Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Harry Potter,' or any of the lyric bits. I make no money from writing about them.

A/N: Put your thinking caps on, people, because many things are addressed here. This entire chapter takes place in The Leaky Cauldron after the attack on the orphanage. Good or bad, let me know what you think!

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Chapter 15: More Crunchy Than Mouse

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I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind.
I left my body laying somewhere in the sands of time.
I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon.
I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah.

If I go crazy then will you still call me 'Superman?'
If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand?
I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might.

Excerpt from the song 'Kryptonite' by the band Three Doors Down.

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Kotone was still asleep, with both her arms and hair clinging desperately to Harry, when the group entered The Leaky Cauldron. They all made their greetings to Tom and quickly made their way to a secluded booth to settle themselves in.

Tom was behind the bar, setting up for what he hoped to be a busy day. As soon as he saw Harry enter the inn, a disapproving frown appeared on his face, which didn't go unnoticed by the trio. Harry and Hermione gave each other questioning looks, and then they both looked to Ron, who was pointedly avoiding their eyes. Harry immediately settled Kotone's face into his chest, thinking that Tom was concerned about having an odd-looking child frightening his customers.

When they reached the table, a look of panic flashed over Ron's face as he scooped something from the table they were about to sit at and shoved it in his pocket. Again, Harry and Hermione glanced at each other as they sat.

"What's was that, Ron?" asked Harry.

"What? This? Just an old newspaper. I'm going to save to for the bottom of Pig's cage."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, "Is that the Prophet from last night?"

"Oh, I... I don't know," Ron lied, with guilt written plainly on his face, "I didn't notice."

Hermione gave him an angry glare, put one hand on her hip and held her other hand out. Ron let out a defeated sighed, then pulled the paper from his pocket and slowly handed it to her. She snatched it from his hand, smoothed it out and began reading.

Hermione took one look at the headline and screeched, "WHAT?" then immediately crumpled the paper between her hands.

Harry wore a pained expression, "Let me guess… I'm prominently mentioned," he commented calmly as he reached over and gently tugged at the paper clenched in her fists.

Hermione looked as though she were about to scream out in anger. She reluctantly loosened her grip, letting Harry take it from her, and watched for his reaction as he scanned the headline.

''THE CHOSEN ONE' - CHOOSES TO RUN!'

by Rita Skeeter

Our sources relate to us the Harry Potter, the so-called 'Chosen One,' was at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries this morning when a daring raid was carried out by the supporters of 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.'

The murderous attack happened at 3:00 this morning, resulting in the deaths of over 110 patients and hospital staff, including 15 victims who were being treated in St. Mungo's Children's Ward. Reports confirm that 'The Boy Who Lived' fled the hospital within moments of the attack, leaving the helpless occupants of the hospital to fend for themselves.

As reported earlier, Harry potter was in hiding at a muggle hospital before being discovered by 'You-Know-Who's' followers and was forced to flee, leaving the ministry to clean up his mess.

The only 'hero' to come out of the early-morning attack was a young girl by the name of Kotone Oota, a refugee currently residing at Haversham's Home for Unwanted and Wayward Waifs, who somehow managed to trap Rodolphus Lestrange, a convicted Death Eater and escapee from Azkaban Prison.

This reporter wonders if the fate of the Wizarding world should be entrusted to a child who would so easily abandon the helpless to a grisly death.

Harry sighed, and then looked at his two friends. He now understood the look that Tom the Barman sent his way.

Harry drew his wand and dispelled the sleeping charm that he placed on Kotone. She stirred in his arms and let out a deep, strangled sob before sliding her arms around his chest. He felt her hair relax from around his neck as she lifted her face to his.

"Shishi-kun…" she grunted as she came out of her magically induced slumber, "doushitano desuka?" (My lion brother… what's happening?)

Not understanding what she said in the least, Harry lifted her from his lap and handed her over to Hermione, who immediately wrapped the little girl in a hug and tried to keep her calm. He stood and walked over to the bar. Tom eyed him with a barely disguised look of disdain as he approached.

"Listen, I'm really tired of the rubbish they report about me in the Prophet," stated Harry confidently, "It's true, I was at the hospital, but I left before the attack happened, I only found out about it last night. However, I was at the attack on the orphanage here in Diagon Alley, along with my two friends there, while you were obviously sleeping. Let's see if the Prophet prints anything about the three Death Eaters I helped capture a half-hour ago."

Tom's expression softened considerably.

"Now, whenever you're over being manipulated by the hags at The Daily Prophet, we'd like to have breakfast, if you don't mind serving a so-called 'coward-who-lived' and his friends."

"A' course, Mr. Potter," said Tom nervously before he fled to the kitchen.

Harry returned to the table, his expression reflecting his dour mood. It was Hermione's turn to deal with Kotone's distress. The girl's tiny hands were clinging to Hermione's black sweatshirt as her spirited hair draped over her shoulders. Hermione didn't seem to be the least bit fazed by the little half-demon, she had her own arms draped around the little girl as she told her everything was going to be alright.

As Harry sat down next to the two girls, Kotone looked over at him and their eyes locked. He sensed the now-familiar feeling of time slowing down as the room disappeared from around him. Kotone's pleasant, ethereal voice echoed in his mind, 'Shishi-kun, what happened? Where are friends? Barney?'

As much as he hated to be the one to tell her, Harry knew he couldn't lie to her, 'I'm so sorry, little one. They killed most of your friends.'

Harry watched helplessly as Kotone's eyes spilled over. He heard the deep, grating cry of grief escape her as she clung more desperately to Hermione's shirt, but didn't break eye contact. As much as Harry wanted to look away from the grief in her eyes, he found he couldn't. She listened as Harry did his best to comfort her through the connection. It took a few moments for her to calm down, and when she finally did, she allowed the connection to be broken.

"Harry? Are you listening?" came Hermione's worried voice as the room around him emerged from the darkness, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine. Kotone has a way of holding your attention, doesn't she?" commented Harry, realizing that the 'connection' was the way she was able to hold both Bellatrix and Rodolphus at bay until help came.

Kotone looked up to Hermione with her tear-filled eyes and pointed towards the hallway that led to the rest rooms.

When Hermione nodded, Kotone's hair slowly removed itself from around her shoulders and she slid beneath the table, out of Hermione's grasp. Harry reached below the table and caught the little girl before she could scamper away, bringing her up into his lap.

"Hermione, do you think you can do anything to make her less… I mean transfigure her clothes so that it hides…"

Again, Hermione nodded, and remembering the girl's clothing that she wore at King's Cross Station, she passed her wand over Kotone's nightdress, reforming it into a black, button-down duster, knee-length with a wide, buttoned collar that sufficiently hid the girl's lower face.

Satisfied that Kotone wouldn't receive too much attention, he released her from his lap and watched her as she darted back towards the hallway that led to the rest rooms and storage area. He called to her before she disappeared, "Hurry back, the food will be here soon."

"That transfiguration won't last forever, a few days, at best. Maybe while I'm home, you can take her to Madam Malkin's and buy her… oh," Hermione remembered Harry's money problem. She reached into her pocket, but Harry held her wrist.

"I have some money on me," he looked apologetically at Ron, "I… I borrowed some from the twins yesterday when I left St. Mungo's. That's how I could afford the food at Privet Drive."

"Wait…" said Ron angrily, "The twins? My brothers lent you money, when they wouldn't even loan me a knut?"

Harry was about to answer when Hermione cut in, "Did you even ask them for a loan?"

"Yes, loads of times," answered Ron indignantly.

"And what did you tell them you needed the money for?" asked Hermione while placing her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her palms.

"Well," he said sheepishly, his anger ebbing with every word, "I, um, wanted to buy, um… something…"

"Okay, so do you think that the 'something' that you wanted to buy was as important as what the twins know that Harry needs to do? He's the one, after all, who gave them the money to start their business in the first place, and hasn't ever asked for anything back from them."

"Still," Ron muttered, "I'm family…"

"And so is Harry, but right now his needs outweigh yours… or mine, for that matter, so don't you think…"

Hermione was interrupted by the arrival of a small ball of feathers, which began hooting shrilly as it circled Ron's head. Ron's eyes widened as he made a frantic grab for the tiny bird.

With everything that happened, Hermione had completely forgotten about Ron's letter. "Well, since we're here, what did you need to talk with me about?"

Ron looked guiltily at Harry, and then dropped his gaze to his lap, "I don't think this is the right time."

Harry could take a hint. He stood from the booth and said while walking towards the restrooms, "I think I'll go check on Kotone, she's been gone for a while."

Harry knocked on the rest room door, "Kotone? Are you all right in there?" After a few moments, and hearing no reply, he knocked again, then cracked the door open. He could tell immediately that it was empty. He then noticed that the door to the storage room had been left open. As he approached the door, he heard odd, crunching and squealing sounds coming from within the room. He quietly looked inside the storage room and saw Kotone, crouching between two large crates on the far side of the room, obviously eating something.

"Kotone?"

Surprised, the little girl stood and spun around to face him. He saw that she had a large, brown rat in one hand, writhing and squeaking in her grasp. Her other hand was at the turned-up collar of her duster where her mouth was. Above the rat's din, he heard a slurping sound and watched as a skinny, bald tail disappeared through her fingers, followed by the unnervingly loud crunching that he had heard moments before.

Harry rushed forward, about to grab the filthy rat from her hands, but then saw the confusion and fright in her sad eyes as the sensation of time slowing overtook him and the room around him faded into nothingness as the connection was established.

'Shishi? What is wrong?' the ethereal voice in his head was tainted with an edge of fear.

'What are you doing with that rat?' He tried to sound casual, but he knew exactly what she was doing with the rat, and that caused a pang of nausea to roil in his stomach. Sure enough, the answer he really didn't want to hear came.

'Eating,' she calmly replied with a questioning look in her eyes, 'Is it wrong?'

'Why are you eating rats? We have food coming to the table, so you don't have to eat that.'

Harry could see the anxiety in her eyes as she 'spoke,' 'But… but I like rat. More crunchy than mouse, no quill like hedgehog. This is what I eat.'

Harry gave a mental sigh, trying unsuccessfully to break the connection. He then said to her, 'You can speak to us… using words, you know? You shouldn't be embarrassed.'

'My words frighten, have learn quiet is better, not seen and not heard.'

She looked down to the rat in her hand, breaking the connection between Harry and her. She glanced up to him and noticed the disconcerted look on his face. In her deep, gravelly voice, she said, "If eating is to disturb, please go to Washi… to He-my-nee, for more comfort."

"I think I'll stay with you for a bit," said Harry, "I think 'Washi' is talking with 'Won-Won' about something I'd rather not hear."

Kotone's unusually large, pointed ears perked up and swiveled on her head to face the open doorway. A puzzled look crossed her brows and she asked in a gravelly whisper, "Shishi-kun, what is 'horcrux?'

Harry paled, "What?"

"Your Ii-guru and the *hyou speak of spell for horcrux to make." Her eyes narrowed and her ears twitched forward, "They speak of the Fae-folk, many have died."

"Kotone, it's not polite to…" started Harry, but was stalled by Kotone's voice.

"Wait." She said while listening intently. After a minute, she stated calmly, "They speak of love, the love of Washi for her Shishi, it is good, you to have the love of your mate. Why do you not tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Harry asked nervously, knowing exactly what she was asking.

He looked into her violet eyes as she answered, and saw that they were crinkled in a smile, although her mouth was thankfully hidden, "Why do you not tell her of your love? I see your souls, I see the resistance, but it must be dismissed. You need your Washi… I know what you feel, and I know where your heart truly belongs."

He stood staring at her for a long moment.

She gazed back into his eyes, "You cannot delay, you must tell her. The sekizou, the statue, revealed to me, your hidden truth."

"Statue?"

"You do not remember?" even with so little experience with her coarse, spoken voice, Harry could tell that she was truly surprised. Again, he felt the sensation of time slowing as the storage room faded around him, being replaced with a vision from Kotone's memory.

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He was sitting in a corner, facing away from the crowd and toward the brick wall at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, waiting for the train from Hogwarts to arrive and regretting that he left his teddy bear behind at the orphanage. He missed his friend, the only person he had in the world. Soon, Barney would arrive and his winter of loneliness would be over. Since the train wasn't due for over an hour, and Miss Melanie was busy chatting with the other adults awaiting their own children, he decided to 'wander' about the platform the only way he knew how without disturbing anyone.

He felt himself relax as he stared at the blank wall, and slowly, his point of view rose into the air. He briefly looked down upon himself, the lonely little girl dressed in dirty, tattered robes, and began floating around the platform. He wandered around in this ethereal form, watching the growing crowd, all of whom were anxiously awaiting their charges.

Without warning, he felt himself being pulled high into the air, moving at an impossible speed towards the northeast. He halted abruptly in an old, forgotten graveyard. Fear welled up inside of him as he strode among the cold headstones, wondering how he ended up in such a gloomy, foreboding place.

A headstone caught his attention, for it had a strange red luminescence about it. He suddenly sensed the presence of someone nearby. His head snapped around to the wrought-iron gate of the graveyard to see a thin young man, with messy black hair and dressed in the same uniform that his 'brother' Barney wore to school, just standing and staring at him. Behind the odd round spectacles he wore, he saw a faint red glow emanating from his green eyes. He could see a smoky, translucent specter of a snake wrapped tightly around him, as if it were trying to strangle the life from his soul. A ghostly aura in the shape of a lion surrounded the young man.

"Why am I here?," asked Harry, thinking that maybe this young man was responsible for him suddenly being summoned to such a dismal place, "Why did you call me? Please to leave me alone."

He could see a flicker of confusion cross the young man's face before he vanished. At the same moment, he felt himself being pulled back to his body, which was still safely nestled into a corner on the platform at King's Cross Station.

He sat for a moment, collecting his thoughts. What could such a strange vision mean? He was about to rise to go to Miss Melanie and ask to go back to the orphanage when his spirit was once again summoned from his body.

The landscape blurred past him, and he found himself in the familiar surroundings of Diagon Alley, a scant few miles from King's Cross Station, but with a totally unfamiliar feel. The streets were empty, save for the young man he had seen minutes before, still with the ghostly lion-like aura surrounding him and the smoky, translucent snake coiled around his body. The buildings were closed and boarded up, and nobody at all walked the Alley except for the two of them. He silently walked along beside the young man, who didn't appear to notice him, and watched how he scanned his surroundings, just as bewildered as he was. The young man paused beside Ollivander's wand shop and peered through the boarded-up window.

Harry followed along with the young as they entered a park and strolled along a dirt path lined with animated busts of wizards. When they reached the end of the path, the young man glanced at a dead eagle floating just beneath the surface of an ornate fountain. He jumped back in surprise when he saw the snake's head rear back and plunge its smoky fangs into the young man's shoulder. The man didn't appear to notice the strike, but the lion-like aura seemed to convulse, as if in great pain. Horrified at the vision, he wanted nothing more than to flee the park and return to King's Cross, but he had no idea how to do so.

"Why have you called me?" Harry asked the young man.

The young man turned to face him in surprise, apparently only just noticing him. He studied Harry's appearance for a moment, then walked up and kneeled before him. The young man reached out his arms, looking as if he wanted to hug Harry, but at that moment, the spectre of the snake menacingly lunged out at Harry, causing him to rear back a few steps.

"I won't hurt you," the young man said quietly, misinterpreting his reaction, "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Harry closely studied the man's face, noticing for the first time the strangely glowing, lightning-shaped scar through the hair covering his forehead. Harry had heard of this young man. He knew he had to help.

Using his natural talent at spirit magic, he silently cast a binding hex on the snake that was wrapped tightly around the young man. He knew that he couldn't banish the spectre completely, but he could hold it at bay for a while. The smoky snake seemed to freeze in place, its glowing, red eyes glaring back at him in hatred.

Harry could see the spirit-phage that was embedded within the man's scar. He could see the red, web-like strands that traced their way from the scar like tiny, hair-fine rivers, spreading to all over his body. As he raised his finger to touch the spirit-phage, it seemed to pulse, as if it knew something was about to happen to it.

"I see your pain…" said Harry, "I feel your pain… Even if you do not… Let me help you. It is almost too late."

He saw the man smile and nod. Harry prepared himself for the pain he was sure to experience. His fingertip touched the man's scar as he summoned the spirit-phage back to its container. The web-like strands pulsed red, then faded and retreated back into the scar, ending up in a twisted knot bunched over it. Harry felt the pain, like every joint in his hand was cramping, but it was bearable. He grabbed the knot of fibers, that ripped away from the man's head as he fell onto his back. Harry looked at the pale red, writhing strands in his hand and dropped them onto the dirt. An instant later, he was whisked back to the train platform and his own body.

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The train station dissolved around him, being replaced with the dirty stockroom of The Leaky Cauldron as the connection with Kotone was broken. He found that he didn't particularly enjoy experiencing the world from behind Kotone's eyes at all. Still, the memory she showed him made him speechless. He couldn't recall himself what she showed him, but something tugged at the back of his mind that made the vision oddly familiar, as if it were an old, forgotten dream that he had just been reminded of.

"There are two more," said Kotone in her low, grating voice, "do you wish to see?"

Harry nodded, and locked eyes with her. He re-lived the experience in the Chamber of Secrets, as seen through Kotone's eyes and feeling what she was feeling. Again, she had to bind the coiled, ethereal snake and remove the tendrils that emanated from his scar.

The second memory was a long one, where Harry was walking days on end through a vast field of flowers. High in the sky, he noticed a large serpent with glowing, red eyes floating along above him, as if searching the ground for something. He witnessed the sudden storms that tore through that virtual world, always ending the same way, with the destroyed coffin at the bottom of a crater, before finding himself, once again, walking through the field of flowers. Kotone was with him every step of the way, but the Harry in the memory didn't seem to notice her following silently behind him, except for the times when the storms appeared, where she fell into the flowers in exhaustion. As the days passed, he could tell she was becoming more and more fatigued until just before the very last storm, where Kotone fell to the ground and disappeared completely.

As the storeroom emerged from the darkness around them, Kotone sadly stated, "I tried to protect you from storm, but was very tired. I told Washi… Hee-my-nee, to help, I could not protect longer."

Harry saw the forlorn look in Kotone's eyes, "You mean, that you were in the hospital because you were protecting me?"

Kotone nodded, saying, "I made promise to help. It is why you need school, for protection with me. I gave book to help, also. It is all I can do, I see the snake, and I see the souls in you. You must have Washi to understand book, for more help."

"But it's all in Japanese. We have to find a way to translate it."

"Do it soon, very important, for greater protection." Kotone looked down at the rat that was still writhing in her hand. She gave Harry an apologetic look and said, "I know it disturbs, so sorry…" Before he could reply, she turned away from him and brought her hand to her collar. An instant later, the rat's pathetic squealing abruptly stopped and the loud crunching sound filled the room.

Harry and Kotone walked from the storage room and met Tom emerging from the kitchen with their meals.

Tom smiled and bent down to address Kotone, "So, how many did yer fin' t'day?"

Kotone didn't reply, she just shyly held up three fingers.

"Tha's me girl!" beamed Tom, before he stood again and gave Harry an ashamed glance, "an' I apolergize ta you, Mister Potter, I shouln'ta b'lieved alla tha' rubbish in tha' Prophet."

Harry still looked a little green, and the smell of the eggs on the plates wasn't helping in the slightest. He whispered to Tom, "You knew what she was doing in your storeroom?"

"A'course! She comes in 'ere abou' twice a week, she does. It 'elps me, and it 'elps ta keep her fed. I havn't had a rat problem in years," said Tom calmly, before conspiratorially adding with a whisper, "not like before she came t' tha' orphanage, ya know."

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Ron kept an eye on Harry as he walked away from the booth. As soon as he was sure Harry was out of earshot, he drew his wand and wiped the letter that he got from Pig's leg clean, then pulled the page with the elixir recipe from his pocket and made a quick copy of the Arithmantic formula.

"Listen," he said quietly while handing Hermione the parchment, "I want you to take a look at this formula and tell me what you can make from it. I was told it's a spell, but I have reason to believe it may be a potion."

Hermione looked at him curiously. This certainly wasn't the conversation she was expecting. "Ron, this is the important thing you wanted to talk with me about?"

Ron just nodded while glancing nervously back towards the rest room hallway.

Hermione laid the parchment on the table, studied the formula for a moment, then began her analysis, "This describes the effects of a ritualistic spell, see this value here? This value is the magical identifier, it tells you the major deliverance, and it's clearly a spell, but it's not cast directly, it seems to be an area spell and… wait a minute, this has a dosing value for a physical component, but it's so low, even slight physical contact would result in an overdose…"

"What if it's delivered by scent?" suggested Ron, knowing that it was the method of delivery from the page.

"Yes, I suppose that's a possibility," By this point, she was talking more to herself than Ron, "This equation is strange, it uses a frame constant rather than the standard Gideon's constant. Then there's a biological factor… no, three biological factors, one being a catalyst… This is a targeted spell, it can only affect specific creatures, I'm assuming it's used against dark creatures, maybe vampires or werewolves, because of this element right here… no… not vampires, maybe dementors? Actually, that would make sense because the target would have to have a soul because this seems to… because…"

Hermione's voice trailed off into silence. Ron could see her eyes reading and re-reading one area of the formula. She looked up from the parchment with a guarded expression.

"Ron, where did you get this? Is this from a book in Grimmauld Place?"

"What does it do?" asked Ron, avoiding the question.

Hermione kept her eyes locked with his, seemingly looking for some answer within them. "Truthfully, I don't know specifically what it does, but I have a guess. Where did you get this."

"Hermione, I need to know. What do you think it might be?"

She looked back to the formula, as if searching for something that she might have overlooked. Her eyes slowly rose from the paper and her voice dropped to a whisper, "This almost looks like a ritual to break a soul-bond, or maybe even to create a horcrux, now where did you find it? This is very important!" she recalled the information that Snape gave to Harry about the possibility his scar being an accidental horcrux.

When he heard her suspicion, all color drained from his face. He slowly lifted the torn page from his lap and handed it to her, saying, "Yesterday, I found this in Ginny's room, along with an empty glass vial. I think she might have used it on Harry at the beginning of last summer, maybe even before that. I didn't want to confront her on it until I was sure of what that stuff was, and if she actually used it."

Hermione took the page and carefully began scanning it. She let out a gasp when she made it to the ingredient list, "Irish Emyr Horn! Three grams! That's… reprehensible!"

"What? What's an Irish Emyr?"

"Didn't you ever pay any attention at all in Care of Magical Creatures? They are male fairies, and they're very rare. They live for hundreds of years, and their souls are bonded with all of their offspring. If one Emyr dies, all of its offspring die with him. To get three grams, literally hundreds of Emyrs would have to be killed, and depending on their ages, that could affect thousands of fairies, tens of thousands, maybe more. It's horn contains its pheromone gland and the focal point of its soul-bond with its' offspring. Killing one to get it is as bad as killing a unicorn, probably worse!"

As Hermione continued to read, Ron swallowed hard, trying to keep the bile from rising into his throat, "What are we going to tell Harry? I'm not even sure she actually made this stuff, and where would she get three strands of Cho Chang's hair? Maybe during a Quidditch match, but I'm not…"

Hermione's eyes darkened, "What does Cho Chang have to do with this? Do you think that she gave this to Ginny?"

"No, look at the other side, at the effects, remember when Harry and Cho broke up? It was as if they hated each other for a while there. I think Ginny might have been getting jealous… or something… I don't know…"

Hermione read through the effects carefully. 'Object- will begin to feel jealousy of subject within 40 days of exposure.' She thought about her actions towards Harry when he was out-performing her in Potions, getting all the praise that she normally would have got from Slughorn, feeling the burning animosity building within her.

'After 100 days, object should begin to actively avoid, if not be repulsed by the subject.' She remembered all the times that she threw glares at Harry when no one was looking, slamming her fist into her pillow at night, imagining it was Harry's face, then becoming horrified at herself for her actions.

'After 150 days, the object should be actively seeking to sever all relations with the subject.' She remembered fighting with herself, she still fights with herself over her friendship with Harry. All the times during the last year that she never spoke to him, never confided in him as she used to, the episode at King's Cross, at Privet Drive… If she wasn't in love with him, she would have fled from him long ago. In a way, she actually did flee from him.

'There should be no discernable reaction between the object and the wearer.' Why was she seethingly jealous over Cho when Harry had kissed her, but felt nothing, nothing at all about his involvement with Ginny? The realization dawned on her. It all made sense.

"Ron, Ginny did use this," said Hermione in a hauntingly quiet voice, "but it wasn't Cho's hair that she used. It was mine."

"Don't be daft, why would she use your hair? Why would she think that you were in love with Harry?"

Hermione sighed. It was time to tell Ron exactly why she refused his countless offers to date steadily, "Because I told her I did. Years ago. Back then, we were just two friends, gossiping about a boy that neither of us had a chance of being with. I guess she figured my chances changed, somehow, and wanted insurance."

Ron felt even sicker than he did minutes before. Even though he had already come to that conclusion himself, hearing it directly from Hermione didn't make it any easier to come to grips with.

Seeing his crestfallen expression, she said, "I'm really sorry, Ron, I know that you've fancied me for a while, but I'm afraid you're in the same situation that I find myself in, both in love with someone who doesn't feel the same way."

Ron could never tell her that 'love' had never been a part of the reason he wanted to be with her.

Still, the problem remained, what to tell Harry. They both looked towards the hallway as Harry returned, leading Kotone by her hand and being followed by Tom, who was carrying a large tray of food. They looked back at each other and nodded, silently communicating that they would talk later. Hermione tucked the page into her pocket of her sweatpants before the pair reached the table, immediately followed by Tom with their breakfasts.

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A/N: hyou = leopard