione were best friends, as close in their own ways as he and Ron were in theirs, but friendship didn't render a bloke blind and stupid. He thought Ron was quite lucky to have the privilege of regular physical contact with Hermione.

Eventually Hermione sighed, and something tightened in Harry's gut. But she stepped back from him and said, "I guess we'd better get back. You'll have to think of a good excuse for missing that meeting, won't you?" She took Harry' arm and they started walking back the way they had come, around the lake and past Hagrid's hut. The howling seemed to have stopped.

"I'll just say I went down to see Hagrid," Harry said, shrugging. "It's not a lie, and he won't remember one way or the other."

Hermione gave him a disapproving frown, which he just answered with a lop-sided grin. She rolled her eyes as they entered the front doors of the castle. "Just make sure to be at the next meeting, okay?"

"Is that a command from above, O Mighty Head Girl?" Harry snickered.

Hermione raised her eyebrows in a clear challenge. "Yes, it is, O Lowly Quidditch Captain. Is there something you'd like to say?"

Hermione looked so serious and forbidding that Harry had to laugh at the utter cuteness of it. He knew Hermione scared some people with that authoritative act, but he wasn't one of them. He just did what she said because she was usually right. Either that, or she could argue her position so well that he forgot what he ever dared to disagree with her about in the first place.

They climbed in the portrait hole to the common room. Ginny and Ron were sitting on the sofa in front of the fire, schoolbooks open, but deep in conversation. When Ginny glanced up, Harry could see she was irritated with him, so he put on his best supportive look and walked right over to her. Hermione snickered softly, but he ignored her.

"Hey, Ginny," he said, bending to kiss her. "I'm so sorry I missed the meeting. How'd it go?"

Ginny sighed. "It was all right," she said. "Where were you, anyway?" Harry sat down on the arm of the sofa. Hermione hovered nearby, but Ron didn't get up to greet her. Harry met Hermione's glance for a split second, then said casually, "I went down to see Hagrid. Did you know Madame Maxime broke up with him?"

This announcement effectively distracted Ginny from her annoyance, as Harry had hoped it would. Hermione moved closer to the sofa, hoping Ron would pull her toward him, or make room on his lap, or something, but he didn't, so she stood nearby and helped Harry fill in the details of the story. Which was easy, she thought wryly, considering that she had been the one there in the first place. She couldn't be annoyed with Harry, though, especially as he gave her a quick wink when the Weasleys weren't looking.

As they talked she edged herself onto the other arm of the sofa and put a hand on Ron's shoulder. He turned and smiled at her, but didn't touch her, even as she continued to rub his shoulder and back in increasingly intimate ways. It wouldn't have taken much for Ron to turn his body a little bit, to lay a hand on her leg or lean back against her, but he seemed to be so involved in what Harry was saying that it didn't occur to him. It wasn't the first time it hadn't occurred to him to touch her, Hermione thought in annoyance.

Ron jumped into the conversation enthusiastically. "I wondered if they'd make it," he said, "Luna said she didn't think Hagrid would be willing to leave Hogwarts before the war was over."

Harry nodded. That much was obvious to him as well. "No, but that's not enough reason for her to dump him, is it? There's got to be something else going on." He rested his hand on Ginny's shoulder and rubbed, in nearly the same way that Hermione was doing to Ron. Ginny usually responded to those kinds of touches, usually turned and snuggled into him, but he noticed that tonight she seemed distracted. She did lean back against his thigh, though, to Harry's relief. Maybe she wasn't really mad at him after all.

Ron eased forward, making it so that Hermione couldn't easily reach his shoulders any longer. She dropped her hand with a sigh as Ron spoke. "Luna was saying just the other day that there's a lot of pressure on Hagrid and Madame Maxime to make it work, since they're the only two half giants anyone knows. Maybe they just couldn't take the pressure."

"Maybe," Harry said, considering that.

"I think I'm going to go tell her," Ron said, jumping up. "She'll want to know. She might want to go see Hagrid herself."

Hermione frowned. "There's no use going down there now," she said. "Harry and I just left. He's probably passed out by now."

"Well..." Ron said, thinking fast. "That's probably true. I think I'll go tell her anyway, though. Just in case."

Hermione scowled as Ron walked quickly toward the portrait hole. Then she looked down at her hands and sighed. She studied her hands and remembered running them over Ron's back. She loved the way his back felt, it was broad and strong under his school robes. But apparently Ron would rather run off to talk to another girl than to let her touch him. She crossed her arms as though she were cold, and looked up at Ginny and Harry. Ginny was looking into the fire, and seemed to be unaware of the rest of them. Harry was watching her with a concerned frown on his face.

"All right, Hermione?"

"Yes," Hermione lied. "I guess I'll go to bed." She got up from the arm of the sofa, her arms still hugged around her middle. "Good night."

"Night," Harry said, watching her go. Ginny remained quiet, despite Harry's efforts to talk with her, so eventually he headed to bed himself. He lay awake wondering about Hagrid and Madame Maxime, Hermione and Ron, and himself and Ginny. It was a long time before he heard Ron return to the dormitory.

The next meeting of the Decorations Committee was, as it turned out, the next day. Harry looked at his list of other committee members and was displeased to see that Malfoy was somehow on the same committee, though he expected that Malfoy had gotten stuck with the assignment because he was a Slytherin Prefect. Twenty minutes before the appointed time he made his way through the corridors to the meeting room, but stopped short when Dennis Creevey stopped him in the hallway.

"Hi there, Harry!" the younger boy said enthusiastically. "On your way to the Decorations Committee meeting?"

"Er, yeah," Harry said, looking down at his list and seeing that Dennis was indeed on this committee with him.

"It's going to be a great ball, isn't it? Do you have a date yet?" Dennis bounced on his toes as he talked, giving Harry the urge to clamp his hands on his shoulders and press down until the boy stood still.

"Yeah," Harry said, trying to be patient, "I'm going with Ginny."

"Oh, yeah, right," Dennis said sheepishly. "Anyway, I think the meeting's been cancelled. I went to the room and the door was locked. I knocked on it, but nobody answered. I guess they forgot to let us know."

"Oh," said Harry, surprised. He had been extra careful to be early for this meeting, because he didn't want Ginny annoyed with him again. "Well, I'd better check it out. I'll see you later, then, right?"

"Right, Harry!" said Dennis enthusiastically, and he bounced off down the hall, leaving Harry free to roll his eyes as he continued on toward the meeting room.

The room was indeed locked, just as Dennis had told him. Harry frowned and glanced down at his notice. If the meeting was cancelled, nobody had told him, but most of the rest of the committee must have gotten the message, because they weren't milling around outside the door. Of course, he was early. Still, Ginny was the chair of this committee and it wasn't like her to be running late. She was just as organized as Hermione was.

Harry shrugged and decided to go in and wait. He wasn't that eager to attend the meeting, but he wanted to be sure that he could tell Ginny that he had shown up, that he had waited around. Pulling out his wand he murmured, "Alohomora." The door unlocked silently and Harry turned the knob and stepped inside. He was totally unprepared for the sight that greeted him.

Ginny was in the room, but she wasn't alone. Malfoy had her pinned against the wall, and at first Harry thought he was forcing himself on her, but a split second later he saw that she had wrapped herself around him as though her life depended on contact with him. Malfoy's hand was up under Ginny's robe and their mouths moved together hungrily. Harry stood stunned, watching them for what felt like an hour, but was probably only a moment. Then anger and hurt surged through him and he stalked forward.

"Excuse me," he said coldly. Ginny stiffened in Malfoy's arms and tried to push him away, a look of horror on her face. Malfoy raised a golden eyebrow and smirked. He held tightly to Ginny, and didn't let her wriggle out of his arms.

"Hello, Potter," he drawled, triumphant satisfaction flashing in his silver eyes. "We're rather busy here. Why don't you go catch a Snitch or something?"

"I've got a Snitch you can catch," Harry growled, grabbing Malfoy by the collar of his robes. Drawing back his fist he slammed it straight into Malfoy's face. Malfoy reeled back, but even as he was falling pulled out his wand and sent a Stinging Hex at Harry. It whipped him across the face, making Harry hiss in his breath, but his own wand appeared in his hand before he had time to think of it.

"Reducto!" he shouted, flnging Malfoy back against the wall. He got a dark satisfaction out of hearing Malfoy's head hit solidly against the stone wall. Malfoy dropped to the floor and groaned, then flashed another spell at Harry, which Harry easily blocked.

"Petrificus Totalis," Harry said, and Malfoy's body went stiff. He could still glare daggers of hatred at Harry, but he couldn't move. Harry turned away from Malfoy and looked at Ginny, trying to hide the hurt behind a veneer of disgust.

Ginny spoke first, "Harry, I'm so sorry-"

"Save it," he bit out. "You weren't exactly fighting him off."

"No, I know I wasn't, but I-"

"If you want him you can have him, Ginny," Harry said. "I don't care. It just would have been nice if you'd broken up with me first. I trusted you."

"I know, "Ginny said, looking miserable. "I didn't mean for this to happen at all. I didn't mean for you to find out like this. I meant to do it right."

Harry managed to work up a sneer. It was difficult considering what he really wanted to do was whimper and lick his wounds, but he'd save that for later. "Whatever," he said curtly. "I'm out of here."

"Harry, please!" Ginny wailed. Harry held up a hand to cut her off, then stalked back out of the room, slamming the door behind him so hard that the stone wall vibrated.

He wasn't paying much attention to where he was going. It was as though all his senses were overwhelmed with the anger and hurt flooding through him. He was vaguely aware that he had stomped out the front doors of the castle and out onto the grounds, but he kept walking. Past Hagrid's hut, around the lake, unknowingly following the same route he and Hermione had walked last night. It wasn't dark today, but it was cloudy and decaying brown leaves blew across his path. He stomped on them with a satisfying crunch. He scooped up rocks as he walked, big ones, and worked out some of his anger by hurling them as far as he could. It felt good to imagine they could fly far enough to hit Malfoy and Ginny in their heads.

He stopped walking and looked around over the lake. He knew he was alone, so he let some of the hurt and betrayal wash over him. It burned in his stomach and clenched like a fist in his chest. He let all the unanswered questions roll through his brain, knowing they would press at him until he acknowledged them. How could she cheat on him? How could she cheat on him with Malfoy, of all people? And Malfoy had been so smug, knowing how it would gall Harry to see him with his hands on what was supposed to be his. He'd been right about that, Harry thought. If Ginny had even been trying to resist him, Harry would have hexed Malfoy from here to next week. There was no way Malfoy could stand up to Harry in a duel. But Ginny hadn't been resisting. She had been participating quite enthusiastically.

Harry took a deep breath and swore. Some of the blind anger was draining out of him, and he squatted down to choose another stone to throw. As he did, the wind turned in his direction and he cocked his head. He was sure he had heard something. As he continued to listen, he realized it was someone crying. He looked up the shore, in the direction of the sounds, and after a few steps in that direction he saw Hermione, sitting cross-legged on a large flat rock, her arms wrapped around her knees, and her head bent. He could see her shoulders shaking even from this distance.

He didn't think about it; he ran toward her. "Hermione!" he called, and she started. Quickly she tried to wipe the signs of her weeping off her face, but Harry reached her far too soon for it to be of any use. "What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed. He had only seen her this upset a few times.

She tried to contain her emotions, but it was no good. As Harry sat on the rock beside her, she leaned into his chest. His arms came around her and she began to sob again. Since she seemed to be uninjured, he just held her and let her cry. His own troubles were forgotten for a moment as he rocked her back and forth and wondered what could have happened to make calm, controlled Hermione lose it like this. He started imagining all sorts of terrible scenarios, including her walking in on Ron with some other girl, and by the time she was done he found himself hating all the Weasleys just on principle.

"I'm sorry," she said, when her sobbing had finally been exhausted. "I just-I just broke up with Ron." She wiped her face on her sleeve, and Harry dug in his robe pocket for a handkerchief. She took it gratefully.

"You did?" Harry asked, surprised, despite his thoughts of a few moments ago. Then his anger surged and he snapped, "He didn't cheat on you, did he?"

"What?" Hermione said, surprised. "No, of course not."

Harry relaxed again. "Well, why did you break up with him?"

Hermione sighed, then climbed off the rock and knelt next to the water. She splashed water on her face and dried it with Harry's handkerchief. Then she rose and turned back to Harry, taking her place next to him on the rock again. She glanced up at him, not sure what to tell him, then did a double-take. "What happened to your face?"

Even as she asked it, the pain returned to Harry's face. "Malfoy got in a Stinging Hex."

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Why'd he do that? Were you fighting with him again, Harry?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'll tell you about it, but first tell me about Ron."

"Oh," Hermione said in a small voice. She drew up her knees to her chest again. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk about this, but Harry had told her about his fears about Ginny. Right here on this spot, in fact. For some reason the memory gave her courage.

"I liked him so much, Harry," she said softly, resting her head on her knees and not looking at him. "And I was…well, really attracted to him." She squeezed her eyes shut and her face turned bright pink.

She lifted her head and looked out over the lake, hugging her knees even tighter, making herself even smaller. "But I don't think he was attracted to me."

"What?" Harry could not have been more surprised. He knew Ron had liked Hermione for a long time, had even made comments about what she wore or shared guys-only observations with him and the other blokes in the dorm. "Why do you think that?"

"We went out for two and a half months," Hermione said, shrugging. "He never seemed to want to...well… do anything. We kissed, but not a lot. And he never would hold my hand when there were people around, or put his arms around me like you would with Ginny. I offered him a lot, at first because I was thrilled at the possibility of… you know… doing those things with him, because I liked him so much."

"But later?" Harry asked. He was slightly embarrassed to be hearing Hermione talk about her feelings for Ron, but he wanted to be there for her. She was always there for him.

"I'm afraid that recently I've been throwing myself at him out of desperation," Hermione admitted. She tucked her heels in even further; now she was curled up into a tight little ball. "I was starting to feel like there was something wrong with me. Like I must be unattractive or he'd want me more. Then I thought that maybe there was something wrong with him. He's-he's not gay, is he, Harry?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Er, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure he likes girls." Though he couldn't explain how Ron could turn down a girl like Hermione.

Hermione sighed. "I didn't think he was, either. It would have been easier on me if he were. But then I thought maybe it wasn't me and it wasn't him. Maybe it was the combination, you know?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. Maybe it'd come together with someone else?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, exactly. But I had to break up with him, Harry. If it was us, then we couldn't force an attraction, even if I did feel it at first. But I was starting to feel really bad about myself, like I must be fat, or ugly, or not as good as other girls for some reason."

"Then I'm glad you broke up with him," Harry said firmly. Hermione loosened her grip on her knees and relaxed a little. "Obviously, Ron's an idiot. You're pretty and funny and… er, well, sexy, and all." Harry stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. He couldn't believe he had just told Hermione she was sexy. But it wasn't exactly the first time he had noticed it.

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said, smiling for the first time in several hours. "But you'd better not let Ginny hear you talking like that. She might get the wrong idea."

Harry swore, picked up big rock and threw it into the lake. Hermione raised her eyebrows. Harry picked up another rock. "Ginny and I are over."

"Oh, Harry!" said Hermione, her hands flying up from around her knees to rest on her face. "I'm so sorry! What happened?"

Harry threw his rock and didn't look at her. "I caught her in a locked room snogging another bloke."

Hermione gasped. She had known that things weren't perfect between Harry and Ginny, but she couldn't believe Ginny would cheat. "Oh, Harry! That's terrible!' The paused for a moment. "Can I ask-" Suddenly the light dawned on her, but she refused to believe what logic was telling her. "Surely, surely not-"

Harry nodded, staring blindly out over the lake.

"No, Harry, you must be wrong, " Hermione said, uncurling her body and going to stand beside him. She put her hand on his shoulder to turn him toward her. "He set it up, Harry. He forced himself on her. You know how he is. He was just trying to get to you."

Harry shook his head. "He didn't. I saw them, Hermione. She admitted it. He had-" he drew in a shaky breath. "He had his hand under her robes. She never even let me do that much!"

Hermione exhaled deeply. Then she stepped up and wrapped her arms around Harry's waist and rested her head on his chest. He laid his chin in the top of her head. They stood there in the fading afternoon light, the warm autumn breeze blowing over them. A golden leaf fell from the huge tree above them, swirled around, and landed at their feet.

"Hermione?" Harry said after a long time.

"Hmmm?" She didn't look up, just kept her head where it was.

"I guess neither of us has dates to the Fall Ball now, do we?"

Hermione sighed. "I guess not."

They fell silent again as they watched the setting sun ripple across the water.

"Hermione?"

"Hmmm?"

Harry leaned back and looked down at her. Moved by affection for her, he bent and placed a kiss on her forehead. "There's no way I'm staying on that committee."

Hermione smiled. "That's all right, Harry. You can be on my committee."

She laid her head on his chest again. The wind wrapped around them and blew her hair across his shoulder. She was so glad he was her friend. There was nobody else in the world she could have told those feelings to. She sighed, and Harry squeezed her.

"Harry?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you."

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