The Long Unwinding Road

A/N: Wow, so this is how it feels to be a PK author… Kool… This here be my debut fic. I hope you like it. A billion thankyous to my marvellous beta, Julie!

Disclaimer: the usual legal banter applies, all Harry Potter trademarks and indicia do not belong to me, if they did, I’d be splurging away on clothes and kicks like, everyday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday

"Drosophila melanogaster"

The portrait swung off the wall and granted him entrance into the Heads' common room.

Whoever the hell thought up that password ought to hang by his thumbs in the dungeons... Wait, I can't play without my thumbs...

It had been a long, tiring day. The match against Ravenclaw was coming up and daily four-hour training sessions were mandatory. He didn’t want to ruin Gryffindor’s so far spotless record.

The fire was blazing, and the room was empty. At least it seemed to be, until he heard something fall on the stone floor. He looked around and found that it was a roll of parchment filled to the edges with neat, slanting handwriting. He glanced up to find a head of bushy brown hair resting on a table cluttered with huge, thick books and more parchment. He sighed and shook his head. Hermione had once again spent the entire day studying like mad. He had bent over to pick up the parchment on the floor when she stirred.

"Hey Harry," she said groggily as she rubbed the sleep off her eyes.

"Hermione, you're killing yourself."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"N.E.W.T.s aren't for 2 months and 2 weeks."

She gasped, suddenly wide awake. "Oh dear, I really need to catch up. And why aren't you studying?" Hermione quickly sorted through the chaos in front of her. "Merlin, where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"That Transfiguration essay I was working on." She didn't even look up. "I know I put here somewhere." Harry took a look at the roll of parchment he was holding.

"This it?" He held it out in front of her.

"Yes!" She snatched the parchment from Harry. He watched her as she unrolled and scanned it intently. Her brow was furrowed and she was chewing on her lip. He noticed that she had horrid dark circles under her once beautiful brown eyes, her skin seemed to be getting pale, and it looked like she had lost weight. Harry hesitated to distract her, but she was abusing herself and he had to stop her.

"Hermione?"

"Hm?" She laid the essay on the table, pulled her quill out from under another pile of parchment and began scribbling furiously.

"Have you been sleeping enough lately?"

"Actually, I’ve been sleeping more than I should; I’m a bit behind schedule as it is."

"I don't believe this," Harry muttered to himself.

"What?"

"I don't believe this," he repeated, loud enough for her to hear. Hermione raised an eyebrow and turned to face him.

"Really, Harry, after seven and a half years I honestly thought you'd gotten used to this."

"This? Hermione, you don't even come out of the room anymore! Do you even remember what the sun's color is?"

"Blue?"

"Nope, guess again."

"Silver?"

"No, sorry, it's hot pink," said Harry, sarcasm completely enveloping each syllable. Hermione heaved a great sigh.

"Harry, what's this about?"

"What’s this about?" He looked at her as if she'd gone completely insane. "What’s this-- you seem to have forgotten to even eat Hermione! I mean look at you, you're, you're--"

"Drop dead gorgeous?" She had a huge smile on her face, and started batting her eyelashes.

"Well, the drop dead part may happen very soon if you don't stop starving yourself, and stop doing that, it's rather unbecoming." He smiled.

She laughed. "I’m sorry to be disappointing you, but you see, I just happen to value my education more than some people." She tilted her head in the direction of the couch in front of the fire, from which a most horrifying snore emanated, making Harry start. Ron had apparently followed Harry up to the Heads' dorm after training. "Yep, a lot more." Hermione turned back to her Transfiguration essay.

Harry recovered from his shock. How come I didn’t see him there? He was annoyed to see Hermione had returned to her work. He put a hand on the parchment she was examining.

"Excuse me, Harry." She picked his hand up with two fingers and moved it aside. "Thank you." But before she could continue writing, the hand was back. This time, when Hermione tried to move it, it didn't budge, so she stabbed at it with her quill.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Shoo!" She was glaring at him now. That didn’t work. He grabbed the parchment and held it above his head.

"HARRY!"

"Dinner’s ready in..." he checked his watch, "fifteen minutes. If you want this back, you'll have to come down to dinner."

"Honestly, Harry, is there no one else you can annoy right now?" She was clearly exasperated.

He looked around the room; Ron was still snoring on the couch. "Nope, not really." He smiled. She didn’t. "So, are you coming to dinner or not?"

Hermione sighed. "Fine, but you had better give it back the moment we're done."

Harry grinned.

I hate it when he does that, Hermione thought.

"Great! I’ll go upstairs and change. You had better be here when I get back." He dashed up to his room, leaving Hermione annoyed... and thinking... What the hell is wrong with him? Probably sugar high, people are annoying when they're sugar high.

She stood up and stretched, then walked over to the couch and gently shook Ron. "Dinner in ten minutes, Ron." He turned over and muttered something, then resumed snoring. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Hopeless."

**

Harry set his Firebolt in a corner, and Hermione’s essay down on his bed. He then proceeded to remove his practice robes, make a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up, and pulled on the first t-shirt and pair of jeans he could find. He retrieved the parchment from his bed and headed for the stairs when a thought occurred to him. And then a strange smile made its way across his face.

"Repudiate!"

**

Harry seemed weirdly happy as he descended from his room. He saw Hermione leaning against the couch with her arms crossed, looking impatient. Ron... well...

"Will Ron be coming with us?"

"I don't think he'll be going anywhere." There was a snort, followed by a snore. Harry chuckled lightly; disgust was written all over Hermione’s face.

“Honestly, RON and MANNERS don't fit into the same sentence,” declared Hermione. Harry sniggered.

"Well come on then, wouldn't want to be late."

They stepped through the portrait hole and proceeded to the Great Hall.

**

"Drosophila melanogaster."

"Honestly Harry, couldn't you have thought of a better password than that?"

"Nope," he said with a smile.

Harry had shrunk Hermione’s essay to fit into the back pocket of his jeans. Once Hermione was seated at her desk, he restored it to its original size and handed it over. She immediately dunked her quill into a bottle of ink and began scribbling.

"Harry, what have you done to my homework?" Hermione demanded five seconds later.

"Nothing, I just shrunk it." Ok, maybe I didn't just shrink it.

"Are you sure that's all you did?" she said, raising a very suspicious eyebrow.

"That’s all I did."

"Then. Why. Can’t. I. Write. Anything. On. It!" Hermione said through gritted teeth as she scratched her quill furiously on the parchment in question. Harry just shrugged.

"Finite incantatem... Finite incantatem!... Hrrgh!" She tossed her wand onto the table and unceremoniously rolled her Transfiguration essay up. She put it away, and pulled out her Arithmancy book. She flipped the book open and started reading.

Leaning on the couch which miraculously still contained a snoring Ron, Harry watched Hermione carefully and saw that her eyes were starting to droop.

"I think it's time you went to bed," Harry said softly.

Hermione’s eyes flew open in an unconvincing attempt to show Harry that she wasn't dozing off. "I’m not sleepy--" she said, just as a big yawn gave her away.

"Yeah, right," Harry replied. "Come on." He crossed the floor and took the book away. "You're exhausted; you need to get some decent sleep tonight."

"I guess you're right --" Hermione said with another yawn as Harry helped her out of her seat and upstairs to her room.

They didn't notice that the snoring had stopped.

As Harry led Hermione to her room, the 'sleeping' Captain witnessed everything, peeking through one half-open eye. Ron smiled to himself as they disappeared through the staircase.

At the door to the Head Girl's room, Harry turned to face Hermione. "You work too much, you know that?"

She smiled weakly. "I have to."

"You don't. Now go to bed and I want you to sleep, not nap, ok?"

"Ok," she said, nodding, her eyes half closed. "Good night, Harry."

He smiled warmly and kissed the top of her head. "Good night." Harry descended the stairs, remembering that someone should be in Gryffindor tower by now.

As Harry approached, Ron tightly shut his eyes and feigned sleep, (complete with scandalous snores). Harry gently shook him 'awake'. With a fake yawn and a really unnecessary show of stretching, Ron sat up and smiled at his best friend.

"You missed dinner, mate," said Harry.

"I did? Bugger. What did you have?"

"Oh, nothing special, just some steak and kidney pie, bit of treacle tart..."

"Why do I miss all the good stuff?"

"Ask Dobby to send some stuff up for you," Harry suggested.

"Right..."

"Harry?" A soft voice came from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah?" Harry and Ron turned to see Hermione, still in her uniform, looking troubled.

"I forgot. We have patrols to do."

"I got it, don't worry," he said with a smile. "Besides," Harry offered as he jerked a thumb in the redhead's direction, "Ron can cover for you." Ron gave her a reassuring smile as well.

"Well... ok... thanks." With that, she trudged back into her room.

Harry and Ron patrolled all seven floors discussing Quidditch tactics and how Hermione should get more Vitamin D in her system, occasionally coming across a few fifth and sixth years still wandering the halls. When the corridors were cleared, Ron and Harry said their good nights and split up at the Fat Lady. Back in the Heads' dorm, the fire had nearly burned out, leaving the common room lit by a dim orange light. Harry rifled through the rolls of parchment in search of Hermione’s Transfiguration essay. Once he found it, he unfurled the parchment and muttered Finite Incantatem under his breath. With a pleased-with-himself smirk, Harry climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

Earlier that year, Flitwick had taught them how to create charms that only the caster could remove.

a/n: repudiate. According to Merriam Webster, it means to cast off, refuse, reject

A/N: Hello everyone, I’m really sorry about the update delay, my PC decided to contract a virus and has been useless for almost three weeks! A big thank you to all the people who’ve given wonderful reviews! It’s true that great reviews = happy writer, happy writer = better work. And of course, to my magnificent, marvellous, amazing beta, merci! Alors, on with the story…

**

Saturday

Hermione woke up at 8 o’clock and scolded herself for sleeping in. She washed up, quickly changed into jeans and a tee and headed down to the Common Room where she found Harry waiting.

"Morning!" he said with a bright smile. She smiled back.

"Hey, sorry. Oversleeping is fast becoming a habit."

Harry laughed. "It's the weekend. And besides, if there's anyone who has the right to oversleep, it's you. Now come on, we're going to miss breakfast." He got up and ushered Hermione through the portrait hole. "So, what are you doing on this beautiful Saturday? Ron and I are going to Hogsmeade, maybe drop by Hagrid's, or do any of the random crazy things that pop into our heads. The objective is to spend the entire day outside. Want to tag along?" He said this with such enthusiasm that Hermione felt really bad when she said, "that sounds really great Harry, but I have to be catching up with my lessons today."

"Oh... Ok..." Harry's voice was sad, disappointed.

Hermione put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. You guys go have fun without me."

"But it's no fun without you," Harry said in the same disappointed voice. "You never hang out with us anymore. You're always cooped up in your room or in the Library. It's even rare that I see you at meal times. Sometimes I think you don't even eat at all. You’re making me-- us worry."

"I thought worrying was my job," Hermione said with a small smile.

They entered the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor table, across from Ron, who was in the middle of his stack of pancakes. "Hey Hermione, hey Harry." Pieces of pancake and Merlin knows what else went flying from his mouth. Hermione grimaced slightly at this and Harry chuckled lightly.

"Morning, Ron." said Harry as he reached across the table for some bacon.

"Morning, Ron." said Hermione. She smiled and went for the pancakes.

"So, has Harry told you about our little agenda for today?"

"Yeah, about that, I’m sorry, Ron. I won't be tagging along today. I have a lot of stuff to work on."

"That was the excuse you used two weeks ago."

"It's not an excuse, and it's still valid."

"It's a Saturday, Hermione!"

"Exactly. No classes equals more time, more time equals actual progression."

"You're hopeless, not to mention no fun."

"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" asked Harry.

"No Harry, and that's final."

Hermione finished up her pancakes and pumpkin juice lightning fast. "I'm going back up to the common room you guys, I’ll see you later."

"What? That was breakfa-- THAT was BREAKFAST? TWO PANCAKES!?" Ron looked incredulously at her, genuinely shocked at how little she'd ingested.

"Yes Ron, two pancakes." And with that, she strode off to the Heads' Dorm. Ron stared after Hermione, mouth agape.

Harry was staring too. "This is not healthy man, something has to be done."

"Yeah, but what? Any brilliant ideas?"

"Change the dorm password and lock her out?"

"Nope, the Library would still be open."

"Oh, right..."

"How 'bout a few Unbreakable Locks on her books?"

"Nah, she's too smart for that. She'll pop 'em open in three seconds."

Harry and Ron seriously contemplated other ways to keep Hermione away from her books today. Ron even suggested that they kidnap her, tie her up, strap her to a wagon of sorts and drag her along with them. But that would only make her grumpier, so they scrapped that thought. Just as they were running out of bright ideas, they saw Filch exit the Great Hall, Mrs. Norris on his heels.

Harry followed them with his eyes, and then smiled. Ron noticed this and turned to see what Harry was so happy about, and it dawned on him too.

"Ron, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I think I am, mate."

"You think it'll work?"

"Well it's a lot better than having a raving Hermione strapped to a wagon."

"Alright then, let's do this." With a high five, they left the table and went up to the Heads' Dorm, putting together a meticulous plan to set Hermione 'free'.

**

A/N: Hi everyone! Apologies for another horribly late update, things are going crazy, particularly school. A big fat chunky THANKYOU to every single person who reviewed, I was smiling through each one! Anyway, on with the show. This is my favourite chapter so far, it was so fun to do, and I hope you guys have fun too! (hey that rhymed!) Julie! My amazing beta! Merci beaucoup!

~~~

"Drosophila melanogaster."

"You do realize that that's a really stupid password right?"

"I'm Head Boy." Harry smiled as the portrait swung open and they strode into the common room. Hermione was seated at the table. In front of her was a huge, thick, old and dusty Ancient Runes book. In front of the fireplace, curled up on one of the couches, was Crookshanks.

Asleep.

Perfect.

Hermione looked up from the tome and smiled. "Hey guys."

"Hey," said Ron as he and Harry walked over to the couches. He was smiling in a rather sinister way. Thankfully, Hermione didn't notice.

"Why are you boys still here? Weren't you going somewhere?"

"Well, yeah... We came to get you."

"Get me? No Ron, I'm not going. I told you, I have to finish up some stuff today."

"You are doing no such thing," said Harry.

Smiling amusedly, Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Really, Harry? And why is that?"

"Because you are coming with us," Harry said with a smug smile.

"Am I now?" Hermione crossed her arms. "And what makes you think I will?"

Harry then took the sleeping Crookshanks by the sides, walked across the room to the table, and dangled him in front of Hermione. The big, orange, rug-like creature opened his eyes and stretched, then yawned.

"And what has Crookshanks got to do with this?" demanded Hermione.

"Crookshanks here will suffer a terrible fate if we leave this room without you," Harry said rather dramatically.

"Blackmail, Harry? You're actually resorting to blackmail now?" Hermione scoffed.

"Anything to get you out of here, Hermione."

"Well, I don't want to get out of here."

"You sure you don't want to?"

"Yes."

"Really sure?"

"Yes Harry, now let go of Crookshanks," she said impatiently.

"You're really really sure? You don't want to--"

Seething, Hermione stood up. "Yes, Harry I'm sure! Let go of Crookshanks, NOW!"

"Nope." At this, Hermione let out a cry of frustration. She reached over in an attempt to grab Crookshanks from Harry. Unfortunately for her, when one has been playing Quidditch for seven years, one develops amazing reflexes. Harry quickly pulled the cat out of her reach. Ron, who had approached them, seemed to anticipate what she was about to do. With a flick of his wand, "Accio wand," Hermione's wand emerged from her right jeans pocket and flew into Ron's free hand. He pocketed the confiscated wand immediately. Hermione was appalled at their behavior and looked nothing short of murderous.

"Nice catch, Ron."

"Thanks, mate."

"So," Harry said as he turned to Hermione again, "now that you're wandless, you will have to comply, or else."

"Or else what?" she spat. Ron raised his wand again, "Accio tweezers." A pair of tweezers appeared from nowhere and landed in his left hand. Hermione's eyes widened in horror as Ron repeatedly opened and closed the silvery object whilst looking rather deviously at Crookshanks.

Harry matter-of-factly spoke up. "We'll start with his whiskers--"

Rare though it was, Hermione started to panic. "Alright! Alright! Just, just put the tweezers down and we'll talk about this like civilized human beings."

"...and then maybe pull out a few eyelashes..." The boys were scrutinizing Crookshanks like a couple of hairstylists assessing a client.

"Boys, please..."

"...and we should really trim those eyebrows..."

"STOP IT!"

"I'm sorry Hermione, did you say something?"

"Stop, please. Let Crookshanks go. I'll... I'll go with you," she said in defeat. She plopped back down on the chair and started putting her things away.

"It'll be fun, I promise." Harry gave her an apologetic look, but still did not let go of Crookshanks.

"Well, it better be," said Hermione rather harshly, "blackmailing me away from an entire day's worth of studying. Honestly, I don't know what could be worth eight hours of my time other than Ancient Runes and Transfiguration."

"If it wasn't the least bit beneficial, we wouldn't have bothered to come up here and threaten to de-fur dear Crookshanks, and with tweezers for Merlin's sake!" reasoned Ron.

"He's got a point you know. This is for your own good Hermione, really."

"Yes, yes, get out more, looking paler by the second," she said distractedly as the last of her papers were being stacked into a neat pile. "Wait here; I'll go grab my stuff."

Hermione trudged up to her room, retrieved some cash, and fished out a light jacket from her wardrobe. She checked her hair as she passed by the mirror and decided to pull it back in a ponytail. As she did, Hermione noticed something else. She was indeed looking underfed. The dark circles were larger than she remembered, and, she couldn't believe it, wrinkles! Actual, live wrinkles! No wonder the boys were so worried, she hardly looked like herself anymore! She sighed. "You are killing yourself, Hermione," she mumbled as she stared at her reflection. She sighed again and made for the common room, the boys were bound to be getting impatient by now.

"Finally," said Ron as Hermione came down the stairs. He handed over her wand.

Boys and their attention spans...

"You ready to go?" asked Harry. He'd released Crookshanks, who had resumed napping on the couch.

"Yeah," Hermione said with a smile. They went through the portrait hole and into the corridors.

**

A/N: Hello everyone! Another late update, sorry for the wait. Exam week is upon me, and it’s horrible! Well anyway, here’s the latest chapter. I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for every single review! They really make my day! Uh, can someone tell me how to reply to them? Hihi, I’m new, and oblivious… = ) And to my beta as well, thank you! See chapter one for disclaimer. Enjoy!

~~~

"So, where to first?" asked Harry.

Ron spoke up. "I don't know. I just want to stay away from the castle today. Why don't we go to Hogsmeade first and grab something to eat? I'm starving."

Hermione looked at him incredulously. "You're starving? We've just finished with breakfast, Ron."

"Yeah, so? I'm still growing. Besides, going up seven flights of stairs really burns up everything we just ate."

Hermione wondered how much more Ron could possibly grow. He was so tall now that she only came up to his shoulders, and she wasn't short at all. Harry was already half a head shorter than him. She looked at Harry as if to say 'can you believe this?' He looked back at her and with a smile, he shrugged.

"Sounds like a plan Ron," said Harry, "unless, of course, Hermione objects to anything." He turned to look at Hermione.

"Oh, don't mind me, really, anywhere is fine," she said with a bright, fake smile.

"Righto. Hogsmeade it is then."

The sunlight hurt Hermione's eyes as they exited the castle. It took her longer than she remembered to adjust to the brightness of the midmorning, but the moment she stopped squinting, the sight that greeted her took her breath away. The familiar school grounds looked somehow foreign, making it a pleasant deviation from the four dull, dusty walls of the library. Dammit, how long had she been confined up there? She even wondered if the grass had always been as green as it was now. Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes as a gentle wind blew, rustling the leaves and ruffling her hair. She smiled serenely, remembering how it felt to not have anything to obsess about. She instantly felt grateful to Ron and Harry for, albeit forcibly, bringing her out here, where she could feel the breeze, see the trees, hear the Giant Squid somersaulting somewhere in the lake. She was so absorbed in this rediscovery that she never noticed Ron and Harry smiling contentedly at the sight of her enjoying the world she had avoided for more than half the school year.

They walked for about ten more minutes, discussing Quidditch and Muggle movies, before arriving at the village. They stopped by a new place called Le Coup de Maitre. It was a small place, just enough room to seat about thirty people. The round tables, cushy seats and warm colors gave it a cozy atmosphere. Ron ordered some pasta, while Harry and Hermione just had butterbeers. Harry had insisted that she eat something because two pancakes and pumpkin juice just weren’t going to hold out until lunch time, but she adamantly refused. They lingered in the pleasantly homey restaurant for a little while, watching the Saturday crowd bustle, before crossing the street and entering Honeydukes. It wasn't as packed as usual, since it was not an official Hogsmeade weekend for the 3rd to 6th years. A variety of new products were on display, including: Sugarfree Hot Mints, which made you breathe harmless artificial fire; Hairballs hair color-changing gum, and Milk Suds, which had apparently caused the multicoloured bubbles that greeted the three when they sauntered in. After having a look around, Harry, Ron and Hermione purchased some of the new stuff along with their usual supply of Sugar Quills, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Fizzing Whizbees. They left Honeydukes and walked at a leisurely pace, with Ron and Harry on either side of Hermione.

"All this sugar should keep you going well beyond midnight," Harry smiled at Hermione, indicating the bag of sweets in his hands. "But," he said seriously, "not until after the weekend, got me?"

"But Harry, the weekends are--"

"Please, let me boss you around for once," he said pleadingly. "I'm not keeping you away from your books forever; this is just so you don't kill yourself studying for exams that you'll pass anyway."

Hermione fell silent. She knew she needed a break. The fatigue was catching up to her. Hell, She was looking more and more like Lupin on his bad days, minus the bruises and abrasions. She picked on the hem of her tee, torn between actually having fun and facing the possibility of less than perfect exam results. "Look Harry," she began, "I really appreciate this--"

Harry suddenly stopped walking and turned to face her. "I'll make you a deal, okay? We do this twice a month so it doesn't drastically change your study schedule. Twice a month, we go out and have fun; forget about anything and everything that concerns schoolwork. We'll --We'll do whatever stupid things we feel like doing, pig out, run around the lake screaming, jinx random Slytherins--"

Ron finally spoke up, "ow at ud ee a ian eea."

Both Harry and Hermione looked up, chuckling. "What was that Ron?"

With difficulty, Ron swallowed the two chocolate frogs he had simultaneously stuffed into his mouth. "Jinxing random Slytherins, now that would be a brilliant idea!"

Hermione laughed.

It had been a long time since Ron or Harry heard her laugh. It was a real laugh that actually lit up her eyes and had a wonderful sound.

"So, do we have a deal?" Harry held out his hand. Hermione seemed hesitant and started biting her lip. Ron shoved another Chocolate Frog into his mouth and waited for Hermione's response. When he got impatient (two seconds later), he said, "Oh come on Hermione, we're just trying to keep you alive at least until graduation! And trust me, secluding yourself and being all antisocial is not going to help us achieve that goal!"

Ron, Hermione had to admit, was right. He made a lot of sense these days. It was scary.

Weighing her options and calculating her odds, Hermione decided that unwinding a bit might not be so bad. Besides, being out of the castle today made her realize how much she missed being outdoors, being with her best friends. And so, with a deep breath and squared shoulders, she took Harry's hand and shook it. "Deal," she said firmly.

"Great!" Harry grinned. Ron nodded in approval, and they resumed walking.

The boys did a low five behind Hermione's back. Mission accomplished.

**

A/N: UPDATE! HURRAY! My apologies for taking an eternity and a half to put this chapter up, I cannot begin to tell you how busy finals week has been. Well anyway, here it is, chapter 5. I hope you all like it. I know it’s short, but I didn’t want to force things, otherwise we’d end up with c**p. Thank yous to everyone who’s reviewed, I love you all. And I love my beta as well. = ) See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

**

Halfway through their second round of butterbeer, Harry was in the middle of a joke when Ron suddenly sat bolt upright, slamming his bottle down on the table.

"What?" Harry and Hermione said simultaneously, their faces contorted in worry.

Looking at his wristwatch, Ron slapped his hand on his forehead with a loud SMACK! "Harry! I booked an extra training session for today! And it starts in fifteen minutes!"

Harry hastily banged his bottle on the table and checked his watch. "You didn't tell me about any extra sessions!"

"I'm sorry, I meant to tell you yesterday but it completely slipped my mind! I was... busy..." said Ron, coloring slightly.

"Busy?" Hermione inquired.

"Come on, if we go now we'll still make it," Ron quickly countered. They all stood up and hurriedly exited the Three Broomsticks.

"I'm sorry we have to drag you out to the pitch just to watch us play like trolls," Ron apologized as they started up the path back to the castle.

"Trolls... not the way I'd put it," said Hermione, smiling.

"Do you mean that in a good way or a bad way?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, you decide," she chuckled. Upon reaching the castle, the boys ran up to their rooms to get their brooms and robes. Hermione decided she'd just wait for them in the entrance hall. She sat on the stairs and fiddled with the pendant of her silver necklace as she watched the frolicking students beyond the great oak doors. And then she began to think... This staying away from books business seemed to her more and more like a great idea. The headache she felt was coming on this morning was now completely gone. She felt a lot less stressed now that she had inhaled fresh air and not the recycled kind that was circulating in the libr--

Hermione’s musings were cut short by the faint sound of what she thought was a snicker. She turned to see whatever or whoever it was that had made the sound but found that she was alone. She furrowed her brow for a moment, and then dismissed it as coming from outside. She turned to resume watching the students.

"HRAAAAAAA!"

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Two heads appeared out of thin air, startling Hermione so badly that she was actually lifted off her seat for a moment. Breathing heavily, her hand over her chest, she stood and threw a deathly glare at Ron and Harry as they emerged from under the invisibility cloak, laughing hysterically.

"Are you dunderheads trying to give me a heart attack?" she yelled. Still laughing, Harry and Ron nodded in affirmation.

"Oh, you're really pleased with yourselves aren't you?" Hermione said in a small, hurt voice. The boys sobered up immediately, realizing that they'd hit a nerve. Pushing their luck any further could pop the bubble. Not knowing what to do to calm her down, Harry walked up and hugged Hermione. She didn't respond though, her arms hung at her sides, refusing to let him off that easily.

"I'm sorry. It was my idea," said Harry soothingly, rubbing her back.

"Just thought it'd be fun to scare me out of my wits huh?" she mumbled against his chest.

"Well... yeah. But we’ll quit doing that now. Right, Ron?" Harry looked pointedly at his friend. Ron, who was staring at them with small smile, snapped back to reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah..."

"Tell you what," said Harry as he held Hermione just a bit more tightly, "as punishment for this heartless act, you can perform one hex on each of us--"

"Each of us? This was your idea, remember?" protested Ron.

A slight frown crossed Harry’s face. He can be really annoying when he feels like it.

"Fine," Harry sighed exasperatedly. "You get to do one hex on me this week. So, are we even?" he asked as he looked at Hermione.

She looked up at him. "Do I get to choose which hex to throw at you?"

Harry smiled. "Of course." Oh dear, he thought to himself.

"Ok, we're even," she said simply, and hugged him tightly around the middle. Ron shook his head in a you're-mental-you-know-that way at Harry, who gave him a well-I-had-to-do-something look. Hermione let go of Harry. "Come on you guys, you're going to miss training."

**