Hey guys! Thanks for all the feedback! You know I live for that kinda stuff! So, here's chapter 5, Sorry for the wait!
~*~Best Friends- Ch. 5: Why So Silent?~*~
"Dammit! He almost caught us!" I whispered to Harry as we ran into an empty classroom on the second floor.
"Ahh...but he didn't," Harry said cheekily, grinning. I couldn't help but let a smile break out on my lips as I hit him playfully. "Remember, this whole secrecy thing was your idea," I told him. He answered by planting a quick kiss on my pink lips.
Yes, that's right. I, Hermione Jane Granger, had a boyfriend. One that I actually liked. The only downside to it was the fact that we had to keep it secret. Harry didn't want me getting hurt by Voldemort, and neither of us wanted to face the wrath of the two youngest Weasleys. Honestly, we weren't sure which one would be scarier to endure.
"Do you really think we're doing the right thing, not telling Ron and Ginny about us?" I asked, pulling regretfully out of the kiss. "I mean, shouldn't they have a right to know?"
Harry sighed. "They do have a right, 'Mione, but you said yourself, how would they react? Knowing Ron, he might not speak to us for weeks. Do you really want that?"
I sighed. "No. I suppose not, I do prefer to be on speaking terms with my friends," I told him, a minuscule smile appearing on my lips. My stomach made a faint rumbling sound. "Great Hall?" I suggested.
He answered by pulling my hand out from my pocket and squeezing it tightly. I blushed. "Now remember, even the slightest hints can give us away," I warned him. I was understood with a nod.
We exited the classroom, first making sure no one was outside where they would see us. We walked together, just like normal, with me nagging him about homework while he blamed it on Quidditch practice. We entered the Great Hall, still bickering, even though the two of us knew it was fake. We sat down on either side of Ron, who was looking rather tired.
"Tired, mate?" Harry asked, grabbing a sandwich and eating half of it in one bite. "It couldn't be the fact that you're now able to hear your own snoring, is it?" He sent me a wink behind our friend's back. I giggled a little then stopped. I couldn't give us away.
Ron sent a glare Harry's way. "Very funny, Harry. Actually, for your information, I'm trying to figure out something I saw today. It was odd," He went back to staring at his eggs. I felt my skin go hot. What was it that he saw?
"Say Hermione, do you have a boyfriend?" he asked suddenly, looking at me.
I felt my face and neck go red. He saw us. We're toast. I risked sending Harry a panicked glance. He was looking at me with a look of horror and amusement. The prat. The adorable prat.
"W-well, I find that a bit of a personal matter, Ronald, why do you want to know?" I asked him shakily. It really wasn't any of his bloody business.
"Because I was walking to the Great Hall a few minutes ago, and I could've sworn I saw you snogging someone in the corridor," he looked at me, a satisfied look on his face.
I scoffed. "Honestly Ronald, you need to get more sleep. You're beginning to see things, can't have that, can we?" I patted him on the shoulder, as if I were his mother, telling him to eat his vegetables. That had been a close one.
"I could have sworn it was you!" Ron almost shouted for some reason, as if trying to make a point. "I'd know that hair anywhere," he pointed out, his voice at a normal tone. "Which reminds me, why are you wearing your hair bushy again? I liked it straight."
I shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I just came to my senses that I shouldn't need to change myself to feel comfortable," I smiled. This was the same thing Harry told me in the mock Common Room that day when we became a couple.
Ron had been giving me the third degree since that day also, as if he sensed that I was keeping something from him. And I was, more than one thing, actually. I hadn't told him about Harry and me, and also about the Malfoy incident.
"Mmmhmm," Ron said in a disbelieving tone. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a ham and cheese sandwich.
"I'll be in the library," I told them, standing up. I walked out of the noisy Hall and down the empty corridors until I found myself in the welcoming presence of the library. I had long since finished my sandwich, so was in no danger of getting kicked out.
I sat down at a table and opened a book on Advanced Potion Making. Harry was becoming an Auror, I was making sure of that. It was around thirty minutes of reading that I heard someone whispering my name. I looked around curiously. I didn't see anyone.
"Pssst! Hermione! Over here!" I heard someone whisper. I stood up, walking in the direction of the sound. I was turning to walk down another isle of books when I felt a hand reach out of a shelf and touch my arse. I gasped and looked around.
I broke into a grin as I saw the perpetrator. "Nice to see you too, Harry," I whispered. "How'd it go after I left?" I asked him as I walked around the shelf to him, curious.
"Oh, you know, the usual," he rolled his eyes. "'I could've sworn it was Hermione, mate! She looked just like her! And you have to admit, she has been acting different lately.' You'd think he was your stalker or something!" Harry laughed as I hit him lightly.
"Harry! He's our friend!" I was about to open my mouth to lecture him when he cut me off.
"Who absolutely fancies you!" he laughed.
"Harry, it's bad enough we're keeping this from him, don't go making fun of him too!" I said, my voice adopting a serious tone. Harry must've realized I was serious.
"Yeah, alright Hermione," he said. "Dobby must've put something in my pumpkin juice," he grinned. I rolled my hazel eyes.
"Excuses, excuses. Now come with me, I've been reading up on Advanced Potion Making, and I think I might have something you can do for extra marks. I'm sure Professor Slughorn would agree to let you do an assignment for marks."
He let a groan escape his lips as we sat down. "Extra potions? Do you want to kill me?" I couldn't help but smile.
"Don't worry, I'll help you out. I wouldn't leave you to do this alone, it looks difficult."
He was about to open his mouth and respond, but the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Looking around, I gave him a quick kiss before I stood up.
"I have to get to Arithmacy, I'll see you in Transfiguration, 'kay?" And with that, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the library, leaving Harry to read over Potions during his free period.
~*~.::.BF.::.~*~
After an hour of Arithmacy, on which I could hardly concentrate, the bell rang. Time for Transfiguration. I packed up my brown, red, and green textbooks, thrust them in my bag, and walked out of the classroom. As I weaved my way through the younger students, I felt someone holding on the strap of my book bag. Once out of traffic and in the corridor where McGonagall's classroom was, I turned around to find a boy giving me a lopsided smile.
I rolled my eyes, but my mouth curled into a smile as I began to walk after the boy, who was heading for Transfiguration. "And you call Ron my stalker," I whispered laughingly in Harry's ear.
He was in the process of retorting, but stopped when we entered the classroom.
The normal two-to-four person desks had been replaced with single ones with attached chairs. It looked just like a Muggle classroom. "What the bloody Hell is this?" Harry said under his breath.
As if on cue, Professor McGonagall swept the remaining students into the room, moving to the front of the room. "Have a seat at a desk please," she announced. "I have decided today I am going to release a practice N.E.W.T. test."
Groans erupted from every mouth in the classroom. Even mine.
McGonagall set her lips in a tight line. "You will sit down and take the test. No talking, no complaining. Now sit down, wands away, quills out. You are allowed one sheet of scratch paper."
I settled in a desk next to Harry's near the back of the class. Following Professor's orders, I took out the necessary materials and began tapping my fingers on the desk, getting a bit nervous.
As McGonagall passed out the tests, my mind suddenly went blank. I couldn't remember my name. I looked around the room in panic, hoping to come across something that would help me. As I looked to left, I saw Harry open his test and begin writing. He must've sensed my gaze, because he looked up at me and gave me a small smile before getting back to work.
A wave of relief flooded over me as knowledge flowed back into my head and I began scribbling away on my test.
~*~.::.BF.::.~*~
Hey Beautiful.
The note hit me in the head as I stared at a brick wall, having completed my test. I could've sworn the class period had been made longer, or the test had been really short, because we still had thirty minutes until the bell.
I looked to my left, making sure the note was from Harry and not some creepy bloke in the back of the classroom. He flashed me a grin, as if knowing I was asking if it was from him. I looked back down at the scrap paper and scratched a reply.
Hey Handsome. How's it going over there?
I threw the note strategically onto his desk when McGonagall wasn't watching. He grinned as he read it. After what seemed like at least a minute, he passed the note to her.
We're still a secret. I can't stand not being able to grab your bum in public, or anytime I want to, for that matter.
After my jaw dropped out of amusement and disgust, I wrote back.
Both my bum and I would thank you to try to control your testosterone level, if you can help it. I'm getting tired of all the secrets too.
I folded the note and passed it to Harry while Professor McGonagall was shuffling through some papers on her over-cluttered desk. I watched for his reaction. He let out a chuckle, which received him the whole room's attention. Nice one Harry, I thought.
"Sorry Professor, I just remembered something my friend told me, you know how you get after a test," he shrugged. The note was hidden well in his book bag. She looked at him strangely, but went back to grading her papers.
I closed my eyes, wanting so desperately to go to sleep. Just as my eyes were closing, I felt a thump on the back of my head.
Don't fall asleep!!!!! Who will I talk to through the ancient art of note passing?
I smiled to myself as I replied with a rather witty retort. Okay, not so much witty as amusing. I threw the note to him, trying to think of something I could do to keep me awake. I've got it!
Your bum? Why would I talk to your bum? He wrote back, I couldn't help but laugh silently. I handed him the note, which asked him if he could meet me in our regular spot at seven thirty.
Sure.
As I was passing back my response, which was "'Kay", Professor McGonagall swooped through the isle and grabbed the note from my hand. My stomach did ten thousand back flips. She was going to read it out loud.
"Students. It is almost time to go, pack your quills up and pass your tests to the front of the row," she announced. The bell rang as the students were passing their papers forward. With a wave of her hand, McGonagall dismissed the class. Harry and I packed our quills and stood, hoping she wouldn't hold us back.
Hoping is rubbish.
"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, will you please come here?" she asked, sitting behind her desk, the note unfolded before her. Her eyebrows raised as her eyes darted across the page, no doubt seeing one of my responses.
I closed my eyes in agony as she spoke. This was it. My first detention since first year. I gave an inaudible sigh as I walked up the rows of desks to face our Headmistress. She did not look up from the note until Harry stood in front of her as well.
"While I am a bit disturbed by some of the things written in this note," she paused here and I turned red with embarrassment, "I will not give you detention on two accounts. One, since you were not giving each other answers to the tests, and two, on the account that you will not pass notes in my class again. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Professor," we both said in unison, my eyes examining the laces on my trainers.
"Then you may leave," she dismissed us. Harry and I quickly walked out of the classroom and into the hall.
"Merlin that was close," I muttered to myself more than Harry. We turned a corner, which was the start of our trek to the Common Room.
"Sorry," Harry mumbled, rubbing his neck and avoiding looking at me. "Didn't mean to get you a McGonagall Warning," he apologized.
I shook my head. "It's fine, really. It's nothing big. I hadn't had any 'Prior Offenses'," I laughed, putting air-quotes around the last part. "But anyway...Room of Requirement at seven thirty, right?" I asked him.
He nodded as we neared the Portrait hole. "I'll leave first. I'll go to my dorm to get the invisibility cloak and Marauder' s Map, then go. You leave about five or ten minutes after me. You have your Head Girl duties as an excuse."
"Okie dokie. Bubbletrout," I said to the Fat Lady, smiling as we entered the Common Room. I slapped Harry's hand away when I felt a small pinch on my bum.
~*~.::.BF.::.~*~
I walked to the corridor where the Room of Requirement was located. "Harry?" I whispered to the empty hall. A hand appeared in mid-air and took mine, pulling me until I was underneath his invisibility cloak.
The next thing I knew, I was cramped under the invisibility cloak, my face inches from Harry's. I gave a small smile. "Common Room?" I asked in a whisper. He nodded as we began to walk.
Three minutes later, we were sitting comfortably on the rug in front of the fire, my head on his shoulder, his hand on mine, just enjoying each other's company. Rain was once more pounding against the windows, coming from the dark unknown of the Hogwarts grounds. All was silent except for the pitter-pattering against the windows.
Until the door slammed shut.
Both Harry and I were up, wands at the ready, prepared to defend ourselves against our attacker. We heard someone curse silently before they spoke in a deadly whisper.
"When the bloody hell were you going to tell me?" Ron's voice came from the door. His appearance was a fright. He must have gone outside or something, for he was soaking wet, and his eyes were narrowed to a piercing glare as he spoke to Harry and me.
Harry moved in front of me, obviously unsure of what Ron would do, as he did look like a killer from horror movies. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. He couldn't say 'It's not what it looks like', because, well, it was.
I spoke instead. "Ron..." I thought for a moment on how to word my explanation, "We didn't know how you'd react."
Ron shook his head in anger. "Don't you think I would have reacted better if you told me straight out, Hermione? Yes, I'm not too thrilled that my best mate is snogging you, but I guess I'll have to deal, won't I?" Ron's voice rose to a dangerous level, one that made me retreat a bit.
"Ron, I-"
"Don't try to explain yourselves, Hermione, you're just going to make things worse."
"But I-"
"Shove it."
And with that, Ron turned his back to us and stormed out of the mock Common Room. I looked at Harry, tears forming in my eyes and about to spill out. It was then that I noticed a black and brown owl perched outside the window.
Wiping the unshed tears from my eyes, I walked over to it, not even bothering to try and figure out how the bird got there, seeing as the room was in the middle of the castle. I opened the window, allowing the bird to fly in out of the rain. I untied the letter from its leg and opened it before the bird flew out.
My eyes darted across the parchment at least a dozen times. I tried to make sense of the letter, it had to be a prank.
"Hermione, what is it?" Harry asked, concern in his eyes.
I looked up from the letter as a bolt of lightening struck the wet ground outside, sending a roar of thunder throughout the castle. "Voldemort's killed my father."
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