The Bachelor- best friend edition

heaven85

Rating: G
Genres: Romance, Mystery
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 09/01/2005
Last Updated: 23/01/2011
Status: in_progress

This fic is based on what happens when Harry's friends sign him up for the show the Bachelor. Harry convinces Hermione to act as his spy for the show. Read to see what happens next. Please review and let my know what you think. What is up with the mysterious girl name Allie? Read to find out. Chapter 31 up.

Chapters

1. Unexpected turn of events

2. First meeting

3. First meeting pt 2

4. First rose ceremony and group date #1

5. Group date #2

6. Rose ceremony #2 and group date #2

7. Group date #2 (12 remaining)

8. Rose ceremony #3 and group date #1

9. Interlude

10. Hermione's reward part 1

11. Beggining of the dare

12. Pool

13. The end of the night

14. Rose Ceremony #4

15. Individual date #1

16. Group date choice #1- Poetry Reading

17. Group date choice #2 and the rose ceremony

18. More coincidences?

19. More secrets revealed

20. Trust issues

21. Disaster Strikes

22. More discoveries

23. Surprises

24. Learning the truth about Allie

25. Allie's secret

26. Who is the real Hermione

27. Talking to the parents

28. Down to the final three again

29. A perfect evening

30. A little interlude

31. The Fashion Show

32. More questions

1. Unexpected turn of events

A/N: This is completely an AU fic. I know I should be working on my other fic but I needed to take a break and had to write this. This is an idea I got from some other fanfics that I read. Its based on the show the Bachelor. I know there have probably been other fics based on this but I haven't read one that mentioned the spy part of the show. In this fic Harry and Hermione are best friends and he has asked Hermione to be his spy on the show. Hopefully nobody has done that before and if they have I'm sorry but there just have been so many fanfics out there that I must have missed it. Hope that everyone enjoys it and please read and REVIEW!!!

The Bachelor: H/hr version (best friend)

Author: heaven85

Chapter 1: Unexpected turn of events

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter or any of the other characters in this fic They belong to JK Rowling and this fic is for entertainment purposes only. I also don't own the show The Bachelor and am not affliated in any way to the creators of the show or ABC.

Harry Potter was a tall young man living alone in an apartment in England. He had just gotten back home after a long walk outside and he sees a light on his answering machine indication he had a message. He played it to check for messages.

“Hi this is the executive producer of the show the Bachelor and we are pleased to announced that you Mr. Harry Potter have been selected to be this season's the Bachelor. This season you are also able to pick a female friend of yours to act as a spy for you as well as pretend to be one of the 25 woman contestants on the show. We'll be sending you all the information that you need in a couple of days. Once you have made your decision on who is going to be the spy then let us know so that we can get you set up. Thanks for your cooperation and congratulations.” Harry Potter's answering machine bleeped.

“What in hell was that? I never even applied.” Harry wondered confused and as if on cue he heard a knock on his room.

“Hey Harry. How are things going for you?” Ron asked cheerfully.

“Something really strange has happened.” Harry responded.

“What do you mean? Did something bad happen?” Ron asked feeling worried because with Harry working as an Auror, he saw a lot of bad things happening around him.

“No Ron. Nothing like that.” Harry answered realizing what Ron meant.

“Then what is it?” Ron asked relieved.

“Listen to this message.” Harry replied simply and played the message for him.

“So what?” Ron asked curiously.

“What do you mean so what? I never entered the contest unless you had something to do with it.” Harry asked raising his eyebrow.

“Surprised Harry? Now don't get all pissed at me. Me and some of the guys decided to enter you into the show. We didn't even know if you would get picked.” Ron explained.

“Ron, you know I hate the attention. You're supposed to be my best friend. Why would you ever sign me up for those things?” Harry asked.

“ I am your best friend Harry. I did this for your own good.” Ron answered.

“How do you figure that?” Harry asked exasperated.

“Think about it this way. It has been quite a few years Harry. You're 25. You have hardly dated and there have been dozens of women who would have loved to go out with you in our world.” Ron explained.

“They just want to date me because I'm famous, they don't know me.” Harry explained defensively.

“Exactly, which is why some of the guys and I decided to apply for you. Think about it this is a muggle television show and nobody would know who you are. You would be just a regular guy and they could get to know you. Its just what you need to help you just get out there and give it a shot.” Ron explained.

“I don't know about this. This situation is kind of weird and how did you hear about this show? ” Harry replied.

“ A friend told me about it because he heard a lot about it when he walked out into muggle England and decided to check it out. I did too and I got hooked. Look on the bright side, one of those women would be someone that you know and trust. You really should give it a shot.” Ron added.

“But it's a muggle show Ron. Where am I supposed to say I went to school and what about my job?” Harry asked.

“I didn't really think of that.” Ron replied with a shrug.

“You should have thought of that before you entered me.” Harry responded turning around.

“How were we supposed to know you would actually get picked huh? This really is an opportunity of a lifetime. Think about it 25 beautiful woman competing for your affections. It would a dream of mine.” Ron added.

“That part does sound kind of cool but its actually 24 Ron. One of the woman can be a friend of mine and spy on the other woman for me.” Harry admitted.

“That sounds pretty good. They could help you see what they're like when they're not around you. You're going to ask Hermione right?” Ron asked.

“Of course. Don't know if she'd want to do something like this though.” Harry answered.

“So are you going to do it? It'll be great Harry, I can feel it.” Ron asked excitedly.

“Well… if I can get Hermione to go too then I guess I will try.” Harry answered after a moment of thought.

“Great.” Ron said slapping Harry on the arm, then thought, `I hope Hermione does go because I think Harry needs this.'

*~*~*~*~

Hermione's phone rang and she picked it up and groaned, “Hello”

“Hermione, its me.” Harry said.

“Who's me?” Hermione teased with a smile.

“You know who it is.” Harry teased back.

“No, I'm going to hang up now then me.” Hermione responded back.

“Okay, okay. Its Harry.” Harry answered as he rolled his eyes.

“Harry who? I can't seem to remember knowing any Harrys.” Hermione said pretending to think long and hard.

“Harry potter you know, one of your best friends.” Harry said playing along.

“Oh its you.” Hermione answered in a disappointed tone of voice.

“I had some really important things to tell my best friend but now I think I'm going to find a new one.” Harry answered back with a grin.

“Oooh. You don't play fair Mr. Potter.” Hermione answered back.

“Look who's talking.” Harry replied with a grin.

“Harry? What's up?” Hermione asked quickly while rolling her eyes.

“Well, Ron apparently signed me up to do the reality show the Bachelor.” Harry explained.

“Really? That git. Doesn't he know you don't like that kind of attention.” Hermione replied laughing.

“Now that I think about it, he does have a point I mean the program is a muggle one so all those woman wouldn't know mean as being famous and maybe they could see me as the person that I am.” Harry went on.

“That part is true but this is muggle program Harry. There will be a lot of things that you can't say about yourself.” Hermione added.

“I know. But those things could be worked out. I mean I could just be more general about certain things. Like I just went to a boarding school in Europe. That kind of thing.” Harry answered.

“Well you better check and see what Ron and the others wrote about you then, just to be safe.” Hermione answered practically.

“You're right. What would I do without you?” Harry asked.

“Well you probably wouldn't do very well, would live in like a dump and probably wouldn't have graduated.” Hermione answered.

“You know what to say to hurt a guy don't you?” Harry asked.

“I do my best.” Hermione answered smiling.

“So do you think I should do this?” Harry asked.

“Well if this is what you want to do then I'll support you.” Hermione replied cheerfully even if that wasn't exactly how she was feeling.

“I'm glad you said that because you know how they can get a friend to act as a spy for them? Well you're the lucky one.” Harry added.

“I'm not going to go on that show Harry. It's not something I would normally do.” Hermione protested.

“It's not something I would normally do either but it sounds fun and it's always good to try something new right?” Harry asked.

“Okay I did say that but for more important things then this.” Hermione protested.

“This is important Hermione. Its about who I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.” Harry answered.

“But you know what usually happens in these shows. They usually break up and don't last. Meeting people like this usually doesn't result in a long lasting relationship.” Hermione added.

“If it doesn't last than fine but isn't it worth it to try. The right person for me could be there. There's nothing wrong with giving it a shot is there?” Harry asked.

“No there isn't, but why me? You could ask Ginny or someone else?” Hermione asked.

“Because you're my best friend. You know me better than anyone else. Because you're the only one I could possibly trust to help me make the right choice of who I could possibly spend the rest of my life with. There is no way I could make the right choice without you? Do you want me to pick someone that is absolutely wrong for me? Please Hermione?” Harry pleaded.

Hermione groaned, `This is not fair, he knows that I can't say no to him when he begs.' “Fine Harry. I'll do it but you have to promise me that you WILL listen to my advice.”

“Of course. You're the best Hermione.” Harry responded happily now that he knew his life would be in good hands.

“I know. Bye.” Hermione replied hanging up. `What have I got myself into? How can I do this? I can I tell him to fall in love with someone other than me? Can I really be there and watch him with all those other girls? Well Granger, you're going to find out.'

*~*~*~

“So how did it go with Hermione?” Ron asked anxiously.

“It took some persuading but I knew she would come through. She always does.” Harry answered with a smile.

“Tbis is going to be so great Harry. Just wait and see.” Ron replied.

“I really hope so Ron.” Harry answered.

The next few days were a whirl wind of activity as he head to pack meet with the producers of the show who gave him all the information and instructions as well as rules. They answered all of his questions except for the one he knew that he couldn't ask. Wonder what they would think when they found out that he was a wizard? But since it was a muggle tv show he knew that he couldn't mention it. The only comfort that he felt was that he knew that Hermione would be there. He still hadn't seen her for a few days because he had been really busy.

He was really nervous. This was the day he was going to meet the group of woman on the show that could help him find the person he could spend the rest of his life with. He really hoped he would find that person. He took a deep breath as he saw the limousine that carried the woman arriving.

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2. First meeting

A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed. It means a lot to me to see so many people who are interested in this story. Its great to read all the nice comments. This chapter does not have much H/hr interaction but they will for sure later since I’m just setting everyone up. I also wanted to let all of you know that the next update won’t happen until the probably the end of next week because I have to study for test. But if I continue to get a lot of reviews like for the last chapter. I’ll work hard and try to get it up by the beginning of next week. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please REVIEW and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry potter and Hermione Granger. They belong to JK Rowling and I don’t own the Bachelor and am no way affiliated with them.

Chapter 2: First meeting

The host of the show named Mathew came over to Harry and said, “Okay are you ready to meet these lovely ladies?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Harry said putting on a smile.

“Alright then.” He said and headed over to the producers to tell them that he was ready.

Harry took a deep breath before he headed over to the spot that was near the door where he was going to greet each woman as she arrived. He was feeling more nervous than normal. Although he never liked the attention he had received since he was 11, it was something that he was used to. He also wasn’t nervous about whether or not the woman will like him, he may not be the most handsome guy around but he knew from experience that he was considered an attractive man and he knew that. What he was nervous about was the decisions he would have to make tonight. What if he made the wrong cuts tonight. It would be hard to get to know any of these women in the time he was allowed. He would just have to trust his instincts, which have not let him down much these last few years.

After a few minutes the first contestant arrived. She had on a flattering blue dress that complimented her figure well, “Hi my name is Lisa.,” she said offering her hand towards me.

“Nice to meet you Lisa” I replied with a smile and kissed her hand.

“The pleasures mine.” Lisa answered with a grin.

Harry met and greeted each of these women in a similar way and noticed that they were all beautiful women and seemed really nice but some of them were wearing more makeup than he would have liked.

Finally the last woman to arrive was the one he most wanted to see but the sight that came to him literally took his breath away.

Hermione came down looking more beautiful than he could possibly of imagined. Her hair was put up in an elegant style of soft curls surrounding her face highlighting the softness of her features. She was wearing just a touch of makeup that accentuated her eyes, cheeks and her soft lips. She was wearing an elegant lavender gown that was very flattering to her curves and high heels.

Harry was mesmerized by the beauty in front of him and was brought back out of his trance by her voice.

“I’m Hermione.” She answered with a twinkle in her eye.

“Its really nice to meet you. You look amazing Hermione. Wow.” Harry complimented in a deeper voice than normal.

“Thanks.” Hermione responded with a blush and then whispered nervously, “I can’t believe I’m doing this. I hope I won’t wreck this for you.”

“You won’t. You have never let me down have you?” Harry whispered.

“No.” Hermione answered with a smile.

“Go, knock them dead.” Harry added.

Hermione just laughed and headed over to join the rest of the girls.

After taking a breather he headed over to join the girls who all stood in a line.

“Welcome to the hit reality show ‘The Bachelor”. This season’s Bachelor is Mr. Harry Potter. He works in intelligence and has many successful cases under his belt. If you want to learn more about him you will have your chance to find out today. All of you will have a chance to get to know Harry today in the allotted time provided. Then he will make his choices and 10 of you will have to go home which leaves 15 of you here to continue on to the next round. Good luck to all of you and have fun tonight.” Matthew finished and then tapped onto Harry to tell him he needed to speak with him.

“So you know what’s going to happen tonight right. You have to pick 15 of them tonight and you also have a first impression rose which you give the lady that gave you the best first impression.” Matthew explained.

“Okay.” Harry nodded.

The girls apparently separated into little groups talking amongst each other while waiting for Harry

Once Matthew left Harry took a breath a smiled and walked over to one group of ladies.

“Hi mind if I join you?” Harry asked.

“Of course not.” One of girls said.

“First of all I would like to tell how honored I am to be spending time with all you beautiful ladies. Why don’t we take turns and introduce ourselves and say one thing about ourselves.” Harry spoke.

He saw the ladies nod and then he continued, “Why don’t I start first. I’m sure all of you know by now my name is Harry Potter and one of my favorite things to do is to be in the great outdoors.” He then pointed to the brunette to his right and said, “Why don’t you start?”

“My name is Elizabeth McDermett and I work as a dancer.” Elizabeth spoke.

“My name is Lisa Reeves and I love to sing and write songs.” Lisa said as she flipped her reddish brown hair back.

“What kind of songs do you write?” Harry asked.

“I mainly write ballads but I’m trying to do other types of music as well because they are what are influencing me right now.” Lisa answered with a bright smile.

Harry couldn’t help but smile back, she had such a beautiful smile and was gorgeous but not in a model type way.

“What about you?” Harry asked the beautiful girl next to Lisa.

“Me? My name is Summer Kirke, I’m a model and in my spare time I like to write.” Summer answered with a smile.

“That sounds great. What do you write about?” Harry asked curiously and couldn’t help but think about just how gorgeous she was but she didn’t seem to have as much self-confidence as some of the others.

“ I’ve published a few novels that have done pretty well. I also like writing mysteries but they’re mainly just for myself for now.” Summer answered with a shrug.

“I love mysteries myself. Maybe sometime you can tell me about them.” Lisa added.

“Sure, if anyone else wants to learn about them I’ll be happy to share them.” Summer answered.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Harry answered.

“My name is Carole Hudson and I love to ride horses. I’m a vet as well.” Carole spoke.

“I also love horse-back riding Do you ride in any shows?” Summer asked enthusiastically.

“I love advanced jumping. I’ve done pretty well in the shows I’ve been in. I’ve been in the top three usually. What about you Harry?” Carole answered.

“Me? Well I haven’t really done much horse-back riding but I would love to learn.” Harry answered.

“I would love to teach you sometime. I placed first in most of the shows I’ve rode in. You’re probably a natural.” A new voice added with chin length blond hair.

“That’ll be great.” Harry answered with a smile.

“Show off” Lisa muttered.

“What did you say?” The girl with the chin length blond hair asked sweetly.

“I just wanted to ask if I could come along on these lessons.” Lisa asked with a forced smile.

“ Of course, the more the merrier. Let me introduce myself. My name is Stephanie Karson and I’m a news reporter.” Stephanie spoke as she sat up straighter and crossed her long legs.

“So what kind of news stories do you do?” Harry asked.

“I like to do the hard hitting truth, try to get the facts that the public has a right to know.” Stephanie responded with a smile.

“That sounds like a lot of hard work.” Harry commented.

“It is sometimes but its what I like to do.” Stephanie answered.

Harry then turned to the last girl and said with a smile, “What about you?”

“Well, my name is Callie Stuart and I work in law enforcement.” Callie explained.

“Really? Mind if I ask what branch of it do you work?” Harry asked intrigued looking at the cute browned hair woman in front of him.

“Right now I work at a police force dealing in gang activity. I actually want to get into the FBI.” Callie answered brightly as someone laughed.

“You? No offense for me asking but you don’t look for athletic. Can you really get in?” a red haired woman asked.

“None taken. I get that a lot but I do have a brown belt in karate.” Callie answered good naturedly.

“Really? That’s great. I’m Isabelle Lane by the way. I have a brown belt as well. Maybe one day we could trade pointers.” Isabelle asked with a fake smile.

“Well Isabelle. I would love to.” Callie responded with a smile.

‘So Callie, why do you want to get into the FBI?” Harry asked curiously.

“I have always been interested in the law and I always wanted a job in which I know I can make a difference and that what I do is important…” Callie answered honestly before being cut off.

“I know the same feeling. That is one of the reasons that I got into being a reporter. To give the people the real story.” Stephanie added.

“Rude much?” Lisa asked.

“Excuse me?” Stephanie asked.

“Well did you even see if Callie was done talking?” Lisa asked raising her eyebrow.

“Well she sounded like she was weren’t you Callie?” Stephanie asked.

“Well if you ask her like that of course she’ll say not.” Lisa argued.

“Now who’s being rude. Let Callie answer for herself.” Stephanie answered back and turning to Callie. Callie looked back and forth between the two not knowing how to answer.

Harry looked in amusement as he watched the argument between the ladies. Isabelle took the opportunity to touch Harry’s arm and asked, “Care for some fresh air?”

Harry nodded and they headed out the door to the garden outside that was filled with flowers and the night sky was clear and filled with stars.

*~*~*~*~*~

Katie, Tracy and Christine noticed Harry slipping out with a red haired woman.

Katie turned to the other girls and said, “I can’t believe she did that. Who does she think she is? If they’re not back in 5 minutes then we’re going to raid their little party.”

*~*~*~

Meanwhile Hermione was watching across the woman and noticed that Harry was talking with a group of ladies and decided that she would have to somehow get to know all of these women in order to help Harry out.

A couple of ladies came over and said, “Hey I’m Chloe and this is Jennifer.” The brunette said with an exotic look and handed her a drink.

“Hi I’m Hermione.” Hermione responded taking the drink.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Jennifer responded with a warm smile.

“So how did you end up here?” Hermione asked.

“I was just telling Jennifer here that I was tired of all the losers that I’ve been dating. Most of the guys I dated aren’t interested in a long-term relationship or just aren’t that material. The last guy I dated was just so infuriating. When I asked him about the future he was like why do you want to ruin what we have right now? Let’s just take it one day at a time.” Chloe answered.

“Really? That is nothing though the last guy I met was like all over me with the come one baby let’s make beautiful music together and I’m like excuse me do I know you? And he’s like yeah in your dreams. And when I was walking away he kept and talking to me. I was just thinking can’t you get it in your head that I don’t like you?” Jennifer added.

“Did you actually say that?” Hermione asked with a laugh.

“No but I wish I did. Guys can be such jerks.” Jennifer added.

“I know what you mean. My last boy friend was all possessive and didn’t like how much time I was spending with my best friend who’s a guy.” Hermione answered.

“Sounds like a jerk.” Chloe commented.

“Let’s drink to that.” Jennifer responded raising her glass.

Hermione and Chloe joined in on the toast.

*~*~*~*~

“So Isabelle what else do you like to do?” Harry asked as she sat down on the bench.

“Well I’m actually work at a bank as a financial advisor but I love the martial arts because it helps you stay fit and healthy.” Isabelle replied grinning.

“I agree that the martial arts is good for blood flow and energy. I always enjoy the good workout.” Harry answered with a smile.

They took a moment to look outside and Isabelle commented, “Its really beautiful out here isn’t it?”

“Yea it is.” Harry replied back.

“It kind of reminds me of back home.” Isabelle replied.

“Really how?” Harry asked.

“My brother and I used to always go out and look at the stars together and just chat and catch up on life. We’re both really busy and don’t always see each other. Ever since our parents died, we’re all each other have.” Isabelle answered with sadness in her eyes.

“I know what you mean. I never knew my parents but I really do miss them.” Harry responded and they shared a knowing look.

*~*~*~*~

Katie led the other girls out and spotted Harry immediately. She asked quickly, “Do you mind?” and sat down.

“Excuse me but we were having a private conversation.” Isabelle protested.

“As you can see, there are a lot of us that still haven’t had our chance to speak to Harry yet. I don’t think its fair that you get a lot of one-on- one time with him.” Katie answered.

3. First meeting pt 2

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews and kind comments. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Please continue to REVIEW and let me know what you think. Later on you will have a chance to decide the fate of some of the women.

Chapter 3: First meeting pt 2

"As you can see, there are a lot of us that still haven’t had our chance to speak to Harry yet. I don’t think its fair that you get a lot of one-on-one time with him." Katie answered.

"I see your point." Harry answered with a nod and noticed that Katie had short black hair with vibrant brown eyes and looked stunning in her halter style cream gown.

" Hi, my name is Katie Tagle. Harry I’d like to know what are you looking for in a potential partner?" Katie asked.

" Hi Katie. Well I’m looking for someone, who is true to him/herself, independent, has a good sense of humor, is honest and someone I can trust. They should also be somewhat smart, have a caring heart and is able to stand by their friends no matter what." Harry answered after careful thought.

"Those are some things that I look for too. I mean the person I spend my life with has to be trustworthy because I would want to be able to talk to them about anything." Katie answered.

"What about you?" Harry asked Tracy who had shoulder length red hair up in a bun highlighting her blue eyes and high cheekbones and bright smile.

"First of all my name is Tracy Lindo and for me I would want someone that I could confide in, have self confidence and a good sense of humor." Tracy answered.

"Tracy, I also find that a good sense of humor is essential in a relationship." Harry responded with a smile.

Tracy smiled back and said, "Yes I couldn’t really be with someone who can’t take any jokes because I think we all need something to lighten the mood when things get complicated."

"That I definitely agree with." He replied with a nod and turned to Christine expectedly. She had an angelic look to her with her brown soft curls and slim figure in a peach strapless gown.

"My name is Christine Lawford. What do I look for? Well I definitely look for someone who’s intelligent, thoughtful, kind, and trustworthy with a humble sense of confidence. I’m also looking for someone who has a love of music because that is such a major part of my life but that isn’t essential." She replied after some thought.

"So Christine, how is music part of your life?" Harry asked curiously.

"My dad plays in an orchestra and my mom is an opera singer. I’ve been singing opera for most of my life and I really just love being on the stage and singing some of my favorite operas in front of an audience. The music is just so moving." Christine answered with a wide grin.

"Maybe I could hear you sing sometime?" He asked with a grin noticing that her eyes lit up when she talked about her music.

"I would love to." She answered happily.

"I would love to hear you sing too." Isabelle added.

"Sure, I wouldn’t mind performing for those who want to hear it." Christine replied with a tight smile.

"Christine is awesome." Tracy and Katie added.

"The two of you have heard her sing before?" He asked surprised.

"I have but I didn’t actually know it was her until we met her here today. My dad loves listening to opera and my whole family went one year." Katie answered.

"I actually did know it was her because the time my best friend and I went together, I heard her sing and I loved it so I tried to find out more about her. I was so surprised and excited to meet her here." Tracy answered.

"Thanks for the compliments but I’ll just let Harry make up his own mind." Christine responded.

"So Harry what kind of music do you like?" Katie asked quickly trying to turn his attention back to her.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione was enjoying talking to Chloe and Elizabeth and found that they had some of the same views on things. She then looked around to see if she could spot Harry anywhere. He seemed to have been outside for quite some time.

Just then another woman approached them with auburn hair up in a french twist and said, "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not. The more the merrier." Chloe answered quickly.

"My name is Melanie. I think you guys are one of the only groups out there that seem to be having fun. What were you guys talking about?" She asked.

"Hi. I’m Jennifer, this is Hermione and the one over there is Chloe. It’s nice to meet you. We were just talking about our lives and why we ended up here." Jennifer answered.

"It’s good to meet all of you. Well, some of my coworkers signed me up here because they thought that I needed a change after my last boyfriend." Melanie responded.

"Don’t we all?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah." The four girls chorused and laughed.

Hermione smiled but turned around and finally saw Harry and smiled to herself as she saw these girls hanging all over him. He looked liked he was trapped and wanted to leave but couldn’t.

‘Should I help him?’ Hermione thought to herself.

She shook her head and said, "Would you guys excuse me?"

"Sure." Melanie said as Chloe and Jennifer nodded. Hermione started to make her way over to Harry.

*~*~*~*

Harry had finally gotten away from Katie and Tracy who were pestering him with questions. But before he could even take a breath, he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned and found himself facing a woman with a long brown hair, hazel brown eyes and an amazing figure.

"Hi, I don’t think I’ve had a chance to formally introduce myself. My name is Wendy Lockart." Wendy spoke.

"Hi Wendy. It’s nice to meet you. What kinds of things do you like to do?" Harry asked.

"Well I enjoy many athletic sports, reading and listening to music." She asked while batting her eyelashes.

"What kind of sports do you enjoy?" Harry asked politely trying to ignore her eyelash bashing.

"I enjoy playing lacrosse, tennis, basketball and volleyball. Volleyball is one of my favorite sports to play and it takes a lot of concentration. I was on a team in college and we made nationals." She responded continually batting her eyelashes.

Harry smiled but was really just annoyed by her eyelash bashing.

"I love volleyball too. What do you like to play Harry?" a new voice piped up.

"Well I like playing basketball. What is your name?" Harry answered nervously trying to think of muggle sports since he mainly played Quidditch but couldn’t actually mention that. He then turned to face this new girl and saw her to be quite short but had long curly auburn hair. She was also wearing a low cut pink and white gown that showed her curves in all the right places.

"My name is Shannon Rydell." She responded with a smile.

"Basketball is my favorite sport." Another girl beside Shannon piped up.

"It is a very fun game but very competitive." Harry answered this new girl with a smile.

"Yes I know what you mean. My name is Sandra Elliot and I play professionally." She answered pushing back her ringlets and stood tall with a build of a model but broader shoulders.

"Who do you play for?" Harry asked intrigued and admiring how she still looked incredibly feminine in her green gown.

"I play for New York." She responded with a smile.

"The practices must be really tiring." Shannon commented.

"Yes they work us really hard but I find that all the working out has kept me in great shape." Sandra answered.

"I totally agree that exercise is very important in keeping our blood pumping around the body and keeping us healthy." Wendy added while still batting her eyelashes.

Harry smiled but was trying to keep from laughing.

Wendy grabbed a hold of Harry’s arm and commented, "You must work out a lot."

"I like to exercise from time to time." He answered modestly.

"I say from your build that you must have to do a few hours everyday to keep that fit." Shannon added grabbing a hold of his other arm.

"Let go outside. I feel some hot air around here." Wendy said trying to lead him outside.

Shannon took a firm hold on his other arm so he couldn’t really move and she smiled sweetly and responded, "I think its coming from over there" while pointing in Wendy’s direction.

Hermione looked at Harry and tried to keep from laughing. She took a deep breath and tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Mind if I take a turn?"

Harry turned around causing both Shannon and Wendy to lose their grip. His eyes widened at the sight of Hermione but couldn’t keep back a grin and responded, "Certainly."

"So you want a turn huh?" He asked raising his eyebrows and pretended to lean closer to her.

Hermione slapped him playfully and innocently responded "If that is the thanks I get then maybe I won’t help you the next time you’re trapped."

He whispered, " Okay, okay. I thought you could take a joke."

"I can but it just wasn’t funny." She answered with a slight smile.

"Thank you for getting me out of there. That girl was driving me crazy with her eye lash thing." He answered while shaking his head.

"You mean like this?" Hermione asked batting her eyelashes.

"Stop that." Harry responded with a laugh.

Hermione looked around then said, "Maybe we should act so friendly. People might begin to suspect something."

"Okay, you’re right. I wouldn’t want you to get exposed too early." He answered and nodded.

"No we wouldn’t want that." She replied with a smile.

"So I saw you talking over there. You seemed to be having fun." Harry commented.

"I did have some nice conversations with these two girls. They seem really nice." Hermione answered.

"So do you think they could be my match?" He asked.

"I don’t actually know them that well yet but I do think they are possible candidates but you can decide for yourself." She added after a thought.

"I trust your judgement better than my own. If you say one of them could be it then I definitely think I’ll like them." He answered with a firm smile.

"You really trust my judgement?" Hermione asked.

"If I couldn’t trust your judgement then I can’t trust anybody’s." Harry reassured her.

"Well then how about you meet them?" She asked brightly.

"Lead the way milady." He answered with a bow.

Hermione just laughed and walked towards Chloe and Jennifer and noticed a few new faces.

"Look who I found?" Hermione asked the group.

"Hey Harry. My name is Chloe Desour" Chloe said with a smile.

Harry couldn’t help but smile back. Chloe was really an exotic beauty with thick brown hair, brown eyes, bronze colored skin and had on an amazing dress that looked like it was made just for her. "Hi Chloe. It’s great to meet you. So tell me something about yourself."

"Enchanted. Well I play the violin and I love helping out children so I work at daycare and visit the children’s hospital as much as I can. " Chloe answered back with a grin.

"Its wonderful to meet someone who enjoys helping out others." Harry responded with a grin.

"Jennifer here enjoys helping out others too." Chloe said pointing to friend.

"So what do you do Jennifer?" Harry asked warmly eyeing the petit blond woman with a really straight hair and big brown eyes.

"Like Chloe said, I love interacting with people. I work in human resources and try to help people find jobs and things like that." Jennifer answered as she straightened out her dress.

"That must be a rewarding experience." He answered looking at her slim figure that fit the halter styled red gown she was wearing.

"That is why I love my job. But if you think my job is rewarding you should ask Hermione." Jennifer repsonded nodding over to Hermione.

Harry then turned his attention to Hermione and with a twinkle in his eyes asked her, "So what would you like to tell us about yourself?"

"My name is Hermione Granger and I work in research at the hospital." Hermione spoke nervously but shooting Harry a silent smile.

"What kind of research do you do?" Harry asked amused at her nervousness.

"I look into remedies for certain diseases and test out the products that are already out and improve them." She answered biting back a grin as she noticed Harry’s amused expression.

"Why did you decide that you wanted to do this?" Harry asked.

"Because I want to help people and make a difference in people’s lives." Hermione answered.

This caused Harry to smile. He knew how hard Hermione worked to help others and how much of her own heart she put into it. "That’s very amazing of you to do that. I’m sure that all the people you have helped are very grateful for you help."

"It’s nice that they are but that’s not the reason I do it. I’m sure Chloe and Jennifer would say the same thing." Hermione responded looking in their direction.

"Hermione’s right. I don’t do it for their gratitude, I do it because I want to and seeing them happy and results in all the thanks I need." Chloe answered with a smile and Jennifer nodded.

Harry smiled happy for the friendship forming between his best friend and Chloe and Jennifer. He then turned to a girl with auburn hair placed in a french twist and asked, "What are your interests?"

"Well I’m Melanie Hartford and I work at a think tank. Economics." Melanie answered with a head toss and a smile.

"I’ve heard of those. What do you actually do?" Harry asked noticing her long legs and bright smile.

"I know that most people don’t really know what we do so I don’t mind explaining it. We do research of stock markets, security of the Internet and international trade. What my group is funded to do is to look test out the security at supposedly secure sites on the web." Melanie explained.

"Sounds very interesting." He commented.

"Maybe you could explain it more later?" Hermione asked eager to learn more about it.

"Sure." Melanie answered with a smile.

Harry smiled to himself knowing how eager Hermione is to read up and learn new things and turned to the girl next to Melanie with the strawberry blonde hair in loose waves and was wearing a black gown that suited her nicely.

"Hi. Tell me a little about yourself." He asked.

"Well first of all my name is Hope Black and I’m a school teacher." Hope answered shyly.

"What do you teach?" Harry asked.

"I teach at a private school with younger students." Hope answered.

"I always loved my old private school. Do you have a specific subject you teach?" He asked.

"I usually teach world history but sometimes I also teach Math." Hope replied with a slight grin.

"That’s nice. What about you?" He asked a smiling blonde woman with a pleasant smile and wearing a light blue gown that highlighted her in the appropriate areas.

"My name is Sue Crane and I work in the business of shoes." Sue answered warmly.

"That’s cool. So are you part of the design team?" Harry asked curiously.

"I sometimes come with the designs but usually mainly the ideas behind the design." Sue answered quickly.

"What company do you work at?" Jennifer asked.

" A company that works on Steve Madden’s designs." Sue answered with a grin.

"Oh my god. That is so cool because I love his shoes. Do you know him?" Melanie exclaimed.

"I talk to him sometimes but only on a business level." Sue replied amused.

"She’s just being modest. Steve calls her from time to time for lunch." The dark skinned woman next to her said.

"How do you know? " Harry asked curiously noticing Lucy’s straight black hair and how well that complimented her yellow spaghetti strapped dress.

"My name is Lucy Dunsford and I know because I am Steve’s personal assistant." Lucy answered grinning at Sue.

"She’s exaggerating. They really are just business lunches." Sue answered waving Lucy off.

"What else do you like to do Lucy?" He asked as she smiled at Sue and Lucy’s interaction.

"I enjoy drawing sketches and painting." Lucy answered with a grin.

"I would love to see one of your sketches some day." Harry answered with a grin.

"I would like that." Lucy answered with a large grin.

Harry then looked around and noticed a few women he hadn’t had a chance to talk to so he excused himself and walked over to the group of 6 woman talking silently near the couch.

"Care if I join you guys?" He asked softly.

"No problem. We were just talking about you." The girl with curly black hair responded while crossing her legs.

"Only good things I hope?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Of course but honestly we don’t know much about you yet." She responded back quickly.

"First of all what’s your name?" He asked with a lopsided grin.

" My name is Allie Renshaw" She answered and flashed him a dazzling grin.

"Well Allie, What do you want to know?" He asked smiling back at her noticing how memorizing her eyes were.

"I would like to know what dreams you have?" Allie answered after a second.

"My dreams? That’s kind of a tough question. But my dream is to be able to make the world safe for every one in it and be able to find the person I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with. My soulmate as it were and live a nice quiet life with her and our kids." Harry answered after a few moments.

"That sounds really sweet." Allie answered smiling and he could see sort of tiny tears in her eyes.

Harry smiled and turned to the shorthaired brunette next to her and asked, "What are your dreams?"

"My name is Tara Jackson and my dream is to be the best computer programmer and be able to design the most secure firewall in the world. I also want to be able to find my soulmate and spend the rest of my life with him." Tara answered in a bubbly voice.

"How far have you come with the firewall?" He asked grinning.

"I’ve come up with a few models but with all the new devices and technology coming up I might have to make a few adjustments." She responded with excitement.

Harry nodded and turned to face the auburn haired girl and asked her, "What about you?"

"Me? My name is Grace Desmone and I’m a chef. My dream is to be able to open my own restaurant." Grace answered quickly then added, "As well as the whole marriage with a soulmate thing."

"That’s great. Did you go to a culinary arts school?" He asked quickly noticing how white her teeth were.

"I did and I took a lot of classes. I work at a good restaurant right now though." Grace said with a grin.

"If you ever need help or advice, just ask." a reddish browned hair woman added.

"Sure thanks. But what experience do you have?" Grace asked curiously.

"Well I own a inn so I thought I could give you some advice because it took me a long time to achieve it and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did." She replied.

"How long have you owned your inn?" Harry asked.

"Four years. By the way I’m Karen Dawkins." Karen responded offering her hand.

Harry took it and shook it while responding, "Its nice to meet you. How long did it take you to get your own inn?"

"It took me about 5 years to finally own it and I worked a few year at another inn." Karen answered quickly.

"Really? You look pretty young." He asked intrigued.

"I’ve been saving up for the Inn since I was 14 and I had been working all sorts of odd jobs since I was 14 to earn the money. My parents helped me out a little because it is sort of part of their dream too." Karen explained.

"That’s pretty impressive." Harry commented with admiration.

"Thank you." Karen replied happily.

He then turned to the last woman with the short curly dirty blond hair and asked, "What are your dreams?"

" My name is Debbie Monroe and my dream is to be able to become a world famous clothes designer." Debbie answered with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Did you go to design school?" Harry asked quickly.

"I did but I haven’t got my big break yet but I’m going to move to Los Angeles or New York to see if I can get someone famous to wear my clothes." Debbie answered with confidence.

"I’m sure you will." Harry replied with a smile liking her confidence.

"Could I take a look at your designs one day? I might know some people who could help you." Allie asked.

"Sure, that would be great." Debbie replied with a smile.

Matthew came out and asked Harry, "You ready to give your first impression rose?"

"Almost, I just need a little more time." Harry answered with a nervous grin.

‘Should I give this to Hermione? She definitely was one of the women that gave me a good first impression but I already know her and she’s just a friend. Is that right? There is one other person that gave me a good impression. Should I give it to her?’ Harry thought to himself.

He took a deep breath and walked over to the woman of his choice…

Who does he decide to give the rose to? Stay tuned to find out. .

4. First rose ceremony and group date #1

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews. I really appreciate it and as you can see you have motivated me to post earlier! I hope you enjoy this chapter and continue to review and let me know what you think. I have fixed the typo in Chapter 2 as well. There is a authors note at the end of the chapter that I think you should all read.

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything.

Chapter 4:

Once Harry had made his decision, he walked over to her, tapped her on the shoulder slightly and asked, "I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?"

She smiled and nodded. Then he led her outside towards the porch. Before he closed the door, he shot a look back at Hermione and at that moment he noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes. He shook it off and headed out the door but made a promise to explain it to her later.

"Why do you think he wanted to talk to her?" Chloe asked Hermione.

"I don’t know." Hermione answered with a weak smile even though inside she was feeling a twinge of jealousy and sadness. ‘He must be handing out the first impression rose. Why am I feeling this way? I wasn’t expecting to get it. This is ridiculous! I have no right to be jealous. After all, we are just friends. He doesn’t even think of me like that.’ She thought to herself.

*~*~*~

"So I guess you’re wondering what I wanted to talk to you about." Harry asked nervously.

"The thought has crossed my mind." Allie replied with a smile.

"I was asked to hand out the first impression rose to the woman that I believed gave me the best first impression and after some thought I decided that it was you. There was something special about how you presented yourself and it just caught my attention." He continued.

"Really? Wow. Thank you." Allie answered with a giant smile as she accepted the rose.

"Yes. This is the first rose and that means that you automatically get to stay if you want to." Harry added hastily noticing the questioning look in her eyes.

"Of course. I would love to stay here and get to know you." Allie spoke softly and kissed him on the cheek.

"I guess we better get back. I’m sure every other woman in there is wondering what is happening right now." He answered with a grin and held out his arm to show her the way back.

Allie just nodded and smiled and headed back inside.

Matthew had just entered and spoke, " Good evening. It is now time for the first rose ceremony and as you can see there are 14 roses laid out on the table. The first rose has already been given out. Mr. Potter will be picking 15 ladies out of the 25 of you that are all here. Good luck."

The women had all lined up and were anxiously waiting to see if their name would be called. Hermione however was not nervous because she knew that her name would be called since it was all part of their plan.

Harry looked around at all the women and caught Hermione’s eye and smiled. He took a deep breath took the first rose and called out his first name and asked, "Hermione, will you accept this rose?" as she approached.

"Yes." Hermione answered with a smile and kissed his cheek and before she could pull away she heard Harry whisper, "Meet me after the ceremony, we need to talk."

Hermione was curious as to why he would want to talk but she gave him a look that he knew meant that she would come.

Harry smiled as he realized that he needed to explain to her why he didn’t give her the first rose. He knew that he didn’t have to but he wanted to.

He then continued calling out the rest of the names in similar fashion. As he got down to the last rose, he closed his eyes for a moment and asked, "Chloe, would you accept this rose?"

"Yes. I will thank you." Chloe answered with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"That was the final rose. All of you who have received a rose, I congratulate you. All of you who didn’t receive a rose take a moment to say your good-byes." Matthew announced and left the room.

After a few minutes all the women who didn’t get a rose left, leaving Hermione, Allie, Chloe, Stephanie, Isabelle, Christine, Lisa, Sue, Debbie, Jennifer, Callie, Karen, Carole, Lucy and Katie.

"Cheers." Harry said and they all joined their glasses together to celebrate the end of the first night.

After Harry had left the room, the remaining women chatted happily and Chloe said, "I’m so happy that I’ve made it this far and isn’t Harry to die for? He’s very mysterious and not to mention gorgeous."

"He definitely is gorgeous." Jennifer answered and the rest of the women nodded.

The started heading upstairs to their shared rooms and Hermione made up an excuse for staying behind by saying she lost her bracelet and needed to look for it.

"How about I help you?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh no, I’ll be fine. It’s hard to describe so it’ll be easier to look for it myself." Hermione answered waving her upstairs.

"Okay, see you in a bit?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah." Hermione nodded and as soon as they were out of side she headed outside to find Harry.

She was walking around and whispered, "Harry where are you?"

All of a sudden she felt a hand clamp over her mouth. She felt a tremor of fear across her body and tried to escape. A few seconds later, she felt herself being whirled around and she gasped in relief as she took in a familiar pair of green eyes.

Harry removed his had with a grin.

Hermione kicked him hard and said angrily, "Don’t you ever scare me like that again."

"I’m sorry but I saw you there and I couldn’t resist. You have one nasty kick. Forgive me?" Harry pleaded while rubbing his leg.

Hermione gave him a stern look and said, "I don’t know."

"Come on, you already kicked me hard. Consider that a punishment. It really does hurt." Harry said and pulled a sad puppy face.

Hermione laughed and said, "Fine, If you’re going to be such a baby about it."

"Great." He answered with a grin.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Hermione said rubbing her arms.

"You cold?" He asked.

"A little. I just felt a breeze." She answered with a faint smile.

Harry took off is jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Thanks, but aren’t you cold?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head and replied, "I wanted to talk to you about why I didn’t give you the first impression rose."

"Look Harry, you don’t have to explain anything. I wasn’t expecting to receive it. After all I’m not a ‘real’ competitor." She answered quickly.

"But I want to. It’s important to me that you understand why." He continued.

"Understand what?" Hermione asked softly.

"I really did want to give you the first rose. When I first saw you tonight, you just took my breath away. You really gave me a great first impression. But that wouldn’t be true. We’ve been best friends since we were 11 and I know that this isn’t what you’re about. It just felt wrong to give you a rose because of how beautiful you looked tonight when you’re even more beautiful on the inside where it counts. You have the most amazing heart I have ever know. I’m so blessed that you have always been there for me and you still are. It wouldn’t feel right lumping you together will all those other women when you mean so much more to me then any of them ever could." He added.

"You really mean that?" She asked softly.

"Of course I do. I wanted to give you something much more meaningful than that rose. You’re one of the most important people in my life and I just wanted you to know that I love ya." Harry answered giving her a hug.

"I love ya too." Hermione whispered hugging him tighter while thinking, ‘I love you too Harry but not in the way that you do.’

"So are we okay?" He asked anxiously.

"We already were you know. I have no idea why you just told me that." She answered with a shrug and a slight cunning grin.

"Well… I just wanted to. Well um… good night." Harry answered with a slight grin. He was happy because he knew that he had somehow made her feel better. He couldn’t help watching her as she headed in and noticed how even more beautiful she looked with the moonlight shining on her.

Hermione was smiling to herself as she walked upstairs. She was thinking about what Harry said and it made her feel happy. It wasn’t just what he said but the fact that he made sure that she heard him. He seemed to know that she needed him to tell her that and after all these years of knowing Harry she knew that he meant it. She walked over to the window near the stairs and smiled as she saw Harry’s shadow walking away from the mansion.

*~*~*~*

The next day:

"So Hermione, did you find your bracelet?" Jennifer asked at breakfast.

"What? Oh my bracelet, yeah I did." Hermione answered after some thought. She felt guilty about lying to her when she honestly seemed concerned about it but it was something that she had to do.

"Sorry we missed you last night but we were tired and went to bed early." Chloe apologized.

"Don’t worry about it." Hermione assured her with a smile.

"What do you think we’re doing today?" Callie asked around the table as she reached for a croissant.

"Who knows?" Lisa replied with a smile.

Just then Isabelle came in with a box and said, "I found this outside and is addressed to Lisa, Chloe, Callie, Debbie, me, Katie and Christine.

"Dear ladies,

I hope you have all slept well. Please accept my invitation to join me on a group date tonight to a surprise location. Remember to dress warm and casual. Have a great day and I’ll be here at 8pm sharp.

Harry."

"Do you guys have any ideas about where we’re going tonight?" Debbie asked excitedly.

"I have no idea but I do know one thing. We’re going to have a lot of fun." Lisa exclaimed.

"I don’t know about you guys but I would have liked to be given more of a hint about the location. Can you imagine what it would be like if I dressed inappropriately." Isabelle replied while flipped her hair.

"I’m sure that if we dressed warm and casually like the note said we’ll be fine." Katie added looking directly at Isabelle.

Hermione turned to Chloe and said, "I hope you have fun tonight."

"I wished you guys were going. It’s not going to be fun with Isabelle there." Chloe replied.

"Don’t let her ruin the evening. Just enjoy yourself." Jennifer added.

"Don’t worry I wouldn’t." Chloe replied.

*~*~*~*~

Harry stood anxiously at the door to the mansion. He really wanted to make sure that they all had a good time and that he could spend some time to get to know each of them separately. He knocked on the door and a few seconds later the door opened and he saw Hermione there with a smile.

"Hi. How are you?" Hermione asked.

"Good. How about you?" Harry asked.

"Great. It’s been fun." Hermione said giving him a hug and whispered, "Some of these girls were driving me nuts while they were getting ready."

Harry just laughed with a twinkle in his eye and asked, "Are they ready yet?"

"They’re be down in a minute." She replied with a grin and started to leave.

He stopped her and whispered, "How are you holding up?"

"Okay. Not too bad right now but I felt bad about last night." She admitted.

"Just remember its just part of the game and has nothing to do with who you are." He reminded her.

"Yeah I know." Hermione answered and said with a smile, "oh, have fun on your date."

Harry turned around as the first woman arrived. Lisa had come down wearing a light blue dress that went down to her ankles and a matching blue sweater with her hair down and flowing straight down. She was a picture of loveliness. Next Isabelle came down. Her red hair was pulled up in a loose bun and was wearing a red off the shoulder sweater and a long gray skirt. She looked beautiful. Chloe came down next and she looked stunning in her white angora sweater, white cloak and black skirt and brown hair in ringlets. Debbie was next and she looked really nice in her green long jacket and white pants. Callie looked really cute with her brown hair up in a ponytail wearing a gray petticoat and a wool skirt. Katie was wearing a brown fur jacket and a brown skirt and black pants. Christine came down last wearing a one-piece black halter top and pants. Over top she was wearing a red jacket with her hair curled. She once again looked angelic.

Harry smiled and said, "Good evening ladies. I hope that you will all enjoy yourselves tonight." He then led them to the limousine that would carry all of them to their location.

"So where are we going?" Isabelle asked.

"We’re having dinner at an outdoor seafood restaurant and then go on a hay ride." Harry answered.

"That sounds fun." Callie answered with a grin.

"I’ve never been on a hayride before so it should be interesting." Isabelle added.

"I think it’d be wonderful way to look out at the stars tonight." Christine commented.

"I’m glad you guys think so." He answered with his trademark grin.

"So Harry, what is the most interesting thing you have ever done in life?" Chloe asked.

"Signing up for this show." Harry answered and the girls laughed.

"No. I mean it is interesting but I would have to say getting into intelligence work." Harry answered.

"I heard that it would be very interesting but it could also be dangerous. It takes a lot of hard work and courage to do what you do." Callie replied.

"Thanks. It is hard sometimes but most of the time the payoff of seeing the bad guys end up in jail and helping others makes it all worth while." He replied smiling at her.

"Maybe you could tell me more about it sometime?" Debbie asked.

"I would love to. Speaking of dinner we’re here." Harry replied.

They got out of the limousine and were lead to a roped off private area with a beautifully set table.

"This place is beautiful." Lisa commented.

"I definitely agree. It reminded me of this place back home. It’s just as beautiful but there was also a view of the ocean." Katie added.

"This place really is gorgeous. It reminds me of this concert I played in after I was on vacation in Africa. We were playing outside and it was just as beautiful outside as it is now. We were trying to raise some money for the kids and parents that lived there who didn’t have much money for food and school. They just didn’t have the means to. So we did this charity concert where all the proceeds goes towards helping them. We actually sponsor events like this once every few months." Chloe commented.

"It does sound like a fun thing to do and a wonderful project to be part of." Harry replied with a grin while he was admiring her drive to help others.

They sat down and ordered some food. After a few minutes steaming plates of food had arrived. At first they sat and ate quietly and then after a while Harry asked, "So I want to know what is the most interesting thing you guys have ever done. Isabelle let’s start out with you."

"Me? Well I would have to say white water rafting with some of my friends. It was really fun but required a lot of practice before they would let us actually go out into the river because things could get dangerous." Isabelle answered.

"That does sound fun. So how did it go when you actually went out to the river?" He asked with a smile.

"At first, really badly because the current was pretty strong but we eventually got the hang of it but we still got soaking wet. We were also exhausted but it was worth it and I learned many survival skills as well." Isabelle answered with a smile.

"It’s always good to learn more survival skills. I had a similar experience that was a bit more horrifying but still rewarding in the end. I was taking my sister and her friends out on a camping trip and we had signed up to go white water rafting because we had done it before. However, on the day we decided to go out on the boat, there was this really rough current that ended up carrying our boat out hundreds of meters really quickly. The scary part was that we couldn’t control it. We ended up getting washed out on shore somewhere and we didn’t know where we were. So we had to walk around until we found a landmark. When we found a landmark, we called for help but they told us that they couldn’t come out to get us until tomorrow. So we had to spend the night in the woods. Which in a way was fine because that was the purpose of the entire trip in the first place. But what we didn’t know was that there were bears out there." Katie paused for a moment.

"Well then what happened?" Debbie asked.

"As we were cooking some food over a fire, a bear must have smelled the food and came on over behind one of my sister’s friends. They were really scared but luckily I remembered what to do from some training I had received a few months ago. We were supposed to scare the bear away with some loud sounds. So that is what I did and the bear left and nobody was hurt. The whole trip taught me the importance of survival training. So I now volunteer to take those girl troops on their survival training trips. I really wanted to make sure that at least one person knew what to do if they encountered trouble like I did." Katie continued.

"Show off." Isabelle muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me? I didn’t get that." Katie asked sweetly.

"I was just saying that it was wonderful that you are sharing your experiences with others." Isabelle replied with a bright smile.

"Thank you. I’m sure that you would have done the same thing." Katie answered with a very fake smile.

"That’s great. How about you Christine?" Harry prompted.

"I think that the most interesting experiences that I had occurred when I went on tour with my family and we got to tour some of the old villages in Egypt and Europe. I learned a lot about how they live and what they go through each and every day." Christine replied after some thought.

"I would love to go to Europe one they. There seems to be a lot of history there that you can learn from." Debbie replied.

"I’m sure that you will be able to go sometime soon. So what is the most interesting thing that you have ever done?" Harry asked.

"Nothing like Katie or Isabelle. But I would have to say volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and helping people who don’t have a place to live build a home. I have learned so much from them about life and how we should really appreciate what we already have in our lives. They really are some amazing people out there." Debbie answered smiling.

"That sounds great, so what do you actually help with?" Harry asked curiously.

"We help with the carpentry, hammering, designing. Whatever needs to be done." Debbie answered.

"I have heard about the project and I always found that it was fascinating and a wonderful thing to do. I always wanted to help out but I never found the time to." Lisa added.

"Well I actually did help out once or twice with the project." Isabelle chimed in.

Harry smiled at Isabelle and then turned to Lisa and asked, "So what about you?" Harry inquired.

"One of the most interesting and worthwhile experiences I have had was while volunteering at the children’s hospital and hanging out with the long-term patients. Those kids there with terminal illnesses are some of the strongest people that I know. They always have hope and whenever I see them they are smiling and are happy to see me. They have taught me a lot about life and it amazes me how much they have gone through and yet still have hope." Lisa replied with tears in her eyes.

"That’s a wonderful thing to do Lisa. How long have you been volunteering there?" He asked with a grin.

"I try to go at least once a week and I also try to help them be able to achieve some of their dreams by arranging for visits in the studio with some of their favorite artists." Lisa explained.

"I’m sure that you have made some of them really happy." Harry commented with a smile.

Lisa just nodded and began to speak but was interrupted by Katie.

"I just love kids as well and I try to help them out as much as I can too." Katie added.

"Katie, will you just stop butting into conversations. Not everyone has been given a chance to answer or even speak." Isabelle responded angrily annoyed by Katie’s constant interruption.

"Isabelle. Thanks but its okay." Lisa replied.

"Maybe it is for you but I’m just tired of it." Isabelle replied back.

"I thought that this was about me interrupting Lisa but as always it’s about you isn’t it?" Katie shot back.

"Maybe the others feel the same way that I do but are afraid to speak up because they know you’re just interrupt them again." Isabelle fired back.

Harry looked back and forth between them and was just surprised to see them arguing but he wasn’t really even sure why they were doing it. He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around and saw Callie.

"Don’t worry about it. They’ll die down. They’re always like this." Callie told Harry.

"They’re like that in the mansion?" He asked curiously.

"Only sometimes. They’re usually at least polite to each other. But it seems like Katie is the one who starts it." Callie commented.

Harry nodded and asked, "So I’m going to ask you the same question as everyone else."

"For me it was when I was working on a case with the FBI. It was really hard work and really stressful but when I saw the victim reunited with their family, it made me feel great and reminded me that all the work I did really was worthwhile. That was when I knew that I wanted to work in the bureau." Callie answered.

"That is one of the most rewarding things about the job that I do as well." Harry replied with a grin.

"I think that it really does take someone special to do what you do and I’m very happy to have a chance to get to know you." Callie added softly.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but heard Katie ask, "What are you guys talking about? I hope that this is not a private conversation."

"Yeah, we want to know what the two of you are talking about." Isabelle added.

"Of course not." Harry answered with a smile and flashed a grin and a knowing look at Callie.

"I was just telling Harry about the experience I had that made me want to be an FBI agent." Callie explained.

"So Carole, what is the most interesting thing that you have ever done?" Harry asked.

"Well there was this one time when I went to this ranch that my friends owned and had to help save a fire. I was scared but I knew that I had to help if I could because of my friends and because I was a vet. We managed to save most of the buildings and got all the horses out." Carole answered.

"That was really courageous of you." Harry replied with admiration.

‘Thanks but I’m sure that it was something that everyone here would have done if they could." Carole replied modestly.

After the dinner they went over to where the hayride would take place.

The night sky was beautiful and filled with stars. The weather was perfect for a hayride. The hayride was much less eventful because everyone was just in awe of the beautiful sight in front of them. Every once in a while Christine would tap his shoulder and point out the constellations she could see.

Harry was surprised at her knowledge and asked her, "How do you know all of this?"

"Ever since I was little, my dad and I always liked to watch the stars at night and he would always point out the constellations to me. He also taught me how to find them." Christine answered smiling wistfully.

"It must be wonderful to have such a close relationship with your father." Harry replied with a smile.

"We were close. He got sick a few years ago and he doesn’t really remember much anymore." Christine answered sadly.

"I’m sorry." Harry responded quickly.

"It’s okay. You didn’t know." Christine assured him with a smile.

After a moment, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around and saw Chloe.

"I’m sorry if I’m interrupting but I didn’t want you guys to miss out on the seeing this." Chloe apologized as she pointed out the beautiful sunset.

"No problem. I would have been mad if you didn’t tell us." Christine answered with a smile.

The night ended with them joining in and singing songs on the ride back.

When they reached the mansion Harry said goodbye by giving each girl a hug and kiss on the cheek. His lips lingered longer on two girls in particular. As he got back in the car he couldn’t help but be happy with how the night turned out. He had a great time that night and he especially enjoyed his time with Christine and Chloe. He was really excited about the group date that was set for tomorrow. He was especially excited to spend some time with Hermione for more reasons than he wanted to admit.

A/N: So I hope you guys liked the way I wrote this chapter. I know that many of you wanted Hermione to get the rose but as you can see that I thought that it was too soon for this to occur in the story and I hoped you liked the way I explained why in the story. I hope you guys will review and let me know what you think. I also wanted to have your input on who you want kicked off the show. Due to plot reasons I will give you the options. Who do you want kicked off? Callie, Carole, Debbie, Katie or Lisa?

5. Group date #2

A/N: So sorry for taking so long to update but I had problems with my comp and I have been so busy at school and work that I haven’t had much time to write. I hope that you enjoy this chapter because it has a lot more Hermione in it. Please review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Chapter 5:

Hermione woke up tired yet happy for the events that today might bring. Chloe had been so excited last night that she had told her and Jennifer in detail about the events of the entire night. She seemed generally excited about being able to connect with Harry and went on and on about how great he seemed and the good time that she had that night except for the arguments between Katie and Isabelle. She also causally mentioned how Harry seemed taken by Christine but that was okay because she seemed nice and not all like the fakes that Katie and Isabelle were.

"But I think for some reason that Harry seemed to like Isabelle because of how Katie made her to look all innocent and like the victim." Chloe added.

"You’re got to be kidding me. He is such a guy." Jennifer commented.

"So what did you guys talk about?" Hermione inquired.

"He asked us what was the most interesting thing that we did." Chloe answered.

"So what did everyone answer?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It was very interesting that everyone talked about how they were volunteering and helping people. I mean I don’t think that everyone was being completely honest about it. I was and I think that Christine might have been too because what she said did make sense." Chloe answered.

"Why do you think that?" Jennifer asked.

"Because it doesn’t seem likely that everyone would want to help out of the goodness of their heart. They probably did it once but they weren’t really doing it because of the reason that they said. It’s kind of like at beauty pageants where you’re supposed to say and believe in things like world peace." Chloe explained.

"And it’s because they think that it’s what Harry wants to hear." Lisa added in a whisper as she walked in.

"How would you know that?" Chloe asked.

"I heard a couple of girls talking about it." Lisa explained.

"Which two?" Hermione asked.

"Actually it was more like complaining. Isabelle was talking about how Katie was just saying stuff like she did because she thought that was what Harry wanted to hear. I think there is another reason too." Lisa added.

"And what would you think that is?" Jennifer asked rolling her eyes.

"Nobody wanted to let Isabelle and Katie win." Lisa explained.

"Who told you that or is that just you?" Chloe asked.

"I overheard Debbie and Carole talking about it and I talked to some other girls." Lisa replied as she headed to the bathroom.

"To be truthful, I kind of thought that too but I think that she is a faker too. She was like tearing up during her answer. It just didn’t seem real. And I wouldn’t trust her especially when she rats other people out." Chloe whispered.

"I wouldn’t either." Hermione agreed but was still curious to see for herself what Lisa was like.

"Hermione was getting pretty excited about the activities that they might do today. She was also excited about being able to hang out with Harry because she missed spending time with him and for some other reasons she didn’t want to get into. She knew that she would have a good time even though there would be other girls there. She dressed quickly and headed down the stairs. She was the first one up and when the doorbell rang she opened it and found another letter inside that was addressed to her, Jennifer, Stephanie, , Karen, Sue, Lucy and Allie. She couldn’t help but smile at his familiar scrawl. It was a welcoming sight to her. When she walked back into the kitchen she noticed now that all the girls were now awake and sitting down to eat breakfast.

"Look what I found outside?" Hermione asked waving the letter in hand.

"Is it for us?" Jennifer asked.

Hermione nodded and read out the names, "This is for Jennifer, Stephanie, Karen, Sue, Lucy, Allie and me."

The note was as follows:

"Dear ladies,

Good morning to you all and I hope all of you have had a good nights rest. I would like to invite you all to a night of dining and fun in the winter sky. I’m thrilled to be escorting all of you out tonight. See you all soon.

Harry."

Hermione laughed to herself at his failed attempt at rhyming. He had gotten better but it was still kind of funny.

"That sounds kind of like fun." Karen commented.

"Well it must be a winter sport so I guess we should dress warmly." Stephanie pointed out quickly.

"Yes that does take a genius to figure that out." Isabelle responded.

"I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything. Besides it’s not like you’re going tonight." Stephanie added.

Isabelle gave a "hmph…" and headed back upstairs.

"I can’t wait until tonight. I always loved the winter." Jennifer answered excitedly.

"You’re going to have fun tonight. Just watch out for Stephanie." Chloe told Jennifer and Hermione.

"She doesn’t seem that bad." Hermione replied.

"Compared to Isabelle and Katie, maybe not but you never know." Chloe answered.

"Do any of you know Allie?" Jennifer asked.

"I haven’t really had a chance to talk to her yet." Hermione answered.

"I’m pretty sure that a lot of the guys are watching her because she got the first rose." Chloe replied.

"Well I wouldn’t mind talking to her since we are all going out together tonight." Hermione answered.

"Well then go on." Jennifer said giving her a nudge.

Hermione walked on over and took a deep breath, "Can I sit down?"

"Sure." Allie responded with a smile pushing her black curls behind her head.

"So are you excited about tonight?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yeah, I’m very excited but also really nervous. I feel like I have to somehow wow him because I got the first rose." Allie explained.

"The way I see it is that Harry has already seemed to like you so you don’t really have to worry about everyone else." Hermione responded.

"I know that but still its pretty nerve wracking because I don’t really know anything about him and there are all these other girls around at the same time. I worry that maybe he won’t even notice me." Allie responded

"That part is scary but we just have to be ourselves and hopefully he’ll like us because of it. Think of it this way we don’t have to worry about Isabelle tonight." Hermione responded.

"That is good news." Allie replied with a laugh.

"So Allie what do you like in a guy? What’s important to you?" Hermione inquired.

"For me honesty is very important to me. It would be nice to have a connection as well and they have to trustworthy. They also should be kind hearted as well and they have to be taller than me. I can’t date guys who are shorter than me." Allie responded after some thought.

"Honesty is important to me too because I think it can break or make a relationship." Hermione answered with a smile.

"In my last relationship, there were just so many lies and things happening between us that I didn’t even know what the truth was anymore. So I vowed that I would never date any guy who wasn’t honest." Allie told her after a few minutes.

"What if they had a good reason for lying?" Hermione asked after a while thinking towards the fact that Harry was a wizard and because she just got a vibe from her that felt wrong.

"Well I would have to guess it would depend on what they are lying about. But why are you asking?" Allie asked suspiciously.

"Just curious that’s all." Hermione answered nonchalantly.

"What about you Hermione?" Allie asked.

"Me? Um… Like I said honesty, trust and someone who would respect you as a person and what you do. So do you think that Harry is right for you? " Hermione asked quickly trying to change the subject.

"Oh definitely, he seems really nice and charming and not to mention really cute. I’m glad we had a chance to talk. It’ll be nice to be able to chat with someone tonight. I’ve got to go." Allie commented as she went out the door.

Hermione headed back to where Chloe and Jennifer were seated and they asked, "So what is she like?"

"She was nice and down-to-earth but there was something about her that seemed a little bit strange." Hermione replied.

"What?" Chloe asked curiously.

"I don’t know." Hermione replied.

*~*~*~*~

Harry was just inside his room waiting to pick up the rest of the ladies for tonight’s "date". He was really excited about being able to get to know all of these ladies especially Allie and of course spending some time with Hermione. He smiled as he thought about what he thought her reaction would be to the note he had wrote. ‘She must find what I wrote hilarious’ he thought to himself. It brought back old fond memories.

When he reached the mansion he knocked on the door and when it opened his eyes met with a beautiful sight and smiling eyes. It was Hermione and she was wearing a long fitted grey jacket with her hair up in a elegant style as well as some make-up that high lighted her cheekbones and made her cheeks much more rosy and full of life. She was also wearing boots that were unlike what he normally seen her wear.

"Hermione, you look amazing." Harry whispered huskily in her ear and gave her an impulsive hug.

Hermione pulled away a little bit flushed and responded, "It’s you know just all this makeup and how they did my hair."

"No, You’ve always been beautiful you know that right?" Harry asked.

"You’re just saying that but I know that you mean it." Hermione answered.

"I remember having this conversation with you before." Harry reminded her.

"Well I guess that I look good." Hermione answered finally.

"Good." Harry responded with a smile.

"So where are we going tonight?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Tell you now and spoil the surprise? Besides it wouldn’t be fair to anyone else." Harry answered with a mock grin.

"Now here I am doing you this huge favor by even agreeing to be here and you can’t even do me this tiny miniscule favor? Hermione asked pouting a little.

"I’ll just let you know that you’ll love it." Harry answered.

"That’s that that big of a hint. Give me something more concrete." Hermione pleaded.

"Nope, my lips are sealed." Harry answered with a sly grin.

"Well then forgive me if some of your little secrets come out." Hermione answered with a grin and started to pull away from Harry.

"Nice try. You couldn’t do that because you’re not supposed to know me." Harry answered back while pulling her back to him.

"What do you take me for? I can be subtle." Hermione replied sweetly.

"You wouldn’t dare." Harry replied with a glare.

"Just watch me." Hermione said she was trying to walk away.

Harry pulled her back in an instant and said, "Fine, you win…."

Hermione grinned happily and whispered, "I knew you would see things my way."

Harry felt a tingle through his body as he felt her voice pass through his body but shook it off and said, "Okay we’re heading to the.."

But they were interrupted by the laughter of two of the women arriving

Sue came down with her blond hair straight down wearing a blue ski jacket and a hat as well as light blue pants. Harry thought she looked lovely.

Lucy had come down wearing a brown overcoat with her hair up in a neat bun and wearing a gray fur jacket and black fleece pants and she looked quite stylish and fresh.

Karen had started to come down in a red button-down jacket, red scarf tying her hair in a pony tail and tan pants as well as shiny boots. Harry thought that she looked beautiful in a professional way.

Jennifer looked very model-like in her powder pink ski suit matching ski cap.

Allie came down next and she looking as lovely as ever in her light blue ski jacket with her black curls flowing softly and light gray pants.

Stephanie came down last looking stunning in her tan cashmere jacket with a matching scarf around her neck black fleece pants.

Once all the ladies had arrived he led them over to the limousine that was going to pick them up to take them to their destination.

"So where are we going tonight?" Stephanie asked quickly.

Harry smiled and his eyes surveyed on the ladies until they landed on Hermione’s. His grin widened as he met her eyes and answered, "We’re stopping by for dinner at this restaurant and then we’re heading out on the ice for some skating."

He smiled as he watched Hermione’s face brighten and widen into a smile. ‘I love the way her face brightens when she’s excited about something.’

Most of the girls chatted excitedly throughout the ride.

"Is it very far?" Allie asked.

"Nope, we’re be there in a few minutes. So do you like ice skating?" Harry asked.

"I used to when I was younger. I don’t do it much anymore. I hope I still remember how to skate." Allie admitted.

"I’m sure you’ll pick it back up quickly. Don’t worry I haven’t skated much recently either." Harry reassured her.

Allie smiled and said, "Thanks."

A few moments later they arrived.

The hotel was beautiful. There were candles everywhere and it had a beautiful chandelier hanging in the middle of the room and they shone light on the paintings that were hanging on the wall.

Hermione was admiring all the paintings and heard Jennifer whisper to her, "Beautiful isn’t it?"

"Definitely. I have never been in a place like this before." Hermione whispered back.

"Most people can’t afford to stay in a place like this." Allie commented.

"I eat dinner at places like these when I’m writing a story." Stephanie added.

Jennifer whispered to Hermione, "Yeah only when she doesn’t have to pay the bill."

Hermione just shook her head and they were quickly seated at their table and ordered quickly.

"So do you ladies like it here?" Harry asked.

"It’s beautiful. Thanks for bringing us here." Sue answered.

"It’s my pleasure. So how about we all get to know each other a little better." Harry asked.

"Sure. What do you want to know?" Stephanie asked.

"Why don’t each of you tell me your most embarrassing moment?" He suggested.

"Why don’t I start? I guess my most embarrassing moment was once when I was doing an interview and I mistakenly thought that they did something terrible and I was lecturing him. And he was looking at me with an amused smile on his face and then he told me I was mistaken." Stephanie replied.

"That must have been horrible." Allie commented.

"It was but luckily they had a good sense of humor so they didn’t take it personally." Stephanie answered.

"So I guess that now you are more careful about what you say?" Harry asked.

"Definitely." Stephanie replied.

"I had something similar happen to me before. So what about you Allie?" Harry replied with a smile.

"The most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me happened to me a few years ago. I was having a party for some of friends and this guy I had liked. I was baking cookies and it was just the kind that you cut and put in the oven right? And I happened to burn them." Allie confessed. A few of the girls laughed good-naturedly.

"How did that happen?" Stephanie asked.

"I actually don’t know. I thought I followed the directions." Allie replied with a shrug.

"Don’t worry about it. It has happened to some other people that I know." Harry replied locking eyes with Hermione.

Hermione just smiled back.

"I’m a much better cook now." Allie answered.

"We all learn from our mistakes." Hermione added.

"So what about you Hermione?" Harry asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Me? Well that would have to be when I was helping out one of my best friends with something. He happened to somehow make a hole in his pants so I had to distract these workers at the pharmacy by asking them all these questions about problems that I didn’t have." Hermione answered giving Harry a sweet smile.

"What kind of problems?" Harry asked back with a sly grin.

"Let’s just say they were not problems that you would want anyone to know about." Hermione responded back.

"Come on, you can tell us." Stephanie added.

"Yeah Hermione we’re all being honest here." Karen added.

"She entitled to not tell if she doesn’t want to." Jennifer butted in.

Hermione gave Harry a pleading look that caused Harry to smile and said, "It’s okay. You don’t have to say a word."

Hermione mouthed a word of thanks.

Jennifer spoke up after a moment, "My most embarrassing moment would have to be when I slipped on the floor as I was coming down the stairs. Now the guy I happened to have a crush on at the time just happened to see me at that moment and I was wearing this short skirt and he saw my underwear."

"That must have been embarrassing. But something happened to me that was just as embarrassing." Sue remarked.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"I was talking with some of my friends about this guy that I had just talked to. They were asking me all these questions about him and I told them that I thought that he was really cute and as I was telling that he was right behind me and heard to whole thing." Sue replied.

"I would have just died." Karen remarked.

"I wanted to but I put on this smile as if I didn’t care if he knew." Sue answered.

"That came close to happening to me too but he only heard half of it." Allie added.

"My most embarrassing moment was when I was working and my sweater got caught in this girls earrings and by the time we unraveled I had a huge hole in my sweater. I had to go home to change." Lucy confessed.

"Something like that happened to me during work as well." Hermione replied grimacing at the memory.

"That must have been weird." Harry added shooting Hermione a knowing glance.

"Once I locked myself into this room because I forget that it was self-locking door and I had forgotten my keys. I had to wait all morning until someone came back in to work to get out. My co-workers teased me for weeks." Karen said.

"I forget my keys sometimes too. It’s an easy thing to forget." Harry responded with a grin.

Just then the food arrived and the quickly ate and shared polite conversations until it was time to head out to the ice rink.

Once they arrived there the girls divided themselves into groups and they skated together. Harry went around from girl to girl to check to make sure that everyone was okay.

Harry first went to see how Sue, Lucy and Karen were doing. He noticed the laughter and smiles between them.

"How are you guys doing?" Harry asked.

"Good. I love skating." Sue eyes shone with excitement as she spun around.

Harry admired her enthusiasm and technique.

"Sue teaching us a few tricks." Lucy added.

"What is it?" He inquired.

"They wanted to learn how to do a figure eight." Sue explained.

"Can I watch?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely." Sue responded with a smile as she showed very carefully and slowly how to do the figure eight.

Lucy tried to do it first but fell on the ice but laughed it off good-naturedly.

Harry helped her up and suggested, "Good try. Why don’t you try bending your legs more?"

"You know how to do this?" Sue asked curiously.

"My best friend taught me how to do it awhile back." Harry answered.

"That’s great. Could we see you do it?" Karen asked.

Harry demonstrated the technique for them.

"You have a great form." Sue commented with a smile.

"I had a good teacher." Harry smiled back and turned towards his friend as he watched her skate gracefully across the ice.

"She’s really good." Sue replied with admiration.

"You think so?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, she has great technique and she’s just seems really graceful out there." Sue answered.

Just then Harry saw that Hermione had walked off by herself.

"Excuse me." Harry told them and skated off into Hermione’s direction.

Hermione was taking a breather when she heard a gruff voice say, "Where do you think you’re going?"

Hermione whirled around ready to fight back but was surprised to find Harry staring back at her.

"Did I scare you?" Harry asked.

"No, not scared just surprised." Hermione covered quickly.

"Whatever you say. So what do you think of this?" He asked quietly.

"You know that I love being on the ice." Hermione responded.

"Yeah I did so I guess you’re enjoying yourself." He replied.

"I’m having fun but it looked like you were having fun over there too." She answered back.

"I was." He admitted.

"So why are you here talking to me?" She asked.

"I just wanted to spend some alone time with you." He answered.

"I do too." Hermione answered and then jabbed him in the ribs.

"What was that for?" Harry protested.

"That was for what you did to me during dinner." Hermione replied.

"I didn’t do anything. I stopped it didn’t I?" He asked.

"Yeah but you started it." She answered matter-of-factly.

"But that was only because you mentioned me in the embarrassing moment." He shot back.

"But they don’t know it was you." She replied.

"Fine but you wanted to didn’t you?" Harry replied.

"It doesn’t really matter does it because they don’t know." She responded.

"Hey how about we race down the end of the rink and back?" Harry suggested.

"That would be fun. What do I get if I win?" Hermione asked.

"During the next time we’re alone we’ll do whatever you want." Harry replied.

"Whatever I want?" Hermione asked.

"Whatever. But if I win what do I get? " Harry replied.

"You get to spend a lovely evening with your best friend." She answered.

"Okay but you’re so not going to win." He replied.

"In your dreams. I’m a much better skater than you." Hermione replied.

Harry smiled as he remembered the last time they raced and how much Hermione had protested about it being unfair because he was taller and bigger than she was.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"Wait, let’s find someone else to start us off." She replied and got up to talk to Jennifer.

"Okay, on three, one, two three." Jennifer said and off they went. Harry was off to an early lead but Hermione was determined and got a bright idea.

"Harry look out." Hermione called.

Harry looked around and in a little bit of time Hermione was ahead of him.

"Why you little…" Harry muttered to himself and quickly sped up but couldn’t catch her in time.

"I win." Hermione squealed in delight.

"Only because you were cheating." Harry replied.

"No I wasn’t. I honestly thought I saw that there was something in the way. I was just warning you." Hermione replied sweetly.

Harry gave her a glare and started to chase after her.

Hermione giggled and started to skate away from him but Harry caught up with her quickly and grabbed on to her and started tickling her.

"Stop it." Hermione protested in between gasps. Then she tried to tickle Harry back.

Soon Hermione lost her balance and fell to the ground with Harry falling soon next to her.

"Need some help?" Stephanie asked.

"No, we’re fine." Hermione responded as she got back up and dusted off her clothes.

"How about we play some games?" Stephanie suggested.

"Okay." The rest of the girls nodded.

"Looks like the two of you were getting along." Jennifer commented to Hermione.

"Yeah we do." Hermione replied with a smile.

"So are you having fun?" Harry asked Jennifer.

"Yeah, it reminds me of when I was younger and I was skating with my cousins." Jennifer answered.

The group had decided on playing a game of ice tag and split into two teams. The game was successful and fun.

When they were ready to leave and Harry was skating faster to meet up with Hermione, he heard a voice crying for help.

Harry turned and skated quickly over to catch Allie before she fell.

"Thanks. I’m not normally this clumsy." Allie said awkwardly.

"It’s okay. It happens to all of us." Harry responded with a grin.

"She was so faking that." Jennifer whispered to Hermione.

Hermione watched as Harry helped Allie back on her feet and skated with her to the end of the rink.

He drove the women back to the mansion and kissed each of the women on the cheek. When he got to Hermione pulled her back to say, "It was fun wasn’t it?"

"Yeah it was great." Hermione said with a smile but her smile faded as she saw him talking to Allie.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah I’m fine. Really it was just a clumsy moment." Allie assured him.

"That’s good. I had a good time tonight." Harry told her.

"Me too." Allie answered with a slight smile.

Harry watched as they went inside and smiled to himself as he walked off.

Hermione had a good time tonight but she had this queasy feeling in her stomach as she thought to herslef, ‘I’m not jealous of Allie, I’m just worried that Harry might be falling for her when I feel like there’s something strange about her.’

So please REVIEW and let me know who you want out now besides Isabelle please.

6. Rose ceremony #2 and group date #2

A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I had troubling finding time to write this chapter. I hope you guys like this chapter. I would like to thank of you for reviewing and commenting on this story and I hope that you are still enjoying the fic and will still continue to read and REVIEW.

Disclaimer: I disclaim. I don’t own anything.

Chapter 6:

Harry was sitting in front of 15 pictures of the women that were left. It was hard to decide who to eliminate since he can gotten to know a lot of the women pretty well and didn’t want to risk eliminating someone who could be his soulmate. So he had to rely on his gut instincts for now. He hoped that those feelings were right. The first picture he picked up was of Hermione and smiled. She looked so beautiful in that picture. One of the best pictures that she has ever taken. Then he looked over the pictures one by one until his final decision was made. A little while later there was a knock on the door signaling to him that it was time for the rose ceremony.

Harry took a deep breath and walked out the door. When he got there all the ladies had assembled into their rows. He looked at their smiling faces and he felt sad knowing that three of them would be sent home. He was very happy to be able to look into the eyes of someone familiar and who he knew would always support him no matter what. He caught Hermione’s eye and smiled. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"Welcome ladies. Tonight is the second rose ceremony and as you can see that there are 12 roses that will be given out tonight. That means that 12 of you will receive a rose tonight. Good luck." Matthew spoke and stepped away and gave Harry the nod to continue.

Harry picked up his first rose and said, "Hermione." A few seconds later he said, "Will you accept this rose?"

Hermione smiled and said, "Of course I will" and gave him a kiss of the cheek.

Harry grinned back and reached for the second rose. He took a breath and said, "Christine."

When she arrived he asked, "Will you accept this rose?"

"Yes I’d love to." Christine answered with a grin and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Harry continued in this fashion until the last rose was given out.

"All of you who did not receive a rose can have a few moments to say goodbye." Matthew prompted.

Katie walked up to Harry and said, "I’m glad that I got a chance to know you and I want you to know that there are no hard feelings and I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks Katie. I’m glad that I got to know you too." Harry replied with a smile.

As she left she past Isabelle who smirked at her and whispered to her and said, "I told you he could see what a fake you are."

"Everyone around here knows what kind of person you really are. It’s just a matter of time before you get out so don’t get too comfy." Katie responded back and gave her sweet smile.

After everyone else left, the woman remaining stood in a circle around Harry. Chloe, Christine, Allie, Stephanie, Isabelle, Lisa, Jennifer, Debbie, Sue, Lucy, Callie and Hermione raised their glasses to celebrate that they all were still here.

*~*~*~*~*

Back in their mansion all the girls were happy to see Katie go especially Isabelle. Now all the girls believed that was because that would mean that one of her toughest competitors was gone. Hermione was looking at the clock anxiously because she and Harry had a secret meeting tonight but she would have to wait until everyone else was asleep before she could sneak out. She couldn’t help thinking about the great time that they had ice skating the other night. ‘It was so sweet that he remembered how much she enjoyed being out their on the ice where she could just block out the rest of the world.’

Lisa was noticing that Hermione seemed anxious and asked, "Hermione, is something wrong?"

"What?… No, nothing." Hermione said after she snapped out of her thoughts.

"You seem a little anxious which is kind of strange because you’re still here and he obviously likes you." Lisa explained.

"You think he likes me?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It was pretty obvious so I wouldn’t worry about it." Lisa explained in a tone that Hermione suspected was envy.

"Does that bother you?" Hermione asked raising her eyebrow.

"If I said it didn’t then it would obviously be a lie. I mean after all we all want Harry to like us and make it into the next round. I would just advise you to be careful who you trust and to watch your back." Lisa advised her.

"Is that a warning?" Hermione asked.

"No. I’m just giving you advice and I’m being honest. Whether or not you believe me is up to you." Lisa answered as she walked out the door.

"Hermione?" Jennifer asked as she walked in the room.

"Jennifer. What is it?" Hermione asked.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Jennifer explained.

"I’m good. What about you?" Hermione asked.

"Just glad that the ceremony is over and that I’m still here. I wish he’d kicked out Isabelle but I didn’t like Katie either so it’s still good." Jennifer explained.

Hermione just nodded and looked at the clock again.

"It’s getting late isn’t it?" Jennifer asked curiously.

"Yeah, I’m tired." Hermione lied.

"Well I’m tired too. I’ll see you tomorrow." Jennifer answered walking back to her room.

About 20 minutes later, Hermione was finally able to sneak out of the house.

*~*~*~*~

Harry was waiting for Hermione to arrive. He knew that she would have to wait until all the other women were asleep before she could meet him but he was anxious to see her and talk to her alone. That way they could be completely open with each other without worrying that anyone else would discover that Hermione knew Harry from before.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Harry grinned and opened it happy to see Hermione standing in front of his door looking slightly out of breath and flushed. He thought she looked pretty cute like that.

"I’m so sorry that I’m late but some of these women refused to go to bed so I had to wait for them to finally fall asleep." Hermione blurted out.

"It’s okay, Hermione I understand. Take a deep breath." Harry said with a grin.

"Are you going to invite me in or let me freeze to death out here?" Hermione after awhile.

"No. I’d like to leave you here." Harry said.

Hermione’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak but Harry interrupted her, "Of course you can come in. I just wanted to see her expression."

Hermione just glared at him and headed into his house.

Harry chuckled to himself and asked, "So how are you feeling?"

"I’m doing okay I guess. I still don’t like lying to them about things." Hermione admitted.

"I’m sure that they’d understand that you didn’t want to." Harry reassured her.

"I hope so. So how are you enjoying yourself?" Hermione asked.

"I’m not complaining. This place that I’m staying in is really nice and I mean being able to hang out with 25 beautiful women is not bad." Harry answered.

"There are only 12 left now." Hermione corrected him with a grin.

"You’re including yourself in the mix now are we?" Harry teased her.

"Well you included me first." Hermione responded with a blush.

"Well you are beautiful…but not right now." Harry responded with a grin.

"What do you mean not right now?" Hermione asked hitting his arm.

"Well, your hair is a mess and your make up…" Harry started to chuckle as he saw Hermione running her hand through her hair and headed towards the mirror.

Hermione looked in the mirror and saw that although her hair was a little bit messy but she wasn’t wearing any makeup. She turned to Harry and said, "I’m not wearing any makeup and my hair is a little messy but that would be all your fault."

"How is that my fault?" Harry asked.

"If I wasn’t rushing out to meet you then this wouldn’t happen." Hermione explained.

"Hermione Granger, I didn’t know that you would care so much about your appearance." Harry responded.

"This is about looking presentable and I do like to do that even if it’s just you." Hermione answered with a playful tone.

"Just me? I’m hurt that someone I think of as my best friend doesn’t think anything of me." Harry replied in a hurt tone.

"And as your best friend, I care a lot about you but that also gives me the right to tell you when you’re being a pain in the ass or an arrogant jerk." Hermione explained.

"And I can tell you when you’re being a know-it –all." Harry added.

"Yes you can but I take that as a compliment." Hermione answered with a smile.

"Well, Miss know-it-all, what did you think of my cuts tonight?" Harry asked.

"Well I definitely agree with Katie but I don’t really know Carole or Karen that well." Hermione answered.

"Yeah it was sad to see some of them go." Harry commented.

"Oh… do you miss Katie?" Hermione asked.

"Well I’m sad you know because there could have been something good about her but I don’t think that she’s the one for me." Harry answered.

Hermione just nodded in agreement.

" I’m glad that you approve. So why don’t you tell me your suspicions about some of the girls?" Harry asked.

"Well now that you ask…" Hermione told him his suspicions about the girls so far.

*~*~*~*~

By the time that Hermione got back to the mansion it was 5:00 am. Harry had spent most of the night talking and watching a few movies that they had lost track of time. Hermione walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water and saw Allie just sitting there.

"Allie, I was just going to get a drink of water." Hermione explained and startled to see her there.

"Guess we were both thirsty." Allie replied.

"So you like sitting in the dark?" Hermione asked.

"I was just resting my eyes. So where were you?" Allie asked innocently.

"I just went out for a walk. I needed some fresh air." Hermione quickly answered.

"You were out for quite a long time then. I just happened to drop something near your room and I noticed that there was nobody there so I decided to see if you were downstairs or something." Allie explained.

"Were you checking up on me?" Hermione asked angrily.

"I did it out of concern. What if something had happened to you?" Allie answered.

"Really? You were worried about me?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Yes I was. So what were you really doing? Did you meet some other guy? Because that’s against the rules." Allie explained.

"I wasn’t okay. I really went for a walk." Hermione answered trying to avoid any more questions.

"Really you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone." Allie asked.

"I was taking a long walk." Hermione answered and turned around.

"Whatever you say. Don’t worry I won’t say a word." Allie said tapping on her shoulder.

By the time Hermione got upstairs she really was getting suspicious of Allie. There was something off about her and the fact that she sat around in the dark was extremely creepy.

*~*~*~*~

The next morning Harry woke up with a smile on his face. He had a lot of fun hanging out with Hermione last night. It was fun and it was like old times. It was also felt really great to be able to completely be himself around Hermione. He didn’t have to worry about anything because she knew him better than anyone else. He was really looking forward to the afternoon date he was having with the 6 girls. He hopes that they will have a good time and he looked forward to getting to know each of them a little better.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione woke up a bit later than usual because of her late night with Harry. Her suspicions of Allie also kept her up at night. He quickly got dressed and headed downstairs to get something to eat.

"Well someone must have had a late night last night." Isabelle commented as Hermione entered the kitchen.

Hermione turned to look at Allie who shook her head.

"Nobody told me. I heard some noise upstairs and I went out to see if someone was out there and I saw you enter your room." Isabelle replied.

"I just went out for some air." Hermione answered looking around the room.

"Did you meet some guy?" Callie asked.

"If you did. That is against the rules." Stephanie pointed out.

"I only went out for a walk." Hermione spoke up.

"Yeah right." Isabelle said under her breath.

"Back off. If Hermione said she was out for a walk then she was. She’s not at all like you." Chloe responded.

"Yeah not everyone lies like you." Jennifer added.

"Well if it isn’t the three musketeers? All for one and one for all? Please. If you keep this up none of you will be around for very long." Isabelle replied.

"Well and I guess that being the way you are is better?" Chloe asked.

"Well its better than having someone else stab you in the back." Isabelle answered.

Just the Sue came in and said, "Our plans are here."

"What does it say?" Isabelle asked.

"I’m afraid it doesn’t include you." Sue responded looking at the names on the envelope.

"Who’s it for?" Hermione asked.

"Callie, Chloe, Jennifer, Lucy, Allie and me." Sue replied.

"What does it say?" Allie asked.

The note read as follows:

Dear ladies,

I hope you’ve all had a good night’s rest. I look forward to spending time with each of you. So get ready for lots of fun in the sun. Remember to bring your swim suit. I’ll be here to pick you up at one.

Harry

"I’m excited about this" Callie exclaimed.

"Yeah I love being outdoors" Jennifer added.

"I’ve always love the water" Chloe replied.

"I’m sure that it will be fun" Sue added.

"We only have a few hours to get ready" Allie replied looking at the time.

And with that all of those six girls rushed upstairs to get ready for their date with Harry.

Hermione walked over and looked at the note and smiled and wishing that she was going with them.

"You’ll have your chance tomorrow" Lisa replied.

"I know" Hermione answered and then she heard a loud thud coming from the stairs.

Hermione looked up and saw Jennifer, "What is it?"

"Do you think you could help us pick something to wear?" Jennifer asked.

"Sure." Hermione answered and headed upstairs.

*~*~*~*~

Harry knocked on the door and saw Isabelle.

"Hello." Harry responded.

"Hi, its good to see you" Isabelle answered with a smile.

"So are they ready yet?" Harry asked.

"They will be in a little while" Isabelle answered with a smile and walked to the kitchen.

Just then he saw Hermione walking down the stairs looking very refreshed and lovely in just a simple sweater and skirt.

"Hey. They’re be down in a few minutes" Hermione answered looking at Harry’s questioning gaze.

"Crazy up there?" He asked.

"Incredibly. I don’t know what they see in you." Hermione teased him.

"You don’t? Well there must be something good about me or a certain someone wouldn’t be my best friend " Harry responded.

"Well I guess you do have good taste in best friends" She answered with a grin.

Harry was about to say something else but heard a giggling sound.

Callie had entered first looking vibrant and very pretty with her wavy brown hair down wearing a pleaded brown skirt and a white short sleeved button shirt.

Next came down Lucy wearing a yellow tank top and a gray skirt that looked very nice on her.

Sue came down afterwards wearing a pink blouse and a flowery skirt that accentuated her features well.

Chloe came down next looking stunning in her white tank dress, which showed off her muscular legs.

Jennifer came down a few seconds later wearing a light blue tank top and matching skirt that highlighted her eyes.

Last of all came down Allie wearing her black curly hair up in a ponytail and a sundress and Harry thought she looked very naturally beautiful.

"Are you ladies ready to go?" Harry asked with a smile.

"You bet we are." Allie answered.

"Great." Harry answered leading the ladies outside.

Once all the women got inside the limo, Callie asked, "So where are we going?"

"We’re heading to one of the most beautiful beaches around here." Harry answered promptly.

"So are we going swimming or doing other things?" Jennifer asked.

"I was figuring that we could go water skiing." Harry replied.

"I’ve always wanted to go water skiing." Lucy exclaimed.

"I’m glad that you’re going to enjoy that." Harry replied.

"So how many of you have done this before?" Harry asked.

"I went once but it was a long time ago, I don’t think I’d remember how." Chloe answered.

"Don’t worry I’ll teach you guys and we’ll have a professional close by just in case." Harry answered.

"Great." Jennifer replied.

"So Harry, what kind of music do you like?" Sue asked.

"Music? I like all kinds of music but I prefer rock music but I tend to enjoy most genres." Harry answered and smiled at how spending more time with Hermione had rounded off his taste in music and he now enjoyed a lot of the music and Hermione enjoyed.

"I enjoy most genres myself but I like classical opera right now." Allie chimed in.

"Really? I’ve been exploring that myself and some of those old operas are really incredible. Ever head madam butterfly?" Harry asked intrigued.

"I loved that opera it was always heartbreaking to me." Allie replied.

"What’s your favorite Chloe?" Harry asked.

"I love Mozart. He is incredible but my favorite opera is the phantom of the opera." Chloe answered after some thought.

"That is a tragic one. I enjoyed it, the original london cast was incredible." Harry answered.

"Yeah Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman are great but the real genious has to be Andrew Lloyd Webber." Chloe replied.

"His music is incredible." Harry answered with a smile and turned to Jennifer and asked what about you?

"I listen to mainly classical music but I do enjoy certain pop tunes. I love Josh Groban." Jennifer answered.

"He has such an amazing voice." Sue replied.

"You like him too?" Jennifer asked.

"I think he’s really talented." Sue replied with a smile and turned to Harry and asked, "Have you heard him?"

Harry smiled at their exchange and answered, " I think I saw him once on tv and thought he sounded pretty good. So Debbie what do you like?"

"Well I love Beyonce, maroon 5 and all sorts of songs from different groups. I also love country music. I love Faith Hill and Tim Mcgraw." Debbie answered.

"I love country music myself." Lucy put in.

"Who’s your favorite singer?" Harry asked.

"I love Tim Mcgraw and I’m also enjoy listen to gospel music. They are so inspirational and just gives me hope for the future." Lucy answered.

"I remember listening to gospel music once and I agree that they really do inspire people. What about you Callie? " Harry replied.

"I like R&B music or anything with soul." Callie responded.

Just then they had arrived at their location and everything got out. Once they got there they met with their instructor Rob who gave each of them a life jacket and they lead them to the boat. Once they got their instructions, he headed over to talk to the pilot.

"So who wants to go first?" Harry asked.

Chloe stepped up first.

"Great." Harry said warmly.

Harry went out into the water with Chloe because they were taking two people at once.

Harry was surprised at how much she actually remembered.

Chloe started out doing pretty well but lost her footing somehow and fell.

"That was great. It’s easy to lose your footing." Harry told her with a grin.

"Yeah, it was just weird. I had no idea what happened." Chloe replied looking confused.

Callie went next but didn’t do as well as Chloe and neither did Sue or Lucy.

Jennifer lasted longer than anyone but Chloe but also ended up falling.

Allie went last and didn’t start out very well and Harry offered to help her but she maintained that she wanted to do it herself and somehow pulled herself up and managed to water ski pretty well.

Her determination and talent at picking up new skills impressed Harry.

The other women however weren’t so impressed.

After wards everyone went swimming and they managed all to have a good time.

Once they got back home, Chloe and Jennifer fell on their beds.

"Exhausted are we?" Hermione asked.

"I’m very tired and hungry but we had fun." Chloe answered with a smile.

"Did anything happen?" Hermione inquired.

"Well Allie happened." Chloe commented.

"What did she do?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing really instead show us up on water skiing." Jennifer replied.

"But what happened was just so strange. I was doing well and then I felt somehow strange or different and I slipped. I don’t know how that could have happened. And then she was doing so poorly at first but then by the end she was one of the best." Chloe explained.

"Did you feel it too?" Hermione asked Jennifer.

"A little bit tired but I didn’t think anything of it. Water skiing is a tiring sport." Jennifer answered.

"So what did Harry think of her?" Hermione asked.

"He seemed impressed by her." Chloe replied.

"Oh." Hermione responded feeling sad and thinking to herself that there was definitely something different about Allie and she knew she had to find out what that was for Harry’s sake.

So what did you guys think about this chapter? Who do you want out and what do you guys think of Allie? Things are getting more interesting I hope.

7. Group date #2 (12 remaining)

A/N: I’m once again so sorry about taking so long to update. I just had a really busy couple of weeks with midterms for two weeks and lab reports and all. Thanks so much for all the reviews! I really appreciate them and I’m hope you all continue to review and let me know what you think of the story.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or ABC and I am in no way affliated with them.

Chapter 7:

Hermione woke up feeling refreshed after a good night’s rest. Most of the girls were tired from their "date" with Harry and went to sleep soon after dinner. This gave Hermione some time alone and allowed her time to put her thoughts together. Hermione had talked to some of the other girls on the date but they didn’t really seem to acknowledge that anything strange had happened. So it was kind of hard for Hermione to know if what Chloe had said was true. Her gut was telling her that Chloe could be right but she didn’t have much to go on other than her own instincts. She made a promise to herself to investigate.

Hermione quickly went downstairs and noticed that she was the only one up and smiled because she really enjoyed this time to herself. She went into the kitchen and made a cup coffee for herself and was about to sit herself down to enjoy it, when she heard a light knocking on the door. She went to open it and saw a beautiful bouquet of pink roses with garnishing flowers placed outside the door.

‘Who sent the flowers and who are they for?’ Hermione thought to herself but before she had a chance to look for a card she heard a slight noise coming from the living room. She quickly rushed over to see what was the cause of the noise. She automatically went to grab her wand but remembered that it was safely hidden away in her closet. She wasn’t even going to bring it with her at first but she had reasoned that it would be best to be prepared. She hoped that she wouldn’t need it. She was glad that her parents had made sure that she had learned self defense. Once she got to the room she scanned the room to see if she could spot the intruder. She suddenly saw some movement behind this sofa and very slowly crept up and pounced on the person. Once she was near she could tell from the build that it was a male and kept on pushing him down as he struggled to get up.

"Who are you?" Hermione demanded.

"Get off of me." He grunted.

"Not until you tell me who you are and why you are here?" Hermione said in a dangerous voice.

The intruder lifted his head and when a pair of green eyes met hers, she quickly got off of him.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"I was trying to surprise you" Harry answered as he dusted himself off.

"You surprised me all right. I thought that you were an intruder" Hermione responded.

"Obviously. You’re really strong you know that" Harry added while rubbing his back.

"What were you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?" She asked softly.

"No I wanted to surprise my best friend by visiting her is that wrong?" He replied.

"Not technically but you’re not supposed to be here" Hermione whispered looking around and dragged Harry outside.

"But that’s all part of the fun" He replied.

"So did you send those flowers?" She inquired.

"Yes, did you like them?" Harry asked.

"They’re very beautiful but you’re going to get me into trouble" Hermione replied.

"Why?" He questioned.

"Because you’re singling me out and they’ll think that something’s up between us" Hermione explained.

"Oh but its for a special occasion" Harry replied with a grin.

"What special occasion?" She asked.

"Do you remember what day today is?" He asked smiling.

"Today is… oh right today is the day that get together and have breakfast just to make sure that we’re caught up in each other’s lives. You remembered" Hermione responded with a wide smile.

"I wouldn’t let a tradition like that slide and besides I missed seeing you" He added with a wink.

Hermione smiled as she remembered why they had started that tradition.

Flashback

One day during breakfast Harry blurted out, "I miss these breakfasts. We haven’t had one in a while haven’t we?"

"It was mainly your fault you know" Hermione answered matter of factly.

"Well I’m busy and you know that I didn’t want to. It was very important business" Harry answered.

"I know. I’ve been busy too you know and I guess we just kept on missing each other that’s all" She replied.

"I know and I don’t like that at all" He answered.

"What can we do about it?" Hermione asked.

"How about each much we set aside a day where we will drop whatever we’ll doing and just have breakfast together and talk about everything that has been happening in our life right now.

"That would be great. That way we would never completely lose track of each other and we would know what was happening in each other lives" Hermione said slowly after she thought about it for a moment.

"I really think we should do this" Harry added.

"Are you sure that you can?" She inquired.

"Of course I’m sure or I wouldn’t suggest it" He replied.

Hermione just chuckled to herself.

"What’s so funny?" He asked.

"It’s just that this isn’t something that you would usually think of" She replied.

"For you information I can be a very thoughtful person" He retorted.

"Right" She answered with a giggle.

"Well I always remember your birthdays and you always like my gifts" He reminded her.

"Yeah but you’ll usually late and I wasn’t even talking about that. Its just that sometimes you don’t think before you talk and that gets you in trouble" Hermione answered.

"I can’t help it if I’m honest and isn’t that a good thing?" He asked.

Hermione just shook her head and said, "You’re impossible you know that"

"But that’s why you love me" He said with that magnetic grin of his.

" But honestly Harry your job is very demanding and you never know when you’ll be called out to duty and where you’re going to go. How can you be sure you can even make it every month?"

"I’ll plan in advance and let them know that I can’t go if it includes that day. Just trust me" Harry answered with confidence.

"You know that I do" Hermione replied.

"So are we going to do this?" He asked excitedly.

"Okay, let’s do it" She answered with a smile.

end of flashback

"So you didn’t enjoy all these woman falling all over themselves for you?" She teased him.

"No, not at all" He answered with a grin.

"Liar" She responded with a smile.

"Okay I admit that it is still really flattering at times but you know how I feel about this kind of attention. I know that it’s all part of the show. I don’t really know how to act around them but with you it’s completely different. I feel completely at ease with you and I can talk to you about anything but I can’t do that when the other girls are around. I just miss that feeling I get when we’re just talking and hanging out." He replied.

"I love hanging out with you too and I know exactly how you feel because I miss it too. But they have kind of gotten to know you by now haven’t they?" Hermione asked.

"A little bit but I’m still not sure about how to act around them. But you know what, none of them will ever know me better than you" He responded.

"I would hope not. We’ve known each other for 14 years now and we’re still best friends. That’s saying something. I hope that we will always be close" She answered.

"Always, nobody can ever change that" Harry added giving her a hug.

Hermione just sighed in contentment in being in his arms.

"So now its time for breakfast" He announced.

"Now?" She replied looking at her watch.

"Come one, where’s you sense in adventure?" Harry protested.

"But they’re be getting up soon and I really don’t want to have to deal with all the questions" She explained.

"Please Hermione, its tradition" He pleaded.

"I know…but it really is getting late and you’ve missed them before" Hermione answered.

"That was a one time mistake." Harry retorted.

"I know but it was just to make a point" She replied softly.

I made your favorite breakfast of pancakes and juice and fruit." Harry added to tempt her with puppy dog eyes.

"Okay but let me put away these flowers first" She replied giving in because she was really hungry and she did want to spend some more time with Harry alone.

Hermione followed Harry over to his house. She could smell the pancakes and the juice as she walked in. She took in the table settings with all the fruit and steaming plates of pancakes and flower arrangements.

"It looks great" She replied amazed.

"I’m glad that you approve" He answered with a smile.

She took a bite of the pancakes and she commented, "You’re getting to be an even better cook than I remembered and way better than my own"

"Well I try" Harry responded with a smirk.

"What’s with the smirk?" She inquired.

"Well it’s not very hard to be better than you" He answered.

"You promised you wouldn’t mention it again and you said that I was improving" She replied giving him a glare.

"I didn’t mention it and you are improving" Harry answered.

"Thank you" She replied.

"They are now edible" Harry commented and received a smack in the head.

"I love this" Hermione added with a smile after a while

"I know. I do too" He answered with a smile and reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

They continued to chat happily for about an hour before Hermione knew she had to leave.

"You really have to go?" He asked.

"Not that I want to but I have to but I’ll see you later right?" Hermione asked.

"Yes I will for the group date" Harry answered with a grin.

Hermione gave a quick wave and headed back to the mansion that she shared with the girls.

Harry looked at his clock and grabbed a pen to write a letter to the ladies he was taking on this date.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione sneaked into the kitchen quietly relieved to see that nobody else was there yet and sat down to calm down. Her relief didn’t last very long because a few minutes later the other girls came in to eat.

"You want anything?" Chloe asked her

"No thanks. I already ate" Hermione answered with a smile.

"Where did these flowers come from? They’re beautiful." Lisa asked.

"I found these outside earlier, I think it’s probably a gift from the producer of the show to lighten up the room" Hermione answered.

Nobody seemed to question this to her relief, however out of nowhere she found herself looking at Allie. Even though her mouth wasn’t saying anything her eyes were. It was almost as if she knew something and that was truthfully starting to freak her out.

‘Where did she come from?’ Hermione asked herself but before she could think she heard the door close loudly.

"Look what I found outside?" Isabelle exclaimed waving a note in the air.

"What does it say?" Lisa asked,

It read:

Dear Hermione, Lisa, Isabelle, Christine, Stephanie and Debbie.

I hope you have all slept well and enjoy a delicious breakfast this morning. For a change in pace I’d like to invite you all out for an indoor outing because I know that not everyone enjoys the great outdoors. I also hope that you all have a sense of adventure and I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Harry.

‘Harry it’s not that I don’t enjoy the great outdoors I just love to read’ Hermione thought to herself with a smile.

"Do you have any idea where we are going?" Debbie asked.

"No but why would I?" Hermione asked.

"No reason you just looked lost in your thoughts" She commented.

"I was just thinking about some inside jokes that my best friend and I shared" Hermione responded.

"An indoor adventure? What does that mean?" Stephanie asked.

"It obviously means that we’re going to do something that is fun and that it’s indoors" Isabelle pointed out with a smirk.

"I knew that but if you’re so clever why don’t you know what we’re doing" Stephanie shot back.

"At least I understand the English language and you call yourself a writer" Isabelle replied back.

"Are you implying that I’m dumb?" Stephanie asked angrily.

"You said it not me" Isabelle answered.

"It’s going to be a long afternoon," Hermione said to Christine.

"Tell me about it" Christine replied with a smile and headed upstairs.

"I’m sure that it will die down" Chloe told her.

"I hope so" Hermione gave a weak smile and looked around for Allie but she was nowhere in sight.

*~*~*~*~

Harry knocked on the door to pick up the ladies for their group date. He was pretty excited about seeing Christine and Hermione today and hoped that they would like the activity that he picked for them today.

The door opened and his eyes met the bright smile that Hermione greeted him with her hair up in a knot on the back of her head as well as light colored khakis pants and a light blue blouse over a tank top. She did look every inch like a person who enjoyed an adventure and a very cute one at that.

"What did you think of the letter?" Harry asked with a grin.

"It was such a lame attempt at attacking me based on lies" Hermione responded with a grin.

"They are based on truths" He protested

"Your version of the truth" Hermione responded

"Maybe it is the truth but not the truth you want to see" Harry added

"I do love the outdoors and you know that I enjoy an adventure every now and then" Hermione answered

"The last thing was like an inside joke for us" Harry clarified.

Hermione just smiled as she heard the rest of the ladies come down the stairs.

Christine looked lovely in her light colored sweater and jeans with her hair tied in a french braid

"Are you all ready?" Harry asked.

"Definitely" Isabelle replied with a bright smile.

Harry smiled in response and held the door open and led them outside to the limo.

"So what’s your favorite outdoor activity?" Stephanie asked.

"I enjoy things like hiking outdoors and just looking around the garden" Harry replied.

"I enjoy hiking as well. It gives me a chance to explore the surrounds and look at the plants and animals that are around" Isabelle added.

"I’m not that much of an outdoor person but I do enjoy walking outside a park and just feel the refreshing air outside" Lisa added.

"That’s what I enjoy the most about the outdoors" Harry responded. He then turned to Hermione and asked, "So what do you like about the outdoors?"

"I enjoy the freedom of being outdoors and the cool breeze you feel on a light breezy day. Sometimes you see the most beautiful animals and flowers outside" Hermione answered.

"I definitely agree with you there. I have seen some amazing sites outside that are more beautiful than anything you could see in a painting or photograph" Christine added with a smile.

"So where are we headed?" Isabelle asked drawing attention back to her as she crossed her long legs.

He turned to face all the ladies with his eyes meetings Hermione’s last and answered "We’re going indoor rock climbing"

He noticed that Hermione looked a little nervous but that was because she never really liked heights.

"That’s something I’ve always wanted to do" Stephanie replied.

"I’m glad that some of you will enjoy this" Harry replied with a grin and a few minutes later they arrived.

They all got out of the limo eagerly anticipating the activity they are about to embark in. They followed Harry into the building where they met a rock climbing instructor that began to tell them about all the safety features they had and how about to go rock climbing in the safest manner. The wall was pretty high and it got a little steeper near the top.

Harry turned around and asked, "Which one of you ladies would like to try first?"

Isabelle moved forward quickly and said, "I’ll go first. I enjoy trying new things"

"That’s great. So why don’t we set you up" Harry replied warmly.

Isabelle smiled in response and headed over to get setup.

"It’s not that we aren’t willing to you just spoke up before anyone got a chance" Stephanie muttered under her breath.

"Okay so if you ever feel the need to look go just let go because you’re connected to this safety wire and you’ll be alright and I’ll be right behind you okay?" Harry asked.

"Okay, let’s get started" Isabelle replied with a nervous laugh.

"You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be right behind you" Harry told her.

Isabelle slowly headed up and did quite well at first but as she got higher and higher she suddenly froze.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked concerned.

"It’s just a little bit higher than I thought" Isabelle admitted.

"If you don’t want to continue you can just let go" Harry reminded her.

"I’ll be fine, I want to continue. I just need a little breather" Isabelle answered.

Isabelle then just took a deep breath and said to herself, "I have to finish this because there’s no way I’m going to lose to that Stephanie person." She then slowly found her way to the next foot holding on the wall.

"That’s it. You’re doing great," Harry said.

And with those words and determination Isabelle made it all the way to the top.

Harry soon followed her up to the top and asked her, "So how does it feel to make it to the top?"

"It feels amazing. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment and happiness" Isabelle responded with a smile and spontaneously gave him a hug.

"It does feel great and I’m glad that you stuck through it. You’re glad that you did right?" Harry asked.

"Definitely, I wouldn’t trade this feeling for anything else" Isabelle responded.

Then they were pulled back down to the floor. Isabelle gave Stephanie is smug smile that lasted for only a second but it easily visible to the rest of the girls.

"I’ll go next" Stephanie volunteered immediately.

"Hope you don’t choke" Isabelle said quietly as she passed.

"Unlike you I’m not afraid of heights" Stephanie responded with a sweet smile.

Isabelle just glared at her in return.

"You ready?" Harry asked.

Stephanie nodded with a smile.

Once she was all set up she proceeded to climb up the wall very well at first. But as she reached near the top, she almost lost her balance as one foot slipped because she was climbing up too quickly. But she hung on because her other foot was firmly rooted into the wall.

"Are you okay?" Came the cries of Hermione, Christine and Lisa.

Isabelle however had a small smirk on her face.

"I’m alright" Stephanie replied.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked concerned climbing up near her.

"I’m fine really. It was just a little slip, nothing to worry about" Stephanie assured him.

"So you still want to finish up?" Harry asked.

"I do, I’ve never given up on anything before and I won’t start now" Stephanie answered.

"Okay then whenever you’re ready," Harry said.

Stephanie then slowly but steadily reached the top of the wall and let go and was slowly pulled down to the ground.

"So are you sure that you’re fine?" Hermione asked.

"Never better. It was definitely worth it. It was like a rush of adrenaline came into my veins and I felt really you alive" Stephanie answered with a grin.

"She was so trying to upstage me for his attention" Isabelle muttered quietly.

"You think she tried to hurt herself on purpose?" Christine asked.

"She so knew what she was doing. She wasn’t in any danger at all" Isabelle answered.

"You’re just bitter and jealous and not everyone is like you" Christine told her and walked away.

"So Hermione why don’t you give it a shot?" Harry asked with a mischievous grin.

Hermione was not going to give him the satisfaction of humiliating her so she said very calmly, "Sure I’m always up for an adventure"

"That you are" Harry said to himself with a smile.

Hermione quickly got set up and took a deep breath.

"You sure you’re going to be okay?" Harry teased her.

"The only reason I don’t enjoy flying is because it’s not safe. Rock climbing here looks really safe so don’t worry about me" Hermione shot back at him.

"Okay, okay" Harry replied with an amused look on his face.

Hermione proceeded to climb up the wall slowly one step as a time while she made sure that each foot was stable. She took a deep breath and just looked up because she knew that if she looked down fear would creep up on her and she wasn’t going to give Isabelle and Harry the satisfaction of knowing that she was really scared. Harry would tease her about it for ages. But as she got higher she couldn’t help but look down at her feet to make sure that they were okay and that was when she saw that she really was pretty high up and the rest of the ladies looked pretty small. She quickly told herself, "You’ve faced much worse stuff in you life. Get a hold of yourself. Come on you’ve faced Voldemort before so this was nothing really."

"Are you going to climb to the top Hermione?" Harry asked softly.

"Of course I am I just wanted to look around" Hermione answered back.

"I just thought that you were scared" Harry’s voice teased her with a tinge of concern.

"I told you this is nothing really" Hermione protested.

"Okay, I believe you" He answered.

With that she continued up as she reminded herself of how many other fears she had faced and that it really was a really safe activity and she finally made it to the top.

"So you weren’t scared at all were you?" Harry asked. He was really proud that Hermione had faced her fear of heights.

"No it wasn’t that horrible really" Hermione answered releasing the breath he was holding and then grinned.

"So maybe you’re going to try flying with me?" Harry asked.

"That I still won’t do. It’s not the same and you know it" Hermione told him as they headed down.

"Great job Hermione" Christine told her warmly.

"Thanks. Good luck" Hermione told her as she got ready to go up next.

"I’ve actually done this kind of thing once but it was a really long time ago so I’ve probably forgot just about everything" Christine told Harry.

"Don’t worry about that. It’s not at all difficult and you’re probably pick it back up just like that" Harry assured her.

Christine very tentatively stepped onto the first foothold and started to climb up. As she was climbing she was flooded with memories of the last love of her life. His name was Nick. He was the one that had took her rock climbing. They were so happy and very much in love, he wanted her to be the best that she could be and encouraged her to go after her dreams even if that meant that they would have to separate. He had been in a tragic car accident a few years earlier and she had rushed back to see him and he had made her promise that she would live her life as happily as she could. He had wanted her to continue in pursuit of her dreams because she was so incredibly talented and for her to move on and find happiness with someone else. She couldn’t imagine being able to find anyone else that could make her happy but she had tried for his sake. She didn’t want to but she promised him she would and she never had lied to him before and wasn’t going to start now. She had dated a couple of guys but they definitely weren’t for her. Her thoughts then turned to Harry and how amazing he was and the connection with him that she felt. She finally felt like she had a real chance at happiness. It was still too early for her to know for sure but she had a good feeling about him and really wanted the chance to find out for herself.

She smiled to herself as she continued up the wall and reached the top without much of a mishap. She knew that Nick was looking out for her.

"Great job Christine, you looked great out there. Guess you didn’t forget that much after all" Harry told her with a smile.

"I guess not. Thanks Harry" Christine responded.

"For what?" Harry asked puzzled.

"Just for being there for me" Christine told him and gave him a dazzling smile.

‘She is pretty amazing’ Harry thought to himself and returned the smile.

Debbie had gone next and didn’t make it to the top before she lost her grip but she was very good natured about it and that had made Harry smile.

Lisa went last but she did extremely well because she had taught younger kids to wall climb before.

After they had left they all had bought something to drink before they headed back to the mansion.

Hermione was tired but very satisfied with the afternoon. Isabelle was hard to get along with what else was knew. Hermione also noticed that Harry didn’t seem as attracted to Isabelle as he used to be. He had skillfully avoided talking to her by asking the other ladies questions. This made her smile. At least one of them was down.

"What are you smiling about?" Harry whispered in her ear

"Nothing. Just thinking how this afternoon had gone pretty well" Hermione answered with a smile.

"It did go well didn’t it? So did you have fun?" He asked.

"I did have fun. Maybe I’ll try rock climbing again some time" She answered with a smile.

"Really? If you do you better bring me along" Harry added.

"Why would I want to do that?" Hermione replied with a teasing grin

"Well since I introduced you to it, it’s only fair and I really don’t want you to get stuck up there in fear" Harry replied.

Hermione slapped him lightly on the arm and said, "I told you I wasn’t scared, I was just taking a break and besides I did make it up to the top didn’t I?"

"That you did" Harry admitted with a smile.

"You really do enjoy seeing me riled up don’t you?" Hermione asked.

"You just look so cute when you are. I can’t help it" Harry answered.

Hermione just shook her head and smiled at him and said, "You better join to other ladies now or they might get suspicious"

Harry had walked up to Christine and Lisa and started talking to both of them quietly.

Once they got back to the mansion, they had a quick dinner before they all headed to bed. Hermione was tired but happy. She had gotten to spend quite a bit of time with Harry and she was happy yet sad that he seemed to really like Christine. Christine did seem really nice and she hoped to get to know her better.

Harry had gotten back feeling pretty good about everything. He had been able to spend some quality time with his best friend and he was able to get to know Christine even better and he admitted that he really liked her. He wasn’t so sure about how he felt about Isabelle anymore but he still felt like there was something inside of her that she wasn’t letting come out. He had many decisions to make the next day but he was determined to make the best decisions he possibly could.

So what did you guys think? So as usual who do you guys want out? I’ve decided that you can now vote for anyone out if you want even Isabelle. I know how much you guys love her… haha. Now I was also wondering when you guys wanted the individual dates to start? I’m kicking of 3 more girls in the next chapter so there will be 9 left. Also I have noticed that a lot of you are very curious about Allie and who she is. Now you will find out more in later chapters. Not in this one as you have noticed. I have this idea but I’m not really sure if I’m going to do it but here it goes. Now I’m going to include the most important things about Allie in the story and by that I mean those that are important to the plot so I might not include Hermione’s entire investigation in the chapters because they do get to be pretty long. But if you guys would like I could do that as a separate aside to this story that people can read if they want. If you would rather I include it into this story just let me know. If enough people want it I might write more on Hermione’s investigation on Allie..

8. Rose ceremony #3 and group date #1

Disclamer: I don't own the bachelor or Harry potter. They belong to ABC and J.K Rowling.

A/N: So sorry for taking so long to update but I had a lot of personal stuff happen lately and finals are coming up. I rewrote this chapter a few times because I wasn't that happy with it but I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hopefully I depicted paintball accurately but if not then sorry because I don't really play the game so some things might be off. Please Review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 8:

The next morning Hermione got up feeling pretty happy about her "date" last night. It had felt really great to be able to conquer her fear of heights. It was something she would like to do again sometime later on with Harry. She had decided last night that she would spend most of her day before the rose ceremony to find out more about Allie. She wanted to know as much as she could about her before making her final decision of what she was like. Her gut had told her many times that there was something strange or mysterious about her and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. First thing she had to do was to find as much information out about Allie as she could. It was a good thing that she had brought her computer with her. But first she needed to find out approximately where she lived and her full name. She knew she could get that information from the producers but it would be a little bit risky to do that. She wanted to see what some of the other girls knew about her. She would have to ask around but she couldn't seem too nosy or the others could get suspicious. She got up quickly and decided to take a walk outside for some fresh air.

As she walked outside, she smiled as she took in the beautiful sky and fresh air. It felt good to be outside and helped her relax just a little bit. She took a quick turn around the grounds before heading back to the house. She then heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw the person she wanted to see the least. She put on a bright smile and said, "Good morning Allie."

"It is a lovely morning for a jog isn't it?" Allie replied in a cheerful tone.

"I agree, do you jog every morning back home?" Hermione inquired innocently.

"Back in Wisconsin, I would try to jog at least three times a week but I lived in a small town so there wasn't much to see," Allie answered back.

Hermione nodded and proceeded to continue walking.

"You lived in London right?" Allie asked.

"Yes, I spent time there" Hermione replied.

"Anything interesting happen while you were there?" Allie asked.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Did anything unexplained or out of the ordinary happen to you?" Allie replied after a thought.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I never did have good luck," Hermione answered quickly.

"Are you sure?" Allie pressed.

"Yes I'm sure," Hermione said firmly quickly looking away.

"See you back at the house then," Allie called as she jogged away.

'I certainly hope not. I can't check up on you with you looking over my shoulder. At least I know where to start checking,' Hermione thought to herself. She got back to the house about 10 minutes later.

"Morning," Chloe greeted her.

"Morning," Hermione greeted back with a grin.

"Want some juice?" Christine asked holding up a glass.

"Sure," Hermione replied with a smile.

"How was your jog?" Jennifer asked.

"It was nice. Did Allie mention it?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Chloe confirmed.

"Some of us are heading out for a swim. You guys want to join us?" Lisa asked.

"We'll be there," Chloe and Jennifer replied.

Christine nodded but Hermione said, "I'm not in a mood for a swim"

"Okay, if you change your mind, we'll be right outside," Lisa answered.

As most of the woman went upstairs to change, Hermione went upstairs to grab her portable computer to do some research. She looked around to make sure that nobody else was around before she entered her search. She was looking for any person named Allie Renshaw in the Wisconsin area. Over the next couple of hours she began her search. She got quite a few hits on the last name Renshaw. However, there were only a few of them named Allie. She found a few Allies to find out about what areas they lived in. She then restricted her search to these areas to see what kind of information she could find on the Allie that lived there. So far she couldn't find much information on any of the Allie Renshaws in the area. She then decided to go on these alumni websites to ask if other people knew any Allie Renshaws. She was able to locate one of the Allie's listed and found out that she was definitely not the Allie she was looking for. Hermione then put down the screen of her computer and hid it away quickly as she went to the bathroom.

A couple of minutes later she heard Lisa and Lucy head back inside. Chloe, Jennifer, Christine, Sue and Allie soon followed suit.

"You should have joined us Hermione, it was fun," Allie said to her.

"Maybe next time," Hermione replied with a slight smile.

*~*~*~*~

Harry was pacing around his dining room as she thought about having to eliminate three more girls tonight. It was always a hard decision and he knew that he would have to make the right choices. It was hard as usual to eliminate any of them. All of the women were interesting, smart and beautiful. There were a few ladies that he had an incredibly amazing time with as well. His thoughts then turned toward Hermione. Even if she wasn't his best friend, he still believed that he wouldn't have eliminated her from the competition. Now the hard part began, he wanted to think very carefully before making his choice so that he wouldn't be making any mistakes by eliminating the wrong women.

*~*~*~*~

A few hours later she heard a tiny beeping noise and she went to look at her computer and saw that she had received a reply back. They said that they had a couple of classes with her but didn't know her too well. She seemed very quiet and didn't talk to many people. However she had only transferred to the school recently so she didn't know if she had always been that way. In another reply she received back they had mentioned that they didn't know of her specifically but had heard that she was a great person who enjoyed volunteering at soup kitchens, the kennels and the old folks home ever since a few years ago. He hadn't really taken any notice of her being around before.

Hermione took a deep breath as she thought about the information that she had received. She didn't learn much about her besides how great a person she was. Maybe it was time to do some more intense checking up on her. She could ask a friend of hers to check in the police database to see if she had any skeletons in her closet. After making up her mind to do that she instantly felt better and then decided to venture back downstairs to see what the other women were up to.

*~*~*~*~*~

Harry was making his final decisions on who he was going to eliminate tonight, a few minutes before the ceremony was going to take place. A few moments later the knock on the door told him that it was time for him to go to the mansion for the rose ceremony.

Once he arrived there he headed straight outside to where the ceremony to take place and he watched all the women to assemble into their positions. He knew that they were all nervous but they all had smiles pasted on their faces.

Matthew once again gave his speech before the ceremony and lead Harry over to the table of roses that he would hand out the women that remain. Harry grabbed the first rose and called out the first name.

"Christine," He called and then said, "Will you accept this rose?"

"Yes," Christine smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Chloe," He called next and then continued in this fashion until he reached his second last rose.

"Hermione," He called with a grin looking at her nervous expression and the said, "Will you accept this rose?"

"I would love to," Hermione replied with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

For his final rose he called out "Allie, will you accept this rose?"

"Yes," Allie replied with a grin and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Those of you who did not receive a rose please take your time to say your good-byes." Matthew said.

Isabelle walked up first and said to Harry, "It just wasn't working out was it?"

"I'm sorry. I really had a great time getting to know you but.." Harry started.

"But you don't think that I'm the one for you," Isabelle finished looking said.

'Yeah" Harry answered.

"I hope that you find her here," Isabelle replied with a forced smile and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and walked away quickly. She then quickly looked back at the remaining women and she swore she saw Allie smirking at her but it was gone in a flash and in its place was a sad smile.

The rest of the women left quickly after giving hugs to a few of the girls. They all left until only Allie, Hermione, Lisa, Chloe, Jennifer, Sue, Christine, Callie and Stephanie remained. They each grabbed a cup of champagne and toasted with Harry to celebrate that they were still there.

*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, all the women remaining were quite happy to see that Isabelle was gone and everybody was in a good mood especially Stephanie. She had the brightest smile on her face. When Hermione woke up she could hear the happy chatter coming from downstairs. She took this opportunity to call her friend who had some contacts in the police force. She was asking her to do a background check on Allie for her. Then she went downstairs to join the others.

"Hello," Allie greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning," Hermione greeted back.

"It is, isn't it?" Stephanie asked happily.

"She's been like that all morning," Chloe told her.

Hermione just smiled in response.

"The mood of the house is certainly lighter since Isabelle left," Lisa commented.

The rest of the girls just nodded.

Hermione quickly grabbed some breakfast and some juice. They were all chatting away happily. A few minutes later Sue came in carrying a note.

"So, who's it for?" Callie asked.

"Its addressed to you, Hermione, Stephanie, Lisa and Jennifer," Sue replied with a smile.

Stephanie grabbed the card and read out loud:

Dear Callie, Hermione, Stephanie, Lisa and Jennifer,

I hope you've had a good night's rest because you're going to need your strength today. I'll be here later this afternoon to pick you guys up. Be prepared for some messy fun. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you this afternoon.

Harry.

"Messy fun?" Jennifer asked.

"Sounds very intriguing," Callie commented.

"I bet it has to do with paint," Stephanie answered.

"Well, that will be fun but I guess we shouldn't dress too fancy then," Jennifer replied.

"Definitely. I wouldn't want to have to get pain off my clothes. They're like dry clean only," Stephanie replied while quickly heading upstairs.

"I'm sure not all your clothes are dry clean only," Lisa added while rolling her eyes.

"You excited?" Hermione asked Callie and Jennifer.

"Yeah, it's going to be really fun and now that there are only the 4 of us, we'll each get to spend more time with Harry," Callie added.

"Awesome," Jennifer commented.

' It would be nice to spend some one-on-one time with Harry,' Hermione thought to herself with a smile.

*~*~*~

Harry stood outside of the mansion quietly thinking to himself. He was quite excited to see what Hermione thought of this date idea and couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Hermione covered in paint. Hermione would definitely be a fierce competitor and he couldn't wait to see how the others would fare on this date. Harry knew that Callie would probably do well because of her job and aspirations. He was definitley hoping that it would be an interesting afternoon.

Harry walked up to the door and ran the doorbell. In a few moments the door opened and he saw Hermione standing there with a large grin on her face and her hair up in a cute ponytail.

"What are you so happy about?" He inquired.

"I've had a good morning," Hermione replied with an amused smile.

"So it doesn't have anything to do with me huh?" He answered kind of sadly.

"Of course it does, seeing you always brightens up my day. I mean you know it always good to see a friend," She answered quickly.

"I'm glad to see you too," Harry said with a dazzling grin and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Hermione just blushed.

Harry was about to comment as he saw the rest of the women coming down the stairs. They were all dressed casually and looked quite lovely.

"You ladies ready to go?" Harry asked.

"I'm always ready," Stephanie replied with a smile.

"All right then, let's get going," Harry replied opening the door and leading them out to the car.

"So where are heading off to?" Callie inquired.

"We're going to play paintball," Harry answered.

"I love paintball," Callie exclaimed happily.

"I was hoping someone would," Harry answered back with a grin.

"I've heard of it but I've never actually played it before," Stephanie added.

"My friends told me that it was really fun," Lisa added quickly.

"Me either," Jennifer said while Hermione nodded.

“Great,” Harry said as they arrived at the field. Some staff members came out and explained the basics to them.

"So how do you guys want to do this? Teams or each separately?" Callie asked.

"Teams. One more experienced player per team. I'll be on Harry's team," Stephanie called out.

"What about you guys?" Callie asked Jennifer and Hermione.

"Teams are fine with me," Hermione replied with a smile.

"Yeah I agree," Lisa answered with a smile.

"I'll be on Callie's team," Hermione called with an evil gleam in her eye.

"So you're going against me aren't you?" Harry asked Hermione raising her eyebrow.

"I guess so," Hermione replied with a slight smile.

"Be prepared to lose," Harry whispered to her.

"We'll see about that… Mr. Potter," Hermione whispered seductively in his ear.

Harry was shocked for a second before regaining his composure and then grabbed Hermione slightly as she was walking away and said, "Not so fast. Were you trying to seduce me?"

"That depends, did you want me to?" Hermione teased back.

'Two can play this game,' Harry thought to himself and said, "What if I said I did?"

Hermione was a little surprised at his response but smiled and replied, "How about we play a little game?"

"What kind of game?" He inquired.

"We make this competition a little more interesting," She replied with a smile.

"Okay, what are the terms?" Harry asked with intrigue.

Before Hermione could answer Stephanie had come up and grabbed Harry's arm and said,

"Come on, they're ready for you,"

"Thanks," He said with a slight smile as he headed back towards the group.

Stephanie waited for a little bit and then turned to Hermione and asked in an angry tone, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Hermione inquired curiously.

"Don't play dumb with me. What were you doing with Harry just now?" Stephanie asked again.

"We were having a private conversation," Hermione answered evenly.

"Who do you think you are?" Stephanie demanded.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked with anger in her voice.

"I mean, what gives you the right to steal him away from the rest of us so that you can have alone time with Harry," Stephanie retorted.

"Like you haven't done that before. I've seen you try to do that many times," Hermione answered back sharply.

"It is part of the show. Besides I've only done that a couple of times because you seemed to have dragged him away again," Stephanie replied.

"So it's part of the show for you but with me it is wrong?" Hermione replied sharply.

"Well I'm just doing what everyone else wants to do but are too nice to do," Stephanie added.

"Like I'm going to believe that. I didn't do anything. Don't blame me just because Harry doesn't like spending time with you, " Hermione answered while rolling her eyes and proceeded to walk away.

Stephanie caught her elbow and spoke in a threatening tone, "I'm only going to say this once so you better listen. Stop monopolizing Harry's time or else."

"Or else what?" Hermione asked.

"I'll just say you'll be sorry. But you doesn't really matter as long as you heed my warning," Stephanie replied and walked back towards the others.

Hermione just shook her head as she walked back slowly towards the group. She wondered what she was going to do. On one hand she shouldn't really worry too much about being kicked off the show because she is the spy and the producers knew that. But she still decided that she would have to be more careful around her from now on.

"So are both teams made up?" Harry asked looking at Hermione.

Hermione and the other girls nodded. Hermione, Callie and Lisa formed one team. Harry, Stephanie and Jennifer formed the other team.

Harry continued and said, "We're playing the flag version of the game. The goal of this game is to capture the other team's flag and return to our base while protecting our own flag. One way of protecting the flag is to get the other team's members out by shooting paint balls at them. Now if one of your team members accidentally shoot at you, you are still out. "

"So we are out if we get hit by a paint ball?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, now if get splattered by paint hitting a tree then you are not considered out," Harry added.

Hermione nodded and they lined up to get their guns with the paintballs, goggles as well as something to wear over their clothes so they don't get their clothes completely dirty.

"Remember it is important to wear your goggles and mask at all times," Harry called out.

“How long are we playing for?” Callie asked.

“The game will last for about 30 minutes,” Harry replied.

“Oh, just so everybody knows, you'll not supposed to shoot if you're within 5 ft of a person,” Callie added.

“Oh, there will be other people to join our teams. It makes it more fun,” Harry said after a thought.

The guns were not too heavy but still a little awkward to hold.

"Is this the right way to hold this?" Lisa asked Harry.

Harry walked on over and carefully observed her hand position and quickly demonstrated the more correct way of holding the gun with his own gun.

"Thanks," Lisa replied with a smile.

"What about me?" Stephanie asked.

Harry walked past Hermione and gave her a smile as Hermione returned the smile as she rolled her eyes over to Stephanie.

Stephanie was holding the gun completely inaccurately.

"No, no don't hold it like that. That would be dangerous," Harry told her and demonstrated on his gun but Stephanie tried to hold it like Harry showed her but for some reason she seemed to be unable to do it accurately so Harry walked closer to her and moved her hands into the correct positions.

"I'm not usually like this but I've never been really comfortable with guns," Stephanie whispered with an embarrassed smile.

Harry smiled and whispered back, "Don't worry about it, It's not a bad thing to be uncomfortable with guns."

Jennifer had walked over to Hermione and asked, "Is this how to hold it?"

Hermione looked at her hands and nodded.

"Good, I was a little worried. Just look at her, she is just acting dumb so that he would come and help her out," Jennifer added nervous as she nodded her head towards Stephanie and Harry.

"I'm sure Harry realizes that," Hermione answered looking down.

"I sure hope so," Jennifer replied.

Harry walked towards them with a smile and asked, "Are you guys ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Callie answered.

Then they separated out into their teams and each team was given time to walk to their home bases on opposite sides of the field. It was woody with many trees that allowed them to hide. Two other people joined their team. One of them was named Phil and the other named Susan. Diana and Kelly joined Harry's team.

"So what is our strategy?" Callie asked.

"I say we knock out Stephanie first," Lisa replied quickly.

"I agree with that," Hermione commented with a smile.

"Okay then that's settled. But who should try and get the flag?” Callie asked.

“How about you? I mean since you have played this game before,” Lisa suggested.

“Okay so then I guess you two will try to keep the others away from me in the meantime,” Callie answered.

Lisa and Hermione smiled and replied, "Okay."

Susan said, “I'll stay and guard the flag,”

Callie replied, “Sure, Phil why don't you come with us?”

*~*~*~

"What's the game plan?" Harry inquired.

"I say we try and knock out the strongest player which I would think to be Callie," Stephanie suggested.

"Sure," Jennifer replied.

"Okay then its settled then," Harry replied.

"Well on person should stay and guard the flag," Stephanie told Jennifer.

Jennifer rolled her eye and walked away toward the flag.

"What are we going to do?" Stephanie explained.

"Capture the opponents flag," Harry answered with a smile.

*~*~*~

Phil, Callie, Lisa and Hermione were quietly walking around searching for any sign of Stephanie. As they were walking Lisa asked Hermione, "So where did you disappear to?"

"What?" Hermione responded.

"For awhile when we were getting ready to play you and Harry were no where to be seen. You should have seen Stephanie. She looked steamed," Lisa answered.

"She was steamed," Callie added.

"I was just talking with Harry. He had walked on over to ask me a question," Hermione answered quickly.

"Just talking?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, just talking. It was going nicely until Stephanie showed up," Hermione answered.

"What did she say?" Callie asked.

"Let's just say that she wasn't being pleasant," Hermione replied.

"Stephanie is just so ugh. She is being a big pain in the butt and she really does have no right at all to be mad at you," Lisa responded.

"Let's get her," Callie replied with a smile.

"No arguments here. Why don't you go on up ahead to get the flag and we'll be watching here for the others," Hermione suggested.

Callie and Lisa nodded and Callie headed off.

*~*~*~

Harry was looking around for any sign of Callie, Hermione or Lisa. He then notices some movement behind the trees. He waited for a little bit and then noticed that Susan was near by.

He needed to get her out or at least distract her to get the flag. He made his way slowly back to Stephanie and said, “Okay, I'm going to distract her and when you notice that the coast is clear go and get the flag okay?”

“Okay,” Stephanie nodded nervously.

“Don't worry, I'll watch your back,” Kelly reassured her.

Harry took a deep breath and made a break for it. Running very fast past Susan and then ducking behind some trees.

Susan quickly aimed her gun at Harry and shot but missed and hit a tree instead. She quickly followed him but lost him and quickly raced back to where the flag was. She saw Stephanie walking away from the tree and aimed her gun to fire at her and missed her by a millimeter. Stephanie took this time to hide behind some mound of dirt.

Susan heard a gun fire and quickly ducked and the shot missed her. She quickly hid behind some trees and finally saw some movement behind some trees. She waited until she could see some part of the body and shot and it hit Kelly.

Kelly got up and called, “Out” and held the gun over her head and walked off of the field.

Susan then proceeded off to find the rest of her team.

During this time Harry had returned and made his way back to Stephanie.

Harry quietly motioned to tell Stephanie there was some movement near the trees. Stephanie nodded but was getting somewhat restless and was going to move towards another tree. It was then that Harry saw Kelly pointing her gun towards Stephanie and he then called out for her to duck and the paintballs just barely missed her and hit the trees.

"Run," Harry called and she complied quickly and ran behind another group of bushes. Harry was soon next to her.

"This is such a good experience for me," Stephanie told him.

"How?" Harry asked.

"It'll be a good angle for writing my stories and this is good for the heart," Stephanie explained.

"I'm glad. Okay so why don't we separate now and you go over there?" Harry asked pointing in that direction.

"But I'm sure that's what they want us to do," Stephanie pointed out.

"Yeah maybe but it's better than both of us getting shot isn't it? And I'll be watching you," Harry asked.

Stephanie nodded reluctantly and proceeded to walk on ahead.

He then told Diana, “ I want you to stay here and watch for the other team to return.”

*~*~*~*~

Callie was hiding behind some trees and looking around to see if anyone was guarding the flag and noticed someone watching the flag. After awhile she saw the face. It was Jennifer who was guarding the flag. She motioned for Hermione, Phil and Lisa to join her.

“Jennifer is guarding the flag, do you guys think you guys could distract her for a bit while I go and get the flag?” Callie asked.

“No problem,” Hermione replied.

Hermione, Phil and Lisa sat behind some trees while aiming their guns at where Jennifer was last seen. They were going to shoot if they saw any sign of movement from Jennifer.

Callie very slowly proceeded towards the flag. She was laying low so that she would not be seen.

Jennifer was watching very closely and thought that she saw slight movement on the floor and quickly aimed her gun getting ready to fire. Once she was sure that there was someone there she pressed her finger to the trigger and felt a pellet of paint hit her arm. She called “Out” and She then held the gun over her head and walked off the field rubbing her arm to deal with the slight pain.

Callie grabbed the flag and returned back to join Hermione and Phil.

“A couple of us should stay here just incase they have got our flag,” Phil responded.

“Okay then why don't you and Hermione stay here and wait?” Lisa suggested.

Hermione and Phil nodded.

“So, let's head back to our home base,” Callie said with a smile.

*~*~*~*~

Stephanie and Harry and walking back to their home base hiding every once in a while behind a tree. They were cautious not to lose the flag. Stephanie was walking slowly up ahead towards their base. Harry thought he heard some movement behind him and signaled for Stephanie to continue on towards their base.

Harry waited quietly behind some dirt as he saw Susan walking past him and he aimed his gun and shot at her. He missed because she had ducked behind a tree. Susan was then looking in the direction of the gun shot getting ready to fire her gun when she saw Harry. She aimed at Harry and missed him. Harry fired back missing at first but then hit Susan on the shoulder as she tried to shoot back. Susan got up, called out and held the gun over her head. She then walked off the field. Harry then got up to return to his home base.

*~*~*~

Callie and Lisa were were reaching their home base with the flag. They hid behind some trees to observe their surroundings and noticed that their flag was gone.

“Well let's hope that Hermione and Phil can get our flag back,” Callie told Lisa.

*~*~*~*~

Back at the Harry's team home base:

Hermione and Phil stood at different positions waiting patiently for any sign of the other team returning.

A few moments later Hermione saw Stephanie carrying a flag. She was looking around carefully and quickly ducked behind some rocks.

“Come on Stephanie, come on out to where we can see you,” Hermione said.

Stephanie was looking around and didn't notice anyone around so she walked out from behind the tree and she narrowly missed being hit by a paintball. She looked around trying to see her shooter but she couldn't see anyone. She was getting nervous and then she saw another paintball narrowly miss her and hitting a tree from another direction.

Hermione walked closer to her and stood close to a tree and said, “Surrender Stephanie.”

“No, I won't,” Stephanie responded with more confidence then she felt and aimed her gun to shoot Hermione but didn't get a chance as she was hit with a paintball from behind her.

"That wasn't really fair," Stephanie answered.

"Dead people aren't allowed to talk," Hermione replied.

Stephanie looked angry and was about to say something but decided against it stalked off the field.

Hermione picked up the flag and smiled at Phil, “Thanks for the cover.”

“No problem,” Phil responded with a smile.

“Why don't you head back to our home base? I'll be there in a little bit,” Hermione told him.

“Sure?” Phil asked.

“Yeah, I can protect myself,” Hermione assured him.

Harry had headed back and saw someone already there. He then smiled as he realized who it was. "So it's just you and me huh Hermione?"

“I guess it is,” Hermione responded with a slight smile.

“You know I'm going to have to get that flag from you,” He said with a slight grin and amused tone.

“I know but you know that I can't give it to you,” She responded back in the same tone.

"So what are the stakes?" She asked.

"How about if I win, you'll clean my room for a month?" He suggested.

"No, let's make it more interesting," Hermione replied.

"If I win, you have to go to that dinner with that annoying contributor of yours," He suggested with a sly grin.

"No way, I've been avoiding her for the past 4 months. You wouldn't do that to me, I mean you've met her right?" She asked.

"Hey, you wanted to make it more interesting," Harry added.

"Fine, what about if I win?" Hermione inquired.

"If you win I'll do that interview for that magazine with Rita Skeeter," He answered easily.

"No, you were going to have to do that interview eventually. No it needs to be a little more interesting," She interjected.

"Fine, what do you suggest?" Harry asked.

“If I win, then you have to shave your head leaving a patch of hair on your head,” Hermione responded.

“I don't think that the producers would appreciate that very much,” He answered with a slight grin.

“Well I wouldn't ask you to do it right now. You could do it after the show and I think you would look cute,” She replied.

“In that case that still wouldn't work, remember that I don't want to draw attention to myself,” Harry reminded her.

“I got it then, for one night we will go out and you will say anything I tell you to,” Hermione said after a moment brightly.

“Anything?” He inquired.

“Yep, anything. Are you worried? ” She answered in a teasing tone.

“No, but fine,” Harry reluctantly agreed.

“Great,” Hermione replied cheerfully.

Just then he heard the sound of someone heading towards them. Harry turned around and Hermione took this opportunity to hide.

Harry saw Phil quickly hide behind some bushes. He turned back around and saw that Hermione was gone. He just shook his head with a smile and ran towards a portion of dirt to survey his surroundings. At first he saw Phil from behind some trees and Harry aimed his gun and fired. He had a direct hit and then Phil was out. He waited for that familiar head of brown hair to pass by and he wasn't disappointed. He saw Hermione run in the direction towards her home base. He smiled and headed off in the same direction.

*~*~*~*~

Callie and Lisa had been waiting patiently in two separate locations. Callie then noticed some movement coming from the trees next to her. That was then that Callie was able to see Diana. She was very good at hiding.

Diana had been waiting for awhile and noticed that nobody approaching the flag pole which she found to be really suspicious. She suspected that some of them were hiding. She was watching the trees closely and finally noticed a flash of a muzzle and decided to see if she could not force one of them to show himself or herself. She moved very quickly into view and immediately ducked. It was then that she saw Lisa. Diana aimed her gun at Lisa as she came into view and shot her on the arm. Lisa walked out and headed off the field.

A little while later Hermione and Harry came into the area. They were both surveying their environments and looking for their team mates as well as for each other. Hermione spotted Callie and slowly tried to walk towards her but she was shot at. Diana had been aiming at her. Callie noticed this and moved closer towards Diana and was able to spot her really well. She aimed her gun at her and shot but missed.

Diana turned towards the direction her shooter had shot from and thought that she noticed a glimmer of a flag. She then aimed her gun back at Callie and shot and missed as well.

Hermione noticed that the shooting had stopped at her and saw that Callie was getting shot at aimed at Diana as she was aiming for Callie and shot at her but she missed. Hermione decided that she needed to distract her and moved closer to the flag pole near Diana. Hermione hid behind some trees and was able to see Diana very well with minimal blockage. She aimed her gun at Diana and this time was able to hit her well in the shoulder. Diana dropped her gun and walked off the field.

Harry witnessed Diana getting shot but didn't help because it was too late and decided that it was best to wait for a good opportunity before eliminating Callie and Hermione.

Hermione reached Callie and said, “Okay so you need to get near the flag pole okay?”

Callie nodded and slowly looked around before running off and hiding behind the next available tree. Hermione followed in the same fashion. Callie reached the pole and was about to put it back on the pole when she saw a paintball land near her. Callie quickly hung up the flag and ran for cover.

Harry took this opportunity and followed her path and when the right moment arrived he aimed and he was able to hit Callie in back. Callie then walked off the field leaving Harry and Hermione.

Hermione was looking around realizing that Harry was near by. She knew that in order for her to see him she would have to trick him into coming up or showing himself. Knowing Harry he probably wouldn't show himself until she did. She would have to show herself in a way that would prevent him from trying to shoot her. Hermione got up in plain sight with her flag and pretended to trip. She then saw Harry coming out to see if she was okay and she smiled and got up and quickly aimed her gun at him at shot at him but Harry was too fast and she missed him.

“Surrender Hermione?” Harry asked.

“I can't do that. We're too close,” Hermione replied with a smile.

Harry moved closer to her and asked again, “Surrender?”

“Nope, I can't. What are you doing?” Hermione asked nervously.

“I'm going to get you to give me the flag,” He answered.

“No physical force in this game right?” She asked.

“Who said anything about physical force?” Harry asked.

Hermione began to move back and said, “Harry look out behind you.”

Harry turned around and Hermione took this opportunity to run away and hide.

“That wasn't fair,” Harry said to Hermione.

Hermione just smiled and didn't respond as to give away her hiding place.

Hermione moved closer and closer to the flag pole. Harry knew that Hermione needed to return to the flag pole so he waited for her to appear. As he saw her approaching the flag pole while looking around and decided to scare her into dropping the flag so he aimed his gun and shot at a spot near her. This caused Hermione to stop whatever she was doing but she didn't drop her flag.

Harry then slowly crept up to Hermione and came up behind her.

Hermione suddenly turned around with her gun ready but nobody was there.

Hermione decided that she better turn for cover and headed back towards a tree. Harry took this opportunity to shoot a tree near where Hermione was hiding to get her to think he was somewhere else. Harry went to the pole and grabbed the flag back and at the last minute Hermione saw and aimed her gun to fire at him but once again she missed.

Hermione decided to use one last tactic. She came out and called out, “Harry, can we talk?”

Harry came out cautiously and said, “What about?”

“Well, I was thinking about maybe surrendering, I mean you obviously have an advantage over me in your technique. I was watching you and you were just so incredibly good at this,” Hermione started.

“Well, I had a lot of training,” Harry answered modestly.

Hermione walked closer to him and then said in a seductive tone, “There's a lot to this game that I could learn from you and I was wondering if you could teach me.”

“I mean, of course Hermione,” Harry said a little flustered by her tone and closeness.

Hermione walked even closer and whispered in his ear, “How about now?”

“Now? Sure,” Harry responded huskily and as he raised his arm, Hermione took the opportunity to take the flag from his hand.

Hermione broke out in a grin and ran off the pole and it took Harry a second before he ran after her.

Just then Lisa came out and said, “Time's up.”

“We win!” Hermione called out happily.

Harry just shook his head but smiled at the sight of the happy Hermione.

He walked up to Hermione and said, “That wasn't fair and you know it.”

“You didn't have to fall for it,” She replied back in a playful tone.

“You'll pay for this,” Harry replied back in a playful tone.

“We'll see and I can't wait until you have to pay up,” Hermione answered with a grin.

Callie and Lisa came up and asked her, “ What does that mean?”

“Nothing, We were just having a little fun,” Hermione answered back with a grin.

The girls were all tired when they headed back to the mansion and extremely hungry.

-->

9. Interlude

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I went on vacation for awhile so I didn't have anytime to write and then my computer crashed and it took a while for it to get fixed. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It is shorter than I planned but I promise my next chapter will be longer. Please review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or ABC.

Chapter 9

Harry woke up bright and early the next morning. He had a great night's sleep. He had a great time with all the girls. Callie had been such a great player as he thought she would be. Hermione however, had surprised him. She had playing an incredible game. Her ability to excel at everything always amazed him. He knew that he shouldn't be surprised but he still was. He did however still believe that she had cheated at the end of the game. He had felt mesmerised by her voice and touch. As much as he didn't want to think about it but he was very attracted to her. But who wouldn't be? It did not mean that he had any feelings for her though. He turned his mind over to a different problem that he should be worried about. What exactly will Hermione get him to do? Normally Hermione would never get him to do anything really horrible but that mischievous twinkle in her eye that he saw had made him very nervous.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione woke up feeling sore from paintball. But she smiled at the memory. It had been really fun and she was pretty happy with the outcome. She absolutely loved the look on his face when he realized that she was playing him. He looked so absolutely adorable and cute. She wondered about how easily she was able to distract him. It made her wonder if maybe he could possibly be attracted to her as well. But she quickly dismissed that thought. She just knew him too well and that was all there was to it. She couldn't wait until she received her reward. Getting Harry to say whatever she wanted him too should be very fun and interesting. Knowing Harry as she did she knew that he would be extremely worried right about now since he had no idea what she was going to get him to do.

She then proceeded down the stairs quickly and with a huge smile on her face. She got herself a glass of orange juice and made herself a breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. She got herself an apple as well. A huge smile crossed her face as she thought about how embarrassed Harry was going to be when she was through with him. In fact she could use this to her advantage and learn more about the other woman as well. This would also let Harry see what she knew about them with his own two eyes. The more she thought about her idea, the more she liked it.

Hermione laid back in her chair while enjoying her breakfast. The phone rang and she picked it up.

“Hello?” Hermione said.

“Is my beautiful best friend around?” Harry asked with a grin.

“Hey, what are you doing calling here?” Hermione asked curiously.

“I wanted to talk to you,” He replied.

“How did you know it would be me? What happened if it was somebody else? Besides you really aren't supposed to call me,” Hermione scolded him.

“Only you'd be crazy enough to be up so early in the morning,” Harry answered with a grin.

“If I'm crazy to be up at this hour than so are you since you are talking to me,” Hermione replied back.

“Touché. I really just had some thinking that I needed to do that's all,” He said.

“Ah… the bet I won. You'll thinking about what I'm going to make you do huh?” She asked brightly.

“Excuse me, since you cheated I don't think that means that you won. I'm just being the better person and letting you believe that you won,” Harry added.

“I won fair and square, you'll just trying to shield you wounded ego,” Hermione answered in that knowing tone of hers.

“Believe whatever you want. I'm not going to argue with you,” Harry answered.

“Because you know that I am right. Do you want to know what I came up with?” Hermione asked rolling her eyes.

“Yes I believe that I need to know,” Harry retorted back.

“Well I could just explain it to you but it easier to understand if I show it to you so what time can I come over?” Hermione asked.

“Well I have to meet with the producers really soon, so how about you come over here in 3 hours?” He asked.

“Great, that'll give me some more time to prepare,” Hermione answered really cheerfully.

“Prepare for what?” He inquired.

“Who are you talking to?” a female voice asked.

Hermione turned her head and saw Allie.

“Who are you talking to?” Allie repeated.

“Um… I'll have to call you back,” Hermione told Harry.

“What happened?” Harry asked.

“You'll find out later,” She replied and hung up.

“Hermione?” Harry said before realizing that she had hung up.

Harry just sighed and looked at his watch as he pondered what Hermione had planned for him.

“Allie, you're up quite early,” Hermione commented with a forced smile.

“I don't like sleeping in late, it feels like I'm wasting time,” Allie answered nonchalantly.

“I agree. Do you want something to drink?” Hermione asked quickly in order to distract her.

“No, I'll get something later, so who were you talking to?” Allie asked again.

“I was just talking to a friend of mind,” Hermione replied honestly.

“You aren't supposed to have much contact with those outside of the house,” Allie replied.

“It's not like I telling that person what's happening on the show if that's what you're worried about,” Hermione answered quickly.

“I just wouldn't want you to get kicked off or anything like that,” Allie replied.

“You really don't have to worry about me, I have everything under control,” Hermione added sweetly.

“I'm really glad to hear that. I wouldn't want a friend of mine to be kicked out over something as stupid as not following the rules,” Allie added.

“You consider us friends?” Hermione asked surprised.

“Of course I do, I mean you're one of the only women here that I can actually respect,” Allie explained.

“That's so sweet for you to say,” Hermione replied with a slight smile.

“No problem,” Allie said as she left the kitchen.

`That was weird. She tries to get some reason to kick me out and then turns around and says that she respects me? There is definitely something up with her and I'll going to find out what it is,' Hermione thought to herself.

Hermione finished her juice before heading off to her room to get the things she would need to explain her plan to Harry.

Hermione looked around quickly to make sure that nobody was around. Then she went into the back of her closet to get one of the few spell books that she had brought in case of emergencies. She wanted to make sure that she knew the spell she needed to use in order for Harry to do what she wanted him to do.

Once she found out what she wanted, she carefully placed the book back in its hiding place. She had placed a concealment charm on it in case anyone else came in contact with it.

She then headed back downstairs where she saw that the rest of the ladies of the house were now awake and having breakfast.

“Good morning Hermione,” Sue said as she sat down.

“Good morning Sue, did you have a good night's rest?” Hermione asked.

“Great, I'm feeling really relaxed. How are you doing? I heard that you guys had a very tiring date last night,” Sue added with a smile.

“I'm good. I had a good night's rest but I am still a little bit sore though,” Hermione commented.

“I feel sore too but it was fun wasn't it?” Callie asked.

“It was fun but it was too short for me,” Lisa added.

“Well it is a competition,” Stephanie added matter-of-factly.

“I know that. I just meant that I would have liked to have been in the game a lot longer,” Lisa replied.

“I know what you mean, it was fun and a great way to lose some energy but I would have liked to have spent more time with Harry,” Jennifer added.

“Yeah paintball really isn't a romantic date,” Hermione added.

“She shouldn't complain because she still managed to spend a lot of time with Harry,” Stephanie replied.

“I didn't spend that much time with him if anyone did it would be Stephanie since they were on the same team,” Hermione answered back.

“We may have been on the same team but we separated for most of the game. But you were the last person left,” Stephanie replied back.

“Congratulations Hermione,” Chloe replied.

“She played a great game,” Callie remarked.

“Well I had a lot of good luck,” Hermione answered modestly.

“You need more than good luck to do well in paintball. She's just being modest,” Callie told the other girls.

“No, really I just happen to be at the right place at the right time and the shot was easy,” Hermione explained.

“Yeah she must have cheated in order to win if you never played before,” Stephanie told Hermione.

“Are you accusing me of something? Have you ever heard of beginner's luck?” Hermione demanded.

“I'm just pointing out what I see,” Stephanie shot back.

“What exactly do you see?” Hermione asked.

“I see someone who says they can't play paintball and ends up winning it all. I'd say she was either lying or she somehow cheated,” Stephanie replied with a voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I can't believe that you would say that. Wait actually I do because of what you said to me last night but where is the proof for your allegations,” Hermione replied angrily.

“Just the fact that you won is proof enough. I mean even Harry mentioned something about cheating," Stephanie added with a grin.

“Don't you even dare pretend that you know what Harry meant to say. Don't start putting words into his mouth. You don't know him like…” Hermione angrily said and stopped herself from letting out too much information.

“Like what? You think you know him better than I do?” Stephanie asked her eyes flaring.

“Obviously I do because you seem to really think that you still have a chance to be with him,” Hermione answered with a smile.

Jennifer and Chloe tried to hide their laughter.

`Once Harry finds out what you're really like, he'd kick you out in a few seconds,” Hermione thought to herself.

“Well how do you know? You're not Harry,” Stephanie replied knocking Hermione out of her thought as she felt Allie's eyes on her.

“Well we're definitely not Harry but we're pretty sure that Hermione wouldn't cheat and I'm pretty sure he was just joking about Hermione cheating,” Callie added.

“He was probably just sore to lose to a girl,” Lisa added with a smile trying to lighten the mood of the kitchen.

The rest of the girls laughed.

“Well if she didn't cheat how did she win?” Stephanie asked.

“Maybe she's just good and you're being really paranoid Stephanie,” Lisa replied.

Stephanie opened her mouth but decided at last minute just to leave, so she turned around and headed back upstairs looking extremely angry.

“Don't worry about what Stephanie said, we believe that you didn't cheat,” Chloe told Hermione with a smile.

“Thanks you guys. It means a lot to me that you guys believe me,” Hermione spoke returning a smile.

“You're welcome. The most important thing though is what Harry believes,” Christine added.

“Well, Harry knows that I didn't cheat,” Hermione told them reassuringly.

Allie then came in with another letter and a bouquet of flowers. The note read:

Dear Sue, Allie, Chloe and Christine,

I bid all of you lovely ladies a wonderful morning. I hope that you guys enjoy the flowers. I hope to see you all tonight for a fun evening on the town. I'll pick all of you up later tonight. Dress semi-formally (because some of you need a little direction)

Harry.

“Cool, I'm looking forward to a fun night out,” Sue said.

“Wasn't it nice that he told us how to dress?” Chloe asked.

“Maybe some people just complained too much,” Jennifer replied with a laugh.

The other girls agreed thinking back to a certain past contestant that lived in the mansion named Isabelle.

Hermione looked around as she laughed and her eyes fell on Stephanie. She still couldn't believe how viscous she was but she wasn't really worried about her because from what she could tell Harry wasn't too attached to her.

Then her eyes fell onto Allie and she remembered her plan. The way that Allie looked at her gave her the creeps. She then proceeded upstairs to change.

Just as she was about to leave she decided to check her computer to see if she received any responses to any of her e-mails.

She checked her e-mail and found that she had received a response back from her friend on the police force. The e-mail was as follows:

Hermione,

It was great to hear from you. We should get together sometime and talk. I have looked at the information that you have requested. Allie Renshaw has no criminal record. The interesting thing that I found was that I couldn't find any record of her before 8 years ago. Usually you can find some paper trail for them. It's almost as if she never existed before then. Sorry I couldn't get you any more specific information. I'll let you know if I find anything else.

Michael

`Now this is interesting,' Hermione thought to herself and then was interrupted by a knock on the door. Hermione looked up and saw Christine.

“Hey Christine,” Hermione said with a smile.

“You busy?” Christine asked with a small smile.

“No, I'm just reading some e-mail,” Hermione said while quickly logging out of her e-mail account.

“Anything interesting?” Christine asked.

“Nothing more than usual,” Hermione replied and then stood up and asked, “What's up?”

“Chloe, Sue and I were going to go shopping for a little while. Do you want to come?” Christine asked.

“I would love to but there are quite a few things that I need to do,” Hermione replied.

“We could wait,” Chloe answered.

“I wouldn't want to keep you guys waiting, it could take a while,” Hermione added.

“I really don't mind and I don't think that they will either,” Chloe answered.

`I can't meet Harry now with them watching me. I'll go there later,' Hermione thought to herself.

“You know what? I can do that thing later. I just need to make a phone call. I'll be down in a few minutes,” Hermione added.

“Okay, I'll see you in a bit,” Christine replied with a smile.

Hermione returned the smile and then shrugged in frustration as she quickly dialed Harry's number.

“Hello,” Harry said into the phone.

“Hey, it's me,” She replied.

“Hey what's up?” Harry inquired.

“Plans have changed so I'm going to have to reschedule,” Hermione answered with a sigh.

“The girls?” He asked with a smile.

“Yeah, it's like they can't go without me,” She answered back.

“Right? With your fashion sense?” Harry replied in a teasing tone.

“I have a great fashion sense,” Hermione retorted back.

“Really? How about that party a month ago that we went to?” He asked.

Hermione thought back to the ugly green jumper she had worn to her aunts party and responded, “ My aunt had brought it for me and it would have been rude not to wear it.”

“Yeah but it did look really similar to that sweater you had brought a week earlier,” Harry added with a grin.

“It didn't look like that in the catalogue and it really did look great before and besides I just have a sense of fashion that's ahead of our time,” Hermione retorted back.

“Yep just keep telling yourself that,” He added in a teasing tone.

“ I recall that you loved the gown that I had brought earlier and that really ugly brown suit that you wore…” She retorted.

“You promised never mention that again,” Harry protested.

“Nope, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone else about it,” Hermione corrected with a smile.

“Fine, So when will you be coming around,” He asked trying to change the subject.

“I don't know, it depends on how long they'll keep me there,” She answered.

“Don't worry about it, I'll be around,” Harry answered back.

“I'll drop by later,” Hermione said.

“So do you think I could get a hint now?” He responded.

Hermione was going to respond when she heard a voice call out her name.

“Nope, I've got to go now,” She said quickly before hanging up and then walked out of the door.

As she walked outside she met Chloe and greeted her with a smile.

“So are you ready?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“I'm glad that you're coming with us,” Chloe added.

“Me too, it'll give us more of a chance to get to know each other,” Hermione responded with a smile.

“Yeah that's one of the reasons why I want to do this because I hate the fact that most of us don't really know each other,” Chloe replied.

“Is Allie coming?” Hermione tentatively asked.

“She is. Is that a problem?” Chloe asked.

“No, not at all. I was just curious,” Hermione answered with a smile.

“We're meeting the rest of the girls outside,” Chloe added.

“So who else is going?” Hermione asked.

“Christine, Sue, Jennifer, Allie and me,” Chloe replied.

“Great, I'm sure that this will be fun,” Hermione answered with a smile.

They met the rest of the girls in the foyer and then proceeded the head to the car. They had a nice drive with light conversation.

“You know it'll be nice to go out to shop because I haven't had much time lately,” Sue commented.

“Tell me about it, I've had such a full schedule that I never had any chance to actually go into a store and look around,” Christine said.

They went to the first store and looked around. They saw many beautiful tops and gowns. Hermione tried on a light blue spaghetti strapped top with a tan coloured skirt with a trim.

“You look great Hermione,” Chloe commented wearing a pleated red tube top.

“Thanks, that top looks great on you too,” Hermione replied.

“Really? Thanks but do you think that Harry would like it?” Chloe asked.

“I wouldn't really know since I'm not Harry but as long as you like it I'm sure that he will too,” Hermione answered cautiously.

`I know his taste but as to what he actually likes, I don't really know,' Hermione thought to herself a little bit curious as to why Chloe was asking her what Harry liked.

“Yeah, you're right,” Chloe returned with a slight smile.

“That looks great Hermione,” Christine commented on her outfit.

“Thanks Christine,” Hermione responded with a smile and noticed that Allie was watching her closely but when their eyes met she quickly looked away.

They continued to shop for about an hour before they decided to take a break and get something to drink. They were chatting happily about the clothes they just bought.

“So you guys are sure that I bought the right skirt?” Allie asked for the third time.

“Yes, we're sure,” Christine told her reassuringly while the rest of us rolled our eyes.

“Why don't we play one of those games where we can get to know one another?” Allie suggested.

-->

10. Hermione's reward part 1

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry about the long wait. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I have started the next chapter though so it should be up soon. I hope that nobody has given up on H/HR after HBP because I haven't. I will always love H/Hr and it didn't really affect this story since it is AU and it happens when they're older. Please review and let me know that you guys are still enjoying this story. I would also thank Another for betaing this for me and getting it back so quickly.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter of ABC.

Chapter 10

“Which one do you want to play?” Chloe asked.

“How about the one where we each say something that we have never done, and someone who has done the opposite has to take a drink,” Allie suggested.

“That game? This would certainly make things interesting,” Sue replied.

“I've never actually played this game before, how does it work?” Hermione asked.

“You haven't played before? Don't worry—it's pretty easy,” Chloe told her with a smile.

“So we're just going to take a sip of our own drinks, right?” Christine asked.

“Of course, so who wants to start?” Allie asked.

“I will. I've never cheated on a test before,” Sue said after thinking for a couple of minutes.

Everyone turned to see who would take a sip of her drink and saw that Jennifer did.

“Jennifer, when did you cheat?” Chloe asked surprised.

“It definitely isn't a big deal. I was in the 4th grade and it was just a little math quiz. I wasn't like planning to or anything but the answers were right in front of me,” Jennifer explained.

“How did the answers just happen to be in front of you?” Sue asked.

“Well, I happen to be called out of class during the quiz because the principal had to talk to me, so since I always was a good student I was able to stay after class to finish the test. And I was able to hand the test in on her desk with the others when I was done because she had to leave the room for a little while. I don't know why—the answer key was just right there on her desk. As I handed in the test I could see it,” Jennifer explained.

“Likely story,” Chloe responded.

“It's true,” Jennifer answered back with a grin giving Chloe a jab in the ribs.

“Okay,” Chloe said with a laugh.

“Jennifer, why don't you go next?” Allie asked.

“I've never gone skinny dipping before,” Jennifer replied before looking around her to see who would take a sip of their drink.

Allie and Christine both took a sip of their drinks.

“Spill,” Sue and Hermione responded.

“Why don't you go first Allie?” Chloe asked.

“Well, it was just a dare that one of my friends put me up to a couple of years ago,” Allie explained.

“Did the dare involve someone else?” Jennifer asked.

“You know that this game doesn't actually involve explanations, right?” Allie explained.

“Yes, but you're the one that wanted everyone to get to know each other,” Chloe answered.

“Yes. Jennifer, nobody forced you to explain yourself right?” Allie asked.

“No,” Jennifer replied.

“See, if you don't want to explain then you don't have to, alright?” Allie asked.

“Sure, I mean you guys understand that there are some things that are meant to be private,” Hermione answered with a smile because she couldn't tell them about being a witch or knowing Harry before.

“I guess you're right, Hermione,” Chloe answered after a moment.

“So how about you, Christine?” Allie asked.

“Let's just say it was on a weekend getaway with my last boyfriend while I was on tour,” Christine answered with a smile.

“That must have been nice to see him,” Chloe responded with a smile.

“It must have been fun,” Jennifer added.

“Oh it was. . . .” Christine responded with a slight smile and a sad look in her eyes.

“I can't believe you three haven't gone skinny dipping yet. We'll have to fix this later on,” Allie replied with a sly smile.

“What do you mean?” Chloe asked.

“Well I think that you, Sue and Hermione should be given the chance to go skinny dipping,” Allie responded with a smile.

“How are you going to do that?” Hermione asked.

“Just wait and see,” Allie answered with a secretive smile.

“Christine, why don't you go next?” Chloe asked.

“Sure. I've never saved someone's life before,” Christine responded after a thought.

Hermione gulped and took a sip of her drink.

“Hermione really? When?” Jennifer asked surprised.

“A friend of mine was hurt and I just helped them out,” Hermione answered honestly in a sad tone.

“What was your friend doing?” Allie asked.

“It's not something that I want to talk about,” Hermione responded truthfully.

“When did this happen?” Allie tried again.

“Seven years ago,” Hermione responded in a calm tone.

“What happened?” Allie pressed on.

“It's not something I want to talk about okay?” Hermione answered in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.

“It's not like a big secret or something is it?” Allie asked again.

“Don't you understand that I don't want to talk about it?” Hermione asked angrily.

“Back off Allie, you did say no explanations were necessary,” Chloe added.

“What is your problem? She already said that she didn't want to talk about it,” Jennifer responded.

“Okay, but it's not like any of you guys weren't curious either,” Allie retorted back.

“Maybe so but you were the only one you kept on pressuring her for an answer when she obviously made it clear that she didn't want to answer,” Christine replied.

“Thanks guys. Allie I just don't understand why you can't follow the rules you made up yourself,” Hermione replied.

“Look, I was trying to help you out,” Allie said.

“How?” Hermione asked while raising her eyebrows.

“Well it just seems like it brought back unhappy memories, and I hear that talking about it makes you feel better,” Allie responded.

“Well, thanks for your concern but it won't be necessary,” Hermione told her.

“Look I'm sorry if I offended you but I really was just trying to help,” Allie answered.

`What is with those weird 180-degree mood changes with Allie?' Hermione asked herself.

“No problem,” Hermione said with a forced smile.

“I'll go next. I've never had a secret that I couldn't tell anyone,” Allie responded.

Sue, Christine and Hermione all took a sip of their drinks.

“Really? Can you tell us anything?” Chloe asked, intrigued.

“Well since it's a secret, what do you think?” Hermione asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Well it must be something important if you're still keeping it a secret,” Allie commented.

“Nice try Allie, but I'm not telling you anything,” Hermione responded.

“How about you two?” Allie asked Sue and Christine.

“Well, it's not exactly my secret but I still promised that I wouldn't say a word to anybody about it,” Sue answered with a shrug.

“Mum's the word,” Christine answered.

“You guys are no fun,” Allie commented.

“Come on Allie, if you had a secret you wouldn't want to tell us it either would you?” Chloe asked her.

“I guess you're right but sometimes I think you're holding back on us Hermione,” Allie added.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“Well, I feel like you don't really want to get to know us,” Allie replied.

“Why would you think that?” Hermione said.

“You keep to yourself a lot and you don't exactly hang out with us a lot,” Allie explained.

“I've just never been good with people that I don't know,” Hermione explained.

“But you seem to be really comfortable around Harry though,” Allie added.

“I just feel comfortable around him, that's all. Where are you going with this?” Hermione asked.

“You and Harry just seem really close. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you two were really good friends,” Allie explained.

“That's good to know, Harry and I get along really well,” Hermione answered.

“I don't see a problem with that,” Chloe piped up.

“I was just wondering if there was anything you wanted to tell us?” Allie asked looking at Hermione.

“No, there isn't and I'm tired of you pointedly asking me questions. Look, I have a few things that I need to do so I'm going to head back now. I'll see you guys later,” Hermione replied angrily looking at Allie but smiling at the rest of the group.

“Look what you did Allie,” Christine said.

“What?” Allie asked innocently.

“You were bombarding Hermione with questions like you were suspecting her of something,” Chloe replied.

“I have some suspicions,” Allie answered.

“Do you have any proof?” Sue piped in.

“None. That is why I was asking her questions,” Allie admitted.

“But you didn't have to pester her like that when she obviously didn't want to answer,” Chloe replied.

“Don't you guys think that she's keeping a lot of secrets from us?” Allie asked.

“No and even if she was I'm sure she has her reasons for it,” Christine answered.

“Yeah, come on, let's go,” Chloe said and she left with Sue, Christine and Jennifer.

*~*~*~

Hermione had returned to the mansion still a little steamed at the way that Allie kept on asking her questions.

She then picked up the phone and dialed Harry's number.

“Hello,” Harry said into the phone.

Hermione smiled at the sound of his voice and said, “Are you free right now?”

“Come on down,” he answered.

“See you in a few,” she replied and hung up.

Hermione put down her bags and grabbed a few items from her room before heading over to where Harry was staying.

Harry was waiting patiently for Hermione to come on over and tell him what it is that she wanted him to do.

He was getting more and more nervous about what he would have to do. Knowing Hermione as well as he did, he was sure that it would be very interesting.

A minute later there was a knock on his door, and he opened it and saw an angry and upset looking Hermione.

"What happened?" He inquired.

"Nothing," Hermione answered.

"It doesn't look like it, want to talk about it? It might make you feel better," Harry asked forming a small pout with his lips.

Hermione smiled and said, "There's this one girl whose been getting on my nerves. She's been hounding me with questions that I can't exactly answer and I couldn't have made it any clearer that I didn't want to talk about it. But she kept on pressuring me to answer them,"

"Oh . . . I know what you mean. There have been so many questions that they can ask us and we can't really answer them because we can't talk about certain things." he responded.

"That is part of it but we were playing this game where we had to say something that we never did and we get to see who has done it," she explained.

"Oh, they must have asked you about that," Harry replied sadly, quickly catching on and wrapping his arms around her.

"I know that it was a long time ago but the memory is still so clear in my mind," Hermione murmured in his arms as her mind drifted back to what had happened about seven years ago.

Flashback

Hermione was looking around at the ongoing battle scanning for any sign of Harry or Ron. At first she didn't see either of them, but then she saw a flash of black hair pass by her. She went in for a closer look. That was when she was sure that it was him. She then saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned to see who it was. That was when she saw a Death Eater creeping up behind him.

"Harry, look behind you," Hermione cried out.

When she saw that Harry didn't notice the danger that he was in, she knew that she had to act quickly. She had her wand ready and ran quickly towards Harry and pushed him out of the way and managed to produce a shield charm just in time to protect herself.

When she turned around she noticed that Bellatrix was just a few feet away from her wearing a very evil smile on her face.

"I've been wanting to do this for a while now you little filthy mudblood," Bellatrix hissed.

Bellatrix then raised her wand arm and started the incantation "Avada...."

Hermione could scarcely hear her as all her thoughts began to be jumbled and she saw a light emitting from Bellatrix's wand and before she had time to react she felt herself being pushed away.

She broke out of her trance as she heard grunts of pain and saw Viktor muttering in agony.

"Viktor why?" Hermione cried out with tears in her eyes.

*end of flashback*

"Hermione, it wasn't your fault—it was his choice," Harry told her in a firm tone.

"Yes it is because he was trying to save me!" she replied between sobs.

"If that is the case, then the whole thing is my fault because if I had been more careful you wouldn't have had to save me and then Krum, wouldn't have been killed," he countered.

"It's not the same thing, and you know it," Hermione retorted, pulling away from his arms.

"How is it different?" Harry inquired.

"It is. Besides, your explanation is based on too many what-ifs. I mean, how were you supposed to know that I would see you being attacked from behind. I'm sure other people would have done the same thing I did for you," she explained.

"Exactly, you had no idea what he was going to do either and I highly doubt that you could have stopped him either even if you did know. But the bottom line is that you didn't know so it wasn't your fault," he responded.

"I know that you're right about this anyway," Hermione said with a sigh.

"Of course I am. And look at it this way: he didn't die for nothing. We did defeat Voldemort, after all," Harry answered with a slight smile.

"No, Harry, you did it," she automatically corrected him.

"Maybe it was mostly me in the end but I couldn't have done it without you," he added, drawing her back into his arms because he missed her warmth.

Hermione buried her head into his chest and as she relished this feeling of being in his arms and had to smile, 'He always knew what to say to make me feel better.'

"Thanks Harry," Hermione murmured.

"No problem, feeling better now?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, it's time for you to find out what I want you to do," she said brightening up.

"What you're asking me to do must be pretty bad if you're smiling like you are," he said jokingly.

"You know that I would never ask you to do anything too horrible," Hermione told him sternly.

"I know that Hermione, so what exactly are you asking me to do?" Harry asked.

"Okay, I think that you have waited long enough. All I want you to do is to say whatever I want you to say," she told him with a mischievous grin.

"Okay, but when do you want me to do this?" he asked carefully.

"Tonight, which includes your date," Hermione replied in a nonchalant tone.

"What? No, you're going to embarrass me in front of them aren't you?" He exclaimed in an accusing tone.

"Look Harry, I'm sure that they would appreciate your honesty," she answered sweetly.

"I knew it! You really do want to embarrass me. I don't think that the producers would be too happy either," Harry added.

"Harry, you're going to do this whether you want to or not. I promise that I won't embarrass you too much. And this gives me a great opportunity to see which girl is the right one for you," Hermione pleaded with him.

"Okay but I'm only doing this because it's you," He relented in a begrudging tone.

"Thank you," she exclaimed happily and gave him a big hug.

"You're welcome, but how is this going to work? I can't hear you from the mansion to where we're going on the date," Harry inquired after breaking away from the hug.

"Harry have you forgotten that I'm a witch and you're a wizard?" Hermione whispered.

"You're right, I didn't even think about doing it that way. You don't have to whisper because they can't hear us," Harry answered.

“That is smart, maybe that's why you were Head Boy,” she teased him.

“Takes one to know one, doesn't it, Head Girl?” he teased her back.

“So in case you're wondering, I found this spell that can be used to enchant an object to be somewhat of a microphone but without wires,” Hermione explained.

“So I can hear you speak to me but can you hear me?” Harry asked.

“That's the beauty of this spell, I can hear and see you perfectly but they can't hear me,” she exclaimed happily.

“So if I'm talking to you, they'll think I'm talking to myself?” he asked.

“Yep, so you'd better not talk to me that much or they'll think you're a little crazy,” Hermione replied with a grin.

“I suppose that if they did think that you would be happy about that?” Harry inquired.

“Well it'll serve you right for all those times I had to talk to you when you were wearing the invisibility cloak,” she admitted.

“Yeah, I guess so. I did do that a lot,” he commented.

“Yes and I hated it because people kept on giving me pitiful looks when I was talking to you, and I truly never knew if I was actually looking at your face,” Hermione added.

“Well I've never actually noticed that because I think you did a pretty good job,” Harry answered with a smile.

“Really?” Hermione asked, blushing with a pleased look on her face.

“Yeah, it was like you could somehow sense where I was,” he answered with a grin.

“It is extremely unlikely that anyone can develop that kind of sense about someone, but it would be nice if I did,” she answered.

“Why?” Harry inquired.

“Well, it would be nice to know where you were so that I could stop you from doing something stupid,” Hermione replied.

“When did I do something stupid?” he demanded.

“Do I have to list them out for you? How about when you were going to save Sirius?” Hermione asked.

“I wanted to make sure that he was safe,” Harry answered firmly.

“What about when you were going to the midnight duel with Malfoy?” she asked.

“I was eleven and it was Malfoy,” he defended himself.

“It was still stupid. How about when you left your Uncle and Aunt's house in the middle of the night? ” Hermione responded.

“Okay, that was a little stupid,” Harry answered, a little bit flushed.

“How about the time—” she started.

“Fine, fine you've made your point. How about we get back to the topic at hand?” He asked, pointing toward the enchanted object.

“Okay, so I guess you want to see how this works huh?” Hermione asked.

“That would be nice,” Harry answered with a grin.

Hermione took out her wand and wordlessly enchanted a small pin and handed it over to him.

“So I just have to pin it on and you and I can hear each other?” He inquired.

“Why don't you try it out upstairs?” she told him.

“Okay,” Harry nodded quickly and went upstairs.

“Can you hear me?” she asked.

Harry was pretty amazed at the clearness of her voice and responded, “Very loud and clear, Hermione.”

“Told you it would work,” she answered.

“I never really thought that you couldn't do it,” he replied.

-->

11. Beggining of the dare

A/N: I'm once again really sorry for the long wait for the next chapter. I had just so much going on that I didn't have time to write. I've decided just to post this instead of making you guys wait any longer. I hope to have the next chapter up next week. I will be posting my progress of this story on my livejournal so you guys don't always have to wonder when or if I'm continuing this story. My username is usa_aurorheaven. I will be also posting some extra stuff there if I get a chance such as like other versions of stuff I wrote or little stuff I decided not to include into the story or maybe like other people's reactions to the episode. Some of this stuff might be friends locked so if you want to be included just let me know. Thanks.

Chapter 11:

Harry sat down anxiously as he waited for his date to begin. He had always been nervous before his dates but he was especially nervous today because he didn't know what Hermione was going to ask him to talk about with the other women.

Just then the phone rang and Harry picked it up and heard, “Don't worry about it so much Harry. Relax because as I told you before I won't do anything too horrible to you,” Hermione said.

“If you were me, wouldn't you be worried too?” He asked.

“Maybe just a little but I would at least TRUST that one of my best friends would know what they are doing,” she retorted.

“I do trust you but I can't help but be nervous,” Harry replied.

“Don't be so tense. You're no fun when you're nervous and I bet that the other girls will think so too,” Hermione advised him.

“I can't relax when you're telling me to relax,” Harry answered.

“Fine, do you remember the time in third year with Neville's boggart?” she asked after a while.

Harry had to laugh at the thought of seeing Snape in a dress and replied, “That was definitely a sight that I wouldn't want to miss.”

“You're more relaxed now aren't you?” Hermione asked.

“I am. Thanks Hermione,” he answered.

“No problem, now remember to wear that pin I gave you,” she reminded.

“I wish that I could forget,” Harry muttered to himself.

“What did you say?” Hermione asked.

Harry quickly sat down to keep himself from sounding nervous and with a big smile answered, “No.”

Hermione just shook her head and smiled that knowing look of hers and added, “ Don't worry about forgetting to wear your pin because I will definitely make sure that you will have one to wear.”

“I knew I would always be able to count on you,” he replied with a sigh.

Hermione just laughed and said, “Why don't you just go on and get ready for your date.”

“I'll talk to you later,” Harry replied and hung up.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione was sitting on her bed with a smug smile on her face. She walked over to her mirror and looked at her reflection. She looked presentable but she found herself wanting to look nice for harry even if he would only see her for a couple of minutes. She decided to change her shirt. She then after a second thought changed into a skirt and a blue blouse. Then she quickly brushed her hair and put on some lip-gloss. She then looked at her watch and smiled and quickly grabbed the extra pin she had enchanted just in case Harry pretended to forget his pin. Then she proceeded to slowly walk down the stairs.

A few minutes later she heard the doorbell ring and she went to open it. When she saw him she gave him a quick hug and asked, “Are you wearing it?”

“Why don't you see for yourself?” Harry whispered back.

Hermione just gave him a tiny smile and slipped something into the palm of his hand and then walked up the stairs into her room.

Harry quickly looked into the palm of his hand and saw a folded piece of paper. He opened it up and saw her neat handwriting on it and smiled. She wrote: Don't look so scared Harry. This is going to be fun. And you trust me don't you?

“Of course I do,” Harry said.

“I'm glad that you do or I would have to knock some sense into you,” Hermione replied with a sly grin.

“I'm hurt that you would think that I'm such a terrible friend,” Harry whispered making a sad face.

“Don't you even start that Mr. Potter, you know exactly what I meant,” Hermione replied back with an amused look on her face.

Harry couldn't help but smile and answered, “I do. Okay so now you're satisfied that I'm wearing it now aren't you?”

“Well I knew you weren't going to back down,” Hermione answered with a little chuckle.

“What's so funny?” Harry asked.

“Well, you've never backed out of any challenge even if it was stupid or dangerous,” Hermione answered.

“I don't remember any of them being stupid,” Harry retorted back.

“Come on the one during first year?” Hermione asked.

“It was Malfoy and it wasn't stupid because it was about my honor,” Harry answered.

“You could have been killed or expelled and honestly it wasn't even necessary,” Hermione answered back.

“I would have gone if it wasn't for you,” Harry answered.

“Well someone had to stop you from doing something stupid,” Hermione responded.

“You've always been there for me. But we weren't even friends then why were you there?” Harry asked.

“I've told you before, I just felt like I knew something about you from reading and I couldn't just stand by and let you do something stupid when I knew about it. It didn't feel right,” Hermione answered quickly.

“Well I can believe that Hermione. You always did want to help others,” Harry answered back.

“Now remember not to talk to me too much during you date,” Hermione reminded him.

“Why?” Harry asked.

“Because nobody knows that you're talking to me so they'll think you talking to yourself,” Hermione explained with a sigh.

“Oh, yeah that was one of the things I was worried about before,” Harry whispered back sheepishly.

“What am I going to do with you?” Hermione teased him.

“You'll be there for me right?” Harry asked.

“Of course but you might not always want me around,” Hermione answered mumbling the last part.

Harry caught on and said, “I'll never be too busy for you Hermione. Remember that I here for you if you ever need me.”

“Thanks,” Hermione replied in a happier tone.

“I'll talk to you later, I think they're coming,” Harry added.

“I know, I can hear footsteps outside my door. Have fun.” Hermione said with a laugh.

“Do they sound excited?” Harry asked anxiously.

“You will find out when they come down. A little impatient aren't we?” Hermione asked amused.

“A little,” Harry admitted.

“Don't be, you're a very likeable guy,” Hermione told him.

“Well this time it's different. First o all these are muggle women and I'm not sure they like me,” Harry answered.

“All women basically want the say personality features in guys the only difference is that they know nothing about magic and they wouldn't about your life before which was what you wanted right?” Hermione asked.

“I do but it's also hard because magic is a big part of my life and there are just some things that I can't talk about and I get stuck on topics to discuss,” Harry admitted.

“You have nothing to worry about then, if you ever run out of topics to talk about I can help you,” Hermione assured him.

“That's right. You will be able to help me won't you?” Harry said and he brightened.

“Now there you are, you are so much cuter when you smile,” Hermione commented.

“You know I still find it weird that you can see me,” Harry commented.

“Well I think that it is a good thing that I can though,” Hermione added.

“Why?” Harry asked curiously.

“Because if I couldn't see what you were doing I wouldn't be very much help to you would I?” Hermione clarified.

“That's true. Did I tell you I'm glad you're here?” Harry asked.

“Yeah but I'm always happy to hear that. I hope you hold on to that thought later on too,” Hermione teased him.

Harry physically paled.

Hermione just giggled and said, “They're almost near you so look happy.

Harry took a deep breath and turned his head towards the staircase.

The ladies came out one at a time in semi-formal clothing and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek as they reached him.

“Rather to go ladies?” Harry asked as he went over to open the door.

The ladies nodded enthusiastically as the followed him out to the door and into the limousine.

Once inside Harry asked, “So do you have any guesses to where we are going tonight?”

“Not really.” Sue answered.

“Well you didn't give us many hints,” Allie pointed out.

“You note was incredibly broad but if I were to venture a guess would be our location would be down-town somewhere,” Christine replied after a though.

“Now that's a good answer,” Hermione commented to Harry.

Harry just smiled.

“What are you smiling at?” Chloe asked curiously.

“I'm just happy to see all of you,” Harry answered quickly.

“Really smooth,” Hermione said watching with a smile.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Hermione saw this and giggled again and decided to save him from looking like an idiot for much longer said, “Harry, tell them where you are taking them.”

“Okay I decided not to keep you in suspense any longer. We're not doing anything fancy but we are going into a nice uptown bar where there is a great Japanese chef will cook for us and afterwards we can just talk and play a game of pool,” Harry revealed.

“That sounds fun,” Christine replied with a smile.

“I do love Japanese food,” Chloe commented.

Allie and Sue nodded in agreement.

Harry's grin broadened and answered, “I'm glad to hear it. It would be horrible if any of you hated Japanese food.”

“It does sound fun Harry. Good choice.” Hermione told him and then after a thought decided to tease him again, “I mean this place is casual and not that many people are around so it'll be a great place for you do your dare.”

Hermione watched Harry visually tense up and she had to stifle her giggle.

“Are you okay?” Sue asked concerned.

Harry put on a smile and said, “I'm fine.”

He whispered to Hermione, “What did you mean by that?”

“What did you say?” Sue asked.

“I just said that you have nothing to worry about,” Harry answered.

“You'd better be more careful or they're going to think you're talking to yourself,” Hermione warned him teasingly.

Harry wisely chose to heed her advice and decided not to respond.

“Let the games begin,” Hermione added to herself with a smile.

-->

12. Pool

A/N: I am so sorry about the length it takes for me to update. Once again real life kept me from writing and everything so I would write a little bit for a while so I could never finish the chapter. I would like to thank all of my readers and reviewers for continuing to read this fanfic. It really does mean so much to me and your comments are very much appreciated. Please keep reading and reviewing. It really does motivate me to keep writing. I hope you enjoy this long over due update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the creating of J.K. Rowling and I am not affiliated with JK Rowling or ABC in any way. This fic is written for entertainment purposes only.

By: heaven85

Chapter 12

As they entered the club they found that it was a very large and very comfortable place with shimmering lights dangling above the floors were put together in a classic marble, black and brown design filled with a couple of pool tables, sofas, tables and chairs. There were also candles on the tables to create a romantic atmosphere. Harry headed towards the front of the room where the waiter greeted him.

“Hello Mr. Potter,” a young man stated.

“Hello, it's great to meet you,” Harry replied with a gigantic smile.

“I hope that all of you like to eat Japanese food,” the manager said.

“I'm sure we will,” Chloe responded flashing a dazzling grin to the manager.

“That's good to hear. We have brought a well-known Japanese chef over here from Japan to cook some of his famous teriyaki noodles and sushi as well as some other specialties,” the manager added pointing over to the older Japanese chef in the white outfit.

He looked very professional and Hermione noticed that his hands contained scars displaying his long hard work and skill as a chef.

“He looks like a great chef. I think he looks familiar. Have you heard of him?” Hermione asked curiously.

“I have no idea,” Harry whispered back softly.

“Did you ask me something?” Christine asked.

“I was just wondering if you knew who the chef was,” Harry replied quickly.

“That's the world renowned Japanese chef Ken Tsuenko. He has won numerous awards and medals in Japan,” Christine explained surprised.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Harry asked curiously.

“It's just that he was on the news and television screen very often these last couple of years. He's hard to miss so I was wondering that it's kind of strange that you haven't heard of him that's all,” Christine replied.

“Oh, that's why he seemed familiar. I remember mum watching him on the television screen. She really would have loved to have a chance to go eat some of his food,” Hermione explained to Harry after thinking for about a few moments.

“Actually it's just that the name sounded familiar but I just never had been that great with Japanese names,” Harry explained sheepishly.

“Don't worry about it. I have never been great with foreign names myself. I just knew this name because I've heard it so many times,” Christine replied reassuringly.

Harry smiled and was about to say something when Allie touched his arm and started leading him over to another table.

“Are you okay?” Allie asked concerned.

“She is such a faker.” Hermione muttered under her breath.

“What did you say?” Harry asked puzzled.

Hermione brightened after a moment and replied, “It's time to have a little fun. Tell her: What do you mean? Are you okay?”

“What do you mean? Are you okay?” Harry asked Allie.

Allie almost choked on the drink she was sipping and turned and said, “What do you mean by that?”

“You're just looking a little bit sick today, so I just wanted to know if you were okay,” Hermione told him quickly with a large smile on her face as she saw her reaction.

“You're just looking a bit sick today, so I just wanted to know if you were okay,” Harry repeated with a smile.

“I do? I'm sorry to worry you then but I really feel fine. Excuse me while I go to the ladies room,” Allie replied flustered for a few seconds.

“I can't believe you made me say that,” Harry muttered back.

“I was doing you a favour. I don't think you want her to know what was really going on do you?” Hermione asked.

“No,” Harry answered back.

“Harry, why don't you come on over and play some pool with us?” Chloe asked.

“Sure,” Harry said with a smile.

“Do you know how to play pool?” Hermione asked skeptically.

“I might not be the best player in the world but I can hold my own,” Harry answered back in a whisper

“Well I can't wait to see how well you do then,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“I haven't played pool for quite a long time so I might not be very good,” Chloe told Harry with a smile.

“Don't worry. I'm not an expert myself,” Harry told her reassuringly.

“There are just a ton of rules so its hard to become an expert in them, what do you want to play 8 Ball?” Chloe asked.

“Sure, if that's alright with everyone else?” Harry asked.

“It doesn't really matter to me,” Christine answered while Allie nodded.

Sue looked a little apprehensive so Harry spoke up, “Just to make sure that everyone is on the same page regarding the rules. I will go over them once and they are the ones that we will follow. I'm sure we all have learned variations of the rules from other people.”

Sue smiled appreciative at Harry and that caused Hermione to smile and said, “That was very observant of you Harry to notice that Sue wasn't feeling very comfortable. I'm impressed.”

Harry smiled widely and continued, “Eight-Ball is a call shot game played with 15 balls and a cue ball. They are numbered 1 through to 15. One player must pocket the balls that are number 1-7 which can be seen as the solid coloured balls and the other player must hit the rest which are in stripes. Whichever player pockets their group first and then pocket the 8-ball wins the game. If the player pockets a ball then they continue until they miss their shot. Now I just want to know if you guys want to play in teams or one-on-one against me.”

“Well I think we should play it round robin style just because there are only 5 of us all together and it would be much more fun,” Allie commented.

“Well that sounds fine but how often has everyone played?” Harry asked.

“Well to be honest, I haven't played very often or lately but I'd say I can stand my ground,” Sue replied.

“I haven't played in years but I think I can remember how the play,” Christine added with a smile.

“I actually just started to play recently so I have no problems with playing it tournament style,” Chloe added.

“So how well do you play?” Hermione asked Harry curiously.

“Just wait and see,” Harry murmured to her.

“Okay then that means, we'll play one-on-one. So who wants to play first?” Harry asked.

“I'll try,” Sue interjected nervously.

“Great,” Harry replied with a smile.

“Okay so let me see if I remember. My feet and shoulders should be the same width apart and I place the cue between these two fingers and my position must be stable right?” Sue asked nervously.

Harry took a look and before he could say anything he heard Hermione say, “Tell her that her cue should be out about another inch.”

Harry raised his eyebrows in response but told Sue just the same so Hermione spoke up, “I'm doing some research on the game just so I understand it better.”

“Okay, why don't you start first?” Harry asked.

“So I'm hitting the striped ones?” Sue inquired.

“Sure, go on ahead,” Harry replied shrugging his shoulders.

Sue took a deep breath leaned in and aimed the cue to strike the white ball at the center and managed to pocket one of the striped balls.

“Great job,” Harry commented.

“Thanks,” Sue replied with a flush to her cheeks.

Sue began to look at the setup of the rest of the balls and moved over to the spot where she thought was the easiest for her to pocket another ball. She took a deep breath and leaned forward and aimed the white ball in the direct that she wanted to hit. She knew that she needed to hit it at an angle to allow the impact of the strike to get the ball to head into the direction of the closest pocket. She took the swing and managed to get the ball to land really close to the pocket but it didn't go in.

“That was a tough shot but you did a great job.” Harry commented.

“Thanks, it's your turn,” Sue replied with a smile.

“Are you sure you know what you are doing? I can help you out,” Hermione added in amused tone.

“Of course I do or else I wouldn't have suggested it,” Harry calmed stated back.

“Okay but if you need me you know where I am,” Hermione told him with a smile.

Harry looked at the pattern of the balls that were facing him and noted the position of each of the balls and thought of the best strategy for him to take on in order to be able to continue on. He was actually a very good billiard player and he smiled as he knew that Hermione did not know this. He expertly knocked two of his targets into their respected pockets.

“Great shot,” Allie replied enthusiastically.

“You obviously played this game before haven't you?” Hermione asked.

Harry just nodded his answer and continued on to his next shot. He hit three more balls in the pocket before finally missing.

“You are definitely a very good pool player. Do you have any advice for beginners?” Sue asked.

“Well it does take a lot of practice to be good at this game and where you hit each ball is very important as well as the angle of your swing,” Harry answered.

“So basically we just need to practice?” Christine interjected.

“Yes. That is basically it. But I could always give you guys tips if you want,” Harry answered with a slight smile.

“That would be great. I always wanted to learn to play better,” Allie replied with a giant smile.

Hermione watched this while shaking her head. `That girl will say anything to get to spend more time with Harry.'

“I will be happy to help out anybody who wants to learn more,” Harry answered smiling at all of the girls.

“Why don't you propose that you will give a free lesson to the person that wins the tournament?” Hermione suggested.

“I would love to help out all of you but there just isn't enough time so how about I propose that I will give the person who wins this tournament a free lesson,” Harry added.

“It is true that it would take too much time to help out each and every one of us so I think that it is a great idea,” Christine replied thoughtfully.

“I also think that it's a great idea,” Chloe answered with a grin.

“Well let's finish this game first then,” Allie responded.

Sue then proceeded to knock three more of her target balls into the pocket.

“You definitely improve very quickly,” Harry commented.

“Well I always strive to improve myself,” Sue responded with a smile.

“That I think is a very important quality in life,” Harry answered with admiration.

“I have always had to work really hard to get to where I am so I have learned to be a very quick study,” Sue answered before she finally missed putting the target into the pocket.

“That was a very great run,” Harry complimented Sue.

“Thanks,” Sue responded brightly.

Hermione was watching this scene with a slight smile on her face but she felt a slight twinge of jealously which she quickly shook off before deciding to ask the question that has been on her mind for the last few minutes,” When did you learn to play pool? Excuse yourself by asking to go to the rest room.”

“Excuse me for a second, I need to use the rest room,” Harry excused himself.

“That wasn't too hard now was it?” Hermione asked giggling.

“But guys don't use the term rest room,” Harry said slightly embarrassed.

“Well, I thought that it would be less awkward then if you said that you needed to use the powder room,” Hermione responded gleefully.

“You wouldn't ask me to say that would you?” Harry said physically paling.

“Then stop complaining. It's not an embarrassing word and please answer my question,” Hermione told him.

“I have been playing for a few years now. I actually just stumbled upon this game once while I was working undercover and I found my way to this muggle bar and the person I was assigned to watch was playing this game and he asked me if I wanted to play and I did and I didn't do so well but he apparently liked my form and asked me if I wanted to meet him again another time after I had some time to practice so I couldn't give up this opportunity and I learned how to play pretty well,” Harry explained.

“So all those times that you said…..” Hermione began.

“I was practicing playing pool,” Harry finished for her.

“You should have told me and I could have learned with you,” Hermione answered.

“You want to learn how to play?” Harry inquired surprised.

“Yes I do, is it that surprising? A lot of people know how to play this kind of game so I wouldn't have thought that it would seem so strange to you that I wanted to play,” Hermione explained.

“I would love to teach you the basics of this game,” Harry said with a grin.

“You would?” Hermione asked.

“Of course I would, it would, it would be a great honour to be able to teach you anything,” Harry said in a teasing tone.

“I know that you're just trying to bait me with that comment so I'm going to take it as a compliment,” Hermione responded with a slight shake in the head.

“You're no fun,” Harry commented.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Hermione prompted him.

“It means exactly what I say. Why didn't you just humor me with a response?” Harry asked.

“So you rather that instead of making no comment that I bite your ass off? Hermione asked with surprise in her voice.

“Not when you mention it like that,” Harry commented looking slightly flushed.

“That's what I thought. I think you should head back or else they will think you have a strange bladder problem,” Hermione said looking at the time while laughing.

“I think you're having a bit too much fun with this and don't you think that the others will wonder why you are laughing?” Harry inquired.

“Don't you ever listen to what I tell you? I put at sound blocking charm around this room so they can't hear anything that I'm saying to you,” Hermione replied in a exasperated tone of voice.

“Oh right, I remembered that you mentioned that,” Harry replied sheepishly.

“Just hurry up and get back to the girls,” Hermione told him quickly.

Harry walked very quickly back to the room where the girls smiled as they saw him, “You were out there for quite a while, we were starting to get worried,” Allie spoke up.

“I'm sorry if I worried you guys,” Harry replied apologetically.

“Oh we were getting worried that maybe you had fallen in,” Sue commented.

Hermione just giggled in response to that one and said, “Ask her if she would have saved you?”

“Would you have saved me?” Harry asked raising his eyebrows.

“I definitely would, though I think that people would wonder why I'm running into the men's room,” Sue responded with a smile.

“It's good to know that I'm in safe hands,” Harry answered with a large grin.

“I couldn't leave you stranded could I?” Sue answered with a grin.

Harry replied with a smile and said, “Why don't I finish the game?”

“Cocky now aren't you?” Sue teased him.

“I wouldn't say cocky, just confident in my own abilities,” Harry answered after a thought.

“No, I'd say you were cocky. You've always been cocky,” Hermione interjected to Harry.

“Well we'll see about that won't we?” Sue answered smiling.

Harry eyed each of the balls and confidently and quickly pocketed them winning the game.

“Well then now at least I know your confidence is well warranted,” Sue answered quickly.

Harry just offered a grin and offered his hand as a sign of a good game.

“It was fun wasn't it?” Sue remarked.

“It really was,” Harry answered back and turned around and walked a few spaces away before asking, “Why did you think that?”

“I never said that you weren't good but it doesn't mean that you aren't cocky,” Hermione answered with a slightly amused tone in her voice.

“Well what can I say, I know what I can do,” Harry replied with a smile.

“You do know that attitude of yours could have gotten you killed a bunch of times?” Hermione added in a knowing voice.

“Operative word almost. I didn't die now did I?” Harry replied very quietly.

“But you almost did. Look I know that right now, it's harmless but in the end it could cause trouble,” Hermione asked quietly.

“Why are you bringing this up now?” Harry asked with a sigh.

“I'm sorry Harry. I know that it's not a big deal but it just brings back some bad memories,” Hermione said quietly.

“No, Hermione I'm sorry. I should have realized that it would. You were there when it happened. You saw everything that happened. You were just worried about me,” Harry responded.

“Thanks, it's been such a long time now. I'm really okay though you know. Anyways I also should point out that not all girls like cocky guys. We like confident guys but not cocky guys,” Hermione reminded him.

“Thanks for the reminder Hermione. Do you really think that I'm that bad?” Harry inquired.

“No you're not. Sometimes you are but most of the time you aren't. You have a lot of other qualities make up for it,” Hermione replied softly.

“Is there anything that I can do to make you feel better?” Harry asked softly.

Harry then felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around.

“Harry?” Christine asked.

“Yes Christine, are you ready to play?” Harry replied quickly.

“I am but are you sure you are okay?” Christine asked concerned.

“Okay then. Tell her that you were crying because you were thinking about how your godfather died and that you couldn't do anything to save him” Hermione told him.

“I'm okay I was just…” Harry started.

“I want you to tell everybody. You did say that you wanted to help me feel better right?” Hermione added looking at his hesitancy.

Harry then said, “Do you mind if we sit down first?”

”Of course not,” Christine answered with a look of surprise but followed him to the tables where the rest of the ladies sat.

“As I was just about to say that it is just not a great time for me right now because I was just thinking about how my godfather died and it makes me feel really sad because I wasn't able to save him,” Harry told her.

“You should feel so bad Harry. I'm sure that you were not responsible,” Chloe told him in an understanding tone.

“If you don't mind me asking but what happened?” Sue asked softly.

Hermione noticed that Harry looked a little puzzled as to how to answer so she decided to help him out and said “Don't look so shocked Harry. You don't have to give the details but just say how it happened generally. Tell them that you got some information and went to go check it out and somehow your godfather got wind of the information and came to help you out but he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time and by the time you found out you were too late.”

“It's alright. I got some information from someone and I went to go check it out and somehow my godfather found out about it and he came to help me out but he… ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time and when I found out about it I was too late to save him,” Harry answered.

“There is no way that you would have known about that,” Sue commented.

“Don't beat yourself up over it. It was an accident there is no way you could have prevented it,” Christine told him giving him a hug.

“I kind of know how you feel, not exactly but it really was more my fault than anything. It was my brother and we got into this argument and I just ran off really upset. Being the great brother that he was he came after me and because of it he was hit by a car and he died,” Allie said quietly.

“Allie I am so sorry. That must be a horrible feeling,” Sue said giving her a hug.

“Allie, wow I'm so sorry to hear that but there was no way you knew about the car so it was not your fault,” Harry told her with a understanding look.

“Everyone told me that it wasn't my fault, that it was just an accident but I just can't help feeling that it was my fault,” Allie said to Harry.

“I know the feeling. You didn't have to tell us that you know,” Harry replied walking over to Allie and gave her an affectionate squeeze.

“I know but I felt like that it was something I needed to get off my chest and thanks to you I felt like I could,” Allie responded giving him a slight smile and a hug.

`What is she up to? I can't find anything on her and this would be something that the police would keep record of. I don't like how she seems to be getting closer to Harry.' Hermione thought to herself but she couldn't get the voice out of her head saying that maybe there really is nothing wrong with her and this was all because he liked Allie in a way that he could never like her.

-->

13. The end of the night

A/N: Hello everyone! I would like to start off and thank all of my readers and reviewers!!! It means a lot that you guys reviewed. Anyways I bet you are surprised that I updated already. It's only been a week. I know I'm surprised too. But the next update won't be in till like a couple of weeks at the earliest. Please review and read until the end cause there are some questions at the end I would like you to answer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter. JKR does and I don't own The Bachelor, ABC does. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 13

Hermione sighed as she continued to watch everyone continue to give Allie their regards. She still did not know what she should do about the whole situation and she was worried that if she mentioned to Harry that he would just get mad at her and overreact like he did before so she needed to get some firm evidence and then proceed from there.

Just then she heard some footsteps outside her door so Hermione quickly put away her computer and turned down the volume of her mike before magically unlocking the door and seeing who was outside.

“Jennifer, did you want to ask me something?” Hermione asked.

“It is the strangest thing. I did want to talk to you about something and then when I got up here I just realized that I needed to do something else,” Jennifer answered sheepishly.

“That's alright. I was heading downstairs myself,” Hermione assured her.

“I hope that you weren't busy,” Jennifer replied.

“Oh I was just listening to some music. So what's up?” Hermione asked with a smile.

“Oh we were actually all kind of bored and I kind of got annoyed with Stephanie downstairs so I thought I would come up and see what you were doing.” Jennifer told her.

“What did Stephanie do now?” Hermione inquired.

“She was just being her nosey and annoying self asking us all tons of questions and of course mentioning her great career as usual,” Jennifer told her as they walked down the stairs.

That does sound like Stephanie,” Hermione commented as the reached the kitchen.

“Well look who decided to grace us with her presence?” Stephanie commented.

“Hello to you too Stephanie,” Hermione said rolling her eyes.

“Hey Hermione,” Callie and Lisa called out.

“Hey guys. What are you guys up to?” Hermione inquired.

“Actually we were just planning to watch something on the TV,” Callie answered.

“How well do you guys know Allie?” Hermione decided to pipe in.

“Not too well but we have talked,” Lisa answered.

“Did she ever mention any family that she had?” Hermione asked carefully.

“Actually when I really think about it, we chatted but she hardly ever mentioned anything about herself,” Lisa replied after pondering for a moment.

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah I am. I mean whenever I asked her about her she would change the subject but she did ask a lot about you,” Lisa replied.

“What about you Callie?” Hermione asked.

“I only chatted with her a couple of times but I get the impression she doesn't have much family or something but we never did talk about it. But she did ask me questions about the rest of you though,” Callie answered.

“Why are you asking?” Callie asked Hermione puzzled.

“She's just one big puzzle to me and I guess I was hoping to figure her out,” Hermione admitted.

“That is something I definitely agree with. The strangest thing is how interested she seemed in you though,” Lisa commented.

“She was?” Hermione asked.

“Yes she did and I agree that there seems to be something that is quite strange about her but if you would like I could check her out for you if you want,” Callie told her.

“I wouldn't want you getting into any trouble or anything,” Hermione told her pouring herself a glass of grapefruit juice.

“Oh it wouldn't be besides if you're worried about the producers don't worry I can be very discreet,” Callie told her.

“I have some valuable sources that could help in this situation if you want,” Stephanie piped in.

“It's totally alright Stephanie, I don't want to make this that big of a deal but um… thanks anyways,” Hermione told her after a moment.

“She so just needed to be the center of attention,” Lisa whispered to her.

Hermione stifled a giggle and quickly finished her juice and looked at the clock on the stove and realized that she needed to get back to watching the date.

“I'm going to take a quick nap upstairs,” Hermione announced.

“Okay then Hermione, talk to you later,” Lisa said with a wave.

Hermione hurried quickly upstairs locked the door magically and turned up the volume on the microphone and the computer and now saw that Christine and Harry were playing pool.

“I'm back,” Hermione whispered into the microphone.

Harry turned around quickly and murmured, “I was getting worried about you. Are things okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine. I just heard some footsteps outside the door so I went to check that out and I had to make an appearance outside of my room so the other girls wouldn't be so suspicious,” Hermione explained.

Hermione watched quite fascinated at the precision of Christine's shots and how easy she made it look.

“I thought that you didn't play much?” Harry asked.

“I'm a really quick study and it depends on the definition of much,” Christine added.

“Well then I'm quite impressed,” Harry answered with one of his dazzling grins.

Christine looked dazed for a moment then missed the next shot, “That was not fair you distracted me,” she said good naturedly.

“Concentration is a very important part of the game,” Harry said with a sly grin.

“Harry….. you did that on purpose,” Hermione said sternly but was holding back a grin.

“I was giving you some important advice,” Harry told Christine

“Oh you were? Well then what kind of advice was that?” Christine asked intrigued.

“That concentration is really important in this game. You shouldn't let anybody distract you” Harry answered slyly.

“Sure, I don't believe that but I'm letting you get away with it this time just because what you said is true,” Christine added.

Harry expertly did some angle shots and finished it off with a shot behind his back.

“Impressive,” Christine replied with applause.

“You were an amazing opponent,” Harry told her with a great smile.

As Christine as walking towards Harry to give him a hug, she suddenly out of nowhere tripped on a small piece of rock.

Harry rushed over to help her up.

“I'm so embarrassed,” Christine replied flushed.

“Don't worry about it, it could have happened to anybody,” Harry reassured her helping her on her feet.

“Tell her about the time that you tripped during graduation and ripped your pants,” Hermione instructed.

“I'll let you on a little secret. Not really a secret but I've been embarrassed worse. It was during my graduation and I was heading up to receive my diploma and as I got up my robe got caught in the chair and it ripped. Of course I had no idea until I was up on the stage and realized that my pants were ripped and everyone could see in the audience include my fellow grads,” Harry explained.

“That would be pretty embarrassing. Thanks for sharing it,” Christine giggled and gave him a smile.

“Can you ask her how she tripped?” Hermione asked.

“No problem, I was just wondering if you knew what exactly happened here.” Harry inquired.

“Well now to think about I have no idea how it happened. It was like the strangest thing, it was like that rock came out of no where and now look at my shoe,” Christine said as she stood up stumbling.

“Can I take a look at it?” Harry asked.

Christine shrugged and took it off and Harry examined the thin silver pump. And he found that the heel had been broken.

“That heel is definitely broken but not in the normal way,” Hermione commented as she saw how the heel seemed to be scorched in some way and not broken off in the normal way.

Harry looked puzzled so Hermione shook her head and said, “Ask her if her shoes were already breaking,” Hermione told him.

“Were they breaking off before?” Harry asked.

“No, in fact they are actually quite new,” Christine replied with a sigh.

“Offer to fix her shoe,” Hermione urged him.

“I can fix it for you if you like,” Harry offered.

“I don't want to be a bother,” Christine told him.

“Don't worry about it. I'll be back before you know it,” Harry replied.

`Harry walked over to an area where he knew nobody would be watching and took out his wand and said, `Reparo' and the shoe became as good as new.

“Hermione, what is going on?” Harry asked.

“I just wanted to understand the situation because the fact that she tripped is very strange considering how there could be a object that size in the bar was a little strange,” Hermione commented.

“That is true. So have you come up with anything yet?” Harry asked.

“Was Allie anywhere near by?” Hermione hesitantly asked.

“Well she was watching the match. Why do you want to know?” Harry replied.

“Just trying to gather all the facts,” Hermione exclaimed.

“I was just wondering how you girls walk in these thin hilled shoes?” Harry asked all of a sudden.

“Why are you asking?” Hermione asked curiously.

“I have never actually seen one of these up close and I've always wondered that,” Harry explained.

“Well it takes a lot of practice and its just a matter of balance,” Hermione answered.

“It must be painful,” Harry said noticing how high the heel was.

“The cost of beauty,” Hermione said with a smile.

“Okay I think I'm going to head back now. The shoe should be dry by now if I had done it used glue,” Harry added with a wink.

Harry walked back pondering what Hermione had told him.

“Here is your shoe,” Harry said handing her the shoe.

Christine smiled gratefully and put it back on, “Wow, it's almost like it was brand new.”

“I have some really strong glue,” Harry replied sheepishly.

“Allie, are you ready?” Harry asked.

“As ready as I will be. I'm quite nervous,” Allie confessed.

“There is no need to be. This is just all for fun,” Harry told her.

Allie nodded and proceeded over to the pool table.

“Do you want to go first?” Harry asked.

“Actually I was wondering if you would start the game?” Allie asked taking in a deep breath.

“Are you sure?” Harry asked.

“I'm sure. I want to watch you first,” Allie replied.

“Alright then,” Harry answered a little surprised.

Harry started off the game with a nice shot that spread out the balls even and managed to knock one in the hole.

He continued making great shots until the last ball that seemed to stop just right before it was about to enter the hole.

“It's your turn now,” Harry replied.

“Did you happen to miss the last shot on purpose?” Allie asked curiously.

“Why would you ask that?” Harry asked.

“I thought that maybe you wanted to give me a chance to win,” Allie commented.

“As much as I would love to say that I did. I was actually surprised when the shot didn't go in. I'm guessing that this is your lucky day,” Harry answered sheepishly.

“I'm guessing that it is,” Allie replied with a smile.

Her first shot was pretty shaky but she managed to get the first ball into the hole.

As she got in shot after shot her confidence grew and said, “I guess that I haven't loss all my skills after all.”

“I guess not,” Harry answered with a smile watching her using the cue with such ease.

“Last shot,” Allie replied flustered.

“Good luck,” Harry replied standing off to the side.

Allie took a deep breath and slowly began staring at the layout of the ball in front of her trying to figure out the best way to go about it. It looked like she was muttering something from what Hermione was saying but she could not make it out.

Allie then took the last shot and managed to knock it into the hole. Allie came out looking incredibly happy and exclaimed, “Oh my god. I can't believe I made that shot. It looks like I win doesn't it?

“Yes you do. Congratulations,” Harry said giving her a hug a kiss on the cheek.

“Congratulations,” Christine and Sue chimed in.

“Great job,” Chloe responded with a tight smile.

“So when do I get that free lesson?” Allie asked.

“Probably another time after the show but I doubt that you really need much help” Harry answered.

“Great, then that means we will still see each other after the show is done,” Allie replied with a smile.

Harry grinned back and heard Hermione clearing her throat.

“I'm getting a bit hungry. How about we get something to eat?” Harry asked.

“Sure,” The girls exclaimed.

They walked over to the table where they there was a lot of food placed on the table. At least 25 types of sushi, some tempura, some noodles and Miso soup were placed on top of the table and the chef was preparing some of his specialty dishes right in front of them.

The group ate quickly chatting quickly about the game and asking each other different types of questions.

“So Chloe, I was wondering what you think of the food so far?” Harry asked.

“The food is just amazing, and I think that it's really very tasty but I'm no expert,” Chloe answered.

“Okay I have a question for all of you guys, how important is your moral standards to you in everyday life?” Harry asked.

“Well, I think that is one of the most important things in life. For me, I think that the most important thing is that that you can do everything you can to do your best but only to the point that you feel like you did nothing wrong and can live with yourself,” Christine replied thoughtfully.

“I agree with that as long as you have no qualms about what you are doing then it should not be a major problem,” Chloe added.

“I agree to a point but sometimes I think that yes it is wrong for people to lie but sometimes isn't it best not to tell people the absolute truth because it would hurt their feelings and sometimes a little white lie won't hurt anyone,” Sue added after a thought.

“I agree with all of you guys on this issue. Being able to have no qualms about what you are doing is really important but sometimes I totally understand that there are so many things in life that other people wouldn't want to know or things you just don't say because the rules are just the way they are,” Allie answered quietly.

“I understand what all of you guys are saying. I've always lived by one thing one of my best friends told me. To believe in yourself and to listen to your heart, it'll tell you what the right thing to do is.” Harry replied.

“In your line of work, don't you have to lie?” Sue asked.

“We do when we have to but we do try to lie as little as possible and answer truthfully most of the time. Most of the job just involves doing our jobs and revealing who we are,” Harry explained.

“I assume that you usually have to separate your personal lives from when you are working or else that could cause problems,” Allie commented.

“Tell her how you've haven't had a long relationship in years,” Hermione commanded.

“Yes it is. I mean I haven't been in a long-term relationship in years,” Harry said embarrassed.

“I don't really believe it but it would make sense or else you wouldn't be here would you?” Chloe replied thoughtfully.

“Yeah like I told you guys before, I didn't think I would be on this show either but I have my reasons,” Harry answered with a slight smile.

“Whatever they are, I'm just happy that I have got a chance to meet you,” Sue added.

“Ditto,” Chloe and Christine added.

“Here's to a great end to the night,” Harry said with a gigantic grin and rising his glass.

After they finished eating, the girls returned in high spirits back to the mansion. Allie was extremely happy and the girls were happy but not quite as happy as her.

“Good night Harry,” Hermione told him as she turned off the microphone.

“Wait a minute Hermione,” Harry said.

“What is it?” Hermione asked.

“I was wanted to say that I had a nice time tonight and enjoyed having you around. It was nice to have your input on the evening,” Harry told her softly.

“So I see that it wasn't as horrible as you thought it was?” Hermione teased him.

“I know that you could have done a lot worse but you didn't and I wanted to thank you,” Harry said with a smile.

“Well I wouldn't want the producers to start asking too many questions and I didn't want to make you look like a complete idiot,” Hermione answered with a smile.

“I know. I'll talk with you later. Have sweet dreams,” Harry whispered to her.

“Sweet dreams to you too Harry,” Hermione answered with a smile and turned off the microphone and slid back in her chair as she decided that she would re-watch some of the strange events that occurred during the evening. She had saved it to her computer using a simple conversion spell.

She first watched Christine's missed shot, at first there wasn't anything that deemed special attention to but then she noticed that she seemed a little dazed. Sure Harry's smile was incredible and very charming but he could never do that, even if Harry's ego would say otherwise. She thought to herself with a giggle.

There seemed to be something unnatural about her dazed look so she zoomed in and in the back ground she saw a small movement very difficult to detect. She zoomed in on the dot and saw that Allie had moved on up. She didn't seem to be doing anything special though, she just looked like she was walking about.

She re-watched it a few times but couldn't find any new leads so she decided to watch the part when Christine fell. She watched the floor very closely and in a split second she noticed a slight spark and in there was a small object on the floor near Christine's feet that she never noticed before. She was about to check again when she heard a knock on her door. She quickly closed that program and said, “Come on in.”

Allie came in and she forced a smile and said, “Hi Allie, how are you doing?”

“I'm doing great,” Allie replied with a smile.

“How was your date?” Hermione asked.

“Well it went amazingly well. We ate Japanese food and played pool which I won against Harry and he's going to give me a free lesson as a prize,” Allie answered.

“That's awesome Allie, aren't you tired?” Hermione asked pointing to the time.

“I'm a little bit tired but I'm really excited over the win,” Allie told her.

“I'll expect that. How did the other girls do?” Hermione asked quickly.

“Christine did the best after me but she missed the last shot. Are you using your computer?” Allie asked.

“Um.. I was just checking on some e-mail from friends,” Hermione answered quickly.

“Do you think I could check something really quickly? It'll only take a few seconds,” Allie asked.

“Sure,” Hermione replied not knowing how she could say no.

Hermione watched her closely as she quickly checked her e-mail with a slight turn of her head when she looked at Hermione, “I'm sorry. You must have been in a hurry to use your e-mail.”

“It's okay, as long as I get it done really soon. It'll be okay,” Hermione answered.

“Oh, too bad not the e-mail I was looking for. Thanks, I think I'll head to bed,” Allie said with a yawn.

“See you tomorrow,” Hermione said.

“You too,” Allie said heading out.

As soon as she left, she opened up back the program and watched it again and noticed that the small object had been there for quite a while.

“That is strange. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me,” Hermione muttered to herself in disbelief.

`Maybe Allie did something,, but you were watching her the whole time. She just checked her e-mail,' Hermione argued with herself.

Hermione yawned as she looked at the time and decided to ponder it more in the morning.

*~*~*~

So the next chapter is the rose ceremony. Which three girls do you want out? It's time for your input. Is it Stephanie, Christine, Allie, Sue, Jennifer, Chloe, Lisa or Callie? Thanks a lot for answering the question.

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14. Rose Ceremony #4

A/N: Sorry for the long delay in the update. I will try to update sooner for the next chapter. Things just came up and I wasn't able to finish writing this chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!!!!! It means a lot to mean and I hope you guys continue to enjoy reading this chapter. Oh I want you guys to vote onto which groups of girls you want to go on a date together with Harry and who gets the individual date. Now I know who most of you probably want to get the individual date so I do have a plan for that and yes there will be some lovely H/hr loving in the next chapter I promise you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter. It belongs to JKR and I don't own the Bachelor which is owned by ABC. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 14

After quite a stressful morning, Harry decided to take a quick nap before he had to get ready for the show.

Harry woke up to a knock on the door and quickly got up and answered the door with a yawn.

“Good afternoon Mr. Potter,” Kevin the producer responded.

“Hello Kevin. What are you doing here?” Harry inquired inviting him inside.

“I just wanted to see if you were okay,” Kevin replied walking in.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“You didn't see quite yourself last night,” Kevin explained.

“Oh, about that… I wasn't feeling quite myself that way but I assure you that I'm feeling much better today,” Harry answered.

“That's really good to hear. We were getting a little worried about you,” Kevin explained.

“Worried?” Harry asked nervously.

“We were worried that maybe all of this pressure might have gotten to you,” Kevin explained.

“Don't worry. I'm really fine,” Harry assured them.

“That's good. Tonight's the next rose ceremony,” Kevin reminded Harry.

“I haven't forgotten about it. Don't worry about me. You will see that I am fine,” Harry answered.

“Okay then just so you know that after the ceremony. One of the lovely ladies remaining will be receiving an individual date from you,” Kevin told him.

“Great, I won't forget. Thanks,” Harry told him.

“Hermione, this is entirely your fault,” Harry muttered to himself as he closed the door.

*~*~*~

Hermione had spent most of her morning in the studio doing some commentary for the episodes that have not aired yet and would be added when the episode aired on the television. She then decided to check out the video she had saved on her computer from the night before. She played the footage from last night again and scanned it for anything mysterious and noticed that the object has been there for quite some time before she tripped. She reviewed the tape a few times and didn't come up with anything new except that her eyes had been playing tricks on her before. And the other possibility would be hard to prove since she had absolutely no idea how Allie could have changed whatever happened on the screen unless she wasn't a muggle either. But she never heard of any spell that could have been done that would work on muggle technology but she was determined to find out if there were any spells that were written for this particular purpose. She quickly walked on over to area of her room where she had hidden all of her books on spells and and other books that she used for her work that she didn't want the other girls to find. She then began to search through the chapters of the books to find if anything that might be related to using it against muggle technology.

After searching for a few hours and coming up with nothing, she closed her book in frustration as she heard a knock on her door. She quickly hid the book away and said, “Come on in.”

Jennifer and Chloe entered the room and said, “Hey Hermione.”

“What's up?” Hermione asked with a smile.

“I'm just nervous about the rose ceremony tonight,” Jennifer answered.

“I am a little bit too,” Chloe admitted.

“You guys shouldn't worry too much, you guys seemed to have a good time with Harry on the last date,” Hermione reassured them.

“I hope so but you never know what a guy is thinking,” Chloe responded.

“That is true,” Hermione admitted.

“I don't think that you have anything to worry about though Hermione,” Chloe noticed.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked nervously.

“It just seemed like you and Harry got along pretty well so it doesn't seem like he would pick to kick you off,” Jennifer explained.

“I hope so but as you say, with guys you never know what they are thinking,” Hermione added.

“Yeah isn't that the truth,” Chloe added sitting down.

“How was your date last night?” Jennifer asked Chloe.

“It went nicely for awhile until Allie went up,” Chloe explained.

“What happened?” Hermione asked as if she didn't know.

“Well nothing really except that she was the only who won at the game of pool,” Chloe explained.

“What did she win?” Jennifer asked.

“Well, Harry was going to give a free pool lesson to whoever did the best at the game of pool,” Chloe answered.

“I guess you guys must all be so disappointed that she won. Did anything else happen?” Hermione pressed.

“Well nothing unless you count on Christine tripping,” Chloe answered.

“When exactly did Christine trip? Jennifer asked.

“Actually it is kind of funny because she tripped right after she had played pretty well. She was actually the closest one of us to almost win the game of pool,” Chloe explained.

“Oh that must have been embarrassing,” Jennifer said with a laugh.

“It was, you should have seen her face. I don't mean to be mean but I am glad that it wasn't me,” Chloe commented.

“Chloe, we all have felt that way so it is a very normal feeling,” Jennifer told her with a smile.

“Yeah, I'm sure that the others felt the same way you did. But out of curiosity what exactly did Christine trip on? ” Hermione asked her.

“I'm not exactly sure what it was but it looked like a rather large rock or hard object,” Chloe replied after some thought.

“Oh, so was there any other reason you were looking for me?” Hermione asked.

“We were just wondering if you wanted to eat something with us before the ceremony?” Jennifer asked.

“I'll be down in a minute. I am a little hungry,” Hermione said with a slight smile.

“Yeah we have noticed that you were up in your room for quite some time,” Chloe commented.

“What were you doing?” Jennifer asked curiously.

“I was catching up on some stuff that I needed to do for work,” Hermione answered quickly.

“You're very work conscious aren't you?” Chloe asked Hermione.

“Well I don't want to miss out on too much work,” Hermione replied sheepishly.

“I know how you feel but it was nice to have a break from everything,” Jennifer commented.

“It is,” Hermione said with a smile.

“We'll see you downstairs then,” Chloe replied with a wave.

“I will be downstairs in a few minutes,” Hermione replied with a little wave as she watched Chloe and Jennifer walk down the stairs.

Hermione quickly put away her book and closed her laptop and gave the room a quick glance to make sure that she did not leave anything suspicious out for anybody to find and headed downstairs to meet the other girls.

*~*~*~*~

Harry stood pacing back and forth in front of the board where he placed the pictures of all the women remaining as he thought about his experience with each of them and made his final decisions for which girls to remain. His eyes lingered on Hermione as he thought about how amazing she was and happy that she was there to help him out.

He walked out to the dining hall where the ceremony was going to take place. The roses were in place. Matthew walked in a few minutes later and greeted Harry with a smile.

“How are you doing?” Matthew asked.

“A little bit nervous and sad about having to say good buy to three more girls,” Harry replied with a shaky grin.

“Well this is the last round you have to get rid of three girls at one time. From the next ceremony on, it will be one by one,” Matthew replied.

“That's good news. I t will make the decision making process easier,” Harry added with a grin.

“So you sure you made the right choice?” Matthew asked looking at the clock.

“As well as I can be,” Harry said.

“Matthew, you're on in a minute,” the camera man told them.

Mathew nodded and quickly looked over his notes and put them down as the camera man signalled for him to start.

“It's that time again for the rose ceremony where Mr. Potter has only 6 roses remaining to hand out to the 9 remaining women. Which six will he choose?” Matthew asked as the 9 women walked down the stairs in formation.

Matthew gestured for Harry to step forward and take his first rose.

“I'd like to say that it's getting harder and harder each and every time I have to do this and I had a great time getting to know each and every one of you,” Harry spoke and took a deep breath and called out, “Chloe? Would you accept this rose?”

Chloe stepped up and answered, “Yes I would love to.”

Harry smiled and gave her a hug.

“Christine, will you accept this rose?” Harry asked.

“It would be my pleasure,” Christine answered and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Hermione stood nervously as the number of girls beside her dwindles down. She put on a smile for the cameras. `What if he decides that he doesn't want to stick to the plan any more?' She thought to herself. She knew that it was possible since the number of women remaining was decreasing and he obviously could never think of her in that way. `Stop thinking like that. You don't even want him to think of him this way,' She told herself.

Harry smiled as he watched her squirm and finally called out “Hermione, would you do me the honour of accepting this rose?”

“Yes I will,” Hermione replied with a smile and turned to whisper in his ear, “You enjoyed seeing me flustered didn't you?”

“I couldn't help it because you look so adorable when you are flustered,” Harry whispered back.

“I should slap you for that,” Hermione told him giving him a hug.

“You couldn't slap such an adorable face,” Harry whispered as they broke apart.

“You're the only person that I would ever let get away with a comment like that,” Hermione whispered back while pretending to kiss him on the cheek and she walked back to her place.

“The women who did not receive a rose please take a moment to say your goodbyes and you have a few minutes to pick up your things before you have to leave the house.” Matthew announced.

Stephanie walked up to Harry first and said, “It was nice getting to know you. I guess that we didn't click as well as I would have liked us to.”

“It was nice getting to know you too. Our personalities didn't match well enough for it to be a long term relationship,” Harry replied with a slight smile.

“You know I'm a straight forward person and everything and because its part of my nature to get to the truth so I was just wondering if your decision had anything to do with what other people have been saying?” Stephanie asked.

“You don't have to worry about anything like that because I do make my own decisions based on what I see and of course how I feel which of course can't be changed by other people,” Harry replied with a slight grin realizing now that he had definitely made the right decision in not giving her the rose.

“That's good to know. Maybe I'll see you around?” Stephanie asked giving him a hug.

“You never know. We might run into each other again,” Harry replied with a slight grin.

Next walked up was Sue and she replied, “I'm really glad that I had a chance to get to know you. I wish we would have more time to really get to know each other.”

“I had a good time getting to know you too. I would love it if I had a bit more time with everyone but I did do the best with the time that I had,” Harry replied.

“Goodbye,” Sue said with a wave.

Harry nodded with a small smile.

Last of the group, walked up Jennifer who gave him a hug and whispered, “I'm glad that we have met and I hope that we can be friends,” She told him.

“We are already friends,” Harry responded with a smile.

Jennifer smiled back and headed over to say goodbye to Hermione and Chloe.

“Hermione, I'm going to miss you.” Jennifer said.

“Don't worry. We will definitely keep in touch,” Hermione said giving her a hug.

“There is no doubt about that. We're going to miss you,” Chloe told her also giving her a hug.

As Hermione turned to say good bye to Sue she saw Stephanie looking a little bit shocked over being kicked out.

“She looks pretty upset with being kicked off,” Chloe commented to Hermione.

“Not to mention, bewildered,” Sue commented with a slight grin.

“Stephanie, best of luck to you,” Lisa walked up to her.

“I have no idea why he would decide not to give me a rose? I mean it's totally his loss,” Stephanie muttered out loud.

“I can't believe she has no idea why. I mean its pretty obvious because she's like conceited,” Callie commented to Hermione and Chloe.

Hermione giggled softly and walked over to join the rest of the girls and they each grabbed a glass of champagne.

“Here's to us,” Harry said looking straight at Hermione with a slight wink.

Hermione smiled back with a grin and lifted her glass to join Allie, Lisa, Callie, Chloe and Christine chimed as they tapped glasses.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione woke up the next day feeling quite refreshed after a good night's sleep. She was looking forward to the new day and the activities that the day may bring. As she left the room to go to breakfast she heard a beep on the computer signalling that she had a new e-mail. She eagerly checked to see if she got any information on Allie. She read the e-mail eagerly to find out if there was any new information. Inside she didn't find anything truly interesting. She found that Allie seemed like a pretty normal girl who liked to read and was quite and liked to help others. The only thing that is odd is that she seemed to have quite a lot of money for someone of her age and nothing much is know about her parents. Her lifestyle and habits were similar to her which wasn't anything shocking but felt a little bit odd to her. That was a point that Hermione was very interested in looking into. She smiled now that she had a plan of action and walked downstairs to grab some breakfast.

“Good morning Chloe and Christine,” Hermione replied cheerfully.

“You're in a good mood this morning,' Christine commented.

“Did anything happen last night?” Chloe asked curiously.

“Nothing happened. Can't I be in a good mood for no reason?” Hermione asked.

“Of course you can. We were just curious that `s all,” Christine replied with a smile.

“Hey girls,” Callie and Lisa said as they walked in to grab some orange juice.

“Good morning,” Hermione said as she poured the milk.

“You seem cheerful today,” Callie replied with a smile.

“I feel cheerful myself with a certain person out of the house,” Lisa said with a grin.

“Who's cheerful?” Allie asked walking into the kitchen.

“Nobody, just enjoying the fact that we don't have to share the house with three other people,” Chloe answered.

“Ah… you're enjoying the peace and quiet without Stephanie,” Allie added.

“So you must notice that too,” Callie answered.

“Well it is quite obvious that she wasn't very popular around here,” Allie answered quietly reaching for the milk.

“You're having cereal today?” Hermione inquired.

“Yes, do you have a problem with that?” Allie asked.

“Of course not, it's just that you usually have toast or eggs in the morning,” Hermione replied.

“I felt like a time for a change,” Allie answered nonchalantly looking her straight in the eye.

“Why were you asking about her eating habits?” Christine asked her curiously.

“No reason. I just like to ask whatever question is on my mind,” Hermione replied a little flustered and uneasy after the last comment from Allie.

Just then the doorbell rang and Lisa ran out to see what it could be and came back with a tiny jewellery box that looked very old made from wood and was decorated with tiny jewels and a tiny key.

“Did you open it yet?” Chloe asked eagerly.

“Not yet, are we all here?” Lisa asked.

“Yep, we all are,” Hermione answered.

They all waited anxiously as Lisa opened the jewellery box and found inside a miniature rose and two letters.

“What does it say?” Christine asked softly.

“The first note explains that this would be the first time that Mr. Potter will be able to pick which girls he would like to go on the first group date and it also tells us that the date for tonight will be a cultured night of fun,” Lisa explained scanning the note.

“Cool. What does the other one say?” Chloe asked.

“It explains that one lucky one of us will be picked to get the first individual date with Harry and will be picked by the producers using some sort of poll measure,” Lisa explained.

“What kind of poll?” Hermione asked.

“It doesn't really explain anything but it's probably more like a popularity poll or something/” Chloe pondered.

“Seems quite likely but maybe it is just by luck of the draw?” Callie asked.

“I'm just excited that Harry is going to choose some of us for tonight. Now we can see who he really likes,” Allie commented.

“That is a very good point,” Chloe explained smiling.

“Now I wonder who got the individual date?” Chloe wondered aloud.

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15. Individual date #1

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. It means so much to mean that you guys have stuck with me on this. This chapter was sort of hard to write in a way and I hope that you enjoy it. I had to take some time and read up on some dances for this chapter and I really hope that you enjoy it. This has some of the H/hr fluff that you guys have been waiting for. Now what happens here I wrote because it needed to happen to move the story along and I really hope that you guys continue to enjoy this update and continue to review.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. See Chapter 1.

Chapter 15

All the girls nervously got ready to meet Harry in the foyer anxiously awaiting his decision for the first group of girls for an afternoon date and then an evening date with one individual girl. Hermione was quite on edge herself because she was quite unsure of whom Harry was going to choose to go on this group date with him. She was really hoping that he would choose her to be part of this group date because that would mean that it was possible that he might actually have feelings for her. She was pretty sure that she would not be picked for the individual date because her part in the show was to play the spy and that was all she could be.

Harry walked into the foyer with a nervous heart because he never wanted to hurt anybody's feelings but it was the way the show worked and was greeted by one of the producers.

“Hello Mr. Potter,” Ken responded.

“It's good to see you too,” Harry answered with a smile.

“I wanted to let you know there has been a schedule change and that you will be having the individual date only today and the group date will be set for tomorrow,” Ken explained.

“Do the women know yet?” Harry inquired.

“We will explain it to them in a moment. There has been a scheduling conflict so we had to move one of the dates. I hope that doesn't cause you any problems,” Ken replied.

“Of course not, I'm quite excited to see who the individual date is with,” Harry said with a smile.

“I'm sure that you will be quite surprised,” Ken replied with a grin.

“Good afternoon ladies, there has been a change in schedule and the group date will be set for tomorrow but you will still find out his choices for the group date today,” Matthew replied as he entered the mansion.

The girls were disappointed but they would at least know who he would choose for the date. They all stood anxiously awaiting Harry's decision.

“Mr. Potter will choose three girls to receive the first group date but before he makes his decision we would like to announce which one of you will receive the individual date tonight,” Matthew replied.

Matthew passed out some envelopes to the six remaining ladies and then said, “Would the individual who received the date please step forward?”

“I am,” Hermione replied as she stood forward.

Harry noticed that she looked quite shocked and in a way so was he.

Chloe and Christine smiled and congratulated Hermione with a smile and a quick hug as they stood back into place

“Now Mr. Potter will announce the three women out of the remaining women to go on the group date tomorrow night,” Matthew answered.

“My choices for the group date are Christine, Allie and Callie,” Harry announced after taking a deep breath.

Christine, Allie and Callie smiles grew larger as they heard their names announced.

“Congratulations to each of you and now it is time for the individual date to being,” Matthew announced.

“Shall we?” Harry asked offering his arm to Hermione.

Hermione smiled slightly and took his arm as they walked out of the mansion.

“You look lovely,” Harry whispered in her ear.

Hermione blushed in response as she looked down at her blue halter style gown with layered chiffon and a cut down the thigh of her leg showing off strong legs and accentuating her skinny waist and shapely arms.

“Where are we off to today?” Hermione asked.

“I have no idea but I see that you were quite surprised to be chosen,” Harry added.

“Of course I was. The producers know who I really am so I wouldn't think that it would make any sense to chose me at all,” Hermione explained.

“I wasn't as surprised,” Harry told him.

“Why?” Hermione inquired.

“Because of how lovable you are and since the decision is based on a popularity poll, it is highly likely that the audience would like you,” Harry explained.

“Well, when you put it like that, it does seem to make sense but I guess I would have thought that the producers wouldn't have let something like this to happen. But then again, the audience does not know who the spy is at this point in time and they wouldn't want them to get suspicious if I did happen to win the poll” Hermione replied.

“Now there's the confidence that I like to see,” Harry added as they entered the limousine

Once inside they found an envelope containing a note telling them to turn on the television and play the video.

“It's a good thing that we know all about muggle devices or else things could get really complicated on the show,” Hermione commented.

“I agree,” Harry added with a chuckle and played the video.

The video showed a magnificent building with marble halls and two beautifully dressed dancers announcing that that they were going to teaching the both of them how to dance the Tango.

“I've always wanted to learn to dance the Tango. Did you know that the Tango originated in Montevideo and is formed from a mix of different cultures. African, Indian, Latin and Argentina influences to form a new popular music. It originally was a dance used to communicate emotions, sexual energy and contained suggestive motions. In the early 1900's it evolved to become less vulgar and gained popularity in high society,” Hermione replied eagerly.

“I had no idea you know so much about the Tango,” Harry replied amused.

“I happen to know a lot about many other things that you don't know about,” Hermione replied in a teasing tone.

“That I am not surprised by,” Harry said laughing.

Hermione hit him on the arm playfully and replied, “What is so funny about that?”

“Nothing, I was just picturing you during 7th year completely hidden behind all of your books,” Harry answered after a moment.

“I did not have that many books,” Hermione replied in a defensive tone.

“You were a complete bookworm,” Harry interjected.

“I happen to enjoy reading. There is nothing wrong with that,” Hermione answered sitting back.

“I never said that there was anything wrong with it. I just thought that it was an amusing memory that I like to hold on to,” Harry explained with a smile.

“Why would you want to hold onto a memory like that?” Hermione asked.

“It was during a happy time in my life. When I met you and Ron and I like to have something that I can make fun of you for,” Harry replied playfully.

Hermione just punched him lightly in the arm and then said, “We're stopped. We must be here.”

The limousine stopped in front of a large building with many windows and the driver quickly opened the door to let the two of them out.

Harry and Hermione walked into the building to be met by a very elegantly dressed woman and man.

“You must be Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger. My name is Alex and this is my partner Johanna. We are here to teach you the Argentine Tango,” Alex greeted them with a smile.

“Thank you,” Harry replied shaking Alex's hand.

“I'm ready to learn. Thanks so much for teaching us,” Hermione replied as he kissed her hand.

“The Tango's basic step is one of the most recognizable steps so it is very important to remember to take all of your steps in the direction that you are traveling,” Alex told them.

“Okay so first of all, Harry you will be taking heel-to-toe steps. On the first beat step forward with your left foot slowly and on the second beat step forward with your right slowly. On the first half of the third beat step forward with your left foot quickly. On the second half of the third beat step slightly forward to the right side with your right leg. On the beat four drag your left foot up the side of your right leg,” Joanna explained.

“Now Hermione, you will be taking toe-to-heel steps. On the first beat step back with your right leg slowly, and on the second beat step back with your left leg slowly and on the first half of the third beat step back with your right leg quickly. On the second half of the third beat step slightly back and to the left side with your left leg and on the fourth beat drag your right foot up the side of your left leg,” Alex explained.

Johanna and then Alex proceeded to show Harry and Hermione what the basic step looks like slowly and the quickly.

“Why don't you try it out by yourselves?” They asked.

Harry and Hermione stood facing each other and took a quick breath and listen to the beat before Harry started to follow the instructions. At first Harry kept on looking at his feet and stepped on Hermione's toes as she was quite a quick study.

“Sorry Hermione,” Harry said embarrassed.

“It's alright, you were never a very good dancer,” Hermione replied with a slight smile.

“That was just that one time,” Harry exclaimed.

“When we were first practicing you were horrible at dancing but after some practicing you were quite good,” Hermione explained after a moment.

“I will master this quite quickly,” Harry said with confidence and then he stumbled causing Hermione to giggle.

“It's not that funny. This is actually hard,” Harry muttered glaring at her.

“I told you that your ego would cause you problems,” Hermione said laughing hard.

Alex walked towards them and offered his hand to Hermione and turned to Harry and said, “Let me show you again.”

Alex expertly place his hand on lower back and showed Harry his steps again and Hermione followed not as fast at fast but soon was able to follow his steps.

“That was great Hermione. You're a natural,” Alex complimented.

Hermione blushed at his compliment and replied, “It's because I have a great teacher.”

Harry felt a twang of jealousy as she saw Hermione blush at the handsome teacher and decided to step in.

“I think I can try again,” Harry added taking her arm and walking a bit away.

“What was that about?” Hermione asked curiously.

“What was what?” Harry asked innocently.

“The whole grab my arm and walk away thing,” Hermione replied.

“Nothing, I just wanted to practice,” Harry responded.

“You didn't want me around him do you?” Hermione replied her eyes twinkling.

“Why would I care?” Harry answered looking away.

“Because you're jealous of him because he's a good dancer and a handsome man,” Hermione explained.

“You think he's handsome?” Harry asked.

“Anybody with eyes would ay that about him Harry,” Hermione said rolling her eyes.

“Well I am not jealous,” Harry replied firmly.

“Okay then. Well I think you're better looking,” Hermione whispered in his ear.

Harry instantly began to relax and a smile crossed his face which Hermione noticed but decided not to comment on.

After about another half an hour of practice, Harry seemed to have gotten the hang of the basic step.

“Good now we can proceed to the next step. Harry, on the first half of the first beat step forward with your left hand and then as you are taking the step give a small pull on the follower's back with your right hand which tells your partner that you are leading the hesitation instead of the basic. On the second half of the first beat then bring your right foot up beside your left foot and then lightly tough the left foot to the floor. During the first half of the second beat, step back with your right left and the guide your partner towards you with your right hand. During the second half of the second beat bring your left foot beside your right by lightly touch the foot to the floor. Give a slight lean with your should into your partner's left hand so they can sense the change in direction. On the first half of the third beat step forward with your left leg and on the second half of the third beat step slightly forward and to the right side with your right. And on the fourth beat drag your left foot up to the side of your right. And Hermione you just do the opposite,” Alex explained.

Harry nodded and slowly began to follow the instructions and placed his had behind the small of Hermione back and proceed to step forward and back and leaning in when he wanted turn and was amazed at how well Hermione responded to his change in direction. It was as if she could sense what he wanted to do before he was going to do it.

`You two are doing very well. The two of you have a good partnership,” Alex commented as he watched them.

“Now Harry, please pull your partner towards you with your right hand behind her back. Hermione place your left hand of Harry's upper arm just above his biceps and push against him but both of them should be done gently,” Johanna explained.

Hermione followed the directions and felt a tingle crawl up her spine as they touched and continued to dance quite closely and turned their heads to step forward and to the side in a four beat pattern, the cheeks touching for a few minutes. As they changed directions, they turned the hands and locked hands once again. They continued practicing like this for about an hour.

“The two of you are doing amazingly well, why don't you try putting it all together now and start dancing for yourselves,” Alex responded and gave Harry and Hermione a hug.

“It's great to meet the both of you,” Johanna answered with a smile and gave Harry and Hermione a hug and kiss on the cheek before they both left the two of them alone.

Harry and Hermione nodded and turned to face each other as they waited for the music la Rosita to start about and then the faced each other and raised their arms up in their upright positions and Harry led quickly for a first step and Hermione mirrored his actions perfectly and pretty soon Harry had forgotten that there was anyone else in the room and couldn't help but think about how soft her skin felt against his and how good it felt to hold her in his arms. When they turned to face each other again and their eyes met and he noticed how beautiful she looked and she dragged her leg up and placed it up against his torso as she lightly ran her hand against his tight abs. He then slid his hand up her thigh lightly before dipping her backwards and brought her back upward and lightly stroked her cheek. At that particular moment, all he could think about was how soft and luscious her lips were and how it would feel to kiss her. He leaned down and after a moment of hesitation his lips touched hers and he kissed her softly at first. Hermione was surprised at first but after only a moment of hesitation she kissed him back while running her hands through his hair and relished the feel of his hair and this moment.

Harry deepened the kiss as his hands pulled her closer to him causing Hermione to lose her balance and tumble to the ground, dragging Harry down to the floor with her since their legs were intertwined. They both landed on the floor with Harry on top of her. They stared at each other in the eyes until they heard some voice asking if they were alright.

They quickly untangled themselves and knocked Harry out of his reverie and said, “I'm sorry.”

“It's not a big deal. You didn't mean to land on top of me did you,” Hermione replied reassuringly.

“That's not what I meant,” Harry said softly.

What are you sorry about?” Hermione asked nervously.

“I let myself get carried away by the music and I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I mean you're my best friend and I shouldn't have taken advantage of you,” Harry explained.

“You didn't take advantage of me. Wait a minute. Are you saying that you're sorry that you kissed me?” Hermione asked quietly.

“I'm sorry that it happened,” Harry said softly afraid to look up.

“Okay so if you had another chance you wouldn't have kissed me?” Hermione asked again with tears threatening to leave her eyes.

Harry nodded.

Hermione slapped him hard and said loudly, “I can't believe you did this to me.”

She then turned around and ran off.

Harry ran after her yelling, “Hermione.” But she wouldn't listen to him and she couldn't return to the mansion for fear of questions.

Harry was really mad at himself for hurting her. It wasn't that he didn't want to kiss her because he knew that he did. The truth was that he believed that she didn't feel that way about him. He needed to do something to get her to forgive him. He had never seen her so upset before and he couldn't bear to see her hurting like this. Was he really falling for her? Harry was beginning to believe that he really was but he wasn't sure. Maybe he really was just caught up in the moment.

Hermione was walking around aimlessly with tears in her eyes as she thought through the events of the night. The whole evening had been going so well and she could feel the connection between them growing and they were having tons of fun. She couldn't believe that she let it get so far. Why did she let him kiss him and kiss him back? Why did she let herself believe once again that Harry might actually return the feelings that she had for him which she now knew that she had. Them moment that their lips met she knew that it was right. She thought that he had felt it too but now she knew that he could only see her as his best friend and nothing more.

She was angry at herself for making such a big deal out of what had happened. Now she would have to explain to him why she was mad at him. The truth was that she wasn't really angry at Harry. She was angry with herself. She should have stopped it but she knew she needed to stay angry at Harry in order for her to stop thinking about other things. The fact remains the same. He really shouldn't have kissed her like that if he didn't mean it.

By the time she got home into the mansion, it was really late and all the other women were asleep so she went up to her room really quietly without saying a word to anyone. She didn't feel up to any questions tonight since she was emotionally exhausted and went into in dreamless sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, Hermione woke up nice and early and once again she was glad because she still needed some time to think before she could face any of their questions of her fellow housemates. She decided to go out for a walk in the morning to clear her head. When she opened the door she found a bouquet of roses and lilies which were her favourite flowers.

“Harry,” Hermione muttered to herself and was about to walk back inside when she felt someone grab her arm.

“Hermione please,” Harry said as he pulled her towards him.

“What is there left to say?” Hermione asked him coldly.

“Hermione just listen to what I have to say okay?” Harry pleaded with his puppy dog eyes because he knew she could not resist them.

Hermione's heart softened and said, “Okay, I'll give you 5 minutes.”

“I couldn't sleep well last night after what happened between us. All I could see was your face and I just couldn't let it stand like that. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry that I was such an idiot. It's not that I didn't want to kiss you or that it was bad because you're not bad at all. I mean…. I just don't want it ruin our friendship,” Harry blabbered on.

“What are you trying to say?” Hermione asked raising her eyebrows quite confused.

“Look what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to lose you as a friend. You're too important to me. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” Harry asked softly.

“You won't lose me. You could never lose me. I just need some time to myself okay? Maybe it's for the best if we forgot that it ever happened,” Hermione suggested with a sinking heart as she realized that he didn't want to be with her the way she wanted to be with him.

“If that's what you want,” Harry replied earnestly.

“It is,” Hermione replied softly as she turned inside.

“Are we okay?” Harry asked with a desperation in his voice.

Hermione turned and looked into his eyes and she saw regret, desperation, sadness and hope and replied. “Yes. I mean we will be.”

As Harry watched her walk back inside he felt a tiny tug in his heart as if he was losing something very important to him. He had felt that way especially after Hermione wanted him to forget that the kiss ever happened. She obviously didn't feel the way that he did about the kiss. For him it was something that he could not forget.

-->

16. Group date choice #1- Poetry Reading

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and I'm really glad that you guys are still enjoying the story. I hope you also enjoy this chapter. It was fun to write and I hope that the poetry I put in here didn't totally suck and if they do I apologize. I was hoping to add a part on Hermione's meeting in this chapter but it would become too long so it will be in the next chapter. Now I was hoping that you guys would help me out with something. I have some ideas for certain things that will happen in the plot regarding Allie of course but I wasn't sure which way to go so I need some of you guys to help me out and give me some feedback on how you want things to go. I will be posting these tiny parts of what I am planning to do on my LJ user name is usaaurorheaven and if you are interested in helping please let me know. My LJ is friends only so comment and you be added. Thanks a lot and please review and vote on who you would like out as usual.

Chapter 16

Hermione had steadily avoided the other women in the house most of the morning by casting a simple repelling charm around her room. She didn't want to answer any questions until she had a chance to keep her emotions in check because she knew that she couldn't be act like she was upset or hurt because otherwise the other women may get suspicious about her relationship with Harry and that would definitely not be a good thing for the two of them. She needed to stay in the mansion in order to help Harry pick the women of his dreams and keep him away from Allie. There something about Allie that seemed all wrong and she had to stay in the mansion to figure it all out. She could never let Harry choose someone that she thought was all wrong for him if she could help it. She had to keep her emotions in check and think about the first part of the evening because before the end of the date took place she really had been happy. She looked at her watch quickly and decided she needed to talk to someone about her current situation with Harry. She decided to talk to Ginny about this because she would be the only person that would understand or could understand.

She quickly apparated outside of Ginny's flat back home and knocked on the door in order to give her friend some privacy. She did not want to repeat what had happened the last time she had apparated into her flat without giving her any warning. She had apparently walked in while Ginny and Draco were in the middle of … well she saw way more than she ever wanted to see. Although it wasn't exactly the worse sight she could see. Draco was quite good looking and fit but it wasn't something she wanted to see again. She couldn't look him in the eye for weeks.

Suddenly the door opened and Ginny opened the door and exclaimed, “Hermione? What are you doing here?”

“It's good to see you too,” Hermione replied with a grin.

“Come on in,” Ginny replied leading her inside.

“I just really needed to talk to someone,” Hermione told her as she sat down.

“Tell me all about it and don't worry Draco is out with some friends for most of the day” Ginny said as she was boiling water for some tea.

“That's good to know,” Hermione said with a flush to her cheeks.

“I can't believe you're still embarrassed about that. I have forgotten all about it unless you actually want to see my boyfriend like that,” Ginny replied teasingly.

“Of course not,” Hermione exclaimed.

“So you think he's not good looking is that it?” Ginny asked in mock anger.

“That is not what I mean at all…. Wait you're just teasing me aren't you?” Hermione asked looking at Ginny who was holding back her laughter.

“Of course I am. If I didn't know you were totally into Harry I would be worried,” Ginny replied after she stopped laughing.

“I'm not into Harry,” Hermione protested.

“Come off it Hermione, everyone who knows you can tell that you are totally into him, least of all me,” Ginny exclaimed as she sat down.

“Is it that obvious?” Hermione asked.

“Only to your friends, so what did you want to talk about?” Ginny told her reassuringly.

Hermione explained the whole date and the dancing and the kiss and what happened afterwards.

“He kissed you?” Ginny exclaimed happily.

“Yes he did,” Hermione responded with a smile.

“Finally, so how was it?” Ginny asked curiously.

“What do you mean by finally?” Hermione asked.

“Well it's obvious to me at least that you've had feelings for Harry for ages and I was always sure that he had feelings for you as well but never admitted it. It's definitely about time. So how was it?” Ginny asked.

“It was incredible, amazing and felt so right,” Hermione replied with a smile as she thought back to that moment yesterday.

Ginny grinned as she got up to pour the water for the tea and replied, “I'm glad about that but what happened afterwards that you needed to talk to me about?”

“He said that he was sorry that he kissed me and something about not wanting to wreck out friendship but I think that maybe it was just a cover up so that my feelings won't be hurt,” Hermione explained sadly.

“He is such a total prat! I can't believe he even said that but seriously do you really think that he doesn't have any feelings for you?” Ginny asked earnestly.

“I don't know. I mean I thought he may have felt something but I'm so confused. What do you think?” Hermione asked sounding frustrated.

“I think that honestly that you may have been thinking about things a little too much and that he really does have feelings for you and that he really is just too afraid to admit it because he doesn't want to lose you as a friend,” Ginny responded slowly.

“You really think so?” Hermione asked.

“I really do and he would be a total idiot not to know what an incredible person that you are. But I'm pretty sure I am right because I have known you and Harry for quite a long time and I'm sure that he is not a total ignoramus and that he will come back to his senses and admit how he truly feels,” Ginny added.

“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Hermione replied with a smile and gave Ginny a hug.

“No problem. Why don't you stay for a cup of tea?” Ginny asked.

“Well, I can stay for a little awhile or else they will notice that I am gone. The charm that I put outside my room should be wearing off soon,” Hermione said looking at her watch.

“How long do you actually have?” Ginny asked.

“Well about 15 minutes but I did strengthen the charm with another charm which should give me a few extra minutes which I added for safety purposes since I am living with muggles right now,” Hermione explained.

“Brilliant as usual,” Ginny replied handing Hermione her tea with a tiny grin tugging on her lips.

“Of course I am,” Hermione answered and received a napkin flown at her face and the two just burst out laughing.

By the time Hermione got back to the mansion she was in a much happier mood and was smiling again and she once again checked her e-mail to see if her friend had any more information on Allie. She was in luck because she just received a new message from one of her friends contacts whose name was Chuck.

Dear Ms. Granger,

Here is the information that you have requested regarding Ms. Allie Renshaw. I hope that you find something of use concerning your friend. She attended Rutheford High School during her last year and went to college at NYU where she excelled and earned her science and teaching degree very quickly.

Yours truly

Sergeant Charles Piper.

`This is very interesting. Where did she go to school before the senior year in high school and how did she finish her degree so quickly? I need to chat with the principal of her high school,' Hermione thought to herself as she checked on her laptop for the phone number of the school she was looking for. After a few minutes she found the number on quickly jotted it down and was about to call when she looked at her watch and realized that she needed to go and make an appearance downstairs before they will start looking for her.

She made her way downstairs after making sure that her notepad and computer were hidden away just in case anybody decided to do any snooping around.

“Hermione, we were just going to check up on you,” Chloe replied with a smile.

“Ahh.. I knew that was going to happen. You want to know how the date went,” Hermione answered with a knowing smile.

“Of course we do but only if you want to tell us,” Christine replied.

“It's alright. I can tell you about it. We learned how to do the Argentine tango in a beautiful hall and we had two great teachers whose names were Alex and Johanna. They were both really talented and it didn't hurt that Alex was but definitely not as cute as Harry was,” Hermione explained.

“That sounds fun,” Lisa replied.

“Did you have a good time?” Callie asked.

“I had an incredible time. I love to dance and it was awesome to learn such a great dance that has been around for such a long time and open to interpretation and it was very romantic and sensual dance,” Hermione replied with a grin and a dreamy look in her eyes as she thought back.

“You are so lucky Hermione. You sound like you had an incredible time and I'm happy for you,” Christine added with a sigh.

“Thanks Christine,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“So you had a really good time?” Allie asked suddenly appearing in front of her.

“I really did. What are you trying to get at?” Hermione asked surprised.

“Nothing, really, it's just that well I would have thought since you had a great time and all you would be more vocal about it in the morning but you haven't been around. It just doesn't make all that much sense to me,” Allie replied in a soft serious tone.

“Well I wanted to keep those feelings for myself for awhile and I didn't want to be so vocal about it because it would seem like I was rubbing in your faces and I didn't want to do that,” Hermione answered smoothly and a little bit disturbed by her questioning.

“That was really nice of you to do for us,” Chloe answered with a smile as walked past Hermione to grab a bottle of water.

“I guess so then but if you don't mind me asking where were you most of the morning?” Allie asked after awhile.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked curiously.

“It's just that as I was heading upstairs I noticed that you weren't in your room and I was just curious as to where you were?” Allie asked sweetly with a look of concern on her face.

“I was just up in my room for a while and I took a walk for a bit but did you actually go inside my room?” Hermione asked.

“Actually now that I think of it I was going to but than I just didn't but your door was open and it looked like you weren't inside. Why are you asking?” Allie explained.

“Well I do value my privacy but that was not the reason why I was asking you it just happens that I was in my room most of the morning and I didn't see you so I was just curious,” Hermione answered quickly.

“Okay then, where do you often take your walks?” Allie asked.

“Allie, stop bugging Hermione. I want to hear more about her date,” Lisa piped in.

“What else did you want to know?” Hermione asked.

“How well did the two of you do with the tango?” Lisa asked.

“We learned quite a lot and Alex and Johanna did say that we were doing quite well with it,” Hermione replied.

“You will definitely have to teach me how to tango later on cause I've always want to learn how to do that,” Callie added.

“I could definitely try but I don't know if I would be able to teach you very much,” Hermione answered honestly.

“I'm positive you will be able to teach me something. Even just the basics would be really great” Callie answered with a smile.

“I could probably show you some steps sometime if you would like,” Hermione said after she thought about it for a couple of minutes.

“That would be really great of you,” Callie said with a smile.

“I could help you out as well,” Chloe piped in.

“You know how to tango?” Hermione asked.

“I do a bit, I learned awhile ago but I am a little rusty,” Chloe commented.

“Any help you could offer would be great,” Callie responded with a smile.

“So you guys excited about your group date?” Hermione asked changing the subject away from herself.

“I really am because it's like the first time he actually picked some of us to go on it with him,” Christine replied with a smile.

“I am to and I can't wait to see where we are going to go,” Callie added.

“Don't you have to go and get ready now?” Hermione asked looking at the clock.

“You're right, he's coming to pick us up in an hour,” Allie replied immediately heading back upstairs.

Callie and Christine quickly followed suite and headed upstairs as well.

“They really are something aren't they?” Chloe commented.

“Yep they really are, I have to return a quick phone call to my friend, I'll see you later okay?” Hermione replied.

“Sure, I'll see you later today,” Chloe answered back with a wave.

“See you in a while then,” Lisa said with a wave.

Hermione headed upstairs and quickly silently cast a sound shielding charm around her room to prevent anybody from over hearing her conversation.

“Hello, I was wondering who I could speak to chat with you about former students of yours?” Hermione asked.

“Which student are you talking about because we have talked so many students over the years and we only stay in contact with a few of those students so it is highly likely that we won't be able to hope you,” a women's voice answered.

“Her name is Allie Renshaw,” Hermione replied.

“You're in luck because we still keep in contact with her but we haven't spoken in over 6 months. You can speak to our principal about her. Do you know an officer named Chuck Piper? He was just asking about her as well” the woman informed me.

“Actually I do know him. He is a friend of mine,” Hermione answered.

“Well that makes things easier, when can you come to the school?” She asked.

“When was it convenient for the principal?” Hermione asked.

“Can you come in about an hour? Principal Pierce would be available here. What is your name?” the women asked.

“It's Jane,” Hermione replied after a thought.

“Well Jane, I'll see you in an hour and please ask for Carolyn,” Carolyn replied.

“Thanks you so much. That'll be great. I'll see you then,” Hermione answered happily as she hung up.

She then looked around her room and went through her box of potions that she had brought just in case she ever needed it. She had learned that being friends with Harry could get pretty exciting but dangerous as well so wherever she went she had packed a few potions that she found could be useful in almost any situation to keep her friends and especially Harry safe. She began looking around and found that she had a tiny bottle of veritaserum left and decided to take some just in case she needed to use it. She also had some polyjuice potion left which she decided might actually be useful as well and put it in her pocket.

Before long she heard the door bell ring which signalled to her that Harry had arrived and decided not to see him yet because she still didn't really know how to behave around him. She also wanted to make him nervous about the whole situation.

Harry had walked into the mansion and looked around to see if Hermione was around. He was hoping that she had completely forgiven him and would see her smile at him once again. It was really unsettling for him to think that she has still mad at him and even though she said she was okay it seemed as it maybe she really wasn't.

“Hey Harry,” Callie called and greeted him with a hug.

“Callie, you look wonderful this afternoon,” Harry replied.

“So do you,” Callie commented.

“Christine, you look fantastic,” Harry added as he saw her walk up to him.

“Thank you,” Christine replied with a smile.

Harry continued to look around the stairway hoping to catch a glimpse of Hermione and was disappointed not to see her at all.

“Harry,” Allie called.

“Allie, you look really great,” Harry complimented on how good she looked in a modest yet not over revealing way.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it,” Allie replied looking down.

“You guys ready to go?” Harry asked taking one more glance upstairs before leading the ladies out the door.

They all nodded with a smile and walked outside the door and got into the limo.

After a few moments of silence Allie turned to Harry and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Excuse me?” Harry asked.

“I was just wondering if you are okay. You seem a little preoccupied about something,” Allie responded.

“Oh it's nothing that you need to worry about,” Harry answered.

“Maybe if you talked about it I could help you,” Allie encouraged him.

“Harry, if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to but if you ever feel like you want to talk you know that we're all here for you,” Christine piped in noticing Harry's uneasiness in Allie's questioning.

Harry smiled in response and mouthed a thank you to Christine which she returned happily.

“I'm really sorry if I seemed pushy it's just that with teaching I always found that talking about problems..” Allie started to explain looking down.

“Hey.. Allie I know you didn't mean to it's okay. Look at me. Please look at me,” Harry told her as he leaned in closer to her. Allie looked up and as he was looking at her he suddenly felt a little bit lighter as if his problems disappeared.

“Are you okay Harry?” Allie asked concerned.

“I'm good. I must have just spaced out for a moment,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Are you sure?” Christine asked concerned.

“I'm really fine,” Harry replied touched by her concern.

“Where are we going?” Callie asked.

“We're going to a poetry reading,” Harry answered with a smile.

“I love poetry readings. They can be quite fun,” Allie commented.

“Is it going to be like an open mike kind of thing?” Christine asked curiously.

“I'm pretty sure that it is. I thought it might be fun if we all tried to write one and perform it in front of a crowd. It will be a nice chance to get to know each other a bit better,” Harry explained.

“That is true, it could be really fun especially if we all write about something we know,” Allie responded.

“I have always wanted to attend one of these things so this will be great,” Callie added.

“It's great that the three of you are looking forward to the poetry reading,” Harry commented with a smile.

“I think we will need to start thinking about it now then,” Christine replied.

“I agree that I will have to take a while to think about what to say as well,” Allie added.

“Will there be a beat or is it music that we are going to be speaking with?” Callie asked.

“There will be someone playing an accompany string player,” Harry explained.

“That sounds really nice,” Callie responded.

“I agree,” Christine added.

They all spent the next little while thinking up ideas for their poems and before long they arrived at the club.

“We're here,” Harry said looking outside the woman.

“Already? I'm not ready yet to perform yet,” Callie replied.

“Don't worry about it, you don't have go up right away. We can take some time and just chat together and listen to the other poems,” Harry told her with a smile.

They walked into the club and saw that it was very nicely decorated with trees and small lamp shapes creating a calming environment and sat down at a table near the front and ordered some coffees.

Then the host the event named EJ walked up on the stage and said, “Welcome to everyone who came here for the poetry reading today and let's give a special welcome to the Bachelor Mr. Potter who is here today.”

The crowd cheered as they shone a light towards their table on the table and they all gave a wave and smile.

“Now who would like to go up first?” EJ asked.

A young lady went up onto the stage to applause and spoke:

Coffee

Tastes bitter and Strong

But works like a charm

To keep me awake

When I need it most.

She then put down the mike to cheers and snaps.

“What did you guys think?” Harry asked.

“Not bad. It's very truthful and I love the music in the background,” Allie responded.

“Who is up next?” EJ asked once again.

Christine decided to go up next and walked up to the stage to the sound of cheers.

“This is called Life Away From Home,” Christine spoke into the mike.

Life at home

Was a real drag

I dreamed about the day

That I would be free

Independent

When that day came

I was jumping for joy

The words

Responsibility, Bills

Never crossed my mind

Until it came knocking on my door

It was then

I realized that life away from home

Is not all it's hyped up to be

That life is hard

And to treasure

What's right in front of you

Christine got up and received great cheers and rounds of snaps. She walked back to their table with a huge smile on her face.

“That was great Christine,” Harry replied warmly.

“Why don't you go up Harry?” Allie encouraged him.

“Go for it,” Christine and Callie commented.

“It looks like we have a volunteer. Why don't we give him a round of applause?” EJ said.

Harry got up and proceeded onto the stage at the crowd's insistence.

“This is my first time doing this and it's going to be called Family,” Harry spoke into the mike nervously.

Home

Family

Terms I did not understand

It wasn't until I met my friends

That I realized that I had a family

Who cared about me

And a place I could call home

Harry heard cheers coming from his table and around him and he grinned as he walked off the stage.

“Great job Harry. Did you really have such a hard childhood?” Callie asked.

“My parents died when I was a baby so I never knew them,” Harry answered.

“That must have been really hard. Did you have to go to an orphanage?” Christine asked.

“I actually lived with my aunt and uncle,” Harry answered quickly.

“Oh, that was nice of them,” Callie commented.

“I guess was,” Harry replied.

Christine noticed his response and decided to change the subject and asked, “Allie you want a chance to go up?”

“Sure, I'm ready,” Allie said as they waited for the last speaker to finish.

Allie then went up on the stage and cleared her voice.

She spoke as follows:

Loneliness

Can't be escaped

You feel alone

Even when you are surrounded

By the ones you love

You start to think

Does anyone understand?

Does anybody care?

When will this feeling end?

`Wow I didn't know that she felt that way, we may be more alike then I previously believe. Although a bit morbid,' Harry thought to himself.

“That was um… good but a little bit morbid?” Callie replied.

“Life's unfair most of the time and since we're supposed to write about what we know I thought that was a good topic to write about,” Allie responded nonchalantly.

“That is true. Are you ready to go up Callie?” Christine asked.

“As I'll ever be,” Callie” replied.

“We have time for one final performer, who wants to go up?” EJ replied.

Callie walked up onto the stage and took a deep breath and said, “This poem is called Unpredictable”

Every day you wake up

Go to work

Got to school

And you come back home

Life is good

Until one day

Everything changes

Your perfect world is broken

Things happen that can never be forgotten

Things can never be the same again

That's life

Unpredictable

The crowd was silent for a moment and then there waves of snaps which showed their appreciation and silent cheers.

“Great job,” Harry told her with a smile.

“Great poem,” Christine replied.

“Nice job,” Allie added with a smile.

Callie smiled in returned and took a sip of her drink.

“Let's toast to a great afternoon,” Christine suggested.

They all chimed glasses to signal the end of the date and sat down chatting quietly for few minutes before it was time for them to head back to the mansion.

-->

17. Group date choice #2 and the rose ceremony

A/N: I'm really sorry once again for the long wait. I've been quite busy and I'm glad that you guys are still with me and being patient. It means so much to me. Thanks for all the reviews you guys. It really means a lot to you. Any feedback is great and I'd love to hear about your ideas about Allie and what should happen. Now the next update won't be til December for sure cause I'm trying this nanowirmo novel in a month thing so I won't have time to update the story. Thanks again and please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 17

Rutheford High school looked like any ordinary high school with a pretty large campus and seemed to have quite a bit of money in its budget since the school seemed relatively new. Hermione was quite nervous about her meeting with the principal and she did not know what to expect and hoped that they would not ask her to many questions about why she was interested in Allie.

Hermione took a deep breath and entered through the main entrance where there was a very clear sign indicating where the principal's office was located. She walked up to the front desk and rang the bell.

“Hello, may we help you?” a nice looking woman in your early 30's replied.

“Yes, I have an appointment with the principal,” Hermione explained.

“Were you that young lady that called you hear asking about Allie?” She asked.

Hermione nodded and replied, “So you're Carolyn?”

“Yes I am. Then you must be Jane,” Carolyn answered with a smile.

“It's nice to meet you,” Hermione answered.

“Principal Pierce will be with you shortly,” Carolyn answered with a grin and quickly picked up the phone.

“Your next appointment is here,” Carolyn said into the phone quickly and then listened and nodded.

“Jane, why don't you have a seat? The principal will be out shortly. Do you mind asking why you're asking about Allie?” Carolyn asked.

“Of course not, I was just doing some research for an article that I'm writing,” Hermione answered smoothly.

Just then the phone rang and Carolyn excused herself. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she did not want to answer any more questions because she was never someone who liked to lie.

Just then, an older yet distinguished looking man came out and greeted her.

“Thanks so much for taking the time to speak to me,” Hermione replied with a grin.

“It's not a problem. Especially since you are friends with an officer, we love to cooperate with the police and we assume then that you can be trusted,” Principal Pierce answered.

“I like cooperating with law enforcement myself,” Hermione answered with a smile.

“So what would you like to know about Allie Renshaw?” He asked.

“First of all, I'd like to know more about what kind of person she was at school?” Hermione asked.

“Well Allie was sort of a quiet individual who didn't have that many friends but she was extremely gifted. She was really smart and excelled in her studies and she joined a lot of clubs and especially enjoyed helping others. She was always the first to volunteer whenever we start any new projects,” Principal Pierce replied.

“She sounds like a wonderful person,” Hermione answered slowly.

“I wouldn't say that I knew her personally at all but we did talk a few times,” Principal Pierce answered.

“What did you guys talk about?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Is it going to be off the record?” He asked.

“Of course,” Hermione answered quickly.

“Well, we really never talked about anything really important but just how she seemed to talk about these big dreams that she had these big dreams of being respected and where she would be remembered and recognized for who she was. I told her that she was a smart girl and that I was sure that she would achieve her dreams. She seemed kind of lonely because her parents were not around much while she was growing up or that is what she told me and I have found no reason to question that,” He explained.

“That is quite fascinating. I think that she may be well on her way, she got into a great college,” Hermione commented.

“We were very proud of her as well when we heard that,” Pierce replied.

“I was wondering if you knew anything about the school she went to before this one?” Hermione asked.

“Actually we didn't know much about the school but from some research we found that it is a well known boarding school and we read such good things about the school. Normally we didn't accept transfer students in their last year of school. So we gave her placement tests to see for ourselves if she was up to our standards. She aced all of the tests that we gave her and due to her great school record we didn't to accept her and we ae glad that we did,” He answered.

“Why were you glad that she was accepted?” Hermione asked curiously.

“She has helped gain some attention. She won numerous contests against other schools in the area,” Principal Pierce answered.

“That's great. What was the name of the school?” Hermione asked.

“I believe the name of the school was Faerway's Academy for the Gifted,” Principal Pierce answered.

“That is a school I haven't heard of but it does sound special,” Hermione commented jotting it down.

“Is there anything else you would like to know?” Principal Pierce asked.

“What kind of classes did Allie take?” Hermione asked.

“Let me take a look,” Principal Pierce replied grabbing a folder from inside his desk and opening it.

“Here we are. Allie took a wide variety of classes. This included AP chemistry and English, Drama, criminology, psychology, history, art, writing, photography and cooking,” Principal Pierce answered.

“I'd say that would be a lot of different classes,” Hermione commented.

“We were asking her that at first when she first picked those classes but she told us that she wanted to try out all the different types of classes and that she always took all these different classes at her old school. So we decided to let her do so as long as she managed to do well in her required classes then we will let her do as she pleases,” Principal Pierce answered.

“Do you mind if I take a look at that?” Hermione asked.

“I'm sorry but it is still confidential and I can't let you,” He replied apologetically.

“I understand,” Hermione replied disappointed.

“Do you have any other questions?” Principal Pierce asked.

“Have you heard anything interesting from the rest of the students regarding Allie?” Hermione asked.

“Do you mean if they talked about her? Why do you ask?” Principal Pierce asked.

“I wanted to be thorough and wanted to know how her peers felt about her,” Hermione answered smoothly.

“I don't normally know what the other students say unless I hear it in the form of a complaint which I never received,” He answered.

“That's okay. Is there anything you remember happening during the year she was here at school?” Hermione asked.

“Alright then, um… well now that you mention it, nothing really unusual but we did seem to have more strange occurrences at the school during her last year here,” Principal Pierce replied thoughtfully.

“Could you be more specific?” Hermione prodded.

“Well we have a very low accidents rate at the school but there seemed to be more accidents during that year. Overall it was still a very small number but enough to catch my attention. There was that one particular chemistry accident that occurred early on in her year during her class which was somewhat unusual. We're still not sure what happened but nothing else happened besides that one incident in her class that we kind of forgot all about it at the end of the year,” He answered.

“What kind of incident was it?” Hermione asked.

“Actually I hardly remember it at all, I just believe it happened during one of the labs,” Principal Pierce replied apologetically.

“No, thank you. You've been very helpful. Is it alright if I spoke to any of the teachers here?” Hermione asked.

“That's no problem at all but none of the teachers that taught Allie still teach at this school,” He explained.

“Not even one?” Hermione asked quite shocked.

“A lot of the teachers transferred to another school or moved away,” Principal Pierce answered.

“Is that normal?” Hermione asked.

“Teachers transferring schools is definitely something that happens quite a bit but usually such a large number of teachers transferring from one school is not something happens ordinarily,” He answered.

“Did they all transfer after that year?” Hermione asked.

“Not all of them, a few each semester until all of them were gone. I was actually quite surprised about a couple of teachers retiring. I had no idea they wanted to retire but of course they had been teaching for quite a long time and deserve the time just to relax and enjoy life,” He answered.

“Thanks so much Principal Pierce,” Hermione replied.

“You're welcome Jane,” He answered.

“I trust that some of the things said will be kept away from the press,” Principal Pierce added.

“Don't worry, you won't be reading anything that you wouldn't want printed,” Hermione assured him as she turned to walk away.

“Jane, I still happen to have an old year book nearby, would you like to take a look?” Carolyn asked.

“That would be great,” Hermione added walking over and saw that Carolyn was flipping through the pages of pictures of their graduates until she found the R's where Allie would be found. Ah there she is and pointed towards a different looking Allie. She had straight brown hair and small rimmed glasses and looked quite young.

“By the end of the year she looked quite different, she sort of reminds me of you. When I first saw you I thought that you looked familiar but I was sure that I never met you before. Now I realize that you reminded me of Allie,” Carolyn explained.

“What do you mean when you say that she looked different by the end of the year?” Hermione asked.

Carolyn wa s about the answer but the phone rang again so she said, “Why don't you flip through the book while I get the phone?”

Hermione sat down and flipped through the pages and found that Allie was in a lot of the pictures because of the number of clubs she was in. Allie was always wearing a smile and next to a group of people but there always seemed to be some space between her and the rest of the group members. It was the same for most of the group pictures except for one picture where she seemed to be happier and much more part of the group. That was the picture of the drama club. Then she turned to the grad pictures and saw a much more confident looking Allie with now brown hair that was sort of curly and no more glasses next to the valedictorian picture.

“Doesn't she look great?” Carolyn asked.

“She does and she made valedictorian,” Hermione responded with a nod.

“She was quite shocked when Allie came to the school and got higher scores than she did and it was quite obvious that she would be made valedictorian. She didn't have very many female friends,” Carolyn answered.

“She seemed to have gained a lot more confidence since the last picture that was took for the yearbook,” Hermione commented.

“At the beginning of the year she seemed more down in the dumps about things and didn't really fit in all that much but by the end of the year she seemed to have gained a lot of confidence and managed to make more friends then I thought could happen. She thought of herself as a plain looking girl and not very popular and I guess she got over it with the help of her friends,” Carolyn added.

“I'm glad that it worked out for her,” Hermione commented.

“I'm glad you did too. You really do remind me of her,” Carolyn replied with a nod of her head.

“Do you mind if I take this?” She asked.

“Of course not, I have a couple more copies,” Carolyn answered.

Hermione thanked her and headed out the door and looked at her watch and realized she was running a little behind schedule. She would have to hurry back if she didn't want to be missed. She quickly apparated back near the mansion where she knew there wouldn't be any people and walked slowly out to the back door and into the mansion where she noticed that nobody was there.

Breathing a sigh of relief she headed back to her room in order to think. She head learned a lot of things about Allie from the meeting but a lot of those things that she learned would not be too useful to her and would not help her find out more about her secrets. The first thing she needed to do though was find out more about the school that she went to and she needed to go take a look at her records somehow.

She walked over to her desk and opened her laptop and typed in the Faerway School for the gifted. She found that there wasn't much information relevant to what she wanted to know about except this one link that could be useful.

The link opened a page that stated that the school is for special individuals only and that admission was difficult and would required both money and numerous tests before admission would be granted. It had a long history about the founders of the school but no information of the topics the school specialized in or the teachers which she found to be really suspicious.

Just then she heard a knock on the door and she opened it and saw Lisa.

“Hi Lisa,” Hermione responded.

“We just received another letter that is addressed to everyone so we all need to head downstairs,” Lisa replied.

“I'll be right down,” Hermione responded and put away her computer in a safe place, and locked it magically before heading downstairs.

“So what's in the letter?” Hermione asked.

“We were waiting for you to arrive first and now that you're here we can get started,” Callie answered.

The letter read as follows:

Dear Lisa, Allie, Callie, Chloe, Christine and Hermione,

I hope that all of you are well and have had a chance to get to know each of you. The eliminations are now down to one by one.

As all of you have may guessed, there have been a lot of changes happening in the bachelor as now there are only 6 ladies left and I'm very happy to have met you all. The rose ceremony is set for later tonight which means the final group date is always for this evening and will be with Lisa and Chloe. I look forward to seeing the two of you tonight and I wish that we had more time to spend together but I'm sure that it will be time well spent.

Love,

Harry.

“The ceremony is tonight? That is quite fast but good,” Chloe added.

“That way we won't have to wonder who will get eliminated later on,” Callie added.

“Do you guys have any ideas as to who he will eliminate?” Hermione asked wanting to know the other girls thoughts on the subject.

“It would be hard to say right now since he hasn't really spent that much time with any of us especially unless maybe you Hermione but then he didn't pick you for the individual date so I really have no idea,” Christine replied.

Lisa and Chloe then excused themselves to go upstairs to get ready for their dates but before Chloe headed upstairs she turned towards Hermione.

“I think that the person most likely to get kicked off would be probably Lisa or Callie because they didn't really seem to do anything to get their attention and Harry didn't seem to into either of them. Allie seems to have captured his attention though. I'd be wary of her,” Chloe whispered to her.

“What did Chloe talk to you about?” Allie asked.

“Nothing really important, she just wanted to talk to me about some of the research that I do,” Hermione answered sweetly.

“I didn't know she was interested in that kind of stuff,” Allie commented.

“Well, I didn't either but it turns out she does want to know,” Hermione replied with a shrug.

“Well then sometimes people turn out surprising you. So what are your thoughts on the eliminations?” Allie asked.

“Well since I'm not Harry I wouldn't know,” Hermione answered quickly.

“I know that. You are a girl after all and it's impossible to be at two places at one time right?” Allie asked.

“Of course it is,” Hermione answered confused.

“I just wanted to know what your thoughts are on the other girls,” Allie replied.

“I think that they are all really nice and that they all have an equal chance at getting to stay,” Hermione answered.

`I know they all are and it would be really hard to single any one person out but we're friends right?” Allie asked.

“Sure, we'll all friends here,” Hermione commented.

“I'm really glad to hear that because I really admire you Hermione and I'm so glad that we are friends because I think of you as one of my good friends and I would be really sad if you were the next one to leave. But judging from the way the two of you interact I think that would be really unlikely,” Allie replied.

“I would be sad to see you go as well,” Hermione replied through a forced grin.

“Now that I know that we are friends who do you think should go next? I promise that I won't breathe a word to the other ladies,” Allie tried once again.

“I really have no idea,” Hermione replied nonchalantly.

“Stop being so diplomatic Hermione. I know you don't want to bad mouth anybody but we are in a competition with everyone to get Harry's attention. There must be someone here that you would want to be out so that they won't be competition anymore. You do want to be with Harry don't you?” Allie urged.

“Of course I do. Why else would I be here? Allie, I really don't know because everyone here has such great qualities about them. But I'd have to say that maybe the one that will go I guess will be someone who hasn't been pulling enough weight around here,” Hermione replied.

“I feel the same way Hermione. I guess that would mean it would be either Lisa or Chloe then huh?” Allie replied.

“Why them?” Hermione asked.

“Well he didn't pick them for the first group date,” Allie replied simply.

“Nice chatting with you Allie but I have some things to finish up upstairs,” Hermione replied.

“Still working I see. Don't work too hard,” Allie replied with a wave.

Hermione walked upstairs to her room and shook her head.

`Allie is so frustrating. Why does she seem so intent on being my friend and asking me so many questions?' She thought to herself.

*~*~*~

Harry arrived at the mansion to meet Lisa and Chloe for the group date. He rang the doorbell once again hoping the see Hermione.

The door opened and there she stood looking lovely in a sleeveless blouse and mid length skirt.

“Hermione,” He said.

“Hi Harry,” Hermione replied and started to turn around but he grabbed her wrist.

“We really are okay right?” Harry asked.

“We are. I told you that already,” Hermione answered.

“But I feel like you're being distant and I don't want to lose you,” Harry replied.

“You're not going to lose me. We really are okay. You're my best friend and always will be,” Hermione told him with a smile and squeezed his hand.

“And if you need anything you know that you can tell me right?” Harry added.

“I know,” Hermione replied and walked away.

In a couple of minutes, Lisa and Chloe headed down the stairs and greeted him with a smile.

“Hello ladies, ready to go?” Harry asked.

“Absolutely,” they said together and headed out the door.

“Where are we going?” Lisa asked.

“Well from what I am told we are going to learn to do something new and it will be hands on,” Harry answered.

“Ah… so we're probably making something right?” Chloe asked.

“Yes, we are going to learn how to make pottery,” Harry answered.

“I've always wanted to do that,” Lisa exclaimed.

“Then it'll be fun,” Harry replied.

“It does sound fun,” Chloe replied.

“I have actually not done this either so it will be new to me as well,” Harry answered.

“A potter not knowing how to make pottery? That is quite shocking,” Lisa teased him.

“I'm quite shocked myself but then I'm not that kind of Potter,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Leave it to the producers to set you up for that one,” Chloe added rolling her eyes.

“It was just so obvious someone had to say it,” Lisa replied smiling.

“So how was the rest of your day?” Harry asked.

“It was good, not that much to do since we're on vacation but I did get caught up on some writing,” Lisa commented.

“I agree but we are regularly kept busy with a lot of work that needs to be done before the show gets shown on television. What about you? ” Chloe replied.

“I have been pretty busy myself but not the same kind of busy that I am used to,” Harry replied.

“So tell us more about your life back home,” Lisa asked.

“There is a lot of stuff that is classified and I can't tell you but what I can tell you that it requires a lot of hard work, long hours and it also requires a lot of patience but in the end it is really worth it.,” Harry answered.

“It must really be rewarding when you catch the criminals and see them brought to justice,” Chloe commented.

“It really is rewarding and a great feeling but it is more dangerous that I would like,” Harry added.

“Is it something that is really important to you?” Lisa asked.

“I do love my job and I love helping keeping the country safe,” Harry answered after a moment.

“So that would mean it would be important for the woman that you spend your life with to understand that it is something that you love to do and support you,” Lisa replied.

“So do you guys think you two could?” Harry asked.

“I really think that I would support it because it is important to you and I would want you to be happy even it is dangerous,” Chloe answered.

“I feel the same way, yes I'm not saying that it would be easy to do or that in a moment of anger that it won't cause any problems but yes I would be supportive because obviously your job means a lot to you and its an important part of your life. I have the feeling that you wouldn't be you if you weren't this way,” Lisa spoke up.

“I give off that kind of air?” Harry asked.

“You do have the whole justice vibe going for you and I think it's a great feeling to accomplish something and to help keep families together would be extremely satisfying,” Chloe added.

“That's what one of my best friends always telling me,” Harry added with a slight grin.

“You mention this best friend of yours a lot. That person must be really important to you,” Lisa commented.

“She is. She's just always been there for me. She's always been supportive of me and my career and I've always been thankful for that,” Harry answered with a smile.

Just the driver announced that they had arrived and they got out of the limo and headed inside.

“You must be Mr Potter and they must be Lisa and Chloe. My name is Marilyn,” the older woman said.

“It's nice to meet you,” Harry replied shaking her hand.

“Has any of you thrown a pot before?” She asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

“Alright then, how about we learn or try to make a bowl or plate and see how that goes and don't worry if it doesn't end up being functional. It takes a lot of practice and hard work to make anything functional,” Marilyn told them.

The three of them took their seats and put on the aprons that lay before them and faced the teacher.

“Alright guys, things will get a bit messy so that is why we have the aprons for you so that you don't mess up any of your clothes. What we have here is a pottery wheel and this is the equipment that is used to help you shape your ball of clay into whatever you want it to be. The ones we will be using will be powered by a wheel that you guys will pedal. First take a ball of clay and make sure your hands are a bit moist so that they clay will be damp and make it easier to shape them. Now first we must form the base shape for our object by forming coils like this and fixing this on top of our ball of clay that needs to be in the shape that we want it to be like a ball. We need it to look like what the object we want to look like. Then we place the ball of clay on the disk of plastic called the bat on the turntable,” She explained.

Harry thought that didn't sound to hard so he used his hands to form a shape of a bowl and then he made a coil to sit on top of it and found that it wouldn't stick.

“Harry, I think that needs to be attached and what exactly are you making?” Lisa asked curiously.

“I knew that and I'm trying to make a bowl,” He answered with pride.

“Okay then,” Lisa said with a teasing tone to her voice which cause Harry to look towards her.

He saw Lisa's bowl and found that it seemed to be a good sized bowl which looked fancier than his. In fact it was beginning to look more lopsided to him now.

“I thought you never did this before,” Chloe commented to Lisa.

“I haven't but I have always wanted to do it so I have read on it a bit and I'm a fast learner,” Lisa answered.

Chloe nodded and continued creating her bowl base which also looked more like a bowl than Harry's did.

“Okay now is everyone ready to try to wheel?” She asked.

They all nodded and gently placed their creation on the bat of the turntable.

Harry took a breath and pressed the pedal a little bit and placed his hands on his bowl as instructed. It felt very wet and slimy. He tried to create a more thin edge but he couldn't seem to get one side to match the other and ended up to be a bit lopsided.

“Good try Mr. Potter. Not bad for a first try,” Marilyn told him kindly.

He turned to see Lisa doing a much better job with her hands it really began to look like a bowl. He was very impressed yet embarrassed himself.

“Lisa, this is great work. The dimensions are not quite right but it does look like it will stand on its own. An excellent job,” Marilyn told her with a smile.

“That's awesome Lisa,” Harry told her.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Lisa asked.

“I kind of lied just a little bit. Although I have never actually done this, I have seen my friends do it many times so this is completely new to me,” Lisa confessed.

“But just watching them do it and actually doing it are completely different things so you do deserve the credit,” Harry told her with a smile.

“That is true but let's just say that my friend didn't have any better luck than you on their first try so you shouldn't feel so bad about it,” Lisa answered.

Harry smiled in return, touched by her intent to make him feel better and replied, “Well I'm just like any other average guy then.”

“You're a good guy and definitely not average. But there is one area that you definitely do need some help in,” Lisa teased him.

“And what is that?” Harry asked.

“You need to learn when to ask for help when you obviously need it and you need to learn to wash your hands before touching your face,” Lisa replied giggling.

“What?” Harry asked and went to look in the mirror and saw that he had clay in his hair. He turned and walked back out and said, “You think that's funny?”

“Keep your hands to yourself mister,” Lisa replied backing away.

Harry caught up to her easily and placed his hands in her hair.

“That is not fair, you're obviously faster than me,” Lisa said facing him before touch her hand on his face and smiled.

“You will pay for that,” Harry replied following her into the classroom where they stopped when they saw Chloe.

“How is your pot going Chloe?” Lisa asked stepping farther away from Harry.

“Why don't you take a look?” Chloe answered gesturing towards her bowl.

Chloe's also turned out a little bit flat as her wheel moved a little too quickly causing her to push a little too hard towards her bowl.

“Nice try Chloe. This happens to a lot of beginners,” Marilyn replied.

“They do?” Chloe asked slightly embarrassed.

“It does, this is a tough skill and has a really deep learning curve. With practice I'm sure that it will work out great for you,” Marilyn answered warmly and turned to Lisa and Harry.

“Why don't I show you where the kiln is,” Marilyn told them and lead them over to the kiln where she to put their creations and continued, “This is where the firing stage occurs allows the pots to become impervious to liquid and which allows them to be used as dishes. It takes around 5 hours so you won't be able to take them home today.”

“That's totally fine,” Lisa told her with a smile as the headed back to their room and saw Chloe working on her piece at the wheel this time having a much better result.

“That looks great,” Harry commented to her.

“Thanks, I definitely learned from last time about putting too much pressure on the bowl,” Chloe replied with a smile.

“I knew you could do a better job Chloe. I will put in this in the kiln for you while you go wash up. We will send your items back to you tomorrow,” Marilyn told them.

Once they washed their hands they said their good byes to her and headed back towards to limo.

“Did the two of you have fun?” Harry asked.

“I did, it was great to actually experience how some of the dinnerware that we use is made,” Lisa answered.

“It was pretty cool and it felt great to be able to create something like a bowl with our own hands, I will definitely try this again when I get back home,” Chloe replied.

“I know that you had fun,” Harry added gesturing to this hair.

“It was not my fault that you didn't remember that you hands were dirty,” Lisa replied back.

“That may be true, but you didn't have to put some of it on my face,” Harry added.

“You totally started it and now I have some in my hair,” Lisa shot back at him.

“Don't tell me it wasn't fun?” Harry replied raising his eyebrows.

“It was fun,” Lisa replied with a smile.

“For once I was glad that I wasn't part of that,” Chloe spoke up with a grin.

“We don't want to leave you out then,” Lisa and Harry exchanged a twisted grin.

“What does that mean?” Chloe replied suspicious and looking at the two of them.

“Why don't you wait and see,” Harry said with an evil grin.

They both then took out a bottle of silly string and shook it.

“What do you think you're doing?” Chloe asked.

“We want you to join in on our fun,” Lisa commented.

“Don't you guys dare,” Chloe warned them and within a second she was covered in silly string.

“That is totally not fair, I am stuck in this car with nothing to arm myself,” Chloe commented.

Harry then handed her a bottle, “We got one for you too.”

Chloe took the can with a grin and shook it and on the count of three they all sprayed each other and they were all laughing and smiling.

“That was fun. Totally juvenile but fun,” Chloe commented.

“I don't think it was juvenile do you?” Lisa asked Harry.

“Nope definitely not,” Harry replied with a grin.

“You two,” Chloe started and just started to laugh. It was contagious and all three started laughing again.

“We are a mess,” Chloe said trying to get out as much of the silly string as possible before entering the mansion.

“I am too, why don't we all go and clean up before the ceremony,” Harry suggested.

“That will be a good idea. I had a great time Harry,” Lisa told him with a smile.

“I had a great time too,” Harry said giving both of them a hug.

“See you inside?” Chloe asked.

“See you then,” Harry said giving them a wink and his heart melting grin.

Lisa and Chloe arrived at the mansion with grins on their faces.

“What happened to the two of you?” Christine asked curiously.

“We were just having some fun,” Lisa replied as they both headed to their rooms to clean up.

“When is the ceremony?” Callie asked.

“It will be in a little while, we just need to clean up a bit,” Chloe told her.

In about 15 minutes, Chloe and Lisa headed back downstairs looking fresh and happy to join the rest of the ladies as they waited for Harry's arrival.

Matthew was already there with the 5 remaining roses.

Hermione waited anxiously for Harry to arrive as she was unsure as to whether or not she would be asked to stay. They had decided that she would leave during this ceremony or the next one. As soon as Harry decided that he didn't need her anymore. At that thought Hermione felt a twinge of sadness.

Harry entered looking fresh and looked at all the wonderful ladies he had gotten to know and his eyes lingered on Hermione. She was probably nervous about his decision today. He always loved seeing her flustered. It was always rare for him to see and she looked very elegant today in her slip dress and her hair up in a loose wave.

“Welcome to tonight's rose ceremony. As you can see there are only 5 roses remaining. I would like to congratulate you all for making it this far. Those of you who do not receiver a rose please make a quick goodbye and head back inside to pack your things,” Matthew announced stepping back.

“First of all, I just want to say that every rose ceremony gets harder and harder for me to decide who to eliminate because all of you are incredible women and I have loved getting to know you all. I know that I haven't had a chance to get to know all of you really well but I have enjoyed every moment I have spent with you,” Harry began.

Harry took his first rose and called out his first name, “Chloe.”

Chloe smiled and stepped forward.

“Will you accept this rose?” Harry asked.

Chloe nodded and gave him a hug and walked back to her space.

Harry took the next rose and called out the next name.

“Christine, will you accept this rose?” Harry asked.

“Of course I will,” Christine replied with a smile and kissed him on the cheek.

“Lisa, will you accept this rose?” Harry asked.

Lisa nodded and gave him a hug.

“Hermione, will you accept this rose?” Harry asked with a grin.

“Yes I would love to,” Hermione replied with a smile and gave him a hug.

“I still need you,” Harry whispered into her ear.

Hermione pulled away and kissed him on the cheek and grinned.

“Allie, will you accept this rose?” Harry asked.

“Of course I will,” Allie replied giving him a hug and kiss.

“Callie, you've been really great but I just don't think that we have enough in common to make it work. It was a really tough decision and I want you to know that,” Harry told her.

“I understand. I'm saddened by this and I thought that maybe it could work but I wish you all the best of luck,” Callie told him and gave him a hug.

After Callie left, the remaining five ladies grabbed a drink and joined Harry.

“I really glad to get to know the rest of you even better,” Harry told them as the clinked glasses.

-->

18. More coincidences?

A/N: Thanks so much for all your amazing reviews. You guys totally rock so surprise here is another chapter that I hope you all enjoy. To anybody who reviewed late Monday night and early Tuesday morning I didn't get your review so I'm sorry about that. Now I may post another chapter next week. Can't promise you anything but the more reviews I get the more likely that it will happen so please review and hope that you enjoy. Oh and then my next chapter will not be til December after my nanowirmo break.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 18

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling quite happy. She was thrilled that she was still in the house and that he still needed her to be there. It made her happy to know that he still trusted her opinion and still wanted to hear her thoughts on the remaining girls. She was also happy for reasons she would never really admit to. The fact that she was still there meant there was still a chance that he had feelings for her.

`Stop thinking like that. He doesn't like you that way and never will,' she scolded herself gently and focused her energy back on the search for this school that Allie came from. She tried many different ways of searching for the school and all she got in search results was little mentions of the school for great achievement but there was no information on the school at all. She was getting quite frustrated. So she decided to search the web for any information on Allie while she was at NYU. At first all she got was articles on irrelevant events and then she finally found something of interest in a small, independent newspaper dealing with a serious of unusual events happening at NYU.

Hermione scanned through the article eagerly and found that it described a few incidents that involved people acting extremely strangely, as if they were not themselves or some would even say possessed. There were also a few disappearances mentioned but there was nothing connecting the disappearances with the strange behaviour so any investigation was dropped and missing persons reports were filed with the police. So far none of these people have ever been found. It also mentioned that Allie had seen near these people around that time the events occurred. She searched for contact information on the writer of the article and sent out an e-mail asking for a response as soon as possible. Hermione then decided to head to the kitchen to get some food as soon as she realized that she hadn't eaten anything all morning.

“Hello Hermione,” Chloe said.

“Hi Chloe, how are you doing?” Hermione asked.

“I'm doing really well, how bout you?” Chloe asked.

“I'm good. Have we gotten the letter from Harry yet?” Hermione asked.

“Not yet, but it should be soon,” Christine commented.

“Hi Christine,” Hermione replied when she saw her.

“Good morning,” Christine replied grabbing a glass of juice.

“Where have you been?” Allie asked as she walked into the kitchen.

“Just a morning jog,” Christine answered before taking a drink of orange juice.

“I take morning jogs myself, maybe next time we should go together,” Allie commented.

“Sure, I will let you know the next time I go for a job,” Christine responded with a smile.

“That'll be great. Lisa, Chloe and Hermione do you want to join us as well?” Allie asked.

“That might be fun,” Lisa answered.

“I enjoy jogging so sure, let's make it a group activity,” Chloe replied.

“Hermione, won't you join us?” Allie asked sweetly.

“Sure, it will be fun,” Hermione answered as she looked at all of their faces and realized that with all of the info she was finding on Allie that it would be a good idea to watch over her.

Just then the phone rang and Allie quickly rushed to answer it.

“Hello,” She said and her face smiled and they all knew immediately who it was.

Allie smiled and nodded a couple of times and laughed before hanging up the phone.

“So what did he say?” Chloe asked.

“Well Harry said for us to meet in about an hour where he will pick someone for an individual date,” Allie answered with a smile.

“We're meeting in an hour? I need to hurry up and shower,” Christine exclaimed heading upstairs.

“I've got to go and get ready as well,” Lisa commented excusing herself.

“I've got to get ready too,” Hermione said grabbing a pear and headed upstairs.

As soon as she got upstairs she checked her computer and realized that she got an e-mail and checked it quickly.

The email read as follows:

Thank you for your interest in this article. The writer no longer works as this paper but this is her last know address, e-mail and phone number. Her name is Joan Randall and this would be her phone number 581-6245.

Yours truly,

Adam Kinsely

Editor

Independent Times.

Hermione quickly picked up the phone and left a message at the phone number mentioning that it was very important that she be called back as soon as possible. She then walked over to her closet to pick out something to wear to the ceremony. It took her quite a long time to pick something to wear that would make her look elegant yet simple as the same time. She ended up picking out a light coloured cashmere sweater that hung of her shoulders and a mid length skirt and a matching belt. She pulled her hair up in a clip and let her bangs fall softly on the side of her face. She put on some light makeup to accentuate her eyes and a little mascara. She also put on a little strawberry lip gloss.

Then her phone started to vibrate and she picked up to answer.

“Hello,” Hermione replied.

“Is this Jane?” a voice asked.

“Yes this is she,” Hermione answered softly.

“I am Joan Randall and I received your message from a friend,” She answered.

“Thanks so much for responding to my message so quickly,” Hermione replied eagerly.

She opened her door slightly and saw that nobody was around and silently cast a sound charm around her room to keep others from eavesdropping.

“I was quite surprised to receive your call, it has been a couple of years since I had written that article and I thought nobody remembered that I wrote it,” Joan answered gently.

“I know that it has been quite a long time but I was actually doing some research on Allie myself and your article really intrigued me as it all sounded quite unbelievable,” Hermione replied.

“That's what a lot of other people have told me about the article and I would have thought that way too if I hadn't seen it for myself,” Joan answered.

“So could you give me more information on the kinds of events and who disappeared?” Hermione asked eagerly.

“Well it was kind of strange because I just saw people that I knew everyday acting very differently. It was almost if they were hypnotized. They would do things that they normally wouldn't do,” Joan explained.

“What exactly do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“Well one of them was this girl named Sarah and she was normally kind of mean but not really mean just really proud of herself and scared a lot of people and then one day she was acting all smiling and courteous and really polite,” Joan explained.

“You just mean the change happened overnight? And what does this have to do with Allie?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah just like that. One day she was and one day she wasn't. And this happened a day after she was supposed to meet Allie. Allie told me that she never met her then but Sarah was especially nice to Allie,” Joan explained.

“This is really interesting. Was she always like that after that incident? What about the disappearances?” Hermione then asked.

“Well I don't really know everything that happened. She was like that for a couple of weeks and then she transferred schools or that is what I heard. As for the disappearances, they remain unsolved. They haven't been found yet except one person and there doesn't seem to be any similarities between all the missing people except that they all knew Allie. Oh and the one person they did find committed suicide or that is what the police decided happened,” Joan explained.

“You don't believe that it was a suicide?” Hermione asked.

“Well I just don't believe that he would have committed suicide. He just wasn't that kind of person,” Joan replied.

“So you knew him well?” Hermione asked.

“Not really well, I mean we were close in high school but not so much at NYU because we were pursing different fields,” Joan explained.

“Do you have any research that you kept from the article?” Hermione asked.

Just then she thought she heard something moving outside her room.

“Can you hold a moment please?” She asked.

“Sure,” Joan answered.

Hermione put down the phone and opened the door and saw nothing outside the door and grabbed the phone again.

“I'm really sorry about that, I thought I heard something outside,” She explained.

“That's not a problem. I actually do still have some of my research at home. Do you want me to drop if off for you?” Joan asked.

“No, I'm actually not at home right now so you won't be able to find me since I move around a lot. Why don't I meet you somewhere?” Hermione suggested looking at her watch.

“Sure Jane. You're staying in LA right?” Joan asked.

“As a matter of fact I am, why don't we meet at the coffee shop on 3rd in about 2hours?” Hermione asked.

“Alright, I'll be there,” Joan answered.

“See you then,” Hermione replied hanging up the phone with a smile.

Then as she was heading towards the door she was a fly buzzing around and wondering how it got there and noticed that she had left the window open and quickly closed it and shooed the fly away.

She took a quick glance in the mirror and fixed her hair before heading downstairs and almost bumped into Allie.

“Allie, you scared me,” Hermione told her after taking a deep breath.

“I'm really sorry about that. I was just in a hurry to get downstairs,” Allie replied apologetic.

“That's okay, I'm in a hurry as well,” Hermione responded with a smile.

“Nice of you two to join us,” Harry told them as he saw them come down the stairs with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Well you know how we like to keep guys waiting to make sure that we look our best,” Hermione responded with a smile.

“Well you definitely look good,” Harry complimented her and then added, “All of you do,” as he smiled at the rest of the group.

“So do you,” the rest of the girls chimed together.

“Now that we are all here we can get started,” Harry spoke up with as smile.

Chloe nudged Hermione and asked, “Why were you so late?”

“I just had to take an important phone call,” Hermione whispered back.

“I want all of you to know that it has been quite difficult for me to pick just a couple of you to take on an individual date because I would love to take each of you out but as rules have it, this is the way that the show is done. So I will just announce my choices now because I know that you are all very anxious to know who I chose,” Harry added.

Everyone stood anxiously awaiting his decision.

“My first choice for the individual date would be Christine,” Harry responded and handed her a rose.

Christine accepted the rose happily and stepped into place.

“My next choice would be Lisa,” Harry said and handed Lisa a rose as she stepped forward.

Lisa walked back to her place with a smile.

“I chose the both of you because I believe that we didn't spend enough time together and I would really like to,” Harry told them with a smile and gave each of the girls a hug.

When he got to Hermione he whispered in her ear, “Can you meet me at my house in a few minutes?”

Hermione whispered back, “I will be there as soon as I can.”

Harry then waved a good bye and headed out the door.

“Congrats to both of you,” Hermione told both of the eagerly.

“I think it was really nice of him to pick me but I think it was because he felt that he didn't spend enough time with us during the pottery date but we did have a lot of fun,” Lisa replied.

“Nonsense, he didn't pick me or Allie so he must like you better. I must have that I am envious,” Chloe commented.

“Thanks Chloe, I'm sure you will get your chance during your group date,” Lisa replied.

“Christine, I'm thrilled for you, I knew he would pick you,” Hermione told her with a smile.

“I was quite sure he would have picked you Hermione, the two of you seemed like you were connecting,” Christine told her.

“Well maybe we didn't,” Hermione answered.

“No, I totally think that he likes you. I want to tell you that I was always a little jealous of you because you seemed to connect with him so well. You definitely watch your back after all we are after the same thing,” Christine told her.

“I know but I'd like to think that we can all still get along,” Hermione told her.

“We all do but you know what I mean right?” Christine asked.

“I do and I agree that we can't trust everyone or we will get hurt,” Hermione responded.

“But I'm pretty sure that I can trust you though,” Christine replied.

“Thanks, it means a lot,” Hermione told her giving her a hug.

“I'm going to meet a friend for a bit. I will be back soon,” Hermione told everyone with a wave.

“Hermione, wait up!” Allie called.

“Allie, what can I do for you?” Hermione asked with a fake smile.

“I was just wondering where you were going,” Allie replied.

“I told you, I'm meeting a friend and running some errands,” Hermione explained.

“I need to buy something too. Why don't we go together?” Allie asked.

“I'm sorry but I'm meeting my friend and we're going together and he doesn't really like surprises,” Hermione explained.

“Well that's alright then, I'll see you later,” Allie replied looking disappointed and quickly walked ahead of her.

Hermione watched her form leave before heading off towards Harry's house and knocked on the door.

“Hermione, glad you could make it. You look lovely today,” Harry commented.

“Thank you Harry. I hope you really mean it,” Hermione teased him.

“Don't I always?” Harry replied feigning hurt.

Hermione gave him a knowing look.

“I always mean what I say. By the way, that color really suits you” Harry replied firmly.

“Thanks Harry, But you also usually are especially nice if you want something so what is it Potter?” Hermione asked blushing.

“I am offended. Even if you don't trust me, you should at least have confidence in yourself,” Harry told her shaking his head.

“I do. In fact I know that I look good but knowing you tells me otherwise,” Hermione teased him.

“I happen to mean what I say and I do want to ask you a little question,” Harry told her.

“I knew it,” Hermione replied triumphantly.

“I just wanted to ask you your thoughts on my choices and maybe what kind of date I should plan for the girls,” Harry replied.

“Well I totally liked your choices for the date. Well Christine is very cultured so I would think it would be great to do something much more cultured and elegant while Lisa is much more casual so it wouldn't need to be fancy,” Hermione answered.

“Do you have any suggestions?” He inquired.

“You have a brain, think of something yourself. I mean you do have one right?” Hermione asked him teasingly.

“Of course I do. Some friend you are,” Harry responded with mock sadness.

“Don't even think about it. I'm not doing your work for you. Anyways I think that they are both great and who do you like the most so far?” Hermione asked.

“Well at least I tired. And to answer your question, I'd have to say that I would pick Christine, Allie and well you,” Harry responded.

“You included me in your list?” Hermione asked puzzled.

“Well out of everyone you and I get along really well and of course I like you or else we wouldn't be best friends,” Harry answered.

“You know I didn't mean like as in liking a friend, I meant you as in more than a friend like,” Hermione explained.

“Even so you would be there in the top of my list,” Harry explained.

Hermione blushed but then said, “Really?”

“Of course, you're very important to me and no matter what happens, I will always be there for you,” Harry answered.

Hermione smiled and gave him a hug.

“Thank you Harry, that means a lot because I wouldn't want anybody or anyone stop us from being friends,” Hermione answered.

“What's wrong?” Harry asked concerned.

“You know how I told you about my suspicions about Allie. Well I've done some research and I found some very suspicious things about her. I mean the school she went to Faerway's school for the gifted. I couldn't find any information on the teachers or classes or where the school is. It's almost like it doesn't really exist in a way. And then talking to the principal of the school she went to in her last year sounded quite suspicious. A lot of accidents that were unexplained occurred and all the teachers that taught here are no longer at the school which was very strange. Even the principal thought so,” Hermione replied.

“What?” Harry asked surprised.

“And I also found this article written during the years she was at NYU and a lot of strange incidents also occurred and disappearances happened to people who had interactions with her. And she really does worry me a little,” Hermione continued.

”So these incidents were linked to her?” Harry asked.

“Not officially but judging from what other people have told me who were there at the time it certainly seems that way,” Hermione explained.

“And what kind of incidents were they?” Harry asked.

“Well people were acting out of character some may even say possessed,” Hermione explained.

“Well how do you know it was her for sure?” Harry asked.

“It's not possible for so many coincidences to happen at one place and time. Beside the only thing those people had in common was that she talked to all of them and one of the people that disappeared committed suicide,” Hermione explained.

“Well if that person committed suicide then how does that have anything to do with Allie?” Harry asked.

“I was talking to someone who knew that person and they said that they would not commit suicide,” Hermione replied.

“Hermione, it's not that I don't want to believe you because I know that you would never like and that you area looking out for me but you don't have any proof and they could all be coincidences and even so. To me all it tells me is that maybe Allie is not your average muggle after all,” Harry suggested.

“Even so, don't you find it strange that all the teachers who taught her disappeared?” Hermione asked.

“I don't know but even if you point something like that out all it says is that maybe Allie is a witch and that wouldn't be a bad thing would it?” Harry asked.

“But this means maybe she isn't a good person or a good witch. And that isn't a good thing is it? Furthermore it would mean that she would be lying about who she really is,” Hermione replied.

“But then again aren't you?” Harry gently reminded her.

“Yes I am but all of these strange incidents and disappearances don't' follow me around,” Hermione reminded him.

“No they don't. What you have said is quite interesting and I will totally keep that in mind but have you thought about whether or not she is a witch or not?” Harry asked.

“But then she would know me and you and then she would know that I'm just your friend and maybe that would explain some things but still all of these bad things occurring near her really worries me,” Hermione replied in restrospect.

Harry gave her a hug and said, “Don't think so much about it. Maybe you're over thinking it.”

“So you really don't believe me?” Hermione asked with a frustrated tone in her voice and a hint of sadness.

“That's not true Hermione, I do believe you but you haven't given me anything to go on and I would like to think that the person is innocent until proven guilty, I know you believe in that too,” Harry said.

“I do but I just have a feeling about her and its not good. Why don't come with me?” Hermione asked.

“Come with you where?” Harry asked curiously.

“I'm meeting that reporter in a bit and why don't you come with me and see for yourself the proof that you need,” Hermione replied.

“I don't know, I have a lot of stuff to do…” Harry started.

“You can't handle to truth about Allie? You're afraid that you're wrong?” Hermione asked challenging him.

“Of course not, I can handle anything after Voldemort,” Harry answered.

“Of course the great Harry Potter isn't afraid of anything. He's the boy who lived and killed one of the darkest wizards of all time,” Hermione teased him rolling her eyes.

“And don't you forget it,” Harry said playfully winking at her.

“There goes that ego again. I think I'm going to go now,” Hermione replied walking out the door.

“Where do you think you're going?” Harry asked pulling on her arm.

“I'm going to leave you and ego alone. I don't think the house has enough room for it,” Hermione teased him.

“I'm not going to let you get away with that,” Harry replied chasing after her.

Hermione ducked and rang up the stairs quickly and she saw that he had disappeared and then when she turned around he was right there.

“That is no fair, who said you could use magic?” Hermione asked.

“You never mentioned that before,” Harry replied spraying her with some whip cream.

“I'm so getting you for that,” Hermione replied and apparated down to the kitchen and grabbed a can of whip cream and hid until she saw Harry and the sprayed him in the face and heard to yell.

Hermione fell back laughing, “I can't believe an auror such as yourself would scream like a girl.”

“I do not scream like a girl,” Harry answered defensively.

“I never heard any guy scream when sprayed in the face,” Hermione replied laughing.

Harry started to chase after her and easily caught up with her and started to tickle her and carried her in the air until she said, “Truce. I call a truce.”

“Now are you going to behave?” He asked.

“Yes I will,” Hermione promised catching her breath.

“Okay then,” Harry asked putting her back down.

“So you ready to go?” Hermione asked.

“Sure,” Harry replied as he grabbed a jacket and headed out the door.

“Remember to keep an open mind and stop being so sceptical,” Hermione reminded him.

“Okay I promise I will keep an open mind,” Harry answered.

Hermione and Harry waited outside the coffee shop for a good hour and nobody showed up so Hermione tried calling her number and it rang a few times before someone picked it up. Then she heard some glass breaking and then a voice that sounded like Joan answered, “Hello?”

“Joan it's me, where are you?” Hermione asked.

“I'm really sorry but I had a lead come up and I can't meet you today,” Joan replied.

“Are you okay?” Hermione asked.

“I'm fine, but I may have caught a little cold though. Can we set up another meeting?” Joan asked.

“Sure, maybe tomorrow?” Hermione asked and heard some thumping.

“That will be great,” Joan answered.

“Is everything okay? I hear a lot of noises,” Hermione asked.

“That's just my neighbour, so I'll see you tomorrow?” Joan asked.

“That'll be great,” Hermione replied perplexed.

“You want to go somewhere with me?” Hermione asked.

“Where do you want to go?” Harry asked.

“I want to pay a friend a visit,” Hermione told him.

“Joan?” Harry asked.

“I just have this feeling,” Hermione replied.

“You have her address?” Harry asked.

“I just want to take a little peep,” Hermione replied and gave him the address and they looked around quickly and saw nobody there so they apparated down to a street near Joan's house.

Hermione walked towards the house and noticed that it was a rather nice neighbourhood and knocked on the door and nobody answered the door. The room looked really clean except her desk. It seemed to be extremely messy. She found the door unlocked so she walked in to find a young women lying on the floor and she decided to shake her. She didn't notice anybody else in the room or any dishes which she found suspicious since she heard the sound of glass breaking on the phone.

“Joan?” Hermione asked gently shaking her.

“Who are you?” She asked confused.

“It's me, Jane. I called you before? This is my friend Harry” She answered motioning to Harry.

“Oh right I do remember you. We were supposed to meet right?” Joan asked.

“But what were you asking me about again?” Joan asked.

“That story you wrote while in NYU about some strange incidences?” Hermione asked her a little perplexed.

“I don't really remember writing one about strange incidences,” Joan answered confused.

“That's impossible. You told earlier that you did write it,” Hermione replied.

“I did?” Joan answered.

“Are you okay?” Hermione asked.

“I must have fallen down pretty hard then. My memory is a little fuzzy. What are you here for again?” Joan asked apologetically.

“You had some research that you wanted to show me,” Hermione reminded her gently.

“All my research is sitting on my desk, you can take a look if you would like,” Joan told her.

Hermione and Harry looked over the papers in her desk and found nothing dealing with NYU on her desk or her computer.

“Is your desk always this messy?” Hermione asked.

“When I'm doing research is it quite messy but I still have a system,” Joan replied.

“You do?” Hermione asked.

“Well yes. It's messy but I can find what I need because all related stores are filed together,” Joan explained.

Hermione looked around and noticed that although it was messy there were still some stories that didn't really seem to be related as if they were deliberately place there but she didn't say anything.

“Sorry for bothering you. Thanks anyway,” Hermione told her as she and Harry walked back out and almost tripped on something and found that it was a tiny mouse and it quickly scampered away.

“So what are you thinking?” Harry asked knowingly.

“Well I just found the whole thing really strange you know. How she couldn't remember the story she wrote and finding her on the floor. I mean don't you?” Hermione asked.

“I do find that especially strange but doesn't mean it has to do with Allie,” Harry reminded her.

“But the story is about Allie so it does concern her,” Hermione added.

“I think that we could continue to investigate though. If you need help I will definitely be willing to help,” Harry replied gently squeezing her shoulders.

“Glad to hear it, I do you need your help for something though,” Hermione replied after a thought.

“What did you think of?” Harry asked noticing her brightened expression.

“I need to get a look at her school records, but I need someone to get it while I distract the principal,” Hermione explained.

“I can definitely do it. Sounds fun like during Hogwarts but it will have to wait. I have to get back because I still have a lot of things to do for later,” Harry told her and walked off giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Hermione smiled and looked back on the house as the wheels in her head started churning again. `What happened over here and who did it?' She thought to herself.

-->

19. More secrets revealed

A/N: Thank you so much for all of your incredible reviews and feedback. It really means a lot to me. I'm back from my break and I had a lot of fun writing for nanowirmo. I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. I know it isn't exactly H/hr filled but don't worry it will become much more H/hr in the next chapter. Please review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or am affiliated with ABC or the bachelor in any way. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 19

Hermione wandered back to the mansion a couple of hours later carrying back some groceries. She wanted to maintain the cover that she went to run some errands. She made a quick stop at a grocery story just to pick up a few items as she pondered over everything that had happened over the last couple of hours. She still wasn't completely sure what happened to Joan. The strange thing was that she didn't seem to forget everything about her conversation with her. It was just certain parts of their conversation that she forgot as well as the fact that there was anything on the article she wrote while she was at NYU about the strange occurrences. It was as if somebody knew that she was looking for Joan and somehow got the information from her. The truth was because Joan also had a concussion whatever happened to her could also have occurred without magic and with all the technological advances there were in the muggle world, things thought to be impossible before are no longer thought of as impossible. However not that many individuals have access to that kind of technology for personal use so the likelihood of that occurring is still pretty low. Hermione sighed in frustration. All she knew is that she had to figure out whether or not Allie was a witch. She had a nagging feeling though that there was something not right about Allie, as if she had a lot of secrets that she was not sharing with anybody else.

“Hermione ?” Chloe asked.

“Yes, Chloe,” Hermione said breaking out of her thoughts.

“What did you end up buying?” Chloe asked.

“I just picked up some things that we were running low on,” Hermione replied taking out some juice, milk, fruit and some cookies.

“That looks really good,” Chloe replied picking up a pear.

“Have you seen Allie?” Hermione asked.

“I haven't seen her all morning,” Chloe replied shrugging.

“Are you asking about Allie?” Lisa asked walking into the kitchen and got a glass of water.

“Have you seen her?” Hermione asked.

“She came back about half and hour after you left and was in her room. I haven't seen her come out yet,” Lisa replied.

“Are you sure?” Hermione asked.

“I was downstairs most of the afternoon and I never saw her past by,” Lisa answered with a shrug.

“Thanks,” Hermione asked quietly thinking to herself.

“Thanks for getting the groceries,” Lisa replied grabbing some fruit out of the bag.

“It was no problem,” Hermione responded with a smile and continued to put away the groceries.

“So you must be excited about your date tomorrow night,” Chloe replied.

“I am and I don't have any idea where we are going,” Lisa added.

“I'm sure that you just have to be yourself and things will work you,” Hermione added giving her a hug.

“Thanks,” Lisa replied with a smile.

“I'm going to head on upstairs now,” Hermione commented with a wave.

“See you later,” Lisa and Chloe added.

Hermione headed up to her room and decided to place some more protective charms around her room to determine if Allie was using magic to get into her room because that was the only way that Allie would know that she was doing some research on her. She thought back to when she had her conversation with Joan and remembered that she thought she had heard someone outside her room. Maybe someone really was listening to her conversation with Joan and she wasn't being paranoid in the least. But how did she get into her room? The only thing she could think of was that she saw a fly in her room which could mean that Allie would be an animagus and her form would be a fly and would prove that she is indeed a witch. But at Joan's apartment she did not see any flies, only a rat which means that it probably wasn't Allie because you can only really learn how to transform into one form. That would then mean that she was working with somebody else who was also a witch or wizard. Hermione sighed as she pondered all of this information and decided that she needed to do a bit of surveillance on Ms. Renshaw.

`It was a good thing that I finally managed to become an animagus a couple years after I graduated,' Hermione thought to herself with a smile. She looked around to make sure that nobody was around and placed a charm around her room to prevent others from entering her room. She opened her window and then sat down. She then closed her eyes and concentrated on the transformation itself. The animal that she transformed into was a squirrel. She then looked around her to see if there was anything around her which she could use to climb onto such as a tree. She quickly leapt onto the tree to see if she could locate the room that Allie was staying in.

She was climbing up and down the branches of the tree to see who was in each room and finally found the room that Allie was staying in. There was a little opening in her window that should allow her to hear and see what was going on inside the room. But as she was going to head over to the window she thought that smelled some food and her first thought was to get it but she shook her head as she pushed her animal instincts behind her and proceeded towards the window.

At first glance she didn't seem to notice anything extraordinary, she saw that Allie had her eyes closed as if she was meditating or she was just concentrating extremely hard on something. After a long while of waiting and seeing nothing, something of interest finally happened. Allie seemed to move higher into the air and at first from her view she though that maybe she had decided to stand up but taking a closer look she saw that she was actually floating into the air and her mouth was moving. Hermione concentrated hard but could not make out any of the words that came out of her mouth. None of what she said made any sense to her. But before she could think any more about what she just saw, she heard a strange noise coming from inside Allie's room and she scurried over to the other side of the window to see what had caused the noise but all she saw was Allie standing up and pacing about the room.

Hermione was really anxious to take a closer look and to her relief she saw that there was a tiny opening in another window on the other side of the wall. She ran quickly to the window and saw that it was just big enough for her to get through. She squeezed through the window and jumped onto the floor very quietly so she wouldn't disturb Allie and moved in for a closer look and saw that Allie was not alone in the room anymore. Hermione moved in for a closer look but all she could see was something that was covered in a cloak and no legs that could be seen. Allie was speaking to the cloaked individual again but once again Hermione could not make any of the words out. She was getting ready to get even closer but then there was a knock on the door and by the time she turned back the cloaked individual was gone.

Hermione turned her attention back to Allie and saw that Chloe had knocked on the door and said something to her about food and they both headed out the door. Hermione took the opportunity to hide under the table and noticed that Allie gave the room a quick scan over before leaving and closing the door.

When the coast was clear, Hermione transformed back into herself and took the opportunity to see if she could find anything on Allie that would help her sort out any of the information that she had found on her. She knew that there had to be something that would give her some clue to her identity in her room or else Allie wouldn't be checking the room over before she left. She found nothing unusual in her drawer or on her table. She checked the bathroom and once again found nothing unusual except that it was very similar to the products that she used. Next she checked her closet and didn't seem to discover anything of interest so she decided to take another approach and pulled out her wand and silently cast a de-cloaking spell to reveal any times that has been hidden through the use of magic. The amount of secrets revealed depended on how highly skilled the caster of the original spell and how skilled Hermione was. Now she knew that she was considered to be a very powerful witch so she was quite sure that some of the items that she was hiding would be revealed.

Slowly but surely a few items appeared before her but some items only appeared for a second before disappearing again indicating that some very strong magic was protecting certain items in the room from prying eyes. She quickly grabbed a folder that appeared in front of her and opened it and found a stack of papers with the headline missing persons report. The top line of the report just mentioned something about trying to find some person's parents and sister that they had lost in contact with over the years. Next she had found a map with dots and numbers on it all over the world but the most dots occurred in England and Europe.

She then grabbed another folder that had appeared before her and was shocked to find that she had many of the papers she had written over the years, her picture from when she was younger. She was going to continue to search when she heard some voices outside the door so she quickly mutter a reversal spell and everything became hidden once again and she was again assumed her animagus form and hid again under the table.

Allie had returned and sat down on her bed. Hermione took this opportunity and run towards the door that had been opened and just barely managed to get outside the door before Allie once again closed the door. She scampered off into her room and ran into the bathroom where she transformed back into herself. She quickly checked the mirror and saw that her hair had become quite messy and brushed her hair while deep in thought.

`What is going on with Allie? I'm absolutely sure that she is magical and she might actually be a witch but who was that person or thing that she was talking to? Also what kind of language was she speaking? There is not way that she spoke English if I could not understand a word of it. She could be speaking some ancient old language but even if she knew it how could have know how to speak it so fluently. Hardly any wizards/witches alive today use it anymore. But the truth was that she was the most worried about the fact that she had gotten information on her. Why was she researching me?' Hermione asked herself with frustration.

*~*~*

Harry was still thinking about the events that transpired just a couple of hours ago. He did not think that he would encounter anyone from the magical world. He was excited and worried about this at the same time. On the one hand, if one of the contestants was a witch then she would know who he really was which was a good thing in a way but then he would wonder whether or not that person really liked him for him or not. But on the other hand it would make things much easier on in the future because he would not have to reveal his secret to them later on after the show. Secrets always seem to result in problems and he knew that this was a very big secret and it could be something that she could not handle after all he knew how he felt when he first learned that he was a wizard.

There was also something else that bothered him and it was something that Hermione said about Allie. He knew that Hermione was not a bitter or jealous person and that she really was always looking out for his best interests. He could not count the number of times that she was right about things that he never even thought about. He could not see why she was so suspicious of Allie but he did know that Hermione must have her reasons and that she has never let him down and that he could always trust her judgement. With that in mind he decided that he would be careful around Allie and keep some distance between them.

Harry looked at his watch and smiled. It was time for his individual date with Christine. He hoped that she would enjoy the date he has planned for her. He got to the house and rang the door bell. He was happy to see that Hermione opened the door with a smile.

“Hi, you're looking great.” Hermione asked with a smile.

“You're looking lovely yourself,” Harry replied taking in her simple skirt and blouse with appreciation.

“It's just a skirt and blouse,” Hermione replied blushing from his praise.

“I know but you honestly look great and I love you hair.” Harry told her giving her a quick hug and played with the soft curls that seemed to frame her soft features splendidly.

“What's with you these days but thank you. So how are you feeling?” Hermione replied as she pushed aside the curls next to her face.

“I'm a bit nervous about this. I'm not sure if she will enjoy the date I have planned and I really hope it goes well,” Harry explained.

“I wouldn't worry too much Harry. So far your dates have been a great hit and I really think that you have absolutely nothing to worry about,” Hermione told him with a smile and a wink as she headed inside.

Harry just watched her walk away and couldn't help but wonder how she always knew what to say to get him to feel better. She was a very special girl and would make some guy very lucky in the future.

He broke out of his thoughts as he heard a coughing sound and saw that Christine had arrived looking gorgeous as ever in her light blue dress and matching scarf.

“You're looking amazing,” Harry told her and kissed her hand.

“Thank you. You look great yourself,” Christine replied with a smile.

“Are you ready to go?” Harry inquired.

Christine nodded and proceeded out the door and took one last glance back when she noticed that Harry did one last time and wondered what exactly he was looking at but decided to shrug it off.

“So where are we going?” Christine asked with excitement.

“Well at first I was really not sure of what kind of date would seem interesting to you because after all, you have been around the world but then I remembered you saying that although you had done a lot of traveling you never really had the time to take in everything and had the time to relax and enjoy the sites of the places that you were staying at,” Harry started.

“That's right,” Christine said with a grin.

“So I thought that it would be fun to have a little taste of culture from Rome,” Harry replied mysteriously.

“A little taste of Rome?” Christine asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yep,” Harry answered and got out of the limo once the reached their destination.

Christine followed with curiously and saw an old style building and grinned as they entered the building. Once they entered the building she saw that it was decorated beautifully with many different items from ancient Rome.

The women wore a peplos which was basically a sleeveless dress that was fastened by two large pins with a belt made from two pieces of cloth partially sewn together on the sides. Others wore a chiton which was also looked like a sleeveless dress that was sewn together at the top leaving just enough room for the arms. These women also wore their hair up piled high with hair pins and hairnets made of gold to show their status.

The man wore tunics or togas made of cloth. The tunics just come about the knees and can be worn with a belt to allow for more movement.

“Harry wow, how did you get them to dress like that?” Christine inquired.

“Actually oddly enough, he actually does this kind of thing all the time. They are period actors so they like to stay in character,” Harry whispered back.

“Hello my name is Nathaniel,” One gentleman in a toga came to greet them.

“Hello, thank you for allowing us to come, It looks amazing,” Harry told him while shaking his hand.

“No, it's our pleasure. We will be serving you the typical food that you will find now in Rome. We hope that you will enjoy,” He said with a nod leading them towards a table.

The first item that was laid in front of them was a bruschetta which contained a lot of garlic in it.

“That was really good but I think we will need a breath mint later on,” Harry said at first.

“It really is delicious,” Christine commented.

Next they brought in the mozzarella in carrozza which was basically cheese sandwiches dipped in flour and egg mixtures with some spices for flavour.

“These are really good as well. So Harry what type of food is your favorite?” Christine asked.

“Well I like all types of food but so far I would have to say that I like the food in Europe the best,” Harry replied after some thought.

“So do I actually do love trying these type of food serviced in typical Rome restaurants,” Christine said with a smile.

“So you didn't get much of a chance to sample food during your touring days?” Harry asked placing his fork down.

“Actually we were quite busy in between shows so I didn't have much of a chance to actually go out and eat since we are on the road all the time,” Christine explained.

“That must be tough,” Harry responded with a knowing feeling.

“That must be sort of the same thing for you when you're working right?” Christine asked.

“I am quite busy while I am working that I can't really enjoy my surroundings,” Harry commented with a smile.

“Are you two ready for the main pasta course?” Nathaniel asked.

“Yes we are. Everything has been delicious so far,” Christine complimented.

“Today's main pasta dish is the bucatini all'amatriciana,” Nathaniel explained and placed the dish down.

“This is amazing,” Christine told Nathaniel with a smile.

“I will give your compliments to the chef,” Nathaniel answered with a bow.

“What exactly is in the dish?” Christine asked taking a small bite of the pasta.

“This pasta dish contains chopped onion, garlic, basil leaves and pancetta,” Nathaniel explained.

“I would love to get the recipe for this dish,” Christine whispered to Harry.

Harry smiled and then asked, “Are you thirsty?”

“I am, why?” Christine asked.

“I was wondering if you would like to try a grattachecca?” Harry asked.

“What is in it?” Christine inquired.

“Well, it consists of a glass packed to the brim with grated ice which then is flavoured with fruit syrups, pieces of fresh lemon and coconut.,” Harry explained.

“That sounds good,” Christine said with a smile.

Harry signalled to Nathaniel and whispered something in his ear.

“What were you whispering about?” Christine asked with curiosity.

“Just wait and see,” Harry said with a smile.

Christine smiled in return and just then Nathaniel returned with their drinks as well as a dish covered by a silver dish.

“What did you order?” Christine asked.

Nathaniel placed the dish in front of her and revealed two delectable looking desserts.

“An English Trifle and a Tiramisu? How did you know that those are like my favourite desserts?” Christine asked surprised.

“Let's just say that I do have my sources,” Harry answered in a teasing tone.

“That is very sweet of you,” Christine told him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“So why don't you take a taste?” Harry asked.

Christine took a small spoonful and closed her eyes and answered, “The tiramisu is out of this world. You should take a taste of it.”

Harry took a spoon and grabbed some of the dessert and placed it in his mouth, “You're right. This is really incredible.”

“Take some more, please. There is no way I can finish all of this myself,” Christine told him moving the plate towards him.

“What do you think of the trifle?” Harry asked.

“Why don't you give it a taste first?” Christine responded.

Harry took a small bite and said, “This is really good.”

“Harry, the food is fantastic. Thank you so much for taking me here and for knowing what kind of desserts that I like,” Christine said again.

“I do what I can. Now we should really take the opportunity to talk because I really want to as much as I can about you,” Harry replied.

“I would like that too. So what would you like to know?” Christine asked.

“Well what are some of your favourite childhood memories?” Harry asked.

“Well, basically I grew up in a foster home until I was about 10 years old which is when I found my real parents. My foster parents were a great loving couple that treated me really well and loved me like their own but I always wondered about my real parents because somehow I always felt different but I never really knew why. I'm guessing it's because I knew that they weren't my real parents. My favourite memory from when I was young was when my dad, I mean foster dad, took me out and we went skiing and walking around in the snow. We just talked and played in the snow and my foster mom came out to join us for a while and we made snow angels. Then my foster mom would call us in for hot cocoa. That was the time when I felt really loved,” Christine started.

“That sounds nice, how did you find your biological parents?” Harry asked.

“It really wasn't too hard. My foster dad just made some calls and he was just so great about helping me find them even if it broke their hearts. I still keep in touch with them. They're like my second family. My biological parents were great as well. They told me that they didn't really want to leave me here but they were always busy with travelling that they didn't have that much time to spend with me and they wanted me to have a normal childhood,” Christine explained.

“How did you feel about them?”

“Well I was hurt and sad at first because I felt like they abandoned me but they tried really hard to make it up to me by being really supportive of my decision to go into the family business of singing. My mom helped train and practice and singing with her like that made me feel really special and for the first time I felt that I belonged somewhere. I don't know how to explain it, it just felt right,” Christine replied.

“I know how you feel. I really do,” Harry told her and lightly placed his hand on hers and smiled.

“You do?” Christine asked softly.

“I really do. I mean I lived with my aunt and uncle and I really felt different when I was with them but once I went off to school and I met some friends, I finally felt like I could call that place a home. A place where I felt like I really fit in,” Harry told her smiling back at his memory.

“Ahhh it must be the place where you met that best friend of yours,” Christine replied with a knowing look.

“Yes, but why are you looking at me like that?” Harry inquired taking a sip of his drink.

“I'm just really happy to meet a guy that seems to be really incredibly loyal to his friends and I just love that you are still in touch with you friends from when you were younger. Plus you do talk about your best friend a lot,” Christine explained.

“It must be tough for you to have much time to spend with your friends with all of your travelling,” Harry commented.

“It really is and I haven't met anyone since Bryan,” Christine added sadly.

“You don't have to continue if you don't want to,” Harry told her gently.

“No it's okay I want to talk about it. I just have this feeling that you would understand anything I told you,” Christine responded.

“I'm glad to hear that,” Harry told her with a smile.

“Bryan was not only my boyfriend but my best friend. He really is an amazing guy. He had his own faults of course but he really was a thoughtful guy. When we first met and our eyes met, I felt like as if I could see right through him and that he could see right through me which was both an incredible and scary at the same time. We started talking and we found out that we had a lot in common and that he really loved music just like me. He wasn't a singer but he really did love to sing which is very important to me. We would argue a lot because we were scared. Scared that somebody could see right through our facade and we needed some way to protect ourselves and we lashed out. Eventually our banter became much more playful and we fell in love. It was really gradual and not at all sudden but it felt like we've been together forever and we would talk about everything and things were going so well for us,” Christine explained with a sad tone in her voice and tears in her eyes.

“It sounds like you guys had an amazing relationship,” Harry told her.

“I'm really sorry about being like this. I still miss him,” Christine told him apologetically.

“Don't be sorry. He'll always be a part of you and you will always miss him. I know that I still miss my godfather everyday and it happened a really long time ago,” Harry told her softly kneeling beside her.

“Thank you for being so understanding. I'm thankful every day that we had together and for a long time I didn't think that I would be able to meet anyone else that I could possibly see myself with and then I met you and for the first time in a long time I think that I might be able to find someone else that I could see myself with in the future,” Christine replied.

“Christine, it means so much to me that you were able to be so open with me about your feelings and that you feel like we could have a future because I feel the same way,” Harry answered.

“I'm really glad that you feel that way as well. Maybe you could tell me a bit more about yourself?” Christine asked him softly.

“Well I didn't have such a great childhood because my aunt and uncle and cousin never treated me very well so whenever it was time for me to head back to school I was really very excited because it was then that I could see my friends again. So all of my good memories happened while we were at school,” Harry explained.

“So what was your favourite memory?” Christine asked.

“Well for me it was the first Christmas that I spent at the school and I woke up and found that my room was decorated and there was a pile of gifts under the tree. It was the first Christmas where I got some good gifts and I felt that I had a family,” Harry answered with a smile.

“That does sound really nice,” Christine commented.

“It was wonderful and felt wonderful to know that there are people who actually cared about me,” Harry continued.

“So how were your past relationships?” Christine asked taking a sip of her drink.

“Well, what can I say about them? I have dated a few girls but none of them were really lasting relationships. The truth is I was never really sure if they liked me for me,” Harry answered honestly.

“I can see what you mean. I sometimes wonder about that with the guys that I date sometimes. I wonder if they really like me for me or because I can get them into the spotlight,” Christine responded with understanding.

“That is exactly how I feel,” Harry said with a grin and signalled to the string quartet to play a selected melody.

The room filled with a sweet melody and he got up and asked her to dance.

Christine took his hand and smiled and they swayed slowly to the music and said, “They're playing a song from the opera Don Juan.”

“So I've heard,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Did you know that I liked that opera?” Christine asked curiously.

“Actually I didn't know that at all. That happens to be one of my favourite operas as well,” Harry told her with a grin.

“Now that is a lucky coincidence then isn't it?” Christine said with a laugh.

“Now let's dance,” Harry said turning her around.

They spent the rest of the night dancing with light laughter.

Harry took Christine back to the mansion with a huge smile on his face.

“I had a really incredible time tonight Harry. Thank you for everything,” Christine told him with a grin.

“The pleasure really was all mine,” Harry said walking up closer to her and leaned in and their lips met in a sweet kiss that was short but held a lot of promise.

“Good night,” Harry told Christine in a whisper that sent shivers down her spine.

“Good night Harry,” Christine whispered back as she watched him get back into the limo and opened the door with a huge smile on her face and proceed to head upstairs and saw Hermione.

“You're still up?” Christine asked.

“I couldn't sleep. I see that your date must have gone well,” Hermione told her with a tiny smile.

“It was amazing Hermione. He's just so sweet and incredible. I'll tell you more tomorrow,” Christine said looking at the clock.

“I can't wait to hear it,” Hermione replied faking excitement.

“Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Get some rest, you seem tired,” Christine added as she headed out the door.

Hermione was feeling a mixture of emotions. On one hand, she was happy for her friend and glad that the date turned out well but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the thought of them actually being together. She wanted Harry to be happy but she wanted to be the girl that made him happy.

`Stop thinking like that right now. Don't think about things that could never happen. The only think you need to concentrate on is making sure that Harry falls for the right girl,' She told herself firmly and closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

-->

20. Trust issues

A/N: Here is another update. I hope that it was worth the wait and I wanted to thank all of you for your amazing reviews and hope that you continue enjoying the story. I think this story has approximately 7-8 chapters left to go and it is all coming together nicely. I wanted to give you guys some nice Hhr fluff before the next date which will be in the next chapter. Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J K Rowling does and I don't own the Bachelor since ABC does. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 20

Hermione woke up to the sound of tapping on the window with a start. She slowly got up and grabbed something hard that she could use to protect herself and proceeded very slowly toward the window and slowly moved towards the window to see if she could catch a glimpse of the person behind the window but the person seem to be very well concealed because she couldn't catch a glimpse of the invader.

Hermione took a deep breath and slowly opened the window with her wand while she stood a safe distance away. Slowly the black figure entered the room and she braced herself so that she would be ready for an attack and swiftly moved closer to the attacker and asked, “Who are you?”

“Is that the way you treat a friend?” a familiar voice responded.

“Harry,” Hermione murmured and punched him hard on the shoulder.

“Ouch.. you shouldn't be so rough Hermione or else you will never get a boyfriend,” Harry teased her.

Hermione gave him a very dirty look and punched him in the ribs again.

“I am just trying to help you,” Harry replied with a smirk.

Hermione drew out her wand and pointed it straight at him and said, “You want to keep your limbs?”

“Hermione, you know that I was just teasing you and put her wand down,” Harry replied nervously.

“I know but as usual you are taking things much too far and I wanted to make sure you still have some senses,” Hermione replied sweetly putting down her wand.

“Thank you so much for your concern then,” Harry answered with a fake smile.

“I'm just being a good friend. What are you doing here?” Hermione asked.

“I came here to talk to you about my date last night,” Harry replied.

“I know that it went pretty well, Christine looked quite happy when she came back last night,” Hermione told him with a small smile.

“She came by to talk to you?” Harry inquired.

“Yeah just for a second. So where did you take her?” Hermione asked.

“Then it looks like the two of you are friends then. I didn't really take her anywhere really special. I just took her to this place that did parties where the servers wore traditional clothing and served traditional food,” Harry answered.

“Christine is a really nice girl and I like her and your date seems like quite fun,” Hermione replied.

“We had a great time and she actually opened up to me about her past boyfriend. I feel like she is really starting to let go of her past,” Harry added.

“So how do you feel about her?” Hermione asked softly.

“I think that Christine is an amazingly talented girl and is really nice and sweet girl. I think that we are both similar and different in many ways. I feel like we really do connect and that there is definitely something special about her and I would like to get to know her a little bit better,” Harry told her honestly.

“She is really nice and sweet. I'm glad that you're getting along. So do you think that she could be the one?” Hermione asked with both curiosity and dread.

“I don't really know but I do think that it is possible that she could be the one but I definitely need to spend some more time with her before I would know for sure,” Harry added.

“That's true. You want to be sure about things before making any final decisions,” Hermione commented.

“I also wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about how I reacted about Allie,” Harry told her after some thought.

“Really?” Hermione asked amused.

“I am. After everything that we have been through, I should know better than to dismiss any of your ideas or thoughts,” Harry said to her.

“How sorry are you?” Hermione asked.

“I'm really sorry and I know that I shouldn't have doubted you,” Harry responded.

“Well I'm still actually mad at you though,” Hermione answered.

“You are?” Harry inquired.

“Of course I am. Like you said, I've always been there for you and you go and doubt my judgement?” Hermione replied with a glare and stifle a giggle.

“You have always been there for me,” Harry replied.

“Exactly and how many times have I been right?” Hermione prompted.

“More times than I can count,” Harry mumbled.

“If you know that then why would you doubt my judgement?” Hermione asked in mock anger.

“I'm sorry. I had a momentary lapse of judgement. You know that you are one of my best friends right?” Harry answered.

“I wouldn't doubt any of my best friends,” Hermione retorted.

“No. No matter how upset you are you have always been there for me even when you thought that some of my plans were a little risky,” Harry replied.

Hermione turned away with mock anger and pretended not to pay any attention to him as he proceeded closer to her.

“Come on Hermione. I know that you have such a big and forgiving heart and would forgive me for my lapse in judgement,” Harry pleaded wit her softly.

Hermione pretended not to hear him and turned away.

“What can I do to get your forgive me?” Harry asked.

“That depends on your sincerity then,” Hermione answered after a moment.

“I have a lot of sincerity,” Harry replied with a nod.

“Well then let's test that sincerity now,” Hermione added and turned around.

“Okay, what can I do?” Harry asked seriously.

“First of all I want you to bark like a dog?” Hermione commanded.

“Do I really have to?” Harry asked.

Hermione gave him a look and Harry got down on all fours.

“Ruff, ruff,” Harry said.

“That's a good start but why don't you behave more like a dog?” Hermione asked with a laugh.

Harry started kneeling down on the ground and proceeded to walk on all fours and did so while barking and proceeded to move closer to the Hermione and grabbed a hold of her leg.

“What are you doing?” Hermione replied shaking him off her leg.

“I'm acting like a dog who really wants to be with his owner,” Harry commented.

“What kind of dog are you?” Hermione hissed at him.

“A Scottish Terrier,” Harry commented.

“Why don't you let go of my leg?” Hermione asked trying to walk away.

“I will as long as you forgive me,” Harry told her.

“That is such a cheap trick,” Hermione told him.

“Will it work?” Harry asked hopefully with puppy dog eyes.

`Darn his puppy dog eyes,' Hermione thought to herself.

“If you weren't bigger than me I wouldn't give in so quickly,” Hermione responded.

“Then you forgive me?” Harry asked.

“I do,” Hermione added with a shrug.

“Look, don't be so angry with me. I promise you that I will be wary of Allie and I will keep my distance from her until we finally know everything there is to do about Allie,” Harry told her.

“Really? You will take my opinion more to heart right?” Hermione asked.

“Yes I promise,” Harry told her seriously.

“Well then if that is true then I will forgive you,” Hermione said playfully with a smile.

“You really have a beautiful smile,” Harry told her.

“Be serious,” Hermione told him playfully swatting him in his arm.

“I am serious,” Harry answered walking towards her slowly.

“I told you to be serious,” Hermione added.

“Believe me, when you smile you definitely brighten up my day,” Harry added.

Hermione just smiled and laughed and proceed to walk away but felt his hand grabbing a hold of her wrist.

“What do you want?” Hermione asked.

“I just want you to follow me,” Harry answered.

“Okay, you got my curiosity,” Hermione told her.

Harry nodded and turned away and proceeded to lead the way.

Hermione followed and turned towards the direction that he is pointing and Harry led her towards a clearing where breakfast was laid on a large breakfast on a lovely table cloth.

“What is this?” Hermione asked with a large smile.

“Breakfast,” Harry replied.

“When did you plan this?” Hermione replied sitting on the ground.

“I just wanted to do something to show my appreciation. And it took a few days of planning,” Harry answered.

“You knew that I would forgive you?” Hermione asked.

“I really hoped you would,” Harry answered.

“This really is a lovely setting for breakfast,” Hermione said in awe of her surroundings as she took in the beautiful trees and the small creek with a bridge.

“It is isn't it? I knew that you would enjoy the scenery,” Harry responded.

“And you wanted me to see it?” Hermione asked.

“Of course and of course I just wanted to spend some more alone time with you too,” Harry added.

“That is really sweet of you,” Hermione commented.

“Anything for my best friend,” Harry mentioned.

“Let's see what we have here,” Hermione said looking around at the place settings.

“Why don't you start with some orange juice?” Harry asked handing her a glass.

Hermione took the glass with a smile and took a sip and replied, “Freshly squeezed orange juice just the way I like it.”

“I know,” Harry said with a smile.

“What else do you know?” Hermione asked in a teasing tone.

“Well I know that you like to eat buttered toast,” Harry said as he piled some toast on a plate and offered it to her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and placed some eggs and bacon on a plate and offered it towards Harry.

“You remembered?” Harry said taking the plate.

“Of course, your taste hasn't changed since we went to Hogwarts,” Hermione reminded me.

“That's quite true,” Harry commented.

“So what are your plans for today?” Hermione asked.

“Well I'm taking Lisa out this afternoon for our individual date and I have to do some studio things as well. What about you?” Harry answered taking a bite of the egg.

“I'm probably just going to hang out with the other girls a bit today and there's this one other thing that I have to tell you,” Hermione replied after some thought.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“Well I did some digging yesterday and I found something else out,” Hermione replied.

“And what did you find out?” Harry inquired.

“Well I found out that Allie was doing quite a bit of research of me,” Hermione added.

“What?” Harry asked shocked.

“Yeah she had these files on me from when I went to muggle school and some articles about me after I graduated from Hogwarts,” Hermione replied.

“That really is suspicious behaviour. Did you notice anything else?” Harry asked curiously.

“Well while I was doing some surveillance I noticed that she was talking to a cloaked dark figure that seemed to be floating,” Hermione added.

“Did you catch a glimpse of the floating figure?” Harry inquired.

“I tried to but I couldn't at all see who are what it was” Hermione replied.

“Now Allie is beginning become more and more of a mystery that needs to be solved,” Harry added.

“She is becoming too much of a mystery and I really want to know why she is researching me?” Hermione replied frustrated.

“I have no doubt that you will figure out the mystery after all you are the smartest witch of our year,” Harry replied.

“You really think so?” Hermione added.

“Of course I do. I have total faith in you. I know that you can do it,” Harry added.

“Thank you,” Hermione told him with a big smile.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Harry asked softly taking her hand.

“All I need for you is to support me and be there for me if I need help,” Hermione asked.

“Of course I will always be there if you need me,” Harry replied.

“You better keep your word then,” Hermione said with a smile.

“I always keep my word,” Harry said.

“I know,” Hermione said with a smile.

“Now why don't you eat and stop trying to act all ladylike,” Harry commented with a sly grin earning a dirty look from Hermione.

“Excuse me but isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black?” Hermione asked.

“What do you mean?” Harry retorted.

“It's not at all like you act at all gentleman like. You talk with your mouth full and you don't at all have very good table manners and you show no chivalrous tendencies. You don't open doors, you show up uninvited and it's really hard to take you anywhere without worrying about you embarrassing me. I don't see how any of these girls actually like you,” Hermione commented.

“I haven't seen any complaints yet,” Harry replied with a smirk.

“Oh I beg to differ. It's not like something they would say to you but it is definitely something they would mention to me though,” Hermione retorted back.

“They actually said something to you?” Harry asked.

“Maybe,” Hermione replied with a smirk.

“What exactly did they say?” Harry inquired.

“You don't expect me to tell you do you?” Hermione asked.

“Of course I do,” Harry replied.

“Now, normally I would tell you but you can't expect me to betray their confidence do you?” Hermione answered.

“Well did they actually tell you not to tell me?” Harry asked.

“No but they obviously wouldn't want me to tell you what they tell me in private. Secondly, I'm already lying to them about being your friend and I just don't want to lie anymore than I have to. You understand right?” Hermione asked.

“I do understand and I don't want to make things any harder for you than it already is,” Harry said nudging her.

“I'm glad that you understand. But you have something that you want to ask me don't you?” Hermione mumbled.

“I know that I can't fool you. I was wondering if it was possible if you could put in a good word for

me?” Harry inquired.

“What exactly would you want me to say about you?” Hermione asked.

“I just want you to tell them the truth,” Harry stated.

“You want me to tell them that you have an enormous ego and think of yourself very highly?” Hermione inquired.

“How many times do I have to tell you that what I have is a lot of self confidence and it has nothing to do with having a large ego at all and I also don't have an enormous ego,” Harry answered.

“I don't understand why we keep on having to play this game?” Hermione asked.

“What game is that?” Harry asked.

“The one where you never admit that you have an ego and I retort back when we both know that I am right,” Hermione responded.

“You are right about a lot of things but there is something that you are wrong about though,” Harry asked.

“What have I been wrong about?” Hermione whispered back.

“Well how about the time during second year when you assumed the form of a cat?” Harry asked.

“That was an accident, the potion worked didn't it?” Hermione protested.

“It did but you couldn't tell the difference between human and cat hair,” Harry replied.

“It was a mistake but it doesn't mean that I am wrong,” Hermione replied with a smirk.

“Fine, how about the time that you thought that you saw a gnome but it was actually a statue?” Harry asked.

“Okay that was a small minor error,” Hermione answered a little flushed.

“How about the time that you thought that Draco used....” Harry started.

“Okay, okay, I get your point. I have made a few mistakes but I never said that I was perfect,” Hermione answered as she threw a grape at him.

“Testy now aren't we?” Harry teased her.

“If we are going to play this game then maybe should list all the times you were wrong,” Hermione added with an innocent smile.

“I…..” Harry started before he was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing.

“Who is it?” Hermione asked quietly.

“The producer,” Harry answered as he answered the phone.

Hermione took a minute to take a look at the time and noticed that it was already 10:00 am and jumped up with a start.

“I'll be right there,” Harry said before hanging up.

“I've got to get going too. Why didn't you tell me how late it was getting?” Hermione asked him.

“I'm sorry but we just got talking and having such a good time that I forgot to check the time,” Harry replied.

“I had fun too,” Hermione replied softly with a smile.

“We should do it again some other time?” Harry asked.

“Definitely but we better keep track of the time next time. I don't want to get caught,” Hermione answered.

“Just tell them that we were having a secret meeting for the show,” Harry told them.

“I don't mean them,” Hermione told him.

“Are the other girls giving you a hard time?” Harry asked concerned.

“Well most of them don't but Allie has been getting on my case and I think that some of that suspicion has rubbed off on the other girls if I'm not always around,” Hermione explained.

“Take care and be careful,” Harry told her giving her a quick hug.

“I will. You'd better get back too and be careful” Hermione replied.

“I always am,” Harry told her.

“I mean it, don't do anything rash,” Hermione responded and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and with a wink apparated back to the house.

Harry smiled and touched his cheek before heading back to his place to meet with a couple of press associates.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione came out slowly of an empty bedroom and walked back quietly into her room and quickly changed before heading back downstairs.

“Hi girls,” Hermione greeted everyone.

“Hermione, want some juice?” Lisa asked with a smile.

“Sure,” Hermione answered taking the glass.

“We were looking for you earlier if you wanted to join us for a morning swim and you weren't in your room. Where were you?” Chloe asked.

“When I got up in the morning, I received a call from a friend who really needed to talk so I had to go out for a bit,” Hermione explained.

“Was it a girl or a guy?” Allie asked.

“Why does it matter?” Hermione replied sharply.

“Don't be like that Hermione. I'm just reminding you that it is against the rules of the show to have outside relationship with guys other than the bachelor,” Allie answered.

“Thank you for being so concerned for me. But you don't have to worry about me at all,” Hermione responded.

“I'm sure that Hermione isn't like that,” Christine piped in.

“Thanks,” Hermione said to her.

“So, are you excited about you date?” Chloe asked.

“I am excited and very nervous,” Lisa admitted.

“By the way, how was your date?” Lisa asked Christine.

“It went really great. Harry was really sweet and we really got a chance to talk and I think that we connected,” Christine answered with a large smile.

“How sweet was he?” Chloe teased giving her a light shove.

“You guys, I'm not going into any details,” Christine replied with a slight laugh.

“So something good did happen then,” Allie said pointedly.

“Yes and that is all I'm going to say,” Christine answered getting up.

“Come on, you can tell us more. We are friends now right?” Allie asked.

“I'm sorry but I don't want to say any more,” Christine added apologetically.

“How about what you guys talked about?” Allie tired one more time.

“Mainly just about family,” Christine answered relenting a little and quickly got up to avoid any more questioning.

Allie was about to follow but Hermione tapped her shoulder.

“I think that she wants a bit of privacy,” Hermione told her.

“But don't you guys want to know more?” Allie asked.

“Of course we do but we need to respect the fact that she doesn't want to tell us more,” Chloe answered.

“Give her some privacy Allie and sit down,” Lisa commented.

Allie turned back around and sat down in defeat and drank some juice and chatted with Chloe.

Hermione finished her glass of juice and turned around to go back upstairs and headed back to her room.

A few minutes later there was knock on her door and she went to open it.

“Hi Hermione, do you have a few minutes free?” Allie asked.

“Sure, what do you have in mind?” Hermione asked.

“Hermione, I happened to walk by this clearing and I thought I saw someone that looks like you with this guy but I didn't happen to see his face and I was wondering if that was you?” Allie inquired.

Hermione froze for a second before answering as calmly as she could, “I think that you definitely didn't see me there.”

“So you weren't around that area?” Allie pressed.

“I wasn't,” Hermione answered fimly.

“Okay, I'm glad,” Allie replied with a smile and headed for the door.

“Allie, I was planning to go shopping for some clothes. You want to come?” Hermione asked after a moment.

“I would love to,” Allie replied as she left the room.

Hermione took a deep breath and decided that the best course of action was to keep a closer eye on Allie in order to figure out how her mind actually works and decided that she needed to ask more girls to go with them to make it more of a group outing and quickly glanced around her room quickly cast another magical charm around her room silently before heading out the door.

She saw Chloe walking in the hall way and waved for her to come on over.

“What's going on?” Chloe asked.

“I was planning to go shopping for some new dresses with Allie and I was wondering if you wanted to join us?” Hermione asked.

“I love shopping so definitely count me in,” Chloe replied with a smile.

“What are we chatting about?” Christine asked.

“We're talking about going shopping. Want to come?” Hermione asked.

“Sure. I do need another dress,” Christine answered.

Just then the doorbell rang and Lisa rushed to open it. In the letter came a note addressed to Lisa.

Dear Lisa,

I'm looking forward to seeing you this afternoon. I hope that you are ready for a nice casual evening out so be ready for a relaxing evening. See you soon.

Harry

“I like that it's going to be casual but I have no idea what to wear,” Lisa exclaimed as she hurried upstairs.

“I hope it goes well for her,” Christine spoke up with a smile.

“You're one of the few people that I actually believe really means that,” Allie commented.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Chloe asked.

“It's just that since we are all vying for Harry's affection, I find it strange that all of you would want the others to do well and it seems a little bit forced,” Allie answered.

“What about you then Allie? How do you feel?” Chloe replied.

“Well I want Lisa do have a good time,” Allie replied.

“Well then doesn't that make you fake?” Chloe asked.

“But I really mean it unlike some people,” Allie replied sweetly.

“Did you mean me?” Chloe pointedly asked.

“I didn't say it was you,” Allie replied cheerfully and headed upstairs.

“I don't understand her at all. One minute she is all nice and then she does things sometimes that are so infuriating,” Chloe spoke up.

“I know what you mean. She reminds me of someone though,” Christine commented.

“She does but I can't put my finger on it,” Chloe replied after a few moments.

“Let's forget about that and concentrate on our shopping trip,” Hermione suggested.

“I agree and let's just have some fun,” Christine added and turned to Chloe who nodded in agreement.

-->

21. Disaster Strikes

A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long to update and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much to all your reviews and patience. I really do appreciate it. I hope that this was another enlightening chapter for you all. Please if you have any comments feel free to let me know what you guys think. I think it will help make the story much better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does. I don't own or affiliated with ABC or the bachelor. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 21

Harry was heading towards the mansion to meet up with Lisa for their individual date as his mind wondered back towards his breakfast with Hermione. He enjoyed the time he spent with Hermione immensely, especially when they were away from the cameras and could be completely carefree without any worries. It felt like old times again.

Harry was brought back out of his reverie as the driver said, “Mr. Potter we're here.”

“Thanks,” Harry answered with a smile and stepped out of the limo and knocked on the door.

The door opened and was greeted by a smiling Chloe.

“Hi Harry,” Chloe replied with a smile.

“How are you doing?” Harry asked.

“I'm doing great,” Chloe answered with a smile.

“So is Lisa ready?” Harry asked.

“She'll be down in just a few minutes,” Chloe answered.

“Thanks Chloe. Do you have any plans for today?” Harry inquired.

“Nothing much since we don't have any plans with you,” Chloe answered.

“I'm sure that you must have plans since you seem to be all dressed up,” Harry commented.

“I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not because I don't think that I'm all dressed up now,” Chloe replied teasingly.

“Of course I don't mean it like that. You look good. I mean you always look good,” Harry mumbled.

“I don't know you all that well but from what I know, I'm sure that you meant it as a compliment,” Chloe answered with a laugh.

“I'm glad that you seem to understand,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Well, some of us are going to do some shopping,” Chloe answered.

“Sounds fun. Who else are going with?” Harry replied with a grimace.

“A typical guy response and all of us basically,” Chloe answered.

“What are you guys chatting about?” Lisa asked as she came down the stairs.

“Nothing important. Are you ready to go?” Harry asked with a smile.

“Sure, am I dressed right?” Lisa asked gesturing towards her khaki shorts and long sleeved shirt.

“You look great,” Harry added with a smile.

“Thanks. So what exactly are we doing?” Lisa asked.

“You will see soon enough. You chariot awaits you,” Harry told her.

Lisa laughed as she headed out the door. Harry gave Chloe a quick smile before following Lisa out the door.

“So far, all I know is that we are doing something outdoors. Any more hints?” Lisa asked.

“You will find out in a couple of minutes,” Harry responded.

“I'm actually a little nervous about what the date is about,” Lisa added.

“You don't need to be nervous at all. You'll have no problems during this date at all,” Harry told her.

“Now you've definitely got my curiosity,” Lisa commented lifting her eyebrows.

“We're here now,” Harry told her as he looked out the window.

“Where exactly is here?” Lisa inquired as she got out of the limo.

“Take a look outside,” Harry answered.

Lisa looked outside and saw an open path with grass and trees and said, “Okay, I know that we are in the woods and there are paths and trees all around. That means that we are probably either hiking or cycling right?”

“You're right. We're going biking. You do know how to do that right?” Harry asked.

“Well I do know how to ride a bike,” Lisa replied with a laugh.

“I assumed that,” Harry responded amused.

“Though I haven't ridden in one for quite some time,” Lisa responded.

“I'm sure that you will pick it up right away,” Harry replied.

“Let's go and get our bikes,” Lisa added walking forward.

“I'll show you the way,” Harry answered and they walked towards a small bike area where a couple of bikes awaited them.

Lisa quickly got onto one of the bikes and said, “Are you ready to go?”

“Then let's head off,” Harry said and started to lead the way.

Lisa followed admiring the green grass and the flowers.

“Are you going to keep up?” Harry asked far ahead.

“I was just admiring the scenery,” Lisa commented.

“Want to race?” Harry asked raising his eyebrows.

“I never give up on a challenge,” Lisa responded with a grin.

“Then let's go,” Harry answered starting off.

“Wait a minute! You don't get to have a head start. That's cheating,” Lisa exclaimed pedalling after him.

Harry slowed down and waited for Lisa to appear next to him.

“I thought that you knew how to ride a bike,” Harry teased her.

“You were the one that was cheating,” Lisa retorted.

“On the count of three we go and head towards that tree over there,” Harry instructed.

“One, two… three,” they said together and they were off.

Harry had the early lead but then pretty soon Lisa caught up and was riding right next to him.

Harry turned and gave her one of his killer grins and with that zoomed off ahead of her as if he suddenly had an extra gear.

Lisa stood there shocked for a few seconds before regaining her composure and sped off after him but was unable to catch up with him and when she reached the tree she was slightly out of breath.

“Looks like I win,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Yes you won but I don't think it was completely fair and square,” Lisa retorted.

“Why?” Harry inquired.

“Because you were obviously trying to catch me off guard when you turned to me during the race,” Lisa commented.

“I was just trying to see how you were doing. You were catching up and I was quite impressed,” Harry answered.

“You were?” Lisa asked.

“I was, in fact in order to win I had to go faster than I normally ride,” Harry added.

“Thanks I think,” Lisa answered slowly.

“It really was a compliment and yes I did mean to distract you,” Harry whispered to you.

“I can't believe you,” Lisa exclaimed.

“I couldn't help it and you wouldn't have won me even if I hadn't,” Harry added.

Lisa was about to open her mouth to retort but then realized that he was right and responded in a grudging tone, “That may be true but you could have won more fair and squarely.”

“But what would be fun in that?” Harry asked.

Lisa just glared at him.

“Now why don't you just look around and calm down?” Harry suggested.

Lisa sighed and took a look around and smiled. In front of her was a small water fountain in front of the beach.

“It looks beautiful out here,” Lisa commented staring out at the ocean.

“It is isn't it?” Harry replied standing next to her.

“The sky is incredibly beautiful and the sea is calm and soothing,” Lisa commented.

“It's a great place just to relax isn't it?” Harry asked.

“I feel much calmer already,” Lisa told him.

“Why don't we sit down?” Harry asked.

Lisa nodded and they both sat down on the beach next to each other facing the ocean.

“So Harry what are you thinking right now?” Lisa inquired staring at him.

“I'm glad that I'm here with you,” Harry answered.

“Sweet talk,” Lisa responded with a blush.

“No, it's true. I feel comfortable sitting here with you and I want to know more about you,” Harry answered.

“What do you want to know?” Lisa asked.

“What's your family like?” Harry asked.

“Well, I have one older brother and one younger brother. My older brother and I get along great but he's usually away from home most of the time but we talk on the phone all the time. I don't get along that great with my younger brother but we're okay. My parents are divorced when I was about 15. My dad recently got remarried and I get along with his new wife. My mom is doing okay. She hasn't found anybody yet but she seems to want to,” Lisa answered.

“It must have been hard for you for your parents to separate when you were 15,” Harry commented.

“It was but I had some good support system and great friends that got me through it. How about you?” Lisa asked.

“I had a rough childhood but like you I have amazingly good friends looking out for me so they went by alright,” Harry added.

“What else would you like to know?” Lisa asked with a smile.

“Well if I can ask, what happened to your previous relationships?” Harry inquired

“Well you can and basically there isn't much to tell. I just got out of a long distance relationship and it was great and everything but over time we just got too busy and didn't spend enough time with each other. We changed and we weren't the same people we were when we first met and we just grew apart,” Lisa answered with a slight smile.

“I can see how that could happen. I'm glad that it was as simple as that,” Harry answered.

“I was sad when it was over but we both didn't want to waste any more time on a relationship that wasn't going to work,” Lisa added.

“There's one other question I want to ask you. What do you think about the remaining women that you live with?” Harry asked.

“Well this was a question that I was thinking could come up so I have thought about it a bit. They have both bad and good qualities. A lot of how I feel about these girls is based on gut and the tiny amount of interaction that we have. Christine. I like her and she seems really sweet and means it but I don't know if she really is ready for a serious relationship. Chloe is nice too but I get the feeling that there is more to her than that and that she is someone to look out for. As for Allie, I don't know what to say about her. There are times where she freaks me out a little bit. Some of her comments can be quite strange and invasive and I just get this strange feeling about her. Now I think that Hermione is great. She seems to be really smart and friendly and I think would be a great friend. But she's a bit more private about her life than the rest of us and she doesn't seem as into the group activities as we are which is a little bit sad,” Lisa replied.

“Thanks for giving me your thoughts,” Harry answered standing up.

“Harry?” Lisa asked.

“Yes?” Harry answered.

“Do you think we could ride a bit more?” Lisa asked.

“Of course,” Harry responded with a grin.

“I want a rematch so we start the race here,” Lisa instructed.

“Fine then but I warn you that I'm quite fast,” Harry answered.

“We'll see about that,” Lisa replied with a sly grin and pulled down Harry's hat over his eyes and took off.

“What in the…” Harry said surprised and quickly lifting the hat off his head and saw that she was in the lead and took off riding really quickly.

Harry just smiled while shaking his head and rode quickly after her and met her at the other side of the park.

“I would have expected you to have been here sooner,” Lisa answered looking at an imaginary watch.

“I would have been if someone hadn't pulled something over my head,” Harry replied.

“I don't know why anybody would do that to you unless you were asking for it,” Lisa answered with a sly grin.

“How exactly was I asking for it?” Harry asked.

“Not that it was me or anything but your hat and attitude was just yelling `pull me',” Lisa explained.

“Do you know what your actions are screaming at me to do right now?” Harry asked.

“No but I'm sure they aren't telling you anything,” Lisa replied.

“They're telling me to chase you,” Harry added.

“Only if you can catch me,” Lisa added quickly getting back on the bike and pedalling off.

“You won't get away that easily,” Harry answered as he pedalled quickly and tried to reach for her bike but she swerved and got away and pedalled away laughing softly. And they spent the rest of the afternoon riding their bikes while chasing one another.

Harry and Lisa walked back to the mansion together smiling.

“I had a great time. Thanks for taking me there,” Lisa told her with a smile.

“I had a great time as well,” Harry replied.

“It was quite nice to go outside and away from everything,” Lisa added.

“Why don't I walk you inside?” Harry inquired.

Lisa nodded and blushed slightly.

When they reached the door, Harry turned towards her and leaned in to kiss her but then the door suddenly opened and Allie appeared in front of them.

“Oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that you were there,” Allie said apologetically.

“That's alright. I was heading in anyways,” Lisa answered giving Harry a quick peck on the cheek before heading inside.

“So how are you doing Harry?” Allie asked.

Harry stiffened slightly and replied, “I'm good and how are you doing?”

“I'm pretty good. I've got to go,” Harry told her with a smile and headed out the door.

“Is there something wrong?” Allie asked.

“There's nothing wrong at all. I just had a really long day,” Harry answered.

“Oh then you should definitely go back and rest,” Allie replied.

“I'll see you later,” Harry told her with a slight smile.

“See you,” Allie told him with a forced smile and glared at Lisa's fading figure.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked looking at her.

“I'm fine,” Allie replied in thought and headed upstairs.

Chloe shrugged and headed towards the kitchen and saw Lisa.

“Hey girl, how did it go?” Chloe inquired.

“It went great until someone opened the door,” Lisa replied.

“That explains some things but she looked quite upset. Do you know if anything happened to Allie?” Chloe said thoughtfully.

“Did something happen?” Lisa asked.

“I was hoping that you could tell me,” Chloe replied.

“I have no idea” Lisa answered.

“So where did you guys go?” Chloe asked raising her eyebrows.

“We actually went out into the trailers and rode bikes,” Lisa replied with a smile.

“Hey, how did it go?” Hermione asked with a smile.

“It went really good. Better than I thought,” Lisa said.

“I'm glad for you. Did anything interesting happen?” Hermione asked.

“We don't actually know but Allie was acting a little bit strange so we're guessing that something happened,” Chloe piped in.

“That is quite interesting,” Hermione commented with a smile.

“I think it is. Anyways, do you guys want to head out to grab something to eat?” Chloe suggested.

“That'll be great. I'm completely famished,” Lisa added.

“Hermione are you in?” Chloe asked.

“Sure I'll be there. I'll go tell Christine and Allie,” Hermione answered.

“Will you do that?” Chloe commented.

“Sure, I'm heading upstairs to put down some things,” Hermione replied with a smile.

Hermione smiled to herself as she thought about Allie being flustered. It made her feel quite happy as she headed upstairs to place her bags in her room and then headed towards Christine room and knocked on the door.

“Christine, are you there?” Hermione asked.

“I'm here, what's up?” Christine said opening the door.

“We're going to head out to grab a bite to eat and wanted to know if you wanted to join us?” Hermione said.

“Sure, just give me a second to grab a sweater,” Christine answered with a smile.

“I'll be back. I've got to visit Allie,” Hermione told her.

“See you downstairs,” Christine added.

Hermione nodded and headed towards Allie's room and was about to knock on the door and heard some sounds coming from inside and cast a quick sound magnification charm at the door to try and catch what was going on in side the room.

“You can't do that. She's your…..” an unfamiliar low voice said.

“Don't even finish that sense. She isn't,” Allie shot back.

“But,” the other voice continued.

“I've got to go,” Allie said and the door opened.

“Hermione what are you doing here?” Allie asked.

“I was just going to knock on your door and ask if you wanted to join us for dinner. We were just heading out for a bite,” Hermione asked.

“That'll be fun,” Allie replied.

“I'll see you downstairs then,” Hermione said with a wave.

Hermione pondered what she heard coming for Allie's room and all these questions swarmed her.

`Who was the other voice that she heard from Allie's room and which girl was she talking about and the most important question of all was what was her plan exactly?' Hermione thought to herself.

Just then she was interrupted when her phone rang and she picked it up.

“Jane?” a familiar voice asked.

“Yes, who is this?” Hermione inquired.

“It's Joan from NYU and I really just need to talk to you,” Joan answered.

“Do you remember something?” Hermione asked anxiously.

“Maybe but it's all fuzzy and I really need to talk to you,” Joan added.

“Hermione?” Allie called out.

Hermione turned and said, “I'm here,”

“We're waiting for you outside and do you think you could get Lisa something to drink?” Allie called out to her.

“Jane?” Joan said.

“I'll be right out,” Hermione called out to Allie.

Allie nodded and headed out the door.

“I'm sorry Joan. I was talking to someone. So when do you want to meet?” Hermione said apologetically.

“I've got a quick meeting and then I'll be free. 8pm at my place?” Joan answered.

“I'll be there. I might be a bit late but I'll be there,” Hermione told her with anxiously.

“See you then,” Joan added before hanging up.

Hermione closed her phone and looked at the time. It was 6:30pm already so she would need to eat in a hurry and quickly grabbed the remaining glass from the dishwasher and rinsed it and filled it up with some juice.

“I'm sorry guys. I had a quick call I had to take. Shall we get going?” Hermione said with a apologetic smile and handed her the cup.

“Thank you so much,” Lisa told her gratefully and took a long sip before putting it down on the side table.

“It wasn't a lot of trouble,” Hermione answered with a quick smile.

“Let's go,” Lisa replied and opened the door.

They all headed outside and decided to try this new Italian place that was about a half hour away from the mansion.

They enjoyed a scrumptious meal of pasta and bread and they filled the night easily by chatting.

Just then Lisa stood up and held onto the table as if she was dizzy.

“Are you okay?” Hermione asked concerned.

“I fine. I must have just gotten up too quickly. I need to head back. I forgot that there was still something that I need to do,” Lisa answered.

“Are you sure?” Chloe inquired.

“Don't worry. I'll see you guys later back at the house,” Lisa added.

“Bye,” Chloe, Christine, Hermione and Allie chimed in together.

Lisa gave a quick wave and headed out the door.

Hermione finished up the last of plate and grabbed a drink from her glass before taking a quick look at her watch and stood up.

“Are you going anywhere?” Chloe asked.

“Actually I have a few errands to run and then I'll head back. See you guys later,” Hermione replied getting up and leaving.

“Okay, we'll see you back at the house,” Allie said with a wave.

Hermione headed outside and quickly took a look around and headed towards a empty hallway and apparated at a location close to Joan's house where she knew there were very few people and quickly checked around to see if there were any people nearby.

When she saw that they coast was clear, she walked out towards the house when she got this uneasy feeling that she could not shake off.

“I hope that she's okay,” Hermione said to herself and quickly approached the door and knocked.

Joan opened the door a few minutes later and said, “Hi Jane.”

“Hello Joan,” Hermione said softly entering the place.

“Thanks for coming. I didn't know who else I could talk to,” Joan explained.

“What's happened?” Hermione asked.

“I really don't know. I'm starting to get these weird memories or flashbacks of talking to someone that I don't remember and then getting knocked out and these flashes of light,” Joan added.

“Do you recall what you were talking about?” Hermione asked.

“I remember hearing the words NYU and paper and someone asking me about what I know and then I blacked out,” Joan recalled.

“When did you start getting these flashbacks?” Hermione asked.

“Just about a couple days ago after meeting with an old mentor,” Joan answered after some thought.

“Did your old mentor seem different at all to you?” Hermione asked.

“Well I haven't seen her in quite some time but there was something that I thought I was off about her. She was quite persistent about my NYU articles,” Joan replied.

“Do you think that maybe that wasn't exactly your mentor?” Hermione asked gently.

“No I don't think so. She looks like her and sounds like her. It doesn't seem very likely,” Joan said.

“It is possible with the level of technology today,” Hermione answered and began looking around.

“Are you okay?” Joan asked.

“I'm just getting this feeling that you are being watched,” Hermione answered.

“I don't think so. Do you want something to drink?” Joan asked nervously.

“Tea would be nice,” Hermione answered and continued to look around and when she finally sensed something and rushed over to Joan.

“What's going on?” Joan asked.

“Just duck and cover,” Hermione whispered to her and waited for a figure to appear in front of them.

“What are they?” Joan asked shocked.

“I'll explain later just stay down,” Hermione ordered.

Joan just nodded and hid.

Hermione took out her wand and approached then slowly.

“Who are you?” Hermione asked firmly.

“That depends on who you are,” the man answered.

“Let go of me,” Joan shouted.

“Joan,” Hermione cried out.

“Let me go,” Joan cried out.

“What do you want from her?” Hermione asked firmly.

“None of your business,” a woman answered.

“Stubefy,” Hermione shouted and hit the women in the leg and she lost her grip on Joan.

Joan was so shocked that she just fell to her knees.

“Are you okay?” Hermione said rushing over and helping her up and then she felt something hit her and sank to the ground and the last thing she saw was a dark cloaked figure.

By the time she got up she felt her body ache and she looked around and saw that she was in a room that she didn't recognize and that it was empty.

“What's going on?” Hermione asked herself and got up gingerly and walked around and found nothing and apparated back to the clearing near the mansion and opened the door.

Hermione walked into the house to everyone pacing about and asked, “What going on?”

“Have you seen Lisa?” Christine asked concerned.

“Not since last night. What's happening?” Hermione asked.

“We can't find her anywhere. We just a note from her saying she had to go home,” Chloe added.

“Can I see the note?” Hermione asked.

Girls,

I'm sorry to leave so abruptly but something came up that needs my immediate attention back home so I need to go back. I hope to be back soon. It's nice knowing you guys. Tell Harry that I'm sorry.

Lisa.

“At first we thought she really went home but the producers never heard anything and we called her family just to double check and they don't anything so we're a little bit worried,” Christine replied.

“I'm sure that nothing's the matter,” Hermione said in an effort to comfort them.

“I really hope so,” Allie said with conviction.

Hermione had a sinking feeling that something was really wrong and hoped that she was wrong for the sake of her friend and sat down to process everything that has happened and drifted off the sleep.

A/N: I hope to update soon cause I know you guys are all anxious to find out what's going to happen. The more reviews I get the faster I will post the next chapter. Thanks again.

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22. More discoveries

A/N: Thank you so much for all your amazing reviews and comments. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I know everyone has been so incredibly patient with this story so I have decided that with all the mystery that it has changed the tone of my story quite a bit and since I know you guys are all dying of curiosity about Allie it will be revealed to you all in the next couple of chapters and then it will be just the bachelor part of the story. Please review and let me know what you think.

Discliamer: I don't own Harry potter. JK Rowling does and I don't own the bachelor . ABC does. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 22

Hermione woke up in the morning and sensed that the mood in the house would not be as cheery as before and walked downstairs to get something to drink.

“Good morning Hermione. You're up earlier than usual,” Christine said thoughtfully.

“I couldn't really sleep. Have you heard anything?” Hermione asked.

“Nothing but in a way I think that is quite good news,” Christine replied.

“That's true. She's at least not at any hospital that we know of,” Hermione added.

“Exactly, I wish though there was a way that we would know for sure you know but there is nothing that we can do about it,” Christine commented.

“Yeah I guess all we can do is wait to hear from her. I wish they would tell us more about it though,” Hermione replied.

“Morning,” Chloe said to them with a yawn.

“I see you didn't get a good night's sleep either,” Christine complimented.

“I can't help but be a little worried about Lisa. I know that she can take care of herself but she did say she wasn't feeling that well the last time we saw her,” Chloe commented.

“You know what? I'm just going and talk to the producer and see if they heard anything,” Hermione commented standing up.

“Do you want us to go with you?” Chloe asked.

“That's okay. She might actually call back so it'll be good if you guys stay here,” Hermione replied getting up.

“Okay then come back as soon as you here anything,” Christine added.

“Don't worry you guys. I'm sure that she is fine,” Hermione told them as she headed out the door.

The first place that she headed to find Harry's house and knocked on the door.

“Hermione?” Harry asked as he opened the door.

“I came to see how you were doing,” Hermione replied giving him a quick hug.

“I'm doing alright but I am a little worried about Lisa. She seemed fine earlier and she didn't mention anything about any family emergency,” Harry answered.

“To be completely truthful, I am a little worried as well,” Hermione admitted.

“Why?” Harry inquired.

“Well, she wasn't feeling that well after we all went out to dinner and headed off home before we all left and well I got a call from Joan. You know the NYU reporter so I went over there to see her and she seemed quite scared and worried. And then out of the blue a few people just appeared. Maybe wizards or something that were looking for her so then of course I tried to protect her and it worked for a while and then I was just knocked out. I didn't hear anything though but I did see a faint glow and then I was out of it and when I came to I was in this empty house. I didn't see anybody and my head hurt,” Hermione explained.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked concerned looking her up and down.

“I'm fine,” Hermione answered.

“Maybe we should get you checked out. Who know what happened to you?” Harry replied moving her over to the sofa.

“Harry I'm fine really. I feel fine and nothing out of place,” Hermione assured her.

“No. You really should get checked out. I'll take you right now,” Harry said grabbing his jacket.

“Harry, I really feel fine. I promise that I will get checked out but first I want to check up on Lisa,” Hermione answered.

“You promise?” Harry asked.

“I promise. I give you my word,” Hermione told him with a smile.

“I do trust your word but if you're going to check on Lisa then I want be there with you,” Harry told her firmly.

“Harry I really appreciate your concern but I can take care of myself,” Hermione protested.

“I know that you can but I'm worried about you. You can go but only if I take you,” Harry answered with a firm tone.

Hermione took a look in his eye and knew that he wouldn't budge and sighed.

“Okay, you can come with me but only because I want your company,” Hermione said relenting a bit.

“Good. Where are we going?” Harry said with a smile.

“Well first of all I just want to talk to one of the producers to see if they have heard anything,” Hermione explained.

“Okay, let's go,” Harry said getting up.

Hermione got up and paused slightly feeling a slight bout of dizziness.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked rushing to her side.

“I'm fine. I just didn't have enough sleep,” Hermione replied.

“Are you sure?” Harry asked.

“Yep, let's go,” Hermione replied walking towards the door.

“Okay,” Harry replied looking back at her and then followed.

They walked towards the production office and headed inside.

“Mr. Potter, what do I owe the pleasure?” Ken asked as he saw them walking in.

“It's good to see too. But I wanted to talk to you about Lisa,” Harry asked.

“We want to ask you if you heard anything from Lisa?” Hermione added.

“Well, we haven't heard anything as of yet from Lisa herself. We also talked to some of her friends and family and from what I'm told they aren't really worried. They say that she is quite independent and can take care of herself and told us not to worry about her,” Ken replied.

“Do they know what kind of emergency that she was talking about?” Hermione asked.

“Actually they don't but apparently she has a lot of friends and she likes to help others when she can so it's not impossible for them not to know anything about it,” Ken explained.

“So you guys haven't heard anything new?” Harry asked.

“I haven't but I wouldn't worry. Her parents aren't worried so I wouldn't be too concerned. Oh and Harry we will be meeting tonight as usual but there won't be an elimination this time,” Ken told him.

“Thanks,” Harry told him.

“That wasn't too helpful,” Hermione told him.

“I know but what can we do?” Harry asked.

“Well we could also do a bit of checking on our own,” Hermione suggested.

“How do you suggest we do that?” Harry asked.

“Well I was just thinking that since this show is taped and that there are security cameras around we could just maybe check them out,” Hermione replied.

“I think that is something that can be arranged,” Harry added with a grin.

“Let's go check it out,” Hermione replied.

Harry grinned and turned towards the security office and within a few minutes he came out with a box of tapes.

“That was quick,” Hermione said with a grin.

“What can I say? I can be charming when I need to be,” Harry responded.

“You can be sometimes,” Hermione replied with a laugh.

“Don't look so surprised,” Harry added with a mock anger.

“I'm not surprised completely,” Hermione replied.

“Do you want to watch these tapes or not?” Harry inquired.

“Of course I do but out of curiosity what did you say?” Hermione asked.

“What are you talking about?” Harry replied.

“To the security personnel?” Hermione suggested.

“I didn't say anything out of the ordinary. I just asked for the tapes and I got it,” Harry answered.

“That's it?” Hermione asked with disbelief.

“That's it,” Harry insisted.

“Okay, if you don't want to say I won't force you but only because I'm more worried about Lisa,” Hermione replied.

“Then we better get moving,” Harry said hurrying along.

Hermione shook her head and giggled as she chased after him.

Once they were in the clear they apparated to the outside of his house. They checked to see that they were in the clear and walked up to the door and quickly went inside.

“Okay then let's get started,” Harry said looking at the box of tapes.

“There are too many tapes. I had no idea there would be so many,” Hermione commented going through the tapes.

“There must be a way to get through these faster,” Harry said popping the first tape in.

“It'll take too long to go through each of these one at a time. I've got an idea but I need to go grab my labtop,” Hermione told him.

“It you have any ideas that would be great,” Harry said fast forwarding and staring at the tv.

“I'll be back soon,” Hermione told him and apparated back to her room at the mansion.

Hermione quickly went and grabbed her labtop and was about to apparate back out until she heard someone talking outside.

She peered outside and saw Allie talking on her cell.

“Is everything taken care of?” Allie asked.

Allie paced about for a few moments and then nodded her head and said, “Good. Everything would work out as long as everyone minds their own business. Talk to you soon.”

Hermione turned back around and apparated back to Harry and placed down her labtop.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked.

“Yeah I am. Let's just get started. I have this program on my computer that I have used that is also magically enchanced and is running on a trial basis and should speed up our searching process by a lot,” Hermione explained.

“Well it that works it would make things so much easier,” Harry commented.

“Okay I just need to connect the tv to my computer and load some information into the computer,” Hermione continued.

“So what do you want me to do?” Harry asked.

“Can you put the first tape into the vcr?” Hermione asked.

“Sure,” Harry said and did as commanded.

“Okay, let's see if this will work and turned on the program and pressed play and then place her heads above the computer and murmured a few words.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked curiously.

“I'm just telling the program what to search for,” Hermione explained.

A few moments later the program started to show a screen of Lisa entering the house.

“That program seems to work really well,” Harry replied impressed.

“Well it looks like she went inside around 8:05pm,” Hermione answered looking at the time.

“Okay that's good to know. So is there any way to tell if she went into her room?” Harry asked.

“Well from what I read. They have cameras in the hallways but not any of the rooms to give us our privacy so we can check the other tapes for that footage,” Hermione suggested.

Harry went through the box and found one labelled Hallway and placed it into the vcr and Hermione loaded it into the computer and typed few commands into the computer.

“Did you see anything yet?” Harry asked.

“It will take a few minutes,” Hermione replied watching the screen and her thoughts turned back to the conversation that she heard.

“What are you thinking about?” Harry asked softly.

“I just heard an interesting conversation that Allie had on her phone,” Hermione explained.

“What exactly did you hear?” Harry asked.

“She was asking is everything has been taken care of and that everything is going well as long as everyone minds their own business. It just strange to hear and convinces me that she is up to something. What I still don't know,” Hermione explained.

“Do you think that she has something to do with Lisa's disappearance?” Harry asked.

“I wouldn't know how I would link anything to her but wait a second… you know while I was talking with Joan on the phone, Allie called out to me,” Hermione added.

“Do you think she knew about the meeting?” Harry asked.

“I can't say for sure but it is possible,” Hermione replied.

“Well that phone call was a little bit suspicious but you're right about how it doesn't tell us anything about Lisa,” Harry answered thoughtfully.

Just then the computer beeped and they turned their attention back to the computer and saw Lisa entering her room about a few minutes later according to the time on the surveillance camera.

“Okay now let's see when she left her room,” Hermione commented.

“So honestly do you think that Allie is involved?” Harry asked.

“Let's just say that I have a gut feeling that she is involved,” Hermione replied.

“The odds are definitely against her,” Harry replied thoughtfully.

“I guess that we just have to wait,” Hermione said turning her head back to the screen.

The computer beeped again and once again they turned their attention back to the screen and just when they thought the saw something the screen turned black and when the screen came back on the hallway was empty until a couple of minutes later Lisa left the room.

“Why did the screen go black?” Hermione asked curiously out loud.

“Maybe something was wrong with the camera?” Harry suggested.

“Maybe, but I have to get back. I'll leave my computer here for you since I can't come in carrying it since I didn't leave with it” Hermione replied with a shrug as she looked at her watch.

“Then you better had back but remember what you promised me?” Harry reminded her.

“Don't worry I'll remember,” Hermione answered giving him a hug.

Harry kissed her gently on the forehead and said, “Remember to call me if you find out anything or if you need me.”

Hermione blushed and smiled and gave his should a quick squeeze before heading out the door.

Harry watched her leave with a smile on her face and turned his head back to the computer muttering, “I hope I know how to use this.”

Just then the phone rang and Harry looked and saw that it is Hermione and said, “Just the person I hoped to hear from.”

“Did you miss me already?” Hermione asked with a laugh.

“Always,” Harry replied with a grin.

“There is a document for using the program is on my computer,” Hermione told him.

“Ah, you are a mind reader now,” Harry teased her.

“What can I say? I'm a woman of many talents,” Hermione replied with a giggle.

“Now that is the truth,” Harry added.

“Ciao,” Hermione said.

“See you in a bit,” Harry added and hung up.

“She really is something special,” Harry said grinning as he opened the program.

Hermione was smiling as she opened the door back to the mansion and walked into the kitchen.

“You look like you're in a good mood. Good news?” Christine asked.

“I guess in a way it is. I was talking to the producer and he told me not to worry about Lisa because her family and friends aren't worried and things like this have happened before,” Hermione explained.

“That's good to know. But do you think that you mind if we give her a quick call?” Christine suggested.

“I'm sure that it wouldn't hurt,” Hermione answered with a nod.

“I was just wondering what number for Lisa do you have?” Christine asked.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“I just wanted to know if maybe she gave you a cell number or something,” Christine explained.

“Let me go and check,” Hermione said heading upstairs to her room and looked through the sheets that were give to her and found a number that was written down next to Lisa and headed back downstairs.

“This is the number that I have for Lisa,” Hermione replied handing it over to Christine.

“Thanks, I haven't tried this number yet,” Christine said as he walked on over to use the phone.

“Guys,” Allie said rushing into the room.

“What is it Allie?” Chloe asked.

“I've got Lisa on the phone,” Allie told them.

“Really? Did you call her?” Christine asked.

“Actually I did,” Allie answered.

“Lisa?” Chloe asked taking the phone.

“Put it on speaker,” Hermione suggested.

“Just wait a moment while we put you on speaker,” Chloe said and pressed the button.

“Lisa are you alright?” Christine asked.

“Hey everyone, I just wanted to let all of you know that I am fine and not to worry. I'm sorry that I left in such a hurry but I had a urgent call from a friend of mine who wanted some help. So I probably won't be able to come back until after show is over but I wish all of you the best of luck,” Lisa replied.

“Where are you?” Hermione asked.

“I'm staying with a friend,” Lisa answered.

“We'll miss you. Take care Lisa,” Christine piped in.

“Thanks but I've got to go,” Lisa replied in a rushed tone.

“Call us if you need any help,” Hermione commented.

“Bye,” Chloe added.

“See you soon,” Allie said after a moment and hung up the phone.

“Well, it looks like you were right Hermione,” Christine replied with a smile.

“I'm glad that she is feeling better,” Chloe added.

“Yes, now we can enjoy ourselves again,” Allie added.

“Yes that is true,” Hermione answered with a small smile.

“Is there anything wrong?” Christine asked.

“Of course not, I was just thinking what a coincidence that it was that just as we were going to call Lisa that Allie managed to get through to her.

“What can I say except that great minds think alike,” Allie replied with a smile.

“I guess so,” Hermione added.

“I'm glad to be of help,” Allie said.

“I'm going to head upstairs now,” Hermione told her.

“Wait a minute,” Allie said.

“What is it Allie?” Hermione asked.

“I was just wondering if you were still worried about Lisa?” Allie asked.

“I was but now that I heard her voice, I'm not so worried,” Hermione answered carefully.

“I don't know but I was just getting the distinct feeling that you still feel a bit uneasy about the whole situation,” Allie pressed.

“Now, why would I feel that way?” Hermione asked.

“I don't know but I was wanted to make sure that you were okay,” Allie replied.

“I'm fine and my mind is definitely at ease,” Hermione answered.

“That is really good to know because you know what people say about curiosity killing the cat,” Allie replied.

“Well you don't have to worry about me,” Hermione replied.

“I'm glad to hear that,” Allie replied and gave a sweet smile.

“There is definitely something fishy going on,” Hermione muttered to herself and continued to head upstairs to her room and grabbed her cell phone and dialled a familiar number.

“It's me. We just heard from Lisa,” Hermione told Harry.

“Really? When?” Harry inquired.

“Just a few moments ago, in fact it was right before we were going to give her number a try,” Hermione explained.

“Is she okay?” Harry asked.

“She seems to be fine or at least that is what she told us,” Hermione answered.

“That's good but…” Harry prompted her.

“I just get the gut feeling that there is more to this story,” Hermione confessed.

“And what made you come to this conclusion?” Harry asked.

“Well it's just too much of a coincidence that Allie would call her just before we were going to and she said something to me,” Hermione continued.

“What did she say to you?” Harry asked.

“It wasn't like she came out and said that she had something to do with it but I think that she in her own way was telling me to back off,” Hermione explained.

“What exactly did she say?” Harry asked.

“She was talking about how curiosity killed the cat,” Hermione answered.

“Now that does sound like a subtle warning,” Harry said thoughtfully.

“But…” Hermione interjected.

“Well since she warned you then maybe it isn't all of her fault,” Harry added.

“I guess that could be a possibility,” Hermione commented after a moment.

“So what do you have in mind?” Harry asked.

“I thought that maybe we could take a look at the tape again and maybe check on a few things,” Hermione suggested.

“Well I've been re-watching that footage a few times and I don't see anything new,” Harry answered.

“Does it still turn black?” Hermione asked.

“It still does and I still don't know why but I talked to someone in the production team and they said that it does happen sometimes if there was a glitch with the equipment,” Harry explained.

“Okay, then we must move on to the next logical step,” Hermione started.

“And what exactly is that?” Harry asked.

“I thought we could a bit of investigating. Are you going to help me?” Hermione asked.

“If you need help, I'll be there,” Harry added.

“That's good then meet me outside in half an hour,” Hermione instructed.

“I'll see you then,” Harry replied.

“Thanks Harry,” Hermione replied.

“No problem. You know that I'll always be here for you,” Harry responded with a smile.

“I know. See you later,” Hermione replied and hung up the call and smiled and headed back downstairs.

“Hey girls,” Hermione called out the Chloe and Christine.

“Hey Hermione,” Chloe called out.

“What do you have there?” Hermione asked looking at the piece of paper.

“I don't know yet but it must be from Harry,” Christine explained.

“Oh then we better go and get Allie,” Hermione replied.

“I think she's up in her room,” Christine answered.

“Nope, I'm downstairs,” Allie said entering the room.

“We were just looking for you,” Hermione called you.

“Okay then what's up?” Allie asked.

“We just got a letter from the producer and we wanted to make sure that we read it all together,” Chloe answered.

“Well then what are you waiting for?” Allie exclaimed.

“Okay then,” Chloe answered opening the envelope.

The note read:

Dear Chloe, Christine, Allie and Hermione

I hope all of you guys are enjoying the time you've had on the show and we wanted to let you know that since Lisa has elected to leave the show the usual rose ceremony will not be taking place but a special event will be taking place so please be ready and assemble in the corridor as usual at the usual time.

Sincerely,

Ken- the producer.

“I'm kind of excited for tonight,” Chloe replied.

“I wonder what the surprise is,” Christine commented.

“I guess we won't know until later tonight,” Hermione added.

“I'm looking forward to it,” Allie added.

“This is definitely something to look forward to. Do you guys have any ideas?” Christine asked.

“I'm probably guessing that maybe a group activity or something like that since we aren't eliminating anybody,” Allie answered.

“That makes a lot of sense,” Christine said thoughtfully.

“I'm going to head out for a bit,” Hermione told them.

“Where are you heading?” Chloe asked.

“There are a few things that a friend of me asked me to get for her,” Hermione answered quickly.

“If you're heading towards the mall, can you wait for me and we can go together,” Allie suggested.

“Actually I'm not heading towards that direction,” Hermione replied.

“Oh well then I'll see you later,” Allie replied.

“I'll be back soon,” Hermione said with a wave.

“See you soon,” Christine called out.

Hermione headed over to Harry's and knocked on the door.

“Hey, I'm ready,” Harry replied as he opened the door.

“That's good so we don't waste any more time,” Hermione commented.

“So where are we headed?” Harry asked.

“I need to pick up some information on Allie,” Hermione explained.

“Where are we going to do that?” Harry asked.

“Remember how I told you about visiting her old high school?” Hermione added.

“Yes and I'm guessing that you would like to take a look at her file?” Harry finished.

“Exactly, I knew that you were smart,” Hermione answered with a smile.

“I don't know if I should be insulted or not,” Harry added.

“I'm sure that you'll be able to figure it out,” Hermione replied with a eye wink.

“Then I'll take it as a compliment,” Harry replied.

“Whatever you want to believe,” Hermione told him with a smile.

“Well, let's get going,” Harry replied.

“Now that's what we're talking about,” Hermione said.

“So why don't you lead the way,” Harry suggested.

“Just come with me,” Hermione told him taking his had and they both apparated to the Rutheford high school.

“Okay, so I'll distract the secretary while you sneak in,” Hermione instructed.

“Alright but what am I looking for?” Harry inquired.

“Well, the principal keeps the files in a locked cabinet. From my memory he kept her file in the second top drawer,” Hermione answered.

“So all I need to do is get the file?” Harry asked.

“Yep,” Hermione confirmed.

“So are you ready?” Harry asked.

“As if you need to ask,” Hermione told him with a smile.

“Okay then lead the way,” Harry replied gesturing toward the door.

Hermione walked on up to the secretary's office and said, “Hello Carolyn?”

“Jane? Is that you?” Carolyn asked.

“Yes it is. Is Principal Pierce in?” Hermione asked.

“Actually he is on break now,” Carolyn replied.

Hermione gestured for Harry get going and said, “So how are you doing?”

“I'm doing great. I just spent the weekend with my nephew and niece so things are going pretty well,” Carolyn replied.

Hermione smiled and watched Harry appartate into the principals's office.

“How old are they?” Hermione inquired.

“Well my nephew's name is Sean is 7 year…” Carolyn continued.

Harry was inside the principals office and was going through the file cabinets to determine which ones help the information that we wanted.

“Why does he have so many files?” Harry muttered to himself as he looked through the files.

“If you would like you could wait for Principal Pierce in his office if you like?” Carolyn asked.

“Could I really?” Hermione asked sweetly.

“Of course, he'll be back from his meeting in about 10 minutes,” Carolyn replied.

“Thank you and tell him that I only need a few minutes of his time,” Hermione told.

“It was nice seeing you Jane,” Carolyn replied.

“It was nice to talk to you too,” Hermione said heading quickly into the office.

Hermione quietly entered the room and was amused to see Harry trying to open the door.

“What are you doing?” Hermione asked curiously.

“I'm trying to get this drawer open since its locked,” Harry explained.

“Have you forgotten that you have other ways of getting the drawer open?” Hermione asked.

“Oh right,” Harry said sheepishly as he took out his wand and the drawer opened.

“Now wasn't that so much easier?” Hermione commented.

“I would have thought of that eventually and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use magic,” Harry protested.

“We'd better hurry,” Hermione said looking into the drawer and pulled out the file.

Harry looked over her shoulder and commented, “That looks like a pretty big file.”

“Now all I have to do is make a copy of this file and place this back so that he won't realize that it is missing,” Hermione explained.

“Well then you better hurry,” Harry said looking at the time.

“It'll only take a moment,” Hermione responded.

“Okay, I'll stand watch near the door,” Harry told her.

Hermione nodded and picked up her wand and placed it over the file and slowly a file appeared next to it and slowly filled up with papers.

“Someone is coming in,” Harry told her.

With a quick flick of her wand the file returned back to its original place and she quick sat down.

“Hello Jane,” Principal Pierce.

“Hello, it's nice to see you too,” Hermione added.

“Now who is this?” Principal Pierce asked pointing towards Harry.

“Oh I forgot my manners. This is one of my best friends Harry,” Hermione introduced.

“Nice to meet you Harry,” Principal replied.

“It's nice to meet you too,” Harry said shaking his hand.

“So what can I do for you?” Principal Pierce asked.

“I just wanted a few moments of you time and ask you a couple of questions,” Hermione said placing down the file.

“Ask away,” Principal Pierce replied.

“I just wanted to ask you if you have seen Allie or talk to her since the last time we talked?” Hermione inquired.

“I haven't,” Principal Pierce answered.

“How about any other old students?” Hermione inquired.

“Nope but is there anything wrong?” Principal inquired.

“Everything is fine, I just wanted to ask a few follow-up questions,” Hermione explained.

“Oh, do you have any more questions?” Principal Pierce asked.

“Nope and thank you so much for your time,” Hermione told him.

“Any time,” Principal Pierce asked.

“We've got to get going,” Hermione replied.

“If you have any other questions, please feel free to give me call,” Principal Pierce answered.

“Thank you if I do need you I will,” Hermione answered with a quick wave and headed out the door.

They headed out the door and headed back towards Harry's house and walked inside.

“I can't wait to take a look at what they discovered on her,” Hermione told him.

“Sure Jane,” Harry replied.

“It's not like I could actually use my real name,” Hermione said rolling her eyes.

“I think that Jane totally suits you,” Harry added.

Hermione gave him a look proceeded to open the documents.

There were transcripts of her grades during the couple of years she was at the school and noticed that she got straight A's. Then came a list of teacher reviews which were all raves. Then came a list of her extracurricular activities which included many groups that helped others, She flipped through a few more reviews and interviews that she had at the school before she came to her old transcript from her previous school.

“Did you find anything interesting?” Harry asked.

“I'm just looking at an old transcript of hers from her old school,” Hermione replied.

“And what does it say?” Harry asked encouraged.

“It doesn't say anything except that she is a tremendously talented student and that they don't believe in giving grades,” Hermione explained.

“I don't know of any schools that do that,” Harry commented.

“And then there is this fax that principal sent the school just says that the fax number did not work and they never got a response,” Hermione replied.

“Maybe the fax machine didn't work,” Harry answered with a shrug.

“But they tried faxing it at least 20 times,” Hermione added.

“Now that is extremely interesting. Did you find anything else?” Harry asked.

“Just this blank paper,” Hermione said looking closely at the paper.

“Are you sure there isn't anything on it?” Harry asked.

“I guess I can try to see if anything is hidden,” Hermione replied.

“Using magic?” Harry asked.

“Yes, Brainiac,” Hermione said taking her wand out from its hiding place.

“Revela,” Hermione said and noticed nothing happened and tired again a couple of times.

“Whats's wrong?” Harry asked.

“It's not working,” Hermione explained.

“Let me try it,” Harry said moving forward.

“Give it your best shot,” Hermione explained.

Harry tried doing the same spell a few times and still nothing.

“I see that it's not just me,” Hermione said with a laugh.

“I see that we must be using the wrong spell,” Harry added.

“What spell do you suggest then?” Hermione asked.

“Why don't you watch and find out,” Harry replied.

“Okay,” Hermione said.

Harry tried a few different spells and nothing happened until Harry fell to the floor.

“What happened?” Hermione asked

“I actually think that the sheet of paper is somehow protected,” Harry explained.

“Protected by magic?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, I got shocked by something,” Harry responded.

“Well in that case, then maybe if we both tried doing this together,” Hermione suggested.

“Okay, as long as it works,” Harry said shrugging.

“Let's try this together,” Hermione reported.

Harry nodded and followed her lead.

“One, two, three,” Hermione started and together they blasted their wands and the paper began to glow and words appeared.

Faerway's Academy for the Gifted

Known for training up and coming gifted magical individuals.

Marks for Trainee 11690193-FA

Transfiguration: 118 pts

Wishes : 120 pts

Dreamcatching: 110 pts

Cooking : 120 pts

Herbology : 110 pts

History : 110 pts

Ancient Spells: 120 pts

Defense against

Dark arts : 125pts:

Hours to all students who get above 100 marks

Top student awarded to trainee 11690193-FA

Comments: An extremely talented and smart student and very goal oriented. Very stubborn but gets the job done. Extremely determined to the point of scaring some of the other students. Has a bit of a tiny temper problem.

Counsellor: See attached report.

“She has been to see the councillor?” Harry asked.

“I had no idea but let's see what's on it,” Hermione replied turning the page over.

Counsellor comments: She seems to be a bit forlorn and distant. Kind of a loner and likes to work alone. There have been a few complaints about some of her behaviour but I had a talk with her and the complaints seemed to have stopped. She still seems to be angry at her parents for abandoning her but she doesn't like talking about them and displays some hostile attitude towards her family and has a bit of an anger management problem. But we are making progress on the problem and it appears to be getting better.

“So we know for sure that she is magical then and that she must have had a bad childhood and that we should definitely keep a look out for her,' Harry complimented.

“You know that the name of the school sounds so familiar to me. I must have read something about the school,” Hermione replied thoughtfully.

“I don't doubt that at all. You read a lot,” Harry replied rolling his eyes.

“In fact, I think I came across it when I was reading some books just because I wanted to brush up on my history,” Hermione said.

“And do you remember where you read it?” Harry asked.

“You know I loaded up some of the books onto my laptop so maybe I could do a quick search,” Hermione added heading back to her computer and began typing in a few sentences.

Harry sat down as he began to process the information that he received and the truth was he didn't know what to think about this new development.

“Harry I think I found it,” Hermione said gesturing for Harry to follow her.

“It says in this book that Faerway's school was founded hundreds of years ago but nobody is sure when and is famous for training fairies,” Hermione read.

“Fairies?” Harry asked.

“That's what it says but I didn't know that they actually still existed,” Hermione replied in surprised.

“But I thought that most fairies were tiny,” Harry commented.

“I think that is just a stereotype,” Hermione explained.

“Oh, but does that mean that she's a fairy?” Harry asked.

“Well not necessarily. The school has expanded and they just don't train fairies anymore,” Hermione replied scanning the page.

Just then there was a knock on the door and from the peep hole he saw that it was the producer.

“I should go,” Hermione said looking at her watch.

“You should go because we don't really want to explain this,” Harry said.

“I'll see you tonight then,” Hermione said and with a wink she was gone.

“What took you so long?” Ken asked.

“Sorry, I was in the bathroom,” Harry answered sheepishly.

“So are you ready?” Ken asked.

“Yes I am. So what exactly is the surprise for tonight?” Harry asked.

“Well you are going to go on a group date,” Ken explained.

“So is there a reason for your visit?” Harry inquired.

“Yes I just wanted to ask you to see if you can read this during the ceremony and if you want you can say a few words about Lisa,” Ken added.

“Sure but why are we doing this?” Harry asked confused.

“Because we want to pay a little tribute to Lisa because we know that the audience would like that we know that everyone still here misses her,” Ken replied.

“Is there something you aren't telling me?” Harry asked.

“Don't worry about it. It's nothing, just keep your energy up for the taping in an hour alright?” Ken said.

“Sure,” Harry said but he couldn't help but get a feeling that something was going to happen tonight.

-->

23. Surprises

A/N: Sorry for the long wait between chapters. I hope you guys enjoy it and I apologize in advance it I missed some spelling etc. I hope you guys enjoy the story and the suspense. Please review as it really does speed up updates and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 23

Hermione headed back into the mansion and headed back upstairs.

A few moments later there was a knock on her door and she opened it.

“Who's there?” Hermione asked opening the door.

“Do you have a moment?” Christine asked.

“Of course, come on in,” Hermione replied.

“I'm here for a couple of reasons,” Christine explained.

“Okay,” Hermione said sitting down on the bed.

“First of all I was just wondering if you don't exactly like hanging with us?” Christine asked.

“No, what would give you that idea?” Hermione asked.

“Because you are off on your errands a lot,” Christine explained.

“No, not at all, I just had a lot of stuff that I had to do,” Hermione added.

“I don't mean to be really suspicious but it seems weird that you have so many errands to run that the rest of us don't really seem to need to,” Christine added.

Hermione started to pace a little bit trying to answer that one but said, “But it wasn't just errands for me, they were for some friends of mine and I head to go meet some of my friends and for my work because some people aren't as competent as they should be.”

“I know how that can happen,” Christine said with a laugh.

“Do you guys all feel that way?” Hermione asked nervously.

“A little bit but it was Allie who actually brought it up,” Christine explained.

“What exactly did she say?” Hermione asked.

“Well she was just saying that she thought that it was strange that you were always out of the house and that maybe you were hiding something from us,” Christine answered.

“What do you think?” Hermione inquired.

“Honestly, I don't know. Some of the things she said were out of line but a few things she said seemed to make some sense but something tells me that I can trust you,” Christine answered after a moment.

“You do?” Hermione said.

“I do and everyone is entitled to their own secrets. And the other reason why I wanted to see you was to ask you what you thought about the whole Lisa situation,” Christine added.

“Why are you asking me?” Hermione added.

“Well because you were the only person to actually be able to talk to the producer and you seem good at reading people,” Christine answered.

“I guess that's true. Well the truth is I think the things that happened were all really strange but I can't really think of any reason why they would lie to us so I believe they said all they know. However, personally I feel like they should have been a bit more worried,” Hermione answered.

“So you think that something's wrong?” Christine asked.

“I don't know anything for sure but it's just a feeling that I get. How do you feel?” Hermione answered.

“I'm actually still a little bit worried but the phone call did help a lot,” Christine commented.

“Yeah, that phone call happened at the perfect time,” Hermione added thoughtfully.

“What are you thinking?” Christine prompted.

“Nothing, so what do you think will happen tonight?” Hermione asked quickly to change the subject.

“I have no idea but speaking of tonight, I need to go and get ready,” Christine added.

“I do too,” Hermione replied.

“So I'll see you downstairs then,” Christine said.

Hermione nodded and closed the door after she left and shook her head as she realized that she definitely needed to be more careful from now on with all the girls.

*~*~*~

Harry couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right all through the ride to the mansion and slowly walked up to the door and decided to just have a good time tonight and knocked on the door.

“Hello Harry,” Matthew said answering the door.

“Hello Matthew, how are you doing today?” Harry asked.

“I'm doing alright. I'm sorry to see that Lisa left the show,” Matthew replied.

“Yeah I am too. Did you hear anything else about what happened to her?” Harry casually asked.

“Nothing officially of course but I heard the producer on the phone and after he hung up seemed a tiny bit upset,” Matthew replied.

“Do you know what the phone call was about?” Harry asked.

“No idea but don't ask Ken about it because he seemed not to like people asking him about it,” Matthew advised him.

“Thanks for the advice,” Harry told him with a smile.

“No problem, I've got to talk to a few people before the ceremony begins,” Matthew told them.

“See you in a bit,” Harry told him looking around to see if Hermione had come down yet.

Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Allie standing there and he placed a smile on his face and asked, “Hello Allie, how are you doing?”

“I'm doing well and how are you doing?” Allie asked.

“Not too bad,” Harry replied.

“So how do you feel about the Lisa leaving the show?” Allie asked.

“I'm sorry that she left before the elimination ceremony and that I didn't get the chance to get to know her even better,” Harry answered carefully.

“I feel sad about that as well. I thought she could be a good friend as well,” Allie added.

Harry said, `I'm sorry but I was told that I had to talk to the director about something before the ceremony.”

“You've got to do what you have to,” Allie answered.

“I'll see you later then,” Harry told her quickly and walked off.

“He's avoiding me,” Allie murmured to herself and walked towards the makeup area.

Harry stood quite a way away and took a deep breath and went over to talk to some of the camera crew.

“How are you doing Peter?” Harry asked.

“Not bad but not too good. Are you all set for tonight?” Peter asked.

“As ready as I can be,” Harry replied.

“You should get back into the hall,” Peter replied after listening to the mike.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Harry replied walking towards the hall.

Hermione was walking down the stairs to get ready for the ceremony when she was pulled off to the side and turned around. She let go of the breath she was holding in when her eyes met with the familiar set of green eyes.

“You scared me,” Hermione scolded him.

“I'm sorry but I wanted to talk to you before anyone else,” Harry replied apologetically.

“What's wrong?” Hermione asked concerned.

“Well nothing, there's nothing in particular that was wrong with me but I heard something,” Harry answered.

“What did you hear?” Hermione asked softly.

“Nothing that is certain but Ken was worried about something,” Harry answered.

“What do you think he was actually worried about?” Hermione asked.

“Well I felt like he was hiding something from me earlier today when he was talking about Lisa,” Harry replied.

“So you think that Ken heard something that happened to Lisa but didn't tell us right?” Hermione replied slowly.

“Yes and how they all wanted us to say a few words about Lisa during the ceremony,” Harry added.

“That doesn't sound very good but we need to find out what he knows then,” Hermione commented.

“Do you have a plan?” Harry asked.

“Not yet but I will,” Hermione answered with a smile.

“We'd better get going,” Harry commented.

“Yeah we do need to be a bit more careful,” Hermione nodded.

“Did something happen?” Harry asked.

“It's just lately I've been out of the house a lot and the girls are starting to notice and they want to know what's going on. Yes Allie was the one to actually bring it up but Christine mentioned that she did think about asking me about it and of course if I were them I would be suspicious as well,” Hermione explained.

“I know what's going on and don't even go there,” Harry scolded her lightly.

“So what exactly am I thinking?” Hermione asked raising her eyebrows.

“You're starting to feel bad about lying to them and you want to tell them to truth but,” Harry started.

“But I shouldn't feel bad because it's all a part of the show and that they'll understand all of it because it wasn't like I wanted to hurt them,” Hermione finished for him rolling her eyes but smiling.

“Good. If you didn't know that then I would start getting worried. After all you are a know-it-all,” Harry replied.

“That's Miss know-it-all-who has-saved-your butt-at least -a -dozen-times to you,” Hermione replied back slapping him playfully in the arm.

“I thought that a know-it-all could at least count,” Harry teased her.

“And I thought that you were a gentleman,” Hermione replied back.

“I'm always a gentleman,” Harry responded gently taking her hand and kissed it with an exaggerated bow.

“What was that?” Hermione asked with a giggle.

“I was being a gentleman,” Harry answered.

“You think that would convince me that you're a gentleman?” Hermione asked in between bursts of laughter.

“It isn't polite to laugh you know,” Harry replied after he cleared his throat and placed his arm out.

“And now what are you doing?” Hermione asked holding back a giggle.

“It's it common knowledge that we allow ladies to go first and I am waiting to escort you inside,” Harry answered raising his head in a serious manner.

“That isn't being polite. That is just chivalry. I thought that chivalry was dead but apparently it is being reborn in you,” Hermione answered shaking her head.

“I was being completely polite in considering you a lady. I mean after your last burst of laughter I doubt anyone would consider you a lady. Suit yourself, there are surely a lot of girls that would love to take your place,” Harry answered back with a sly grin.

Hermione glared at him and sputtered out, “You little ego…”

“Out of words? Anger does not suit you,” Harry teased her walking away.

Hermione then followed quickly behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Harry turned around surprised as she grabbed his glasses.

“Hermione what are you doing?” Harry asked trying to find her form.

“I'm right in front of you,” Hermione said walking closer to him and pulled away as he reached for his glasses.

“You're not playing fair Hermione,” Harry said with a little uncertainty.

“I'm over here,” Hermione said waving the glasses.

“Two can play this game,” Harry replied after a moment and grinned and pretended to trip and fell to the ground.

Hermione rushed to his side and asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

Harry lowered his head and placed his arms around her waist and lifted her up.

Hermione gasped in surprise and said, “What do you think that you are doing?”

“I'm helping you off your feet,” Harry answered easily.

“Put me down this instant,” Hermione exclaimed.

“Did you say higher?” Harry teased her.

“Don't you dare,” Hermione said in a stern tone.

“Only if you apologize and give me back my glasses,” Harry answered back.

“Why do I need to apologize?” Hermione answered.

“You really won't apologize?” Harry asked again.

“I shouldn't be the one apologizing,” Hermione added.

“Okay then,” Harry added and tickled her.

“Stop,” Hermione replied in between giggles.

Harry shook his head with a grin and continued to tickler her and hoisted her higher up.

“Put me down. You know I don't like heights,” Hermione exclaimed nervously.

“Only if you apologize,” Harry answered.

“You are one little…” Hermione started.

“Excuse me, Harry?” A voice called out.

”Yes,” Harry asked and quickly put Hermione down. Both of them a bit embarrassed.

“Both you and Ms Granger need to head into the hallway,” a camera man told them.

“I'll be there in a minute,” Harry answered and turned to see Hermione heading off already.

“So I take it that Hermione may already have a place in your heart?” Matthew asked.

“What are you talking about?” Harry inquired.

“It's just the way that the two of you look at each other. It looks like there's something there,” Matthew explained.

“I don't have any idea what you're talking about,” Harry replied nervously.

“You don't have to pretend with me. There's nothing wrong with falling for a friend,” Matthew replied with a nudge.

“I know that and that's not the case between Hermione and me” Harry asked.

“Would it help if I thought that there was something on her side as well?” Matthew prodded.

Harry's head popped up and asked with interest, “Really?”

“I see I got your attention,” Matthew commented with raised eyebrows and a sly grin.

“Just answer the question,” Harry asked.

“Yep, I'd say to give the relationship a chance,” Matthew told him.

“We are just friends,” Harry said after a moment.

“Really, well can I give you a bit of advice?” Matthew asked.

“Sure,” Harry replied.

“I would tone it down if I were you,” Matthew commented.

“Tone what down?” Harry inquired.

“The way you are with Hermione just like before. It may cause quite a bit of jealously,” Matthew advised.

“We were just goofing off,” Harry answered.

“Others may see it as something else. You could easily be mistaken as a couple,” Matthew commented before heading off.

Harry just smiled slightly and headed off to the hallway.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. As all of you know a few things have changed since the last time you tuned in. I am unhappy to say that Lisa Reeves due to a personal emergency had to return home and will not be returning to the show. How do you all feel about that? ” Matthew asked.

“All of us are saddened by this news because we all were getting along quite well,” Christine answered.

“We all feel sad that we are losing a friend,” Chloe added.

“Lisa was a great girl and easy to get along with. We will all definitely miss her. Although it is also true that we have one less person to compete with though,” Allie said with a tiny laugh.

The other girls laughed a little as well.

“That is true and honest too. What about you Harry?” Matthew asked.

“I saddened by the fact that I won't get a chance to get to know her even better and that I won't be able to spend more time with her. Things were going really well between us but I'm glad that she was able to go back home and deal with her personal emergency. I know that I would do the same,” Harry replied.

“I agree that shows that she has a good sense of what's really important in life and makes me happy to know her,” Hermione added.

“I totally agree with you,” Christine added with a smile.

“Now tonight's rose ceremony will not take place and instead we will be having a group date. Harry, why don't you lead the way?” Matthew announced.

Harry nodded and said, “Are you guys ready to go?”

The girls nodded and followed Harry out the door.

“Ladies first,” Harry said opening the door.

“Thank you. You are such a gentleman,” Chloe replied with a smile.

Christine and Allie smiled as they also got into the limo.

Harry whispered, “You see they think I'm a gentleman.”

“Only because they want you like them,” Hermione whispered back teasingly.

“Why am I getting the feeling that you just want to burst my ego,” Harry replied pushing her into the car.

“I'm just telling you the truth,” Hermione whispered back with a grin.

Harry shot her a dirty look and entered in the limo himself.

“So where are we headed tonight?” Christine asked.

“Actually this time I don't really know. They just told me that it would be a surprise,” Harry answered.

“Well then we will just have to wait,” Allie replied with a smile.

“Yep, we do. I'm quite anxious myself,” Harry replied grinning.

“So did they give you any more hints?” Chloe asked.

“Not really,” Harry added.

“I think it's really nice for all of us to hang out together,” Hermione commented.

“We haven't done much of a group date for some time. It will definitely be fun,” Christine added.

“It looks like we're here,” Harry said looking outside.

“Where exactly is here?” Christine asked.

“I think that it's a karaoke bar,” Hermione replied looking out the window.

“Really?” Harry replied grimacing a bit.

“Is something wrong?” Allie asked concerned.

“Nothing is wrong,” Harry replied back pulling a light smile.

“It looks like you are a bit tense,” Hermione asked sweetly.

“I'm fine really,” Harry answered.

Hermione laughed quietly.

“What's funny Hermione?” Chloe asked.

“I just had a flashback with one of my best friends and singing. It was a funny sight,” Hermione replied.

“You mean that they can't sing?” Christine asked.

“No that was not what made it funny. He is not great singer but he wasn't horrible by all means. He just got picked to sing a song that wasn't right for his tone,” Hermione explained.

“You friend must have been horrified,” Chloe added.

“Oh he was completely mortified. Still is,” Hermione answered looking at Harry.

“I would be embarrassed as well,” Allie replied after a moment.

“Harry, how would you feel in that situation?” Hermione asked sweetly.

“Well if I was that person. I would only be a little embarrassed after all. It wasn't like he was a horrible singer. He just had to sing a bad song,” Harry added.

“I'm sure that Harry has a great voice,” Christine replied encouragingly.

“Thanks for your vote of confidence but I don't have a great voice,” Harry answered gratefully.

“I'm sure that you're just being modest but I don't have that great a voice either,” Chloe confided.

“I really doubt that,” Harry added.

“I don't have that many fond karaoke memories myself which is why I haven't sang for quite some time,” Chloe commented.

Harry grinned back at her in response.

“So who would like to sing first?” Allie asked changing the subject.

“I'd say that Hermione should go first,” Harry answered.

“That's alright. I'm not ready yet,” Hermione commented.

“Don't be nervous Hermione. I'm sure you'll do great,” Christine added.

“Hermione you aren't afraid are you?” Harry asked.

“Of course not. I will go first if you guys insist on it,” Hermione replied giving him a dirty glare.

“That's great. Let us pick you a song,” Allie added.

“What kind of song would you like to sing?” Chloe asked.

“How about this one?” Harry suggested with a grin.

“That's a good choice,” Christine commented.

“What song did you pick for me?” Hermione asked nervously.

“I'm sure you will be thrilled with the choice,” Harry told her with a sly look in his eye.

“So what is it?” Hermione asked nervously.

“On my own from les Miserables,” Harry answered.

“Really?” Hermione asked.

“Is that song a problem for you?” Chloe inquired.

“Of course not but I wouldn't expect anyone that I knew to pick that song for me,” Hermione explained.

“Do you want us to pick you another?” Christine asked.

“No it will be fine,” Hermione replied.

“You can do it,” Chloe added.

“I know I can,” Hermione replied directing the comment to Harry.

“Then go on and sing,” Harry replied holding back his laughter.

Hermione smiled but was angry inside as she knew that Harry had done that on purpose because he remembered her debacle at the karaoke party during a few years ago. But what Harry didn't know what that she had practiced and seriously improved as she did a lot of work to prevent that kind of situation from occurring again.

Hermione got up to the mike and waited for the familiar words to appear on the screen.

“On my own,” Hermione began to sing softly but firm at first and became more confident as the song continues on.

Harry was quite surprised at how good she sounded. It was quite different to the time that he had last heard her sing. She looked confident yet calm. She sounded really good. He should have known that she would have found a way to try and improve her technique in singing.

Once she was finished, everyone clapped. Harry the loudest especially and Hermione enjoyed the surprised look on his face and quickly winked at him with a smile.

“That was awesome Hermione,” Christine told her.

“It was awesome. You made it sound like you had a terrible voice,” Chloe teased her.

“Hermione you were just being modest weren't you?” Harry asked.

“I haven't sung in quite a long time and I wasn't sure what exactly I sounded like,” Hermione replied sheepishly.

“Well you sounded pretty confident. If I didn't know anything I would think that you had taken some lessons,” Harry added.

“I haven't taken any lessons at all but I did get some tips from a friend which helped quite a bit,” Hermione replied.

“I agree that practice is quite important in order to sing well but if you have no talent then no matter how much you practice, it still won't do any good,” Christine added.

“That is something that I agree with. There is this one girl that was in my high school who thought she was really talented entered our school talent competition being sure that she would win but ended up being teased about it for quite some time,” Chloe added.

“So was her year ruined?” Allie asked.

“Oh no. Only a couple of weeks being that she was one of the most popular and influential people at our school which I find to be completely unfair,” Chloe replied rolling her eyes.

“Don't you hate that?” Allie asked.

“Hate who?” Christine asked.

“People who others seem to like regardless of what they do,” Allie explained.

“I don't know about that. I mean yeah if they are mean but the girl that I was talking about is actually really nice so it's hard to hate her,” Chloe explained.

“Do you know someone like that?” Hermione asked.

“Not exactly, I mean I know her but we're not friends. In fact she doesn't even know that I exist,” Allie replied.

“That sounds horrible. Do you want her to know you?” Christine asked softly.

“Is she important to you?” Chloe asked.

“I want her to know who I am but she's not important to me. But she should know everything,” Allie replied in an angry yet eerie tone.

“Allie, what should she know?” Harry asked.

“I'm sorry but I don't want to talk about it anymore,” Allie replied smiling slightly.

“It's alright. Are you okay?” Hermione asked.

“I'm fine. I think I'll go up next,” Allie said standing up.

Chloe and Christine exchanged worried glances.

Hermione was beginning to get weird vibes coming from Allie. It worried her because she was getting the feeling that the comment was directed at her.

“Are you okay?” Harry whispered.

“I'm fine,” Hermione told her with a slight smile.

Allie chose to sing the song He loves u not by Dream.

Her voice was similar to Hermione but she sang with more confidence and conviction in her voice. She danced with the music and made gestures in tune with the music.

Chloe and Christine clapped and said, “Great job Allie.”

“Thanks you guys,” Allie replied with a smile.

“Good job,” Hermione told her .

“What did you think?” Allie asked turning towards Harry.

“I think you did a great job with the song,” Harry told her.

“Not a song I would picture you singing,” Chloe replied.

“I wanted to go for something a little bit different,” Allie answered taking a sip of a drink.

“I'll go up next,” Christine said standing up.

Christine chose to sing Celine Dion song “It's all coming back to me now.”

As she was a singer she saw the song beautifully.

Hermione smiled and turned to look towards Harry and saw that he was engrossed in watching her and once again she felt a tinge of jealousy.

“Way to go Christine,” Hermione told her once she was finished.

“You did an amazing job. Although you do have an unfair advantage over us,” Chloe teased her.

“Great job Christine,” Allie told her.

“You sang beautifully,” Harry told her with admiration in her voice.

“Thanks you guys and I definitely have more experience than you guys but its not a competition is it?” Christine asked.

“Of course not,” Hermione answered reassuringly.

Just then a waiter entered the room and handed Harry a piece of paper.

“What is it Harry?” Hermione asked.

“It looks like they have planned a game for us,” Harry answered.

“What kind of game?” Chloe asked.

“Basically it's kind of a quiz to see how well you guys know each other and what exactly I know about you,” Harry replied.

“That sounds interesting. So what are the questions?” Christine inquired.

“It says here that you guys have already answered these questions in a questionnaire that you guys filled in about a week ago and they chose from those questions,” Harry added.

“Okay, I wondered why they wanted us to answer those questions,” Chloe commented.

“So what's happening next?” Allie asked.

“Well we get to see your answers and mine,” Harry told them.

A waitress entered the room and said, “I'm here to get the answers from Mr. Potter before revealing your answers.”

“That'll be interesting to know,” Chloe added.

“Okay then why don't we start with the first question,” the waitress whose nametag said Alice.

“So who do you think would be considered the most energetic?” Alice asked.

“Out of all of the girls I would have to say Chloe,” Harry replied with a smile.

“The girls seemed to think the same way,” Alice replied.

“That's good right?” Harry asked.

“Yep I would think so. On to the next question, which of these girls do you think to be the heartbreaker?” Alice asked.

“Um.. that would be hard to judge from but I would say probably be Chloe or Allie. I'd guess I'd have to go with Chloe,” Harry answered.

“Why would you say Chloe?” Alice asked.

“Well I'm not saying that she would mean to break hearts but from the way that she composes herself and she is beautiful that would very easily be the case,” Harry answered.

“And why would you eliminate Allie?” Alice asked.

“Because from what I know of her she doesn't seem like that type of person from what she has told me,” Harry answered.

“Okay that's good. Let's see how the results turned out. Now it looks interesting. It seems like Hermione and Chloe are tied,” Alice answered.

“Hermione?” Harry asked surprised.

“You look surprised. Is there a reason for it?” Alice curiously asked.

“Hermione is not a heartbreaker, I mean just look at her. She's beautiful and smart and funny and I just don't see why anyone would think that about her,” Harry explained and darted towards Hermione.

Hermione looked a little sad but otherwise fine and gave him a quick smile.

“Okay then on the second to last question then. Which girl remaining would you consider to be everybody's best friend?” Alice asked.

“Hermione,” Harry answered quickly.

“That was really quick, I guess you already knew the answer to that one,” Alice answered.

“Well we get along really well,” Harry replied sheepishly.

“That's good. And the girls popular pick would be Hermione as well, So girls what do you think about Hermione?” Alice added.

“Well for me personally, I thought that we got along quite well and would definitely be able to be friends outside of the show and she's easy to talk to,” Christine answered.

“That's good. Now down to the final question which is really strange in a way. If there was a crime to be committed and all of these girls were suspects. Who would be the last person that you suspect?” Alice asked.

“That'll have to be Hermione,” Harry answered.

“And could you elaborate on why you chose Hermione?” Alice asked.

“Basically because Hermione is a caring, smart individual and she just wouldn't commit a crime,” Harry answered.

“So basically it's just a feeling?” Alice probed.

“It's just that the moment I met her, I knew that I could trust her. No reason why, it's just a feeling that I got,” Harry explained.

“We do depend on a feeling in our gut a lot. According to these result, the winner was Christine but Hermione was a close second,” Alice replied.

“That was kind of fun, Is there anything else Alice?” Harry asked.

“Actually there is one final thing that will be announced after the last person has sung,” Alice replied leaving the room.

“Chloe you're up,” Hermione told her encouragingly.

“Okay I'm going to pick I'll be by Edwin McCain, “Chloe replied flipping through the pages.

“I like that song. Don't butcher it,” Allie teased her.

“I'll try my best,” Chloe replied back in mock anger.

Christine just laughed.

Chloe started off the song very softly at first and then quietly but then came back much stronger. She was not the best singer but she could hold her own and Harry admired her determination to finish the song even though she could not always find the right note.

“Good job Chloe. It was awesome,” Hermione told her.

“Yep it was good for a amateur and you didn't butcher it up too badly,” Allie answered.

“Thanks I think,” Chloe told Allie.

“No it was a compliment,” Allie added.

“You did a good job Chloe. Don't listen to Allie. It was not at all butchered,” Christine told Allie.

“Thanks Christine. I think I'll take the compliment of a real professional,” Chloe commented.

“One that is too nice,” Allie added in undertone.

“Did you say something?” Christine asked.

“Nothing,” Allie told her pouring herself some water.

“So are you guys all ready for the final surprise?” Alice asked.

“Sure,” the girls chimed in together.

“Okay then,” Alice said handing them a envelope.

Dear Allie, Christine Chloe and Hermione,

I hope that you have all enjoyed the date and had some fun for tonight will be the final night for one of you. There will be an elimination ceremony tonight after all.

Thanks

Ken.

“A rose ceremony?” Chloe asked surprised and a little uneasy.

“I had no idea myself. Wow They didn't tell me either,” Harry answered surprised.

Just then Alice came in and handed him the phone.

“Hello?” Harry asked.

“The rose ceremony will take place as soon as she guys get back to the house so be ready,” Ken replied.

“So soon?” Harry asked.

“Yep so make your decision carefully but quickly,” Ken told him

“Okay,” Harry answered.

“It was a last minute decision so I wasn't able to tell you earlier,” Ken explained apologetically.

All of the girls left the karaoke place quickly in the car and all were quickly driven back to the mansion.

Hermione gave him a quick reassuring squeeze as she left the limo.

Harry smiled in response and waited in the limo. At this point in the show they had agreed previously that Hermione would be eliminated earlier on in the game but now he wasn't so sure. He was wrestling with his decision as he wasn't a hundred percent confident in his feelings at this point. It was happening must too quickly and he had wanted more time to think.

Harry got out of the limo a few minutes later and took a deep breath and walked inside.

Matthew greeted him as he entered and shook his hand.

“Are you ready?” Matthew asked.

“I guess so. Not that I have much choice do I?” Harry asked.

“I guess not but I'm sure you'll make the best choice,” Matthew commented with a smile.

“I'm as ready as I can be,” Harry told him signalling to start and looking across the room and seeing that Allie and Chloe were in some sort of discussion.

“Ladies and gentleman welcome to a special rose ceremony where one of our lovely ladies will be eliminated tonight,” Matthew said into the mike.

Harry walked towards the table and grabbed a rose and took a deep breath.

“Hermione,” Harry called out.

Hermione gasped in surprise but caught herself and walked up.

“Will you take this rose?” Harry asked.

“I will,” Hermione replied nodding and gave him hug.

Harry said, “I still need you.”

Hermione smiled and kissed him lightly on the mouth surprising the both.

Harry was surprised at first and smiled at her as she walked back to her place.

“Christine, will you accept this rose?” Harry asked.

“Yes, I'd love to,” Christine answered with a smile and Harry gave her a quick hug before pulling back.

Harry was looking at Allie and Chloe and was about the call out the name of the person to receive the final rose.

Chloe walked forward and said in a quivering voice, “I'm sorry but I can't do this. It's all my fault.”

“What is it?” Christine asked.

Chloe burst into tears.

-->

24. Learning the truth about Allie

A/N: I'm sorry about the long wait you guys had for this chapter. I would have had it up sooner but my computer crashed and I lost everything that I wrote so I had to start from the beginning again and then other things happened an my internet wouldn't work for awhile so now I finally have things sorted up. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will try to update the next chapter a lot of sooner. Please review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't won HP JK Rowling does. I don't own the bachelor. ABC does.

Chapter 24:

Everybody looked at Chloe with surprise and asked, “What's wrong Chloe?”

“I can't take it anymore. It was my fault,” Chloe blurted in between tears.

“What are you talking about Chloe?” Christine asked confused.

“You know the reason why Lisa had to go home?” Chloe replied.

“Yes so…” Hermione asked.

“Well I was the one to convince her to go home,” Chloe explained slowly.

“You mean there was no real emergency?” Christine inquired.

“Their was a reason for her to go home but I just made it into a bigger deal than it actually was ,” Chloe admitted.

“But how did you convince her to go home?” Allie asked.

“It was a bit of luck I guess. Once we got back home from the dinner I went in to see how Lisa was doing and she was telling me about how she was worried about one of her friends. And she had to leave the room for the bit and the phone rang and she asked me to answer it and it happened to be her friend. So I told Lisa that I thought that it was best for her to go back home because it seemed like her friend really needed her,” Chloe explained crying slightly.

“And Lisa didn't question it?” Hermione asked softly.

“Well she didn't have a reason no to trust me and like I said she had been worried about her friend for awhile so she really didn't need much convincing,” Chloe replied.

“Why did you do it?” Christine asked.

“I don't know. It's just that I really wanted to be able to make it through the next elimination and Lisa was doing so well with getting picked and I just did it. I don't know why I just did it. ” Chloe added between tears.

“Chloe, I'm really surprised that you did this. So why hasn't she come back then?” Allie asked.

“I don't know. Probably did stay to help her friend but that is all I did,” Chloe answered sadly.

Just then some people in uniforms came in and whispered something to Matthew who looked quite shocked.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other in surprise silently asking each other what was going on.

“Chloe, these policemen would like to talk to you for a moment,” Matthew said.

“What?” Chloe asked looking extremely surprised.

“Did you have anything to do with disappearance of Lisa Reeves?” the policeman asked.

“She's missing? I had no idea,” Chloe answered.

“She was officially reported missing yesterday. You were the last person to have contact with her,” the policeman continued.

“No that isn't possible, the last time I saw her was at this house and maybe I talked to her on the phone when she had called before,” Chloe replied.

“Really?” the policeman asked.

“Yes that is the truth. Why are you asking me this?” Chloe asked surprised.

“Because this is a current investigation and we are trying to get to the truth to what really happened. Where were you the last couple of days?” he asked in a firm tone.

“I was here with the other girls filming this show and I was in the house most of the time,” Chloe replied.

“So you haven't left the house by yourself say yesterday?” the policeman asked again.

“No I haven't. Why do you keep asking me these questions?” Chloe asked exasperated.

“Because we have evidence to say the contrary,” he replied.

“What are you talking about?” Chloe asked looking up in surprise.

“Is this yours?” He asked bringing out a plastic bag with a card in it.

“That's my business card but how did you get it?” Chloe asked.

“We found it left on the floor near an apartment where she was last seen. I think you're going to have to come with us,” the policeman said gesturing to his partner to come forward.

“I don't know how my card got there but it wasn't me,” Chloe tried to explain again.

“That's what they all say,” the policeman replied and started talking to the producer.

“What do you think of the whole situation?” Harry asked Hermione in a whisper.

“I don't know Chloe all that well but I don't think we're seeing the whole picture,” Hermione answered.

“I think that something is off with this as well. Do you think that she did it?” Harry asked.

“Honestly I don't. This whole is just strange,” Hermione replied with a sigh.

“I think so too. I think this requires some investigating,” Harry answered.

“Are you suggesting that we look into the situation?” Hermione asked raising her eyebrows.

“Well I know that you want to so I thought that I'd say it first,” Harry whispered back.

“Please Harry. Don't use me as an excuse. You never could sit still for very long,” Hermione replied back.

Harry smiled in response and walked up closer to see if he could take a look at the evidence and saw that Hermione was walking forward as well.

“What's going on?” Harry asked Matthew.

“I think that right now they want to hold off on the filming of the show for now,” Matthew explained.

“Do you think they will go for that?” Harry asked.

“I'm not totally sure but from what I hear the producer wants to continue to show as if Chloe was eliminated,” Matthew replied.

“He wants to stay away from the bad publicity right? But we don't even know if Chloe had anything to do with Lisa's disappearance at all,” Harry added.

“True but she did admit to causing another contestant to leave so in that way she is already eliminated and that's all that matters,” Matthew explained.

“I see. I guess that makes sense in a way. Do you think you could do me a favor?” Harry asked.

“I will if I can,” Matthew answered.

“Do you think it would be possible for you to come up with a way for Hermione and I to go off and do a bit of our own thing for a couple of hours without making Allie or Christine suspicious?” Harry asked.

“I'm sure that I can come up with something but do I even want to know what you're up to?” Matthew inquired.

“Maybe it's best that you don't know then. Thanks a lot,” Harry told him and turned towards Hermione.

“So what were you guys talking about?” Hermione asked.

“I was just asking him about what's happening right now,” Harry explained.

“And….” Hermione prompted.

“Well it seems as if no matter what happens that Chloe has already been booted from the show because of how she handled the Lisa situation and now they don't want anything to do with her because they don't want any of the bad PR,” Harry answered.

“So that means it would be possible for this to be a setup because if somebody knew about how this thing works then they could get particular people to leave the show and save themselves,” Hermione added thoughtfully.

“And that would put the main suspicious on Christine or Allie then right?” Harry added.

“Well it is more highly likely to be one of the remaining contestants. But there is still a slight possibility it could be someone who works behind the scenes as well,” Hermione said.

“Well that's possible but they don't seem to have a reason to do that though,” Harry replied.

“Yes I'll admit that is not as likely and did you notice how Allie and Chloe seemed a bit chummy earlier?” Hermione asked.

“I did notice that they were talking alone a bit and were together most of the time,” Harry answered after thinking a moment.

“Well while you were chatting with Matthew I took the opportunity to talk to Christine for a bit. I wanted to chat with Allie but she was talking with somebody else,” Hermione piped up.

“I always knew you were never one to sit down and wait for answers. What did she say?” Harry asked eagerly.

“Well from what I got from her is this vibe where she doesn't seem to know anything and was upset to hear that someone she would call a friend would do something like this. She was very shocked but she really hopes that Chloe didn't do it. She doesn't seem to think that she could do something like that,” Hermione replied.

“Well I doubt that Christine had anything to do with it but you know as we have found out that things are not always want they seem,” Harry commented.

“I agree but my instincts tell me that this is more likely a work of Allie,” Hermione told him.

“Well then we have some investigating to do. I already talked with Matthew and he said that he'll come up with a reason why we're not around here. I think that I'll have a quick chat with Allie,” Harry replied looking around.

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Hermione asked nervously.

“What? You don't trust my investigation skills?” Harry asked hurt showing in his eyes.

“Of course I trust you but Allie seems to be tricky and we don't know much about what types of magic she may be using. Just be careful,” Hermione countered.

“I promise that I'll be careful as long as you promise to keep out of trouble,” Harry pointed out.

“I'm always careful,” Hermione retorted.

“So where exactly are you going?” Harry asked.

“I'm just going to get a closer look at the evidence,” Hermione answered.

“Okay then remember to call me once you find some answers,” Harry told her.

“I will. Remember be careful and be on guard,” Hermione reminded him.

“Okay, okay. Let's get going now,” Harry told her.

Hermione watched Harry walk towards Allie with a heavy heart and then headed off herself to the police station.

“Hi Allie, how are you doing?” Harry asked softly.

“Hi Harry, I'm not doing that great,” Allie replied with a slight smile.

“It has been a crazy time right now. Do you think that Chloe did it?” Harry asked carefully.

“You want to know what I think?” Allie asked.

“Of course, I think it would be good for all of us to talk it out,” Harry replied.

“Honestly I am quite surprised about the whole thing. Chloe did not seem like the type of person who would do something like this,” Allie answered.

“Did you get the sense of anything when you were talking with her earlier?” Harry asked.

“Not at all, I mean she seemed a little quieter than usual but that was all. She seemed to be fine the last time I saw her though,” Allie added.

“So you don't think that she had anything to do with her disappearance?” Harry asked.

“I don't think so but I don't know her all that well so I can't be a hundred percent sure,” Allie replied looking at him.

“So did you know anything about Lisa's disappearance?” Harry asked.

“No, why would you even ask me something like that? Do you think I had something to do with it?” Allie asked obviously upset.

“I am not at all suggesting that. Is there something you would like to tell me?” Harry countered.

“I'm sorry but it just seemed like you were directly asking me about it and I just couldn't believe that you would think so horribly of me” Allie broke off in tears.

“I'm not saying that you had anything to do with it but I just feel like you're keeping something from me and that's why I was asking,” Harry answered smoothly.

“That's all?” Allie asked quietly.

“Yes that's the only reason I was asking you anything,” Harry answered.

“Well then there is something that I have been keeping a secret,” Allie replied with a sigh.

“And what is it?” Harry asked eagerly.

“Well the truth is that I know who are. I've heard about you since I was young and I know that you're a wizard,” Allie replied slowly.

“Oh, and is that it?” Harry asked.

“Well there is this one other thing is that when I first signed up for the show I didn't know that you would be in it and I was quite surprised that you would even be on a show like this. Are you mad that I never told you?” Allie added.

“I can't be really because since we're on camera most of the time it would be hard for you to tell me and it's not like I actually told you myself so I can't really be mad about that,” Harry replied.

“Are you sure? Because I don't want to be rude or anything but I feel like you've been avoiding me and I just want this competition to be fair and that I have an equal chance of making it to the next round,” Allie asked.

“What would make you think that?” Harry asked.

“It's just a feeling that I get from you and I'm really hoping that I'm wrong but if its true I would really just like to know,” Allie replied

“Well I'm not avoiding you or else I wouldn't be talking to you right now would I?” Harry answered.

“I guess so but it seems more like you're question me than trying to see how I am,” Allie answered.

“I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I'm really not at all trying to avoid you,” Harry replied softly.

Allie looked up at him slowly with a hopeful look in her eyes and slightly smiled as Harry began to feel his worries slip away from him.

“Really?” Allie asked.

“I'm positive, I don't see any reason why I would be avoiding you,” Harry commented.

“So out of curiosity, who would you have chosen to stay me or Chloe?” Allie asked with a smile slightly touching his arm.

“I would have picked you,” Harry answered.

“Then I guess it all worked out,” Allie replied.

“I guess so,” Harry answered with a grin.

*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione had gone to the police station and silently followed the police to where they took Chloe and watched to see where they placed her file and evidence. She knew that she had to act quickly to take a peep at the file without arousing suspicion.

She came up with a quick idea and grabbed a cup of tea and pretended to trip and spilled the drink all over the receptionist.

“I'm so sorry. Let me help you” Hermione exclaimed mortified.

“That's alright, I'll go clean it up by myself. Just wait here,” the receptionist told her.

Hermione nodded looking down and waited until she was gone when she went behind the desk and took the file and quickly noted down the address of the apartment and placed the file back and quickly went back outside just in time to see the receptionist come back.

“So now what would you like?” She asked.

“I wanted to have a chance to talk to someone that was just brought in. Her name is Chloe,” Hermione told her.

“I'll see if she can have any visitors,” She replied dialing a number.

Hermione waited a few moments as she processed the events of the day.

“Okay we'll let you see her for a few minutes,” the receptionist said as she hung up the phone.

Hermione nodded and followed her into a small room and waited for a few moments before Chloe entered the room.

Hermione smiled a little as she watched Chloe's look of surprise.

“Hi Chloe,” Hermione said carefully.

“What are you doing here?” Chloe asked.

“I'm here to see how you're doing,” Hermione explained.

“I'm doing as well as I possibly can here in holding,” Chloe replied.

“So what really happened?” Hermione asked.

“What do you mean?” Chloe asked confused.

“I mean I believe that you didn't have anything to do with Lisa' disappearance but I was just wondering what made you tell that lie to Lisa?” Hermione asked again.

“Honestly I don't know. It just felt like something that I had to do. It just popped into my head out of nowhere and then I did it. It was really strange and then today…” Chloe started.

“What happened today?” Hermione asked.

“I was just talking with Allie last night and then I don't really remember what happened afterwards and then before I knew it was time for the date,” Chloe explained.

“You don't remember anything?” Hermione asked.

“Nothing, totally blanked out,” Chloe replied.

“Why didn't you tell the police that?” Hermione asked.

“Because it would make me look even more suspicious,” Chloe answered.

“You're right. It would, do you have any recollection of the place they said that you went to?” Hermione asked.

“I don't remember it at all when they showed it to me. Do you think any of the other girls will come and visit me?” Chloe asked.

“I don't know but did you want to talk to Allie?” Hermione asked slowly.

“No, I just wanted to know if anybody else was going to visit me that's all,” Chloe replied.

“If it makes you feel any better I think that Harry believes in you too,” Hermione replied after a moment.

“You think so?” Chloe asked with a smile.

“Your time's up,” the guard interjected.

“I do and I will try to help you get out,” Hermione told her.

“Don't, please don't bother. I'm sure that everything will work out because I didn't do it,” Chloe replied.

“I'm sure that it will but it doesn't hurt to check it out,” Hermione added.

“Hermione please don't,” Chloe said before heading back inside.

Hermione was quite shocked to hear that she didn't want her to help but shook it off as that she didn't want her to get hurt or go to so much trouble.

“Mind your own business if you know what's best for you.”

“What?” Hermione said and looked around and saw nobody but had the feeling that she was being watched and hurried out of the building.

*~*~*~*~

“Thanks for believing in me Harry,” Allie told him.

“No problem,” Harry replied with a smile.

“Do you know where Hermione is?” Allie asked.

“I have no idea but I'm sure that she's around,” Harry answered.

“Yeah,” Allie answered looking around.

“Why are you so interested in Hermione?” Harry asked suddenly.

“What?” Allie asked taken aback.

“It's just that you always seemed interested in knowing where she is and I just was curious as to why you are that way,” Harry added.

“I am but because I want to be her friend and I think she's great and I just want to get to know her better,” Allie explained.

“Well Hermione is a great person,” Harry replied with a smile.

“I think that you should take a chance and talk to Christine now,” Allie suggested.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Harry asked in a teasing tone.

“Of course not but I wouldn't want to accused of hogging all of your time,” Allie replied.

“I was thinking of finding some time to chat with Christine so I guess now is a good time. I'll see you later?” Harry asked.

“I'll be waiting,” Allie answered with a smile.

Harry headed off to Christine and said softly, “Hey.”

“Harry hi,” Christine replied trying to smile.

“How are you doing?” Harry inquired.

“I'm just feeling really sad,” Christine answered.

“The whole situation is horrible,” Harry responded.

“First of all I just can't believe Chloe would do something like that. I have spent all this time with her and we have really talked and I didn't think she was like that at all. And then now Lisa's really disappeared?” Christine added sadly.

“Don't be so hard on yourself. Nobody could have seen this coming,” Harry smoothly patted her on the back.

“And it's not only that really. The whole thing is unbelievable; I don't think Chloe would do something like this. It's just a gut feeling that I have and it usually isn't wrong,” Christine replied.

“I don't think that she has anything to do with either,” Harry added.

“I'm just hoping everything just gets sorted out soon and I really hope that they find Lisa really soon. I can't believe that she's really missing. I just talked to her a few days ago,” Christine said sadly.

“I'm sure that the police will do all they can and that she'll be found soon,” Harry added.

“I'm sorry but I'm just really emotional right now. This situation reminds me of my last boyfriend and makes me really sad,” Christine replied with a few tears.

“Come here,” Harry said giving her a hug.

“I'm really sorry but I can't help thinking about it,” Christine told her.

“There's no need to be sorry. We're all upset about what happened and I think about one of my friends that passed on even now many years later,” Harry replied.

Christine pulled away after a little while and smiled, “Thanks Harry.”

“Are you really okay?” Harry asked.

“I will be. I'm going to be positive and thanks again,” Christine replied.

“I'll see you later then,” Harry replied looking at his watch and then started to look around for Hermione.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione was just looking at the address and knew that it had looked familiar. It was at a place near where she had gone to meet Joan but not the same place but pretty close. This made her a bit suspicious so she decided to take a look inside. She tried the door but it was locked so she unlocked it with her wand

She stepped inside and saw that the place basically empty. There were tables and chairs but it didn't seem like anybody was actually living in the apartment. She wanted to look for any sign of maybe Lisa actually being there or Chloe being there.

She spent quite a bit of time looking around and saw absolutely nothing but she didn't want to give up so she decided on using another strategy. She decided to use a spell to see if anything had been hidden from her. And she saw that nothing seemed to appear before her.

Just then her phone rang and she picked it up, “Hello?”

“Hermione where are you?” Harry asked concerned.

“I'm investigating at this place,” Hermione answered.

“Alone? I told you to call me if you found anything,” Harry scolded her gently.

“Relax Harry. I know what I'm doing and I haven't found anything substantial yet. How about you?” Hermione inquired.

“Nothing really,” Harry answered.

“You got nothing from Allie?” Hermione asked.

“You know I've been thinking that maybe Allie didn't have anything to with this,” Harry answered.

“What? I thought we have been over this, she is the most likely person of the contestants to have anything to do with Lisa's disappearance,” Hermione added.

“Well I agree with that but we don't have any evidence to say that she really did have anything to do with it,” Harry added.

“What about the fact that she is so interested in looking into me?” Hermione pointed out.

“Well maybe she just wants to be your friend,” Harry replied.

“But researching me? That's not normal,” Hermione countered.

“Maybe she does it because she wants to be thorough,” Harry suggested.

“Okay just wait for me, there's something I need to tell you in person,” Hermione replied with a heavy sigh.

“See you in a bit,” Harry added.

“You idiot. I told you to be careful,” Hermione murmured to herself and apparated back to the mansion and walked inside and nearly jumped when she heard a voice say, “So what did you want to say to me?”

“Harry you shouldn't sneak up on people like that,” Hermione scolded him.

“I'm sorry about that but I just wanted to help you find what you were looking for,” Harry replied with a smile.

“And what was I looking for?” Hermione asked.

“A great looking guy,” Harry answered.

“Where?” Hermione asked looking frantically around.

“Ha, ha okay I'm going,” Harry replied walking away.

Hermione pulled him back, “Come here.”

“That's what I'm talking about. So what did you want to talk to me about?” Harry asked.

“Did you get anything about what Allie was chatting with Chloe about?” Hermione asked.

“Nothing special from what I heard. Is there something that I'm missing?” Harry asked raising his eyebrows.

“I was just chatting with Chloe and she sounded really out of it and from what she told me she doesn't remember what happened last night or why she did tell Lisa that lie but the only thing she did remember was talking with Allie,” Hermione explained.

“She doesn't remember anything?” Harry asked thoughtfully.

“I thought that was strange as well because normally with blackouts it happens but you don't wake up dressed and just before the date,” Hermione replied.

“I see what you're getting at. This does seem quite unusual and she didn't tell the police because that would make her look more suspicious. But logically doesn't that make it seem like maybe she could have done it?” Harry asked softly.

“If you just look at it like that then maybe you could be right but I happened to visit that place where she supposed met Lisa and guess where it was?” Hermione asked.

“Don't tell it was over there,” Harry asked surprised.

“Not exactly but it looked that place and it was really close to Joan' s apartment. That cannot be a coincidence and pair that up with the fact that Allie was the last person who talked to Lisa and that leads to too many coincidences that don't add up,” Hermione commented.

“You're right. The more I think about it, the more suspicious that she looks but we still don't have any proof and part of me still thinks that she didn't do it or at least she didn't plan it alone,” Harry said slowly sitting down.

“You know she probably didn't. I remember when I chatted with Joan I saw Allie and that she was in the mansion so she definitely didn't make the phone call from Joan. That means that somebody else made the phone call. I remember seeing some figure in her room before that looked quite sinister,” Hermione added.

“Well then she was probably corrupted,” Harry added.

“Harry, what exactly did she tell you?” Hermione asked shaking her head.

“Well she told me that she knew that I was a wizard you know and she seemed so sincerely sad about Chloe and the more we talked and my suspicious just felt like they weren't important anymore. I didn't even think about them anymore until you mentioned them again in that logical way that you did,” Harry answered.

“After all of your years of training and everything that you have seen, you know that things aren't always what they seem and that people are more complicated than you thought,” Hermione said softly.

“I know but I just want to give her a fair chance. Innocent until proven guilty,” Harry added.

“She got to you didn't she?” Hermione asked sadly.

“Don't look at me like that, its not that I don't believe you or have any suspicions about her. I just don't want to automatically condemn her,” Harry explained.

“What you say makes sense but my gut tells me otherwise,” Hermione added.

“I get it, but don't worry about me so much. I can take care of myself,” Harry replied.

“You've been saying that for years and no I will never stop worrying about you,” Hermione answered.

Harry gave her a hug and they walked off in the direction of the hall silently.

“You do know that you're very important to me right? That I wouldn't let anybody hurt you,” Harry whispered to her.

“I know and you know that goes the same for me,” Hermione said with a slight smile.

“Do you need me to do anything for you?” Harry asked.

“Well now that you mention it, I was hoping you could do me a favor,” Hermione asked.

“Of course, what is it?” Harry asked.

“I want to go back and take a look in that apartment again. Could you keep an eye on Allie for me?” Hermione asked.

“I think that you shouldn't go back there alone, I'll come with you,” Harry protested.

“I appreciate that you want to protect me but its more important to me that you keep an eye on Allie. Could you do that for me please?” Hermione pleaded.

“Fine but if you're not back in 30 minutes I'll come looking for you so you better give me the address too,” Harry added.

“I am a grown woman and I don't need a curfew. How about in a hour?” Hermione asked.

“I know you're capable but definitely not an hour. 45 minutes and that's final,” Harry answered.

“I love that you want to protect me but I'd say that you better be careful yourself,” Hermione added writing down the address.

“Like I have said, I can take care of myself,” Harry retorted.

“Yeah be careful around her and don't tell her anything,” Hermione reminded him.

“I'm totally insulted. I would never do anything to jeopardize you safety,” Harry replied with mock anger.

“I know that but you never know,” Hermione added looking down.

“No listen to me, no matter what I will not do anything to hurt you. Our relationship is important to me. You're important to me. She could never break that no matter what spell she uses. She can't change what's inside,” Harry said seriously as he took her arm.

Hermione nodded and walked away.

“You trust me?” Harry asked.

“Always,” Hermione replied with a smile.

Harry walked back inside and was looking around but he didn't see anybody around besides the crew.

“If you're looking for either Allie or Christine, I'm afraid that they're off in the studio doing some interviews and press stuff. They won't be back for a couple of hours,” the camera man said.

“Thanks for letting me know,” Harry replied with a smile.

Harry headed upstairs and had the sudden thought to take a look into Allie's room and do some work of his own and proceeded to head towards the room that he knew was Allies. The door was unlocked so he just walked inside. He knew that there were cameras but he turned them off with a quick wave of his hand.

He didn't know what he was looking for or where to start so he started to go through drawers to see if he could find anything of interest so decided to look in the closet and with a wave of his wand he began to see a few items appear before him. One was a notebook that appeared to be her journal as well as an old record player as well as a couple of boxes.

He opened the box first and found a few medals for great achievement in her studies as well as a few certificates for adoption and graduating from Faerway's. Nothing telling him much about her, so he opened the next box. Now this box was filled with different ids for different places as well as bugs and other equipment.

The next thing he opened hesitantly at first because after all a journal was supposed to be private. But the pages he found were blank. Which meant that they were probably protected from prying eyes but he tried using a few different spells but nothing appeared and was about to try again but then he saw the record player blink which was quite odd and quickly hid himself as he watched an image pop up in front of him.

“Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in a month and I wanted to see how you were doing and I hope that you have given up on that idea you had before about looking for your family because I and your teachers at Faerway's don't think that is the best way for you to heel. We're really worried about you. You have so much potential and future ahead of you. Don't throw it all away,” an older women wearing a hood said.

“What is she planning to do with her family that has gotten her so worried about Allie?” Harry wondered to himself.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione headed back into the apartment as quietly as she could because she didn't want to draw any attention to herself.

Being the observant person that she was she quickly scanned the apartment and notice that some of the chairs had been moved and that somebody had come back home but looking around she realized that they must have left again.

She did another quick scan with her wand and this time noticed a few small bits of a fingerprint on the desk and used her fingerprint identifier as well as a bit of magic to lift it off the coffee table and in less than a minute it put out a picture of the person who owned one of the finger prints to be Lisa and the other bits belonged to someone who wasn't registered in the database.

`So Lisa had been here but why would she come her and not go back to the mansion? And who does the other fingerprint belong to?' She asked herself.

She then continued examining the furniture but found nothing. She didn't give up though because she felt like she was missing a very important piece of the puzzle and decided to try to look for a secret room or something like that because people don't vanish into thin air. She then started to search thoroughly by touching the walls to see if they triggered any doors appearing in front of her. Nothing seemed to happen so she then tried to move other objects around to see if that did anything. Once again nothing happened so she tried one last time to use magic to reveal objects and after trying a couple of different spells, a box appeared in front of her which made her smile. She opened the box and took out a book which she opened and finally a door opened and she walked inside.

It was extremely dark inside so she searched for a light and saw that in the room was a very large and complex computer laboratory with many different monitors and keys as wells as many different books. Some of which were on muggle topics but the majority of the books were on topics in the magical world. As she continued to search around she thought she saw something hidden behind the back of one of the vents and saw that it was a cell phone. Being the curious person that she was she turned the phone on and used magic to unlock the phone and she looked through the phone numbers to determine who's phone it was on the floor.

After looking through a few messages she found one as follows:

L- meet me at 4330 Birchirm road. It's important A.

She now knew that this was Lisa's phone so she must have entered this room but what actually happened she still did not know.

She then turned on the computer system and used one of her decryption programs to unlock the system and after about 20 minutes she finally go through.

“I've got to hand it to the maker of the system. They made quite a difficult code or else it wouldn't have taken so long to break,” Hermione murmured to herself.

She then looked through the files in the computer which were organized by day and time. She looked through the files of a few of the days and saw nothing so she continued on to the more recent files and clicked onto the file from yesterday and at first the video showed nothing and was blank but then Lisa appeared on the screen walking into the apartment and taking a seat. She was looking at her watch as she was in a hurry to leave. About 10 minutes Allie had came in with a smile and said, “Hi.”

“Allie, why did you ask me to come here? Is this place yours?” Lisa asked.

“I wanted to have a private chat with you and no. This is my friend's place and she was just away for a few days so I borrowed it,” Allie replied with a smile.

“Okay, what did you want to talk to me about?” Lisa asked slightly fidgeting.

“I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions,” Allie replied.

“So…” Lisa asked.

“What do you think about how Chloe did to you?” Allie asked.

“At first I was upset about it but I think that it happened at the right time because it was the right time for me to go and visit her so it really turned out to be the right thing to do,” Lisa answered.

“So you're not mad at her anymore?” Allie asked.

“No I'm not. In fact I should probably thank her,” Lisa replied with a laugh.

“That's really good. Chloe really didn't mean any harm when she did it I'm sure. So why are you back?” Allie asked.

“I was hoping I could try to talk the producers to let me come back on the show,” Lisa admitted.

“You are?” Allie asked sharply.

“You don't have a problem with that do you?” Lisa asked.

“Of course not, if you can come back that would be awesome. We've all missed you but don't you think that you're just pressing your luck?” Allie inquired.

“What do you mean?” Lisa asked.

“Well it just makes things so much more complicated now. We've been filming ahead of time now and the show has moved on so if you came back it wouldn't really be fair to the rest of us and we would have to do a lot of things all over again,” Allie replied.

“I didn't think of it that way, That would make things really complicated wouldn't it?” Lisa commented sitting down.

“And then we would have to edit the stuff that has already been filmed and then explain why you came back and that would be against the rules,” Allie pointed out.

“That's true but I still have to try or else I know that I'll regret it,” Lisa said after thinking for awhile.

“Are you sure that you don't want to reconsider?” Allie asked.

“I know you're trying to look out for me but it is going to be fine. I have prepared myself for being rejected,” Lisa told her.

“So there's nothing I can do to stop you is there?” Allie asked.

“I've made up my mind so no,” Lisa replied.

“Then I'm sorry,” Allie said signaled a cloaked person come up behind Lisa.

“What...” Lisa started before she fainted and fell to the ground.

Allie just sat down and the cloaked figure removed the hood to review that it was Chloe.

“No… it couldn't be….” Hermione said to herself and stopped the video and began to look around for anything else to prove otherwise.

She then found hidden behind a stack of books a birth certificate for Allison Anne Granger. And behind it was a letter.

Dear Ms. Renshaw,

We have finally found your biological parents. It was very difficult to do so but after many months we have finally traced back to England to a Mr and Mrs. Granger. You also have a sister named Hermione. I have sent you all the information that I have found with this letter.

Sincerely

Patrick McFlamboyle.

Private Investigation

Muggle division

“This isn't possible. I don't have a sister. It must be another Hermione,” Hermione told herself.

“I thought so to but it's all true,” A voice behind her said.

Hermione turned around slowly and found herself staring at a dark figure.

“Who are you?” Hermione asked.

“That doesn't matter now because you're going to take a little nap,” the figure said and with a snap of the figures she was gone.

Hermione began to feel sleepy and felt herself fall to the ground.

*~*~*~*

Harry was looking at his watch and something in his gut told him that something was wrong and he quickly headed out the door.

`Please let her be okay,' Harry thought to himself.

-->

25. Allie's secret

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone for their wonderful reviews. Sorry for the long wait but it has taken me quite some time to find the best way to write it. I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think and review. Thank you so much.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. See previous disclaimers.

Chapter 25

Hermione woke up to find that her arms and legs were tied to a chair and looked around and saw that she was in a dark room without much furniture. She also realized that she didn't recognize where she was and that her head was throbbing.

“I see that you finally woke up. How's you head?” A familiar voice said.

Hermione looked up to see Allie sitting in front of her with her hair done up in little waves with a small smirk.

“Allie, my head hurts. But you seem to know something about that,” Hermione answered.

“I'm sorry about your head. I told them to be more careful but they don't always listen,” Allie replied with a shrug.

“I'm sure that you did and by the way where am I?” Hermione asked rolling he eyes.

“You're in a room specifically reserved for special guests like you,” Allie replied with a small smile.

“How nice of you Allie but where exactly is here?” Hermione replied with a scowl.

“Do you remember where you were last?” Allie asked.

“You mean that I'm still in the same apartment?” Hermione asked.

“You could say that in a way, but more like underground but let's cut the chit chat now and ask what you really want to ask me,” Allie added looking nonchalantly at her nails.

“Are you the one behind Lisa's disappearance and Chloe's outburst?” Hermione asked.

“Maybe I had a hand in moving those events along,” Allie replied crossing her legs.

“What does that mean?” Hermione asked.

“It wasn't very difficult. The power of suggestion can do wonders, especially with a bit of help from magic,” Allie replied.

“So basically you tricked her into it,” Hermione retorted.

“I wouldn't use the word tricked exactly, it was her choice to do it in the end,” Allie answered.

“That's twisting the truth,” Hermione replied sharply.

“It's all about perspective. Your perspective may not always be right,” Allie short back.

“So what is your perspective then?” Hermione asked raising her eyebrows.

“Chloe was getting quite nervous and feeling a bit guilty about something so I suggested that maybe a confession would help keep her conscience clean,” Allie answered.

“So you think that you were helping her then?” Hermione commented.

“If it makes her feel better then yes I think I did,” Allie answered.

“But she wouldn't have done it if you hadn't make her do it,” Hermione added.

“That's where you're wrong,” Allie said with a laugh.

“What does that supposed to mean?” Hermione replied.

“Well you obviously don't know everything do you?” Allie said with a laugh.

“What are you talking about?” Hermione pressed.

“The magic I used on Chloe doesn't pull things out of thin air. It is based on some thought in their minds,” Allie explained.

“You mean that it brings even the tiniest thoughts that cross their mind to their attention?” Hermione inquired.

“Yes and it makes it more likely that they would do what they are thinking about,” Allie added.

“You mean basically they do things without thinking?” Hermione pressed.

“You could say that I guess,” Allie replied.

“Just because you think of something doesn't mean that they would actually do it,” Hermione cried.

“But you don't know that do you?” Allie asked.

“Not exactly but from what I can see……” Hermione started.

“What you see? You don't her that well,” Allie scoffed.

“And you do?” Hermione countered.

“Better than you do and like I said, that appearances can be deceiving,” Allie retorted.

“Fine, what happened to Lisa?” Hermione asked shaking her head.

“Since you have watched some of the video I'll keep it simple. Remember the call that I received for Lisa?” Allie asked.

Hermione just nodded in response.

“Well she happened to mention that she was thinking about trying to come back so I just basically kept my eye on her, metaphorically speaking of course,” Allie replied.

“What did you do to her?” Hermione demanded.

“I didn't do anything,” Allie replied stressing the “I”.

“Well then where is she?” Hermione asked again.

“Relax, she just taking a very long nap,” Allie answered.

Hermione sighed in relief then asked, “Just sleeping and was it really Chloe who helped you?”

“Yes it just a very very long nap for now. It does look like Chloe doesn't it?” Allie replied with a smile.

“You mean it wasn't her?” Hermione inquired.

“It is and it isn't,” Allie answered standing up.

“What does that mean?” Hermione asked.

“It means exactly what I say it means. Things aren't also what they seem,” Allie responded.

“Stop trying to be so cryptic. Is it her or not?” Hermione asked exasperated.

“Touchy aren't you? Yep, you're right that it isn't Chloe but we didn't use any polyjuice potion to do it. You have heard of people with the ability to transform into any shape that they want right? Allie replied amused.

Hermione nodded and said, “So that was who we saw in the screen?”

“Yep,” Allie answered standing up.

“But I don't get why you would do that to Chloe?” Hermione asked.

“That would be partly your fault then wouldn't it?” Allie answered looking at her.

“How is it my fault?” Hermione retorted.

“If it wasn't for you, Harry wouldn't be avoiding me and I wouldn't be forced to make sure that someone else went home and not me,” Allie replied.

“Harry makes up his own mind so if he decided for himself that you might be the one for him then there isn't anything I can do about it,” Hermione answered.

“But you can influence his decisions and obviously you told him about your suspicions about me,” Allie countered.

“Fine then why did you do that to Lisa?” Hermione asked.

“I didn't want to but she wouldn't listen to me when I asked her not to come back,” Allie answered.

“What does it matter though? You know the rules and that there isn't a way for to come back,” Hermione pointed out.

“I don't want to take any chances and it wasn't just that,” Allie answered.

“What else? Did she say something that you didn't like or did she find something out about you?” Hermione asked.

“You think you are so clever don't you? You don't know anything about anything.” Allie added annoyed.

“No major harm? What about Lisa's family? Nobody knows where she is and you're taking away hours of her life. And because you're letting Chloe taking the blame for something that she didn't do. You could cause her to have this accusation follow her for the rest of her life,” Hermione said strongly.

“It's not like I planned to do it and it isn't really my fault,” Allie retorted.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Hermione asked.

“We're running out of time here so why don't you ask what you really want to know?” Allie replied after a moment of staring at her watch.

“Are you in a hurry or something?” Hermione asked.

Allie walked up closer to her and waved her hand.

All of a sudden Hermione felt a sharp pain go through her and cried out in a gasp.

“What was that?” Hermione asked grimacing in pain.

“Just a little punishment for those who ask too many questions but if you keep your smart aleck comments to yourself then you won't have to find out what more it can do,” Allie replied.

Hermione nodded and asked, “Are you really my sister?”

“I wish it wasn't rue but unfortunately we really are sisters,” Allie answered.

“But it's not possible. I would remember having a sister,” Hermione answered slowly.

“It's like I want you for a sister either but it is the truth. I wouldn't make something like this up and you did see for yourself while you were snooping around,” Allie replied.

“I do remember seeing something like this. How did something like this happen?” Hermione asked out loud in shock.

“It's quite simple, they had to choose between the two of us and they chose to keep you,” Allie replied.

“Choose between us for what?” Hermione asked confused.

“To send us off to be trained at Faerway's,” Allie answered.

“I don't get why one of us would be sent off to Faerway's if we're both magical. Shouldn't we both be sent off to Hogwarts?” Hermione asked.

“Well I guess you don't know everything do you then? As you know that many prophecies made about every single person. Well there was one about the Granger family. One that mentioned that one of us was born to become a special magical individual who needed go for special training,” Allie explained.

“I've heard that there are many prophecies concerning everybody but what I don't understand is why I don't remember any of it and my parents don't seem to remember either,” Hermione asked.

“Obviously they erased me from your memories,” Allie answered with a scoff.

“That is obviously possible but I still don't believe that Mum and Dad would ever want to choose one daughter or another,” Hermione answered.

“Since you know them, of course you would say that. Well they obviously did since you're still living with them and I was shipped off to school far away,” Allie explained bitterly.

“I'm sure that there's more to this story than you know since I don't think you'd remember everything since it was such a long time ago. I'm sure that they would have wanted to keep you too” Hermione suggested.

“You don't know what happened either so maybe you shouldn't say anything,” Allie replied sharply.

“That may be true but you're acting like you know everything,” Hermione pointed out.

“Have you ever thought that maybe I do know?” Allie asked raising her eyebrows.

“How would you know?” Hermione asked.

“I have my ways and my sources,” Allie replied.

“Where?” Hermione started to say before she felt a pain once again.

“Stop asking so many questions and just get up,” Allie told her.

*~*~*~*~

Harry had been walking around trying to see if he could find Hermione. He tried looking into a few of the places that she had mentioned but he didn't see her and he asked around as well but so far still no luck.

He tried calling her phone but all it did was keep ringing which worried him more. She was not someone who would leave her phone behind. He remembered the one time she had almost forgot her phone she was back within a few minutes to pick it back up. He laughed softly as he remembered how flustered she was at not being able to find her cell phone.

Harry decided to try to find the apartment he had gone to with Hermione. He forgot what the exact address was though but he did remember the area where the apartment was and headed towards the apartment.

*~*~*~*~*

“Where are we going?” Hermione asked.

“Some place where you can rest,” Allie replied.

“So how has your life been?” Hermione tried again.

“You really want to know?” Allie sneered.

“Of course I do or I wouldn't have asked,” Hermione replied.

“I started school around when you were 10 and we began training. The school work was tough and involved a lot of hard work. Luckily a couple of the teachers Madeline and Ms. Koucher helped me out and took care of me as their own. If it wasn't for them I would not be able to have done as well as I had in school,” Allie answered with a small smile.

“It sounds like they treated you well,” Hermione said softly.

“They were really great but they weren't my parents,” Allie said in a sad tone.

“Are you okay?” Hermione asked softly.

“Mind your own business and keep on walking,” Allie turned and snapped while giving her a slight push.

“Okay… but can I ask you one more question?” Hermione asked as she could walk forward.

“You obviously won't give up until you get all your answers won't you? Go on and ask then,” Allie replied shaking her head.

“So how did you found me and why did you do it?” Hermione asked.

“I'm getting there. I've always known that I didn't know who my parents were and it never really bothered me until I heard other people starting talking about family and I think I heard them talking about my sister but they wouldn't tell me so I hired someone to look into for me after nobody would tell me ” Allie added.

“Patrick McFlamboyle. Right?” Hermione asked.

“I see that you were snooping around. Yes I hired him and after about a few days he finally found the name of my biological parents. Afterwards I began search for any smidge of information on you guys. Mum and Dad were dentists and I only found little information on them but they apparently did pretty well and I found some articles on you in elementary school. Since you were quite an academic achiever, I found that was quite strange so I began thinking that maybe you were also in the magical world and then I found out a lot about you just from reading the newspapers and books as well as people talking about all your latest accomplishments. ” Allie explained with a bitter tone in her voice.

“You were asking about me?” Hermione asked.

“Well I needed to know what type of person you were since we are related biologically at least,” Allie replied.

“And what was your impression of me?” Hermione inquired.

“I think that a lot of people think that you're a great person and on paper I would have to agree. You've always had this great life and a family. Some people might not be so lucky and resent that,” Allie pointed out.

“Are you one of those people?” Hermione asked.

“I don't resent you for that but I definitely don't think that its fair that you got everything. Perfect parents, friends and fame,” Allie shouted.

“So you joined the show because of that?” Hermione asked.

“Arrogant much? Everything isn't about you,” Allie retorted.

“Then why did you join the show?” Hermione asked.

“For the same reason any other girl joins the show,” Allie replied.

“You want to find your perfect match?” Hermione asked.

“Of course don't you?” Allie inquired.

“Of course, so you didn't know Harry joined the show at first,” Hermione asked.

“I didn't know but it worked out well because I did want to meet him,” Allie added with a smile.

“So you do like him?” Hermione asked.

“Does that really matter? Now come on over here,” Allie replied as the smile left her face and pushed her towards a narrow opening.

“I really want to know,” Hermione tried again rubbing her arm.

“So what if I do? My chances now are much slimmer since you told him to be wary of me,” Allie responded with bitter tone to her voice.

“How did you know that?” Hermione asked.

“I have my ways but it was quite obvious that you didn't like me very much so you would say something like that to him,” Allie replied.

“If you didn't do anything suspicious then there wouldn't be anything to be worried about,” Hermione pointed out.

“Don't get on your high horse with me. Everything is your fault after all,” Allie answered.

“You can't keep blaming everything on me,” Hermione told her.

“Stop talking,” Allie told her as she pressed a button to open the door.

“You keep on saying that it's not ALL your fault so is there someone else helping you?” Hermione pressed.

“Just come on inside,” Allie responded after a moment and grabbed her arm after she didn't see to move right away.

“What is this place?” Hermione asked looking around and seeing all there was a small enclosed space.

“This is a place for you to rest in,” Allie explained.

“Well that's very nice of you but I don't need to rest,” Hermione responded as she looked around.

“Who said you had a choice?” Allie asked.

“What are you going to do?” Hermione asked nervously.

“Relax for a bit and as long as you do as you're told everything will be fine,” Allie told her with a bright smile.

“You're not going to…” Hermione asked.

“Get rid of you? I wish I could but obviously if you really disappeared that would cause Harry to worry and all so it's not something that I can easily do,” Allie replied with a laugh.

“Okay so where am I going to rest?” Hermione asked.

“I thought that I'd let you take care of that yourself,” Allie answered.

“But my hands are tied, how do you expect me to do anything?” Hermione asked.

Just then the phone rang and Allie picked it back up and after a few moments she turned off the phone and turned towards her and said, “I will be back in a little bit.”

Hermione was curious as to whom she was talking to on the phone and started to figure out if she could get herself out of the rope that was around her legs and feet. She began looking around the room to see if there was anything that she could use to loosen the rope around her hands. But as she looked around she didn't see anything that was lying around and decided then to try a spell and mumbled `Losiado vibroso' as she waved her hands.

It didn't work at first but then she tried it a few more times and finally it was successful and she was able to untie her feet and headed towards the door to find it blocked.

“I knew it wouldn't be that easy,” Hermione murmured to herself and tried a couple of unblocking charms and spells and seemed to have lessened its power but did not remove the whole obstruction. Frustrated she leaned against the wall and felt a loose brick in behind her and removed it to find a key pad and got shocked as she tried to press the buttons to unlock it.

Hermione just sighed and quickly took out a pen she kept in her pocket for emergency situations. It was device that she had helped to develop in order to use magically enhanced safes. It was still not fully developed yet though since there were a few kinks to yet be worked out. She then pressed the button and moved the pen over the keypad as if she was spraying something. There seemed to be a spark appeared and she smiled. She then opened the lid on the pen and pulled out another small device and attached that to the keypad. Setting in the program to find the combination on the lock and within a few minutes the blockage disappeared and she quickly waved her hand and everything went back to her pocket and she walked out of the room extremely quietly.

~*~*~*~*

Harry went to the neighborhood but all their apartments looked the same so he checked out a few apartments before he finally found the one that was now empty and looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary but he still felt like something was wrong so he tried calling Hermione again and that's when he heard a small beeping sound and he investigated to find that the sound seemed to have originated from behind the wall indicating that there must be a hidden compartment somewhere in the apartment. He then did a quick scanned the wall and found the position in the wall and took out his wand and cast a little unlocking/revealing spell that acts on opening any secret compartments. It is a very useful spell that saves a lot of time in determining how to unlock the door to the secret compartment.

Within a couple of minutes the door to the security room appeared in front of him and he walked inside the room and tried to spot where Hermione's cell phone may be and dialed it again and within a couple of minutes he found the phone near the door and by now he was certain that something bad had happened to her. Her phone was a little battered and opened which was so unlike Hermione.

He then searched for an opening that could led into a secret passage. The room looked clean and there were no boxes anywhere. It looked like nobody had lived there for ages. But he had a feeling that she would be still be nearby so he continued searching through the floor boards or any hiding places in the wall.

Harry took his wand out once again and tried using another spell that he had used numerous times before and finally saw some movement in behind one of the mirrors. He did find it strange that there was a mirror in this room and decided to see if he could move the mirror and found that it was closed quite shut. So he used his wand to loosen the mirror and the mirror opened slightly and Harry easily moved the mirror out of the way and saw that it led to a narrow staircase and Harry followed silently downstairs.

*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione heard some voices coming from another room a few feet away and moved closer to see who was having the conversation.

“Do I really have to do that?” Allie asked.

“Yes. That is part of our deal,” Another face replied.

“But that wasn't part of the original plan,” Allie replied.

“A lot of things happened that weren't in the original plan so things had to change,” the person replied.

“But it's not exactly how I wanted it to go,” Allie commented.

“I know but in the end the result should be the same,” that person added.

“But I'm not really sure if it will work,” Allie commented.

“We have a lot of faith in you and I'm sure that you will do a good job,” that person added.

Hermione tried to move in closer to see who Allie was talking to and accidentally tripped on something and when she looked up she saw that other person was no longer there.

“What are you doing out here?” Allie demanded.

“You didn't exact me not to try to escape?” Hermione replied.

“Of course not but I would have thought that you would have already left,” Allie replied with a shrug.

“I didn't actually think that I would get caught and don't expect me to stay here either,” Hermione added as she moved away.

“You're not going anywhere,” Allie told her as she went to go grab her arm.

Hermione shook it off and kicked her and ran forward.

Allie grimaced and took out her wand and pointed towards Hermione.

Hermione doubled back and turned around feeling the pain and took out her wand and said, “Tremiosa,”

Allie stood still and grabbed her leg.

Hermione took this opportunity and said, “Expelliamus.”

Allie's wand went off far away from her and she said, “I can't let you leave unless you promise to keep everything you learned here a secret.”

“You know that I can't do that,” Hermione told her as she continued forward quickly.

“Well then you can't leave,” Allie said quietly with a wry smile.

Hermione continued forward but she didn't seem to be getting any closer to the exit. All the entry ways seemed to look alike so she tried to use her own senses to find her way out of the mess. When she found a door at the end of the tunnel and grabbed the door and the atmosphere became black and blurry and she felt herself falling until she landed in a room on her feet and became quite unbalanced and landed on the bottom.

“Are you comfortable?” a cloaked figure asked.

“Who are you?” Hermione asked.

The cloaked figure laughed and took off to reveal her face.

She had sleek black hair, dark eyes and pale hair that very much resembled bellatrix Estrange and said, “You can't be. You're locked up,” Hermione asked shocked.

“You're right I'm not,” She said with a smile.

“Then who are you?” Hermione asked.

“I'm her daughter, Carlineux,” She replied.

“But as far as I can tell, she didn't have any kids,” Hermione replied.

“Well you didn't know you had a sister either did you?” Carlineux retorted.

“Do you know Allie?” Hermione asked.

“Of course I know her. We've gotten to be pretty good friends and let you know on a little secret,” Carlineux replied.

“What?” Hermione asked.

“Allie doesn't even know that she is only playing a part in our plan,” Carlineux added with a laugh.

“What plan?” Hermione asked standing up.

“Sit down,” Carlineux ordered and with a wave of her hand a chair appeared behind Hermione and she sat down.

“What plan?” Hermione asked rubbing her ribs.

“Everything has been planned quite in detail. First of all the fact that Harry was picked to be the bachelor and Allie getting picked as well,” Carlineux added.

“You mean it was all a set up?” Hermione inquired.

“Well not everything. I happened to meet Allie at school. We just told her a little lie and showed her a little of what happened. We told her that your parents chose to give her up instead of you,” Carlineux explained.

“Why?” Hermione asked.

“Because we needed her, when I spotted her I thought that she reminded me of you,” Carlineux replied.

“How did you remind you of me if you have never met me?” Hermione asked.

“I learned a long time ago who I was and I also found that they didn't think of me as a daughter at all because I wasn't born like them. I wanted them to like me so I was reading all about how you and Harry has been labeled as “heroes”. So I thought of a wonderful way for them to like me and it involved both you and Harry,” Carlineux explained.

“So why do you need Allie for part of your plan?” Hermione asked trying to get up but her feet were unwilling to move.

“Stop trying to move. It won't work. Because is Allie is the most like you,” Carlineux explained.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Hermione inquired.

“You will soon find out,” Carlineux replied with a mysterious smile.

Allie ran into the room and whispered something in Carlineux's ear.

“You're in luck. You know what we were just talking about? You'll have your answer soon,” Carlineux told her.

Hermione just looked up at her with curiosity.

“Get up, Harry's on his way,” Carlineux told her with a wave on her hand.

“He's here and you're not at all concerned?” Hermione asked.

“We're going to give him a test to see how well he knows who you are,” Carlineux replied.

“What kind of test?” Hermione asked.

“Why don't you turn around?” Carlineux asked.

Hermione turned around and saw herself.

“What is going on?” Hermione asked herself in shock.

-->

26. Who is the real Hermione

A/N: Thanks to you guys for all your incredible reviews!!!!!! Just so you know I'm hoping to finish this story before DH comes out so I'm going to try really hard to get out the next few chapters much quicker. Thank you so much for all your comments. I really love to hear what you think. So please enjoy and I hope you review.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 26

Hermione looked very carefully at the person before her. She really did look like her down to the tiny strand of hair stuck behind her ear.

“You look surprised,” Carlineux told her with a smile.

“Who is that?” Hermione asked.

“It's you,” Carlineux answered.

“No you got someone to look like me,” Hermione retorted.

“Touché my dear. Want to give a good guess to who she is?” Carlineux asked.

“Well she seems to have most of my habits down so I'm guessing that she would be Allie,” Hermione replied.

“You are correct,” Carlineux replied.

“And how does that fit into your plan?” Hermione demanded.

“It's just a little test to see how well Harry knows you,” Carlineux answered.

“And that's all there is to it?” Hermione asked.

“Well, there a few conditions to this little game,” Carlineux replied.

“What kind of conditions?” Hermione asked.

“Well first of all is that Harry can't speak to you and he only has 3 minutes to make his decision,” Carlineux answered.

“Three minutes? That seems to be quite short,” Hermione said.

“So maybe you aren't such good friends after all then if you are worried,” Carlineux replied raising her eyebrows.

“Of course not, Harry knows me better than anyone,” Hermione commented.

“Then you have absolutely nothing to worry about,” Carlineux replied.

“Is there something that I should be worried about?” Hermione countered.

“Well there is one little catch in this game,” Carlineux answered.

“What kind of stakes?” Hermione asked.

“Well whoever Harry chooses gets to live,” Carlineux replied.

“What? You mean that you are going to kill whoever he doesn't choose?” Hermione asked with shock.

“Well maybe not kill but that person won't get to leave,” Carlineux answered slowly.

“What do you mean by that?” Hermione replied,

“Well you're not sounding very confident about your chances,” Carlineux replied pushing Hermione slightly forward.

“I'm not worried really, it's just I feel like it's not fair to keep anyone here,” Hermione answered looking over at the “other Hermione”.

“Oh you worried about your sister? How sweet,” Carlineux replied sweetly.

“I don't need your sympathy,” the Allie answered curtly.

“What do you plan to do with other person who isn't picked?” Hermione pressed again.

“You really are one curious girl. You'll find out soon enough,” Carlineux answered pushing her on her back.

Hermione was about the say something else until she reached the room and was stopped and caught a glimpse of a familiar head of hair.

“Hi Harry,” Carlineux said.

Harry turned around and asked, “Who are you?”

Carlineux smiled and opened her hood.

As he saw her face, he took in a sharp intake of air and said, “But you're…..”

“Let's keep this short. I'm not her. I'm Carlineux,” Carlineux answered.

“So who are you and where's Hermione?” Harry asked in a loud tone.

“Now we're getting to the point of our meeting,” Carlineux with a smile.

“So you do have her,” Harry added.

“Yes I do and you can have her back,” Carlineux told him.

“Then where is she?” Harry demanded.

“Just have a little patience. She'll be here shortly,” Carlineux answered.

“And I can just have her back. Just like that? ” Harry asked again.

“Well, there is one condition which you will find out soon,” Carlineux replied.

Just then Harry saw Hermione come into the room. He smiled in relief but in a few seconds it vanished as he saw another Hermione enter the room.

“What is going on here?” Harry asked.

“It's just a little game,” Carlineux replied.

“What are the rules?” Harry asked after a moment.

“It's very simple actually,” Carlineux answered.

“What are they?” Harry demanded.

“It's just that you have to pick the right Hermione in 4 minutes,” Carlineux replied.

“And what happens to the other person?” Harry inquired.

“She will have to stay here for awhile” Carlineux.

“And those are the only rules?” Harry asked.

“Well there's one other little one. You can ask questions but they can't talk,” Carlineux added.

“Then how are they supposed to respond?” Harry asked.

“Well you can ask questions without requiring them to talk in response. I'm sure you'll find a way,” Carlineux answered waving her hand.

“I know that I will find a way,” Harry said.

“Your time starts now,” Carlineux replied looking down at her watch.

Harry walked towards both Hermione and studied both of them carefully. They both had that long brownish busy hair. Their hair was also done up very similarly. They were similar down to the where a loose stray hair stood. He knew Hermione extremely well so he was pretty sure he would be able to determine which was the real Hermione but he had to use a different approach. After watching Hermione for many years he knew almost every single habit that she had and decided to try and test out one of those habits. He walked around each Hermione and observed how she reacted to this scrutiny.

The first Hermione stood still and tilted her head back with a few seconds before moving her back again. The other Hermione stood there for a few moments and placed her hands on her hips slightly and then crossed her arms and placed them back down.

Although their movements are different, both of those reactions were actually the way that Hermione might react under different circumstances. He had a feeling or an inkling to which person was his Hermione but he wasn't a hundred percent sure at this stage.

He decided to try something else. Then he said, “I was hoping that you could smile and laugh for me?”

Both of the girls shrugged and nodded.

The first Hermione smiled and gave a small smile at first and then it grew into a wider smile and gave a soft and light laugh.

The next Hermione gave a small bemused smile and then laughed nervously.

Harry then nodded his head and stared between both women and smiled.

“You have less than a minute left,” Carlineux spoke up.

“I know,” Harry replied looking her straight in the eye and he pulled out knife.

“What are you planning to do with that?” Carlineux asked raising her eyebrows.

“I'm just trying to figure out who the real Hermione is,” Harry replied swinging the knife around.

“And how might you do that?” Carlineux asked with a smile.

“Why don't you two girls stand over there?” Harry asked pointing to a spot a few meters away.

Both of the girls moved.

Hermione was quite curious as to what Harry had up his sleeve but he looked pretty confident which made her smile.

“Since there is less than a minute left, I already know which of you is really Hermione,” Harry added.

“You do? Well then which one is it?” Carlineux prompted.

“I'll let you know but first I want both of you two girls to move over there,” Harry answered pointing towards a location a few feet from the wall.

Both girls nodded and moved towards that Harry then paced in front of both girls and looked at both of them once more and then he walked in front of one of them and pulled out the knife.

“Now I've already figured out that you aren't Hermione and that maybe I should teach you a lesson,” Harry told her.

Harry raised his arm and aimed the knife right at her face and threw it right at her.

That Hermione did not move one single inch and stood there with a determined look in her eye. The knife came really close but just missed her be approximately 1mm.

He smiled and then said, “You should have moved a little bit, you scared me a bit.”

Hermione smiled and responded, “I trust you and I can tell when you mean business.”

“Now that is Hermione,” Harry responded with a smile.

“So you were just lying before about knowing?” the other Hermione asked.

“No, I just wasn't 100% sure but I was 99% sure and now I am sure,” Harry replied.

“So you were just playing us?” The other Hermione replied.

“I wouldn't say that. I was playing with you guys. After all didn't you say that this was a game?” Harry asked with a grin.

“Yeah you did say that and why don't you go back to your original look?” Hermione asked.

“I agree, one of Hermione is enough,” Harry commented.

“What does that supposed to mean?” Hermione said glaring at him.

“I just mean that the world only needs one of you,” Harry answered with a smile.

“I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult,” Hermione replied rolling her eyes.

“I'm sure that you'll figure it out,” Harry replied.

“Enough,” the Other Hermione said as she returned back to Allie.

“Isn't it nice to be yourself again?” Harry asked.

“Well I've always liked being me,” Allie answered back.

“That's good. Why don't you stay that way then?” Hermione asked.

“Why? What are you afraid of?” Allie shot back.

“Allie,” Carlineux said.

Allie just nodded.

“So we can just go now right?” Harry asked.

“Be my guest,” Carlineux answered with a smile.

“Let's go Hermione,” Harry told her and started to walk off.

Hermione looked towards Allie and back to Harry and just stood there.

“What are you waiting for?” Harry inquired.

“We can't leave yet,” Hermione stated.

“Why?” Harry asked.

“We can't leave Allie here,” Hermione said walking towards him.

“Why not?” Harry asked.

“We can't just leave anybody here and what are we going to tell the producers if Allie doesn't come back?” Hermione asked.

“That might be a bit tricky but I'm sure we'll think of something,” Harry replied.

“Harry….” Hermione said.

“Are you coming?” Harry asked turning to give her a look as if saying “It'll be fine. Trust me.”

Hermione looked back at him and back and Allie and Carlineux and walked right up to Harry and he placed his arm around her shoulder and they walked back together.

“It'll be fine,” Harry whispered in her ear.

Hermione just sighed but continued to walk and nodded.

“Hermione?” Carlineux said.

Hermione stopped towards her and said, “Yes.”

“If you want answers then ask your parents,” Carlineux said.

Hermione stared for a moment and then continued on out at Harry's urging.

“I can't believe you just let them leave,” Allie said to Carlineux.

“Have patience Allie. It'll all work out,” Carlineux calmly responded.

“What is your plan?” Allie asked.

“Just wait and you'll find out what you need to know,” Carlineux replied.

*~*~*~*~

“Harry what do you mean by everything will be fine?” Hermione asked once they got back to Harry's loft.

“It will all work out. I mean Allie and Carlineux obviously know each other already,” Harry answered.

“You're right about them knowing each other but still….” Hermione said thoughtfully.

“I'm sure that she will be taken care of,” Harry added.

“That's what I'm worried about,” Hermione commented.

“Since she is part of their plan, I'm sure that they have thought that this could happen. They won't do anything to her since she is part of their group,” Harry told her taking a seat on the couch.

“Even so… wait a minute. You seem so sure about this. How do you know that they are part of the same group?” Hermione asked.

“Wasn't it obvious? I mean she was part of the game and she listened to Carlineux,” Harry answered after a moment.

“Maybe… but maybe there is something that you haven't told me yet,” Hermione said walking towards him.

“What about you? Why do you seem to be so worried about Allie all of a sudden?” Harry countered.

“I asked you first,” Hermione answered.

“I don't know anymore than you do,” Harry told her.

“That's not true. How do you know that she will be alright with them?” Hermione asked again.

“It's just a feeling that I have,” Harry answered.

“No, it's not just that. I can see it in your eyes. Why won't you tell me?” Hermione asked with a touch of urgency in her voice.

“Hermione please, I've told you everything that I can, just trust me okay?” Harry asked.

“I do. You know I do. But I really need to know everything,” Hermione answered firmly.

“Why can't you just trust me on this?” Harry asked getting up and pacing about.

“Because this time it concerns family,” Hermione answered.

“Whose family?” Harry asked confused.

“Well as it turns out I have a sister,” Hermione explained.

“You've never had a sister,” Harry reminded.

“I didn't think so either but apparently I do and Allie is my sister,” Hermione explained.

“Are you sure about that?” Harry asked.

“What do you mean?” Hermione responded raising her eyebrows.

“I absolutely had no idea that Allie was your sister,” Harry told her taking a moment to grab a seat at the table.

“You really didn't know?” Hermione asked.

“No, I didn't. I still can't believe it. How do you know this?” Harry asked flabbergasted.

“Well I found an old birth certificate of hers that said she was born to my parents. And Allie told me,” Hermione explained.

“Did you examine the certificate? They're really easy to fake you know,” Harry replied.

“No I didn't. I didn't have any time but she had a pretty respectable detective on the case and he found that. What makes you think that she make something like that up?” Hermione said in an agitated tone.

“It's just that I find that really hard to believe that she is your sister and all of sudden she shows up?” Harry asked.

“Okay, so I'm not 100% sure but it doesn't seem like something she would have made up and it doesn't even really matter, we can sort that out later. She really believes that she's my sister though. And what makes you so sure?” Hermione asked grabbing a seat next to him.

“I can only tell you what I know and even I don't know all of it okay?” Harry asked.

“I understand. Just tell me what you do know,” Hermione replied nodding with understanding.

“Well basically we've received some information from some sources about certain alert levels rising these last few months so we've all been made aware to keep an eye for any suspicious behavior. And in fact there has been some activity found around in muggle areas so when they found out I was chosen to be part of this show to keep an eye out for anybody suspicious. It was just a tiny warning so I didn't say anything to them at first,” Harry explained.

“Okay I understand that, then what happened?” Hermione asked.

“Well at first nothing was really reported but lately there has seen to be a pattern in abnormal activity in the area. Activity not normally seen around this area, so we were told to monitor thing more carefully especially receiving some anonymous tips about maybe more witches or wizards or other magical beings being seen around the area,” Harry continued.

“From who?” Hermione asked.

“We don't' actually know but they've said that their information has been solid for quite some time so it's best to listen. So after some surveillance we've had our eye on a few people,” Harry replied.

“Which people have you been watching?” Hermione asked.

“Well we've been watching a few people closely. We've been watching Allie and Chloe mainly in the contestants and a few of the crew members as well,” Harry answered.

“When did you start watching Allie?” Hermione asked.

“Around the time you told me about your suspicions,” Harry answered.

“Exactly when?” Hermione asked.

“Actually a few days before you told me your suspicions,” Harry replied with a sheepish grin.

“So you already had suspicions about her and you didn't let me know?” Hermione asked a little bit angry and stood up and walked towards the wall.

“I wanted to but then how would I explain keeping her around?” Harry asked walking towards her.

“You could have still let me know. Did you even know how you made me feel?” Hermione asked turning to face him.

“I know and I'm sorry but I did tell you to trust me,” Harry reminded her.

“And I do. You know that but it still doesn't make it right,” Hermione remarked.

“I'm sorry but you do understand that it's not that I didn't want to tell you but I couldn't. We needed to keep Allie around so that we could continue monitoring her,” Harry explained.

“And what did you find out?” Hermione asked after a moment.

“We noticed that she had been having secret meetings almost every other night and we slowly followed her,” Harry answered.

“Who did she meet? And where did she go for these meetings?” Hermione asked.

“We never actually managed to see who she was meeting but they never seemed to meet at the same location twice,” Harry replied.

“So what did you find out?” Hermione asked puzzled.

“We did find out that she always met with people from the same group. We know that because they all wore the same outfit but their faces were always covered. We suspect that this group consists of the remaining supporters of Voldemort,” Harry explained.

“Do you guys really think so?” Hermione asked.

“It makes sense especially seeing Carlineux there,” Harry answered.

“So what are you planning on doing?” Hermione asked.

“Well we decided that we were going to watch Allie and she'll lead us to where they are gathering and maybe give us some insight into why they are gathering and what their plans are,” Harry replied.

“Why didn't you ask me for help?” Hermione asked.

“Because we didn't want to get you involved, you were never supposed to be involved,” Harry answered.

“I could have helped you. Beside you knew that I was suspicious of Allie so I would have looked into her anyways,” Hermione added.

“Yes I know you would but we wanted to keep your distance as much as possible but it looks like now that it is not possible,” Harry answered.

“You should have let me help you, it would make the most logical sense for me to have been trailing her,” Hermione replied.

“It would have been really dangerous and we didn't want anything to happen to you,” Harry countered.

“I can take care of myself, you know that better than anybody,” Hermione countered.

“But you would also be the person that she would most likely be on the lookout for since she knew that you were wary of her,” Harry added.

“Okay, you may have a point there but you should have warned me if you thought she was really dangerous,” Hermione added.

“I did. I told you not to do anything crazy without me,” Harry reminded her.

“I don't think that means the same exact thing. But what is the plan now?” Hermione asked.

“Well we have a clue as to where they might be holding Lisa and basically we were planning on breaking in and retrieving those that may have been captured,” Harry explained.

“So, that's why you were rushing us out and what do you know about Allie's involvement with them?” Hermione inquired.

“Yes that is why. I wanted to figure out their location as quickly as possible,” Harry answered.

“So when are you guys going in?” Hermione asked slowly.

“I'm not sure yet but within the next couple of days, just in case they decided to regroup elsewhere,” Harry explained.

“So does knowing Allie is my sister change anything?” Hermione asked pointedly.

“The fact that she's your sister does cause some complications but the truth is I still find it very surprising. But from the information that we have been gathering from various sources, it does seem like they have something huge planned and from what we can see Allie seems to be quite important in those plans. So if that were the case, they won't do anything to her,” Harry answered.

“Well from what I gather though is even though they do seem to include Allie in on their plans, from what she has told me and her tone in her voice. I don't trust her. And Allie just feels abandoned and they opened up to her so she feels comfortable there. She probably thinks it's a place where she belongs,” Hermione commented sitting down.

“Do you trust what she has told you?” Harry asked.

“I know that Allie believes what she's saying. I don't think she really knows what she is doing. As for Carlineux, I don't trust her. There is something odd about her. But I do think she is being somewhat truthful. But she is definitely hiding something,” Hermione replied.

“What do you think she's hiding?” Harry asked softly.

“I don't know but she told me to talk to my parents. It's all very confusing,” Hermione answered leaning her head against his shoulder.

“Hermione, what are you going to do about Allie?” Harry asked slowly brushing her hair out of her way.

“I don't know. I can't let her get off with everything's she done but I really think that deep down she's good. But she just got turned the wrong way. But I don't want to have to send her off to Azkaban or jail because she's been through so much and been along so long. I want to be there for her and show her that I care and I want to be there. I don't want her to hate me but if I don't then I'm….” Hermione replied frustrated.

Harry lifted her head and placed his head against his forehead and said, “Hey, don't worry. You'll do the right thing and she'll see that you're doing this for her own good. You've got the biggest heart in the world. And something you have to do what you have to do because you care. She'll understand someday, I promise you.”

Hermione smiled and closed her eyes and placed her head back on his shoulder. Harry placed his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. They stayed like that for a few minutes in silence.

“So what do you want to do now?” Harry inquired.

“I think I need to talk to my parents,” Hermione replied.

“Do you really think they know something?” Harry asked softly.

“I don't know but as you know impossible things have been happening for a long time,” Hermione pointed out.

“Whatever you want to know, I'll be there. If you want me there,” Harry spoke up.

“Of course I want you there. I was hoping I wouldn't have to go alone,” Hermione responded with a huge grin.

Harry handed her the phone and said, “What are you waiting for?”

“Can we really go now?” Hermione pointed out.

Harry grabbed the phone and dialed a number quickly, “Hi, I'm feeling sick today. I don't think that I can film the show today.”

Hermione just looked at him and smiled.

“How sick?” Harry said and began coughing very loudly buy pointing the wand at his throat.

Hermione grabbed the want from his hand a minute later shaking her head.

“Thanks,” Harry croaked into the phone.

“You do know that a wand is not a toy you know,” Hermione explained.

“I know that. But I wanted to really sound sick,” Harry answered rubbing his throat.

“And if you had that wand on you any longer, your voice might actually be shot,” Hermione replied laughing.

“I did this for you,” Harry retorted in between coughs.

“I know and I'm grateful but honestly, I would have thought by now you would know better,” Hermione added in between giggles and waved her wand.

A glass appeared on the table and Harry took it raising his eyebrows.

“It'll cure your throat,” Hermione explained.

“It doesn't look that appetizing,” Harry replied staring at the brownish green color.

“Just drink it,” Hermione told him rolling her eyes.

Harry took the drink and quickly gulped it down and then sank down to his knees.

“It doesn't taste that bad,” Hermione commented with a giggle and handed him something.

Harry took it and smiled. She had given him some of his favorite strawberry flavored candies and he popped it in his mouth.

“You're lucky that I brought you any,” Hermione replied.

“I know you always keep them on hand,” Harry teased her.

“Only because I know you'll get into trouble,” Hermione retorted back.

“Okay so are you ready to make that call?” Harry asked after a few moments.

Hermione grabbed the phone and dialed her parents number.

“Hello Mum?” Hermione asked nervously.

“Hermione?” Mrs. Granger said.

“It's me,” Hermione replied.

“How are you doing dear?” Mrs. Granger asked delighted in hearing her daughter's voice.

“I'm good but I'm wondering if Harry and I could drop by for a visit?” Hermione asked.

“Of course, I'll be home in about half an hour,” She replied.

“Will dad be there as well?” Hermione asked.

“Yes he will be home then as well. IS something wrong?” Mrs. Granger asked worried.

“No, everything is fine. I just want to see the both of you. I'll see you in a bit then,” Hermione replied cheerfully.

“Okay, see you then,” Mrs. Granger replied quite puzzled.

“So we're all set?” Harry asked slowly walking towards Hermione.

“I'm a bit nervous. It's going to be quite surprising to them and I have no idea what they will tell me,” Hermione replied nervously.

“Whatever they're going to tell you, we'll get through and it doesn't change the fact that they're your parents and that they love you,” Harry told her rubbing her shoulders.

“You're right. How did you get to be so calm and rational?” Hermione asked teasingly.

“It comes from being nagged at day and day out for so many years,” Harry answered seriously.

Hermione pushed you playfully and said, “If it wasn't for my nagging. I doubt that you would have survived school year after year.”

“See that earned a smile,” Harry replied with a grin.

“At my expense but I forgive you this time,” Hermione responded smiling back.

“Are you ready?” Harry asked.

Hermione nodded and they headed off to meet her parents.

-->

27. Talking to the parents

A/N: Thanks for everyone's great reviews and comments. I hope this chapter explains everything a bit more clearly. Just for everyone's information I'm thinking about 4 more chapters before this story is done. I'm thinking of doing a sequel if anybody is interested. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks so much everyone.

Discliamer: I don't own Harry Potter or the bachlelor. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 27

Hermione stood in front of her childhood home just staring at the door. She was beginning to get a bit worried about what she might find out.

“Hey, are you okay?” Harry asked her gently.

“Not really, I'm really nervous and worried about talking to my parents about this,” Hermione admitted.

“What exactly are you afraid of?” Harry prodded gently.

“I'm afraid of what they'll say, what they won't say. What if I don't like what they are going to say and what tell me changes everything,” Hermione replied.

“That may be true but you do know that some things will never change right?” Harry asked.

“Of course I do. They'll always be my parents and that they love me right?” Hermione asked.

“I did guess that you would know that,” Harry answered sheepishly.

“I know but still it's scary. I don't even know where and how to start,” Hermione confessed.

“Well, think of this as something that I have to do and I was asking you for advice, what would you tell me to do?” Harry tried.

“Hm…. Let me think about this for a second then. I guess I would tell you to start slowly and offer hints and then see how to go from there,” Hermione replied after a few minutes.

“Then you should be telling yourself that,” Harry told her.

Hermione nodded and took a deep breath and used the key that she had in her pocket to open the door and then knocked.

Hermione and Harry walked into the room together and closed the door.

“Hermione?” Mrs. Granger's voice called out.

“Yes mum,” Hermione said and walked into the kitchen and gave her mum a hug.

“Would you guys like some tea?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“Sure,” Hermione told her.

“What about you Harry?” Mrs. Granger asked warmly.

“Tea will be great,” Harry told her with a smile.

“So why are you visiting?” Mrs. Granger asked with a smile.

“Is Dad home yet?” Hermione asked.

“He'll be down in a few minutes. Have some cookies. How are you Harry?” Mrs. Granger asked as she offered him the plate.

“Thanks. Things are going good. Different but good,” Harry answered.

“I would imagine that. Being on the show like that is quite out of the ordinary,” Mrs. Granger replied with a laugh.

“How are you enjoying it Hermione?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“It's going alright. Its quite fun sometimes and I have made a few friends,” Hermione answered.

“That's good,” Mrs. Granger told her daughter.

“You're here already,” Mr. Granger said as he walked in.

“Dad, its good to see you. What took you so long?” Hermione asked standing up to give him a hug.

“You were always early. So what was the reason for your visit?” Mr. Granger asked.

“How are you doing sir?” Harry asked.

“Good and how are you doing?” Mr. Granger said.

“I'm doing well sir,” Harry answered.

“Well dad, I wanted to tell you some interesting stories that I heard from someone,” Hermione answered.

“Oh really? What was it?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“Well, apparently somebody that I knew actually found out that they had a sister that they never knew they had,” Hermione began.

“Really? That kind of stuff really happens?” Mr. Granger asked with a laugh.

“Yes, she felt that it was impossible because she never remembered having a sister. Her parents didn't either,” Hermione continued looking for any sign of recognition from either of her parents faces.

“So how did that happen?” Mrs. Granger asked curiously.

“Well apparently they gave up her sister for adoption and decided to forget about it,” Hermione replied.

“I guess that is possible but very unlikely and unusual,” Mr. Granger complimented.

Hermione looked towards Harry who shrugged.

“I met a very interesting girl on the show,” Hermione continued.

“Really? What is she like?” Mr. Granger asked.

“Well, she's a lot like me. She's smart and pretty but she has had quite a hard life. She was given up at birth,” Hermione answered.

“Oh that's terrible. But I'm sure that her parents didn't want to do it,” Mrs. Granger added.

“Why would you say that?” Hermione asked eagerly.

“I'm speaking as a parent. Every parent loves their kid and wants to do what's best for them. ,” Mrs. Granger explained.

“Did you ever want to have another daughter?” Hermione asked.

“I know that you have always wanted a sister and I think it would be nice but it just never happened. Why are you asking?” Mr. Granger asked.

“I was just curious you know. If I had a sister, what would you name her?” Hermione asked.

“That is quite easy, I would name her Allison. Ali for short,” Mrs. Granger replied.,

“Really? Allison?” Hermione asked her eyes widening.

“I don't why I want to name her that though, it's a name that's always been on my mind. Allison Anne Grange. It has a nice ring to it doesn't it?” Mrs. Granger answered.

Mr. Granger nodded and replied, “I've always liked that name myself.”

“I know a person that has that name,” Hermione commented.

“Really? That's such a coincidence,” Mr. Granger replied.

“Does the name Faerway's school for the gifted mean anything to you?” Hermione tried again.

“No, did you ever go there?” Mr. Granger asked.

“No dear, I thought she went to Hogwarts?” Mrs. Granger said.

“I did go to Hogwarts. Are you sure it doesn't ring a bell at all?” Hermione asked standing up

Harry walked over to Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder urging her to calm down.

“Hermione, dear, what is it?” Mr. Granger asked looking worried.

“Are you absolutely sure that I don't have a sister?” Hermione asked.

“Of course we're sure. I think that we would know if something like that happened,” Mrs. Granger answered laughing slightly.

“Is there anything that you aren't telling me? I know that you're doing it for my own good and I won't be mad,” Hermione tried again.

“No, we're not keeping any secrets from you. Where is all this coming from? Are you okay?” Mrs. Granger asked concerned.

“I'm fine really. Are you sure you haven't heard of Faerways? It's a school for fairies and other magical individuals,” Hermione added.

“It doesn't ring any bells but then again a lot of the magical stuff in your life doesn't make much sense for me,” Mr. Granger replied apologetically.

“Could you think a little bit harder?” Hermione pleaded.

“Is it important to you that we do?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“Yes,” Hermione answered simply.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked.

“It's just that I feel like they must know something. That name did not come out of the blue. They would have named her Allison Anne Granger. That is her name,” Hermione answered.

“That does sound quite suspicious, but they really do sound like they don't know anything,” Harry told her looking at her parents.

“I know but it's so frustrating because I really feel like there is something that I need to know. I know that I shouldn't trust what Carlineux told me but it really does seem to fit right now,” Hermione answered.

“I know what you mean. I wish there was something that I could do for you,” Harry replied looking at her.

“Being here is already helping a lot,” Hermione told him and gave his hand a quick squeeze.

“I'm sorry, but nothing comes to mind,” Mr. Granger suggested apologetically.

Mrs Granger said, “I don't seem to recall anything about Faerdays or anything like that.”

“It's okay. How about I show you something on the computer?” Hermione asked having a sudden thought.

“Sure, you can use my computer which is on the table,” Mr. Granger told her.

“What are you doing?” Harry whispered.

“I thought that maybe it might jog their minds if they saw something,” Hermione whispered back and walked towards the table.

`That's my Hermione. I knew that she would think of something,' Harry thought to himself as he watched her.

Hermione turned on the computer and went into typed in the search terms that she wanted to use and came to a webpage and click on it.

“What did you want to show us?” Mr. and Mrs. Granger asked.

“I wanted to show you some information on Faerways. It's a school that trains fairies and other magical beings,” Hermione explained.

“That sounds like a very interesting school,” Mrs. Granger commented.

“Hm… this page looks quite different,” Hermione murmed to herself as she came to black page.

“What's wrong?” Harry asked.

“I clicked onto the link for the page and nothing is showing up. It wasn't like it was before,” Hermione explained.

“Are you going to try loading the page again?” Harry asked.

Hermione clicked it again and this time a box popped up asking for a student name.

“What are you going to put in?” Mr. Granger asked.

Hermione sighed and typed in Allie Renshaw. Once she typed that in another box popped up asking for their relation. For that she typed in sibling. Once she done that it opened up to Faerway's welcome screen.

“Why don't you two sit down?” Hermione suggested.

Mr. Granger shrugged and sat down and clicked onto the opening page.

The opening page was similar to the page that Hermione came across herself but it had very slight differences.

One may difference was the flashing of the words on the screen. Then a video started to play.

“Welcome to Faerways' school for the gifted. We will ask you to take a moment and enjoy the next clip,” the voice said.

The video clip started and lasted about a minute but all it played were a few different images of certain people and fruit.

When it was over, Hermione noticed that her parents had stood up and their faces seemed quite shocked.

Hermione quickly tapped them on the shoulder and asked, “Are you guys okay?”

Mr. Granger shook his head and said, “I'm starting to remember things.”

“Yes I'm starting to get flashbacks to something too,” Mrs. Granger replied.

“Flashbacks? What are they about?” Hermione asked.

“Well, little things, like holding a tiny baby and smiles and laughter,” Mr. Granger replied.

“What about you mum?” Hermione asked.

“About the same thing but I also remembering some cloaked individuals,” Mrs. Granger added.

Hermione looked up at Harry and raised her eyebrows. Harry shrugged in response.

“Are these memories?” Hermione asked.

“Mr. and Mrs. Granger,” a voice called out.

Hermione looked around and saw nobody so she walked around trying to determining where the voices are coming from.

“Look towards the computer screen,” the voice said.

Hermione turned her head towards the voice and followed it towards the computer screen and saw a middle aged man on the screen.

“Hi Hermione,” the middle aged man said.

“Do I know you?” Hermione asked surprised.

“I'm not surprised that you don't remember me at all. After all, we only met very briefly when you were very young,” the middle aged man answered.

“Well, Hello Mark,” Mr. Granger replied with a smile.

“You know him?” Hermione asked her dad curiously.

“Yes, we do. How are you doing Mark?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“How do know him?” Hermione asked anxiously.

“We've only seen him once actually. Things are starting to come back to me,” Mr. Granger replied thoughtfully.

“What things? Can someone explain this to me?” Hermione asked looking back and forth between her parents.

“Let me try and begin then,” Mark replied.

“Okay,” Hermione said turning her attention towards him. She didn't feel any negative vibes toward him but she was still a little bit cautions.

“Well first of all you need to know that you come from a very special family. A very long time ago as you know muggles and wizards all lived together rather peacefully although there were very few wizards around. However as you know people are afraid of things that they do not know or understand so eventually the worlds were separated. However there were a far more muggles than wizards so in order to make sure that magic continually assisted the decided to appoint an individual that would know all about the magical world in order to make sure that it continually existed,” Mark explained.

“I understand that. In order for the magical world to assist, someone will have to know that it exists. So is this family a muggle family then?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, you are correct. However they don't know that they actually know anything. The job just gets passed down each year until it was needed. This was your family's job,” Mark answered.

“Really?” Hermione asked.

“Yes dear. That is the truth,” Mrs. Granger replied.

“But from what you say then would you say that it is strange that I am magical?” Hermione inquired.

“Yes, it was rather puzzling but we're sure that there was a reason for that but it could have also just happened randomly which does happen ever so often,” Mark explained.

“Okay then, but how do they know you?” Hermione asked again.

“I'm getting there. Now, basically your family is in charge of protecting magic, another interesting event occurred a few years after you were born, as you know many prophecies have been made. One other interesting one mentioned the creating of a unique magical individual that holds the secrets of the creation of magic. Now I am a member of the council that watches over both the magical and muggle world to keep things in balance. So we noticed that a surge of energy came from England so we went to go investiage and that was when we found a baby sitting there. We could tell by looking that she contained a lot of power and magic. We knew that if she came into the wrong hands that it could be very dangerous for the everyone so we wanted to make sure that she was protected and taught right. So we placed her in your family's care for a few years,” Mark revealed.

“Yes I remember those months. They were really great. I rememberd how much I had wanted another daughter so we were both thrilled to take care of her,” Mrs. Granger replied.

“Yes she was very sweet and cute and our time with her was too short,” Mr. Granger added.

“How come I don't remember any of this?” Hermione questioned.

“How could you? You were much too young,” Mrs. Granger replied softly.

“So what happened next?” Hermione asked.

“Well then Mark came over and introduced himself with a couple other people and told us the situation. He told us that Allison was extremely gifted and that in order to further her skills that she should be sent off for special training that we couldn't provide for her,” Mrs. Granger explained.

“We didn't want to but they told us that it would best for her if we did that. So we reluctantly let them take her,” Mr. Granger continued.

“We could tell that they loved her so we also told them that however that it would be best if they don't remember anything about this girl for their safetly as well as for her but we don't really like to erase memories completely so we just blocked it for the time being,” Mark added.

“Blocking it? You mean keeping the memories from being recalled very easily without being stimulated?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, you are quite smart. As expected,” Mark replied with a smile.

“But how are you able to do that? We have only managed to use modifying charms for years,” Harry questioned.

“Ah, that's a good question Harry but we're not the same as you, our abilities work differently from your abilities. We are able to use our magic to do things that most wizards can't,” Mark explained.

“So basically what happened was that somewhere the video and voice triggered their memories?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, that is what happened basically. We had set up a network in your house in order for you guys to access or data because we knew that one day you would want to know everything,” Mark replied.

“So that's why when I used my dad's computer that it opened up to a different webpage,” Hermione replied.

“Exactly,” Mark answered with a smile.

“What is she like?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“Allie, she is a really sweet girl and incredibly bright. But she was never a really social person,” Mark answered.

“Are you saying she didn't have very many friends?” Mr. Granger asked.

“She only had a couple of friends but they seemed to get along great,” Mark answered.

“I hope you don't me asking but do you know anything about the group of people Allie is hanging out with now?” Harry piped in.

“Actually we have heard about that and have done a bit of investigating ourselves for a few years. We don't know who the leader is exactly but apparently this woman named Carlineux is of pretty high rank,” Mark answered.

“What have you guys found out?” Hermione asked eagerly.

“Well from what we heard, they are sort of mysterious but they don't seem to have been doing much so we're guessing that they are planning something big. We have heard that many of their members have relations to the Death Eaters,” Mark told them.

“So do you have any idea what they are planning?” Harry asked.

“Well we're thinking since they have been so good to Allie that it might have something to do with her,” Mark replied.

“What do you mean they have been good to Allie?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“The last time that Allie spoke to one of her old teachers she told them that they taught her many things and were treating her well and not to worry about her,” Mark added.

“Do you think that Allie is actually bad?” Hermione asked.

“I think that deep down that she has a good heart but she has been led to believe certain things such as revenge and resentment. She doesn't mean to do any harm. So you don't have to worry so much abour her,” Mark replied thoughtfully with a smile.

“So can I ask why she switched schools during her last year?” Hermione asked.

“Well that was her choice but we do encourage everyone to try and fit into the muggle world as well so that they don't stand out completely so she took us up on the offer,” Mark answered.

“So back to how you think Carlineux is planning to use Allie, what do you think Hermione's part in this is?” Harry asked.

“Well Carlineux is a woman of integrity. She always looks at the big picture but she does like to have fun every so often so I'm guessing that you and Hermione fit into her plan just as a side issue but was not part of the major plan,” Mark replied.

“Well if she is Bellatrix, I assumed that she might have wanted revenge. But still I don't completely understand why she had me pick between the two Hermiones,” Harry commented.

“They asked you to do what?” Mr and Mrs. Granger exclaimed.

“Don't worry. I'm really Hermione,” Hermione explained.

“So what did she tell you about that?” Harry asked turning towards Hermione.

“She kept on talking about trust and friendship. She did seem quite calm about the whole thing though,” Hermione said after a minute.

“So maybe she was testing our friendship to see how strong it is,” Harry replied.

“That does sound like something she would do. I'm thinking that they must have heard something about Allie, so they wanted her to join them,” Mark added.

“So may I ask a question?” Mr. Granger piped in.

“Sure, what would you like to know?” Mark asked.

“So how does Allie reveal the secrets of the creation of magic?” Mr. Granger asked.

“Oh that… I'm not really sure” Mark answered sheepishly.

“Mark, who are you talking to?” a female voice called out.

“Hi Maggie, I was just talking to the Grangers and Harry,” Mark told her with a smile.

“Oh you must be telling them about Allison right?” Maggie asked.

“Yes but do you know how to retrieve the secret from Allie?” Mark asked her.

“I heard my father talking about it and from what I can tell, nobody is exactly sure yet but Allie doesn't know that she has this secret herself. The consensus is that the key to the revelation has to do with trust,” Maggie replied.

“Trust?” Hermione asked.

“Now I don't know the details but that would explain why they are treating Allie like their own and they are including her in their plans,” Maggie added.

“Hm… so do you think she is safe there?” Hermione asked.

“I think she is for the time being. I think that the best course of action right now is to continue on and try to get through to Allie,” Mark suggested.

“How do I do that? She seems to completely hate me with a passion and we're not even sure that we're going to see her anytime soon,” Hermione told them.

“I'm sure that she will be back,” Mark told them.

“How do you know that?” Harry asked.

“Because they aren't finished with her yet,” Mark answered simply.

Hermione looked down at the clock and took a double glance and grabbed Harry by the arm.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“We need to get back. Did you even notice the time?” Hermione asked gesturing to the clock.

Harry looked and saw that it was already the evening. They had been there for the entire afternoon.

“Mark, Maggie. We have to get going but is there a way to contact you if we have any other questions?” Hermione asked.

“Just look us up on your computer,” Mark told her and gave her a quick wave and the screen turned off.

“But…” Hermione said as she stared at the blank screen.

“Thanks for tea Mr. and Mrs. Granger but we have to get going,” Harry told them as he shook his hand and gave Mrs. Granger a hug.

“I'll talk to you later,” Hermione promised giving both of her parents a hug.

Both Harry and Hermione rushed out and apparated back to the mansion and walked insidd to Harry's room.

“So what do you think about everything?” Hermione asked.

“This whole thing is really unbelievable but at the same time our whole lives have been like that. But at least we know that Allie isn't related by blood,” Harry told her.

“But she still is my sister. But I do feel better knowing so much more. I had no idea that there was so much to my family history but still am a little worried about Allie. Carlineux seems like a much more dangerous person,” Hermione commented.

“That she is, but that's what makes her interesting,” Harry told her with a glint in his eye.

“I just don't know what to do when I see her again,” Hermione said sitting down.

“Just be you,” Harry told her.

“And that is…” Hermione prodded.

“Be the wonderful caring individual that you always are and I know she will notice,” Harry told her.

“That's easy for you to say but I'm not sure that I can do it,” Hermione confessed.

“Well one way of doing that would be to not mention that you guys are sisters and try being friends first,” Harry offered.

“You're right about that. So do you think that I can get through to her?” Hermione asked.

“If anybody can do it, it's you,” Harry told her confidently.

Hermione laughed and gave him a hug.

“Thanks for having confidence in me. You always do know what to say to make me feel better,” Hermione told her with a smile.

“I do what I can,” Harry replied back with a smile that she knew too well.

“Harry, what are you planning?” Hermione asked.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked innocently.

“You have that look in your eye and when you get that look, it's never good,” Hermione replied.

“I resent that. I have good ideas sometimes,” Harry retorted.

“Sometimes but most of the time their idiotic like this one. You are not going back there,” Hermione told him firmly.

“Back where?” Harry asked.

“You know where, it's too dangerous and it's not the right time,” Hermione told him.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Harry replied back faking a yawn.

“Harry, promise me you're not going back there. We need to be patient and we need to have a plan before we do anything,” Hermione asked offering her pinky.

“I promise,” Harry told her but avoiding the pinky.

“Harry…” Hermione said again.

Harry sighed and they hooked pinkies and she smiled.

`Good and remember what you told me,” Hermione told him.

Harry smile as she left the room and he paced about. He was feeling extremely energetic and didn't want to stand still. He wanted to do something to help Hermione. He really wanted to go back there and see what Carlineux was up to but he couldn't because he promised Hermione. And there was the fact that she would probably keep an eye out for him which means he doesn't have much of a chance of leaving easily. He decided then to wait until the next day to come up with a new plan.

*~*~*~*~*

The next morning Hermione woke up early and headed off to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She didn't sleep very well because she was really nervous about everything that she has learned the night before.

“Good morning,” Allie told her brightly.

-->

28. Down to the final three again

A/N: So sorry about the long wait between updates but yeah I had computer problems again and I had to start this chapter all over again and then I was busy with school and family stuff. So I did enjoy the final book and it was great one despite the epilogue. I hope you guys enjoy and that you review. Thanks with sticking with me.

Chapter 28

“Allie, you're back,” Hermione replied rubbing her eyes.

“Of course I'm here, where else would I be? Or maybe you just didn't want me to come back?” Allie replied.

“Don't be ridiculous, of course I wanted you to come back,” Hermione answered.

“Good then. But out of curiosity, what did you think would happen to me?” Allie asked as she took out a pan.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“I mean what did you think that Carlineux would do to me? Cut me into little pieces or Torture me?” Allie asked again in a mocking tone of voice and a small laugh.

“I don't know. But she did say that the person Harry didn't choose wouldn't get to leave,” Hermione answered.

“She didn't mean it in the way that you think she meant it. She just meant that we wouldn't all leave together and that we wouldn't get to leave right away,” Allie added.

“Well maybe she wouldn't do that to you but she could have done something to me,” Hermione added.

“She wouldn't do anything as horrible as you imagine. She's not that type of person and I know because we're close,” Allie retorted.

“How close are the two of you?” Hermione asked again.

“Well if you must know, I think of her like a sister I never had,” Allie replied.

“How well do you know her and how did you guys meet?” Hermione asked pointedly.

“Why do you want to know?” Allie asked as she walked over the table and sat down.

“Because you said you guys are close so I would like to know what type of person that she really is,” Hermione answered.

“Well not that I have to tell you but I don't mind telling you that we met through the school program,” Allie answered.

“What kind of school program?” Hermione asked.

“A kind of school mentoring program, where older students help out the younger ones,” Allie added grabbing a pan.

“How are you guys matched up?” Hermione inquired.

“I don't know but I supposed randomly or through similarities. They never explained how it works to me,” Allie answered opening the fridge.

“So when was this program started?” Hermione asked.

“During my third year I guess. I thought that was a really great idea to do this program because I had a lot of questions and it felt good to be able to talk to another student closer to my age,” Allie replied.

“You mean that they started it while you were in the school?” Hermione asked surprised.

“I don't actually know,” Allie replied.

“Don't you find it strange that they started the program while you were in your third year?” Hermione asked.

“Well, I only heard it about in my third year and they said that they have been thinking about this program for a long time,” Allie replied.

“So what did you guys talk about?” Hermione asked.

“School and how I felt about everything. She listened to me talk about all my problems and helped me to choose classes and gave me tons of advice. She reassured me when I was feeling down and helped me out a lot. As you probably know I did seem to have some anger issues towards my upbringing and not having parents. She suggested that I get counseling and stuff like that. She really is like my sister,” Allie commented.

“So after you went to schools, you guys still kept in touch?” Hermione asked.

“Of course, she helped me out while I was at NYU and she even helped me find a private eye to find my information about my parents,” Allie explained.

`She introduced you to the private investigator?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah she said he was a family friend and I'm glad that she did,” Allie answered.

“What do you know about Carlineux's life?” Hermione asked.

“Well I know that she's a caring person and helps people who need it,” Allie answered.

“I mean what does she do for a living?” Hermione asked again.

“I'm not actually sure. From what she's told me she and some of her friends have started a group together and they try to help as many people as they can,” Allie answered.

“What are they helping people with?” Hermione asked again.

“I don't really know and I haven't really ever asked. What's with the third degree?” Allie asked turning back around.

“Sorry, I just wanted to learn more about your friends,” Hermione asked.

“Look, what do you want from me?” Allie asked.

“I want for us to be able to get to know each other and maybe we can be friends,” Hermione answered.

“Really? I don't think that friends give each other the third degree?” Allie commented.

“I don't mean to make you feel that way. I just want to know more about you,” Hermione added.

“You really think that we could be friends after everything that's happened?” Allie asked looking a bit skeptical.

“I do, I know that I never gave you a fair chance and it was wrong just to past judgment on you without getting to know you and I was hoping you could give me that chance as well,” Hermione explained.

“I don't know. You told me that you just couldn't forget everything that happened. And now you want to get to know me? How do I know that you aren't doing this to turn me in?” Allie asked angrily.

“I know that I said that but I also know that you didn't want to hurt anybody and like you said you didn't actually do anything so I've been thinking that since you're not going to do that anymore that I'd give you the benefit of the doubt. You're not going to do anything like that anymore right?” Hermione asked.

“I don't know, when the occasion rises I might,” Allie replied nonchalantly.

“Allie, please,” Hermione said with a pleading look in her eye.

“I'm kidding, I'm not going to do anything like that again. Not because of anything you said but because it's not something that I ever wanted to do,” Allie admitted.

“Okay so you think that you could give a chance?” Hermione asked again carefully.

“Do you want some eggs?” Allie asked after a moment.

“What?” Hermione asked surprised.

“Look, I can't promise you anything but I am willing to give a try. Don't expect too much though,” Allie replied after a moment.

“I won't. That's great,” Hermione said as a smile lit up her face.

“I was going to make some eggs so I was wondering if you wanted anything,” Allie asked slowly.

“Sure, I like my eggs fried,” Hermione replied pleasantly surprised.

“I like my eggs sunny-side up,” Allie added with a small smile.

“What else do you like with your breakfast?” Hermione asked smiling in return.

“Well normally I like to have toast and a banana. What about you?” Allie asked.

“I usually add some bacon and I like toast and some fruit. Do you like milk?” Hermione asked.

“I don't really say that I like it but I've always had a glass to help my growth,” Allie answered with a smile.

“Do you want any help?” Hermione asked.

“Well if you don't mind, you could maybe make the toast?” Allie asked.

“Sure,” Hermione replied with a smile.

*~*~*~*~

Harry woke up later than usual in the morning and hurried to get up and grab something to eat before he had to head over to the director of the show for their appointment. His head was still spinning with all the developments in Hermione's life. Their family was special after all. He knew that he shouldn't be surprised because they were Hermione's parents but all in all it was quite interesting to know that there really was more to Allie than meets the eye.

He had guessed that Allie knows nothing at all about what Carlineux's ulterior motives were and the big secret surrounding her birth. He realized that deep down she just wanted to belong just like every other person.

His mind wandered back towards Hermione and wondering how she was doing. Learning all this new information about her family must be tough on her. And getting through to Allie might be tough but knowing Hermione as well as he did. He did know that she would figure out a way to get through to her. He also knew that she was also worried about Allie as well hanging out with those people. He would figure out a way to help her.

Just then his phone rang and he picked it up.

*~*~*~

Hermione and Allie were sitting down and eating there breakfast. It was a nice silence, not at all like before.

“Allie, I talked to our parents,” Hermione started.

Allie just paused there frozen for a second and looked up and asked, “Oh, and how are they?”

“They're good. Doing well, is there anything in particular you want to know about them?” Hermione asked.

“No, there's nothing that I want to know about them,” Allie replied looking away.

“So you wouldn't want to know what they said when I asked them about you?” Hermione teased her.

“Of course I don't care but if you wanted to tell me, nobody can stop you,” Allie added.

“I did and they didn't know anything,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“I knew it, I told you it was pointless,” Allie answered bitterly.

“No it wasn't at all. Because as it turns out their memories were blocked so they couldn't remember,” Hermione continued.

“Their memories were blocked?” Allie asked with some disbelief in her voice.

“Yes and then they remembered you and they told me that they were really happy to have you,” Hermione commented.

“If they were then why did they give me up?” Allie asked.

“Because they wanted what was best for you. They didn't want to but they were told that you were really special and that they couldn't give you the education and training that you deserve,” Hermione explained.

“Really? Then why don't they remember me?” Allie asked.

“I told you their memories were blocked and it wasn't their choice. The people at your school thought that it would be best if they didn't remember,” Hermione added.

“I don't know if I really believe that,” Allie commented after a moment.

“It's the truth and if you don't believe me you could ask them yourselves and see for yourself,” Hermione suggested.

“No thanks. If that's what they told you then they will tell me the same thing. There really is no point in asking them myself. I'm also not ready to see them yet,” Allie told her.

“Well if you decide to go see them. I would love to go with you if you wanted me to,” Hermione said quietly.

“Thanks, I'll keep that in mind,” Allie replied getting up and turned back around, “Look you don't have to worry about Lisa, I've talked to some people and they'll be getting up soon.”

Hermione looked up in surprise and watched Allie walk away.

The phone then rang and since Hermione was the closest she picked it up.

“Hermione, how are you doing?” Harry said.

“Harry, anyone could have answered the phone

“It's nice to hear your voice too,” Harry replied with a laugh.

“So how was your morning?” Hermione asked rolling her eyes.

“I just had a meeting with the director,” Harry told her.

“The director? Did you get caught for something? I told you to be more careful,” Hermione asked with a teasing tone to her voice.

“No, of course not. I'm always careful. When have I ever been caught so easily?” Harry replied slightly offended.

“Do you want me to give you a list?” Hermione asked with a sarcastically sweet tone.

“Let's hear it then,” Harry said with a grin.

“How about the time in fifth year when..” Hermione started.

“That was an accident and it wasn't my fault. Also it's not like I'm as trained in trailing others as before,” Harry replied.

“Alright how about that time about three years ago?” Hermione asked.

“Okay, okay I get your point but if I didn't know you so well I would be offended,” Harry added.

“What are you talking about?” Hermione asked.

“You're obviously just worried about me,” Harry answered.

“Well somebody has to,” Hermione asked rolling her eyes.

“So does that mean you've been keeping an eye on me?” Harry asked.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Hermione retorted.

“If you want to keep an eye on me, you're more than welcome to,” Harry continued.

“Well if that's it, then I'll be going,” Hermione replied.

“Okay, I'll be serious now,” Harry replied.

“So is there anything you wanted to tell me?” Hermione asked.

“I think that you look really cute when you're worried about me,” Harry answered.

“I told you to stop kidding around,” Hermione replied.

“I'm being really serious,” Harry told her.

“I don't know what to do with you sometimes,” Hermione replied sternly though she couldn't help smiling.

“Okay so I actually do have something to tell you,” Harry replied.

“What's up?” Hermione replied with a smile.

“Well like you said, I had a meeting with the director and it wasn't for anything serious but before that I got an interesting phone call,” Harry told her.

“How interesting?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Well it was from the head of my department and they informed me that Lisa seems to have returned and a few other people have been released,” Harry told her.

“Really? So Allie was telling me the truth,” Hermione replied a grin crawling up her face.

“What did you say?” Harry asked surprised.

“Allie told me that she had talked to Carlineux and that she said that Lisa would be getting up soon,” Hermione explained.

“She told you that?” Harry asked surprised.

“Yeah she said that Lisa and some people would be getting up soon. We actually managed to have a nice conversation. She didn't see to trust me at first but she relaxed a bit and I think she is willing to give us a chance to become closer,” Hermione replied with a happy tone to her voice.

“I think that's great and all but don't you think that it was a little too easy?” Harry pointed out.

“What are you talking about?” Hermione asked.

“I would have thought that it would have taken longer for her to agree,” Harry replied.

“It's not like we're actually friends yet but we're going to try,” Hermione replied.

“You know what I mean right?” Harry said softly.

“I know but I was hoping that maybe she just had a change of heart,” Hermione replied sheepishly.

“So why do you think she changed her mind?” Harry asked.

“I have no idea but I agree that it is a bit suspicious that she agreed to it as quickly as she did. I'm really hoping that it doesn't mean anything,” Hermione replied.

“You're right, it might not mean anything,” Harry said.

“But it's better to be careful,” Hermione finished.

“Yeah,” Harry said with a slight smile.

“It's funny to hear you say that. It sounds like something that I would say,” Hermione added with a laugh.

“It really does,” Harry said with a laugh.

“It looks like you finally learned something that actually might be useful,” Hermione replied.

“I don't know if that's a good thing,” Harry murmured.

“But still I will be careful but I'm really hoping that nothing is going on,” Hermione told him.

“I hope so too,” Harry replied.

“I've got to get going,” Hermione told him looking at the clock.

“I'll see you later then,” Harry added.

“Oh and one other thing, did the director ask about me?” Hermione asked.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“I mean I was only supposed to be on until around until the remaining five and here we are and we're down to the final 3,” Hermione explained.

“Oh he did mention a little something about that, apparently the director just got word that Chloe has been released and cleared of all allegations since Lisa has come back. Apparently Chloe will be coming back and we will be filming that ceremony once again,” Harry explained.

“And they would like you to rethink your decisions,” Hermione finished.

“They may have mentioned that it's as if the other ceremony didn't happen,” Harry answered.

“So what are you going to do?” Hermione asked nervously.

“I don't think that I really need to change anything. I think it all turned out pretty well,” Harry answered.

“I think so too,” Hermione said with a smile.

“Unless you actually want me to reconsider?” Harry replied.

“I'm not telling you to do anything. You just do whatever you think is best,” Hermione commented.

“Oh really? Then maybe I really should,” Harry said.

“You just go on ahead then,” Hermione answered.

“Oh then I will,” Harry replied.

“Okay then, see you soon,” Hermione told him shaking her head.

Harry put down the phone and couldn't help but smile. It might be fun to tease her tonight. She's trying hard not to care but she does. Harry looked back at the table and looked at the pictures of the remaining ladies in the mansion.

There were two ladies that he knew that he wanted to stay. First of all was Hermione, she was so easy to be around and the truth is he did have more than friends feelings for her. He wanted to chance to figure it all out with out it being too awkward and he knew that this would be the best chance for him to do this. Christine was a very nice girl and smart and pretty and very talented. It was quite easy for him to make those two decisions.

Now deciding between Chloe and Allie was a bit tougher. First of all he felt that he owed Chloe a chance after everything that has happened but then again he felt that maybe he should give Allie a chance as well because Hermione wanted him to. That was the biggest reason for his decision. Hermione wanted to get to know Allie and it would probably also be best for their investigation to keep her around.

Just then his phone rang and he went to quickly pick it up and replied, “Potter here.”

“We just found something that you might find interesting,” a familiar voice said.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“I think you should come and see this,” he replied.

“Okay, I'll be there in a couple of minutes,” Harry replied and quickly left the room.

*~*~*~*~*

Hermione was putting the finishing touches on her outfit in her room when she heard a knock on her door.

“Come on in,” Hermione replied.

“Hermione you look beautiful,” Allie said.

“Thanks Allie. What are you doing here?” Hermione asked surprised but with a smile on her face.

“I just wanted to see if you're ready to head downstairs,” Allie answered.

“I'll be ready in a couple of minutes. I'm glad to see you,” Hermione told her.

“I was actually also hoping to talk to you about something,” Allie added.

“Of course you can. Why don't you sit down?” Hermione said pointing to her bed.

“I'm a little bit worried about tonight,” Allie continued.

“What are you worried about?” Hermione answered.

“I'm actually worried about the ceremony that will take place,” Allie added.

“Oh so you worried that Harry will change his mind with his selections?” Hermione asked.

“A little bit, I mean the last time the ceremony happened I never gave Harry the chance to pick between me and Chloe. Have you talked to Harry about this?” Allie explained.

“I wouldn't worry about it so much. Harry will be making up his own mind,” Hermione told her warmly.

“But have you actually asked him anything?” Allie asked.

“I did talk to him about it a little bit,” Hermione replied.

“And what did he say? Did you mention anything about me?” Allie asked.

“He didn't really tell me much of anything other than that he didn't really think that he would be changing anything but that the director mentioned to him that he could change if he wanted to,” Hermione replied.

“What do you think that he'll do?” Allie asked.

“My opinion?” Hermione asked.

“You do know him very well and you might know what he would be thinking about now,” Allie replied with a nod.

“Honestly, I don't think that you have much to worry about. I think that he would like the chance to get to know you too,” Hermione told her.

“Did he actually say that?” Allie asked.

“Not in so many words but I'm sure that's what he means,” Hermione replied.

“Has he said anything to you about me since you know what happened?” Allie asked.

“Well he did mention one thing about you,” Hermione replied.

“And what exactly did he say?” Allie urged her.

“He said that you were special and that I should some time to get to know you,” Hermione answered.

“He actually said that?” Allie asked skeptically.

“It's hard to believe but that is what he said and I actually agree. I don't know you at all so it's not right of me just to jump to conclusions about the type of person you really are,” Hermione told her.

“I don't know if I actually really believe that mean what you say or you have this ulterior motive but I do want to believe you but I'm not sure that I can,” Allie told her.

“You're right I do,” Hermione told her.

“See I know that you would,” Allie commented getting up.

“I just want you to like me because you are my sister and I want to get to know the real you,” Hermione answered.

“And what do you exactly think you will find out? That I'm just this misguided girl that needs help?” Allie asked.

“No, where are you getting this from?” Hermione asked.

“Well you're not going to find that out about me. I make my own decisions and I have good instincts okay?” Allie added.

“I told you that I don't think that way about you. I'm sure you are a strong independent person. I would want to be part of your life,” Hermione added with a sigh.

“Okay, if you really want to be part of my life then you better be sure that I am still here after tonight,” Allie told her as she got out of the room.

Hermione just sighed and sat down. She really couldn't figure Allie out. She's warm and then cold. Does she actually want to give her a chance or a small part of her thought that maybe it was something that she was told to do. But she really did not want to believe that.

She quickly checked her appearance in the mirror and patted down her hair and headed down the stairs.

By the time she got down the stairs, she saw that the rest of the ladies had already assembled. She looked over and saw Chloe and headed over to her.

“Chloe, how are you doing?” Hermione asked.

“Hermione, it's good to see you,” Chloe exclaimed giving her a hug.

“So are you nervous about tonight?” Hermione asked.

“A little bit. But that's how it is with every single ceremony,” Chloe told her with a shrug.

“You look good,” Hermione told her.

“I really do love your dress,” Allie added in.

“Thanks Allie. You look great too,” Chloe added.

“Ladies, we're going to start filming in about a minute,” Bart said.

They girls assembled together and Matthew and Harry joined him on the other side.

Hermione could see Matthew whispering something to him and Harry whispering back with a smile. She couldn't help but wonder about what they were talking about.

Harry looked up and caught her smiling at her and winked.

Hermione smiled at him in return and Harry raised his eyebrows and turned and whispered something into Matthew ears.

Hermione glared at Harry in response.

“Welcome to tonight's rose ceremony and it has come down to the final three. There are only three roses remaining. The one who does not receive a rose has a few moments to say good bye and then you must leave the premises,” Matthew replied.

Everyone nodded and Harry stepped forward.

“I have had a chance to get to know to know each of you for some time now and every week it gets tougher and tougher to say goodbye to one of you. This week was no exception. I've had time to think long and hard and finally came to make a decision,” Harry started out and took out the first rose.

“Hermione, will you accept this rose?” Harry asked with a grin.

“Yes, I would love to,” Hermione replied taking the rose and gave Harry a hug.

“Surprised?” Harry asked.

“Not really but what were you and Matthew whispering about?” Hermione whispered back.

“Do you really want to know?” Harry asked.

“It would be nice to know,” Hermione replied back.

“Meet me later tonight and you'll find out,” Harry whispered giving her a light squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

Hermione gave him a questioning glance and then returned to her spot on the stage.

“Christine, would you accept this rose?” Harry asked.

“Yes I will,” Christine replied stepping up and gave him a short kiss on the cheek.

Harry took a moment to pause and then took the final rose and looked back and forth between the two of them and took a quick glance back at Hermione who gave him a reassuring smile.

“Allie will you take this final rose?” Harry told her.

“I'd loved to,” Allie replied with a big smile and murmured “Thanks.”

Harry smiled back and looked back up and saw Hermione smiling back at him and he grinned even larger.

“All of you who haven't received a rose you have a few moments to say your good byes and then you must leave immediately,” Matthew replied.

Chloe walked up to Harry and said, “It was really nice getting to know you but I wanted to ask why you didn't pick me?”

“I just don't think that we're suited for each other at all. I don't think that you're the type of person I can be with,” Harry replied.

“What does that mean?” Chloe asked.

“I think that you know what I mean Alex,” Harry told her.

Chloe looked up at him in surprise, “What did you call me?”

“Isn't that your real name?” Harry asked.

“How do you even know?” Chloe asked surprised.

“I have my sources and you should go now,” Harry told her.

“But…” Chloe replied.

“Goodbye,” Harry told her.

Chloe turned back and was going to say something but Harry had already turned away.

Hermione looked between the two of them with curiosity and raised her eyebrows in question at him.

Harry mouthed the word later and turned to the others and said, “Here's to the final three.”

“Cheers and I'd like to make another toast if I may?” Allie spoke up.

“Sure Allie, go on ahead,” Harry replied.

“I'd just like to say that I'm glad that it's the three of us that made the final three and that I'm glad that you met you guys and I look forward to spending time with you all,” Allie said.

“Hear, hear,” Hermione told her warmly.

”Before you guys go, we have one final surprise for tonight,” Matthew announced.

“What is the surprise?” Christine asked.

“One of you lovely ladies is going on your first date tonight,” Matthew explained.

“Who is it?” Allie asked.

“Now all of you get a turn but we drew names out of a hat and picked the first person and that person would be…” Matthew pauses for dramatic effect.

“Just tell us already,” Hermione said.

“Why don't you tell them Harry?” Matthew said.

“And the lucky girl is…… Hermione,” Harry said with a smile.

“Congrats Hermione,” Christine said.

Hermione was smiling and shaking her head and nodded.

“So I'll see you outside in a few minutes,” Harry said.

“I'll see you then,” Hermione added with a smile.

-->

29. A perfect evening

A/N: Here is the next update you guys. I know that it's been awhile and I was planning to update earlier but with the holidays and everything I just got too busy. I really hope you'll enjoy this chapter as I have enjoyed writing this one. This one is mainly about H/hr. I thought it was time to have one of those chapters. Please review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. JK Rowling owns Harry and Hermione and ABC owns the bachelor. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Author: heaven85

Chapter 29:

“You're so lucky Hermione,” Christine told her.

“I guess that I just have good luck,” Hermione told her with a smile.

“Have a great time,” Allie told her and gave her a hug.

Hermione was pleasantly surprised and said, “Thanks Allie.”

“Tell us all about it when you get back,” Christine told her.

Hermione nodded and headed outside to where Harry was waiting.

“Hey,” Harry said as he stood outside with an impish smile on his face.

“Hi,” Hermione replied with a grin and a feeling of nervousness in the pit of her stomach.

“Are you ready to go?” Harry asked as he offered her his hand.

“Sure, so where are you taking me?” Hermione asked as that feeling of nervousness left her.

“The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll know,” Harry replied.

“Are you trying to be mysterious?” Hermione inquired.

“I'm not trying at all, I really am this mysterious,” Harry replied.

Hermione just laughed and walked into the limousine.

Harry grinned as he loved listening to her laugh.

“So actually I wanted to ask you something,” Hermione started.

“You mean about Chloe?” Harry replied.

“I think I heard you calling her Alex? What's that about?” Hermione asked.

“I knew you were going to ask about that. Well that's her real name,” Harry answered.

“And…” Hermione asked.

“Well as it turns out, Alex actually contacted this company to help her in doing something,” Harry explained.

“What did she contact the company for?” Hermione asked.

“She contacted the company because she wanted their assistance in finding someone,” Harry commented.

“Who did she want to find and why?” Hermione asked.

“The person that she wanted to find is Chloe and the reason for this at this time isn't exactly confirmed but from our investigations we figure that the two of them have issues to sort out,” Harry added.

“And I get the feeling that this company has something to do with Carlineux?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, you're absolutely correct. What gave that away?” Harry teased her.

“Well, maybe the fact that Alex looked exactly like Chloe. Unless they were identical twins it wouldn't be very likely,” Hermione replied.

“Well you're right, they aren't identical twins. They do good work,” Harry commented.

“And well I was wondering if Alex knows about magic?” Hermione asked.

“No, as for as Alex knows, they are just muggles who are just really good at disguise work,” Harry replied.

“But wait, then if that's Alex, then where's Chloe?” Hermione asked.

“Just relax, she's absolutely fine and safe where she is right now,” Harry replied.

“So you guys found her?” Hermione asked.

“Yes we did and she doesn't remember a thing that has happened,” Harry told her.

“You guys modified her memory?” Hermione asked.

“Actually we didn't need to do anything, she was already like that when we found her. I'm guessing that she must have found out something that she shouldn't have. We checked and she seems absolutely fine,” Harry explained.

“Well as long as she's fine,” Hermione replied.

“Now, let's just forget about all that tonight and have some fun,” Harry said.

“You're right, we really should. I don't want to think about this anymore, so now can you let me know where we're going?” Hermione asked looking around.

“Well I would but I really want this do be a surprise. It wasn't the easiest thing to plan,” Harry answered.

“Really, you're actually taking the time to think about the place?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah, I wouldn't want to take you somewhere that you wouldn't like to go and let me tell you that it took me awhile to come up with a few possible locations,” Harry added.

“And what did you end up picking?” Hermione asked curiosity.

“Why don't you take a look out your window?” Harry asked.

Hermione took one look at Harry and then turned her head to look out the window.

Harry watched her face slowly light up and the smile on her face grow.

“Do you approve?” Harry asked.

“It's beautiful Harry. I have always wanted to go on the water,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“Wait until you see the yacht,” Harry told her.

“What do you have in store for me?” Hermione asked raising her eyebrows.

“You'll find out soon enough,” Harry replied.

Hermione smiled and followed Harry out of the limousine where he took a handkerchief out of his pocket.

“You're going to blindfold me?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, it'll keep the suspense up,” Harry told her as he wrapped the handkerchief around her eyes and took her hand and led her very carefully out to where the dock was.

“The air here smells fantastic,” Hermione commented.

“It really does. Okay so now you can take your blind fold off,” Harry instructed.

Hermione nodded and reached for her blindfold and took it off and opening her eyes to the beautiful yacht that lay in front of her. The yacht was sleek and shiny and there was a painted stripe at the bow of the ship and in the ship there were a few windows and a table covered in a fancy table cloth and a place setting suitable for two. There were also a couple of candles and flowers and placed them on the table.

“It looks beautiful,” Hermione told him with a smile.

“Shall we?” Harry asked.

“We shall,” Hermione replied taking his hand and carefully entering the yacht and began looking around.

“So what do you think?” Harry said handing her a glass.

“I think that you picked a good location. What do you have planned for tonight?” Hermione asked.

“A relaxing and fun evening that I'm pretty sure that you'll enjoy,” Harry answered.

“That does sound good,” Hermione replied.

“So first we will have dinner,” Harry replied leading her to the table and pulling the chair out for her.

“Thank you. The table looks great,” Hermione said sitting down noticing there laid a basket of bread and the lovely arrangement of flowers.

“So is there anything in particular that you wanted tonight?” Harry asked.

“I'm sure that you whatever you picked will be fine,” Hermione replied.

“Well then, I'll bring out the appetizers,” Harry added snapping his fingers.

“I can't wait,” Hermione commented.

In less than a minute, two plates and glasses were placed in front of them by a waiter.

“My name is Shane and I will be your waiter for the evening. If you would like anything feel free to ask right away. Here are your Hors d'oeuvres and would you like a glass of sherry? Shane asked.

“Sure I'd love one,” Hermione replied holding up her glass and it was quickly filled.

“How about you sir?” Shane asked Harry.

“I'd love one as well,” Harry replied with a nod.

Shane then left quickly.

Hermione took a quick bite of her canapé and took a sip of her sherry.

“So what do you think?” Harry asked.

“It's a little bit spicy but it's just the way that I like it. Why don't you try it?” Hermione replied.

Harry took a quick bite of his canapé and began coughing and grabbed for a glass of water.

Hermione just burst out into giggles.

“Stop laughing,” Harry protested.

“So I can't help it. Remember the time we went to Madrid? Hermione asked.

“Yeah I do, it was one of the few times that I didn't have to work as much,” Harry responded.

“Yeah it was one of the few times when we could actually got to go to the same place,” Hermione added.

“I was actually quite surprised to see you there,” Harry commented.

“As was I but my favorite part of the trip was when we had dinner at the Las Bravas,” Hermione replied.

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Harry replied.

“Maybe I should refresh your memory then,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“You really don't have to,” Harry added.

“I really insist and really it's no trouble at all. You see my friend told me that if I was ever in Madrid that I had to go to this place and try their specialty which was the patatas bravas which is fried potatoes with a spicy paprika sauce and you took one bite of the potato and you just went red and…” Hermione said.

“Okay, okay, you don't need to go into details,” Harry spoke up quickly.

“So I take it that you do remember,” Hermione commented.

“A little and didn't you promise not to bring it up again?” Harry asked.

“I promised that I would never bring it up in front of other people and it's just the two of us,” Hermione replied sweetly.

Harry glared back at her and said, “I'll let that slide this time but honestly it really wasn't all that funny, I could have choked on something.”

“You did not choke on anything, the pieces were not all that big and you were the one that was bragging about being able to eat anything and stuffed your face with it,” Hermione reminded him.

“Okay maybe you have a point there,” Harry muttered.

“Okay then, what's next?” Hermione asked finishing up her plate and handing it to Shane.

“We'll be bringing the main course which is the Duck a L'Orange,” Shane replied.

“That is one of my favorites,” Hermione commented with a smile.

“I know,” Harry replied with a smile.

Shane placed down the plate in front of both of them and went back inside.

Hermione took a bite and smiled, “This is really good. It tastes moist and the sauce is really good. ”

Harry took a bite and said, “It does taste good.”

“So where is this food from?” Hermione asked.

“Well have you heard Le Rêve?” Harry asked.

“I think I read something about that place and how you have to book at least three months in advance to get a table. Are you telling me that we're eating the food from over there?” Hermione asked.

Harry nodded with a smile.

“But how did you manage that?” Hermione asked.

“Well first of all I actually have a reservation for tonight and I was planning on surprising you and taking you there but then this came up so all I had to do was to call in a favor so that we could still keep the reservation,” Harry explained.

“Really? That's really sweet of you. But what's the reason?” Hermione asked.

“Do I need a special reason to take you out for dinner?” Harry asked.

“No you don't need one but you usually do have one,” Hermione added.

“Well I usually do but this time I just wanted to take you out for dinner because we've both been so busy and haven't spend as much time and then I while traveling I heard about this restaurant and thought that would be something that you would want to try,” Harry explained.

“Well it was a great idea but I have one question, how are we getting the food from the restaurant? Are we anywhere near the restaurant?” Hermione asked curiously.

“We aren't but being a wizard does have certain advantages,” Harry answered.

“It certainly can but what exactly did you do?” Hermione inquired.

“Well, I managed to set up a portkey near the restaurant so that we can have access to the restaurant,” Harry added.

“Okay I'm following you but isn't that a bit risky. Muggles could see you,” Hermione pointed.

“Yes I do know that but I have managed to call in a favor from a fellow auror over in San Antonio and he's been helping us get the food here,” Harry added.

“That sounds like a pretty solid plan but what did you tell Shane the food was coming from?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Well we just told him that the chef didn't want to be disturbed and that the food would be brought to him when they are ready to be served but just to be safe I have also placed a protection charm around the area so he won't go anywhere near there,” Harry replied.

“Okay but what about…” Hermione started.

“And just so you know I did get special permission to set up this portkey just for tonight,” Harry answered.

“Okay, I'm impressed. How did you know I was going to ask that?” Hermione asked.

“Because I know you and how you are a stickler for rules and it was obviously wouldn't be following protocol,” Harry added.

“Hey, I have to say that I have loosened up a lot over the years being friends with you and Ron,” Hermione protested.

“Well you have definitely changed from the first time that we met you at Hogwarts,” Harry responded with a smile.

“You have not changed that much though overall,” Hermione replied after a few moments.

“I don't know if I should be offended or not by that comment but thank you,” Hermione replied with a laugh.

“There you go again with that attitude of yours but just so you know I think that it's great that you're both the same but different,” Hermione replied.

“How am I the same but different?” Harry asked.

“Well, first of all you still have that you have that hero complex and rushing ahead and doing things without thinking,” Hermione answered.

“That's not necessarily true, I never do things without at least a hunch now and sometimes in my line of work I can't plan ahead before doing everything,” Harry replied amused.

“Well I wasn't done yet. But you have matured a lot over the years and you have learned to be a bit more careful and you've become an incredibly talented wizard,” Hermione finished.

“Well I think that you turned out pretty well too. You have a good sense of adventure now but still a little bit of a stickler for rules,” Harry added with a slight flush

“Only a tiny bit of adventure?” Hermione asked raising her eyebrows.

“Okay so you do have a big sense of adventure. If you wanted to you would have made a great auror but you chose not to. You also have ignored rules if necessary to help others or in the sense of justice,” Harry continued.

“Well sometimes there are more important things than rules,” Hermione replied.

“You really surprised us sometimes. I remember when we first met you and how you were so worried about getting expelled and following all the rules” Harry replied fondly.

“And you two were always wandering off and ignoring the rules but that's not always a bad thing,” Hermione commented.

“And following the rules can have it rewards,” Harry commented.

“And because of you guys I didn't spend all my time in the books and managed to have a lot of fun,” Hermione added.

“Those were some great times weren't they?” Harry added.

“There were some really good times that I will never forget,” Hermione added.

Harry and Hermione finished off their main dishes in comfortable silence.

“So are you ready for dessert?” Harry asked.

“I'm full but I don't mind eating dessert,” Hermione replied with a smile.

Harry signaled for Shane to bring the dessert out.

Shane placed two plates in front of them.

“What is this?” Hermione asked.

“It is white chocolate bread pudding,” Shane answered and quickly left.

“I have never had this dessert before,” Hermione stated taking a small spoonful.

“Then you'd better try it,” Harry added taking a spoonful as well.

“Hm…. this is heavenly, it's nice and warm and very rich,” Hermione commented.

“It tastes sweet and warm and this would definitely be one of my favorite desserts,” Harry added.

“I feel really full,” Hermione said putting down her spoon and sat back down in her chair.

“How was everything?” Shane asked taking her plate.

“Everything was really delicious,” Hermione told her with a smile.

“How about you?” Shane asked turning to Harry.

“Excellent. The food was delicious and served warm and fresh,” Harry answered.

“So what else do you have planned?” Hermione asked.

“The night is just beginning. Would you like to dance?” Harry asked offering his hand.

Hermione took it with a smile and got up and noticed a couple of violinists starting to play a soft melody and Harry led her in a waltz.

“You're becoming quite the talented dancer,” Hermione replied.

“I've had quite a few years experience now and I am glad that I learned this while I was younger,” Harry answered.

“I remember when you first learned the waltz during our 4th year for the Yule ball?” Hermione asked.

“The Yule ball? I so nervous and worried that I would make a fool of myself in front of all those people,” Harry replied.

“Although you weren't the best or the most elegant dancer you pulled off looking like a natural,” Hermione told him.

“And the yule ball was the first time I ever saw you really dressed up. You were the most beautiful girl there,” Harry told her softly.

“Harry, thank you but I know that it's not true,” Hermione answered blushing slightly.

“No you really were. Fleur is beautiful but she is also part Veela so of course she is beautiful. But you Hermione really took my breath away that night,” Harry explained.

“Well I did spend a lot of time getting ready for the ball,” Hermione commented.

“And it did pay off. You were the belle of the ball both inside and out,” Harry added.

“Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that,” Hermione told him softly.

“And over the years you've grown even more beautiful,” Harry complimented.

“Thank you and you're not bad yourself,” Hermione told him.

Harry smiled and pulled her closer and signaled for a change in music and led her into the quickstep. He began to step forward with is left foot while Hermione stepped back with the right foot. He then took a step forward with the right foot and then touched the left foot next to the right foot. Hermione followed by taking a step back with the left food and touching the right foot next to the left foot. Then they both took a side step and brought their foot back. He then led her into the Natural turn and then executed a quarter turn, Progressive Chasse and Lock combo.

“Where did you learn to do this?” Hermione asked surprised.

“It was one of the many skills that I have acquired during some of my training sessions,” Harry explained.

“Well you certainly are full of surprises,” Hermione commented.

“And I still have some up my sleeve, would you like to follow me?” Harry asked.

Hermione nodded and followed Harry as he walked on over and stopped in front of a room with a special wooden design on it.

“So what's behind this door?” Hermione asked.

“Why don't you open it and see?” Harry asked.

Hermione turned towards Harry and gave him a quizzical look and reached for the door and pushed it open. And when she opened to door she saw a beautiful scene in front of her. She saw an old styled building with a dome shaped roof with tons of light that reflected along the river. It was a beautiful sight.

“Harry is this where I think it is?” Hermione asked in deep awe of her surroundings.

“If you're talking about Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic then you're right. I remember you telling me about how you would like to go and see some of the sights but you've never had the time to do so” Harry told her with a smile.

“It's nice to know you were listening. The view from the Vltava River is amazing. That is the illuminated Prague castle is amazingly beautiful. It's the number place that I wanted to see in Prague.” Hermione told him.

“I know but the pictures don't remarkably do the place justice. Do you want to take a closer look?” Harry asked.

“Of course I would,” Hermione asked.

“Then go on ahead, I have made arrangement,” Harry told her with a smile.

“Harry, this is incredible and beautiful. But are you sure that this is okay?” Hermione asked.

“Don't worry Hermione. I've taken care of everything. All I want you to do is relax and enjoy the scenery,” Harry told her as he offered his hand.

Hermione took it with a smile and together they walked out the door to where a boat was waiting.

“You really have thought of everything,” Hermione commented as she noticed the rose and a bucket with champagne in the boat.

“Well I try,” Harry replied helping her carefully into the boat.

They sat in the boat and in comfortable silence and admired the beautiful sights in front of them. Harry turned towards Hermione as he heard her sneeze.

“Are you cold?” Harry asked as noticed Hermione shivering slightly.

“A little bit. I forget to bring my jacket,” Hermione replied slightly embarrassed.

Harry took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders.

“Thank you but what about you?” Hermione asked.

“Don't worry about me. I'm not cold at all,” Harry replied flexing his biceps.

“Okay, then if you're sure,” Hermione replied with a laugh.

“So what is that building there?” Harry asked changing the subject.

“Oh that is the National Theatre,” Hermione started to explain.

Harry handed her a glass of champagne and looked at the beautiful scenery in front of them and took a glance back towards Hermione and smiled as he took in her hair waving in the wind and watching her smile as she took in everything and how her eyes light up when she is talking about things that interested her.

“What is it? Do I have something on my face?” Hermione asked as he noticed him staring.

“I just love how animated you get when you're talking about something that really interests you,” Harry answered.

Hermione suddenly crushed Harry into a big hug. Harry was surprised but pulled her closer.

“Thank you Harry for taking me here and showing me this, it's an experience that I never want to forget and I'm so happy to be sharing it with you. You don't know how much this means to me,” Hermione whispered.

“I think I do,” Harry replied back.

Hermione looked around and asked, “Can we stop the boat and stay here for a little while? This view is breathtakingly beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” Harry added softly.

Suddenly the boat stopped and caused Hermione to fall on top of Harry. When she moved their foreheads touched and their eyes met and in that moment Harry didn't think and just reacted and leaned in and he kissed her softly and sweetly. Hermione was surprised as first but with just a moment's hesitation and kissed him back. Harry kissed her back and pulled her closer to him. Hermione moved her arms tighter around Harry and returned his kisses equally in passion. They continued like until the need for air caused them to break apart. They both looked up and just stared at each other and Harry leaned in once again but this time they were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

“Hello,” Harry said into the phone.

“It's time to head back,” a familiar voice said into the phone.

“Mike. Is it that time already?” Harry asked surprised.

“Really, I'm guessing you didn't notice the time,” Mike answered with a laugh.

“No, I really didn't. Is there anyway we can stay longer?” Harry replied sheepishly.

“I'm sorry, I would love to help you but we can't pull anymore strings tonight,” Mike told him apologetically.

“Thanks for the call,” Harry replied with a sigh.

“No problem. I'll talk to you later,” Mike said.

“What is it?” Hermione asked.

“It's time that we headed back. I wish we could stay longer but…” Harry told her apologetically.

“It's okay Harry. Tonight was enough plus we can always come back right?” Hermione asked.

“That is very true,” Harry replied with a grin as he reached for an object that appeared to him and a door appeared in front of them once again. They opened to door to see the familiar surroundings of their yacht.

They walked back out of the room and noticed that they had now reached the shore where the limo was waiting for them once again.

They both looked back out at the yacht with bright smiles before they headed back into the limo which took Hermione back to the mansion. During the trip back to the mansion they both sat comfortably both in their own worlds stealing glances at one another.

Harry got out and walked her to the mansion and said, “So I hope the date turned out well.”

“It was incredible, more than I possibly imagined. It was perfect,” Hermione replied and quickly kissed him before heading back inside.

“It really was perfect,” Harry murmured to himself with a smile.

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30. A little interlude

A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait. I had no idea that it would take me this long to get this chapter out. I hope you all enjoy it. It's getting so close to the end you guys. Only approx three chapters left. The next chapter will be out sooner than later for sure. Once again please review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 30:

The next morning Hermione woke up with a gigantic smile on her face. Memories of the beautiful night that she had spent with Harry flooded her mind. Last night was truly beautiful and very magical in more than one sense of the word. It was a night that she did not want to forget for a long time. She quickly got dressed and put her hair up in a pony tail and opened the door and there stood Allie wearing a bright smile.

“Allie, good morning,” Hermione replied surprise.

“Good morning Hermione. I was just going to knock on your door,” Allie replied.

“How are you doing this morning?” Hermione asked.

“I'm doing pretty well, how about you?” Allie asked.

“I'm doing pretty well,” Hermione answered.

“That's great to hear. So I was curious to know how your date went last night,” Allie said slowly.

“You want to hear about it?” Hermione asked.

“Of course so spill,” Allie replied.

“Well first of all he took me out on the sea in a yacht and the yacht was really beautiful,” Hermione answered.

“That sounds really nice. I do like the ocean” Allie replied.

“And we had dinner and talked and danced. In fact he had food brought to the boat from one of the restaurants that I had been wanting to go to but never really had a chance to since it was always booked up far in advance. It was really very all so amazing and then he had another surprise for me,” Hermione added.

“What kind of surprise?” Allie asked with curiosity.

“Well, he told me to open up this door and when I did we had the view of the old styled buildings and it turned out that we were in Prague,” Hermione replied.

“As in Prague, Bohemia, Czech Republic?” Allie asked surprised.

“Yes, that's the place. It was so beautiful looking at the sights from the Vltava River,” Hermione replied smiling at the memory.

“Wow, that sounds amazing. I would totally love to go to Prague, I think I passed by there once but I want to actually walk around and see the sights,” Allie replied.

“You should totally go, maybe we could go together sometime,” Hermione responded.

“You would want to go on a trip with me?” Allie asked surprised.

“Of course I would, it'll be a good chance for us to get to know each other better and it would be nice to see the sights with someone who appreciates them,” Hermione answered.

“I know what you mean,” Allie added.

“I'm glad that you dropped by, it's not like I could tell anybody else about this sort of thing,” Hermione added.

“That's true, so what are you up to today?” Allie asked.

“I hadn't really thought about it, but right now I'd like to get some breakfast,” Hermione answered with a laugh.

“Just what I was thinking,” Allie commented with a smile.

“Well then let's head downstairs,” Hermione said standing up.

Allie nodded and they walked down the stairs together and headed toward the kitchen. It was a nice feeling to be able to walk next to Allie and feel this comfortable and relaxed.

“So what do you want for breakfast?” Hermione asked.

“I don't know, what do they have in Prague?” Allie asked.

Hermione just laughed.

“Good morning,” Christine told them with a smile.

“Good morning Christine,” Allie and Hermione said in unison.

“How are the two of you doing?” Christine asked.

“I'm feeling great. How are you feeling?” Hermione asked.

“I'm feeling energetic today, so how was your date last night?” Christine asked.

“It went really well. He took me out on a yacht and there was dinner and dancing and just looking out into the night sky,” Hermione answered.

“That sounds quite romantic,” Christine commented with a smile.

“It was,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“I'm quite jealous actually, that would be a date that I would have loved to go on. You too right Allie?” Christine replied.

“Definitely,” Allie agreed.

“I'm sure yours will be great too and special in its own way,” Hermione told her.

“I'm sure that he'll come out with something completely amazing too,” Christine told her with a smile.

“So what are your plans for today?” Allie asked.

“Well actually today there happens to be a fashion show that I wanted to go to,” Christine replied.

“You mean the special one where Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen will be?” Allie asked.

“That's the one and I happen to have three tickets,” Christine replied.

“You have tickets? How did you get them?” Allie asked.

“I have a few sources and connections. So do the two of you want to go?” Christine asked.

“Are you kidding? Of course I want to go,” Allie replied.

“Hermione, what do you say?” Christine asked.

“Sure, I would love to go,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“I'm so excited about this. I was planning on trying to sneak into the show but now I don't have to,” Allie replied as she grabbed some toast from the toaster.

“I had no idea that you would want to go to a fashion show so badly,” Hermione replied.

“Usually I don't but this one has so many different designers displaying their work. It's all very exciting,” Allie explained.

“So what time is the show?” Hermione asked.

“Well this one is in the afternoon around 12pm,” Christine replied.

“So what are you planning on doing first?” Hermione inquired grabbing some fruit from the fridge.

“Well I was just planning on doing some shopping for one of my friends since its one of the few times that we have to ourselves. What are you planning on doing?” Christine replied.

“Actually I was just going to head over to the park and maybe do a bit of shopping myself,” Hermione replied.

“Allie, what are your plans?” Hermione asked.

“I have a few errands that I have to do that I haven't had a chance to yet,” Allie replied and took a bit of her toast and finished off her milk and excused herself.

“So, what's up with you and Allie?” Christine asked after she had left.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.

“It just seems that the two of you seem a lot closer than before,” Christine replied.

“We do?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah you do, I mean I always thought that you didn't like her all that much and it was pretty much a consensus that we all thought that she was a little bit on the weird side,” Christine added.

“Well I did at first but I think that we may have judged her before really getting to know her and I have since then I think that she actually is a very nice girl and actually she is quite sweet if you get to know her,” Hermione explained.

“I don't really know about that, she seems quite a bit stand-offish and doesn't seem like she actually wants to get to know the rest of us,” Christine replied.

“She may seem like that at first but she's really great once you get to know her. You should try and you'll see what I mean,” Hermione added.

“Well, if you really think so,” Christine answered after a few moments.

“I really think that you should,” Hermione told her with a nod.

Just then Allie entered the room once again and grabbed something and put it in her pocket and said, “I forgot I left my list downstairs.”

“I'll see you later then?” Hermione asked.

“Let's meet at the Ritual supper club at 11:45am?” Christine asked.

“Sure, I'll let Allie know,” Hermione answered.

Christine nodded gave a little wave as Hermione left and headed back upstairs and knocked quickly on Allie's door.

Allie opened the door and smiled and asked, “What do you want to tell me?”

“We're meeting at the Ritual Supper Club at 11:45am. Does that work for you?” Hermione asked.

“That works fine for me, I'll see you then and just so you know thanks.” Allie added quickly.

“For what?” Hermione asked surprised.

“I just wanted to say thanks,” Allie explained.

“You're welcome then. I'll see you in a few hours then.” Hermione told her.

“I'll see you then,” Allie told her.

Hermione gave a quick wave and headed back into her room and grabbed a brush and ran it through her hair and put on a bit of light makeup.

Then she looked through her closet to find something fitting to wear for the fashion show because she didn't want to look too under dressed for the event. She eventually settled on a light and dark checkered knee-length dress that had a flared look with short sleeves and a scooped neck line.

As she turned around she heard a light knocking on her door and she opened it up quickly and saw a familiar face. She quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

“What do you think you're doing?” Hermione said in a scolding tone.

“You look incredible,” Harry said

“Thank you,” Hermione replied with a blush.

“So where are you going?” Harry inquired.

“Well I'm heading over to a fashion show with Christine and Allie,” Hermione answered.

“That fashion show?” Harry asked raising his eyebrows.

“Yes that fashion show, don't look so surprised,” Hermione replied.

“Just doesn't seem like your kind of thing,” Harry replied.

“So stop evading my question. What are you really doing here?” Hermione asked again.

“Visiting a beautiful girl,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Nice try but what if somebody saw you? Hermione continued.

“I was careful and nobody was there,” Harry replied.

“What if somebody decided to come upstairs?” Hermione added.

“Well nobody did, did they?” Harry asked.

“Well, you're lucky that nobody saw so don't you do it again,” Hermione scolded again.

“Well then, I'll be going now,” Harry said turning around and walking towards the door.

“Where do you think you're going?” Hermione asked.

“Away since you obviously don't want me around,” Harry replied.

“If you think that then maybe you SHOULD leave,” Hermione added with a slight smirk.

“So wait, you're saying that you want me to stay?” Harry asked.

Hermione just shook her head and grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him away from the door.

Harry was about to say something but decided against it as he saw the glare that Hermione was giving him.

“So, now that you finally decided to be serious. Why are you really here?” Hermione asked again.

“Always so anxious to get right to the point, I wanted to give this to you,” Harry told her and pulled something out of his pocket.

“What is it?” Hermione asked.

“Why don't you take a look?” Harry added offering her his hand.

Hermione gave him a surprised look and took the pieces of paper from his hand and took a quick look.

“Are these THE symphony tickets?” Hermione asked in deep surprise.

Harry just nodded with a huge smile.

“How did you get them? How did you know?” Hermione asked him.

“First of all, you have been talking about the concert for weeks and I just asked a friend of mine of they could get me tickets and they came through.” Harry answered.

Hermione pulled him into a long hug whispering “Thank you” about three times.

“You're very welcome,” Harry murmured into her hair.

“Now, is there anything I can do for you?” Hermione asked after pulling back.

“You don't have to do anything. Your smile and appreciation is enough for me,” Harry commented.

“That's sweet but are you sure there isn't anything that I can do for you?” Hermione asked again.

“Actually there is this one thing that you can do for me,” Harry replied after a moment.

“What is it?” Hermione asked.

Harry motioned Hermione to come closer.

“You could stop nagging me about this,” Harry replied with a grin before quickly backing away.

“You little….” Hermione began before chased after him shoving him in the arm.

“You did say anything…..” Harry remarked.

“I was being serious,” Hermione replied back shoving him again.

“So was I,” Harry responded.

“I'm giving you one last chance to take it back,” Hermione replied with a grin.

“And what if I don't??” Harry asked.

Hermione just smiled said, “Would you mind picking up my watch over there?”

Harry nodded and bent down to pick up the watch.

Hermione took this split second and jumped onto his back and smacked him in the head.

“Ouch! What are you doing?” Harry asked.

“Teaching you a lesson,” Hermione answered sweetly.

“I see. You're punishing me by making me carry you. I guess you're a bit heavy…” Harry said earning another slap in the head.

Hermione pulled on his ear and said, “Say that again?”

“I mean you're not heavy at all, in fact you are really light,” Harry said.

“And don't you have something else to say?” Hermione prodded.

“And I'm sorry that you don't realize that you nag a lot,” Harry added.

Hermione shook her head and began tickling him on his stomach.

Harry started laughing and said in gasps, “Stop it.”

“Not until you say it,” Hermione replied.

“I can't,” Harry said in between breaths.

“Come on, you can say it,” Hermione urged him as she continued tickling him.

“Okay… you're right. I wasn't being serious,” Harry said finally.

“You forgot one part,” Hermione prodded him with her finger.

“And you don't nag that much,” Harry added with a sigh.

“Now, that wasn't too hard was it?” Hermione asked getting off his back.

“You know that you weren't being fair. You know that was my most ticklish spot,” Harry protested.

“It's not my fault that you're ticklish,” Hermione added.

“And you're not?” Harry asked.

“I'm not,” Hermione answered turning to walk away.

“We'll see about that,” Harry said with a grin and starting tickling her from behind.

Hermione held her breath to keep herself from laughing.

“You want to laugh don't you?” Harry said.

Hermione shook her head.

Harry just tickled her harder and watched her face with a smile. He could tell that she wasn't going to be able to keep it in much longer.

Just then there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice, “Hermione are you in there?”

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and then around the room.

“Just a minute,” Hermione called out and grabbed Harry and pushed him into the closet and shut the door.

Hermione took a quick look in the mirror and saw that her hair and clothes were a bit messed up and quickly tried to fix them both up and opened the door.

“Sorry about that,” Hermione said opening the door.

“So was I interrupting anything?” Allie asked.

“Interrupting anything? Why would you ask that?” Hermione asked.

“I thought that I heard some laughter coming from your room,” Allie replied.

“Oh yeah, I was laughing because my friend was just telling me a funny story on the phone. So what do you want to ask me? ” Hermione asked.

“I was just going to go to the fashion show now?” Allie inquired.

“I thought that show didn't start until noon?” Hermione asked.

“The show doesn't start until noon but I have special passes so we can go backstage. Do you want to come?” Allie asked.

“Sure, but where did you get them?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Actually Carlineux called me to tell me about it. Isn't she great?” Allie asked.

“Yea she is,” Hermione replied with a smile.

“So are you coming?” Allie asked.

“Sure, I would love to go,” Hermione replied.

“Just let me grab my bag and we can get going,” Allie said heading out the door.

Hermione followed after grabbing her bag.

A few moments later Harry came out of the closet and answered his phone.

“Potter speaking,” Harry said quickly.

“We heard from a reliable source that some activity will be happening at the Supper club,” Agent Red replied.

“I'll on my way,” Harry replied in a serious tone.

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31. The Fashion Show

A/N: First of all I want to thank everyone who is still reading my fanfic and reviewing and being so patient with me. I've been meaning to update this fic for a while but haven't had a chance to yet. And I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think. And I am really going to try and update within a month next time and honestly getting reviews really does motivate me to write more and actually update. So on with the chapter.

Chapter 31

Hermione and Allie arrived at the supper club a few moments later.

“So Allie, do you really want to work in fashion?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Actually I don't really know but it's always been something that has interested me. Their clothes reveal their personality. Even the littlest thing can shed light on what they are like. People always try to fit in or be cool by wearing certain clothes but parts of themselves always show up in the way that they wear their clothes,” Allie answered.

“That's true. So do you want to design clothes one day?” Hermione asked.

“Maybe I will one day. I haven't decided yet but it is a possibility,” Allie answered with a shrug.

“Have you tried designing anything?” Hermione asked her.

“I've made some doodles but nothing that is really good,” Allie replied.

“I'm sure they are great. Maybe you could show me them sometime,” Hermione asked.

“You do?” Allie asked.

“Absolutely,” Hermione answered enthusiastically.

“Well then maybe if I can find them,” Allie answered.

“So where should we go?” Hermione asked looking around.

“Well I think we can go on backstage. Carlineux said that she would leave my name with the guards so that we would be allowed to go on backstage,” Allie explained.

“Do you have any idea how she arranged this?” Hermione inquired.

“Actually, I do know a little something,” Allie replied.

“So is it something you can tell me?” Hermione asked.

“It's not a big secret exactly but Carlineux and her group have been doing some work for the fashion show,” Allie explained.

“What kind of work are they doing?” Hermione asked.

“I don't know the particulars but I believe they are helping with the organizing and putting the show together,” Allie replied.

“Oh they would know everybody who is coming to the show,” Hermione commented.

“Yep, in fact Carlineux knows a lot of different people so she thought she could help improve the number of guests and people interested into coming to the show,” Allie added.

“So did she ask you to do anything?” Hermione asked slowly.

“No, she just told me to enjoy the show,” Allie answered.

Hermione and Allie walked towards the back entrance where there stood a card.

“Allie Renshaw?” Allie said to the guard.

The bodyguard went through the list of names and opened the door for them to go in.

Allie walked through the door with a big smile and Hermione followed with a small smile of her own.

“So, where should we go?” Hermione asked taking in busy sight in front of her.

“Everybody is busy doing something,” Allie commented looking at everybody.

“Is there any place to go where we aren't bugging anyone?” Hermione asked.

“I'm thinking of finding Carlineux,” Allie answered.

“It doesn't look easy to find anybody in here,” Hermione replied.

“Well she said that she wouldn't be hard to find,” Allie added.

Hermione just nodded looking at all of the assistants walking around carrying water and clipboards and talking into their headsets. There were racks of clothes and a lot of people grabbing them. Make-up artists and hair stylists were extremely busy working on every single model and talking to the designers to determine what look they are trying to achieve.

Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

“Hermione, Carlineux wanted to talk to me about something so I'm going to find her. I'll meet up with you later okay?” Allie asked.

“Sure, I'll just keep looking around,” Hermione replied.

Allie gave a little wave and headed off.

Hermione decided to keep an eye out and keep out for any suspicious activity since Carlineux was involved.

Hermione walked around taking a look at all the lovely and interesting outfits on display and the rush of activity around her and noticed what looks like a group of very nervous looking people.

“What are we going to do?” A young looking man asked.

“I don't know but we must stay calm so that we don't attract any attention,” a neat looking female said.

“Maybe I should try calling the agency again?” He said.

“What do you think?” The female replied.

“Is everything okay?” an older man asked them.

Both of them nodded and said, “Everything is going according to schedule sir,” the younger male replied.

“Good. We want to make sure that everything goes well tonight,” the older man added.

“Yes sir,” They both said with a big smile.

The older man nodded and walked away quickly.

Hermione turned to walk away and felt someone bump into her and she ended up on the floor.

“I'm so sorry,” a male voice said.

“It's okay,” Hermione said brushing the dirt off of her clothes.

“I'm really sorry,” He said and then just looked at her.

“What's wrong?” Hermione asked.

“Nothing's wrong. You're just perfect,” He said.

“Excuse me?” Hermione asked surprised.

“I'm sorry. I mean have you thought about becoming a model?” He asked.

“No, that thought has never crossed my mind,” Hermione replied surprised.

“Well you should definitely give it a try. In fact you would be doing us a favor. One of our models is out sick and we need to find a replacement and we've been having trouble tracking one down that would make it on time,” He explained.

“And you are?” Hermione asked.

“I'm sorry. I'm Ethan Roscuen, I am an assistant to Joseph Bordeau,” Ethan explained.

“You mean the Joseph?” Hermione asked with a tinge of excitement in her voice.

“Yes the famous up and coming designer,” Ethan replied in a smile.

“And you would want me to fill in for the model?” Hermione asked surprised.

“Yes, if you could that would be great. You're just the right build and size,” Ethan replied looking at her.

“Well, I guess it couldn't hurt,” Hermione answered slightly nervous.

“Great, then we need to get you into the outfit quickly,” Ethan said quickly leading her to the next hallway where there were racks and racks of clothing and quickly went through the clothes and grabbed one and handed it to her.

“Where is the changing room?” Hermione asked looking around nervously.

“Oh right, you can use the bathroom which is down the hall to your left,” Ethan replied.

Hermione wandered over quickly and quickly put the soft garment on and was about the check the mirror when she was met by a young lady waiting outside.

“You're Hermione right?” she asked quickly.

Hermione nodded and was quickly led to another corridor line with hair products.

“You look amazing. The dress fits you very well,” Ethan told her looking her over.

“Thank you, I haven't had a chance to see what I look like yet,” Hermione replied.

“You will but first we have to get you to hair and makeup first,” he told her and led her over to an empty chair.

“You know what to do right?” Ethan asked the hair stylist with long brown hair.

The hair stylist nodded and quickly grabbed a brush and ran it through Hermione's hair.

“Your hair has a very nice texture to it, it won't take long to get her ready,” he replied to Ethan.

“That's great, she's only got 10 minutes before she needs to be on stage and she still needs to go into makeup. Do you think you can finish in time?” Ethan asked.

“That won't be a problem,” the hair stylist replied and quickly got to work grabbing a bottle of mousse right beside him. He gathered her hair back and piled it on the top of her head and applied mousse to her hair evenly. A few minutes later he left and a woman appeared before her with a big bag of cosmetics in her hand.

“I'm here to do your makeup,” she said quickly and twirled her to face her while she quickly got to work cleaning her face of the makeup she currently applied. Under the assistant's directions, she applied the correct liner, shadow and colors to her face. In a few minutes the woman was done.

“Okay, she's all ready,” she told Ethan.

“Thank you, you rock,” Ethan told her and turned towards Hermione and said, “Do you want to take a quick look?”

Hermione turned around and took a quick look in the mirror and gasped as she took a look at her reflection. Her hair was curled and pulled back very loosely in a bun with soft curls lying to each side of her face. The make up with applied a lot heavier than she would apply herself but it highlighted her eyes really well and the colors highlighted her cheekbones really well. She looked like an actual model that she's seen on the television.

“You look really amazing.” Ethan told her again.

“Thanks, I'm really nervous though, I really hope I don't do anything embarrassing,” Hermione told him nervously.

“You'll do fine. All you need to do is to smile and go down the runway like you see the previous model does. Can you do that?” Ethan asked her.

Hermione nodded.

“Then there isn't anything to worry about,” Ethan told her and led her to her place in line.

Hermione took a deep breath and watched around her nervously.

*~*~*~*~*~

Harry arrived at the supper club and dialed a familiar number and said, “So what's going on at the supper club?”

“We're not exactly sure but we have been noticing a lot of activity around this area recently,” Agent Red answered.

“Does it have something to do with her?” Harry asked.

“Well, there have been many signs that lead us to believe that it has been her doing,” Agent Red answered.

“Okay, then I will keep a close eye around here for any mysterious activity,” Harry told him.

Harry then began looking around to see if he could find Hermione anywhere so that he could warn her but he didn't see her anywhere as he walked around and followed the rest of the crowd into the auditorium where the show as he noticed that the show was going to start in a few minutes.

Harry looked around for any signs of Allie or Carlineux but he couldn't spot them anywhere which made him incredibly nervous because he didn't know where or how they would strike. But most of all he was worried because Hermione was there and he didn't know where she was.

Harry was about to get up again but the lights suddenly dimmed so he was forced to sit back down.

“Welcome to tonight's fashion show featuring the designs of both renowned and up and coming designers,” the host replied. After a moment's pause he said, “Let's start the show.”

Harry was not really watching the show as he was looking around the audience to see if he could spot Hermione but he couldn't see her anywhere so he turned his eyes back on the show so that he could be ready if anything unusual was happening.

The next model that came down the runway started off slowly as if she was nervous but seemed to gain a bit more confidence as she continued down the runway. Harry couldn't take his eyes off of her, she was wearing a very beautiful gown that was lined with a lot of shiny beads and other tile like pieces and fit her body extremely well. He looked up to take a closer look at her face and as he looked into her eyes, he realized who it was.

“Hermione?” He said softly out loud in a surprised tone.

He noticed the surprised expression in her eyes and mouthed, “I'll explain later. You look incredible.”

She smiled widely back at him and gave him a look that he recognized as a promise to ask him about it later.

He relaxed for a few minutes and sat back down in chair and enjoyed the last few moments of the show. As soon as the show was over, he headed over back stage to find Hermione. He spotted her quickly and headed over towards her.

“Hermione, you did well for you first time modeling,” Harry told her giving her a hug.

“Thanks, I was so worried I was going to trip and ruin the whole show or something,” Hermione replied with a laugh.

“You were nervous? I couldn't tell. How did you actually end up in the show?” Harry asked.

“Well, one of the models dropped out last minute and they needed someone to fill in and I just happened to be here. The real question is what you are doing here,” Hermione replied.

“Well I think you found your true calling,” Harry teased her.

“Don't go on changing the subject, why are you here?” Hermione asked.

“You did really well,” Ethan told her giving her a quick hug.

“Thank you,” Hermione told him with a smile.

“I think you should consider taking up modeling,” Ethan added.

“It was fun but I don't think that it's something I want to do but I'll give it some thought,” Hermione told him.

“I'll talk to you later then,” Ethan told her as he hurriedly headed off to talk to another person.

“See, I'm not the only one who things you should consider modeling,” Harry whispered in her ear.

“I told you to stop trying to change the subject,” Hermione replied rolling her eyes.

“Actually I came because sources told me that something might happen here at the supper club,” Harry explained.

“What do you think might happen?” Hermione asked concern showing in her face.

“I don't know exactly what it is but there have been signs of some activity here” Harry replied.

“Well you may be right because Allie told me that Carlineux has been helping out organizing this event,” Hermione replied.

“Really?” Harry asked.

“That's what Allie told me,” Hermione replied.

“Are they here?” Harry inquired.

“Yes, I think she's here since Allie went to go find her,” Hermione answered.

“Do you have any idea where they are?” Harry asked.

“No idea. Are you thinking that something big might happen here?” Hermione asked in a whisper.

“Well, it is likely because usually Carlineux doesn't usually show her face during their events,” Harry explained.

“Are you going to clear the place somehow?” Hermione asked looking around at all the people.

“Nope, not unless we have to but hopefully we won't have to. We want to be as discreet as possible,” Harry replied.

“Are you going to go take a look around?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah, I need to find out more about why they are here,” Harry replied leaning in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Where do you think you're going?” Hermione asked touching his arm.

“I'm going to look around,” Harry replied.

“Not without me,” Hermione added.

“You want to come? I would have thought that you might now have the time now that you're a model,” Harry replied with a grin.

“Of course I want to come, someone needs to watch your back. I'll be really quick,” Hermione told him rolling her eyes and quickly grabbed her bag but before she turned back to him and said, “Don't you dare leave without me.”

“And what if I do?” Harry said in a teasing tone.

“Well, remember what happened when you touched that potion that I don't you not to?” Hermione asked.

“Yes,” Harry replied with a slight shudder as he remembered ending up in the infirmary for days.

“Let's just say it'll be worse than that,” Hermione replied with sweet smile.

Harry shuddered just thinking about that situation and decided to be good and just wait.

A few minutes later, Hermione tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, so where do you think we should start?” Harry asked.

“I'm thinking we should start backstage,” Hermione added.

“That's where I think we should start too,” Harry replied with a smile.

“Great minds think alike,” Hermione added.

They quickly started continuing down the hallway to see if they could spot anything that seemed to be suspicious. But they came up empty handed.

“It seems like they hid themselves very well,” Hermione commented.

“I wouldn't expect anything less of them,” Harry replied.

“Hermione?” a familiar voice called out.

“Yes?” Hermione asked turning around and seeing Ethan.

“Do you have a moment? There are some people who would like to speak with you,” Ethan responded.

“What people?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Well, there are a lot of people but in particular Joseph and some execs from elite model agency,” Ethan told her with his voice filled with enthusiasm.

“Oh my god, Joseph wants to see me? Why?” Hermione managed to blurt out.

“I think it's because they were impressed by how well you did during the show,” Ethan replied.

“I just need to…” Hermione started to say as she looked around and saw that Harry was nowhere to be seen.

“You need to?” Ethan asked.

“Nothing, let's just go,” Hermione told him with a smile.

He led her past all the busy people and toward a locked door which he opened with a key pass.

“What's with the locked door?” Hermione asked.

“It's just for added security. He is just a bit paranoid,” Ethan explained.

Ethan opened the door and Hermione took one step inside and shook her head and moved back.

“Just get inside,” Ethan hissed.

“Why?” Hermione asked.

Ethan disappeared and Allie appeared in front of her.

“Allie?” Hermione said surprised.

“Just trust me and go on inside,” Allie hissed.

Hermione took a deep breath and walked inside hearing the sound of the door lock behind her.

“Can you explain to me what's going on?” Hermione said slowly.

“Look, there isn't much time but I wanted to show you something….” Allie started to say.

“Good work Allie,” Carlineux said as she walked inside.

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32. More questions

So I couldn't open this link so uploading it once again. A/N do not own anything. Please read and review.

Chapter 32

“Carlineux,” Allie said nervously.

“Congratulations,” Carlineux replied.

“Congratulations for what?” Allie asked.

“You passed,” Carlineux answered.

“Excuse me but what exactly did I pass? ” Allie asked.

“You were given a task and you completed it,” Carlineux answered.

“I still don't…” Allie replied.

“Rachel will answer all your questions,” Carlineux responded gesturing over to a brown haired woman walking towards her.

Hermione took this opportunity to turn around and move quietly towards the door.

“Where are you going Ms. Granger?” Carlineux asked.

“Well obviously I'm not supposed to be here so I was just leaving,” Hermione answered quickly while silently casting a spell to turn on a locator on her phone.

“That's not true. You came at exactly the right time,” Carlineux replied

“What do you mean?” Hermione inquired.

“You're exactly the person that I wanted to see,” Carlineux answered.

“What for?” Hermione asked.

“I have a proposal for you,” Carlineux answered.

“A proposal?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, an offer if you will,” Carlineux added.

“I'm not interested,” Hermione responded.

“But you haven't heard anything yet how can you be so sure?” Carlineux replied.

“I know enough to know that I don't want to be involved,” Hermione added.

“Now, you shouldn't believe everything that you hear. You of all people should know that,” Carlineux responded.

“What exactly should I not believe,” Hermione added.

“There are two sides to every story and maybe not everything we strive to do is actually that bad,” Carlineux answered.

“And what exactly wouldn't be so bad?” Hermione asked curiously.

“What our group is striving for is a world where wizards and muggles can live together peacefully and in equality. Does that sound that bad?” Carlineux explained.

“No it doesn't,” Hermione responded thoughfully.

“Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to not have to keep magic a secret and all the lying could stop because everyone would know about wizards and could be free and open about whatever activity that you would be doing. No more discrimination between purebreds and muggle borns. Doesn't that sound really nice?” Carlineux replied.

*~*~*~*~*~~

Harry returned after an uneventful chase to find that Hermione was no where in sight.

“Hermione, where did you go?” Harry murmured to himself in a worried tone and began looking around to see if he could catch a glimpse of her. He ran across the room a few times but still could not find her. Frustrated he took out his watch and noticed a small beeping red dot on it.

“What is that?” Harry asked himself curiously and opened the clear plastic and magically a map appeared in front of him. Looking carefully he realized that the map looked familiar and realized that it was the blueprints for this building.

“Brilliant Hermione,” Harry said with admiration and headed off in the direction that the red dot was located,.

*~*~*~*~*

“The idea is lovely but that's just not the way the world is,” Hermione replied.

“But who said that the world has to be this way, why can't we change it?” Carlineux added.

“It's not impossible but it would take a long time to change the way the world thinks,” Hermione added.

“But what if there was a faster way? Would you be interested?” Carlineux responded with a smile.

“I won't say I'm interested but let's just see where you are going with this,” Hermione responded.

“Wasn't there a time in our history where people believed in the magic and lived together? If it was possible then it should be possible now,” Carlineux explained.

“That could be true but that's just not our reality. What exactly is your plan?” Hermione asked.

“I don't have all the details worked out as of yet but I do have two plans currently to see it through” Carlineux answered.

“And those two plans are?” Hermione inquired.

“ I'm glad that you asked this, let me show you,” Carlineux answered cheerfully gesturing towards another locked door.

Hermione slowly walked towards the door not really sure of what she should be expecting to see.

“Now don't be shy, why don't you take a look inside,” Carlineux told her and gently tapped on the door three times.

Hermione looked inside the door and saw a few dignified looking individuals sitting inside chatting. She did not recognize anybody at first but did notice that a couple of people looked familiar. A few moments later it came to her and she turned towards Carlineux and said, “Is that Mr. Flahertghas the current secretary of defense?”

“Yes that is and next to him are a few members of the united nations,” Carlineux answered.

“Why are they here?” Hermione asked.

“Well they were interested in watching the fashion show so we invited them and they are having a great time,” Carlineux replied.

“But why are they in a locked room?” Hermione asked.

“It's for their own protection of course. Its nice that they wanted to have a secret VIP room so its natural that they won't be in plain sight,” Carlineux replied.

“What are you planning to do with them?” Hermione asked alarmed.

“What exactly do you think I'm going to do to them? Kidnap them? Of course we wouldn't do something like that. We just wanted to see if they were willing to help our cause,” Carlineux answered.

“What cause are you talking about?” Hermione replied.

“We just need to know simple things like their belief system in magic and if they would be accepting of the magical world. If they were it would be much simpler for them and us because then they would be able to help us fully integrate into their government and the process of joining the magical and non magical world would be so much easier,” Carlineux explained.

“And what if they tell you something that you do not want to hear?” Hermione asked.

“That's not something I believe we have to worry about. I'm sure they will come to their senses eventually,” Carlineux replied.

“What does that supposed to mean?” Hermione replied.

“That I'm confident that they will change their minds,” Carlineux answered.

“Then what is your other plan?” Hermione prodded.

“The other one should be much more fun. We would just need to figure out why our two worlds separated,” Carlineux replied.

“How exactly are you planning to do that?” Hermione inquired.

“Well there is the time travel option,” Carlineux replied.

“Time travel is really dangerous and it could change the world as we know it,” Hermione answered.

“But isn't that what we want to do?” Carlineux asked.

“True but it may not change the way we want to and could change for the worse. It's not at all worth the risk,” Hermione replied.

“But what if I told you there was a way to change the world with minimal risk? That it was all in your hands?” Carlineux added.

“What do you mean?” Hermione inquired.

“We have the ultimate tool in our hands, if used right all our questions will be answered,” Carlineux explained.

“I don't ….” Hermione started to say before she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

`What's your real agenda” a familiar voice said.

“Harry, you're here,” Hermione answered with a smile.

“I wouldn't have been able to find you without a bit of help,” Harry replied with a smile.

“I see that you found it,” Hermione answered with a grin.

“Now, I see where you get your cynical attitude from,” Carlineux replied.

“You didn't answer the question,” Harry asked again.

“Why do I have to have an ulterior motive? I just want to help change the world for the better,” Carlineux replied.

“Let's go,” Harry said pulling Hermione towards her.

“Thank about it Ms. Granger,” Carlineux called out.

Hermione turned around quickly and saw that she was gone.

“Is something wrong?” Harry asked her quietly.

“No, yes. Can we talk about it later?” Hermione asked.

“Of course,” Harry answered softly and gave her a hug and kept his arm around her as he led her out and the walked towards the front hall.

“Thank you,” Hermione replied as they walked in comfortable silence.

“So, how do you like your watch?” Hermione asked smiling up at him.

“Truly it's amazing, how did you do it?” Harry asked.

“With magic of course but I also used a simple tracking device and I put it in the watch just in case you did something stupid and we could find you,” Hermione explained.

“Wasn't it you who did it this time?” Harry replied with a teasing grin.

“Touche but one time compared to like at least 100” Hermione replied with a grin.

“There were not 100 times,” Harry protested.

“Do you want to make a bet out of it?” Hermione asked with a evil glint in her eye.

“I don't think so,” Harry replied with a slight shiver remember the last time he and Hermione had a bet and he ended up in public covered in feathers and wearing something he didn't want to talk about.

“That's a smart boy,” Hermione replied with a grin and patting him on the head.

“I'm being serious though, I want you to be careful around her,” Harry replied seriously.

“I know that you're just worried about me and I really appreciate it but I can take care of myself. But I can promise to be extra careful,” Hermione replied.

“That's all I ask and I do know you can take care of yourself. You can easily kick my ass,” Harry replied.

“Glad to see that you know that. But you should be careful too you know,” Hermione answered looking up at him.

“I promise that I will be careful and to let you know what's going on the best that I can,” Harry answered back.

Hermione replied with a grin and pulling him closer for a hug and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You're very welcome.” Harry responded.

They broke apart at the sound of Hermione's cell phone.

“Hermione where are you?” Chloe asked.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry I..” Hermione started to explain apolgetically.

“It's okay, Allie explained everything earlier but I want to here your account of everything. Where are you?” Chloe asked.

“Um.. why don't I meet you outside the supper club?” Hermione asked.

“Sure, see you in a few,” Chloe replied cheerfully.

“We can chat later,” Harry replied with a grin.

“What time?” Hermione replied back.

“Just call me and I'll be there, no matter what time,” Harry replied.

Hermione smiled in response and gave him a quick wave before heading off towards the front door.

`I really hope that she didn't let what she said get to her,' Harry thought to himself before he headed back to the studio.

“Hermione, you look incredible,” Christine exclaimed.

“Thank you but its all just thanks to the clothes and makeup,” Hermione replied with a grin..

“Don't sell yourself short. You're a gorgeous girl. So how was it?” Christine asked.

`Yes tell us,” Allie added in an excited tone.

“Well first of all I was totally nervous because I didn't know how I was to act or walk so I just tried my best and it just felt amazing to be up there after a while,” Hermione explained.

“You looked like a pro out there,” Allie replied.

“Thank you but you don't have to say that. I had no idea what I was doing at all,” Hermione replied.

“Well, I honestly could not tell that, you looked poised,” Christine added.

“You guys are too nice. But it really did amazing to be onstage with all these people watching and I felt like a model,” Hermione replied.

“You definitely looked like one,” Allie added.

“The two of you are too nice. How did you enjoy the show?” Hermione asked.

“Well the show was great and I saw a bunch of famous people and I wanted to go talk to them but I felt too nervous to do that,” Christine answered.

“Were there a lot of people that you wanted to meet?” Hermione asked.

“Well not any that I really wanted to meet so it was okay,” Christine answered.

“I think its time that we head back, I don't think we were supposed to be out that long,” Allie replied looking at her watch.

Hermione glanced back at her watch and realized that she was right. “You're right. Let's head back.”

*~*~*~*~

As soon as harry returned to his room, the phone rang. Harry quickly picked it up and said, “Hello?”

“Harry, its Matt,” Matthew greeted.

“Hi Matt, how are you doing today?” Harry greeted him.

“I'm doing well. How about you?” Matthew asked.

“Not feeling too shabby. What's going on?” Harry asked.

“Where have you been all morning?” Matthew asked.

“I had a few personal things I had to take care of. Why?” Harry asked.

“Well I wasn't able to get a hold of you but luckily for you they still haven't asked me where you were,” Matthew replied.

“Sorry about that. So what do you need me for?” Harry answered.

“Its time for your next individual date,” Matthew explained.

“It's that time already. Thanks for reminding me. Is everything set up?” Harry asked.

“I'm sending the details over to your right now,” Matthew answered.

“Okay so when do I have to leave?” Harry asked.

“We'll pick you to in 10 minutes,” Matthew replied.

“Okay, see you in a bit,” Harry answered hanging up the phone and heading over to his closet quickly to grab his jacket.

Harry gave himself a quick onceover and took a look at his watch and smiled and pulled out his phone to send a text Hermione.

I'm going out on my next individual date but if you need me I will be there. Try not to do anything too crazy while I'm gone. Harry typed before hitting send and headed out the door.

*~*~*~*~

Hermione heard the familiar beep of her phone and pulled it out to see that she received a text from Harry and almost could almost not stop herself from bursting out in giggles and texted him back.

I think you've got it backwards mister. You should be careful not to do anything crazy.

A few moments later her phone beeped back.

I never do anything that I don't think that I can handle.

Hermione couldn't help but giggle and texted back.

That's the problem. You're too cocky.

Her phone beeped back a few seconds later.

I'm not cocky. I'm merely good at what I do.

Hermione smiled and responded.

Still cocky but true, now get back to your date before you blow your cover.

Within a few seconds her phone beeped.

Yes ma'am.

Hermione just shook her head and put her phone down just as she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in.” Hermione said.

Christine opened the door and walked in looking quite nervous.

“What's wrong?” Hermione asked concerned.

“I'm just a bit nervous about the date,” Christine replied.

“Being nervous is to be expected. It's not something I would worry about,” Hermione answered.

“Thanks. Can I ask you a question?” Christine said.

“What's your secret?” Christine asked.

“What do you mean?” Hermione asked nervously after she gotten over the surprise.

“You and Harry seem to get along so well and the two of you seem so comfortable around each other. How do you do it?” Christine inquired.

,

“There is no secret. The only thing I can say is to be yourself, ” Hermione answered.

Christine nodded and said, “It's just that Harry's just this cute, amazing guy and I just don't want to mess this up you know?”

“I understand. He really is this cute, nice and sweet guy. And if you're being yourself and real then there really isn't anything to worry about. We can't control the way he feels,” Hermione replied.

“You're right. I've got to go now and thanks.” Christine replied giving her a quick hug.

“Have fun,” Hermione replied with a smile although inside she was feeling a twinge of jealousy that she shook of.

`What am I doing feeling jealous for? I know that we had a great time on our date but we never talked about where it is going. Am I kidding myself?' Hermione thought to herself. And got up and proceeded down the stairs.

“Hey Hermione,” Matthew said.

“Hi, how are you?” Hermione asked.

“I'm doing well. How about you?” Matthew asked.

“Good, can you spill anything about tonight's date?” Hermione asked.

“Sorry, I've got to go, shooting in a few minutes,” Matthew replied.

“Get going,” Hermione told him with a wave.

“As we said before the order of the individual dates was based on a draw. The lucky lady is…” Matthew said turning towards Harry as he walked in tossing a smile and wink towards Hermione.

“Christine, are you ready?” Harry asked offering his arm.

“I certainly am.” Christine replied taking his arm.

“Have fun,” Hermione said with a wave as she watched him walk through the door.

“So what do you want to do?” Allie asked.

“I don't know. I think I'm kind of tired and just stay in,” Hermione replied with a yawn.

“I don't think so, now is a chance for us to bond and have some fun with just the two of us,” Allie replied.

“So what do you suggest?” Hermione asked.

“I was thinking clubbing but I don't think that we're supposed to do that and its way too loud, There is this little festival going on a few streets down, we should go there,” Allie answered.

“I don't know,” Hermione answered.

“Come on it'll be fun. I always wanted to go to one” Allie replied.

“You've never been to one?” Hermione asked.

“I've never had a chance to go and it just seemed like a family thing to do,” Allie answered.

“Okay, let me just go change and then we can head out,” Hermione replied.

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