Deception, In the Form of Love

Ruddy_Brilliant

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 25/12/2004
Last Updated: 22/01/2005
Status: paused

A long, angtsy tale involving a love triangle between Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Confusion, deception, angst, drama, romance.... This takes place at Hogwarts.

Chapters

1. Chapter 1

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3

4. Chapter 4

5. Chapter 5

6. Chapter 6

7. Chapter 7

8. Chapter 8

9. Chapter 9

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine! Not mine! Fanfic = mine! Everything else = JK’s! =D

The day had dawned bright and warm one fine Friday in the middle of March. The sun’s rays spread so enticingly across the sky that the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry wished nothing more than to go lie outside on the grass with a big pitcher of iced pumpkin juice and some treacle tarts. However, this was not to be, as most students were inside, attending their daily classes and maybe stealing the occasional glance out the window.

The students of Gryffindor House were currently in Professor Binns’s History of Magic lesson, by far the most boring lesson ever known to Hogwarts students, and also the easiest to get away with mischief in. Professor Binns, droning on and on at the front of the room from his notecards, seemed to take no notice of the students in front of him giggling, passing notes, and playing games. Rather, he seemed totally oblivious to it all, just floating at the front of the room (for he was a ghost) and reading serenely from his notes.

That day, as usual, Hermione Granger was the only one who was actually taking notes on what Professor Binns was saying. Not even Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who usually at least tried to listen, were writing. They, too, like the rest of the class, had given up listening about five minutes into the lesson and were now goofing off.

It was really quite incredulous that Professor Binns did not notice what all was going on under his nose at that very moment. Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnigan were chatting animatedly with Parvati and Lavender, whom they had become quite friendly with this year. Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas were also talking; Dean explaining to poor Neville all the rules of his favorite sport, Muggle soccer. All the other students were also grouped in little bunches, playing Tic-Tac-Toe on scrap pieces of parchment or discussing the upcoming Mazel Ball.

Harry Potter was the only one not in a group, excluding Hermione, of course. He was twirling his wand between his fingers and absentmindedly gazing at Hermione as she lazily scribbled down notes.

Suddenly, Hermione abruptly laid down her quill and snapped her text closed. Harry started and stared at her as she stretched her arms above her head and yawned, then turned back to face him.

“That’s it. I’m done. Let exams go to hell; I’m about to fall asleep here,” she proclaimed in a half whisper to Harry.

Harry grinned. “Hermione!” he exclaimed while pressing a hand over his heart. “You- you- you just dissed a class! I am appalled!”

Grinning, Hermione swatted Harry’s hand away from his chest. “Oh, shut up,” she said. “I am just as capable as anybody else is of dissing a class.”

Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand which had been pulling his hand from his heart. “Yes, but....” he faltered off, staring at their hands held together. A sudden feeling had just coursed through him which he could not explain.

Hermione, too, was staring down at their hands. An odd expression had appeared on her face.

Suddenly, at the same moment, both of them pulled their hands away. Harry’s eyes moved upward and met Hermione’s. For a long moment, each of them just stared into the other’s eyes. Harry felt a large warmth start in his heart and spread to every inch of his body, and he felt himself relax and start to lose himself in Hermione’s enticing eyes....

2. Chapter 2

“You guys look like you just died,” came Ron’s voice suddenly, penetrating Harry’s hypnotism.

Harry started and looked at Ron, then blinked, clearing his vision, and looked around at Hermione. She was staring fixedly down at her shoes. Harry could barely make out her chest moving up and down rapidly, as if she were breathing hard.

Ron, too, was looking at Hermione. “Hermione?” he asked uncertainly. “Er... are you... okay?”

Without looking up, Hermione slightly inclined her head in a nod.

“Well... okay then,” said Ron, still in an uncertain tone, and he gave Harry a puzzled look before turning to rejoin his previous conversation.

Harry, however, was still looking at Hermione, who was also still staring down at her shoes. “Hey,” he said softly, scooting his chair closer to hers, “you okay?”

Hermione nodded again. Then, suddenly, she looked up and said in a bright, cheery voice, “So what are you having for lunch today?”

Harry stared at her. Not only was she appearing as if nothing had just happened, but what sort of a question was that?!

“Erm....” he said, searching for words, “er, whatever... whatever they serve, I guess. Uh- what about you?”

Hermione shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know,” she replied, in a voice that was clearly faked casual. “I was thinking of some treacle or jam tarts, maybe... but I don’t know, the potato and cabbage salad sounds excellent, also. Or perhaps the zucchini cake, I’ve heard it’s a real delicac-”

“Hermione,” interrupted Harry, “why, for Merlin’s sake, are you talking about lunch?”

Hermione shrugged in an offhand way. “Oh, who knows,” she said, then giggled.

Harry just stared. What, in the name of Merlin, was wrong with Hermione? She was acting like someone had put an Instant Insanity Charm on her or something.

Suddenly, Hermione’s shoulders drooped, and the giggling expression left her face. “Oh, Harry, I’m so sorry,” she said, now sounding much more like her normal self. “I don’t know what’s got into me. I suppose it’s the stress of exams coming up, and all.”

As she spoke, Harry distinctly saw a few tears slide down her cheek, though Hermione was quick to brush them away. The same unexplainable feeling he had had earlier coursed through him again.

“You know what you need, Hermione?” Harry asked abruptly.

Hermione turned her face towards him. “Please don’t say a vacation,” she said.

“No,” replied Harry. “You need a hug.”

And without further ado, he reached over and grasped Hermione in a warm, tight hug.

Hermione’s arms also closed around him, and they stayed that way for a few moments before letting go. When they did let go, however, Hermione’s eyes were now fully shining with tears.

“Thank you, Harry,” she whispered softly.

3. Chapter 3

The class soon let out, and the Gryffindor students gratefully packed up their things and practically dashed the hell out of that classroom. Ron hung behind, waiting for Hermione and Harry.

“So, Herms,” he said while the three of them walked out of the classroom together, “how many pages of notes did you take this class period?”

Before she could answer, Harry burst out laughing. “Herms?!” he choked out, over his guffaws. “You call her Herms?!”

Ron’s ears turned pink. “So what if I do?” he asked defensively. “She likes it, don’t you, Herms?”

Hermione smiled uncertainly. “Um, sure,” she replied, but Harry met her eyes and knew that she, too, was on the verge of bursting out laughing.

“ANYway,” continued Ron, “what do you reckon of the Mazel Ball, Harry?”

Harry looked quickly at him. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean, are you going to take Parvati again?” Ron sniggered.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Grow up, Ron.”

“What, what?” exclaimed Ron, opening his eyes wide in an innocent fashion. “What did I say?”

“Oh, Ron!” snapped Hermione. “Don’t be so immature! Harry can go with whoever he wants to the ball! Oh, and,” she continued, an evil grin spreading across her face, “if I remember correctly, I seem to recall who you went to the Yule Ball with. Are you- planning to take- her, again?”

Ron’s ears had turned a brilliant shade of red. “Come on now Hermione, don’t bring that up,” he muttered, staring at his shoelaces.

“Oh?” asked Hermione coolly, obviously taking great pleasure at Ron’s embarrassment and discomfort. “But it’s fine for you to bring up Harry and Parvati?”

“All right, all right, I get your point,” muttered Ron, his face now burning as bright a red as his ears.

“He’s right, Hermione,” Harry agreed. “Don’t want to push him over the edge, now do we?”

Hermione grinned at him. “Of course not,” she agreed. Then, her tone became brisk. “Now, you two have never passed your yearly exams without my help before in our years at Hogwarts, so-”

“Hang on, hang on,” interrupted Ron loudly, who seemed to have recovered from his momentary embarrassment. “You say we’ve never passed without your help. Well, what about second year? You were Petrified in the hospital wing! We did all the work ourselves, and we still passed!”

Hermione was staring at Ron as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. “Exams- were- canceled- second- year-” she snarled.

“Oh,” said Ron, his ears slowly starting to turn pink again, “right.”

With a disbelieving glance at Harry and an impatient “tuh”, Hermione’s brisk tone returned. “So,” she went on, “I’ve written up a study schedule for the both of you. You’re to follow it strictly, without any rule-breaking or escaping, hear?”

As if on command, Harry and Ron both saluted sharply, went “Hile, Hermione!”, and dissolved into fits of laughter.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Sometimes, I find it quite hard to believe that you two are my best friends,” she said.

Harry grinned at her. “And sometimes, I find it quite hard to believe that you’re a girl,” he responded.

“What, you want me to spend more time with my hair?” asked Hermione. “My makeup? My clothes? My-” - with a fit of disgust - “-nails?”

Harry and Ron both burst out laughing again. “Oh, my God,” choked Harry. “I can just imagine you painting your toenails and curling your hair!!”

“And applying your eyeshadow!!” joined in Ron, also choking on his laughter.

“Well, hey,” said Hermione nonchalantly, “how do you know I don’t do any of those things?”

Harry and Ron both stared at her. “You’re joking, right?” asked Ron. “You’re- you’re not serious?”

Hermione did look very serious for a few seconds, but then burst out laughing. “Right,” she choked, “like I would ever care about such petty things as outside appearances!!”

“Well, Hermione,” said Ron quite cheekily, “you certainly looked quite- quite- quite beautiful at the Yule Ball in our fourth year.”

Now it was Hermione’s turn to blush. “Yeah, well,” she responded, getting defensive, “what was I supposed to show up in? Old robes and bushy hair?”

“Well,” began Harry, “I can assure you that even if you had, you would’ve still been exceedingly beautiful.”

Hermione met Harry’s eyes. For the third time that day, that whooshy feeling flooded through Harry again. He stared into Hermione’s eyes for a second, and then-

“Um, guys?”

Ron’s voice broke the aura again. Harry and Hermione both blinked and looked away from each other. Harry glanced at Ron, who was looking between him and Hermione.

“What is up with you two today?” demanded Ron. “You’re acting so- so weird. What’s going on?”

Neither of the two answered. Ron looked between them again and sighed. “Okay, whatever,” he said. “I guess you don’t want to discuss it right now or some- hey, Hermione! Where’re you going?!”

For Hermione had broken away from the other two and started off towards one of the staircases. She turned around at Ron’s words.

“Oh...” she faltered, “I was just- going- going to get something I forgot from my room. Yeah... I forgot something.”

“Er, okay,” replied Ron as Hermione’s form went up the stairs and disappeared around one of the hallways. He turned to Harry with a puzzled look on his face. “Er, what- what just happened?”

Harry shrugged, looking away from him. “Dunno,” he replied, in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone.

4. Chapter 4

Harry and Ron headed on down to the dining hall by themselves. As they entered, Ginny Weasley came running up to them.

“Hey, Harry,” she said.

Ron groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re going to ask him to the Mazel Ball! I thought you were over him!”

Ginny gave him a very scathing look. “For your information,” she said, “I wasn’t going to ask Harry to the Mazel Ball. I was just saying hi. And, by the way, now that we’re on that subject, why would you not want me to ask Harry to the Mazel Ball? As I remember, you seem to like the idea of us two together very much indeed.”

Harry and Ginny both burst out laughing as a wildly blushing Ron tried in vain to justify his actions.

“Don’t bother making excuses, Ron,” chortled Harry. “You’ve always wanted us two together, don’t deny it!”

“Uh, whatever,” stammered Ron, now very red indeed, “can we go now, please?”

Harry grinned at Ginny as he and Ron made their way to the Gryffindor House table. “I’ll see you in my bedroom tonight, sweetie!” he called after her, winking. Ginny burst out laughing again as Ron’s mouth fell open and his face turned red once more.

The two mistakenly sat down next to the Creevey brothers.

“Harry!” squealed Colin Creevey, sounding remarkably like a girl. “Harry, hi! Hi, Harry!”

“Hello, Colin,” Harry muttered.

“Harry, I heard that you- that you- that you are going to the Mazel Ball!” Colin shrieked.

“Um,” replied Harry, frowning, “it’s a requirement, Colin. Everyone has to go.”

“Hey, Harry!” squealed Dennis Creevey, Colin’s younger brother.

“Hi, Dennis,” replied Harry.

“Harry, you can- you can- you can do a Disarming Charm?!” exclaimed Dennis. “Can you, can you, can you?!”

“Er- yeah,” said Harry. “Yeah, I can.”

Colin and Dennis’s mouths both fell open in adoration and amazement.

“Wow,” Colin breathed, “you’re amazing, Harry.

“You’re my hero!” proclaimed Dennis in a squeak.

Harry felt himself turning red. “Oh, er- no, really, Dennis-”

“Hey, Dennis, Colin!”

Harry, Ron, Dennis, and Colin all turned at the sound of the voice. Luna Lovegood was standing behind them.

“Dennis, Colin,” she continued, “someone’s looking for you in the trophy room. I- uh- think they want to interview you about Harry for an article they’re writing.”

Dennis and Colin both gave out equally high-pitched squeals.

“Let’s go!” shrieked Colin, and with a quick “See you later, Harry!”, the two brothers got up and ran head over heels out of the Great Hall.

“Whew,” said Harry to Ron and Luna, “thank God something came up that got them away from here. Those two are the most annoying little people I have ever met in my life!”

A very mischievious smile had appeared on Luna’s face.

“What?” asked Harry, staring at her.

“Well,” began Luna slowly, “it hardly seems likely that an appropriate diversion could have come up at the exact moment that the Colin-Dennis situation was going to push you over the edge, now could it?”

Ron wheeled around in his seat and stared up at Luna. “What- you didn’t- you didn’t-you so didnt- you... did...”

Grinning broadly, Luna nodded. “Yup,” she said. “A little order from Luna’s White Lies, shall we say?”

Harry, now grasping what she had said, wheeled around and stared up at Luna, too.

“Luna, you’re a lifesaver,” he said. “How on Earth did you know I needed that?”

“Well,” replied Luna, sliding carefully down onto the bench between Harry and Ron, “I happened to look over here when I was sitting at my House Table, and I saw the Creevey brothers excitedly chattering, you turning red, and Ron sniggering behind his napkin. So, I put two and two together and arrived here.”

“God, Luna,” exclaimed Harry. “I can’t thank you enough. You are so smart!”

Luna blushed and smiled. “S’okay,” she replied. “And, speaking of smart, where’s Hermione? I thought she was always with you two.”

“She went up to the dorms to get something,” replied Ron. “She’ll be down here soon, I guess.”

Luna nodded. “I was just worried about her,” she explained. “Seems like she’s been kinda down these past couple of weeks. Sometimes she doesn’t even hear, or respond, when people say stuff to her.”

Harry frowned, looking worried, too. “I’m going to go see what’s wrong with her,” he announced, getting up from the bench and slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Thanks, Luna. Later, Ron.”

“See you in a bit,” Ron responded, and he and Luna started chatting as Harry walked away.

5. Chapter 5

Harry mounted the flights of stairs until he came to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

“Hey, buddy!” the Fat Lady exclaimed.

Harry stared at her, wondering if perhaps she was drunk or something. His suspicions were confirmed when he looked down near her frame and found a large collection of empty bourbon bottles.

“Er...” faltered Harry, staring up at her. Did the passwords work on intoxicated guardians? As he was contemplating this, he heard footsteps down the hall and looked up to see who it was.

“Hermione!” Harry exclaimed at the same time Hermione exclaimed, “Harry!”

“What are you doing here?” questioned Hermione.

“Looking for you,” Harry responded.

“Me?” Hermione asked, obviously very surprised. “But why?”

“Well,” started Harry, blushing, “Luna said you’d been real distant for the past couple of weeks... so I came up here to see how you were.”

Hermione’s mouth opened in surprise, then closed. “Harry,” she said softly, “that was really nice of you. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Harry muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and blushing furiously.

“Ah, well,” continued Hermione, “do you- do you want to go eat, then?”

“Er, okay,” Harry agreed, and the two set off together for the Great Hall.

“Where were you, anyway?” he continued. “I thought you were just getting something from your room.”

Hermione blushed. “Oh, I was- was just- just doing something else,” she muttered. Harry got the feeling that she didn’t really want to reveal what she had been doing right then.

On the fourth floor, the pair of them ran into Peeves, who grinned wickedly and wagged his finger at them.

“Ooh, lookie who it is,” he cackled. “Potter and his girlfriend. How do his- um- lips feel on yours, Granger?”

Harry felt his whole face turning red. He glanced over at Hermione and saw that she, too, had had the exact same reaction.

“Well, well?” taunted Peeves. “How do his abs look? And how about his chest? And- does Potter have a good-looking butt?!” He burst out into a wild cackle of laughter.

“Peeves, shut up!” yelled Harry, glancing over at Hermione, who had closed her eyes and was now shaking.

“Ooooh, have I struck a nerve?” cackled Peeves again. “Are ickle Potter and Granger feeling- embarassed?”

Harry grabbed Hermione and started with her down the hallway. “Come on, Hermione, we’re going to the Bloody Baron,” he said firmly.

The gloating look on Peeves’s face vanished, and a look of horror and pleading replaced it. “You wouldn’t- you wouldn’t-” he gasped, swooshing over in front of Harry and Hermione.

“We would,” replied Harry firmly, pulling Hermione around a corner. “Now get out of the way, Peeves.”

Peeves cursed and swooshed away down a dark corridor. Harry heard him muttering, “No sense in waiting around for the Bloody Baron; I’m getting out.”

“Don’t worry, Peeves, the Bloody Baron will find you, wherever you are!” Harry shouted after him.

When he was sure Peeves had gone, Harry looked down at Hermione, whom he was holding onto tightly. She was trembling, and seemed to be shivering.

“Hermione?” asked Harry softly, bending down in front of her. “Hermione? Are you all right?”

Hermione opened her eyes. She gave a great shuddering sigh, then sobbed, “Harry... Harry... Peeves... I hate Peeves...”

Harry gave her a hug. “Don’t listen to Peeves,” he said firmly. “He’s an idiot. Now, let’s go down and eat, okay?”

Hermione gave a small sob, then nodded. The two walked down to the Great Hall together.

6. Chapter 6

The next morning after breakfast, Harry and Ron left Hermione at the door to her Arithmancy class and proceeded to North Tower for Divination.

“Harry,” said Ron slowly, as they climbed the seemingly never-ending stairs, “d’you like Hermione?”

Harry looked quickly at him. “Of course I like her!” he exclaimed, scandalized. “She’s one of my best friends ever! Why would I not like her?”

“No, not that way....” replied Ron. “I mean....” He trailed off.

Harry looked at him. “What do you mean, Ron?” he asked.

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Ron abruptly asked, “Harry, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” replied Harry, beginning to wonder why Ron was suddenly being so serious.

“Okay, well,” Ron began, staring down at his feet, “wanskhermigoutwime.”

Harry stared at him. “Sorry?” he asked.

Ron sighed. “Hermione,” he repeated. “I want to ask her to go out with me.”

Harry’s brain reeled. What? Ron wanted to ask Hermione out? What the-?

He must have looked pretty weird, because Ron said quickly, “Harry, I-I’m really sorry, mate! Really, I am! You know I would never want to do anything that would jeopardize all of our friendships, but I really can’t help how I feel, really I can’t, mate! And you don’t know how I feel about her, man! She’s always in my thoughts, every instant of the day, it’s driving me stark raving mad! Harry, I can’t let her go! What if I never tell her how I feel about her and she hooks up with Malfoy or something?”

Harry let out a small laugh, then instantly sobered down. What the hell was he laughing about? His two best friends might get together. And then again, why shouldn’t he be laughing? What was so bad about Ron and Hermione getting together?

Ron was watching Harry with something of a worried look on his face. “You okay, mate?” he asked when Harry looked up at him.

Harry nodded, forcing a happy expression. “Yeah, fine,” he replied. “Good- good luck on asking Hermione out.”

Ron grinned. “Knew you’d say that, Harry,” he said. “Thanks, mate. And, you know we’d never try to butt you out as our friend. Sure, Hermione and I will have our private moments, but we’re still your best friends, and never forget that, ‘k?”

Harry quickly looked down at his shoes. “That’s not-” he started, then stopped. “Yeah, well, we better be going, then, we’re going to be late.” And with that, he quickly climbed up the silvery ladder leading to Professor Trelawney’s classroom without another word to Ron.

7. Chapter 7

All through lunch, Ron kept giving Harry suggestive glances, meaning that he was going to ask Hermione out very soon, probably right then while eating. Harry felt something in his chest contract tightly, as if he were bound with heavy rope. He could not bear to look at either Ron or Hermione.

Finally, he heard Ron clear his throat loudly, which meant that he was about to say or do something of importance. Hermione glanced up at him.

“Your throat all right, Ron?” she asked him, with a worried look on her face.

Harry was not quite successful in stifling his amusement at this, as he let out a great big snort that caused Hermione to give him a worried look, too, as if he were going mad.

Ron scowled at him. “Throat’s fine, Herms,” he said. “But- er- I do- uh- something- ask- for- you-”

Harry hastily stuffed a rather large jam tart into his mouth as Hermione looked even more puzzled.

“Ron,” she said gently, “are you sure you’re okay? Maybe all this studying’s getting to you, I’m sure Madam Pomf-”

“No, no, I’m fine!” cut in Ron, clearly desperate. He cleared his throat again. “Hermione, uh-uh- um, yeah, well, Hermione- like- um- could I have your hand in marriage?” he burst out.

Harry, sorely unable to contain himself, burst out laughing, along with Dean, Seamus, and Neville, who had also been listening. Ron gave them all a patronizing look before burying his face in his hands.

Hermione was staring at Ron, apparently trying very hard to control her giggles. “What?” she asked, with an incredulous look on her face. “What?”

Ron looked up, his face crimson. The four other boys took one look at him and burst out laughing again, taking long, deep gasps to keep themselves from choking.

Ron ignored them. “Hermione, will you- er- will you- can I- date you?” he finished rather awkwardly.

Hermione stared at him for a long moment, apparently very taken aback by this sudden proposition. For some reason, her eyes met Harry’s for a few seconds.

“Erm,” she replied awkwardly. “What?”

By now, Ron was wishing he had never been born. “Date- me,” he repeated, blushing furiously. “Go out- with me.”

There was a long silence, during which Hermione stared at Harry, Ron stared at the ground, and Dean, Neville, Seamus, and Harry all stared at Hermione. Finally, Seamus broke the silence.

“Er,” he said, “are- are we just going to sit around st-staring at each other all- all day?”

Hermione glanced at him, then turned to Ron. “Ron,” she said gently, “why?”

Harry quickly looked at her. Ron slowly raised his head.

“Why?” he repeated in a flat, expressionless voice. “Why, what?”

“Why- why are you asking me out?” she ventured.

Ron stared, openmouthed, at her. “Because- because- because I love you, dammit!” he sputtered. “Is that such a crime?! And, by the fuckin’ way, when I ask a goddamn girl out, does there have to be a goddamn audience?!?!”

Harry knew that Ron was going to go over the edge, and soon. He quickly caught Hermione’s eye and nodded, to show that she needed to agree, and now. Hermione shook her head and mouthed, “I can’t, Harry, I can’t!”

Harry sighed and slowly edged over closer to her. In one swift move, he grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear, “He’s going to flip. Say. Yes. Please, if you want us to live.”

Hermione slowly closed her eyes, then opened them and nodded. She looked down at Ron, who had gone back to staring at the ground after his little outburst.

“Ron,” she said quietly, “okay.”

Dean, Neville, and Seamus all started. Harry squeezed Hermione’s hand in encouragement. Ron raised his eyes and looked at her. “You- will?” he stammered. “For- real?”

Taking a deep breath and holding on to Harry’s hand tighter than ever, Hermione nodded. “Yeah...” she trailed off. “Yeah....”

Ron’s look of anger and helplessness instantly changed to one of pure delight and joy. “Oh, Hermione!” he exclaimed in a gleeful voice, and he leaned across the table and kissed her on the lips.

Harry felt Hermione’s hand tighten up extremely. Gently, he took his other hand and covered hers with it, stroking it gently. While doing so, he memorized the pattern of her hand. The lines... the curves... the shapes....

Next to him, Hermione had pulled away from Ron and sat, crimson-faced in her seat, staring at the ground. Neville, Dean, and Seamus were hooting. Ron was grinning rather brightly. Harry pasted a fake smile on his face, still caressing Hermione’s hand.

“Hey, Herms,” said Ron, winking and looking very smug indeed, “what do you say we- uh- go up to my room and- uh- read awhile?”

Hermione gasped. Her hand clenched even tighter around Harry’s, who suddenly felt a strong rush of dislike for Ron. Hermione had been their best friend for years, and now Ron was acting as if she were a toy, or some plaything that he had just acquired. He could only just imagine what Ron, in his current state of mind, would do if he and Hermione were left alone together in a room. More than anything else, this thought made Harry want to protect Hermione til the end of the world, or longer.

Near them, Dean, Neville, and Seamus were still hooting and grinning. Ron was also smiling and blushing with pride, expectantly looking at Hermione and waiting for a response. Hermione had taken to staring at the ground and clenching Harry’s hand firmly, as if trying to convey that she did not, under any circumstances, want to go with Ron. Harry squeezed her hand in reassurance, then looked up at Ron.

“God, Ron,” he said, “you’re being awfully dim, mate. We have Potions in ten minutes. Snape’ll go ballistic if you guys don’t show.”

Ron looked thoughtful. “You’re right, mate,” he said. “Snape will be bloody pissed if we don’t go to his damn class. All right, never mind then, lovey. We’ll go to my room some other time.”

Hermione nodded and tried to appear pouty, but only Harry felt the immense relaxation of her body and the loosening of her grip on his hand.

8. Chapter 8

Just after Potions class, Ron and Hermione disappeared. The Gryffindors said they had seen the pair of them running up the stairs together to the boys’ dormitories, but there were some others who were absolutely convinced that they had seen otherwise. Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, was convinced that she had seen Ron furiously snogging Hermione out behind the greenhouses. Terry Boot, on the other hand, insisted that he had glimpsed the pair of them grappling in a love war at the back of the library. The most ridiculous rumor was being spread by Pansy Parkinson, of course, who said that Ron and Hermione were passionately making love in the Forbidden Forest (where else, but the most dangerous of all places at Hogwarts to make love?)

Harry knew most of this was nonsense. He did, however, believe the one about the two of them running up to the boys’ dorms, because Seamus, Dean, and Neville had all confirmed it for him. Harry had been in the library at that time, getting a head-start on a nasty Potions chart. He had intended to impress Hermione with his newfound homework skills when he got back to the common room, but had instead arrived to be informed of the fact that she was currently up in Ron’s room, doing who-knows-what. Harry’s first thought was to run up there and rescue her, but when he heard Seamus, Dean, and Neville’s comments on how happy she had looked with Ron, he had decided not to. Instead, he sat with Neville at dinner, talking to him about Quidditch and other random things. Harry was beginning to realize that Neville Longbottom was actually a very interesting person, and that he had one of the best sense of humors Harry had ever seen, considering that Harry had seen a lot, what with all the time he’d spent with Fred and George Weasley over the years.

After dinner, he had retreated to the common room to sit around, do homework, chat with Neville, and worry about Hermione. She had been up there since after Potions class, which had been right after lunch. What in the world were she and Ron doing? They couldn’t be- oh, no, they couldn’t be doing that! They were so- so- so young! No, that couldn’t be it... of course not! Thus sat Harry, wondering and worrying.

“Harry, I command you to stop worrying about Hermione,” Neville said, after the tenth time of Harry not responding to what he was saying. “I tell you, she’s fine. She looked so happy when she was running up there with Ron; Harry, I guarantee you that if Hermione wanted to leave, she would’ve left.”

“But Neville, what if she’s-”

“She’s not dead, Harry! Goodness! Stop being so morbid! Why in the world would she be dead?!”

Harry sighed and looked around once more. “I’m just worried about her, Neville,” he said. “She’s my best friend. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

Neville’s expression softened. “Harry, I know,” he said gently. “But excessively worrying about her is not going to help anything. Besides, Hermione is Ron’s girlfriend. It’s natural for a new couple to go make out or whatever for a couple of hours. It’s normal. I know Hermione’s your best friend, but Ron is her boyfriend. Ron and Hermione will do things that you and Hermione would not do. They now share a different bond than you and Hermione do, or you and Ron do. See?”

Harry stared at him. “Do things?” he asked. “What things?!”

Neville rolled his eyes. “Merlin, Harry,” he said, “don’t tell me you don’t know what kind of things Ron and Hermione are going to do.”

Harry stared. “No, I don’t know,” he said. “Tell me.”

Neville sighed. “They’ll kiss... uh, they’ll French kiss... uh, and... maybe something more? Come on, Harry, I have no idea what Ron and Hermione will do. I’ve only had one girlfriend, myself, and that was for about three days.”

Harry recalled the beginning of the year, when Ginny had broken up with Dean to go out with Neville. That certainly hadn’t lasted very long, for Ginny and Neville were completely and totally not made for each other, and they had broken up within three days. Ginny had later paired up with Dean again.

Harry sighed in frustration. “But Neville, I’m just so worr- hey!”

Someone had suddenly placed their hands over his eyes, blocking his vision. He started and tried to jerk the hands away, but they persisted. Then, he heard a certain someone’s familiar giggles.

“Guess who!” came the unmistakable voice of Hermione.

Harry laughed. “Why, Professor Trelawney, is that you?” he exclaimed in a voice of fake astonishment. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to die until June!”

“Oh, but you see, my dear boy, the clairvoyant vibrations will be most severely disturbed if I- er- I mean- the fates allow you to live that long,” said Hermione in an excellent impression of Professor Trelawney’s mystical tones. “So I must kill you off sooner than I thought. Er, did I say I must kill you off? I meant, the fates, your destiny, will kill you- I mean, no, not the fates... er-”

Harry let out a great snort of laughter.

“My dear!” exclaimed “Professor Trelawney” in a scandalized tone. “You are most disrupting the sacred aura! Kindly do not make light of the- er- Seeable!”

“Right,” said Harry. “So... what are you predicting for me today, then?”

“Ahh...” whispered Hermione, her mystical tones reappearing. “Your birthdate... I have carefully calculated the positions of your star and moon, and it has become quite clear, my dear, that you were born in... midwinter.”

“No,” replied Harry, just as he had done fourth year in that Divination class, “I was born in July.”

And with that, he, Hermione, and Neville (who had also been listening) burst out laughing. Even though Hermione hadn’t been in that Divination class, Ron and Harry had told her all about it. Hermione came around to the front of Harry and sank into a chair near him.

“Excellent impression, Miss Granger,” said Harry, grinning. “And, not to sound like your mother or anything, but where have you been?”

Hermione grinned and passed a hand over her eyes. “Just a mutual comment,” she said casually. “Snogging really uses up your energy!”

“What?!” exclaimed Harry, sitting up straight. “What?! Snogging?! Who?! Where?! How?! Why?!”

Hermione looked surprised at this sudden outburst. “Ron, of course,” she replied. “My boyfriend, remember?”

Harry stared. From what he’d seen at lunch, Hermione hadn’t been in the least bit keen on dating Ron. And now she was snogging with him?”

“Ron?” repeated Harry blankly. “Ron?”

“Harry, Ron is Hermione’s boyfriend, you know,” put in Neville pointedly.

“I know!” Harry exclaimed. “I just- just- just thought...”

Hermione was looking at him quizzically. “Just thought what, Harry?” she asked.

“Well- uh- you and- uh- Ron...” trailed off Harry.

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione sighed. “Ron and I aren’t going to stop being friends with you just because we’re going out now! Us two will just have a different relationship with each other than with you, of course, but we’d never stop associating with you or anything! Harry, goodness, of course not!”

“But- lunch...” stammered Harry. “Today? When Ron asked you out?”

“Harry,” said Hermione gently, “Ron is a great partner. I was just a little surprised, that’s all. He’s really sweet. I really do like him a lot.”

Harry was now just completely and totally overwhelmed. “Hermione-” he croaked. “But-”

Hermione sighed, leaned over, and gave Harry a hug. “Don’t worry, Harry,” she said, “you’ll always be our best friend. Nothing will ever change that, don’t you worry!”

Rage overtook Harry. “THAT’S- NOT- WHAT- I- MEANT!!!!!” he burst out. “I WASN’T TALKING ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!! YOU MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED, BUT I WAS TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THAT!!!!!!! SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TODAY!!!!!! SOMETHING REALLY FUNNY IS GOING ON WITH YOU HERMIONE BECAUSE YOU ARE ACTING LIKE SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TODAY DIDN’T- EVEN- FREAKING- HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

And with that, he jumped from his chair and bolted up the stairs.

9. Chapter 9

“Harry. Harry. Harry, open the door.”

Hermione stood outside the door to Harry’s dorm room, trying to get him to unlock it and let her enter. She might as well have been talking to the wall, however, because there was absolutely no response from him.

Inside the room, Harry was hunched over his bed, breathing hard. His sudden outburst had surprised even him, and he didn’t know what to do next. Everything seemed so confusing... Ron and Hermione, him and Hermione, Neville, Hermione, Ron... everything was jumbling together in his mind, not allowing him to pursue one of them at a time.

Outside the room, Hermione sighed in frustration and turned to Neville, who had come up beside her. “He’s not listening,” she said.

“Let me try,” responded Neville, and he moved over next to the door. “Harry,” he said.

No response.

“Harry,” Neville repeated. “Harry, are you in there?”

Still no response.

“Harry!” Neville fairly shouted. “Harry! Are you listening to me?!”

Nothing.

“HARRY JAMES POTTER!!!!” shouted Neville at the top of his lungs. “HARRY!! JAMES!! POTTER!!!!!!!! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!?!?!?!”

Still, not a sound.

Neville kicked the ground in frustration and turned back to Hermione, shaking his head.

“Oh, this is so stupid,” Hermione said angrily. “I didn’t mean to- I didn’t mean to say that- the way I said it- I just meant- oh, Alohomora!”

The door immediately sprang open, revealing Harry standing there.

With a gasp of surprise and anger, he turned to face them. “What the hell do you want?!” he shouted in a voice that surprised even himself.

Shaking, Hermione somehow found her voice. “Harry-” she croaked. “Harry- Harry, I didn’t mean it the way I said it-”

“Yeah, then, why the hell did you say it?!” Harry yelled back.

“Harry- Harry, please listen- Harry, I didn’t mean to sound so... like we were just reassuring you for the sake of it... really, Harry-”

“Yeah, well, I DON’T GODDAMN CARE!!!!!!” shouted Harry at the top of his voice. “I DON’T GODDAMN CARE WHAT THE HELL YOU MEANT TO SAY, WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT TO SAY, I DON’T GODDAMN CARE!! I’M THROUGH WITH YOU; I DON’T NEED ANY EXPLANATIONS OF WHAT YOU WANTED TO SAY, I DON’T FREAKING CARE!!!!!!! YOU AND RON CAN GO DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT TO DO BECAUSE I’M NOT A PART OF IT, OBVIOUSLY, SO JUST GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Having used all his energy up, Harry, breathing hard from that outburst, threw himself onto the bed and flung the curtains shut.

Ashen-faced and shaking, Hermione slowly backed out of the room, followed by Neville. The two made their way back down to the common room. Neither of them spoke.

“Well,” said Neville at last, “that sure didn’t work out.”

Bursting into tears, Hermione ran from the room.