Twisted Logic - A Repost

xXKourtzXx

Rating: R
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 6
Published: 17/06/2008
Last Updated: 16/02/2009
Status: paused

(Also Angst + Humour! -- AU) Two years after they defeated Voldemort, and only three years after Hogwarts, the trio all live together in a four bedroom flat. Harry, tired of having to try and battle with Hermione's work-a-holic qualities and Ron's drinking problem, becomes restless. He finds that he's in love with Hermione, but is she too busy to notice? How can Harry make her see this, without driving her away? Harry won't let her 'Twisted Logic' get the better of him this time...R&R, please!

Chapters

1. Hiding Behind Something, Or Other

2. Just A Dreamer

3. Complications and Miscommunications

4. Crossing The Line

5. Making A Change

6. Living, Breathing, Walking, Talking Complication

7. New Beginnings

8. Stuck In The Middle

1. Hiding Behind Something, Or Other

*Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after all called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway!

*AN: Whassup, whassup?! How is everyone? =] Welcome to my repost of Twisted Logic. I had to repost, 'cause I lost all my readers. It was purely my fault, of course. I stopped updating because I had a huge bought of writer's block and couldn't write anymore. But, all is well now. I kicked it awhile ago and have been writing like crazy. So, I just figured I'd start fresh!

For anyone who's read this before, it's reposted because I made a few changes. Some of them are slight, some of them are quite big, so I suggest you skim through the chapters at least to make sure you know what's going on. I don't want anyone to be confused!

Anyway, with having that said. I shall start! =]

Enjoy! ;]

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Chapter 1: Hiding Behind Something, Or Other

He felt like he was drowning. Almost as if he was stranded out in the ocean. Or as if he was on a roller coaster, spiralling downwards into nothingness.

How could he have let things go this far? He loved her, that much was certain, but she acted like she almost didn't even know his name. She was beautiful and he felt like a slug. A slimy, good-for-nothing slug.

Of course she didn't treat him like one but, when it came to love, she would always shun him away without even realising. He just felt like he would forever be stuck in the friends category. Nothing he did for her would be noticed, it was as if she was completely blind to his actions.

But, how could she be? She was the cleverest person he knew! There was no way she could've been blind to his attempts... unless of course she was ignoring them. That sounded much more plausible.

She would sit and watch with her chocolate eyes; wonder and mystery hidden within their depths. Her brown, curly hair would gently graze her shoulders, making her look elegant and gorgeous. Her smile was paralyzing, sending tingles up his spine and her voice was sweet music in his ears. He loved every little thing about her and yet she wouldn't give him the time of day.

She would never understand what she meant to him, because she was too busy with her head in the clouds. Too busy dreaming about what she could become, what she could do to help others. She was so selfless and didn't spend much time worrying about what she wanted out of life.

And so, he would have to find a way to make her see him in a different light. Find a way to get her to notice. He would have to go to drastic measures to please her in any and every way possible.

He would make her realise just how much he loved her.

He would not let her Twisted Logic get the better of him this time...

-------

"Harry, could you pass me that pen over there?" She asked, pointing to the kitchen table.

Harry sighed, "Here..." He walked over, grabbed the pen and placed it gently in her outstretched hand. "I don't understand why you have to do this today. Your speech on Elf rights isn't until next Wednesday." He mumbled in slight annoyance, his voice adopting a whining note. He gave her a pleading look, which she didn't even notice. She was too busy reading over her speech.

"Oh, Harry. You know I don't like leaving things until the last minute. It's very..." Hermione took the pen to her lips, biting on the end and looking up at Harry, as she tried to think of a suitable word. "Very, unorganised." She finished, nodding slightly with satisfaction.

Harry rolled his eyes as she looked back down at her speech. "I saw that, Harry." She added, not looking up.

He went slightly red, "Sorry, Hermione. I just don't see why you have to do this now. I mean, couldn't you do it tomorrow?" He continued to plead, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. A battle that he had lost at least two years ago.

"No." She said simply, "I have a meeting to go to tomorrow. Being a public speaker isn't all fun and games you know. I represent a peace-making organisation, Harry. I can't just forget to do something, or put it off until the last minute!" She said carefully, still not looking up from her speech. "Besides, it would make me look very unreliable, I can't have that."

Harry sighed, rubbing his fingers over his temples in slow circles. He tried hard to remain calm, but it wasn't working so far. She always did this. He actually went through the trouble of planning an entire day! He planned it a week ago. They were meant to go to the cinema and see a new film that just came out. He even booked the tickets!

But of course, as always, work got in the way. Two days earlier, an Elf Rights seminar was sprung on her and because she was the guest of honour, she had to write a speech. She had been toiling over it since she heard the news. She promised she would be finished in time, but of course, she wasn't.

Harry read the speech over and over, it was beautifully written. But her insecurities ate away at her during the night and she pulled it a part at the last minute and was now trying to piece it back together properly.

Thinking over exactly what he had to do to plan this entire outing annoyed him even more. If he didn't get out now, he might say things he would regret later. She just had no idea how hard he was trying and this frustrated him.

"No, Hermione. Not unreliable... human. It would make you human!" He finally muttered, a bitter note entwining with his words as he turned around in frustration and snatched his coat off of the nearest armchair. He pushed his hands roughly into the sleeves, draping it on his shoulders and zipping it up in one fluid motion.

Hermione finally looked up from her speech, "Where are you going? It's lashing rain, Harry."

"I think I'll go join Ron at the pub." He answered, the bitter tone in his voice still evident. His hand grabbed a hold of the door knob roughly.

"Oh, okay." She said quietly, furrowing her brow as she watched him go, shutting the door to their flat with a loud snap.

"I have no idea what's gotten into him lately." She muttered to herself, looking back down at her speech.

-------

"Haarrrry, what's up, mate?" Ron asked, patting him on the back as Harry sat down beside him in front of the bar, fifteen minutes later.

"What'll it be?" The bar tender asked immediately.

Harry looked at the pint of Heineken Ron was drinking. "I'll have what he's having." He answered. The bar tender nodded in understanding and went off to pour him a fresh pint of beer.

"Eh, good on ya, man." Ron nodded, speaking slightly louder than necessary, as he gave Harry a lopsided grin and took another swig of the golden-coloured beer. He was red in the face and his breath smelled of alcohol.

"Ron, mate, what'd you do to yourself?" Harry said, plugging his nose from the stench of heavy alcohol, as Ron breathed on him.

"Whaddya mean? I'm fine!" Ron replied, his words slightly slurred. He wobbled back and forth slowly on his barstool, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"No, you're not. Look, you finish your pint, I'll have mine and we'll go home, okay?" Harry said firmly, looking at Ron in the eye so he would listen.

Ron grinned again, an air of childish insolence and stupidity radiating from him. "Okay."

"Here you are!" The bartender smiled, placing the pint of beer carefully down in front of Harry.

"Ooh!" Ron said in the voice of a toddler, as if the bartender was handing out sweets. He took the last swallow of beer and slammed his glass down on the table. "Another one for me please!" He piped up cheerily, his words just barely distinguishable.

The bar tender looked at Harry as if waiting for his permission. Harry shook his head and mouthed, "Water."

The bar tender nodded and hurried off to get Ron a glass of water.

Harry took one look at his best friend and sighed, picking up the pint of beer and taking a drink.

"So, why'd you come down here? You haven't joined me at the pub in months!" Ron looked slightly hurt and offended when he reminded himself of this.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I just really haven't had the time and I've had a lot on my mind." Harry replied, looking down at the beer in his hand. He then smiled, looking up at Ron. "And besides, mate. I think you've been drinking enough for the both of us. You really need to stop coming here so often."

"Aw, but I like it here!" The red head whined, his childish air still present.

"Yes, but this place is like a second home to you. That's not good, Ron. It's not healthy." He replied, keeping eye contact with him still, grasping at Ron's attention.

A glass of water was placed in front of Ron and he stared his nose down at it. "I asked for beer." He said bluntly.

"Ron, it's water. Just, drink it. You need to clear your system." He advised, taking another long swig of his beer, trying to finish it as quickly as possible so they could leave before Ron went into a drunken temper tantrum.

"But... I want beer!" He whined again, looking at Harry pleadingly.

"Ron, just drink it, please?" He looked back, just as pleading. He took yet another swig of his beer, using his other hand to nudge the water in front of Ron.

"But, I don't WANT it!" He raised his voice, knocking the glass out of the way gently. Some of the water sloshed out of it and onto the wooden counter.

"Ron!" Harry said firmly, pushing it back carefully in front of him.

"No!" Ron raised his voice another octave, pushing the glass out of the way. The force of his push cause it to tip over, empty itself of its contents and roll off of the bar, smashing on the floor.

Harry groaned in frustration. "Sorry, man. Here..." He said to the nearby bartender apologetically, pulling out a twenty pound note, as he finished off the last gulp of his beer. "Does this cover everything?" He looked at the man carefully.

"Yes, it does my son. Thank you." He replied politely, looking at Ron and tsk-ing.

"No problem." He nodded in his direction, getting up from the stool and taking Ron firmly by the elbow. He literally had to drag him away from the bar. "Come on, Ron. Let's go home."

"Bye-bye, beer man!" Ron said loudly, so the whole pub could hear, waving like a little four year old. Harry restrained himself from rolling his eyes as he continued to pull Ron firmly by the elbow, heading for the door. He felt like he was the father and Ron was the son. It wasn't the best feeling in a case like this.

If Mr. Weasley had been there at that moment, Harry was sure he wouldn't be pleased.

-------

"Oh. My. God. What happened to him?!" Hermione asked frantically, rushing to the door as Harry dragged Ron over the threshold.

They looked a right mess, having been caught in one of the heavier showers and spending twice as long getting home, because Ron kept looking at all the pretty lights in shop displays. Not to mention, he scared a little kid, caused a woman to hit him repeatedly with her hand bag and nearly got hit by a bus, all because he was acting like a monkey from the zoo. But of course to top it all off, there was a puddle on the side of the road and a car ran through it carelessly, splashing them from head to toe in muck and dirty water.

Needless to say, Harry was not a happy camper. Unfortunately, Ron was too intoxicated to care.

"Oh HERMY!" He grinned, running to Hermione and opening his arms wide, trying to hug her. She screamed, seeing how wet he was as he came toward her.

Harry had never seen her run so fast in heels. She flew, around the kitchen table, weaving in and out of the wooden chairs as she made her way around the island counter. Ron stopped on the other side of the counter and looked at Hermione with a pouty look on his face.

"Huggieee!!" He whined. He seemed to be getting younger and younger in his speech patterns. Harry wouldn't have known the difference between him and a two year old who was new to the whole speech process.

"How much did he have to drink?!" Hermione asked nervously, keeping an eye on Ron so he didn't decide to sneak up on the other side of the counter.

Harry sighed, walking over casually and sitting down in a wooden chair surrounding the kitchen table.

"I wouldn't know, I only got there at the tail end of it and stopped him from having another pint." He muttered in exhaustion, talking more to the table than Hermione. He clutched his forehead, letting it rest on his upright hand as his elbow rested on the table.

"Oh." Hermione said carefully, still watching Ron. Her lips formed the word and Ron pointed and snickered.

"Oh." He said, imitating the way her lips looked. Then, suddenly he ran around the left side of the counter, causing her to yelp in surprise. She rushed over to the opposite side, her back now facing Harry. She called to him over her shoulder.

"What are we going to do with him? He's such a handful when he's like this!" She called to Harry pleadingly.

"I don't know, what we always do I guess. Calm him down, sober him up... " He continued in his 'barely listening' voice.

"We really have to get him to stop drinking...ah!" Hermione yelped again, running around the left side of the counter now, as Ron tried another fruitless attempt at catching her. "Can you please get him to stop?!" She looked over at Harry for a second. She then remembered she had to watch Ron and turned back to him swiftly.

Harry sighed in annoyance, standing up from his spot at the table and placing a hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Come on, Ron. Sit down." He said, gripping his shoulder with more firmness and steering him back to the table.

"But, I want a hug!" He said, sounding put out, but following Harry none-the-less.

"Hermione will give you a hug when you're dry, okay?" He replied slowly, as if he was speaking to a baby.

"Okay." Ron said cheerily, grinning like a toddler as he sat down beside Harry at the table.

Only a few minutes passed. Harry began to get antsy. Hermione sat down at the table with them, looking across it at Harry, who was trying as hard as he could to look at anything but her.

"Actually, lets go to bed, Ron." He said, getting up from his chair suddenly. He couldn't stand sitting there under the gaze of Hermione for much longer. She was staring at him as if this was the last time she would get a chance.

Ron groaned, "Aw, do we have to?"

"Yes, Ron. Come on. You need to get over the massive hangover you're going to have, some how." He spoke, his voice firm. He was subtly demanding authority, again acting like a father figure.

"Alright." He looked over at Hermione and waved cheerily. "Bye Hermy!" He grinned, getting up with Harry and walking down the hall to their bedrooms.

-------

After about forty-five minutes, Harry returned to the sitting room, to witness something he hadn't seen in weeks. Hermione was lounging out on the couch, watching some TV.

He smiled as he watched, all his annoyance forgotten. She looked so peaceful and... normal. She looked more at home than she had in months. He stepped into the room with caution, as if he didn't want to be heard. He knew that if he was, she'd turn back into her uptight self.

But of course, all good things come to an end. As he came in one of the floor boards squeaked, startling Hermione.

"Harry! You scared me half to death." She said, looking over at him and clutching her heart in surprise. As Harry suspected, she sat up a little straighter, patting the seat beside her to give him some room to sit.

Harry obliged, sitting down beside her and staring at the TV automatically, as if she wasn't even there. He figured, he would play her little mind games. Make her wait for his attention, seeing just how well she could try and grasp it.

"Harry?" Hermione looked at him carefully, speaking quietly, her voice humble.

Oh no, I see,

A spider web is tangled up with me.

And I lost, my head,

And thought of all the stupid things I'd said.

Harry turned to her and could have died on the spot. She looked so solemn, so trapped. He had never gotten a proper chance to look at her eyes, until now. She looked tired and broken. She looked as if she could have just dropped right on the spot and fallen asleep with ease. More complex feelings were found in the depths of her eye, but she blinked, hiding them away carefully. Harry hated to see her like this.

"Yes, Hermione?" He asked her politely, watching her carefully. He was staggered by how unmasked she looked. He blinked a few times, giving his eyes time to adjust.

"Have I..." She paused, her voice starting to crack. "Have I changed?" She continued.

Oh no, what's this?

A spider web, and I'm caught in the middle.

So I turn, to run,

And thought of all the stupid things I'd done.

"Changed in what sense?" Harry asked slowly, watching as she put the remote down on the coffee table and turned to him completely.

"I don't know. Have you just seen any major changes in me?" Hermione asked, in her 'fishing for answers' voice.

When Harry heard that voice, he knew that any little thing he said or did was being carefully analysed in the eyes of Hermione. He knew she always tried to solve any problem by observing things around her. At that moment, he had to be honest, he didn't want to be up for observation today.

"I really honestly don't know. I mean, you've become a bit of a work-a-holic. But, I'm assuming that's because you love your job." He shrugged, tip-toeing carefully around what he was really going to say.

In layman’s terms; he sugar-coated his reply.

I never meant to cause you trouble,

I never meant to do you wrong.

Oh, and if I ever caused you trouble,

Oh, no, I never meant to do you harm.

Hermione watched him carefully, doing more 'observing'. She studied him up and down, as he waited with baited breath for a reply.

"So, you think it's only a small change?" She finally answered, still watching him carefully.

"I don't really know that either. I mean, I haven't had much time to talk to you properly over the last few weeks. This could all just be me, in the end." He spoke, almost as if he wasn't controlling himself. As if he was sitting outside of his body and watching the whole thing. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing one way or another what she was trying to figure out.

They both knew he was lying. He could see it in her eyes that she didn't believe him.

Oh no, I see,

A spider web, and it's me in the middle.

So I twist, and turn,

Here am I in my little bubble.

"Harry, please don't lie to me." She said bluntly, staring deeply into his bottle green eyes.

He sighed, mixed emotions turning in his stomach. He didn't know whether to be offended by the fact that she was talking down to him like a little six year old, or curious as to how she knew he was lying in the first place. He thought about it and he decided to settle on anger.

She wants the truth, eh? I don't even think she can HANDLE the truth!

His facial features became slightly bitter. His mind was reeling, his thoughts were running amuck. The annoyance he felt hours before began to take over bit by bit. "What makes you think I'm lying?" He said calmly, in spite of himself. He never broke eye contact, he was going to play her mind game and win.

"Because, for the simple reason being, you're not putting much heart into your answers. You're never like this, you're never afraid to speak your mind, Harry. You just seem like you're holding back, am I right?"

Singing out,

I never meant to cause you trouble,

I never meant to do you wrong.

Oh, well, if I ever caused you trouble,

Oh, no, I never meant to do you harm.

"Hermione, can we do this another time?" He spoke in the same blunt voice, sighing in annoyance. He didn't want to have this discussion with her. Not now, not ever. He was in no mood to argue with the woman he loved.

"Just, tell me what you were really going to say!" Hermione's voice rose slightly, in frustration. She looked at him, seeming agitated. She never liked it when her 'observations' didn't go as planned.

"Why, Hermione? So you can read me like a book? Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're trying to solve your own damn problems by observing me!" He answered back, matching her tone. He was fuming! How dare she make him answer something he didn't want to!

He was pretty much damned if he did and damned if he didn't. On one hand, if he didn't answer her questions, she would be mad. On the other, if he did answer her questions, and truthfully like she wanted, she would still be mad!

"That's not what I'm trying to do!" She spoke firmly, sounding highly offended. Her voice cracked under the lie, giving her away almost immediately. To any normal person, this would go unnoticed. But Harry caught the slight change in pitch and wanted to grin in her face. Now they both knew she was lying.

They spun a web, for me...

"Like hell it isn't!" He muttered angrily in reply. "Fine, you want a truthful answer Hermione? I'll give you one!" He practically yelled. He stood up, looking down at her carefully, his face now red from emotion. She made him so mad sometimes! She really did drive him crazy. She spent the whole day rushing around doing things for other people, yet she never made time for her friends. Then, her excuse was that she liked her job and wanted to keep it. WHO on earth would have the courage to fire her in the first place? She was high up in the place she worked!

Hermione froze, staring up at him, not knowing what to possibly say.

"You're scared." He said bluntly. He waited to see if she'd respond, just so he could cut her off.

When no reply came, he continued anyway. "You're scared of anything that isn't routine. You're scared of being spontaneous! But, to top it all off, you're scared of love." He added, seeing how she would react to that.

"What do you mean I'm scared of love!?" She piped up before he could stop her.

"Love is spontaneous, Hermione! But you wouldn't know the first thing about being spontaneous!" He yelled back, mustering up the nerve to really give it to her. He was going to let her have it. How dare she treat him this way and put him on the back burner! He was tired of playing second fiddle to her job! He was tired of his attempts going ignored.

They spun a web, for me...

"Yes I would!" Hermione replied in an enraged tone, standing up also. She edged her left foot back ever-so-slightly, scowling at him in the process. Her dainty hands crumpled themselves into menacing fists.

She was in her duelling stance, without her wand. Harry recognised it. He had seen her take this position many times when faced with Death Eaters or Dementors. He never thought she would face him, her body arching into this position. She looked graceful; fierce and beautiful. Even though he knew he should be frightened, he wasn't.

"Ha. Fine then, prove it to me!" He sneered back, keeping his face void of emotion. He would not show weakness, because if he did, she would have him.

And before he knew it Hermione had leaned in suddenly, pressing her lips into his with force, giving him a deep and passionate kiss. His lips tingled and he didn't fight her off simply because of the shock. His head swam. She was so quick, he couldn't stop her. But he couldn't enjoy the kiss, because he knew she didn't mean it. Reluctantly, he pulled away, watching her silently for a moment.

His fingertips gently touched his tingling lips, her mouth leaving fire on his skin. She kissed him. She actually kissed him. He shook his head, staring down at his feet against the white carpet, watching as his legs cast a shadow on the floor. The only light in the room was the television.

He looked over at her and watched as the television light danced across her creamy face. He felt a surge of lust in him and quickly wanted to lean over and kiss her soft, luscious lips. He knew he couldn't, though. He fought back the urge with every fibre of his being and concentrated on the fact that the kiss was false. She hadn't meant it. It was simply to prove a point. Finally, once he managed to gather his thoughts, he spoke, his voice quiet and calm.

"Don't toy with me, Hermione. Nothing was meant by that. You have to be spontaneous, through and through. You have to be tolerant, you have to be kind -" Harry's voice broke, "Just don't... don't toy with me."

"What do you mean?" Hermione looked at him, her voice soft as sincerity etched itself in her chocolate eyes. She was truly confused, what could he have possibly meant by that?

"Just, don't, okay?" He repeated, his voice breaking again. He stood up from the couch and looked down at her, an unfamiliar glint in his eye. "You always clung to what you knew. Your books, your cleverness. You always stuck to what you knew best... you always seemed to hide behind something, or other." He finished, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

The silence was deafening as he shut the door. She almost wished he'd come back and yell at her, just to rid herself of it. But he didn't, he didn't return that night. She was left to battle the noisy silence alone, lying on the couch as she waited for sleep, her thoughts eating away at her mercilessly.

They spun a web, for me...

(Coldplay - 'Trouble' From 'Parachutes')

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*AN: Hope you all liked it =] R&R, please!

2. Just A Dreamer

Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after I called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway! So no, not her, not making money of this… nothing, zilch, zero. Happy? Kthnx.

Chapter 2: Just A Dreamer

Harry sighed heavily, opening the door to his bedroom carefully. He peaked out of it, to see if the coast was clear. He didn't want to bump into Hermione just yet.

He slipped from between the door and the doorframe and ventured out of his room, beginning to tip-toe carefully down the hall. He made his way slowly, but surely, to the kitchen. He continued to tip-toe until he heard a floorboard creek softly under the weight of his foot.

CURSE YOU, FLOORBOARD!

"I know you're there, Harry." Hermione called from the sitting room.

How does she do that?! Even over the TV she STILL heard me!

"You're point is?" Harry called into the sitting room, wanting to by-pass it completely and find something to do, so he could use it as an excuse if she asked him to have a talk with her.

"No point, I was just letting you know." She continued politely as Harry took a few more steps and halted by the doorframe. He looked inside and there sat Hermione, comfortably, in the clothes she was wearing yesterday. She had the remote clutched in her hand lazily, as she pushed the button every so often, changing channels.

"Right, then." Harry nodded carefully, turning his back to her and heading off in the direction of his initial destination.

"Harry?" Hermione called from the sitting room as he only managed to take a few paces toward the kitchen.

Harry's shoulders slumped, he knew it was coming, he knew and he was ready for it. He turned around gingerly and peaked his head back into the sitting room. "Yes, Hermione?" He asked politely.

"Can I talk to you later on tonight? Not right now, because in a few minutes I have to start getting ready for work. But, some time later? It's important." She looked at him carefully, unflinchingly, it seemed. She stared him right in the eye and she wouldn't give up until she got her answer.

Harry took in a huge breath and let it back out discreetly, "Yes, you can." He said simply.

"Thank you." Hermione turned back to the TV, leaving Harry to feel rather foolish standing there, in front of the sitting room.

He gave a swift nod of recognition and headed for the kitchen again, scratching the back of his neck nervously. He went into it and immediately went for the kettle, flicking the switch on after checking there was water in it.

"Morning." Ron croaked from behind him, sitting at the island counter on one of the four high stools placed there on the other side.

"Morning." Harry said, without seeming surprised, even if he hadn't seen Ron when he first came in. This was an everyday occurrence. You just got used to it, when living with two other people. Even if you didn't see them at first, there was always bound to be someone else in the room.

"I didn't make too much of a fool out of myself, did I?" Ron asked gingerly, looking up from his mug of coffee, as Harry turned to him upon retrieving the milk out of the fridge.

"No more than usual." He replied through a sigh, turning around and reaching up into the top cupboard for a mug.

Ron winced, "Thought so, how much damage did I do?" He asked, "Do I owe anybody anything for destroying property?"

"Nah, not this time, thank God." Harry spoke, his voice carrying a note of relief. "Ron, you seriously have to stop drinking like this." He added, turning around to face him again, fixing him with a stern stare. His voice instantly adopted a tone to match the look painted across his face.

"I know. It's just.. I can't help it." Ron looked at him, "I drink because it's my-"

"Way of dealing with your problems... I know." Harry finished his sentence for him.

"Well, it's true!" Ron said, shrugging slightly, as he took another sip of his coffee. "What's up with Hermione?" He asked Harry's back as he turned around one again, this time to get himself the sugar. There was a pause where the kettle was the only sound in the room as it boiled harder, steam rising from it as a sign that it was almost ready.

"We got into a bit of a row last night, after I put you to bed." Harry said cautiously, careful not to give away too much.

"Oh, do tell!" Ron asked, taking yet another sip of his coffee. He readily pounced on the opportunity to talk about something other than himself and his problems.

"It was nothing big, just petty. Not even really important." He said carefully, trying hard to evade further discussion on the topic. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, once more. He didn't meet Ron's eager gaze.

He just couldn't tell him what happened last night, it was just impossible! The words would slur and stutter themselves as they left his lips, causing Ron to think he was highly insane, or developing a severe speech impediment.

Ron shrugged, finishing the last sip of his coffee, putting the mug down and getting off of the stool, "If you say so, mate. Hey, I'm going to go and get a shower, okay, so don't do what you did last time and unlock the door with your wand, you pervert!" He added playfully, smirking as he retreated to the bathroom.

"Oh, you WISH!" Harry shot back, chuckling slightly as he watched Ron walk towards the closed bathroom door. Just as he got ready to put his hand on the doorknob, Hermione could be heard leaping up from the couch, sprinting out of the sitting room and across the hall and throwing herself at the bathroom door.

"NO! I need it first! I'll be late for my meeting if you go first! And besides, you always use up the hot water!" Hermione explained frantically, as Ron stepped back. He stood there, thoroughly shocked with his hand reached out in the same position, as if he was now grasping an imaginary doorknob.

Ron watched her carefully as she continued to babble at top speed about all of the reasons why she needed to take a shower first. Then, with a sudden end to her list, she shut the bathroom door leaving him to stand outside of it like an idiot.

Harry poured the water into his mug, causing the coffee to blend with it. He put in sugar, then milk and stirred it with his spoon until it turned a creamy caramel colour. He took the spoon out, tossed it in the sink and brought the mug to his lips, taking a cautious sip as he walked out of the kitchen. He went over to Ron and pat him on the back sympathetically, chuckling softly.

"How DOES she do that?!" Ron asked with a bewildered glance at Harry's back, as he made his way down the hall to his room. "She didn't even need to hear the creak of the door this time!" He continued.

"It's a woman thing, I guess..." Harry answered, halting in front of his door and opening it with his free hand, disappearing within his room at last.

He lied. It wasn't a woman thing... it was just a Hermione thing.

-------

Harry took in all of his surroundings. He was engulfed by people walking along the sidewalks, trollies and cars zooming past him, their owners in a hurry to get somewhere. But most of all, he was surrounded by rain. Drops and drops of rain. Unmerciful rain, that seemed to pelt down on him when he least expected it.

He looked around at all of the people in wonder. How could they possibly be so keen on getting to their next destination? He, himself, was nowhere bound. He couldn't understand how everybody was rushing! It didn't make any sense, the place would still be there when they got to it.

It made Harry wonder about life, as well. Why do people rush things? Why can't they simply take their time? But then again, maybe the amount of time was a problem. No one really knows how much time they have until it's too late.

A warning sign, I missed the good part,

Then I realised.

I started looking and the bubble burst,

I started looking for excuses.

Harry applied this to his own life. Was he running out of time? Maybe not running out of his life time, but, running out of time to make confessions. Hermione wasn't going to be there beside him for the rest of his life and he had to find a way to make her see just how much he needed her.

Oh yes, he needed her. He needed her greatly. Like the beach needed the ocean, like a plant needed the sun. He needed her more than words could express. But unfortunately, telling her this was the problem.

Come on in,

I've got to tell you what a state I'm in.

I've got to tell you in my loudest tones,

That I started looking for a warning sign.

Harry began to walk down the streets in the heart of London, looking around at all of the shops that lined the street, where as everyone else seemed to rush past, not even looking up. He knew in his heart, he would hate to become like that. Someone who just doesn't look around at what they've got, what they could have. Someone who walks by, without even noticing something they've wanted all along, right in front of their nose.

He also knew, Hermione was becoming like that and he would have to save her.

Harry sighed. So, he now had to rescue himself and her. But, how to do it? How would he make her see the error of her ways?

When the truth is,

I miss you.

Yeah, the truth is,

That I miss you, so.

Harry continued to walk down the street, the rain dropping down in buckets as the wind picked up speed. People were holding onto their umbrellas for dear life, others were clinging to their coats, or hats. Harry just continued walking, not worried about how much the rain drenched him. Maybe, just maybe, if he was lucky the rain would drench his very soul.

They were a perfect match, Harry and the weather. It was completely miserable, just as he was. The cloudy sky was his troubled mind and the rain was the raging storm going on in the pit of his stomach.

This was all becoming much too hard to cope with. It seemed as if things were coming at him from all sides. He needed to find an answer, one easy solution to all of his problems, but answers never came easy.

A warning sign, you came back to haunt me,

And I realized.

You were an island, and I passed you by,

You were an island, to discover.

Harry stopped, in the middle of the sidewalk and looked up at the sky. People were moving all around him, but no one plowed into him like they were moments ago. The rain, if possible, was getting worse. It seemed as if it just would not let up, it was just too stubborn.

He looked closer and there it was, the first fork of lightning, followed by the first clap of thunder. Harry felt like he was the only living thing on the sidewalk, in the city, maybe even in the whole world at that moment. He felt alone and restless.

Come on in,

I've got to tell you what a state I'm in.

I've got to tell you in my loudest tones,

That I started looking for a warning sign.

He knew the real reason why, too. It was because of Hermione.

It wasn't necessarily her fault, it was just the way she had changed. He knew why, he just didn't know how to get her to go back to the way she was. She was protecting herself, he guessed. She was building boundaries, closing off her heart and emotions, so she would never be hurt by love again.

He can still remember the day after the final battle with Voldemort. He could remember her dropping to her knees, her tears flowing down her cheeks as if they were rain. Tear drops of bad luck and misfortune.

He remembered the way he kneeled down to comfort her and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close to her as she sobbed into his chest. He looked up as Ron entered the room, shaking his head in dismay. Ron answered the question that formed in Harry's eyes.

When the truth is,

I miss you.

Yeah, the truth is,

That I miss you, so.

Hermione's dad had died that day. Some of the surviving death eaters were seeking revenge and took it out on him. Hermione's mom died shortly after of a broken heart.

Ever since then, Hermione would never show love, or compassion to anyone. She would hide behind her good deeds and honest nature, making sure she never got too attached with anyone again.

She also began to withdraw herself from the trio. Harry and Ron never spoke about this to her anymore, because they knew she would go into one of her long rants and not listen to a word either of them said. She thought they were delusional when it came to matter such as those. She kept insisting that she hadn't changed, until they gave up on the subject completely.

And I'm tired,

I should not have let you go,

Ooooh.

Harry's mind came crashing back to earth when someone bumped into him.

"Sorry." The person mumbled, continuing to hurry along the street.

Harry shrugged and began to walk again. By this point, he was drenched. But, he didn't care. His hands plunged into his pockets as he walked down the crowded street, deciding in his head, that he would go and check on Ron. He didn't know whether he should check the pub, or the house.

Things these days were a lot worse. Even if they no longer had to worry about Voldemort, they now had to worry about tiny problems that all seemed to build up. Attacking them while they were weak.

So, I crawl back into your open arms...

Nothing ever seemed to make sense anymore. Problems dealt more with the heart than anything else. Harry honestly didn't know how much more his heart could take. He would never admit it, but everything that was going on was making him extremely depressed.

He was stuck in a rut and he didn't know how to get out of it.

Yes, I crawl back into your open arms...

He was starting to wish that things would go back to the way they were. Even with the over-looming darkness, people still managed to find happiness; to find hope. Everyone was going on about their normal lives, despite the thoughts of what Voldemort and his followers could do.

But now, the aftermath had hit and hard. People were broken from what had happened during the war with Voldemort. People were no longer in the mind-set of shutting off their emotions and moving on. It was now their chance to grieve and they definitely were capable of doing that.

And, I crawl back into your open arms...

His mind was racing as he was walking quickly down what seemed like a never-ending road. He finally made a turn into an alley way; a short cut back to the flat. He figured he would have faith in Ron and check if he was there first.

As he walked, the rain continued to pelt down on him. He reminisced of times before, thinking about how life would have been if Voldemort had never existed.

But with having that said, the past was the past. It couldn't be altered, or changed without consequences, he knew. There wasn't a moment that passed by, that Harry didn't regret a lot of choices he made.

He just had to keep in mind, that in the end, he was only human. He just wished he could come to terms with that.

Yes, I crawl back into your open arms...

(Warning Sign - Coldplay)

-------

"I'm home!" Harry called into the flat as he opened the door. "Is anyone here?" He asked, this time seeming unsure as he closed the door behind him. He walked over to the side table near the door and threw his keys onto it, stepping out of his shoes, kicking them near Ron and Hermione's.

"Hello?" He said again, walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge carefully, in search of a cold beverage.

Suddenly, Hermione's head peaked into the other opening of the kitchen. "Hey, stranger." She smiled at him. She began to walk into the kitchen, standing a few feet away from him, facing the counter further down as she reached for a mug. "What did you do today?" Her voice seemed to be trapped with a sense of curiosity.

"Well, considering today was my last day off, I decided to just walk around London. I had nothing better to do, really." He shrugged, pulling the milk out of the fridge and placing it down on the counter, closing the fridge with a nudge of his foot.

"When are you going on tour?" She continued, seeming more inquisitive than usual. Harry would have figured that she was doing another one of her 'observations', only, she usually asked questions about herself, or her life when she conducted such conversations. He thought about it, and realised that maybe she just genuinely wanted to know.

"Not for another week. We leave next Monday. We're playing Canada in the world cup." He said brightly, reaching up and opening the cupboard over-head, pulling out a glass.

"So, England are in the finals, then? I thought you were just going to Canada to train and play a few small games. I didn't know you had gotten into the world cup this year." Hermione said in slight surprise.

Since when does she pay attention to Quidditch? She hasn't watched one of my matches since we played Switzerland two years ago, just before she 'shut down' completely...

"Yes, we're in the finals." He answered simply, opening the milk swiftly and pouring some into the glass.

Hermione smiled, "You've always had quick hands. I love when you do that. Remember when I had a bet with you that you couldn't open every bottle in the house in under two minutes?" Hermione's smile turned into a grin, as if she was waiting for him to catch onto the joke so she could laugh.

Harry smirked at her in spite of himself. "Yes! You had me open damn near fifty bottles in that two minutes, missy. And a few jars too!"

"But you still won the bet, didn't you?" She smirked, sticking her tongue out.

"Yes, by about two seconds." Harry added, sticking his tongue back out at her. He brought the glass to his lips and took a small sip, giving Hermione a look of slight curiosity.

There was a sort of awkward silence between them for a moment. Harry's last words hung in mid-air as both of them scrambled for something to say. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Opened it, then closed it. She opened it one last time and Harry gave her a look as if to urge her on, the first word of her sentence was thus formed.

"Harry..." She paused, looking at him carefully.

Harry looked back at her, never breaking their gaze as he wondered what she could possibly want that was making her this uncomfortable to just ask. He sighed in the back of his throat and spoke up, "Go on, spit it out."

Hermione chuckled nervously and placed her hand on the back of her neck, scratching at it carefully. Harry looked at her with slight amusement. She was picking up on his quirky habits. Hermione's eyes met Harry's for a second and she realised what she was doing. Her hand immediately fell back to her side as she tried to pluck up the courage to speak again.

"I was wondering..."

"You were wondering... what?" Harry continued to press the subject lightly.

"If I could..."

"If you could...?"

"If I could come with you to Canada." Hermione blurted out finally, sighing in slight relief when Harry didn't say 'no' immediately.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked, looking slightly bewildered.

"Yes!" Hermione grinned, becoming very jittery as if she had ants in her pants.

"Why do you want to come with me to Canada, anyway?" Harry looked taken aback, but he didn't look like he was completely rejecting the idea, which relieved Hermione greatly.

"Because, I've never been there before and I've always wanted to go!" She replied enthusiastically as Harry turned around and opened the fridge, milk in hand. "Besides, you've already been there! You could show me around!"

"Yes, but... I don't think you'd have any fun." He said over his shoulder as he bent over, placed the milk inside the fridge, straightened up and closed the door again.

"Why do you say that?" She looked at him curiously, moving to a spot right in front of him as she leaned some of her body weight on the counter.

"I just don't think you would. I'll be training for the most part and I won't have much time to take you sight-seeing."

"I don't mind!" Hermione smiled. "Please!?" She danced around on the balls of her feet gracefully, as if she was an excited little child.

"Alright, alright. I'll bring you. But only because Ron went last time." Harry said, rolling his eyes as she grinned, jumped up and down and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She cheered.

"I have to ask, though. How are you going to get the time off of work?" He gave her a sideways glance as she let go of him and jumped up, sitting on the counter. He thought perhaps he had found a hole in her plan and waited with baited breath for her reply.

"You've forgotten, Harry. I haven't taken a holiday in two years. I should get the week off, easy!" She grinned at him, her legs swinging side to side as they dangled from the edge of the high counter.

"Why do you want to do this, anyway? I mean, Hermione... first of all, you don't even like Quidditch. Second of all, you don't like travelling. And third of all, I thought you found me annoying over long periods of time?" Harry continued to watch her carefully, turning around to face her completely now.

Hermione frowned slightly. "I never said you were annoying, I don't like travelling by floo powder and I don't love Quidditch, but I love watching you fly!" She looked at him carefully, sincerity plastering itself over her facial features.

"Besides, I was brooding over what you said last night. About how I'm afraid of things out of the ordinary, how I don't like being spontaneous. I think this sudden, hardly planned trip away will be the first step to getting my spontaneous nature back!" She smiled warmly down at him. "Don't you think?"

"Have you seen Ron anywhere?" He asked suddenly, getting slightly distracted from the topic at hand as he looked at a picture of Ron being held on the fridge by a magnet and remembered why he had come home in the first place.

"Yes, he's asleep in his bed." She answered, still giving him the enthusiastic look, as if waiting for him to steer back on course.

Harry rolled his eyes at her. "Hermione, you can't fix things this way."

"I know, but it's worth a try, right? I think this trip will do me good! And anyway, a little awhile back, you were always complaining about how I missed your games. Well, I'll be here for this one! It will be a start on making up for all those missed games!" She smirked down at him, knowing by the look on his face that she had won.

She knew this, just like he knew she had all of these pros thought out in her head before she even asked him and there was no use in arguing with her.

"Hermione. That was a year and a half ago." Harry said flatly, sighing heavily. She had been so wrapped up in her work, that she didn't realise how much time had passed.

"Right. But either way, I'll be starting to make up for it!" She grinned. "Oh, this is going to be so great, Harry!" She squealed cheerfully.

Harry sighed again, knowing that he didn't have to worry about Ron wanting to come. He'd probably be too pissed to care. "Yeah... great." He said, no trace of enthusiasm in his voice whatsoever.

Yes... great! Yet another thing for me to worry about while I'm there!

-------

Ron walked down a cold and packed Diagon Alley the next day. He was supposed to be meeting Fred and George at their shop. Harry and Hermione were supposed to come too, to help him persuade them to come to Mrs. Weasley's birthday get-together next week.

But here he was, walking down the crowded street by himself. Just last night, Harry had let Ron know that he and Hermione would be going to Canada next week and they were getting stuff for their trip. Which also meant he would have to keep an eye on the flat while they were gone. He sighed heavily, halting in front of the doors of 'Weasley Wizard Weezes'.

As he entered he saw little children running passed him out of the shop, all excited and chattering about what they had just purchased. "Little snots." He muttered to himself as he made his way to the counter in the middle of the shop.

The place was empty, as Ron took a look around him, seeing all of the bright potions and gadgets lining the walls. He walked over aimlessly, picking up what looked like a mini version of a seers crystal ball.

"You break it, you buy it!" A gruff voice said from behind him.

Ron grinned, he could almost hear the cheeky smirk plastered across his brother's face. He turned around, coming face to face with Fred Weasley. He stood before him, tall and slightly muscular - not as lanky and bony as before. He held out his hand to give Ron a good strong handshake.

"Oh, what the hell." He muttered, pulling Ron in to give him a tight, brotherly hug. Once they pulled apart Ron looked up at him carefully.

"Nice place! I see you've expanded, and have done some renovations!" He smiled slyly, fully taking in his surroundings. "Where'd you get the money for it!?"

"Oh, our business has been doing very well, bro! We're opening two new braches in New York in a couple of weeks time." Fred said with a smug sort of grin.

Come to think of it, he did look rather lavish in his velvety black robes, black dress pants, white shirt and black leather shoes. He looked really good. Very posh, Ron thought.

"Where else do you have branches?" Ron looked at him in awe.

"Toronto, Paris, Rome, Madrid..." Fred was naming the places off on his fingers while Ron took cautious steps around the shop, browsing all of the multi-coloured displays. He weaved in and out of hyper, nameless children, his hands lightly touching the merchandise. Sure enough, they had expanded. Their shop was three times the size it had been when they first started. He also had a feeling that they no longer rented the place, but instead owned it.

"Don't forget that new one we opened not too long ago in Belfast!" George said broke in, obliterating his brother's train of thought, as he made his way down the stairs. He walked over and embraced Ron, letting him go and stepping back to have a look at him. "Wow bro, haven't changed a bit!" He added with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, unfortunately." Ron muttered carefully. "Anyway, you guys never mentioned any of this to me when I spoke to you on the phone!" He looked slightly put out. This was the first time he had properly seen them in about a year. Every other time he stopped by their original branch, they were never there. "Didn't you get any of my messages that I left with Sandra?" Ron looked bewildered, his gaze shifting from one twin to the other.

"Oh, no. Sandra was fired a week ago. She was really lazy! We're in the process of getting another secretary." George said matter-of-factly.

"Ah." Ron answered simply. "Anyway, the reason I'm here..."

"Yes, we were wondering why you sounded so hell-bent on the phone!" Fred watched him carefully, curiosity stretching across his features.

"Well, I was wondering if you two were going to come to Mum's..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there..." George interrupted.

"We're not going to Mum's anything!" Fred finished.

"What do you mean?! It's her birthday, you guys! She's expecting you to be there! Everyone's coming! Bill and Charlie have even taken time off of work!" Ron said carefully, giving them a pleading look.

"Tell her we can't make it." George said dismissively, his note suddenly cold and business-like.

Ron shook his head. He was pretty sure that was the same tone he used with his business associates. He felt sick. Since when did brothers who grew up together, talk to each other as if they were strangers? It was a very high offence on his list.

"I'm not lying for you two! Not again! You already missed their anniversary dinner! How much longer is this feud going to last?" His voice had an edge of pleading in it, which was lightly underlined with fury. He sounded sick and tired of the entire situation.

"Until they admit they were wrong!" Fred replied stubbornly.

"They practically disowned us when we told them we were selling products to the ministry!" George finished this time.

"It's not like we're becoming 'buddy, buddy' with them or anything! They just wanted a few new gadgets, so we cut a deal with them!" Fred added before Ron could get another word in.

"Okay, look! I get it, alright? It's just that, it would really mean a lot to her! I'm sure they're both willing to apologise! But you haven't exactly given them the chance, have you?" Ron snapped, looking up at them with reason in his eyes.

"Bro, don't drag yourself into the middle of this. We rather like you. We don't want to have to ignore you, too!" Fred looked at him carefully, his threat sounding more and more like a promise as it swirled around in Ron's head.

"Alright, fine! All I'm saying is this is just very petty!" Ron piped up, angrily.

"You weren't there, Ron. You wouldn't understand." George looked at him with meaning in his eyes. Something that was very rarely seen there.

"Anyway, if you guys aren't going to come, I'm not going to lie for you okay?" Ron looked at the both of them, a vow etched in his eyes.

"Fine." They said in perfect unison.

"Right, well, I have to get going." Ron muttered, squaring his shoulders as he began to trudge toward the wooden front door.

"Bye bro." Fred said softly, not quite sure of what else to say.

"Take care." George added, unsurprisingly in the same state of mind.

"Ya-huh." Ron said to the both of them, waving off their departing words with the swipe of his hand as he took the last few steps toward the exit.

Just as put his hands on the door, George spoke, causing him to turn around to stare at him.

"Don't look so glum..." He said, smiling in his direction. Every word seemed to be saturated with sincerity. He really felt bad for his brother.

Ron didn't seem to catch the meaning, as he gave him a forced smile and pushed the doors open, walking back out into the cold morning air. He sighed heavily. He felt like he was in the middle of his family's separation. He felt like he was the only one who saw sense and it was driving him insane!

He continued to retrace his steps and walk back up Diagon Alley, George's last words to him, ringing in his ears.

"Don't look so glum..."

Ron's face turned bitter and cold as he grunted to himself in slight anger and frustration as his hands plunged deep into the pockets of his jacket.

"Ha! Easy for him to say!"

-------

A few days later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were at the Burrow setting up for Mrs. Weasley's surprise party.

They had come early, putting up decorations with Mr. Weasley, while Mrs. Weasley was shopping in Diagon Alley.

Before speaking, Hermione threw a glance around the room to make sure Mr. Weasley was busy preparing something. He was nowhere in sight, so she took this opportunity to have a private conversation with Harry and Ron.

"And so, they just... didn't want to come?" Hermione still couldn't believe the twins could be so cold toward their mother, after all this time.

"For the thousandth time: yes, Hermione. They didn't want to come." Ron said through slightly clenched teeth. He didn't mean to be so aggressive and irritated, he just hated family get-togethers. His loathing for them started about two years ago, when the Weasley clan began to go their separate ways.

"I wonder if Ginny will show up." Harry said curiously, also looking for any sign of Mr. Weasley. He then, licked his lips in concentration as he did a tricky little charm that carefully placed the banner, which read 'Happy Birthday Mrs. Weasley', above the mantle.

Hermione's head turned around sharply to look at Harry carefully, "Why do you wonder that?" Her voice was slightly cold as she gave him somewhat of a withering look, involuntarily.

"I mean, come on. It's been what, two years? She's never come round, or made contact with any of us. I just think it would be good to see how she's getting on, you know?" Harry said back, grinning inwardly as he stood back to admire his wand-work.

Hermione sighed heavily and continued filling balloons up with a bursts of air from the end of her wand. "I suppose you're right." She murmured softly, defeated. She didn't know what made her snap like that, but quickly brushed it off. "I doubt she'll show up. Like you said, it's been two years. What would make her want to come back, tonight of all nights? She knows that the whole family would be here. I'm sure she wants to avoid a crowd."

Harry silently agreed, taking a quick glance at the Weasley clock. Bill and Charlie's hands were set to 'Travelling', Mr. Weasley's and Ron's were set to 'Home', Mrs. Weasley's was still set to 'Shopping', Percy's, Fred's and George's was set to 'Work', and for some strange reason, Ginny's was set to 'Mortal Peril'.

His curiosity grew and he had to consciously push worried thoughts out of his head as he hurried off to look for something else to do.

Suddenly, there was a loud chime and Harry looked back up at the clock. Mrs. Weasley's hand was turning and halting at 'Travelling'.

"Quick!" Mr. Weasley called to everyone, bustling into the room. "We don't have much time!"

Just seconds before Mr. Weasley extinguished the lights, Bill and Charlie apparated into the room, a loud popping following their arrival.

"Get down!" Mr. Weasley whispered frantically to the two of them. They both jumped behind the couch to hide.

"Ouch!" Ron yelped in a whisper. "You stood on my foot!" He croaked.

Harry sniggered, but stayed crouched behind the big armchair. Just then, the front door was thrown back and the soft silhouette of Mrs. Weasley could be seen in the doorway. She must have apparated, instead of travelling by floo like Mr. Weasley was expecting.

"Dammit, Aurther. What are you doing with all the lights off?" She muttered, not meaning for Mr. Weasley to hear at all. She set her bags down on the ground, closed the front door and flicked the lights on.

As soon as she did, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Mr. Weasley, Bill and Charlie jumped up from their hiding places, cheering "Surprise!" In unison.

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley clutched her heart in shock as the whole lot of them grinned at her, frozen in their positions. Mrs. Weasley began to walk toward them, a smile placing itself on her face. "Oh this is wonderful!" She said, looking around the room at all the decorations.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Bill, Charlie and Mr. Weasley all received hugs from Mrs. Weasley. Hermione and Mr. Weasley rushed into the kitchen to check that the food was ready and Harry, Bill, Charlie and Ron stayed in the sitting room with Mrs. Weasley.

"Boys, this is wonderful." She smiled. She kept up quite a good front, but Ron could see the cracks in her ploy shining through. She glanced subtly around the room, searching for the members of her family that weren't there. She finally put words to her thoughts, "I wonder where Fred and George are... Ron, dear, are they coming?" She looked over at her youngest son, a desperate question forming in her eyes.

Ron froze. "Uh." He began, lost for words. He was going to do it. He was going to rat them out and tell her that they were too stubborn to show up, but he couldn't do it. Her face was so full of meaning, he just couldn't burst her bubble like that. He knew it was already hard enough for her to cope with the fact that her children didn't live with her anymore and he didn't want to completely ruin her birthday.

"No. They send you their best wishes, though. They're terribly sorry they couldn't be here, they had a meeting in New York and couldn't find the time to stop by." Ron looked at his mother carefully, hoping she didn't use her motherly intuition to see right through the lie.

"Oh. Well, that's too bad. I hope they're doing alright, perhaps I'll see them another time." She said, her voice sounding slightly off-hand. He wasn't sure she completely believed him, but he was glad she was no longer giving him that probing, disarming stare.

Hermione showed up at the doorway from the kitchen, to the sitting room. "Food's done." She smiled brightly. She looked around at the completely uncomfortable scene before her, as all the Weasley boys and Harry fidgeted slightly under the gaze of Mrs. Weasley and she frowned.

As they all made their way to the kitchen, Harry caught Ron by the elbow and pulled him back so they could talk quickly before entering the kitchen. "Why didn't you tell her? She's going to find out sooner or later, Ron." Harry whispered. He sounded almost as heartbroken as Ron felt.

"I know, I know. But right now, later would be better than sooner..." He answered, as he fought back a wave of grief. His family was being torn apart before his very eyes and he didn't even have the heart to tell his parents about it.

-------

After they all finished eating, they went to the sitting room to give Mrs. Weasley her gifts. Lupin, Tonks and the Weasley's next door neighbours stopped by, all bearing gifts as well.

"Thank you so much!" Mrs. Weasley smiled after being handed gifts from everyone. She began to un-wrap them, when there was a soft knock at the door.

"I'll get it, mum. You continue. Oh! That one's from me." Ron pointed to the brightly-wrapped package in her hands, smiling at her as he got up to open the door.

Another knock was heard as he was walking towards the door and Ron muttered in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He halted and placed his hand on the doorknob, opening it.

He nearly dropped the box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans he was holding. "You!" He said in no more than a whisper. "What are you doing here?!" His eyes narrowed at the person on the other end of the door as instant rage began to bubble in his stomach.

Ron couldn't understand why he was so shocked. He should've trusted Harry's instincts when he pointed out that his hand on the clock went from 'Travelling' to 'Home'. He didn't believe it, he figured the clock was broken or something. How could Percy be home? How could Ginny be in 'Mortal Peril'? He hadn't alerted his parents to the change on the clock, but Bill and Charlie noticed it, too.

This is the last thing mum needs!

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't think everyone would be here! I just wanted to talk to mum and dad alone." A poor and withered looking Percy muttered nervously.

"Yeah, well what gives you the right to show up in the first place, Percy?!" Ron muttered, his anger already beginning to reach the surface. His ears turned a tinge of red as he watched his brother with an angry glint in his eyes. There was something very 'Prodigal Son' about this moment; only he wasn't ready to welcome him back with open arms.

"I just wanted to talk to my parents, Ron." Percy said, his tone already seemingly annoyed.

"Yeah, well, you should've thought about that before you left them! They still haven't been able to get over that, you know!" Ron shot at him, hoping it ate him up inside.

"Which is exactly what I've come to talk about." Percy shot back.

"Oh what, you've come to give them false hope again?" Ron's voice was edging toward fury. He was just teetering between emotions.

"No! I've come to tell them the truth. To let them know I'm sorr-" Percy managed to blurt out before Ron cut him off.

"Oh that's RICH!" Ron's voice went up another pitch, his breathing becoming slightly heavy and his fist clenching angrily around the box of Bertie's Beans in his hand.

"Ron! I've already beat myself up enough over it, okay? Could you get off my back!" Percy yelled at Ron, seeming very distressed.

"Ron, dear, who's at the door?" Ron could hear his mother's faint voice from somewhere behind him.

"Oh, nobody..." Ron called back, putting extra emphases on the word 'nobody'.

"That was harsh. But I guess I deserved it." Percy said solemnly, bowing his head in shame.

"You're damn right you did! As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a brother named Percy. Because when you walked out of this door, you walked out of this family!" He spoke, surprisingly calm. But even though his voice was calm, a note of bitterness and anger could be heard loud and clear. "You betrayed us... you SHOULD be ashamed!"

And with that, he closed the door on Percy with a crisp snap.

"Who was that at the door?" Hermione whispered to Ron inconspicuously, as he reached the sitting room once more, taking his place on the couch in between Harry and Hermione.

"Percy." He muttered back as Mrs. Weasley was opening her last gift. Harry, on the other side of Ron, listened in on the conversation.

"Seriously?" He asked in a whisper, looking thoroughly shocked.

"Yup." Ron nodded slightly, sighing heavily.

"I take it he left then, right?" Hermione asked him, giving him a stern look.

"Yes, he's gone." He replied, fidgeting under her gaze.

Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing the exact reason why he left before even making it into the house. "You were harsh on him, Ron. I know you were."

"Hey! Cut me some slack! It had to be said! He's got to realise he can't just do something like that, upset my parents deeply, and get away with it!" Ron shot back, his voice still no higher than a whisper.

Even if he knew he was right, the look Hermione gave him made him feel guilty. As much as he hated the way Percy acted, he had to realise that he was a part of the Weasley family and that his mother loved him, just as much as she loved the rest of them.

He bit his lip, watching the joyous look on his mother's face as she closely examined the present his father had given her. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled warmly into the side of his neck, whispering her thanks.

He knew reality would hit sometime. He knew he would have to let them in on the fact that Percy 'Prodigal Son' was back, their daughter Ginny wasn't anywhere in sight and Fred and George weren't on speaking terms with them. But, he'd do that later. A more opportune time, perhaps. He just wanted them to be happy, for as long as humanly possible.

Was that too much to ask? Was this just wishful thinking? Was he simply just a dreamer?

-------

*A/N: Mmmmkay, so wow, I have been gone for a long time. And I do apologise profusely. A lot of things have happened in my absence! I have started school again (I’m in my last year, which isn’t exactly going to be fun for me!!) Erm, I had a bitchin’ summer in Canada (Therefore I wasn’t around a computer to actually edit anything) and chea… I think that’s about it! So, I seriously apologise and I hope to have more updates shortly. It shouldn’t be too hard… I already have these chapters written and now that I’m settled back in school I have the whole time management thing down!

Anyway, yeah, hope you enjoyed the chapter! =D

R&R!

3. Complications and Miscommunications

*Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after I called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway! So no, not her, not making money of this… nothing, zilch, zero. Happy? Kthnx.

*A/N: Okay, so I managed to get this chapter edited much more quickly than I thought. I won’t have a chapter for you more than once a week! I just figured I’d warn you all. I’m hoping to post about one chapter a week, maybe one every two weeks, depending on my schedule.

Anyway, here it is… chapter 3!

Enjoy =]

---

Chapter 3: Complications and Miscommunications

I wanna live life,

And never be cruel.

And I wanna live life,

And be good to you.

"Here, hand me your bag, Hermione." Harry said upon arriving at their hotel room. Unfortunately they had to share a suite, no others had been booked.

"Thanks Harry." She smiled, handing it to him as she stepped over the threshold. "Oh, it's beautiful." She gasped. "Do you always get wonderful suites like this?" She asked in awe, gazing around at the lavish room.

And I wanna fly,

And never come down.

And live my life,

And have friends around.

"Well, that is one of the perks of playing for an international team." Harry grinned, setting their bags down carefully near the couch in the sitting area.

"But, how did they pay for these? This is a muggle hotel." Hermione turned back to him, after dashing to the window and looking out at the view of Halifax.

Harry thought she looked amazing. Her eyes were alight with a childish glint. He knew how much she loved the crisp blue skies painted with the wonderful sunset. She also loved having a view over-looking a big city, she told him so once. Hermione didn't think Harry remembered these things, but he remembered every word she spoke, whether it be trivial, or important. Her voice was just too sweet-sounding, to be ignored.

We never change, do we?

No, no.

We never learn, do we?

Harry looked around the room carefully, still standing as he took cautious glances at Hermione while she danced around the room. There was a nice oak table right in front of where he stood, another beautiful white cushioned couch opposite him, to match the one he was about to sit on. There was a chair off to the right, and a TV sat in a well-finished rosewood cupboard. All of this stood on a plush, white carpeted floor. Harry looked beyond the couch, at the magnificent view of the Halifax Harbour. The big glass window with the lavish curtains really seemed to frame and complete the space.

So I wanna live,

In a wooden house.

"I'm pretty sure they have converters to exchange the money." He replied, "I don't really think about it too much." He added shrugging slightly, as he stepped out of his shoes and immediately plunked down on the couch. He sighed in a relaxed manner, his eyelids drooping slightly.

"Look at you, all worn out. We apparated here, Harry!" She said teasingly, taking up a seat beside him on the couch.

I wanna live life,

And always be true.

And I wanna live life,

And be good to you.

"Yeah, but think about it. We had to go all the way to the EAWO just to be able to travel this far!" Harry's eyelids opened - with what seemed like great effort - and he scowled over at her playfully.

"Yes, but the English Apparating World Organisation is only an hours drive from where we live, Harry." She shot back, sticking out her tongue.

And I wanna fly,

And never come down.

And live my life,

And have friends around.

"Oh shush." He said in a tone that rang with defeat. He knew that whenever he said this, he was literally letting Hermione know she had won.

"Do they have a pool here?" She looked over at him, grinning.

We never change, do we?

No, no.

We never learn, do we?

"All of the hotels on Spring Garden Road do, Hermione. These are the Five-Star hotels." He said in a dazed voice, not really paying much attention.

"Brilliant! I'm going to go for a quick swim then, okay?" She said excitedly, pulling her bag towards her and unzipping it carefully.

So I wanna live,

In a wooden house.

Where makin' more friends,

Would be easy.

"Fine by me. But I have a late night training session tonight, so I probably won't be back until about one or two in the morning, okay?" Harry checked his watch, and realised he had forgotten to set it to Canadian time. He quickly set the watch behind four hours and looked at it carefully. It was six; his eyes grew wide, he was going to be late for his six-thirty practice.

Oh and I don't have a soul to save,

Yes and I sin every single day.

"Harry are you okay?" Hermione looked at him, her eyes filled with concern.

"Is it really six?" Harry looked over at Hermione, his eyes still wide.

We never change, do we?

We never learn, do we?

She looked at her own watch, "Yes, I changed the time on mine a few minutes before we apparated."

"Damn this nice weather!" Harry said looking at the misleading sunny sky outside. He jumped up and grabbed his training bag, heading quickly for the door without a backwards glance.

So I wanna live,

In a wooden house.

Where makin' more friends,

Would be easy.

As Hermione watched him leave, she looked slightly put out, for she was going to persuade him to take a swim with her. She sighed, thinking things through. If she was going to pull Harry out of this daze, she was going to have to try harder, much harder.

I wanna live,

Where the sun comes out.

(Coldplay - 'We Never Change' from 'Parachutes')

-------

"Another pint, please." A raven-haired girl spoke loudly over the dim that came with Friday night 'happy hour'.

"Coming up." The bartender said gladly, taking the mug from her and hurrying off to refill it.

Ron could swear he recognised that voice from somewhere. His curiosity got the better of him, as he was debating inside his head whether or not he should go over and find out who it was. Maybe it was an old girlfriend of some sort.

"Hello?" Ron spoke, unsure of himself. He stood, with her back facing him. He almost expected that she couldn't hear him, but suddenly, her shoulders stiffened as her body tensed. Her posture became much straighter as she partially turned to face him.

"Yes?" She asked carefully, a thick trace of guilt trapped within her one word answer.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Ron asked, still unsure. He couldn't see all of her face, it almost seemed like she was trying to hide from him behind the collar of her thick, black coat.

"I'm not quite sure." The mysterious girl answered, both of her eyes meeting his, as the complete bottom half of her face was covered by her coat. She stared at him carefully, in fear, waiting for an answer.

"I'm sure I remember you. You have an unforgettable face." He smiled. "Um, where could I possibly know you from?" He began to rack his brains.

"Perhaps from Hogwarts." The girl mumbled, her voice muffled from her coat collar. She never broke eye contact, as her eyes stared into his own; searching.

"Ah, so you're a witch." He said quietly, giving her a knowing smile. "I don't remember you, though." Ron furrowed his brow as he thought harder.

"Of course you wouldn't, I've changed a lot." She replied quietly.

"That voice, I know that voice." He mumbled, more to himself, than to her.

"Why wouldn't you? I'm shocked." Ron couldn't see her face, but he could hear a smirk trace itself across her lips.

"Why are you shocked?" Ron looked over at her, his eyebrow raised in mock suspicion.

"I'm shocked..." The girl started, lowering her coat from her face, "That you don't even remember the voice of your own sister." She finished, smiling carefully up at him.

Ron gasped in surprise. This was insane! He didn't know how he couldn't have realised it before.

His eyes traced over the features of her face. Her freckles were still intact, along with her small, shapely nose. Her ears were covered by her raven hair, but her cheeks were just as rosy and her eyes were just as crystal blue. She had a layer of make-up on her face. Foundation covered her skin, as dark blue eye shadow was painted thickly across her eyelids, and a crimson lipstick was smeared across her lips. She looked much older. Much older than she was supposed to be.

To be honest, Ron didn't like to see her like this. He took in the rest of her features and shuddered. Her coat fell open, still hanging off of her shoulders. She wore a short black skirt (too short in Ron's opinion), a skimpy black tank top and leather, high-heeled boots. She had different bangles and beads around her neck and wrists, along with a few different rings that sat carefully on her slender fingers.

Ron caught a glimpse of a big diamond on her left ring finger. His mind began to reel.

She's married!? WHAT!? Oh wait, no, there's no wedding band. But, she's still ENGAGED!

He honestly felt like he wanted to be sick. What was he supposed to tell his parents NOW?!

She smiled at his dazed expression. "If you weren't my brother, I would have accused you of checking me out and smacked you one!" She said with a chuckle. "Come on, Ron. Say something!"

"Gin-Ginny?!" He spoke in another gasp.

"Do you have any other sisters I should know about?" She said in a mock curious tone, smirking in his direction.

"Good point." He muttered, sitting down on the stool next to her. "So, how have you been?" He tried sound casual. He would probe her for answers later. Right now, they had a bit of catching up to do.

"Oh..." Ginny's strong voice seemed to fade slightly, "I've been fine. Always on the go, it seems." Upon these last words issuing from her lips, she turned away from him for the first time since their conversation had begun.

"I see." He said, taking this into account and making a mental note of it. "I haven't seen you around in awhile, where have you been hiding?" He added, straining to keep his voice at a calm note. In reality, he wanted to strangle his sister for running off without so much as a goodbye. He did realise that Harry's rejection was hard for her to deal with, but running away from him and everyone else who cared for her wasn't the answer. At least not the right one, anyway.

"Oh, I've been really busy. I don't exactly get out much, either." Ginny answered, her voice now sounding off-hand and distant.

"Hmm, that's a shame." Ron spoke with unintentional bitterness, "Mom and dad really miss you, you know." He added, smoothing his voice back out, as he turned to face her. "They've wondered where you've been. Actually, to be honest, I've wondered the same."

He looked deep into his only sister's life-weathered face. She looked defeated, and perhaps a little scared, now that Ron had a chance to look at her properly. She didn't look like the girl he once knew; the strong-willed Gryffindor he fought alongside in the final battle. She no longer seemed to have substance, as a result of life taking its toll on her. Perhaps her flashy appearance was a desperate attempt to make up for her vacant eyes.

"Don't." Her voice finally cracked. "Please... don't." She now whispered, not bothering to look him in the eye, still. She sounded on the verge of tears. Ron knew, that the tough exterior she had layered herself with was just an act.

At the mention of her parents, he realized he seemed to cut through it like a hot knife through a slab of butter. She looked as if she was ready to fall to pieces at his words.

"Okay, sorry. I just think we all deserve an explanation." He said, trying not to sound haughty and annoyed. He didn't want to sound like he was forcing answers out of her.

Ginny sighed, "I know and I'll give it to you. I don't know why I even thought I could run away from this." She finally let her eyes meet his again. "Ron?"

"Yeah?" He looked at her curiously.

"I've got to say, out of everyone, I've missed you the most." She gave him a weak smile, a note of sincerity entwining with her words that hung in mid air and stretching across her facial features. She placed her hand on top of his on the bar.

His answering smile was brilliant, "I've missed you too, Gin." He looked down at her hand on his and his smile faded. He was again faced with the big rock on her ring finger. It made him want to turn his nose up in disgust. He quickly averted his gaze and looked at Ginny, trying to reason with himself. He knew deep down that he trusted her judgement.

Unfortunately for him, couldn't look away quick enough and Ginny saw him take a glimpse at the ring. Her hand removed itself from his and she showed it to him. "I guess you've already noticed, I'm engaged." She looked at him, her lips settling between a smile and a grimace.

"Who to?" Ron tried not to sound hesitant and worried.

"Well, I'll tell you. Simply because I know I can trust you and you won't judge me, right?" She looked at him, an expression of hope gleaming in her eyes, as if she thought the world of him and only he could help her.

He watched her silently. He stared her in the eyes long and hard, sighing slightly. Her emotions were laid bare. She was reaching out to him, because she needed him. He needed to be the best big brother he could right now and support her in her decision.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally replied, his voice gruff and firm "Right." He then gave her a reassuring glance as her drink was placed in front of her. Before she spoke, she gave a nod of acknowledgement to the bartender, picked her drink up, and took a deep sip from it before returning the glass to its resting place on the bar.

"Go on." Ron urged her to continue. He was rather curious to know who it was. The fact that she had taken a long drink before telling him, to brace herself, caused his breath to hitch in his throat with worry.

"Well, you're not going to be happy, straight away I can see that." She said carefully, giving him a pleading look.

Ron stared straight back at her, unflinchingly. He readied himself for whatever she was about to say next, his mind absolutely reeling.

"Malfoy." She said quietly, almost as if she was ashamed. "Draco Malfoy."

Ron couldn't speak.

Surely this is a joke! It HAS to be a joke! Dear Merlin, let it be a joke!

"Pardon? It sounded like you said... Draco Malfoy." He croaked out, looking at her carefully. He could feel his brain go numb and his skin turn a pale white.

"No, you heard me right." She said in the same quiet tone.

"W-why?!" Was all he managed to issue from his lips. Thousands of foul words pushed at to be released, but he kept his mouth closed. The urge to say something bad was so strong, it was almost as if these words weren't just trying to push their way out, but more like running headlong into his lips in one big group.

"He loves me, Ron." She said with sincerity. She continued to keep eye contact, regaining her sense of strength.

He gulped in some air, breathing it back out shakily. "Where do you live?" He asked bluntly, trying desperately to get off of the subject of her future husband.

"Do you want me to show you?" She smiled slightly, making to stand up from her stool.

"Sure, why not." Ron gave her a nervous smile, standing up as she had done and making his way out of the bar with her in tow.

Things can't possibly get any worse!

-------

It was midnight; he had been earlier than he thought he would.

"Herm? You awake?" Harry opened the door, calling into the suite. He dropped his training bag down near the table in the hall. He kicked his shoes off slightly, watching them land near the coat rack. He ventured further in and saw Hermione curled up on the couch in front of the TV.

"Canadian telly is so amusing." She said chuckling and pointing the romote at one of the comedic sitcoms.

Harry smirked and rolled his eyes at her, taking a few more steps and plunking himself down on the armchair just beside the couch.

Harry looked at the TV carefully and chuckled slightly as one of the characters said something funny. But, for some reason, he could feel Hermione's gaze upon him. He found it hard to ignore her when she was like this. He found it hard to ignore her in general. He changed a sideways glance at her and sure enough, she was fixing him with a penetrating stare.

"Yes, Herm?"

"Nothing, was just watching you." She smiled a knowing smile, turning her attention back to the TV.

He hated and loved her for this; the short, intriguing sentences that would come out of her mouth. The ones he was left to think about. Questions would pop in his head, like 'Why did she say that?', 'What did she mean?' or the classic, 'Why does she stop there?!'

Harry was beginning to ask himself those questions. Usually, he would let the moment pass, let the air be cleared. But this time, he wanted to know why she was watching him. A sudden urge to ask her pricked at him like a needle, making him jump at the chance.

"Why? Am I more interesting then the TV?" He asked her casually, turning his attention to her once more. This was one of those 'hit and miss' questions, he knew. The answer could mean everything and it could mean absolutely nothing at the same time. In the end, he would be left to decide which one it was going to be.

He waited for her eyes to meet his before he gave her one of his own probing stares. It seemed to work.

"I would have to say, Harry, the TV comes at a close second." She once again smiled her knowing smile and it nagged at Harry, so. She seemed to know something he didn't. She seemed to have gathered information from something he said, or did, that he couldn't pick up on.

"I don't understand. What makes me so interesting?" He pressed the matter on, before it was too late to just seem casual. He had a burning sensation in the pit of his stomach to know more. Why he wanted to know what she was thinking, he didn't know. He just couldn't put a finger on the feeling he felt. It seemed ridiculous. Why did it matter? Why does being more interesting than a television show matter? It shouldn't, but at that moment it did.

"You just are." She continued to smile at him. But suddenly, she froze. Her eyes grew slightly wide and she gasped. "Harry, I'm going to go to bed, okay?" She said quickly, chucking the remote to him so fast, that if it wasn't for his 'seeker-like' reflexes, it would have hit him in the face.

"Oh...kay." Harry watched her jump up from the couch, as if she only realised she was sitting on hot coals and dash out of the room. "Night, Hermione." He said softly and solemnly. With a push of the button, he turned the TV off and was immediately thrown into darkness. But, he didn't care. He liked it this way. All was silent, and still. All was dark and shrouded in mystery, just like the life he seemed to lead.

-------

I have feelings Harry Potter! I have feelings for him!

Her head reeled as she kicked her slippers off and hopped into bed. She rested her head on the pillows and looked up at the ceiling, watching as it was bathed in moonlight from the uncovered stretch of window at the top of the curtains.

She couldn't believe what she was coming to realise. Something so small could make her come to terms with something colossal.

All she had to do was look at him. His messy raven hair, his bottle green eyes, his soft skin and his rosy cheeks. He was just so...enchanting! His grin would light his face up like fireworks, causing her stomach to do back-flips. Her heart would dance and rejoice, just knowing that he was happy.

Ever since that night in the living room of their flat, Hermione began to discover that the feelings she had for him (the feelings she thought laid dormant) were still alive and burning. All it took was one kiss for her to realise this. She couldn't come to terms with it before, her head wouldn't let her. She never realised this before, because she built up a barrier between her and the rest of the world. She put her work first, instead of herself.

She had been living a half life; never being fully awake or being her full self around anyone. Sometimes, she could hear the old her scream to get out. But she never quite paid attention, she always ignored herself - her wants and needs.

But with Harry, things were different. She would look into his eyes and everything seemed right in the world. She saw the person he was and the person she wanted to be. She saw good times and hardships, highs and lows. She saw it all. It made her nervous and yet un-afraid at the same time.

Everything she said and did in the last few years, felt like a contradiction.

She had been a walking, talking, living, breathing contradiction all this time.

All of the emotions she put on display in front of him were nothing of what she really felt. She took her heart from her sleeve and replaced it back in her chest. The last few years, she became absolutely oblivious to the emotions she felt towards him and it was her own fault, no one else's.

She had no one to blame but herself.

And now, she was left to face the truth. Left to face the one question she was dreading to ask herself. The question she was dreading to dwell on.

Does he feel for me, what I feel for him?

Reality hit her smack in the face with this sudden revelation. She knew that the feelings she had for him weren't instant. They had developed over time, but never showed themselves for different reasons. She ran back in her head, everything that had stopped her before, that wasn't stopping her now.

In the end, it all came down to the fact that, there was nothing stopping her. Nothing stopping her, but... herself. Her problems, her insecurities.

She was driving herself crazy with thoughts about Harry, at this point. The man was in the next room and she couldn't even bring herself to leave the security she now felt in the unfamiliar bed. She looked over at the curtains and sighed. They were letting in a soft glow of moonlight now, illuminating the room in a slight haze of white light.

She reluctantly began to push herself off the bed, folding back the covers as she made to stand up. Within minutes, she had slipped her dainty feet back into her slippers and was headed for the door. If she wasn't going to tell him her true feelings tonight, the least she could do was keep him company.

She opened the door carefully, hearing it creek slightly due to the friction between the door and the hinges. Seconds later, she had emerged from the room completely, making her way to the sitting room. "Harry?" She whispered into the dark, being careful not to trip over, or step on anything. The place was too strange and new to her and she didn't quite know where anything was in the dark. She had hoped that he was still watching television, then she could simply sit up with him and make small talk.

She halted, realising the room was vacant. She sighed, butterflies beginning to flap madly in her stomach, as she made her way to the other bedroom. Tip-toeing up to the door, she froze; it was no or never. Slowly, she pushed open the wooden boundary, peaking her head inside the room.

Squinting in the dark, she saw him. He lay peacefully on the bed, rolled over on his side, his back toward her.

"Harry?" She whispered again, unsure if he was still conscious.

"Yes?" He whispered in reply, instantly. She smiled, he obviously couldn't sleep either.

She carefully made her way to the side of the bed, kneeling down in front of him. "Hey." She whispered, smiling as the moonlight gave a soft glow to her facial features.

"W-w-what are you doing here?" Harry asked, not quite sure what to think. He propped himself up on his elbow, watching her hazy outline carefully through his blurry eyes. He didn't know whether this was a dream or not.

"C-can I sleep in here tonight? I'm not really used to sleeping an unfamiliar bed." She whispered gingerly.

Harry almost couldn't believe his ears. "Yeah... sure." He answered in disbelief, folding the covers back slightly so she could lie underneath them.

"Thanks." She answered, her voice shaking with nerves. She carefully walked around to the other side of the bed, sliding in between the covers.

"Night." Harry whispered, rolling over, so his back was facing her. He was on the very edge, as far away from her as possible and she sighed.

"Night, Harry. Sweet dreams." She replied, rolling over, so that her back was now facing his, also.

"Sweet dreams." Harry mumbled, the first waves of sleep hitting him gently.

Again, all was quiet, all was still and the woman of his dreams was sleeping beside him in his bed.

If this was as close to her as he could get, then a night like this, would never be forgotten.

-------

Come on,

Oh, my star is fadin'.

And I swerve,

Out of control.

"Gin, it's four in the morning, what are you doing coming back so late?" A drawling voice said lazily from the couch in front of the TV.

Ginny sneaked in, tip-toeing as if she was trying extremely hard not to step on something fragile. "Come on." She whispered, beckoning Ron inside. "He won't notice." She said reassuringly.

How can he not notice if I'm standing right here?!

And if I,

If I'd only waited.

I'd not be stuck here,

In this hole.

Ron did as he was told, stepping inside and closing the door carefully. He looked around the dingy room, not being able to believe that Ginny lived there. It was very different from the home she grew up in. Sure it was messy, but that was clutter, not filth.

An awful stench drifted into Ron's nostrils as he squinted through the dark, the TV casting shadows around the objects closest to it. He saw wrappers and papers scattered all over the kitchen table across from him. The walls looked like they had been smeared in rubbish, they were a dull, sick-looking grey.

Come here,

Oh, my star is fadin'.

And I swerve,

Out of control.

"I'm home, honey." Ginny cooed, taking a few steps toward the couch and standing behind the armchair. She watched him carefully, noticing the ever-so-obvious signs of drunkenness.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Now leave me alone, I'm watching this." He said thickly, brandishing the remote at the TV lazily.

Ginny nodded, her head slightly and turned her back on him, making her way towards Ron who was left to stand at the door.

And I swear,

I waited and waited.

I've got to get out,

Of this hole.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?" Draco asked, his attention being taken away from the TV abruptly. He looked at her as if he had only just realised she was home, yet he spoke to her just seconds before.

"I...I.." Ginny stuttered. "I'm just going to go to bed, I'm exhausted." She answered her fiancé meekly, turning to face him once again, as she gripped the top of the chair as if clinging to it for dear life. Fear was laced in the words she spoke, as her eyes watched him worriedly.

Draco stood up carefully. He looked terrible. His once white undershirt was covered in food stains, to match the ones smeared across his grey pants. His hair was messy, his eyes were drooped, he wobbled slightly, having the definite look of an intoxicated man.

"Why are you going to bed when you can stay here with me?" He asked in the same thick and slow voice. He made his way toward Ginny, his wobbly posture adding to the sinister look on his face, making him seem just that much more menacing.

But time, is your side.

Its on your side, now.

I'm pushin' you down,

And all around.

It's no cause, for concern.

"I'm tired, Draco." She said carefully, in the same meek tone, as if she was a child answering to her father. She bowed her head, not being able to look him in the eye. She knew that things could only get worse from here. This wasn't the first time Draco got drunk and over-reacted, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.

"What?! Am I not good enough for you?" Draco snapped suddenly, his voice changing pitch and emotion. He sounded angry, but it was a childish, shallow sort of angry. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her.

"Tha - that's not what I meant, honey." Ginny replied quietly, never raising her head to look at him. She waited for what she knew was coming next. With the way things were going, it wouldn't be long now. But she was the situation hadn't escalated that far, yet.

Come on,

Oh, my star is fadin'.

And I see, no chance of release.

"Oh, don't 'honey' me!" Draco yelled at her, halting in front of her hunched figure standing behind the chair. "And LOOK at me when I'm talking to you! Never, ever showing me respect!"

Ron grit his teeth as he stood at the door. His fists clenched so tight, his knuckles were white. His mind reeled painfully, thudding against his skull it seemed. He knew that if the light was any brighter in the room, the redness of his face would be clearly visible. After that point he heard Draco continuing to yell at her, but he couldn't distinguish just what he was saying exactly, for his ears began to buzz as he bubbled over with rage.

How DARE he treat Ginny this way!

And I know,

I'm dead on the surface.

But I am screaming underneath.

"Sorry, Draco." Ginny mumbled, hot tears betraying her and streaming down her cheeks. They stung her eyes, but she didn't mind. She was used to pain, by now. The pain of her life seemed to ooze from her, un-noticed by anyone. She swallowed back a lump in her throat. He hated apologies, even more so when he was drunk. Now, she was for it.

"'SORRY'?! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT 'SORRY'?!" Draco bellowed. A fleeting second passed, and the back of his hand was making contact with her face. A loud, dull smack began echoing in her ears as the ground came crashing into her. He smacked her with such force, she sank into blackness, the last thing her ears hearing was a loud, foreign cry of anger.

And time,

Is on your side.

Its on your side, now.

I'm pushin' you down,

And all around.

Oh, it's no cause for concern.

Ron ran leaped his place near the door, as he watched his only sister fall towards the ground. Within seconds, he halted in front of Draco, drawing back and sinking his knuckles directly into his jaw. Draco staggered back slightly, the element of surprise being Ron's companion.

Draco wiped warm blood from his lips. "You!" He said coldly, in the same thick voice.

Stuck on the end,

Of this ball, and chain.

And I'm on my way,

Back down.

Stood the edge,

Tied to a noose,

Sick to the stomach.

"Don't you EVER touch my sister again!" He screamed, advancing on Draco again, this time bringing Draco's head crashing down on his thigh, as his knee connected with his gut. Draco staggered, hunched over, but with another punch from Ron, he sank to the ground to join Ginny.

You can say what you mean,

But it won't change a sin.

I'm sick of the secrets.

Stood on the edge,

Tied to a noose.

But you came along,

And you cut me loose.

Ron took a step back, breathing heavily. He watched Draco fall onto the ground, unconscious and blood sodden. He then turned his attention to Ginny, as she was beginning to come to after her short fainting spell. He kneeled beside her placing a hand on her cheek.

"Ginny." He whispered carefully to her. "Come on, I'm going to get you out of here, okay?"

You came along,

And you cut me loose...

He waited for Ginny to nod before he gently picked her up in his arms, making his way out of the filthy little flat she called home. Upon reaching the door and opening it, he looked back at the flat once more. His eyes moved from the TV, to the couch, to the small kitchen area in the corner and finally they rested on Draco.

"No one hurts my little sister. Not even a stuck up pure blood." He muttered, stepping out of the flat without a backwards glance and slamming the door behind him with a kick of his foot.

You came along,

And you cut me loose.

('Amsterdam' - Coldplay, from 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head')

-------

Harry woke to the smell of strawberries. His eyes opened slightly and there, beside him, was Hermione. Her head laid gently on his chest and her hand was placed on his stomach as she clung onto him slightly. The covers were over both of them and the exchanged body heat was delightfully warm.

Harry wanted to stay like this forever. Hermione looked like a beautiful angel when she slept, he knew that. Sometimes, if she fell asleep on the couch, he'd sit in the sitting room and turn the TV on, as if he was watching it. But his real fascination always seemed to lie with her.

"Mmm." Hermione mumbled, shifting slightly and nuzzling her head deeper into his chest. He was going to reach for his glasses so he could see her clearly, but he didn't want to move, for she would wake up and realise she shouldn't be there.

Why does something so wrong, have to feel so right?

He would chance it.

He carefully pulled his hand from under the safety of the covers. He slowly began to inch it toward the bedside table, his eyes darting from Hermione's sleeping form, to the location of his glasses. Any slight movement, and she would wake.

"Harry?" She mumbled, as she began to stir. A huge yawn erupted from her lips as his hand grabbed his glasses. He brought them to his face, sliding them in front of his eyes and balancing them on the bridge of his nose as he looked down at her.

"Yes, Herm?" His answering tone quiet and nervous. Would she move away, now? Would cursed reality strike?

"Morning." She smiled, looking up at him. A slight tinge of red was shown in her cheeks. She bit her bottom lip slightly, her eyes etched with sincere innocence.

"Morning." Harry smiled down at her, some of his awkwardness ebbing away.

"Harry?" She asked again, staying motionless next to him. Her rosy cheeks grew even more crimson. Her chestnut curls fell down around her face as she bowed her head, blocking her expression from his view.

Was she...? Nah, she couldn't be. Besides, it's roasting in here, her face is flushed, perhaps.

"Yes, Herm?" He answered back, this time with more confidence. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder protectively.

What would make her want to blush anyway?

"Can we go sight seeing today?" She looked back up at him, giving him another innocent smile. The sort of smile a child would give if begging for something they knew they didn't have much of a chance of getting. The colour in her cheeks turned from crimson back to rosy and Harry wasn't sure if he could tell the difference.

No, she couldn't have been. She can't be nervous!

He pushed thoughts out of his head, sighing in mock annoyance, as a smirk betrayed him and spread across his lips. He had all of this planned already. He cleared the day so they could go and get lost in Halifax together. He blew off the chance of a few drinks with some good friends for her, and he was hoping she would be grateful for it.

"What a coincidence!" Harry said, his smirk turning into a grin. "See, because I blew off the guys to do just that!"

Hermione's face lit up, she looked extremely adorable. "Oh, Harry! That's wonderful!" She grinned back up at him, the current position the two of them were in, didn't seem to phase her, lucky for Harry.

Seeing her smile made his heart sore. He couldn't believe how incredibly happy it made him to see her in a good mood. The only thing that punctured his joy, was when she moved.

She sat up. "I'm going to go get ready, okay?" She said, placing a hand on his and looking down at him with a smirk. She slid off the edge of the bed and took her few graceful steps toward the door. She halted in front of it and before opening it and exiting the room, she turned around, meeting Harry's eyes. She gave him a genuine smile, "Thanks, Harry."

He wanted to melt on the spot. "D-don't mention i-it." He stuttered shyly, taking a gulp of air to stop his stomach from doing back-flips. As he watched her leave, a smile traced itself over his lips, he just couldn't help the amazing feeling rising in his chest.

Today, was going to be a good day, he just knew it.

-------

"Ginny, come on, get up." Ron whispered lightly in her ear as she lay on the couch.

"Mmm." She mumbled, prying her eyes open as she was now aware of the strong light engulfing them. She took a good look around the room. Everything bright, crisp, clean and spacious. The absolute opposite of where she lived.

"Where am I?" She mumbled in the same 'early-morning-scratchy-voice'. "What am I doing here?" She became slightly frantic, beginning to panic. She took deep breaths, looking around the room in search of something or someone she knew. She didn't do well in new environments.

"It's okay, Ginny. You're at my flat." Ron whispered calmly, somewhere now further off to her right. She pushed herself up carefully from the strange cushioned couch, turning her gaze to meet his. Ron sat down beside her, never breaking their eye-contact.

"But." She answered. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her jaw and she instantly clutched it in agony. "Ahh!" She yelped, trying not to move it as much as humanly possible.

"Yeah, I'm guessing my numbing charm didn't work very well." He muttered to himself, looking slightly put out at his failed attempt to ease his sister's pain.

"It's alright, I'll do it." She said through clenched teeth. Talking was a great effort, when your jaw didn't want to co-operate with you. She pulled her trusty, battered wand out of her pocket and gave it a small swish near her mouth, not even attempting to speak. She excelled in Charms class at Hogwarts, something that really came in handy right about now.

She moved her jaw cautiously. Once she was satisfied and knew it wouldn't hurt to speak, she attempted a short sentence. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Do you remember anything that happened at all last night?" Ron answered her question, with another question, a slight cynical air about him. He watched her carefully, as she moved her jaw still, getting used to the numb feeling. She turned her attention back to him and shuddered slightly.

"Vaguely."

"Do you at least remember Draco hitting you?" Ron said through gritted teeth. He looked away from her, clenching his fist in suppressed rage. Draco would never hit her again, not if he could help it.

"Yes. But that was my fault." She whispered, looking away from Ron as well and down at her shoes. "I egged him on. He hates apologies, I knew that." She continued in the same quiet and humble voice. "He really does love me. It's just... hard, you know? His father cut him out of the will, disowned him and everything, just because he proposed to someone like me." She said matter-of-factly, never raising her voice to a higher pitch.

"Someone like you?"

"The lowest of purebloods, I believe, was the term used." She said discreetly, sighing heavily. She continued to stare at her shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. They seemed to stand out immensely on the white carpeted floor. "He used to be so wonderful; so charming and kind. I used to see life in his eyes... now they're just grey and cold." Her voice dropped down to a whisper, as she spoke more to herself than to Ron.

"He truly loved me. I know it." She continued before Ron could cut in. Her voice was so soft, yet it cut through the air with such emotion, that it made Ron shiver. He hated seeing his only sister like this, he really did. "He never used to be the way he is now, with me. It's like I'm skating out on thin ice every time I talk to him. I never know what will set him off next."

"Gin. You can't keep residing the place of his personal punching bag. Things will only get worse. He needs help, he's too volatile." Ron answered back, giving her the best advice he could think of.

"He's not crazy, Ron!" She shot at him, her voice picking up in pitch.

"So, you'll pull yourself up to defend him, but let him hit you around like a rag doll?" He shot back, his voice slightly bitter. He watched her with a resentful look, his expression becoming rigid.

Why save her, if she so clearly doesn't want to be saved?

"You don't understand!" She mumbled with a pleading glint in her eye. "You just don't. Maybe I shouldn't have brought you back. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all." She spoke confidently, her voice full of a sickening regret. "You reacted just like I thought you would." She added, her voice going back down, again as if she was talking more to herself than to him. Suddenly, she got up and steadily began to make her way toward the door.

"No, Ginny! Don't go!" He called after her, leaping up and chasing her desperately.

"Ron! Just leave me alone!" She called over her shoulder, her hand clutching for the doorknob. Wrenching it back she stepped over the threshold, making her way down the hall. She was on the verge of tears, already. The hot tear drops stung her eyes, clinging to her eyelashes and sliding down her cheeks and yet she had no reason to cry.

Ron rushed out of the flat after her, picking up speed once he made it to the end of the hall. He heard the elevator ding and realised that she wasn't going to hold the door for him.

"Dammit!" He muttered under his breath. He pushed open the door next to it and quickly began hopping the stairs two at a time until he reached the bottom. He was out of breath, his face set and his mind determined. He wasn't going to let his sister walk out of his life yet again.

'Ding!'

The elevator doors opened and Ginny could be seen. She caught sight of Ron and was about to close the doors again, but Ron was too quick. He swiftly slid his body into the ever-closing gap between the doors.

"Ha!" He said in triumph, the elevator starting again, as it began to bring them back up to higher floors of the block of flats. Carefully, he crossed over and made his way to the buttons, pressing the giant red Emergency Stop button in between floors three and four. He turned to Ginny, meeting her piercing gaze.

"Ron-"

"No, you listen to me, Ginny." He said, sternness laced in his calm words to her. "Don't you dare act like I don't know what pain is all about. Don't think I'm delicate, don't tip-toe around me like I'm some child. No, I may not understand, but it's about time you tried to let me. Because dammit, I've lost you once and I thought that was for good. I'm not losing you again." He paused, never breaking his eye contact with her.

His voice, though calm, was full of emotion. Filled with regret, anger, sadness and bitterness. He felt a whole range of emotions as he stood before her, feeling as though he was completely naked. For the first time in a long time he was being sincere, through and through. He was baring his soul for her to see, wearing his heart out on his sleeve.

"Ron...I -"

"No, Ginny." He said, knowing by her face that her answer was going to be a negative one.

"But.."

"Ginny! I'm serious! Everyone -- and I do mean everyone -- in our family is splitting up! I'm stuck in the middle of it all!" He exclaimed, his voice finally snapping under the immense pressure he felt. He wanted to crack, to break down.

"Fred and George aren't speaking to mom and dad, you've been gone for two years and Bill and Charlie had a row a few nights ago. Mum's heart has started acting up again and Dad is in bits. Neither of them know what to do!" He looked pleadingly at his sister, his mind spinning. He didn't want to quite tell her about Percy yet, he didn't think she needed to know.

"Ron." She said, raising her hand up to silence him from cutting her off this time. She sighed, looking down at the ground in a chance to regroup and collect all of her thoughts. She brought her head up once more, looking carefully into her brother's eyes'.

His eyes had once been a beautiful chestnut brown. They now looked darker, their shine dimmer. He had lost all hope. Something the both of them seemed to have in common.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, her eyes full of meaning. She watched him carefully, waiting for a response.

"I don't know! I just... I need someone to help me fix things. A Weasley. Someone who knows the value our family holds, when united. Because everyone else has seemed to have forgotten that." He gave her yet another pleading look.

"And if I help you, you'll help me?" Ginny asked curiously.

"I'll help you with whatever you want. Anything I can do to make your life better, will make me feel better." He said, sincerity painted across his face and flowing out of his mouth, entwined with his words. He truly meant it, he wanted to see his sister happy.

For the first time, Ginny smiled, out-stretching her hand to him. "Deal?" She asked.

A small smirk traced itself over his lips as his hand reached out to meet hers. "Deal." He said reassuringly, shaking her hand in the process.

Let the repairs begin...

-------

"Oh, Harry! Look!" Hermione grinned, pointing enthusiastically as she clung to Harry's arm like he was her life support.

"Yeah, that's the water front, Hermione. There's the Halifax harbour." He said, smiling at her excited nature. She really seemed to love all of this, having never been to North America before. "Do you want to go for a walk down it?"

"Okay!" She said happily, grinning from ear to ear. The two of them made their way down the water front for an afternoon stroll.

"I love all of the shops here! And the people are so friendly!" She continued on her list of reasons why she loved Halifax. She looked out over the Halifax Harbour and saw a massive boat on its way to the other side of the city. "Where's that boat headed?" She asked curiously, grabbing at Harry's attention.

"Oh, its headed to Dartmouth. The other side of the city. See that bridge?" He pointed to the McDonald bridge further off.

"Yes."

"That's the bridge you take to get in to Dartmouth. But, that boat is a ferry that's used as means of another way across the harbour." He pointed back at the large ferry making it's way across the water.

"Neat." Hermione replied, the two of them beginning to make their way down the water front, leisurely. The place was packed, with people walking in every which way. Harry held on to Hermione's wrist gently, so as not to lose her as he brought her through the crowded dock.

There was a small building decorated with different souvenirs and other trinkets inside. There was an ice cream stand further down. After that, there was a massive museum, a boat playground and a statue of a big blue wave.

Hermione loved all of the sights, the sounds and the smells. She loved the crisp air, the deep blue of the harbour and the grey cloudy skies. She loved everything about her surroundings, but she seemed to love it twice as much because these moments were shared with Harry.

She looked up at the cloudy sky, frowning slightly. As much as it added to the atmosphere, it was beginning to become darker and darker all the time, even though it was only midday. "Harry, it looks like it's going to rain." She mumbled in his ear as they sat down together on a green bench further down the docks.

They were huddled together, their bodies only slightly touching. It was a futile attempt to keep warm, as both were too afraid to breach the other's personal space.

"Hmm, it does." He replied, now looking up at the cloudy sky also. He then turned his attention to rummaging through his pockets in search of the small umbrella he could have sworn he remembered to bring. Just as he found something in his pocket that felt like it, he pulled it out, chanting "Aha!" as the first rain drop collided with the soft skin on his cheek.

"Harry, you're holding up an empty can of red bull." Hermione said, her voice laced with laughter. She watched him carefully, trying so hard to bite back the sensation building up in her stomach to laugh at his forgetfulness and of course, the adorable look on his face.

He took one look at her and wanted to chuckle himself. "Oh go ahead, laugh. But if I have no umbrella, that means you don't have one either. So we're both just going to get -" He was cut off by another fleeting, wet sensation rolling carefully down his left cheek, "...drenched." He finished, looking from the sky to Hermione and back again.

To his surprise, she smiled, "I don't mind. I've always loved the rain." She replied, tugging absentmindedly at the zipper of her thin blue jumper, "I used to dance out in the rain when I was little." She too looked back up at the sky, several drops sliding down her cheeks, each one getting heavier and heavier until Harry could hear tiny thuds when the drops collided with her skin. "My mom always warned me about getting a cold, but I didn't care. I never believed her, but then I'd wake up the next morning with a runny nose. Mom's always know best, eh?" She sighed, biting on her lip slightly in thought.

"I wish I could tell you, you were right." He said quietly in reply, the rain beginning to come down softly, the drops becoming more frequent and starting to attack the rest of them. Harry smiled bitterly, looking away from her. His vision concentrated on a nearby rubbish bin, as his glasses began to catch tiny droplets of water that would roll down their surface. "I'm sure she would have, though."

Out of the blue, Hermione sighed solemnly, wrapping an arm around him and bringing him slightly closer to her, as she rested her head on his shoulder. She completely blew the 'personal space' boundary right out of the water. "I never knew what it felt like to not have parents until a few years ago, so I'm still kind of new at this." She mumbled to him, smiling sadly.

"Yeah, you'll get used to it. But in the end, we still have each other, right?" He returned her smile, a little more composure in his voice now. He would not crumble, he would not fall apart in front of her. He'd stay strong, just for her, if he had to. He desperately wanted to make this the best day she'd experience in a long time. He wanted her to remember this time with him.

"Yeah." Her smile became broader and fuller, more life being added to her facial features. "Yeah, we have each other. And Ron, of course." She looked up at him and saw his face crumple under an unknown pressure for a fraction of a second, before his amazing facade was rebuilt. She had added Ron to make it seem like a bond of friendship, as opposed to something more. But there was something in the way his face fell that allowed her to see just a glimpse of what he really felt.

"Yeah, Ron too." He mumbled softly, looking down at his shoes.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"Nothing. I've just -- I've just been thinking." He smiled inwardly, the rain starting to drench the two of them. He was thinking of her beautiful smile and her radient gaze. He was thinking of her soft curls and her plush, olive skin. He was thinking about her, dammit. Her! That's all he could ever think about...

"Well, then. Penny for your thoughts?" Hermione's face became concerned. She watched him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been thinking about trivial things."

Merlin forgive me, Hermione's more than just 'trivial'!!

"Harry." She whispered. Her voice was full of meaning, causing his undivided attention to be thrust onto her completely. He watched her carefully, seeing a small smile curve onto her lips. There was something different in her eyes, something deeper and harder to read. Something more complex, yet some how painstakingly simple. It burned brightly; too bright to go un-noticed, too bright to just be nothing at all. Too bright to be hidden away in the chocolatey depths of her gorgeous eyes.

"Yes, Hermione?" He answered back, shifting awkwardly in his drenched clothes.

Slowly but surely, she leaned in, pressing a kiss lightly to his lips. It was subtle and soft, yet intense at the same time. It was completely un-expected, but definitely wanted. Harry sat in shock. It was nothing like the kiss he had with her in their flat a few weeks ago. Neither of them were angry, neither of them were on edge. It seemed to be of her own free will.

She made the decision to kiss him completely on her own and that is what made Harry enjoy it. That's what made him feel the softness of her lips. What made him feel the shivers travel up and down his spine as her arms laced themselves gently around the back of his neck, pulling him closer as he drown in the depths of the ever-growing kiss. It was bliss, true and utter bliss. It was most definitely not their first kiss, but it seemed to feel that way. Harry had died and was born again, completely cleansed, in that precise moment.

It was a kiss he would always look back on and smile. It was the full awakening of his frosty heart.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his lips back into hers, as he went on drowning helplessly and loving every second of it. He was drowning in her lips, her breath, her touch. He was drowning in her scent, her heart beat, her gentle sighs. He was drowning in her, through and through. And even though the rain lashed down on them unmercifully, it never even crossed his mind once.

-------

"Are you ready?" Ron asked Ginny, an underlying tone of distress entrapped in his voice. It was almost dinner time and they were standing outside of their parents house.

He was trying so desperately to make sure she was okay, yet he was freaking out a little himself. How could you keep someone calm, when you were so completely in bits also? How did that work?

There was a pause, a sigh and a nervous gulp as she fixed her dress. "As ready as I'll ever be." She spoke, her voice shaky as she tightened the pony tail in the back of her head.

She looked a lot better now, then when Ron first laid eyes on her just recently. She was wearing blue dangly earrings, a deep blue embroidered, spaghetti-strapped dress of Hermione's, along with black high-heels to match. She wanted to make a good impression on her parents. At least if she didn't feel the part of their strong, hard-working daughter, she'd look it.

'Knock, knock!'

"Come in." Mrs. Weasley said in her sing-song voice.

Ginny sighed, smiling slightly as her eyes began to well with happy tears. In her darkest hours, how she longed to hear that kind and gentle voice. She wanted the person it belonged to, to come to her rescue and be her salvation. Unfortunately, she knew she had a long way to go before she could be saved.

"Well don't just stand there, come on -" Mr. Weasley said as he threw the door back. He stopped in mid-sentence because there, standing in front of him, was his only daughter. His mouth dropped; he couldn't believe it. His stomach filled with an over-whelming joy that simply couldn't be expressed in words.

"Ginny?" He mumbled carefully, his hand clutching at his heart in surprise, a note of relief in his voice.

Her small smile broadened. "Yes, it's me, Dad." She answered, looking up at him, pondering on what she should do next. Should she hug him? Kiss him on the cheek? Shake his hand? She felt like someone's girlfriend, meeting his parents for the first time. She didn't know how they would take her.

"Come here." He said, meeting her half way down the few steps to the front door. He leaned down to her and embraced her in a warm, fatherly hug. Slowly but surely, after the shock wore off, she wrapped her arms around him in turn. She smiled, her chin just grazing his shoulder.

"It's good to see you, Daddy." She said quietly, sincerity in her voice.

"Arthur, what in the world? Don't leave the door -" Mrs. Weasley was cut off by a wonderful sight. There, standing on her front steps was her daughter and her husband hugging. "...open." She finished, making her way towards the pair of them.

Mr. Weasley let her go and Mrs. Weasley immediately grabbed at the chance to hug her daughter. In this time, Mr. Weasley went on to hug Ron, patting him on the back and then watching the two women of his life tangled in an embrace.

Mrs. Weasley kissed Ginny's cheek and smiled, pulling away. "We're so glad you're here, Ginny. We were extremely worried. Please, come in, come in." She said, gesturing Ron and Ginny inside. They both exchanged tense looks before entering the Burrow.

Ron smiled as he closed the door behind him, hanging back as Mrs. Weasley wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders, leading her into the kitchen. He watched from afar as he saw the joy on his mother and father's faces.

This is how it should be; good times, spent with a loving family.

-------

"Harry, you're drunk." Hermione whispered, laughing slightly. She was a bit tipsy herself, but no where near as bad as he was. She took a deep sip from her freshly poured beer, some of the foam from it clinging to her upper lip. She set the drink down and slid her tongue along the foam, removing it from her upper lip carefully.

It was hours later and they were having a few drinks in the local pub. (Well, in Canada, they're called "Bars".)

"I am..." A hiccough, "...not!" He said stupidly, grinning his lopsided grin at her. They sat in a booth, sitting across from one another. Harry didn't have a single care in the world. He had one of the best days in his whole entire life and he was trying hard not to screw it up. The only problem was, he really was drunk.

"Harry, after this drink I'm going go back to the hotel, okay?" Hermione mumbled slightly, a small smirk tracing across her lips.

Harry looked at her. She was so beautiful, like an angel, perhaps. And his hazy vision (due to his drunkenness) made her look all soft and blurry. He wanted to snog her right there! But he knew he couldn't, he had to regain control. He had to resist all urges.

Hermione was awfully close to finishing her drink when she spoke next.

"Harry, are you coming back to the hotel with me?" She grinned in his direction, taking the last sip of her drink -- well, more like the last gulp.

He made a nervous sound in the back of his throat. He knew that if he went back with her at that moment, there would be no more resisting his urges. He would do to her what he had been wanting to do for years now.

As big of an opportunity as this was, he didn't want to be sloshed and not remember it. He wanted to make sure she was even alright with it, for a start.

"Nah, I think I'll stay and have another drink. I'll be there soon, though. But don't wait up for me, okay?" Harry said to her with as much firmness as he could muster. He looked over at her and wanted to die.

Die happy, that is.

She had this amazing and fierce glint in her eye, almost as if she wanted to devour him on the spot. The only problem was, he didn't know whether it was the drink, or her true desire. So, he shook his head, trying desperately to ignore it.

Hermione sighed slightly, "Alright, I'll see you when you get back." She said, placing money on the table for her drinks. She very gracefully (considering the amount of alcohol she consumed) picked up her purse and coat and headed out the door, giving him a backwards glance and a wave.

Geez, ain't she somethin'.

He smiled as he saw her leave the pub. Sighing happily, he knew he was pretty lucky to have someone like her in his life. Deep down, he knew he made the right choice not going back to the hotel with her. She was too precious, he didn't want to upset her by doing something stupid and uncalled for.

"H-harry?" Someone spoke from behind him. He turned around and his mouth dropped. There she was, the last person he wanted to see that night. Raven silky hair, beautiful tanned skin, slender figure, perfect smile. His teenage crush: Cho Chang.

"Cho?" Harry asked her, stunned and unsure. He let his drink clash with the table a little harder than intended, his brain muddled.

She grinned, "Yup! It's me, Harry!" She chuckled softly, looking across from him at the empty seat. "Can I sit down? My date's just left. And from the empty glass, to the money on the table, I'm guessing yours has too." She said knowingly, not even waiting for Harry to reply, before she sat down across from him.

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, as his mind began to reel. How could things go from great to terrible in a matter of seconds? He wasn't rude enough to leave right there, but he wasn't gentlemen enough to bare it with a smile, either.

The beginnings of regret welled in his stomach, as he thought about how his night would not have been ruined if he had gone back to the hotel with Hermione, when she had asked him. Resisting his urges to ravish her would be a piece of cake, compared to resisting the urges to tell Cho Chang off. A PEICE OF CAKE!

The reason he had reserved so much hostility for her memory alone, was simple. She made an absolute fool out of him in their final year at Hogwarts. He wondered how she even had the nerve to walk over and talk to him like nothing had happened.

Images of their last proper encounter, just after he had realised his feelings for Hermione, replayed in his head.

"Harry, what is she talking about?" Hermione asked him curiously.

"Yeah, mate. What's going on?" Ron looked just as bewildered as Hermione was.

"I have absolutely no idea!" Harry said truthfully, surprise entwining with his every word. He really, honestly, had no idea what she was talking about. He couldn't have done this to her, he had been sleeping in his bed the whole night!

"Admit it, Harry. You 'had your way with me' last night in the Room of Requirement!" She shrieked with glee.

"Cho! What are you talking about?!" Harry raised his voice to match her tone. It didn't help that they were in the middle of the Great Hall and half of the school was now listening in.

"Is this true, Harry?" Hermione looked like she had been slapped in the face. Harry and her had kissed in a broom cupboard, only days before. She felt she had some sort of attachment to him, now.

"No!" He said frantically, looking at her as she sat across the table from him.

"Don't lie, Harry. It was the best ever! How could forget, baby?" She walked over to him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

He bolted up from his place at the bench, as he whacked her hand neatly off of his shoulder. "Don't touch me, Cho!" He snapped, his voice full of rage. It sent shivers up his spine, as anger boiled within him.

"H-Harry?" Hermione whispered, a single tear streaking down her face. She wiped it away not waiting for an answer. Grabbing all of her books left on the table, she shoved them messily into her bag and slung it over her shoulder, quickly walking out of the Great Hall. Her shoulders shook from the effort of holding in violent sobs.

"Hermione!" Harry called after her. He turned around and looked at Cho. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?! Why did you DO that?!" He yelled at her angrily.

"Now, now, Potter. Is that any way to treat the girl you made it with last night?" Cho's smile went from innocent to devilish.

"You're loving every minute of this... aren't you?" Harry choked out, his voice cracking.

Cho came extremely close to him, the whole Hall watching this fiasco by now. With a few more confident steps, she erased the space between herself and Harry.

"Well, now. That's what you get for making me look like a fool. Leaving me for her! No one rejects me and gets away with it, Potter!" She continued to grin, whispering softly against his neck.

"Get AWAY from me." He spoke carefully, through gritted teeth. Even as calm as his voice was, everyone could heard the anger behind it. He was furious and it showed, even if he tried desperately not to give her the benefit of the doubt. It was written all over him, his stomach bubbling over with rage. His eyes blazed with it, his breath unsteady and ragged because of it. It consumed him, it engulfed him, and there was no way he was going to let her get away with this. Not now, not ever...

He shook his head gently, his eyes coming back into focus as he saw the girl who caused that commotion in the first place, sitting right in front of him.

"Harry?" She asked him politely, trying to draw his attention back to her.

"Sorry, Cho. I have to go." He said shortly, taking the last swallow of his drink and getting up as he grabbed his coat. He tossed money down on the table for his drink, plus a tip.

"Oh, well, alright. Bye Harry!" She said to his back, a slightly put out expression on her face. Harry didn't give her a backwards glance, or a wave. He simply opened the door and exited through it. He wanted to forget she even existed and he was going to do just that.

Sighing as he left the small pub behind, he made his way down the road to the hotel he was staying at. He turned a corner, plunging his hands into his pockets, thoughts flooding through his head.

He looked back at that day, in the Great Hall, in his final year and saw it as one big complication. But he was over it, it was in the past now. It all started with miscommunication between him and Hermione. She didn't realise just how much he cared about her, but he thought he had made it pretty clear.

But if it had been clear, she wouldn't have been phased by what Cho had to say. She wouldn't have cried, she wouldn't have ran away, she would have believed him -- no questions asked.

Therefore he knew, that he couldn't make this same mistake twice; miscommunications lead to complications in relationships.

Unfortunately for him, he'd had enough complications so far to last him a life time.

-------

*A/N: Okay, so I hope you guys enjoyed it =] Please, please, PLEASE review! I really need everyone’s opinion. Because I’m trying to edit and I want to edit each chapter accordingly so the story fits well together. See, ‘cause I started writing this when I was 15 and I’m almost 18 now, so I’ve grown as a writer. So the beginning chapters need to be edited and moulded more than the newer ones.

So, chea. Please let me know exactly what you think. I’ll even take constructive criticism, as long as it’s not mean and hurtful.

Okay, well thanks for reading! =] I should have more up soon!

-Kourtz

4. Crossing The Line

*Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after all called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway! So no, not her, not making money of this… nothing, zilch, zero. Happy? Kthnx.

*AN: Okay, so I apologise profusely for taking so long with this chapter. Oh, I would also like to warn you all, that it’s edited a bit. It’s not the greatest chapter I’ve written, I mean, I wrote it when I was 14 and I’m almost 18 now, so there’s about a 4 year gap, there. I can do better! Anyway, I tried to do what I could with it…

I hope you guys enjoy! =]

Chapter 4: Crossing The Line

"We're home!" Hermione called through their flat. She dropped her bags near the coat rack, and went off to search for Ron.

"Um." Harry watched her walk away. "I'll just deal with this stuff." He took out his wand and with a wave and a pop, the bags disappeared. He walked over and looked into his bedroom, seeing his bags sitting neatly on his bed. "God, I love that." He grinned, hearing voices in the living room.

He followed them quickly and made his way in, leaning against the door frame as his mouth dropped.

There, sitting in front of the TV was Ron, a raven-haired Ginny and an excited Hermione.

"Oh my God, I can't believe it's you, Ginny! Where have you been?!" She grinned, leaning over and pulling her long, lost friend into an embrace.

"Oh, I've been.. around, you know." She said awkwardly, returning her grin and hug none-the-less. "I've missed you, Herm." She added, mumbling into Hermione's chestnut curls.

"I've missed you, too." Was the sincere reply.

"Ginny?" Harry said, looking at her in a incredulously.

"Everyone keeps saying my name like it's a question!" She chuckled softly. "Do I look all that different? I mean, I know the hair is different, but - oh whatever, come here!" She grinned, standing up and walking over to Harry, wrapping her arms around him. He did the same, a slight smirk on his face.

"It's good to see you, Gin." He muttered, letting go of her to get a better look at her. "And no, except for the hair, you haven't changed a bit!"

"Sheesh! Thanks Harry, I was beginning to feel like I was someone else!" She exclaimed, returning to the couch and sitting down in between Ron and Hermione.

"So, how long have you been here?" Harry asked, sitting down on the armchair near the couch.

"Oh, I got here about a week ago. Ron's been so kind as to take me in for awhile." Ginny smiled to her brother and patted him on the arm lovingly, a look of gratitude stretched across her face.

"Ah, you're family. I'd do anything to help a family member out!" He grinned back at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"So you got here the night we left for Canada?" Harry asked, smiling at Ron and Ginny. He then blushed slightly, catching a glimpse of Hermione. Her face turned a slight crimson also, but she didn't speak. What happened in Canada was going to stay between the two of them. He was taking it with him to the grave and hoping she would, too.

"Yup! Well, so Ron tells me..." Ginny's grin faded slightly as she saw both Hermione and Harry having identical blushing fits. "How was your time in Canada, anyway?" She added, a sly look on her face. She may have spotted something that had more behind it than just an innocent blush.

Harry and Hermione both answered at the same time.

"Good!" Harry replied. -- "Great!" Hermione piped up.

"Really?" Ginny asked, a slight smirk spreading across her lips.

Harry and Hermione replied again, at the same time.

"Yes, good!" Hermione spit out. -- "Yes, great!" Harry chimed in.

They exchanged awkward looks at each other, Hermione biting her lip and Harry scratching the back of his neck. She licked her lips absentmindedly and to Harry it seemed painfully slow. It was as if he was watching a slow-motion movie. He watched her tongue dart out of her mouth and slide along her soft lips.

He groaned in the back his throat, his eyes growing slightly wider. Ginny and Ron continued to talk to each other, not noticing the torment he was being put through.

Hermione watched his dazed expression and grinned, there was nothing cuter than his dazed look. He was adorable. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes were glazed over behind his glasses and his hand was scratching his neck subconsciously.

She didn't know what had suddenly come over her, but Hermione wanted him. Right then and there. She wanted to tease him, to bug him, to make him want her. She didn't know where this feeling came from, but it was one she could not ignore.

Ron ceased his talking for a moment and stared at the two of them in bewilderment. "Oookay. I'm going to get some drinks."

"Um, I'm gonna go to the loo." Harry said abruptly, gulping slightly as he tried to pull his attention away from Hermione's torture.

"And I need to go get something out of my bag." Hermione said quickly afterwards.

This is my chance!

Harry, Hermione and Ron stood up from where they were sitting and the trio left the room, leaving Ginny behind. Ron turned right to go to the kitchen and Harry and Hermione turned left to make their way down the narrow corridor, towards the bedrooms and bathroom.

Once Ron disappeared into the kitchen, Harry turned to the right and walked into the bathroom. Hermione turned to her left, walking into her bedroom, both of them shutting the doors in unison.

Harry flicked the light switch on in the bathroom, but didn't remove his pants to use the toilet. He didn't need it, it was only a lie to stall away from the rest of them. He was being driven completely insane by everything Hermione was doing. The smallest action sent shivers up his spine. He had to learn to control his thoughts or, of course, chuck them out completely. Whichever worked best...

Get out of my head, get out of my head!

He began to pace back and forth, breathing deeply. For just a moment, he halted at the wall opposite the toilet, placing his hand on it for support. "Dear God, what has happened to me?" He mumbled to himself, "Come on, pull yourself together, Potter!"

'Pop!'

Harry continued to mutter to himself, not quite hearing the noise over the pounding of his ear drums.

"Busy, Harry?" A voice said from somewhere behind him. He turned around and there was Hermione, standing before him, a devilish smirk plastered across her face.

Harry ‘eeped’ and cleared his throat, "Yes... I was about to use the toilet!" He said, the tone in his voice giving away the obvious lie.

She continued to grin, "I didn't think so." She said cheekily. Within seconds, she began to walk painfully slow towards him, her devilish air never leaving.

Harry gulped, turning to face her, watching her carefully. "Hermione, w-w-what are you d-d-doing?" He stuttered, his eyes widened from shock. He stood there, transfixed by her bluntness.

"I'm conducting a Science experiment." She said softly, halting in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up on tip-toe and pressing her lips carefully into his. She could hear Harry groan in the back of his throat, the sound vibrating against her lips. It felt nice... it felt right.

Harry bent down slightly, holding the back of her thighs. Picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist, he turned her around and pressed her back forcefully into the wall.

Oh SOD regaining control!

The little gasp that escaped her lips was reward enough for such a daring thing to be doing, on his part. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her neck and mumbling softly into her ear.

"Anything, for Science."

-------

"Do you think there's something going on between Harry and Hermione?" Ginny asked, entering the kitchen.

"Geez, Ginny, you scared me!" Ron said, clutching at his heart. "And no, I don't think anything's going on." He added simply, looking in the cupboards for some wine.

"Really? You don't think anything could be going on?" Ginny continued to pester him, casually walking over, facing her back towards the counter and pushing herself up onto the sleek surface. She sat on top of it, her feet dangling off the edge, as she watched Ron search for alcohol.

"Nope." He answered shortly, "Besides, they would have told me."

"Yes, but they just got home. And I've been around, so they haven't exactly had time to tell you anything in private." Ginny shrugged, as Ron stood up, straightening himself out and closing the bottom cupboard lightly with his foot, as he placed the wine carefully on the counter, only feet away from where Ginny was sitting.

"Come on, get down off of the counter." Ron said, looking up at his sister and raising an eyebrow at her.

"Why? I'm not in your way!" She whined slightly. She saw Ron's stern face and groaned in annoyance, jumping down gracefully from the counter. "You haven't changed Ron. Still no fun!" She added, sticking her tongue out at her brother and chuckling softly.

"Yeah, well, that was my job, wasn't it? To keep you in line?" Ron said, a smile pushing at the corners of his lips, as he began to search for four wine glasses.

~*~*~

Hermione moaned quietly, "Oh my! Harry!" She mumbled softly, grinning cheekily as his lips left hers and trailed down her neck. Her chest heaved into him, as she desperately began to remove her blue jumper, revealing a thin powder blue tank top.

Harry kept her pressed against the wall, his hands sliding down her sides and encircling her behind, squeezing slightly. He grinned when he heard her giggle and moaned when he felt her hips wiggle slightly against his.

"Pent up emotions never did me any good." Harry mumbled against the skin of her neck, through a soft groan. He began to feel the aftershocks of her wiggling hips, run through him in places he hadn't quite paid any attention to in awhile.

He drank in the smell of her. Her touch, her lips, her gasps and sighs, her moans and giggles were becoming intoxicating. He was becoming drunk with every passing moment; every second in her proximity was insanity. This was all just too much to take in at one time. His head began to spin, his heart began to thump against his chest, he was much too high to come down just yet.

This had to be a dream. He would wake up any moment now, his face pressed against the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. He would leave the tiny room and find Hermione sitting on the couch in the sitting room, with Ginny and Ron. He just knew it.

"It is awfully hot in here." She said, her voice raspy and deep, pulling him out of his thoughts. She sounded desperate, which was most definitely a good sign. Then suddenly, it was as if the heavens had opened up and God reached down and touched Harry, blessing him. 'Let there be skin' he must have said -- and then, there just was!

Slowly, but surely, Hermione began to remove her tank top, exposing more skin and skimpier clothing.

Harry's mouth dropped slightly, his eyes growing big. "Black?" He gasped softly, the sound dying in his throat as he muttered the one-word question. He could have died on the spot. Never had he pictured Hermione in black underwear.

This, is officially, one of the best days of my life!

-------

"You know, they're taking an extremely long time to get back... I think I'm gonna go check on them." Ginny said to Ron, fifteen minutes later. Both of them sat in the sitting room, wine glasses and wine bottle on the coffee table.

Ron shrugged and picked up the remote, flicking on the TV. "Well, do what you want. But don't let them know you think they're lying. I did that once, they guilted me for weeks! I never did it again. You just have to learn to trust them, Gin." Ron said, reaching for the wine bottle.

Ginny quickly whacked his hand away. "Don't you know it's bad luck to open alcohol by yourself with more than one glass on the table?" Ginny raised her eyebrow at him as he grunted in slight annoyance. "Just wait, okay? I'll be back..."

"Says who?! Now look who's becoming a party pooper!" He said to her back, watching her leave the room. He sighed and put his feet up on the coffee table, changing the channel on the TV with the push of a button. Seconds later, Ginny peeked her head back in.

"And get your feet off the coffee table! That was Nana Weasley's!" She said, eyeing him with sternness.

Ron grunted again in reply, rolling his eyes, crossing his arms and putting his feet down as he began to mutter, "Geez... can't even relax in my own house!"

~*~*~

Hermione's breathing was quickening, all because of him. This made his head swim happily. In a matter of minutes, all that was left was her black underwear and Harry was becoming restless. He wanted to remove them also. A longing blazed in the pit of his stomach that he simply couldn't quench.

She grinned slyly up at him, her body stretched out on the floor underneath him. Harry was hovering over her, touching any bit of bare skin she would let him. He placed his hand on her inner thigh and she gasped softly, as he began to experiment, not knowing just how far would be enough.

He had her in his system and there was no easy way of getting her out. He was too far gone, almost like being sucked in by quick sand. The more he fought, the harder it pulled him in. He was a goner!

He leaned in and placed a kiss to her stomach, hearing her heart beating frantically in her chest. He grinned as he realised how excited he was making her. This was his way of getting back at her, for how crazy she had been driving him all this time.

His kisses trailed down her stomach, across her belly button, stopping at her hips. She moaned slightly -- pleadingly, even -- her eyes filled with that familiar longing he knew so well. Seeing it in her eyes, only seemed to make him worse.

'Bang, bang!'

"Harry? Are you almost finished in there? I need the toilet!" Ginny's voice came from right outside the door, cutting Harry's thoughts short.

"Y-yeah! I'll be out in a minute!" Harry said breathily, straightening himself up so that he was kneeling before her, in nothing but his boxers.

"What are we gonna do?!" Hermione whispered urgently to Harry. She got up quickly, beginning to gather up her clothes from the floor. "Where the hell is my tank top?!" She added, more to herself than to Harry.

"I don't know, Miss 'I'm-Conducting-A-Science-Experiment'!" Harry whispered back sarcastically. Hermione glared at his sarcasm and came across her tank top, picking it up.

"You could have stopped me, you know!" She whispered coldly, pulling it over her head.

"Really? Could I have? Are you kidding me?! Do you know how sexy you looked, strutting up to me and wrapping your arms around my neck?! Sweet Jesus, I thought my prayers had been answered!" Harry gulped slightly, picking up his shirt and putting it over his head, as well.

Hermione smirked and blushed slightly, "Had you really been wishing this would happen?" She asked quietly, biting on her bottom lip as she now tugged her jumper down over her torso. She went straight to working on putting her pants back on, her socks already on her feet.

"Herm, do I really need to answer that question?" He said, smirking slightly and raising his eyebrow in mock suspicion. "Come on! Look at you! You're perfect... any man who would be fool enough to turn you down, is well -- a fool!" He added lamely, turning his back on her as he bent his upper half down to his knees, slipping his feet into his socks.

'Bang, bang!'

"Please hurry up, Harry!" Ginny called.

Harry sighed, reaching for his pants by the toilet, as he saw Hermione button up hers.

Outside, Ginny sighed in annoyance. "Oh honestly." She mumbled to herself. She was becoming extremely impatient. She had already tried going into Hermione's room, but there was a tricky high-level charm on the door, preventing her from using the unlocking spell on it.

"I'm coming!" He called again, skimming the room to see if any piece of clothing was left.

Ginny groaned slightly in annoyance. She knew something was going on and she was going to prove it!

"Alohamora!" She cried, her wand pointed at the bathroom door. The lock clicked and it stood, ajar. Ginny pushed her way in. Upon entering she froze, her mouth open in shock as a tiny gasp escaped her lips. "Oh-!"

"Uh... sorry Ginny! But, you shouldn't have burst in like that!" Harry said frantically, pulling up his pants and zipping them.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to. I just really have to go. You've been in here for quite awhile." Ginny said in a small and embarrassed voice, as she hung her head slightly. Harry really had been using the washroom. Thank God the toilet was opposite the door, or she would've gotten a view she didn't want to get.

Harry sighed slightly, "It's alright, Gin." He said, walking over to the sink, running his hands under the tap, drying them off with the towel and patting Ginny on the back. He waved slightly as she closed the door, only to turn around and be faced with a grinning Hermione.

Harry leaned down and whispered frantically to her, "I thought you were still in the room with me!" He almost yelped at the thought of getting caught by Ginny. "Could have told me you were apparating out!"

Hermione continued to grin, "Well, I was changed, heard Ginny casting the spell outside and apparated into my bedroom." She nodded knowingly, winking slightly and walking ahead of him down the hall.

He watched her walk away, tingles being sent up his spine as he realised he had just been kissing the girl in front of him. Hell, it was more than just a kiss. They nearly went all the way! He was bursting to the brim with excitement. He wanted to shout it to the mountain tops; he had snogged Hermione Granger!

He was calm on the surface, but inside, he was doing a victory dance. He knew he had to keep his mouth shut about this, but that was going to prove to be extremely difficult, given the circumstances. He had been waiting for something to happen between the two of them for years; their old flame had once again been rekindled. Only this time, nothing stupid would screw things up.

"What took you lot so long?" Ron asked them as they entered the sitting room.

"Oh, I was looking for something in my room." Hermione said.

"And I was using the washroom. The toilet wouldn't flush, we really need to get someone to check that!" Harry added.

A slight smirk spread across Hermione's face, telling Harry that she was having a hard time composing herself. He had to admit, he couldn't either. His mind was racing with thoughts, his heart still pounding frantically against his chest. He was afraid Ginny or Ron would catch on, for his body seemed to be running amuck and he only was just managing to keep it under control.

Hermione Granger was no longer something he wanted. The more he looked at her, the more he knew deep down, he needed her.

-------

She said, I'll throw myself away.

They're just photos after all.

I can't make you hang around,

I can't wash you off my skin.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped in a whisper, her back against the wall. She felt his lips upon her neck, making her skin tingle. "Harry, it's three in the morning, Ron's asleep in the next room and Ginny's in the guest room!" This warning was followed by a quiet giggle as Harry's tongue slid slyly out of his mouth and along her sensitive skin.

Harry grunted in acknowledgement, his tongue and lips never ceasing their movements. His hands slid from the base of her neck, down her sides, halting at her waist.

Outside the frame,

Is what we're leavin' out.

You won't remember, anyway.

Even as much as Hermione was against this idea right now, she loved the feeling of their proximity. "Harry!" She whispered in a more frantic manner, the seriousness in her voice perhaps making up for her body slowly and agonisingly giving into Harry's.

"Don't put up a fight." Harry whispered against her ear hotly. His lips pressed kisses against the skin just underneath her ear, across her cheek and to her lips softly, where they halted and pressed firmly into hers.

I can go with the flow,

(Oo oo, oo, oo, oo, oo)

(I can go) Don't say it doesn't matter,

(With the flow)

Matter anymore.

She was so taken aback by the kiss, that her body would no longer allow her to protest. It relaxed into his grasp, as she loosely wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss deepening. When they broke away and gasped greedily for air, Hermione only managed to get a word in.

"Why-?" She was again cut off by Harry's lips.

I can go with the flow,

(Oo oo, oo, oo, oo, oo)

(I can go...)

You believe it in your head.

But he broke the kiss once more, trailing his lips from her chin across her cheek and down her neck. "Because, I need you, Hermione." He whispered against the skin of her neck, sending shivers up her spine.

"No, you want me, Harry." She whispered back, gulping slightly as she held back a moan. "You just want me. Maybe I shouldn't have done anything today. I wasn't thinking..." She trailed off, holding back another gasp.

It's so safe to play along,

Little soldiers in a row.

Fallin' in and out of love,

(Oh, oh)

Something sweet to throw away.

Harry stopped his attack on her skin and straightened up slightly, looking down at her carefully. The only light in the room was the moon pouring through the windows, in between a gap in the curtains. When he straightened up, he had a thick bar of light bath half of his face in a soft glow. Hermione looked at him carefully, waiting for him to speak.

Now, I want something good to die for,

To make it beautiful to live.

I want a new mistake,

Lose this more, then hesitate.

Now, you believe it in your head.

"Hermione, this isn't a case of what I want, anymore. Don't you see?" A question burned in his eyes as he looked at her, her face lined with soft shadows.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him curiously, slightly confused.

I can go with the flow,

(Oo oo, oo, oo, oo, oo)

(I can go) Don't say it doesn't matter,

(With the flow)

Matter anymore.

"I need you, Hermione." He whispered, his voice gentle and laced with sincerity. This whole thing had gone much further than he had expected. His feelings for her were intensifying, but yet he had promised himself he wouldn't go in too deep. He was lost in her, it seemed.

I can go with the flow,

(Oo oo, oo, oo, oo)

(I can go)

You believe it in your head.

(With the flow)

Everything was too foggy and misty to come back. He was too lost to be saved. But, the more he thought about it, the more he liked it this way. He watched as a slight smile spread across her face, the shadows shrouding her in mystery, as her eyes met his in a grasping stare.

You believe it in your head,

You believe it in your head.

She stood on tip-toe, pressing her lips into his softly. She let them linger, before breaking the kiss and gazing up at him once more.

"Then take me." She whispered, her face set as she made up her mind.

(Oh, oh. Oo oo, oo, oo, oo, oo)

Harry's eyes widened, then he grinned down at her. In a matter of seconds he leaned in, pressing his lips firmly into hers. He deepened the kiss immediately as he pressed his body harder into hers, every line and contour meeting pleasantly. She let out a yet another moan against her will. At this point, he knew he had won.

(Oh, oh. Oo oo, oo, oo, oo, oo)

He had been holding back for years now, but this was his chance to finally let his mind and body loose. He knew, as he felt her fingers entangle in his hair, that he had reached a point of no return.

(Oh, oh. Oo oo, oo oo.)

And even though he was so lost in her, he was loving every second of it.

(Oh, oh)

('Go With The Flow' - Queens of the Stone Age, from 'Songs For The Deaf')

-------

*AN 2: Anyway, more soon! Please read and review, I’d love some opinions! ;]

5. Making A Change

*Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after all called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway! So no, not her, not making money of this… nothing, zilch, zero. Happy? Kthnx

*A/N: I apologise profusely for the fact that it’s taken me so long to get this chapter up. It’s really quite a big chapter, and I’ve been super busy… of course that doesn’t excuse the fact that I’ve kept you guys waiting, but it is a reason none-the-less.

ANYWAY! Enjoy! Lol

---------

Chapter 5: Making A Change

"Morning sleepy head."

Harry woke up with a kiss and a smile from Hermione. He grinned as he turned over, facing her. They lay in Hermione's bed, the sun pouring through the slightly drawn curtains.

Her face was a fuzzy outline, for his eyes were not covered by his glasses. "Morning, beautiful." He said, his voice slightly raspy, as it always was in the morning.

Hermione blushed slightly, snuggling her head into his chest as he wrapped an arm around her. She turned her head, so she was staring up at the ceiling, her mouth slightly open, as if she wanted to speak. One fatal sentence was on the tip of her tongue and she didn't know whether she should say it, or not. Her head titled carefully, her eyes meeting his green ones.

"What, Hermione?" Harry urged her gently, whispering into her forehead as his lips brushed softly against it.

"Harry..." She paused, taking another look at him, then back up at the ceiling. "You do know, that this will change everything, right?" She finished quietly, waiting with baited breath for his reply.

Harry nodded slightly, looking down at her. "I know." He smiled, "But I think it will be a change for the better, Herm."

She looked up at him and grinned, she was glad he understood that the ground he was now walking on, was shakier than before. Just from that one sentence, she drew security and certainty. She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his chin, her top lip just grazing his lower one.

Harry smirked down at her and held her slightly closer to him, leaning into her hair and whispering softly and slyly. "Hey, let's do that again!" He said with a cheeky grin. "You know... that thing where we lose the clothes?" He finished, pulling the blanket up slightly to look underneath it. "Oh wait. We aren't wearing any, anyway. Okay, well, we can just skip that step, then!"

Hermione smirked and hit him lightly on the chest. Harry withdrew from her slightly, rubbing his skin and pretending that it hurt. "Ow! What was that for?" He tried to wipe a smirk off of his face and failed terribly.

"For being a pervert, Harry James Potter!" Hermione's expression then softened at the smirk on his face and the two of them burst into identical fits of laughter.

"Herm..." A smothered chuckle, "I - I... I was kid - kidding!" He said through laughing fits.

The chuckles fizzled out after a few moments and both of them seemed to have a satisfied smile that danced across their lips. Both sighed happily, in unison, looking up at the ceiling above the bed.

Hermione looked up at him, turning to face him properly, as she propped herself up slightly on her elbow. She waited until he followed suit, both smiling at each other.

Harry reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear, his thumb rubbing the skin just above her eyebrow. She bit down on her bottom lip slightly, her eyes meeting his in a piercing gaze that neither of them seemed to be able to break.

"You're beautiful." He whispered softly, smiling down at her. She blushed slightly, her mouth opening to retaliate.

"But, Harry -"

"Shh." Harry whispered, pressing a finger lightly to her lips, silencing her. "You are." His smile turned into a grin, as he leaned into her, pressing a kiss to her lips softly, sighing against them in content. She obliged the kiss, helping him to deepen it.

She wanted to disappear under the covers once again, shutting out the rest of the world. Shutting out every other sound but the ones he was making; the gasps, the sighs, the groans. Shutting out the light and the aspect of time, the clock ticking annoyingly, as seconds, minutes, hours went by.

And even though she was shutting out everything - the world as they knew it - she never felt more open and alive in her entire life.

-------

The next day, Hermione shut the door to her office, sighing in relief as she leaned back on it. She was having a tough day, already. Three full grown mountain trolls started a riot at the speech she was trying to give on behalf of the Elvish people. Things didn't turn out well and she was glad to return to the peace and quiet of her office.

"Silence at last." She whispered happily.

"Psst, Hermione!" Harry whispered, as he was sitting in her office chair, grinning cheekily.

Hermione turned her head, her eyes locating the speaker. "Harry, what're you doing here?" She said in slight surprise, as she clutched at her heart.

"I'm here to see you." He continued to grin.

"How did you get in here?" Hermione asked, placing her hands on her hips in suspicion. "Who let you in?" She added, looking back over her shoulder, through the blinds covering the glass door. She saw her friend Gianna wave at her and grin. Instantly, she knew the answer to her last question. She rolled her eyes in slight annoyance, even though she knew that secretly she loved Gianna for it.

"Does it matter?" He continued to grin his mischievous grin. "I wanted to see you!"

Hermione returned her gaze to him and walked over, sitting down at the edge of her desk. "Harry, this is where I work -!"

"Percisely why I came here!" He said simply.

"No, you didn't let me finish. This is where I work, so that's what I'm supposed to be doing!" She scanned his expression carefully. "So, I really should get back to it."

"Aw, Hermione. But, but! I thought we could spend the day together or something!" Harry smiled at her innocently, placing his fingers over the hand that was laying atop her knee. His thumb began to rub a straight line over her skin, causing Hermione to weaken slightly.

Pull yourself together, Granger! He's just trying to break you! But... he won't succeed! - Wow, his hand is soft. - No! Concentrate! Must. Work. Here, to work!

She looked away from his tempting fingers and saw a big, dumb grin stretch across his handsome face. Dammit, she was done for. She quickly got up and walked around her desk to the filing cabinet and pulled it open, pretending to busy herself with something else.

"Please, Hermione. Pleeease?" He continued to beg. He got up out of her chair and stood beside her, his eyes saddening and his lip pushing out, as he gave her the puppy dog face.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, sighed in slight annoyance and finally, gave in to the part of her that knew Harry was right. She closed the cabinet shut, turned to face him and took a deep breath. She knew what she was about to do was wrong, but she couldn't resist his pleading.

"Fine, fine."

Harry's grin broadened, but then suddenly he frowned, his brow furrowing. "How are we going to get out of here? This place looks heavily secured. They did a full body search! And I think an old witch tried to frisk me!" He said, shuddering in disgust.

Hermione stared at him for a moment, looking at him with a look that was a cross between 'Why did you tell me that?' and 'That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard'.

"What?! She did!" He looked scandalised

"Well, maybe you should've thought about how we were going to get out, before you came here to kidnap me from work, Harry." Hermione said sternly, raising her eyebrow in his direction as she shook her head slightly, trying to remove all disgusting mental pictures.

"Come on, you must have a way out. You know this building better than I do!" When he got a glare from Hermione, he tried desperately to think of something. "Erm... we can... apparate!" He finished, a tone of encouragement in his voice.

"No. The whole building is magically protected. It's like Hogwarts, you can't apparate in and we can't apparate out..." Upon saying that, suddenly, an idea sparked in Hermione's head. "Unless..." She made her way to her office door, looking through the blinds.

"Come on, follow me." She whispered, turning around and beckoning Harry forward. "We have to be very inconspicuous. So, you go first-"

"This feels like a secret mission." Harry whispered excitedly, cutting her off.

"You're such a guy! This isn't a secret mission, we aren't undercover agents and we aren't trying to stop the building from blowing up. All we have to do, is get to the elevator at the end of the hall." She said, rolling her eyes at his childish air.

"Okay. I can do that." Harry said simply, nodding his head. "So, I'll just meet you there?"

"Yes, I'll come right behind you." She said reassuringly. She placed her hand on the doorknob and opened it carefully, pushing Harry out into the corridor. Within minutes, she followed, closing the door carefully and quietly behind her. She halted in front of the elevator, now standing beside Harry.

"What do we do, now?" He asked her, plunging his hands deep into his jean's pockets'.

"Now, we get on the elevator and if my memory serves me right, we can apparate out." She shrugged.

"But there's got to be a catch, there's always a catch." Harry said knowingly, as he pressed the button. The two of them waited until the elevator dinged loudly and the doors opened.

"Come on, it's worth a shot." Hermione said with a smile, grabbing his hand and pulling him in. They both watched the doors close from inside the elevator. Hermione pressed the button of the lowest floor possible: the basement. She waited and suddenly the two of them were being carried down by the elevator, the numbers over the doors lighting up each time they passed a floor.

Hermione waited until the number '6' stopped lighting, before she pressed the red stop button. The elevator screeched to a halt.

"What are you doing?"

"We have to be between two floors." She said matter-of-factly.

"I knew there was a catch." Harry mumbled under his breath.

"Oh, stop it." Hermione whispered, reaching for his hand. "Now, are we going to apparate or not?" She smirked slightly, urging him to grasp her hand. He did so and looked at her curiously.

"Why are we holding hands?" He raised his eyebrow at her slightly.

"Two heads are better than one." She said simply, closing her eyes and concentrating on where she wanted to go. "Just, picture the bathroom stall of the pizzeria across the street, okay?" Hermione added, opening her eyes slightly to make sure Harry had his closed. She finally closed her eyes and the two of them imagined it together.

A loud pop was made, the weird squishing sensation settled in the pit of her stomach. Within seconds, the sensation was gone and they were on solid ground. She opened her eyes and saw the two of them in one of the bathroom stalls in the girl's toilets' at the pizzeria. Hermione grinned. They did it! Harry had sprung her from work!

"Pssst." Hermione whispered to Harry, nudging him. He still had his eyes squeezed shut. "Harry, we did it." She whispered.

He opened his eyes and looked around. "I'm not familiar with this stall." He whispered simply.

"Well, I'd hope not, we're in the girls bathroom." Hermione whispered with a small giggle. Harry's face cringed as he realised he would have to make a run for it out of there, before anyone he knew saw him. He let go of Hermione's hands quickly and looked around the small cubicle.

"So this is what it's like to be in the girls bathroom?" Harry whispered, sniffing the air. "Hmm. Smells cleaner than our bathroom, anyway." He shrugged.

Hermione had to laugh at him. "That's because we're not barbarians and we don't smell bad!" She whispered with a smirk. She heard the door swing open and voices of women talking to one another. She laughed louder when she saw Harry's eyes grow wide in terror. His voice squeaked as he stared down at Hermione.

"YOU OWE ME SO MUCH SEX, FOR THIS!" He whispered frantically, placing his hand on the lock of the stall, dramatically.

"What are you doing? We can just wait until they go!" Hermione whispered back, standing in front of the door. "Are you insane?!" She added, with a look of warning on her face.

"Hermione. They see two pairs of feet, hear two voices, and girls always take an EXTREMELY long time in the bathroom. Especially when they're in... packs!" He continued in a whisper, his 'woe-is-me' look, firmly in place as he began to become even more frantic and started fumbling with the lock.

"This is a girl's bathroom, not 'Wild Kingdom' on the Discovery Channel. Calm down." Hermione rolled her eyes, holding back more laughter. Harry gave her a heated glare and she sighed, "Oh, fine. We'll just make a run for the bathroom door, okay?" She finally whispered. "But Harry. Let me go first." She added, looking over her shoulder, as she quickly unlocked the stall door. "One...Two..."

"Three!" They whispered the last number in unison.

Hermione threw back the door and bolted out of the stall, Harry quickly following behind her. Neither of them bothered to see the look on the women's faces'. The two of them reached the door, pulled it back and quickly exited the bathroom without a backwards glance.

Harry and Hermione both looked at each other, gasping for breath. Within seconds, identical smiles stretched across their faces, both about to burst with laughter. Hermione sniggered and Harry lost complete control, laughing heartily.

"You should've seen the look on your face!" Hermione said through giggles. She clutched at a stitch in her side, her eyes never leaving his. She then remembered what he had said and her eyebrow arched curiously. "And about what I owe you. Did you mean that?"

"Yup. Every word." Harry said simply, leading the way back through the restaurant and out of the front doors.

"How much are we talking about here?" Hermione continued to look at him, curiosity etched on her face. She fought back a smirk and waited for an answer as he wrapped an arm around her waist and the pair of them began to walk down the crowded street together.

"Seven nights of it." Harry grinned. He knew it would never quite quench his need for her, but it might tide him over for a little while.

"A WEEK?! Are you... are you kidding me?!" She said in shock, her jaw dropping slightly. "I'd be exhausted! Harry I can't hold out that long!"

"Too bad! All work and no play makes Harry a dull boy. And you don't want a dull Harry, do you?" He grinned down at her, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"That's not fair. I've been hoodwinked!" She said indignantly, though a chuckle as her cheek tingled slightly from his kiss. "I demand we re-negotiate!" She added. "Four nights!"

"Six!" Harry said back, a stubborn look on his face.

"Five!" Hermione retaliated, sticking her tongue out slightly.

"Sold! To the beautiful girl in the very fitting black skirt." He grinned, his hand coming dangerously close to her backside. He grinned as she hit him playfully on the shoulder and blushed slightly.

"Stop it." She mumbled. "Anyway, come on, let's go get something to eat!"

-------

Harry and Hermione returned at eight 'o clock that night, back at the flat. They were at least three hours late and neither of them cared. The pair stood outside the door, Hermione's back to it as she had the keys in her hand, fumbling with the lock behind her.

Harry stood right in front of her, grinning as he leaned in, his lips about an inch from hers.

"Harry, don't!" Hermione whispered with a giggle.

"Aw, why not?" He fixed a mock pouty look on his face.

"Because, Ron and Ginny don't know yet. What if they catch us? We need to tell them together, so they don't feel like we've kept this from them on purpose." She said matter-of-factly.

"But, don't I get to drop you off at your flat and give you a goodnight kiss?" He smirked down at her once again. She was beautiful, standing there with a small smile curving on her soft lips, her gentle curls falling gracefully onto her shoulders and her cheeks rosy from the cold they experienced outside.

"Harry, we share this flat." Hermione chuckled as she again ducked her head slightly to dodge another kiss. "Come on." She gestured towards the flat with her thumb, as they both heard the lock click open.

She pushed the door open and her and Harry entered the flat together. Both stopped dead, as they saw Ginny standing near the closet, waiting for them. She arched her eyebrow in suspicion, her arms folded across her chest as she tapped her foot sharply against the wood panelling. Everything about her seemed curious. She looked at them as if she could see right through their guilty smiles.

"Hey, Ginny." Hermione said cheerily, Harry leaving her side and retreating to the living room. But just as he was about to take the last few steps to the open living room door, Ginny stopped him, not moving an inch, or even looking at him. "Freeze." She said simply, pointing behind her in Harry's general direction. Without question, Harry froze.

"You two, kitchen table, now." She said, in almost a motherly tone. "Come on... after you." She gestured to the empty table and waited for them both to sit down before following suit.

Harry began to scratch the back of his neck nervously and Hermione gulped slightly in the back of her throat, as she folded her hands neatly in front of her, always a sign that she was putting her intelligent mind through its paces.

"Spill." Ginny said, in the same motherly tone. They knew what she meant and they knew they couldn't lie to her, so making up an excuse was out the window.

Neither spoke, as they exchanged looks across the table. Ginny sighed, "Do I have to do everything myself?" She rolled her eyes, looking at the two of them. Again, neither spoke, "Well. I guess I do!"

"Well -" Hermione piped up, but was cut off by Ginny's hand that raised up to silence her.

"I'm not mad, I'm not annoyed... just, save the excuses, okay? I've heard them all before and so, I don't need a repeat." She raised her eyebrow again in her friend's direction. "Now, spill. How long has this been going on?" She spoke firmly, looking at the both of them in turn, as she gestured the space between them as if it meant something and was significant to the conversation.

"Not a very long time. The both of us were too blind to see it, until now." Hermione spoke and now Harry was the one to raise his eyebrow in her direction. "What?" She looked at him carefully, shrugging slightly.

"I've had feelings for you for quite a long time now. Mine never left, they never shut off; they never changed. I never got over our break up after the final battle. I knew why you did it, but it still didn't make it any easier to get over." Harry spoke solemnly. He no longer looked at her, but instead fixed his gaze upon his twiddling thumbs that were placed on the table, as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"You... you never moved on?" Hermione said after a few minutes of silence. She felt horrible. How could she have done that to him? She never wanted to make the decision she had. She didn't want to end their relationship, she just felt she had to. She felt that if she stayed with him, the wounds on her heart wouldn't heal.

Harry shook his head slowly, still not looking up to meet her gaze. "I never stopped -- I never stopped caring about you, Hermione. Never." He mumbled, his voice just above a whisper.

"I'm sorry." Was all she could say. She couldn't take back what had happened, but if she could, she would have done it in a heart beat. She could see the pain in his eyes, the hurt etched on his face. It made her want to cry. She wanted to cry for him; take away his sorrow, but she knew she couldn't do that. Nothing could change what happened, not even her trusty time-turner.

"Don't be." Harry sighed. He finally looked up at her and placed one of his hands over hers. "You've given me a second chance. That's all that matters, now." He spoke softly, giving her a small smile. "And I can't thank you enough for that."

Hermione smiled sadly at him in return, reaching over and hugging him across the table. Ginny watched the two of them and grinned. "So where do you two go from here?" She asked enthusiastically, as the two of them sat down once again.

Harry and Hermione once again exchanged looks. "Well..." Hermione spoke, an unsure air about her at this point. She gave Harry a curious look, waiting with baited breath for him to speak.

"As far as I know, we're a couple now. I could be wrong..." He trailed off, looking at Hermione with a question burning in his eyes.

"Yes, we're a couple." She confirmed, nodding slightly in Harry's direction.

"That's great!" Ginny grinned at the two of them, placing her hands on both of their's and giving them a friendly squeeze. "I thought it was a shame when the two of you broke up. I'm sure a lot of people did." She added.

Harry looked around the flat. Something didn't seem right. It seemed just a bit too quiet. "Where's Ron?" He turned back to Ginny, curiosity evident in his voice. He had lines of worry etched on his face.

"Oh, he said he was going to have a few drinks. Do you think I would have confronted the two of you if he was here? I mean, he may be extremely gullible and clueless... but I'd never talk about something like this in front of him, he'd assume the worst." She rolled her eyes in slight annoyance, "He can let his emotions get the better of him sometimes..."

Harry and Hermione's eyes grew wide in shock. "How - how long has he been gone, Ginny?" Hermione spoke, the levels of worry increasing, tension so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Ginny gazed over at the clock, "About four hours, now."

Harry and Hermione jumped up from the table. Both of their coats still intact, they quickly rushed for the door. Hermione hand reached out for the doorknob, but she wasn't fast enough.

"No time!" Harry called, pulling out his wand and muttering a few well-chosen words to it. The spell hit the door in a jet of light. It leapt open of its own accord, the two of them fleeing the room without a backwards glance at Ginny.

She quickly got up from her seat and followed, closing the door behind her and locking it. She made her way out into the corridor and pushed open the door with the sign reading 'staircase'. Harry and Hermione were already two flights of stairs ahead of her and she had to yell down to them to find out what was going on.

Neither answered and thinking fast, she apparated to the very bottom of the stairs, placing her hands on her hips as she waited for them to meet her there.

"Ginny, how did you-?" Hermione spoke in surprise as the two of them reached the bottom.

"Apparated. What's going on?"

Harry nor Hermione spoke, but instead they exchanged serious looks, as they all began to walk again, Ginny having to jog slightly to keep up the pace with Harry and Hermione.

"This has something to do with Ron, doesn't it?" Her voice was anxious as she looked between the two of them. They sprinted toward the revolving doors in the lobby, pushing passed people in the process. Exiting the building the three of them were now out on the quiet street, quickly making their way towards the local pub. "What's going on with my brother?!" She raised her voice in alarm and continued to jog to keep up with them.

The pub was now in sight, the music booming from the windows and doors. Harry turned around and spoke to Ginny calmly before they made to enter the small pub.

"Let's just say there's a few things about your brother that you don't quite know yet."

-------

They entered the pub to thunderous yells, so loud they almost drown out the music. A crowd of people were huddled around some commotion, screaming and cheering as if egging someone on.

"Excuse me, coming through. 'SCUSE ME!" Harry called, pushing roughly through the crowd. Once he reached the centre, he saw something he never thought he'd see again. Ron and some other drunk were fighting furiously on the floor.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Ron kept shouting, sinking his clenched fists into the guy he was brawling with, anywhere he could reach. "...TAKE IT BACK!" One knee in the stomach and he knocked the wind out of him. Ron stood up suddenly, clenching his fists once more, waiting for his opponent to stand up.

"RON! What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" Ginny yelled, as she too made her way through the crowd to stand beside Harry.

"Wha'?" Ron said stupidly, turning towards Harry and Ginny. He didn't look good. He was sporting a bloody lip, a red, puffy cheek and he had a few bruises popping up near his eye.

"ANSWER ME!" She screamed. Never had she seen anything as disgusting in her life and she had seen a lot in her time, so far.

"This idiot was making fun of me!" Ron said childishly. Ginny could hear the drunkenness in his voice, knowing all too well how to spot it.

"That's no reason to HIT the guy!" She scolded him angrily.

"What else was I supposed to do? Pinch him on the arm?!" He continued in his childish air, making his way toward her as the guy in question was hurled on the floor, a small pool of fresh blood beside his swollen lips.

"Stay away from me!" She said firmly, backing up slightly. "What gave you the right to hit this man?!" Ginny gestured towards him on the floor.

Ron looked at her, the beginnings of anger on his face. It seemed shallow, but was definitely anger none-the-less. "And what gives Draco the right to hit YOU?!" He replied loudly.

"Don't you DARE drag my life into this. This is YOUR fault!" A lone tear suddenly streaked down her rosy cheek, as she began to back away a little further. "Who was I kidding, you're not Ron. You're not my brother... my brother would never get so drunk that he would even consider doing this." She mumbled softly, looking down at her shoes as she shook her head slightly.

"I'm still your brother, Ginny." Ron said carefully, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

She withdrew from his hand roughly, more tears bursting the boundaries of her eyes, "Don't touch me..." She raised her head to look at him and even though her eyes were slightly red and puffy from the tears, she still fixed him with an angry, penetrating stare. "You criticise me and how my life is going. You make my fiancé out to look like a monster, when all the time, you're just as bad as he is." She whispered. Even though her voice was soft, it resounded through the pub and sent a chill up Ron's spine. Her words hung in the air, echoing in his head and sending stabs of regret throughout his body.

Without another word, she pushed back through the crowd. Opening the doors to the tiny pub, she emerged out onto the cold, dark street.

Hermione, who had also come into the center of the crowd with Ginny and Harry sometime after the fight had stopped, placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and whispered "I'll go talk to her." With that she too, left the pub.

"Ginny, wait!" Ron called, even though she was long gone. "Harry, I've got to talk to her!" He said, trying to push past him. Harry firmly gripped Ron's shoulders and pushed him back to where he stood.

"What are you doing, man!?" He said angrily, trying to push past yet again, but Harry stopped him. "Don't get in my way!" He continued in an annoyed manor.

"What are you going to do, hmm? Punch me, too?!" Harry answered back, a note of anger in his voice now, also. "You messed up, okay? You messed up BIG!" He said sternly. "She doesn't want to talk to you right now, Ron. To be honest, she shouldn't have to. I mean, Merlin... look at yourself! You're a drunk!" With that, Harry turned his back on him, retreating to the doors. He then threw them open with more force than necessary, exiting the pub.

He left Ron to stand there, in the middle of the room, feeling like the biggest fool in the world. He had nothing to comfort him but the thoughts of the massive hang over he was going to have the next day.

-------

Where do we go?

Nobody knows.

I've gotta say,

I'm on my way, down.

It was at least three in the morning, by now. The sky was black and the moon stood out brilliantly against it. The stars made their best effort to out-shine the glowing orb, but failed miserably; it was simply too bright.

He sighed, sitting alone on a vacant park bench. He wouldn't go home, he couldn't face them right now.

He couldn't face the glares, the lack of conversation and the silence through the whole flat. He couldn't face the sad expression that he knew would paint itself across Ginny's features, the look of utter disappointment Harry would give him, or the complete disrespectful gaze Hermione would conjure up from the depths of her good morals and kind nature.

God give me style,

And give me grace.

God put a smile upon my face.

Let the truth be known; he, Ronald Weasley, was a disgrace to wizard kind. Being the git he could be, that was saying something. He was beyond redemption right now, he knew that. He didn't know how he could possibly redeem himself at this point and yet he wanted to, desperately.

He wanted it more than anything at that moment.

Where do we go,

To draw the line?

I've gotta say,

I wasted all your time,

Honey, honey.

Ron let his eyes wander to his surroundings. A little to his left, he saw the gate that served as the exit and entrance to the park. Further off to the left, he saw a huge fountain that had been shut off for the night. No water was coming from the spout; it was quite odd to see it that way, really.

He decided to concentrate his gaze on the ground where a bottle of beer, that he assumed was empty, laid forgotten there. His eyes blazed with a deep, sickening regret. His breathing became slightly erratic as he now fixed all of his emotions on that one, simple bottle.

Alcohol really was a fickle friend, if you thought about it. One moment, you're knocking back a few beers, having a good time. The next, you're punching the shit out of some stranger on the floor, as you're covered in their blood. And for what? Recognition? Revenge? Your pride?

It was all pointless, really.

Where do I go,

To fall from grace?

God put a smile, up your face,

Yeah.

A strong loathing began to emerge from somewhere inside of him. He was done. With drink, with hangovers, with disappointing people and not to mention making a fool out of himself. He was finished with it all.

This feeling of hate that now resided in him wasn't directed at anyone but himself. He was the one who had gotten himself intoxicated. He was the one who had punched that guy for a petty reason. He was the one who had made his sister lose her faith in him. It was him. He had no one to blame but himself.

With all of his being and all of his strength, he calmly stood up, walked over to the bottle and without warning swung his foot back, kicking it angrily. He watched it spin down the path, hit off the side of a statue and smash into a million pieces.

And ah,

When you work it out,

I'm worse then you.

Yeah,

When you work it out,

I wanted to.

How could he have let this happen? How could he have been so stupid?

He felt extremely unclean.

The fact of the matter was, his sister was right. His sister was right all along. He was just as bad as Draco. Just because he didn't beat up on a girl, didn't make him any better. And that's when his conscience began to tear him up inside. That one realisation alone, finished him off.

And ah,

When you work out,

Where to draw the line.

Your guess,

Is as good as mine.

He was no better than the one person he hated most. He always prided himself on his choices in life. He always knew that he was on the right side, fighting for the right thing and setting a better example than his enemy. But now, he was no better.

And that is what truly made him want to destroy himself.

Where do we go?

Nobody knows.

Don't ever say,

You're on your way, down,

When...

It ate him up inside. He was angry; extremely angry. With himself, with the way things turned out, with the way his life was now and it was all because of drink. But to be honest, not only was he mad at the fact he had turned into an alcoholic, he was mad at the way his family had all split up.

They had to take some of the blame for his behaviour. If they would stop being so self-centered, he wouldn't have problems anymore!

Turning around swiftly, he forcefully kicked the rubbish bin beside the bench he had been sitting on. He stood there and watched it empty itself of its contents and roll away on the ground, carelessly. Breathing heavily, his mind continued to race.

God gave you style,

He gave you grace.

And put a smile upon your face,

Aw, yeah.

He was tired of pretending he was okay with it. He was tired of standing by and watching them continue their petty squabbles and he was tired of being in the middle of it all.

Sick. And. Tired.

Although, now he could say he was part of the feud. He would never forget the way Ginny looked at him, only hours before. He would never forget the crisp tone in her voice or the sharpness in her words that sent shivers up his spine.

And ah,

When you work it out,

I'm worse then you.

Yeah,

When you work it out,

I wanted to.

"You criticise me and how my life is going. You make my fiancé out to look like a monster, when all the time, you're just as bad as he is."

Her voice wouldn't stop echoing in his ears, her disappointed face wouldn't stop flashing before his mind's eye and that lone tear that streaked down her cheek would never be forgotten by him, ever. But he had to stop this, he had to fix it.

After all, someone had to change things.

And ah,

When you work out,

Where to draw the line.

Your guess,

Is as good as mine.

As if nothing had happened, he turned around and made his way towards the open gate, exiting the park silently. Thoughts still crashing in his head, he plunged his hands deep into his pockets as he walked down the road, street lights beaming down on him and the occasional car driving passed.

It was some time after three in the morning and he couldn't bring himself to go home. What kind of life was that to lead?

Kicking a can gently out of the way, he crossed the road, headed to no place in particular. With his problems swirling around in his mind, he tried to think of somewhere he could go for the night (or what was left of it), but nothing seemed to come to him.

Its as good as mine,

Its as good as mine.

Its as good as mine,

(Nah nah, nah, nah nah. Nah mah nah, nah nah.)

He continued to walk for the longest time. Never stopping, never looking around to take in his surroundings. He just walked. It's all he knew how to do at that point in time; all his mind would let him do. He walked for so long, the sun was began to come up and he was now somewhere out in the suburbs; he had walked the whole night.

He finally stopped to look around. He saw nothing but grass, trees and expensive looking houses; a completely different place to the center of London.

All of these houses had fancy-looking cars parked beside their neatly kept front gardens. Everything looked picture perfect and Ron so easily didn't belong, with his worn-out, black, thin coat, his bloody, white t-shirt and his ripped blue jeans.

He stuck out like a sore thumb as he walked down the vacant streets.

As good as mine,

As good as mine.

As good as mine,

As good as mine.

Looking over to his left, he spotted a playground. A twisting tunnel slide, a set of monkey bars and a few swings. It looked like the typical suburban playground. Thinking quickly, he crossed the street and made his way toward it. Maybe he could take refuge there; It looked peaceful enough.

Entering through the gate to the enclosed playground, Ron walked over to the blue twisting tunnel slide and sat down at the mouth of it. He didn't know how tired he was, until he actually sat down. Yawning deeply, a searing pain shot through his head; the first signs of a hangover.

Where do we go,

Nobody knows.

Don't ever say,

Your on your way, down...

Clutching his head in agony, he leaned back against the slide, stretching the upper half of his body out. It was very uncomfortable, but it was better than lying on the ground. Sighing heavily, he wondered how he even managed to get himself into this mess. Painful flashes of the night before clashed in his head and it was all too clear why he was now lying on a slide in a suburban playground.

He felt lower than he had ever felt in his life. He knew that never should he be reduced to sleeping outside, simply because he was too ashamed to go home. But, there he was.

Closing his eyes carefully, he tried to salvage as much sleep as he could. He knew that it wouldn't be long before the clean-cut kids came to use the playground and the suburban housewives would stare down their noses, at the scruffy-looking drunk lying in the kiddie slide.

When,

God gave you style,

And gave you grace.

God put a smile upon your face.

('God Put A Smile Upon Your Face' - Coldplay, from 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head')

-------

"Harry, have you spoken with Ginny?" Hermione called from the bathroom as she stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair.

"Nah, she said she would talk to me later. She went shopping." Harry answered back as he sat in the living room, flicking through the channels on the TV.

"I really worry about that girl." She lowered her voice to a normal tone as she showed up in the doorway of the living room. She leaned against the doorframe and placed her hand on her hip, seeing his intrigued expression, as he gazed at the TV. "What are you watching?"

"Some programme, very interesting. No idea what it's ca-" He stopped in mid-sentence as he looked over at Hermione standing there. Even in the simplest clothes, she looked gorgeous.

Her hair had just been put up in a neat pony tail and she was wearing jeans and one of his old grey jumpers, that was too big for her. She always liked to wear it around the house, or when doing the shopping across the street. When Harry would ask her why she hadn't thrown it out, she would always give him the same answer; it kept her warmer than most of her other jumpers.

He grinned as he saw the curious look she gave him, which was a result of him staring at her too long. "Suddenly, I've lost all interest in this TV programme." He said dazedly. Hermione smirked at him.

"What?!" She stood straighter, placing both her hands on her hips in a questioning sort of air.

"You look beautiful." He replied simply, standing up and walking toward her, halting in front of her in the doorway. He reached up and pushed a stray, curly strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear. He grinned slightly and pressed a soft kiss to her left temple.

"Harry." Hermione mumbled, giggling slightly. "Harry, I'm just wearing jeans and a jumper. You're old jumper from Hogwarts, at that!" Her hands wrapped around his neck as his lips left her temple, trailed down her jawbone and halted at her lips, laying short kisses over them.

"This jumper always seemed to look better on you." He continued to grin, mumbling against her lips. He looked down at the faded red and yellow lion on the sleeve and chuckled. "Gryffindor lions, right?" He added, pointing toward it.

Hermione's attention was turned to the lion on the sleeve and she grinned, "Remember when you let me wear this to the last Quidditch match of the season, in seventh year?" She grinned, her eyes meeting his once more. "You told me it brought you more luck on me, than it did in your bedside drawer."

"I remember. You spilled pumpkin juice on it the night before, when I had asked you to wear it and had to perform a tricky little cleaning spell on it." He chuckled once again. Just as he was about to lean in and kiss her once more, the door burst open.

Harry and Hermione leapt apart to see Ron come storming into the flat. He looked a right mess. He had heavy bags under his eyes and he seemed to have mud prints of tiny shoes splattered all over his white t-shirt. Neither knew what to say, as he stood in the middle of the hall, completely run down.

"I won't even ask what you two were doing, because I don't want to know." He said calmly. "And I apologise for last night. I made a total ass out of myself." He continued, turning around and closing the door behind him.

"Where were you mate? We were worried." Harry spoke, feeling slightly guilty. He knew Ron deserved to be yelled at last night, but he didn't want to have been the one to do it.

"A suburban playground." Ron said simply, seeing both Harry and Hermione give him strange looks. "Don't ask." He added.

"Well, that would explain the tiny mud prints." Hermione pointed out the mess that was his shirt.

"Yes. The little brats attacked me in the kiddie slide." He said, sending a shiver up his own spine as he shuddered in fear. Never again, was he taking a visit to a playground. Those kids were adorable, but when you're in their way of playing on the slide, they could turn around and try to destroy you with a vengeance.

"Little devils." He mumbled, almost in a paranoid sort of way. "Anyway, where's Ginny?" Ron sighed, knowing he was the last person she wanted to see at that moment. Against his better judgement, he continuously told himself he had to talk to her. He had to let her know he was going to change.

Hermione looked hard at Ron for a moment before speaking, as if choosing her words very carefully. "She's gone shopping. I don't know when she'll be back."

"Well, that gives me a while to not only work up the nerve, but the words to say to her when she gets back." He said, walking over to the couch and sitting down. He sighed happily; it was good to be home. For some reason though, he felt like he was sitting on something.

Getting up, he turned around and looked down at the place on the white couch he just sat on. Indeed he was sitting on something! His eyes spotted a thick, white envelope. He realised immediately why he hadn't seen it before sitting down; it was a white envelope against a white couch.

He slowly began to turn it over in his fingers, looking for anything written across it. When he saw nothing, he swiftly opened it with his index finger and slipped the letter out of the envelope. It was in Ginny's hand and it read:

Dear Harry, Ron and Hermione,

I never was very good with goodbyes, so I have written you this letter to let you know, that I thank you very much for letting me stay at your flat for all this time. I thank you for putting up with all of my bad habits and being good friends, even though I had walked out of your lives for so long.

With having that said, I feel it's time for me to go. I feel I have stayed in your flat long enough and don't want to completely wear out my welcome. No, this has nothing to do with the 'episode' with Ron last night, either. It's a choice I made on my own.

I've realised that people have flaws and problems they don't know how to deal with. Either way, I'm over it, it's fine. I just feel I shouldn't be there, because I almost feel like a burden on you all.

Enclosed with this letter is a few pounds to go towards the rent I would have had to pay at the end of the month. It's not much, but it's all I have at the moment.

Ron stopped reading momentarily, opening the envelope further and seeing a small wad of pound notes in the bottom of it. Turning his attention back to the letter, he continued to read:

So if you'll except it, then I guess I should say goodbye. It's not goodbye forever, it's just goodbye for awhile.

Again, thank you all so much. You truly are the best friends a Witch could have.

Love,

-Ginny

Ron let his index finger trace over her loopy signature softly as he mumbled sadly to himself, sighing.

"She's running away from me..."

-------

Now, don't just walk away.

Pretending everything's okay,

And you, don't care about me.

Ginny's key clicked in the lock of the flat she shared with Draco. She sighed heavily, closing the door carefully as she kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag near where she stood. She looked around, the place was - if possible - more messy than when she left it.

I never thought I'd be back here...

"Draco, I'm home!" She called through the seemingly empty flat, as she wandered towards their bedroom. Swinging back the door, she saw something she thought she'd never see.

And I, know it's just no use.

When all your lies become your truths,

And I don't care.

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Instantly, hot tears stung her cheeks upon opening the door. Another girl was there. Another girl, in her home. Well, it wasn't much of a home, but it was all she had at the moment. She was now kicking herself, for she had just walked out on two of her good friends and her brother.

So. Stupid. D'oh!

Gathering her scattered thoughts together, she screamed "What the hell is going on, Draco?!" She then slammed the bedroom door behind her, she watching as the filthy slag scrambled to wrap a sheet around her.

Could you look me in the eye,

And tell me that you're happy now?

(Oo, oo, oo, oo)

"Um, Ginny! It's -- it's not what you think!" He said frantically, the quilt - her mother's quilt - covering him.

"Like hell it isn't!" She shouted angrily, more tears flowing down her cheeks in waves. "Draco, I trusted you!" She continued to yell. Although to be honest, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a lie.

Ever since he changed and began blaming her for everything possible, any trust she had for him went out the window. Then, when his drinking habits and his tendency to not take pride in his appearance started, any respect she had for him was also flung out the window, to join her trust.

Would you tell it to my face,

Or have I been erased?

Are you happy now?

Are you happy now?

The more she thought about it, the more she realised, she had been hanging onto the memory of what Draco could be and completely ignoring the reality of what he truly was. A liar. A filthy, sleazy, moronic, liar.

Spending time away from this place really has done me good in more ways than one...

"Where the hell have you been for the past two weeks, anyway?!" Draco retorted, getting up and letting the quilt slip off of him. He was in boxers and Ginny was glad, for she never wanted to see him naked again.

She winced slightly, her anger subsiding, as true hurt began to reach the surface. She wasn't hurt that Draco cheated on her, for it only showed her his true colours. She was upset because it poignantly pointed out to her how much of a fool she had become. She was hurt by the fact that she had wasted two years of her life with someone like him.

You, took all there was to take.

And left me with an empty plate,

And you don't care about it.

(Yeah)

The problem with her was, she thought she could change him when in reality, she couldn't. She couldn't change the fact that he probably never even cared about her. She couldn't change the fact that this probably wasn't the first time he had cheated on her, it was merely only the first time he was caught. But most of all, she couldn't change the fact that he had broken her.

He broke her spirit and her faith in herself. She used to be strong, she used to be independent and he turned her into the exact opposite of that. She was housebroken and she hated it. She looked past him and the sleazy whore, looking at herself in the mirror. She stared at her reflection for a moment, before answering his question. She may not have been strong before, but she was going to take this first step and be strong now. She was going to change, she was going to find that strong person inside of herself.

And I, am givin' up this game.

And leavin' you with all the blame,

'Cause I don't care.

(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

"Does it really matter where I went? You never even came to look for me." She said bitterly, walking out of the room in search of some suitcases. She was leaving him, once and for all.

"Where are you going?!" Draco demanded angrily, as she returned, with the suitcases in hand.

"Somewhere far away from YOU!" She screamed back, as she began chucking clothes into her suitcases, seeing the slut button up her blouse out of the corner of her eye.

Could you look me in the eye,

And tell me that you're happy now?

(Oo, oo, oo, oo)

Hmm. Skanks seem to dress fancier these days.

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to leave." He said pleadingly, taking a few more steps toward her. "Is it someone else? Is it Neville?”

She saw his feet cautiously tip-toe on the carpet, as if thinking that if she couldn't hear him move closer, she wouldn't see him move closer. Too bad things don't work that way. (Well, too bad for him anyway.) She drew her wand and pointed it at him quickly.

Would you tell it to my face,

Or have I been erased?

Are you happy now?

(Oo, oo, oo, oo)

"Take one more step towards me and I'll hex you into next week! You know I can do it, too. Remember who my best friend was in school?" She mumbled, her dangerous tone matching the glint in her eye. She used one hand to continue shovelling things in her bag, while the other kept a firm grip on her wand.

"Hermione Granger." Draco mumbled bitterly, spitting the name out like it was a curse, as his eyes clouded over with a suppressed hate.

Are you happy now?

Are you happy now?

(Ye-yeah, yeah)

"Oh and yes, I do have to leave, Draco. You see, because I'm usually not the type to forgive scum like you. I've come to realise, that I'll never be able to change you and forgiving you would just give you license to walk all over me again. Bloody hell, look what I've become! You're personal door matt!" She continued to rant, chucking her jewellery box, her watch that her Dad gave her and her picture of her family into a suitcase.

"But I -"

"Well I've had it!" She cut him off, walking across the room and beginning to pick up some of her shoes. “And this has nothing to do with Neville! He’s my friend! He’s never betrayed me, unlike some people I know.” She watched the girl jump in fright and hop over the bed to the opposite side of the room.

Ha. She had almost forgotten about her.

Do you really have,

Everything you want?

You could only give,

Somethin' you ain't got.

You can't run away from yourself.

Turning around swiftly, she kept her wand on Draco and made eye contact with the tramp. "GO! No one's keeping you here!" She snapped and watched as the girl scrambled for the doorknob, wrenched it open and ran out of the room, not even closing the door behind her.

Ginny began to look around the room to make sure she had nothing left that belonged to her in it. When she was satisfied, she kept her wand pointed at Draco and walked toward the open door. Turning her back to it, she kept an eye on him, backing out of the room, her wand still raised and her suitcases in tow.

Could you look me in the eyes,

And tell me that you're happy now?

(Yeah, yeah)

Draco slowly followed, his hands held out in front of him, as if trying to ease her into putting the wand down. "Can we just talk about this, Ginny?" He asked calmly, as she made her way into the living room, dropping her suitcases and beginning to pick up random things that belonged to her.

"No! Because you know what, I don't trust you anymore. I don't know how I ever could! You've hit me, Draco. You actually sank so low as to hit me! How do you think that makes me feel?" Her voice lowered as she spoke to him, but the anger and hurt never left.

She continued to pick up her belongings, now in silence, without so much as an interruption from Draco.

Once she was sure nothing was left that belonged to her, she began zipping the bags up.

C'mon tell it to my face,

Or have I been replaced?

Are you happy now?

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, whoa)

(Yeah, yeah. Oh, whoa)

"Ginny, please don't go." Draco begged fruitlessly. He seemed to be taking this better than she thought he would. But then, she realised, she still had her wand pointed at him.

"There's nothing keeping me here." She said coldly, a tear sliding down her cheek. She knew what she was doing was right and yet half of her still didn't want to leave. Her anger had simmered, her hurt was ebbing away and the look on Draco's face was one she couldn't ignore.

Temptation was staring her right in the face, as she picked up her suitcases, backing toward the front door. "Draco. Forget you know me. Forget I even exist. You don't deserve me." She added, turning around and reaching for the doorknob. Opening the door, she placed her suitcases outside the flat and put her wand in her pocket. She felt she didn't need it anymore.

Would you look me in the eye?

Could you look me in the eye?

I've had all that I can take,

And now I'm 'bout to break.

"Ginny -"

"No... don't even try to apologise. I should have listened to Neville. Because after all these years, he's still right you know, he is worth ten of you... and so am I."

And with that, she closed the door behind her, picked up her suitcases and made her way down the corridor without a backwards glance, the clicking of her heels bouncing off of the walls was the only sound made.

She left Draco to stand there in the middle of his empty flat, living his now empty life, with an empty feeling inside.

'Cause I'm happy now.

(Oo, oo, oo, oo)

But in the end, she didn't feel guilty. She figured, he'd made his choice when he cheated on her and now, she had made hers. She was leaving him and moving on with her life, or at least, what was left of it.

And she knew there would be rough times ahead, but she was willing to face them. She was standing up and making a change.

A change for the better.

Are you happy now?

('Are You Happy Now' - Michelle Branch from 'Hotel Paper)

-------

*A/N: Okay, so I do realise that this is a huge chapter! Lol So much happens in it, it’s insane!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I do apologise that it’s taken me so long to post! I just have such a busy schedule!

Read and reply!

-Kourtz =]

6. Living, Breathing, Walking, Talking Complication

*Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after all called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway! So no, not her, not making money of this… nothing, zilch, zero. Happy? Kthnx

*AN: It has been a long time! I will spare all of you the excuses and just get down to posting the chapter! *laughs* Erm, this one isn’t all that great… I do apologise, but it’s just one of those chapters that kind of set up different storylines and stuff… so I wouldn’t be offended if I got bad reviews or anything. It’s alright.

-----

Chapter 6: Living, Breathing, Walking, Talking Complication

'Knock. Knock.'

"Coming!" Hermione called through the flat. The three of them had just been talking in the sitting room. With Ginny's letter to them in her hand, she sighed as she reached the door. Placing her hand on the doorknob she opened it carefully, to see a distraught looking Ginny on the other side, suitcases in both hands.

Hermione said nothing and looked up at her best friend slowly, concern trapped in her eyes. Within seconds, Ginny dropped her suitcases and suddenly began sobbing uncontrollably as she stood in the doorway, not moving a muscle.

Hermione - having picked up Harry's quick reflexes - quickly stepped over the threshold and wrapped her arms tightly around Ginny, as she began to sob into her shoulder.

"It's okay, Gin." She cooed into her raven-coloured hair. "You did the right thing." She added, rubbing her back in circles, soothingly. Neither moved from where they stood in the doorway, as it stayed ajar, the suitcase carelessly plunked on the ground beside them.

"Herm, who's at the -?" Harry called, making his way down the corridor and out into the front hall to see Hermione and Ginny hugging near the door. His eyes travelled from the heart-wrenching sight to the suitcases on the floor and mumbled insults at an imaginary Draco.

"What's going on?" Ron called to Harry as he too left the sitting room and came out into the hall to see a teary-eyed Ginny and a concerned looking Hermione. "She came back." He whispered softly to himself, also seeing the suitcases on the floor.

Both Harry and Ron walked toward the two girls. Ron didn't try hugging Ginny, because he didn't know how she would respond. He left Harry to guide Hermione and Ginny to the sitting room.

Wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulders, Harry exchanged a worried glance with Hermione. Ron shut the door and picked up Ginny's suitcases off of the floor, making his way to the guest bedroom where she had stayed already for the past two weeks.

Once he reached the sitting room, he saw Ginny sitting in between Hermione and Harry on the couch. He came in awkwardly and went over to sit in the armchair beside where they sat. He looked over at his sister, sporting the same concerned glaze in his eyes that his two best friends both seemed to have.

"What happened, Ginny?" Hermione asked, the only one brave enough to speak.

Through sobs, Ginny gave them the whole story. She paused in some parts, almost as if she wasn't able to continue, but then surprised them all by plowing on. Once finished, a new wave of tears hit, betraying her and sliding down her cheeks.

"Do you think I should have left? Do you think I made the right choice?" She asked, giving each of them a worried look. "I mean... he did look sorry. I left when I was angry. Mum always said, you should never make decisions when you're angry." She began to babble restlessly. She always seemed to do this when she was nervous.

Hermione held up her hand to silence her and once she stopped speaking, she nodded her head. "Yes, you did the right thing, Ginny. Right now, what you're feeling is shock and shallow regret. It will wear off. Your heart will catch up with your mind and realise what you did was a good thing. But until then, you're going to feel like you should never have left, it's only natural." She spoke calmly to her, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Ron sat in the chair, completely frozen. He didn't know what to say, or do and figured he would sit this one out and let Harry and Hermione deal with it. His sister was still mad at him, as far as he knew. He didn't want to test the waters just yet.

Ginny felt his gaze upon her and looked over at her brother sitting on the chair by himself. Without warning, she stood up from where she sat on the couch and crossed the space between them, leaning in and giving Ron a tight hug. His chin grazed her shoulder and he looked over at Harry and Hermione, not knowing exactly what to do.

"Hug her back!" Hermione mouthed with exaggeration, gesturing for him to go on.

Ron slowly, but surely wrapped his arms around his sister, a slight smile stretching across his face as he relaxed into the hug.

"I'm so sorry, Ron." Ginny mumbled into his ear, hugging onto him tighter. A lone tear streaked down her cheek once more, although she had calmed down long before and didn't feel like crying.

"Don't be. I made a complete idiot out of myself." He mumbled back, into her hair. He patted her back just before she let go and he smiled up at her as she straightened out. "You were right to say what you did, Gin. You've always been right." He spoke softly, never breaking eye contact.

The two siblings both broke out into identical grins. Even as 'down-in-the-dumps' as they both felt, they still had each other and their friends and that's all that seemed to matter to them, now. They found strength and comfort in each other. Ron promised himself that he would never let anything come to harm Ginny and he meant it.

No more time for playing games, no more time for screw-ups. Ron and Ginny both knew deep down, things were serious.

-------

"What can we possibly do, Harry?" Hermione looked at him, placing her hand on her hips in a menacing sort of way. She was worried and annoyed at the same time. Not a great combination of emotions, in Harry's opinion.

"I don't know, Herm..." But then, he paused. A wild grin suddenly spread across his face as an idea popped into his head, "We have to get drink in them!" He said suddenly, his voice getting louder and more excited with the discovery of his genius plan.

"We're going to fix Ron's family mess... with alcohol?" She looked at him sternly, her hand still firmly intact on her hip, as she watched him rush around the Weasley's kitchen in an attempt to find liquor.

"Yes! I mean, granted, I haven't had much of a family to test this on... but all people respond well to alcohol! It makes them happy, Hermione. And we need to make them happy! Half of them are still angry that they've been tricked into coming here!" He looked back up at her, speaking frantically from his place on the floor. He propped himself on his knees, digging through a bottom cupboard.

Mission : Must. Find. Alcohol!

"Harry. You don't mix angry people with alcohol! You just don't! People could get rowdy, we don't want that!" She argued with him, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Just then, Harry completely stopped the wild movement of his arms in the cupboard, yanked them out and turned himself to face Hermione. "Oh? And do you have a better idea?" He looked up at her, arching his eyebrow in suspicion.

"Well... no. But, but! Alcohol, plus angry people, equals chaos!" She formulated a word equation, trying to make Harry understand. But it was no use, he had already rolled his eyes and went back to rummaging for some fire whiskey.

Both Harry and Hermione heard a yell, making them jump and looking questioningly at the kitchen door. Suddenly, Ron came bursting through the door, red-faced and out of breath. "They're like animals in there! Ginny and I are the only sane ones!"

He came clambering over and found Harry kneeling on the floor, while Hermione towered over him, glaring in annoyance.

"What are you doing, mate?" He turned to Harry, thinking it best to start interrogating him first. Merlin knows he didn't want to mess with Hermione while she had that angry sort of glint in her eye.

"Looking for drink." He said simply, when he finally placed his hand on a bottle of whiskey. "Aha! Found some!" He pulled it out carefully and showed it to Ron, grinning. "This will solve all of their problems."

Ron winced when he saw the bottle. He had already been off of alcohol for a month at this point, but looking at it was still hard to endure, without wanting to drink some. Even then, he knew, one sip led to the whole bottle.

"Harry, you know that I can think of about a hundred-and-fifty-six ways to destroy that bottle with not only my wand, but my bare hands, right?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I know. But you won't, because even as against this as you are, you know it'll work." He grinned up at her cheekily, placing the bottle on the floor and standing up, only to pick the bottle up once more.

She rounded on Ron, making him jump. "Tell me I'm right, Ron! You've had bad past experiences with alcohol! You know where I'm coming from when I say that alcohol won't fix things!" She said frantically, giving him a pleading look.

Ron froze for a moment, Hermione and now Harry both giving him looks, as if they were silently vying for his vote of approval. They always did this when they disagreed. Although, to be honest, they rarely disagreed. It was usually Harry getting these looks of desperation from himself and Hermione.

"Uhh..." Ron began to crack under the pressure. "Well - I don't know. Harry has a point."

Harry punched the air in triumph and Hermione groaned in annoyance and frustration.

"Oh! Take his side!" She cut an evil glance at Harry doing a victory dance behind her. Folding her arms over her chest stubbornly, she looked at the both of them in turn warningly, "When the whole family is fighting drunkenly, I'm not helping you get out of it. You're on your own. You make the mess, you clean it up." She finished firmly.

"Come on Hermione. We're not going to give them enough to get drunk! Just enough to... loosen them all up a bit. We need to get them all to start talking to one another. Perhaps, try to get them to forgive and forget, you know?" He said, using a very persuasive tone of voice.

Hermione sighed. She looked between both Ron and Harry and rolled her eyes. "I think your stupidness is wearing off on me."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked, with curiosity evident in his voice.

"Because even though I know this is a blatant recipe for disaster, it's starting to make more and more sense." Hermione furrowed her brow slightly, speaking slowly as if she only seemed to just process this fact in her head.

"Ah, that's the beauty of us stupid people." Ron said grinningly, as he led the way into the dining room full of the Weasley family - more like 'the arena of lions' - pushing the door open for the other two. "We leech smartness off of brainy people."

Hermione gave him the death glare as the kitchen door closed behind her.

Dammit. If she doesn't stop that, one day, she really will kill me! And then what will she do?! Ah, crap. I bet she'll probably donate my organs to mountain trolls and they'll probably eat them for dinner...ugh. Ron kidney soup. Blehk! -- Wow... I have wayyyy too much time on my hands...

-------

"I can't believe it." Hermione said to Harry, awestruck as the whole Weasley family (well, minus Percy), Harry and herself sat at the table, everything calm. People were having polite conversation. No one was yelling, no one was picking things up in an angry manor, ready to chuck them across the room. Everything was peaceful.

Well, for now, anyway. She still wasn't completely convinced. There was still the rest of dinner and dessert to get through.

"I know, it worked better than I thought it would!" He grinned, spearing his fork into a piece of beef.

"Please pass the pepper, Bill." Charlie asked politely, seeing as the pepper was clearly beside Bill.

"Eating." He said simply, not making any movement towards the pepper. He continued to shovel his mother's wonderful cooking into his mouth, concentrating on his plate and not at all on Charlie who was now becoming very impatient.

"Can you please just pass it?" Charlie said, in an annoyed tone. He sighed heavily, he really didn't want to do this with him, now.

"Ugh. Here, I'll give it to you!" Ginny said, even more annoyed than Charlie seemed. She picked the pepper up and almost slammed it down right next to him. "Happy?" She said with mock sweetness.

Ron looked over at Ginny and mouthed, "You're supposed to be helping!"

"They're annoying me!" She mouthed back, throwing up her hands in slight frustration.

"No need to slam it down in front of me." Charlie mumbled under his breath, picking up the pepper shaker and sprinkling some onto his food.

"Well, you wanted the pepper, didn't you?!" Bill said testily, his eyes flaring. "I mean, you kept nagging me to give it to you, didn't you?" It seemed almost as if he wanted to start a fight with his brother, for no reason at all but to push his buttons.

"Well maybe if you had passed it to me when I asked you, I wouldn't have nagged about it!" Charlie retorted, his voice raising an octave.

"Well maybe if you weren't such a prat, you'd get it yourself!" Bill threw back at him coldly, his voice raising to match his brother's.

"That's bad table manors. I would've been reaching over food. It's impolite!" He shot at him angrily, "But you wouldn't know a thing about what's polite and impolite, would you?" Charlie said bitterly, letting go of his spoon as his fists clenched in rage. The spoon clattered against the plate and everyone went silent.

"Just because I look like I don't have any manors, doesn't mean I actually don't!" Bill sported black clothes, adorned with rock music symbols and his long black hair, which just seemed to add to his appearance of a 'rule-breaker'.

"You look like a rubbish bag." Charlie piped up, eyeing him up and down.

Bill grunted in anger and opened his mouth to raise his voice, "How dare you! You're always insulting my appearance, or my intelligence! I'm sick of it! You think you're better than me, Charlie. Well, you're not." He yelled, his voice booming through the room.

And without another word, he stood up and looked over, giving his father a nod of acknowledgement. Passing his mother, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, gave her a kiss on the cheek and quietly thanked her for the lovely meal. With a swish of his black cloak and the sound of his thick black boots thudding against the wooden floor, he was gone.

Ron sighed, letting his head fall on the empty place on the table. He began to mumble unintelligible words, in a frustrated and defeated whisper, everyone still silent. Upon hearing his mother address him, he lifted his head up from the table and turned to her.

"Yes, Mum?"

"Dear, what's wrong?" She asked, her brow furrowed with worry.

"What's... what's wrong?! You've got to be kidding me, Mum!" Standing up, he turned around to look at the whole table. "I'm sick and tired of all of this! I'm tired of the petty fights! I mean, look at the two of them!" He pointed directly at his brother Charlie and the space where Bill used to be.

"This whole thing started over pepper! It's not like Weasley's to fight over something as stupid as that! We always used to be strong and stick together. Even if we fought, we always made up, because we loved each other. There's no love in this house anymore."

A pause and a sigh, as he swallowed hard. His voice went oddly quiet as he spoke again, "And I have to say, I'm ashamed... and disappointed. No one seems to value their place in this family anymore." He finished quietly. With that, he too left the room. His footsteps could be heard through the back hall and then the sound of the door followed, as it creaked open and then snapped shut behind him.

Everyone sat in silence for a few more moments and it was enough to make Ginny's head spin with annoyance.

"So that's it? You're all going to sit there and watch the family be torn apart?" Ginny said, standing up from her seat, her voice loud and defiant. She was staring at her parents.

"Alcohol really works, hmm?" Hermione whispered to Harry, nudging him in the ribs slightly and giving him a disapproving eye.

"Hey, don't blame me." Harry whispered in reply, backing away slightly, as if trying to ease her out of glaring.

"What do you suggest we do, Ginny? You're all old enough to make your own decisions now. It wasn't like it used to be. We can't force you all to make up with each other. You have to sort out your own problems. I will say one thing, though. I hate to see the family like this." Mr. Weasley finished, a note of sadness in his voice as he spoke.

His eyes bore into Ginny's and she sighed, her anger declining.

"I'm going to go check on Ron." She mumbled, following her brother's footsteps and closing the back door behind her as she left the house.

-------

Ron stood among the long grass that was hardly ever cut. It billowed in the wind, swirling and dancing around his ankles as he stood, looking up at the evening sky. He watched as the sun was making its familiar journey downward, the sky was changing colour with its absence.

"Hey." Ginny spoke softly, standing somewhere close behind him.

"Hey." Ron replied through a heavy sigh, recognising the kind voice. "What makes them want to fight, anyway?" He asked quietly, as he felt Ginny's presence now beside him.

"I don't know." She spoke, somewhere off to his left.

She too began to watch the beautiful sunset, plunging her hands into the pockets of her favourite jeans, as reds, pinks and oranges smeared themselves across the sky, like paints desperate to leave their mark. "I honestly don't know." Her voice was just above a whisper, now. So quiet, it almost blew away with the light wind.

"Life's just so complicated now." Ron moaned in frustration, turning to his sister. "How did you do it?"

Ginny looked slightly taken aback at his sudden question, "Do, what?"

"Deal with life? How did you manage to survive with Draco for that long? I know it must've been hard once he..." Ron hesitated slightly, not knowing whether she wanted to stay on this subject. He breathed out the last word of the sentence with baited breath, "...changed."

"I hung onto the fact that life would always throw you curve balls, you just have to find a new way to catch them each time. Stand in a new position, look at problems from a new angle, you know?" She said simply, shrugging.

He nodded, going back to looking at the darkening sky.

"I really did miss you, you know." She added, not looking at him. She too watched the sky darken into a soft pinkish-red, the sun almost gone and the orange completely faded from the canvas that was the sky. "I.. I kept telling myself that I would see you again, someday." Her voice cracked slightly, under the pressure of tears threatening to break the boundaries of her eye.

She remembered all the times she would lie awake in the bed her and Draco shared. All the times, she would stare at the moonstruck ceiling and wait for daylight to come. She would wish and pray that someone would wake her up, even though she knew she hadn't slept in days.

Ron was her rock. He was the one person she always trusted and always relied on. He was the closest family member to her, the one she had the strongest bond with. It always seemed like he was able to understand her the best, seeing as he was only a year older than her and still knew what it was like to go through what she had been currently going through at the time.

He turned to her for the second time in the space of fifteen minutes. "What?" He asked politely, not knowing if he quite heard her right.

Ginny sighed in slight annoyance, still fired up from the events during dinner.

"I said I MISSED you, Ron!" She snapped, sighing heavily as her voice broke even further and the first of many tears to come, betrayed her and slid down her cheek. It glistened a rosy pink, as the twilight shone on her face and her lip trembled as she could feel more tears on the way.

Without a word, without so much as a warning, or a hint, or even a look, Ron walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Once she could feel herself enclosed in his grasp, she suddenly began to sob noiselessly. Her cries were muffled by his shirt and her arms slowly, but surely encircled him.

"I..." A sniffle, "I.. really..." More tears slid down her cheeks, "I really loved him, Ron." She finally whispered, her grip tightening on him. "I loved him with all of my..." A deep breath, as another tear joined the many she had cried at the bottom of her chin, "...heart."

"Don't cry, he's not worth your tears, Gin." He said softly, pulling away from her ever-so-slightly as his hand reached up and wiped some of the tears from her cheek.

She clinged back onto him and mumbled into his chest, "Then why do I feel like I should?"

Her question went un-answered, as Ron began to coo into her hair. He told her everything would be alright, that she was strong enough to get through this and that she did the right thing. And as the sun began to disappear behind the rolling hills and the crickets began to sing, he did what every big brother did. He picked his little sister up when she fell down.

It had been so long, that Ginny had forgotten how nice that felt.

-------

"What am I supposed to do anyway, Nev?" Ginny spoke over her shoulder, as the two of them waited in line in Gringotts. Neville was getting his wages today.

He promised to take Ginny out somewhere nice and treat her to lunch and of course, she gladly obliged. She could do with a bit of cheering up.

"I don't know. You have to find a way to make them realise how stupid they're all acting. They are your family after all." He said simply, shrugging, a look of slight amusement evident in his crisp blue eyes. The beginnings of a smirk traced over his lips and he blinked, trying to hold back.

He couldn't help it, she was so cute when she was deep in thought.

Ginny turned around and saw him watching her, that look of pure amusement on his face. She had to smirk along with him, he always seemed to do this to her. She hit him on the forearm playfully, mumbling her warnings, "If you don't stop, I'll make you stop!" She said, through soft giggles.

"Next." The Gringotts goblin said coldly.

Neville and Ginny made their way up to the counter and Neville handed the Goblin the payslip. "Neville Joshua Longbottom. I'd like to make a withdrawal." He said smartly, his head held high, confidence reigning in his voice.

She smiled as she watched him. He was very different from the boy she became friends with in fourth year. He wasn't the same, he had changed. No longer was he the clumsy, unfortunate looking boy. He even put some of the good-looking wizards to shame.

His hair was a dark brown and slightly wavy. It was short, but not too short and fit nicely with his strong facial features. His eyes were a deep, crisp blue; nothing like Ginny's. They had a sort of joy and amusement behind them most of the time, that always matched his slight smirk.

He had grown to be quite tall and Ginny had to look up to him to make eye contact. His arms were strong, his body was thinner and healthy-looking. No longer was he the pudgey looking thing he used to be. Ginny even noticed that she seemed to get glares from witches in Diagon Alley and other public places, simply because she was so close to him and they were not.

Once Neville was given his money and made to leave, Ginny snapped out of her trance and followed him quickly.

"So, where are we headed?" She said with a grin, looking up at him as they walked down Diagon Alley.

"Well, Miss 'Rememberall'. I figured we would first go to the money exchange over there and then we would head to a muggle restaurant." He returned her grin, the two of them making their way to a newly opened building with 'Money Exchange' written across its sign. Ever since the war ended, muggle-borns were more welcomed by all in the wizarding community and things were made just that much easier for them to live between the two worlds.

Ginny blushed slightly. A few years ago, they had made up a small private joke between the two of them. Neville had said that she was so close to him, that she was the red smoke in the rememberall he always kept in his pocket.

"Okay." She said cheerfully. Even after all she'd been through, she could never forget how to smile around him.

Neville had helped her through most of her rough times over the last year or so with Draco. She was too ashamed to go back to her family, so she went to him. That was a real turning point in their friendship and they had been inseparable ever since.

Neville, who saw the trio regularly, managed to keep his silence concerning her whereabouts. Ginny still couldn't believe he managed to pull off this feat for the better part of a year and a half.

"Anyway, so it's all said and done?" He asked, in a relieved manor, as both him and Ginny were headed in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron, to enter back out into the muggle world. "You've really left him?" He added, his voice picking up slightly in eagerness.

"Well, I caught Draco with another woman, Neville. I mean, I know I've taken a lot of crap from him, but that's just the last straw. I don't even know how he could do something like that to me. After all we've been through." She said bitterly, as the pair halted in front of the infamous alley wall, acting as an inconspicuous gateway to the muggle world.

She pulled her wand out automatically and tapped a certain pattern of bricks in the correct order, standing back as the wall parted and folded back to build an archway, which led them through to the back of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Besides, he's a scumbag, I should've listened to you back in seventh year when you told me so. Remember, in the Great Hall?" She looked up at him, a small smirk dancing across her lips, as the two of them walking side by side now down a crowded London street.

"How could I forget?" He returned the smirk, as the two of them crossed the busy road. Neville's hand just held the lower part of her arm, as he looked around him carefully to make sure she was safe. He then guided her across the road. It was a very small gesture, that was almost a frequent occurrence. Neville was brought up with manors and common courtesy.

This frequent occurrence went by un-noticed, almost every time; but not today.

Ginny smiled as she stepped up onto the curb and his hands immediately let go of their gentle grip of her lower arm. The two of them continued to walk down the street, this time on the opposite side.

Neville continued to speak as if he hadn't been interrupted by the rushing sounds of traffic, or the annoying bleeps of the crosswalk signs.

"We were in the middle of the Great Hall and I screamed out that Draco was a bad seed. The only problem was, the whole Slytherin population was sitting on the other side of the room, along with Malfoy himself. How could I forget?" Neville chuckled softly. Reminiscing was always one of his favourite past times.

"Yeah, but you took them down, didn't you Nev?" Ginny grinned up at him slyly, "You showed them all who's boss and ended up hexing the life out of him! He was in the Hospital Wing for a week afterwards! I don't think anyone doubted your abilities again." She added, her grin widening.

"Once I had taken Malfoy down, it was as if three thirds of the school finally welcomed me with open arms, after about 6 years of ridicule. I was a pudgy little swot back then, wasn't I?" Neville scrunched his nose up slightly, in disgust, as he shuddered at the image of his former self flashing in his mind's eye.

Never, never again...

"Oh shush!" She replied carefully, slapping him softly on the arm. "No putting yourself down! Don't make me call you 'Treville' again!" She giggled uncontrollably. She too, had made up a private joke between the two of them, about Neville and his pet toad, Trevor.

The poor toad had actually leaped onto her face one day. Ginny was absolutely mortified and Neville laughed extremely hard. For this, Ginny giggled and threatened playfully, to turn him into a toad and call him 'Treville'. Needless to say, the name stuck ever since.

"Should I be worried that you actually know how to perform a transfiguration charm with those exact effects?" Neville said through chuckles.

"Yes! You should be!" Ginny stuck her tongue out at him and giggled some more. "Anyway, so, what restaurant are we going to?" She asked excitedly, looking up at him with a certain gleam of enjoyment in her eyes. She always loved spending time with him.

Finding good friends was considered to be 'gold' and she could honestly say, she felt like the richest person in the world.

-------

"I love this movie." Hermione smiled, as both her and Harry were cuddled up to each other on the couch.

Harry sighed in content. He was paying more attention to Hermione, than the movie itself. The rise and fall of her chest as she took in a breath and let it back out again, the small curve of a smile that was forming on her lips, the warmth of her body next to his; he was cherishing every moment with her in his arms.

He smiled, "Yeah, it's a good movie." He replied, slightly dazed. He finally stole a moment away from looking at Hermione to gaze at the TV. It really was one of his favourite movies, but he didn't seem extremely interested in it, now that he had something beautiful to watch.

'Buuuuzzzzz!'

Harry and Hermione both sighed in annoyance.

Hermione looked at him, giving him pleading eyes, as if not to answer the intercom. She was comfortable.

"I'll only be a moment." He whispered softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead, as he gently moved her off of him and got up. Walking over to the intercom, he simply pressed 'unlock', not even bothering to check who it was. He figured it was Ron, coming back from his travels.

He'll let himself in...

He walked back over to the couch and sat back down, Hermione moving over to lean against him and his arm wrapping back around her waist. They continued watching the movie, huddled together until...

'Knock, knock!'

"Argh." He mumbled into her hair. Sighing heavily in annoyance once again, he stood up from his place on the couch and began to walk toward the door. "You could've let yourself in Ron." He called to it, knowing his voice could be heard through the wood. He halted and put his hand on the doorknob, "You have the..."

His face was etched with a look of complete shock as he threw the door back and revealed the person behind it. He stood there, frozen, a lack of intelligent things to say reaching his brain. "...key." He finished his sentence softly.

"Hi Harry." Cho Chang mumbled shyly at him. She waved slightly, giving him a small, awkward smile.

"What are you doing here?" Harry said, the shock causing his tone of voice to be extremely rude and blunt. "I thought you lived in Canada, now?" He rubbed his eyes behind his glasses and took another look at her. No, he wasn't dreaming.

"Oh, I was only there on a training course. I want to become a healer in St. Mungo's, so I had to do some work in a foreign country. Some new programme they've set up." Cho shrugged.

"Right... but how did you find out where I live?" He asked, scratching the back of his head slightly, in confusion.

"Harry, who's at the door?" Hermione called from the sitting room.

He didn't answer. He couldn't answer, for he didn't know how to make this sound any less far-fetched than it already was.

"I talked to a few of your team mates on the English team. I'm friends with Jake O'Riely!" She said cheerfully, as Harry heard movement from inside the flat. Hermione's feet against the wooden floor of the corridor, to be exact.

Uh-oh. Hermione's coming. Mental note: KILL Jake tomorrow at practice! Well, if I'm not killed in the middle of a cat fight, first...

"Um, that's nice, but I really have to go now... bye!" He said quickly, getting ready to close the door. He managed it, but not in time. When he turned around, his back to the door, Hermione was standing beside him.

She smiled slightly, "Why didn't you answer me?" She asked playfully, looking up at him. "Who was at the door?" Her voice had a light touch of curiosity.

"No one." Harry said, trying to sound casual, but he went up an octave in the process. "Um... it was a pizza man. Went to the wrong door."

'Knock, knock!'

Harry's back tensed, as he heard the knock on the door from behind him. He looked at Hermione, his eyes slightly wide.

"Harry, answer the door. Someone's knocking." She said simply, chuckling softly, as she walked toward the door. She pushed him out of the way slightly and grasped the doorknob, pulling it open.

"Harry, I -" Cho started her sentence and saw Hermione standing at the other end of the door this time.

Hermione's face twisted in rage. "YOU!" She screamed suddenly. With another quick movement, she grabbed the edge of the door and slammed it into Cho's face, screaming in frustration and stomping back into the sitting room.

"Hermione!" Harry called after her, jogging and halting in front of the doorway of the sitting room.

She was sitting on the couch, her legs and arms crossed as she scowled at the TV, not really seeming to take any of what she was watching in.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry asked softly, coming in and sitting beside her. He tried to put his arm on her shoulder and she roughly shrugged it off. "Hermione, please say something." He continued in his calm voice, not wanting to escalate the situation.

"She... how could you? Where did she -?" A million thoughts and questions were running through her head at once, as she looked over at Harry, hurt in her eyes.

He was stung by her gaze, but pulled himself together to answer her questions. "Hermione, I had no idea she was coming. She found out where I lived off of a friend of mine on the quidditch team. Quite frankly, I'm just as shocked as you are." He said simply.

"Then why did you lie to me, when I asked who was at the door?" She shot the question at him coldly, not bothering to even look at him.

"Because I know how you always get at even the mention of Cho. I didn't want to see you all angry like this. I was telling her to leave when you came out of the sitting room." He said, his eyes blazing with honesty. "Look, let's just forget about her, okay? She's not important to me, you are." He smiled slightly, "You always have been more important to me, even if I was too caught up in something, or someone else to see it."

Hermione's face softened and her lips turned into a reluctant smile. She looked at Harry, with a gleam in her eyes, even if she was still trying to look grumpy.

"You can't just explain this all away, Harry! You lied to m-!" Quickly, Harry pressed a kiss to her lips, cutting her off. Within seconds, she relaxed into the kiss, simply melting.

"I love you and I'm sorry." He whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"You better be." She whispered back playfully, hitting him lightly on the chest as she raised an eyebrow in his direction.

~*~*~*~

So, Granger is his girlfriend now, huh? I'll quickly change that. Took me ages just to contact the bloody bugger!

Cho walked down the dark, busy road in search of a way home. She sighed in slight annoyance, the traffic lights would just not change and she needed to get across the street.

Cursing softly, she pulled her wand out and flicked the traffic lights so they would change from green to red. Many cars screeched to a halt, some crashing into each other. Grinning gleefully at the destruction she had just caused with a flick of her wand, she walked carefully across the street in front of a heap of cars.

She thinks she's so great, slamming the door in my face!

Her temper rose slightly, as she looked over to her left, seeing a taxi and waving to it to get it's attention. It stopped and she quickly got into the back of it.

She told the driver her address and smiled politely.

The driver nodded in understanding and drove off, down the quiet street, just west of the centre of London. She took one last bitter look at the block of flats, as the tiny black car she was in slowly passed them by.

Ha. Granger doesn't know who she's dealing with...

She continued to grin, as they left the building behind.

It never occurred to Cho that life was complicated. It was simply never a concept she had to face. She was the one who always seemed to make life complicated for other people. She found this skill quite useful through the years and finally, she was going to get to test it out one last time.

And once I have him... maybe if I get bored, I'll give him back. Merlin knows she'd take my leftovers...

After all, she was a living, breathing, walking, talking complication. Some would call her a 'home-wrecker' of sorts. She felt no guilt, no remorse, no sympathy.

She was good at what she did and she loved every minute of it.

-------

*AN: See? Not the greatest chapter. Ah well, the next one’s better *laughs* There’s more excitement in it, if you know what I mean! *winks*

Anyway, read and reply! =D

7. New Beginnings

*Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after all called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway! So no, not her, not making money of this… nothing, zilch, zero. Happy? Kthnx

Chapter 7: New Beginnings

"So, who was that guy you had in your office last week! He's a real looker!" Gianna winked at Hermione; they were in the conference room. Hermione was packing up her presentation notes, as everyone was leaving to return to their work.

"He's my boyfriend... his name is Harry. We've been friends for years, actually." She spoke, arching her eyebrow in suspicion at Gianna.

"Okay, okay, I get your drift. No more... looking." She giggled slightly at her last word and took a sip from her mug of coffee. "So, how long have you been going out? Why haven't you introduced me and does he have any friends?" She grinned in Hermione's direction, her eyebrows waggling in an implying manor.

"Well, his best friend's name is Ron. We're all best friends, we go way back. Went to Hogwarts together." She said simply, walking around the other side of the table to pick up cue cards.

"Really? Well, you know I never went to that school. I'm American! So sue me!" She chuckled slightly, setting her mug down on the table with a dull clunk. "Give me details about... did you say, Harry was his name?" Her eyes suddenly went wide in understanding.

Hermione rolled her eyes, this always seemed to happen.

"You're dating and were friends with..." She put a hand to her mouth in slight shock, "Harry Potter?!" She finished in a whisper.

Hermione nodded.

"You mean... the captain of the English Quidditch team, the award winning seeker of the year and the boy who killed... Voldemort?!" She shrieked with enthusiasm.

Hermione continued to nod and pointed to herself. "Don't you see me nodding?! Also, I'll have you know, he didn't fight Voldemort on his own! We were there too, you know. It was all over the Daily Prophet!" She felt slightly annoyed that people didn't know who helped. She sometimes felt over-shadowed by Harry and this was one of those times.

"We don't get the Daily Prophet. We get some American equivalent of that. The Wizard Press." She said matter-of-factly, taking yet another sip of coffee.

"Oh." Hermione didn't feel two inches tall anymore. Other countries and tabloids always seemed to get stories wrong. But, they were right... Ron and herself had only helped him a small bit. In the end, it was he who killed Voldemort.

"Anyway, enough about that! So, you've been friends with him since you started school at Hogwarts?! How come you've never told me this?" She asked frantically, standing up to help Hermione finish cleaning up.

"I didn't think it was all that important! I don't see Harry as some huge celebrity. I've been friends with him for years. I just never saw the need to publicly announce it. To me, he's my boyfriend. Not the English Quidditch team captain, or the Award Winning Seeker of the Year, or even The Boy Who Lived. He's Harry, just Harry." She said carefully, folding up the legs on the white board.

"Alright, alright. I get it. You know, if newspapers found out about this, they would have a field day. I'm sure you were under the public eye, just as much as he was after Vol - Voldemort's defeat. It'll be the same thing all over again, except now he's got the Quidditch titles to add to his already airborne fame."

She continued to talk. This girl just loved to talk. She would say anything that flew into her head, especially the latest gossip around the office. You could definitely tell she was at least two or three years younger than Hermione. She had that vibrant air about her.

Most of her theories were extremely far-fetched. But this one was starting to make more and more sense. What if the wizard tabloids did get involved? Hermione already had enough wizard press surrounding her at speeches. She didn't need it in her personal life, too.

Hermione shook her head slightly, letting the thought drift away. "Okay, okay, it makes sense. Gianna, do you want to go out for dinner tonight? Me, you, Harry and Ron? You'll get to meet them properly and then it'll make up for me not having introduced you ages ago." Hermione smiled, the idea was perfect. Ron needed to go out and meet a nice girl.

Gianna's mouth dropped, "Are you serious?! I would get to meet the rest of the 'Golden Trio'?" She grinned in excitement.

"Who gave you that name?" Hermione's eyebrow arched. No one called them the 'Golden Trio' since their glory days in Hogwarts. It felt a little surreal, hearing it now.

"Oh, Julie and Madison won't shut up about it. They're always on about how they would love to meet all three of you in person. Supposedly they really look up to you three." Gianna shrugged, "Give me dirty looks every time I place my hand on the doorknob to your office and I could never understand why! Jealous hags." She mumbled in slight annoyance. She hated people envying her. "Anyway, now I know what all of the fuss is about! I had no idea that when they spoke about the 'Golden Trio', that you were involved!" She added enthusiastically.

Hermione sighed heavily, but a smile betrayed her and broke across her lips. Gianna returned this gesture with a perfect grin.

"I can't wait! I have so much to talk to you all about!"

"Just don't grill us about the final battle. Harry doesn't like to talk about it much. We've all..." Hermione froze for a second. The last time she saw her parents happy, flashed before her mind's eye. She swallowed a lump in her throat, before she continued. "Well, all three of us have lost loved ones in that battle. So, just don't stumble onto the subject, okay?" Hermione finished softly, pushing the lid of the white-board marker closed.

"I promise, I won't." She said, all of her excitement draining from her in an instant and she suddenly became the serious girl she normally was around the office. "I would never do something like that." She nodded, a subtle respect in her eyes and a soft note in her voice. Hermione could tell she really wanted to meet all of them. She was trying much too hard, as usual.

She smiled slightly, "Okay then, it's settled." She said, all of her papers, folders and cue cards now lying neatly in a small box. "You come to our flat at seven, I'll introduce you to them and then we'll go for a bite to eat. Here's my address."

She pulled her wand out and flicked it at her pen and a lone piece of paper that was left behind by one of her fellow co-workers, that laid on the table. The pen began to write directions and the address of the block of flats in which she lived across the page. Hermione wasn't paying any attention to it as she picked her box up, but Gianna was standing there, watching the little pen fly across the page.

"I love it when you do that, Hermione." She grinned as she watched the pen dot the last 'i' and end the sentence it was writing with a full stop. When Gianna looked over, Hermione was already halted at the door, with her hand on the doorknob. The pen stood on its tip and suddenly jumped up, did a flip in the air, then landed into Hermione's box neatly on top of her papers. Hermione smiled in satisfaction at her successfully preformed charm and opened the door, leaving the conference room.

Gianna grinned, picking up the page and seeing the neat hand-writing that was scrawled across it. She skimmed through the directions, making a note of the journey she would take in her head. Reaching the end of the note, she smiled:

And remember... we're just people. Like anyone else you've met. Don't be shy...

-Hermione

-------

"Where are you headed tonight?" Ginny asked Harry curiously, as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, fixing the collar of his shirt. She had just finished towel-drying her hair. It was slightly curly, some of it clinging to her face.

"Oh, we're meeting one of Hermione's friends from work. Gianna is her name, I think?" He answered, looking at her reflection in the mirror in acknowledgement. He took a final glance at himself. He looked up at his messy hair that still, after all these years, wouldn't lay flat and sighed. He placed a hand on the top of his head and tried so hard to push it down into a laying position.

Once he removed his hand, his hair sprung back to life. His attempts to fix it were always in vain.

"You're fighting a battle you're not going to win." She said matter-of-factly, smiling as she patted him on the back and left the room.

Harry grumbled slightly in frustration, "I know, I know." He said after her, admitting defeat as he too left the bathroom, flicking the light switch.

"Hermione?" He called to her, through the flat.

"Yes?" Hermione's voice replied, distant and slightly muffled by perhaps a door, or a wall.

"Where are you?" He asked, walking towards the sound of her voice.

"My bedroom, why?" She called back. Harry made his way down the hall and halted at the very end, gently pushing Hermione's door open just a crack.

"Harry, I'm getting changed, just wait a second!" She squeaked slightly, giggling softly. She came to the door and pushed her back on it, so that it shut with a small snap. Harry scowled at the door. He hated it really, it always was in the way of his view of a half-naked Hermione.

"You're no fun." He mumbled to her, loud enough so she could just hear it through the wood.

She grinned on the other end and replied, "Harry, you have to wait until after dinner!" Her voice had a hint of devilishness in it, which made Harry grin broadly.

"Such a tease." He answered, in protest. He scowled at the door again, this time playfully and turned around, heading off in the direction of the sitting room.

"Ron, mate, what're you doing?" He called, hearing the TV on in the sitting room. He reached the doorway and sighed in frustration. Ron was sitting, in his pyjama bottoms, on the couch. He had the remote in one hand and a can of coke in the other. He was unshaven and the messiness of his hair could give Harry's a run for its money.

"We have to be going soon! We're leaving in less than ten minutes! Why are you still sitting there?!" He cried frantically, looking at his watch.

Ron mumbled something unintelligible and continued to flick through the TV stations with the remote. Harry grumbled in annoyance and entered the sitting room, walking over and standing right in front of the TV itself.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Ron said, mouth opened in slight shock, his face twisting into a scandalised expression. He set the remote down on the coffee table and he tried to move his head at an angle, so that Harry would no longer be blocking his view of the TV. Harry moved wherever his head turned and Ron finally gave up.

"Come on, get up. We have to go, soon. You need to get ready!" Harry prompted him, walking towards him and pulling him up off the couch. He let Ron in front of him and pushed him by his shoulders out of the room. He may not have been aware of the importance of this night out, but Harry was. He knew Hermione was trying to set him up with Gianna.

He watched Ron enter the bathroom and rolled his eyes as he shut the door. Exhaling softly, he turned and made his way down the hall, back to Hermione's room. Just as he passed the guest bedroom, in which Ginny was staying, he saw Ginny looking at herself in the mirror.

She was stunning. Of course, in his opinion, she would never compare to Hermione. However, she was gorgeous none-the-less. He smiled and she turned to look through the door, finally noticing his presence.

"What?" She smiled back, her face painted with a look of curiosity.

He grinned. He could see a small bit of Hermione in Ginny, just in the clothes she was wearing. "You look beautiful." He walked in and gave her a friendly hug, "Have fun with Neville tonight." He spoke into her hair and she grinned.

"Thank you, Harry. I intend to." When they pulled away, her eyes were alight with a joy he hadn't seen for years. This only made him even happier for her, he knew Neville was a nice guy and he would treat her right. All he needed was a push in the right direction to finally tell her how he felt about her -- considering she was completely oblivious to his feelings.

Harry turned around and left the room with a small wave and a smile. He continued his journey to Hermione's room and politely knocked on the door. He heard her take a deep breath and utter the words "Come in."

He didn't need telling twice. He eagerly opened the door to find Hermione also standing in front of her mirror. His jaw dropped. He had been right, Ginny couldn't compare to her in his eyes.

"What do you think?" She smiled nervously, twirling slowly for him on the spot, as if she was on display. "I didn't know if the -" She started, having her sentence cut short as Harry walked over, placed his finger to her lips to silence her. He then grinned, replacing his finger with his own pair of lips.

A smile broke out across her face, as they pulled away. He looked down at her, his eyes glazed over slightly, awestricken.

There she stood, in a beautiful, simple, red dress. It hugged her curves and was strapless. A small red clip was fitted in her hair, to match the dress and she wore red dressy sandals, a matching set of earrings and a bracelet.

"You look gorgeous." He whispered into her hair, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her temple.

She giggled softly, "Harry, the door." She whispered back.

"I don't care if it's open." He mumbled carelessly.

"No, Harry... the front door. Someone's just knocked." Of course, she was referring to Gianna as the 'someone' and this made Harry jump slightly.

"Oh!" He said letting go of her carefully and jogging out of the room, down the hall and to the front door.

'Knock, knock!'

Harry opened back the door, to a grinning young lady. She couldn't be more than twenty years old. She had dark brown wavy hair and light hazel eyes. Her figure was slender and her expression was kind. She smiled at him, as she waited for the okay to step over the threshold and into the flat.

"Please, come in, come in!" He said politely, stepping back for Gianna to enter.

She nodded in acknowledgement and came into the flat, looking around at it for the first time. "Oh, it's wonderful." She said softly, grinning at all of the moving pictures that hung on the walls. She made her way to the sitting room and saw all of the plush white furniture neatly placed within it.

Harry came up behind her and saw her eyeing the contents of the room. "Hermione picked those, she said we were useless at decorating." He shrugged, a playful twinkle in his eyes. She turned to him and laughed softly, out-stretching her hand for him to shake.

"You must be Harry!" She said enthusiastically, "Pleased to meet you!" She gripped firmly onto his hand, giving him a nice, strong handshake. "I'd tell you my name, but fear of the fact that you might already know it is keeping me from doing so." A slight, amused smile was plastered across her lips, as Harry chuckled. A few words and he was beginning to like her already.

He was about to open his mouth to speak, when out bounded Ron from the bathroom, completely shaved and dressed. His hair was still a mess, though and he took one look at Gianna and froze. His eyes grew big, as he waved awkwardly, "Um, hi." He said, his voice squeaking slightly.

Gianna grinned and walked over to him, shaking his hand also. "You must be Ron!" She said cheerfully, as she finally let go of his hand. She then looked around, "Where's Hermione?" She asked, turning from Ron to Harry and back again.

"Here!" Hermione spoke from the end of the hall and Gianna turned in her direction.

"Wow, Hermione! Stunning as usual." She complimented her.

"Thank you! You too!" She grinned as she walked over and put an arm around her. "I'm sure you two have already met, but because I planned this get-together, I'm going to introduce you again, properly. This, Harry and Ron, is Gianna. The girl who keeps me young." Hermione chuckled as Gianna sent a coy smirk her way.

"Oh stop! You're only, what.. two, maybe three years older than me? You're not old!" She answered back, chuckling also. "If that was true, I wouldn't be far from 'Olds-Ville' myself!" The two began to chuckle in unison.

"I suppose you're right!" Hermione replied, a grin spreading across her face. "Anyway, come on, I want to introduce you to another one of my friends, before we go." She added, leading her to the guest bedroom.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Ron squeaked nervously and Harry grinned at his reaction. "You did NOT tell me she was that good-looking! If I knew that, I wouldn't have been so reluctant to go!" He added, punching his best friend on the shoulder playfully. "Man, you've got to stop holding out on me!" He added, sighing slightly in defeat.

"I admit, Hermione showed me a picture before hand and yes, she's quite good-looking. But mate, you never asked!" He said, mock innocence in his voice and etched on his face. Ron looked over at him, utterly scandalised for the second time that night. "Let's hope she doesn't go by first impression." He recaptured the look on Ron's face moments before and mumbled stupidly. "Um, hi..."

"Shut up!" Ron pushed him, but chuckled along with him. "Damn, I'm so stupid, it's not even funny anymore." He continued, gazing down the corridor, to the shut door of the guest bedroom.

Harry full-out laughed, this time. "Really? I still find it funny!"

Ron, for once in his life, adopted one of Hermione's frequent quirks. He shot Harry the death glare and he didn't feel ashamed, like he thought he would.

To be honest, in his opinion, it felt quite rewarding.

-------

"This is a nice place." Neville said, gazing at his surroundings. He and Ginny were in a lavish restaurant, sitting in nice clothes, on nice cushioned chairs. Soft violin music played in the background and lit candles were spread out everywhere. Ginny and himself had their own candle, burning brightly in the centre of the table.

It felt exactly like a date, only Neville had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't. He had to keep things friendly, which was becoming harder and harder with each passing day. Especially now, that she looked absolutely stunning. He couldn't ignore those soft lips, or those deep blue eyes. He couldn't ignore the way he felt, or the thoughts running through his mind, every second he spent in her presence.

"Yes, it definitely is." She replied, an un-readable tone in her voice and a grin on her face.

Oh and how her grin drove him crazy. It lit up her whole face, giving vibrance to every feature of it, only making her even more beautiful. It added to her charming qualities and Neville melted exquisitely each time he caught a glimpse of it.

"So, Neville, I was thinking. Why don't we go fifty-fifty on the bill?" She looked over at him questioningly, her face kind, her heart in the right place. Even as sincere and kind as she was trying to be, she was crushing Neville's very heart without knowing it.

Fifty-fifty?!

Those words were fatal. If they split the bill, it just wouldn't be a date. Of course, it already wasn't to begin with (Ginny made that very clear). But any chances of it even turning into a date, would be immediately thrown out the window, if they split the bill. That was just the way Neville was brought up. If he paid, it could be considered as a date. If they both paid, it could and probably would be considered as a night out between... friends.

Neville was tired of being the best friend. Nearly all of the girls he had ever known considered him to be their friend. He was tired of watching other guys become their boyfriend and him having to take the backseat and pick them up every time their dear old boyfriend knocked them down. He had done it with Ginny also, time and time again and he would be damned if he was going to continue to do so.

Granted, if she didn't return his feelings, he was happy to stay by her side as the friend. After all, having Ginny as a friend was better than not having Ginny at all. But, if there was even a ray of hope that they could be more, he would take his chances.

"Neville?" Ginny waved one of her soft, creamy-coloured hand in his face.

"Huh - what? Oh, oh... the bill, right, yes. I'm willing to pay for it, Ginny. Honestly." He said, almost in a pleading sort of manor. He had to pay for the bill!

"But - really. Neville, I don't mind." She piped up, placing her hand on his comfortingly. "I'll help you pay for it. I feel bad if I were to make you pay the whole thing." She said, her voice sweet-sounding and kind.

Dammit. Hand. Soft. Why does her voice have to be so... wonderful? And...and, disarming?! I feel as if I'm fighting a losing battle! No. No. Stay focused. Must. Pay. For. Dinner!

~*~*~*~

"So, what do you do, Ron?" Gianna asked across the table politely, sipping carefully at her nearly full glass of wine. She smiled at him slightly, giving him a look he couldn't ignore.

Ron's mind was racing, he hadn't felt like this since Hogwarts. Full blown infatuation was hitting him smack in the face. He looked across the table at Harry and Hermione who were smirking devilishly, while also sipping their wine. As soon as they caught him practically chucking scathing looks, they immediately went into 'mock innocent' mode.

Damn those clever friends of mine!

"Ahem, Ron?" Gianna grabbed at his attention, clearing her throat and placing her wine glass, half full now, down on the table. She looked extremely interested in what he was about to say and waited intently for an answer.

"Oh, I'm unemployed at the moment." He said sheepishly, blushing three shades of red. His ears went the colour of the tablecloth that lie on the table they were sitting at. "But, I'm going for an Auror course in a few weeks' time, though." He added, with a small bit of pride gleaming in his eyes.

They had actually sent the letter in the post the day before. He was to be chosen for an Auror training course!

Of course, Harry was chosen years ago, but wanted to stick with what he loved best. Besides, the English Quidditch team did give him an offer her couldn't refuse.

"Oh that's wonderful! Must be great if you were chosen!" Gianna sent a perfect grin his way and he almost melted in his seat. Gulping slightly, he picked up his wine glass and took a swig, hoping at least a small bit of alcohol would calm him down.

It was the first drop of alcohol he had had since the fight with Ginny and he had to say, he actually didn't miss it. He was proud of himself to be in complete control. One or two glasses of the crimson liquid would do and that would be all. He wasn't going to make an ass out of himself tonight.

Putting the glass down, he still had three-quarters of it left and he looked over at Harry and Hermione once more, who smiled at him. They obviously could see the improvement, too. Normally when he had alcohol, he would down it and look for more. Everyone else around the table was working on their second glass, where as he was still working on his first.

Things were looking promising.

~*~*~*~*~

"It's alright, Gin. I'll pay." He said, reassuringly. His thumb rubbed a straight line on the space between her thumb and her index finger.

"Are you sure?" She asked, a concerned look on her face. "I'll let you pay, if it really means that much to you." She answered, finally.

"Yes, it does." Neville smiled back, "It means a lot. Besides, you're close to me and I figured I would treat you to a night out. Hence why I planned this in the first place." His smile turned into a fine, wide grin.

She couldn't ignore that grin, "Alright, considering you planned this." She smiled back, giving him a slight nod of reassurance. "I'll let you pay."

She knew what Neville was like. He was kind and mannerly. He always offered to pay for things, he always gave her his coat when she was cold, he always made sure she was happy. She truly had never met someone nicer than him.

Sure, Harry was like this also, but they never really had this sort of connection after his sixth year. They always just remained friends and kept it at that, after the disaster that was their former relationship. Harry then pursued Hermione, Ginny pursued Draco and that was that. But Neville, he was different.

He had always been like this towards her, ever since they became friends in his fourth year. She wondered where she would be if she didn't have him. He was always there for her in every way possible, even better than some of her girl friends.

"So, what do you want for dessert?" Neville asked kindly, he held the menu up to his face and began to read out titles. "Chocolate Dream? Banoffe trifle? Strawberry wonder?" He added, even though he already knew what she would go for.

She loved chocolate. She always smelled of deep, rich chocolate, whether she was eating it or not, for some reason. Neville thought it was that spell she had cast in his sixth year, when she tried to turn herself into a chocolate bar after one too many glasses of fire whiskey that was snuck in for a Gryffindor victory party.

He grinned subconsciously, continuing to look down at the list of deserts.

Ginny caught a glimpse of his sudden grin and quirked an eyebrow curiously. "Neville, why are you grinning?" She asked.

"Oh, no reason. A memory just ran through my head, there." He mumbled, still on his search for a nice sounding desert. "So, what are you having?" He asked again, his grin still somewhat intact. He looked over his menu at her and saw her watching him.

"Chocolate Dream." She answered, as he knew she would. "Love chocolate." She continued. "I'd become a chocolate bar if I could."

"And you tried to, in my sixth year, remember?" He chuckled slightly.

"Oh, that doesn't count!" She retorted, laughing as she blushed slightly. She remembered just how drunk she managed to get. Boy, she knew how to hold her liqour until she had one too many.

"Besides, the spell never worked anyway, I'm still perfectly normal, aren't I?" She continued, leaning over slightly, so that her face was dangerously close to his. She now began to whisper, "Tell me. I've never tried to turn you into a chocolate bar, have I?" She asked calmly looking up into his eyes carefully. "Because that would just be an injustice." Her voice stayed in a hushed tone, her eyes never breaking their contact with his.

Oh how he wanted to drown in those crystal blue eyes. They were like pools of spring water. So refreshing to watch, to gaze into, to be lost in. He could feel himself losing a battle of wits, in his brain, as he tried desperately to hang onto them.

Dammit, that stare of hers is also disarming!

"N-no, you n-never tired to t-turn me into a ch-chocolate bar." He stuttered, the proximity of her face becoming too much to handle. He could now see every freckle on it, that her make-up tried to hide. He saw all of the long eyelashes that clung to her eyelids, he saw the softness of her lips and the small lines of a silvery colour flecked throughout the blue in her eyes. In a platonic perspective, she was much too close.

"Good." She answered, a small smile tracing itself onto her lips. Closing her eyes slightly, she continued to lean across the tiny table, as if she was fixed by a gravitational pull. Neville was reeling her in and she wasn't putting up a fight.

Their lips were so close, both their eyes shut, as they were about to share something they had both subconsciously been waiting to share for so long, now...

"Excuse me, what dessert would you like?" The blonde waitress asked politely. She was wearing the staff uniform and both Ginny and Neville sighed, trying desperately not to be rude to her for interrupting.

"I'll have the Chocolate Dream." Ginny mumbled, a slight tone of annoyance in her voice, as she sat properly in her seat and sighed heavily.

"Same." Neville replied, sharing her note of annoyance, as he too, straightened himself in his seat.

Ginny, just coming to her senses, heard buzzing of confused thoughts rushing around in her mind.

I JUST TRIED TO KISS MY BEST FRIEND!

~*~*~*~*~

"Favourite bands?" Gianna asked across the table, some time later. Her and Ron were deep in conversation, as they sat next to one another at the table. Ron had half of his glass gone by now, Gianna's glass empty. Tracing absentminded circles on the table cloth with his index finger, he was turned slightly to face her, almost hanging off of her every word.

"Oh, well." He blushed slightly, "Would you be inclined to think I was a bit silly if I told you I liked Muggle bands?" He grinned at her sheepishly.

"Of course not! I do as well! It's pretty hard not to. I mean, coming from an American background, everyone there seems to adore music. They have concerts, TV shows and CDs all over the place, covered with Muggle bands." She smiled, "So, you're not alone!"

"Good." He smiled. "Anyway, I have to say, recently, I've started to like a Muggle English band called 'Coldplay'." He answered matter-of-factly, never breaking eye contact.

"Really?" She grinned, seeming slightly enthusiastic. "I love Coldplay! I have ever since I was about fifteen, when they first came out. Oh, I have another favourite band, Queens of the Stone Age! They are fantastic!" She replied, her hand placed on the table, oh, so close to his.

"Oh. I've never heard of them before, are they any good?" Ron asked curiously, continuing to give her all of his attention.

"Oh yes, they're really talented. They're from California. You might not have heard of them, though. Simply because they haven't quite broken all of Europe yet."

"Oh, I see." Ron began to smile slightly, catching onto her wide grin.

"You know, you and I have an awful lot in common." She grinned placing a hand on his and patting it slightly. It sent shivers up his spine and he had to blink for a second to regain composure.

"So I can tell." He grinned back, his eyes blazing with feeling. It had been so long since he had felt like this about the opposite sex and he had to say, he was quite liking where this was headed.

"This is going well." Hermione whispered to Harry, as the two of them sat across the table from Ron and Gianna.

"Yeah, they seem like they're really getting along." Harry grinned, "You're so clever, you know that?" He added, beaming at her. He was glad that she had found someone for him to get his mind off of the current state of his life. He needed some happiness.

She blushed slightly, "Oh stop." Smiling, she rested her head on his shoulder, as they all waited for dessert.

"Really, you are." His grin intact, he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, not wanting to seem too open about affection at a dinner table.

She smiled knowingly, taking his hand in hers, as they also began to engage in light conversation.

What a great night. Hopefully Gianna keeps her stories to herself in the office tomorrow.

~*~*~*~

Her gaze rest on Neville, looking slightly glum as he stared intently at his menu, although she knew he wasn't taking any of it in.

She knew this, because the dessert had come and gone and they were now waiting for the bill.

Silence plagued the table, as the two sat, fidgeting uncomfortably in their seats. Ginny sighed, continuing to watch Neville, as she knew he was staring at the menu to dodge her gaze. She knew from the way he was acting, that she had been too forward. Maybe he wasn't ready and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she was ready to take things further either.

She had only just broken up with Draco and she was still very confused about her feelings toward Neville.

How could things go from great, to horrible in a matter of seconds? I messed up.

The bill came on a silver platter and Neville looked at it. Taking money out of his wallet, he took his time counting it all out, for it was Muggle money and he was only vaguely familiar with it. Placing the money carefully on the platter (along with the tip), he looked at Ginny, giving her the signal that it was time to leave.

They both made to get up, heading for the door together. Once exiting through it, Ginny turned to Neville and mumbled shyly, "I had a nice time tonight, Nev."

"Me too." He answered back, almost robotically.

"Right, well, I better get going." She broke the engulfing silence and turned around, beginning to walk in the other direction.

Neville sighed, plunging his hands into his pockets as he watched her walk away. Suddenly a burst of thought sparked courage. He yanked his hands out of his pockets and began to jog after her.

"Ginny, wait!" He called to her. She heard him and halted, turning around to see him jogging towards her.

He finally caught up and without warning, he leaned in, reaching out for her waist as he pulled her towards him. Within seconds, their lips met in a soft, yet desperate kiss.

Ginny, taken aback by his abruptness was lifeless for a few seconds. Finally, when she began to respond to the kiss, Neville deepened it. Wrapping his arms around her waist gently, his lips began to convey his tenderness, as he felt her wrap her arms loosely around his neck.

Once the kiss ended, they pulled away, both slightly breathless and lost for words. Ginny looked up at Neville and he returned her gaze.

When no explanation came, Ginny, retreating within herself shook her head slightly and turned around, beginning to walk away yet again. Neville was stood there, stunned at her reaction.

Shit! Now I've done it.

"Ginny!" He called once more, following her hurriedly. "Ginny, please, wait! Let me explain!" He added, watching her stop, yet again. He propelled himself towards her, halting abruptly once he caught up.

"Look, I'm sorry." He said, breathlessly. "I should have never come onto you like that."

"No, don't be." She spoke softly, her gaze falling upon him. "Neville, I've just realised something."

"What?" He asked curiously. His eyebrow arched every-so-slightly; Ginny loved it when he did this. She found it cute and endearing.

"I've had feelings for you, for a long time." She whispered, a small, bitter smile plastered on her lips.

"Is that a bad thing?" Neville asked cautiously, seeing the look on her face, knowing he was walking onto dangerous territory.

"YES!" She answered, her voice raised slightly. Sighing in frustration, she threw up her hands. "Neville! I thought I had you all figured out. I... I thought I had myself figured out, actually. You were my friend and I didn't feel more for you. We were just on the line of friendship. But now the lines are blurred, don't you see? I have feelings for you! Nev, what if this doesn't work out? I don't want to lose you completely!"

Tears began to form in her eyes, as she looked up at him, a mixture of confusion and frustration on her face. "You just, never cease to amaze me." She now whispered, a lone tear streaking down her cheek. Her expression softened, the longer she gazed into his eyes.

"Would you rather stay friends then take the risk? Would you rather be miserable as friends, knowing we could be more? Quite frankly, I couldn't. And Gin, to be honest, you'll never lose me completely. No matter how far this goes, it's worth a shot, because there is nothing you could do that would ever stop me from caring about you." He spoke just as soft, looking down at her, sincerity etched in his eyes and trapped in the words he spoke.

"I... I don't know." She spoke, more tears betraying her and bursting the boundaries of her eyes. Sighing again, she looked down at her shoes. Suddenly, she felt his strong arms wrap around her and without thinking, she immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest gently.

"Do you not think it's worth the chance? I do, Ginny. I'm willing to take a risk if you are." He whispered into her hair, cooing softly to reassure her everything would be alright.

Once the crying subsided, Ginny's lips curved into a watery smile as her lungs filled with air. Her mind began to race as she took in the smell of him.

She would do it. She would take the chance. Because Neville was right, why stay friends when their feelings were now out in the open? When they now knew for sure that they could be more?

As she pulled away to gaze back into his eyes, the words tumbled softly from her pink lips, "I'm willing." Her smiled broadened as she could see his handsome face light up.

She had made up her mind. The smile continued to break across her lips like wildfire. "Just promise me, Neville. If this doesn't work out, that we'll remain friends."

"I promise, Ginny." He grinned back, reaching down and lifting her up into the air joyously, twirling her around. She giggled as she was spun through the air. When her feet touched the ground, she wrapped her arms tightly around him, hugging him. Wiping away the lingering tears on her cheeks, she now sported a big, toothy grin, as she rested her head on his chest.

He whispered into her hair softly and she felt safe in his arms. As he repeated the two words that now bound them together...

"I promise."

~*~*~*~*~

"It was lovely meeting you, Ron." Gianna grinned, leaning in and giving him a warm hug as they were all standing up from the table, having just paid the bill.

"You too." Ron smiled sadly, letting go of her reluctantly. "Maybe we should do this again sometime." He spoke hopefully, giving her a rare look of meaning.

"Maybe." She smiled back, "I certainly have no objections. But next time, we won't bring the chaperones." She added, winking as she pointed a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of Harry and Hemrione. Picking up her shawl from her chair, she wrapped it around her shoulders, as she gave Ron a piercing stare. Moving closer to him, she stood on tip-toe and gave him the softest kiss on his right cheek.

His lips stretched into an even wider grin as she pulled away. She then turned to Harry and Hermione, smiling politely. "Thank you for a lovely evening!" She gave Hermione a hug, and Harry a friendly handshake, then made to leave.

Giving Ron one last look and waving to him slightly, she turned and left. Ron watched every step she took away from him, completely gob-smacked.

Harry sniggered as he watched his best friend grin stupidly.

As Ron let his fingertips pass over the skin in which her lips had touched, he spoke in a dazed voice...

"I am never washing this cheek again."

-------

Hermione's breathing became erratic. She didn't know how much more of this she could take! She sat there, in the back seat of a taxi, Harry beside her and Ron in the front seat, giving the driver directions. But, to be honest, she had drowned him out ages ago.

The only thing her mind kept coming back to, was Harry sitting beside her. He was completely oblivious to her thoughts, as he stared out of the window, watching people and places roll past. He had no idea of what was going on in her head.

Suddenly, the car came to an abrupt stop and the cabby turned around, looking at the two in the back seat.

"This is it!" His words came out of his mouth, but seemed to blur on the way into Hermione's ears. She nodded her head, as if she understood and reached for the handle, opening the car door and stepping out. Harry got out also, giving the cabby his money and watching him drive off down the street.

By the time Harry came in through the doors to their block of flats, Hermione was already on the other side of the lobby, pressing the elevator button repeatedly, becoming extremely frantic with each press of the button.

If this damn elevator doesn't hurry the hell up, I'm going to take Harry on the staircase!

"Hermione, Hermione, calm down." Harry said softly, into her ear, from behind her. He reached over and gently crumpled her hand into his, withdrawing it from the buttons and leaving it to reside loosely near her hip. "It's okay. If it takes much longer, we'll take the stairs." He continued, still having no idea of Hermione's intentions.

"Alright." She breathed, not turning to look at him. She knew if she did, she wouldn't be able to hold off. His eyes would break her.

Harry could see her haste. He could almost sense her need to make it quickly to their flat and yet he couldn't understand why.

"Ah geez, I'm taking the stairs!" Ron said in frustration, only after just arriving. Harry rolled his eyes slightly. It was just like him to be completely impatient.

He watched as Ron opened the door to the staircase and sighed. Suddenly, the bell of the elevator dinged, cutting through his thoughts as both him and Hermione made their way onto it.

The doors closed and he saw Hermione on the other side of the small elevator, as far away from him as possible. She was biting her lip and eyeing him up and down and he still couldn't put a finger on her behaviour!

"Why aren't we moving?" Hermione asked suddenly, after a few moments of complete silence. Indeed, they hadn't been moving since the doors had closed. Suddenly, as if answering her own question, she pressed the number of their floor and sighed in relief as the elevator began to move.

Staying where she was, Hermione avoided his gaze entirely. She couldn't look him in the eye, it only made her want him more!

But then, it happened. Her eyes met his and she wanted so badly, to jump him right where he stood. Thinking quickly, she reached for the emergency stop button and pressed it hard.

To hell with this!

After a few more seconds of silence, Harry heard a thud and the elevator stopped completely.

Suddenly, he felt lips upon his and was completely shocked to find Hermione practically groping him.

"W-wait! What's going -?" She cut off his sentence, as she slid her tongue into his mouth. At this point, he found it increasingly hard to calm her down. She was going crazy! Her lips finally left his and trailed down to his neck slowly.

"Hermione! What are you doing?" Harry asked her, not pushing her away, but not responding to her actions either. He was extremely bewildered at this whole scenario. It's not every day you're stuck in an elevator with a horny Hermione.

"I've been driven crazy." She said softly, through a moan. Harry was now finding it increasingly hard not to spoil his pants, as she spoke. She continued her assault on his neck, which was becoming quite intoxicating. He took in the smell of her, the feel of her, the sound of her dull hums and moans and wanted to react, but couldn't. His body was completely frozen.

"Hermione, don't you think we should wait until we get back to the flat?" He asked, his voice rising in pitch and his words quivering as they left his mouth.

"Harry, I've been waiting for too long. I don't think I can wait any longer." She moaned once again, her voice raspy with passion. Harry didn't want to look down into her eyes, he knew he had to find a way to get her back into their flat, before she practically pulled his pants down and made him surrender to her intense coaxing right there.

"Honey, I think they're going to realise the elevator is stuck." He spoke firmly, clearing his throat slightly. He was smoothing out all the nervousness he felt, now getting used to her tongue sliding in and out of his ear, which she knew was one of his weak spots.

Reaching over, Harry shakily pressed the red emergency stop button and the elevator started going up once again. Hermione felt them moving and didn't even seem to care! Where had the well-mannered, lady-like Hermione gone?! Maybe her body had been invaded by a sex-driven maniac, Harry couldn't be sure!

He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He was slowly and surely being broken. It was only a matter of time before his will snapped in two, or maybe even four! She slowly lifted her leg and began to rub her knee against his groin and that is when he completely lost it.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, as the two of them stumbled out of it at once, connected at the mouth as if they needed each other’s air to live. Harry moving backwards and Hermione moving forwards, together they made it to the door and began to knock frantically.

The door opened and Ron stood, his face twisted in disgust. "Yuck! You two, come on!"

Harry pushed Ron out of the way, without a word and the two clumsily stepped over the threshold. Closing the door behind them, Harry immediately began to kick of his shoes, carelessly, Hermione doing the same. Then, his socks were next to go, as he broke the kiss momentarily, bending down and taking them off.

Harry was pleased to know, when he let his hand run up Hermione's leg that she had too, made use of the time to remove her tights. God knows he had had some tricky encounters with those blasted things, in the past.

"Could you NOT do this near our front door?!" Ron asked in annoyance, his hands on his hips.

"Shut up, Ron. You're killing the mood." Hermione grinned, winking at him slightly. She then turned to Harry and her grin became a cheeky one. She grabbed onto his tie and began to drag him toward her bedroom.

Ron sighed, calling after the two of them. "And do you think maybe you could actually put the silencing charm on the room this time?! I sure as hell don't want to hear those nasty sounds coming from your room, again! I might end up throwing up my rather expensive meal! It's not often I get to eat at places like -" He was cut off by the giggle of Hermione and the slam of her bedroom door.

-------

Harry wasted no time in removing his trousers. They both heard the noise of the zipper on her dress when he gently unzipped it. Grinning, his hands slid softly and slowly down Hermione's sides, to remove her strapless dress. The whole dress, made of a silky crimson fabric seemed to slip down her body and drop into a pool of red around her feet. She stepped out of it, her black knickers revealed.

Black knickers!

God, how he loved Hermione's taste.

She advanced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and meeting his lips in a deep, desperate kiss. Thinking quick, he turned her around swiftly, now being the one to pin her to the wall. He hiked her legs up around his waist, his hands delicately caressing her outer thighs and backside, his lips never leaving hers.

Pressing her lips harder into his, Hermione began to use wandless magic. Screaming the protection spell in her head, she finally felt the warmth that came as the result of the spell.

Before she knew it, Harry's tongue slid out onto her bottom lip, silently begging for entry. She granted him such access, her feet wrapping around his waist and tightening their grip on him, as she pushed his body further into hers. She grinned on his lips, as her hips began to grind against his, teasingly. This caused his mind to go cloudy and foggy, the temperature rising in the room, even though both of them were now reduced to their underwear.

Their breathing heavy, their minds racing and their hips beginning to grind into one another, they were only thinking about one thing, as both of their hearts seemed to beat rapidly against their chests.

"Harry." Hermione whispered, a note of desperation entwined with her words as she peppered kisses across his jawbone. "Harry, please." She whispered raspingly when her lips met his ear, her eyes gleaming with an incredible desire, as a soft glow of moonlight fell upon her through the cracks in the curtains. Her breath was heavy on his neck and it made the hairs there stand on end.

Oh, how he loved the smell of her. She smelled of fresh picked strawberries and he just couldn't get it out of his head. His hands caressed every bit of skin she had; he practically worshipped her with those hands of his.

"Mmmm." Hermione moaned, as Harry's hand came in contact with her inner thigh, the other hand holding her up, on his waist. She threw her head back slightly, her back arching into him and her breasts being thrust into his chest, as he touched her softly.

A hand running through his hair, she grabbed his head desperately and pressed her lips hard into his, trying to muffle her cries of pleasure. To think, he was already driving her insane and neither of them were completely undressed yet.

He loved Hermione like this. It felt like a sin, to touch her this way. Surely anything this good just had to be a sin, right?

Whispering the silencing charm, he heard the small, reassuring 'pop' that came with the activation of the spell. Hermione grinned, now knowing she could make as much noise as she wanted to, which was definitely a satisfying thought.

Slipping a hand into the front of her knickers, he now began to caress further down, his movements slow and teasing. Once his fingers reached their destination, they carefully slid into her, eliciting a gasp of pleasure from her. He grinned in satisfaction to himself.

Hermione moaned and threw her head back as his fingers began to move quicker and quicker against her. Feeling hotter than before, she immediately pulled her strapless bra over her head and chucked it carelessly across the room, not even thinking to undo it at the back. Harry's mouth made its way to one of her breasts, sucking and nibbling on her nipple, making her moan even louder, it seemed.

His finger began to stroke her. Back and forth, up and down, side to side, in and out.

He continued his motions, faster and harder, causing her to buck her hips against his finger. Cheekily, he slid another one into her, hearing her mumble a long string of curses, which satisfied him greatly. If only he had a witness. Someone else to see her like this, see her as she truly was when coaxed. Surely, no one would believe him if he told them.

He loved bringing the bad Hermione out, with the movement of a finger.

A few moments of this and he could tell she was close to being pushed over the edge, but he didn't want this to end. Thinking quickly, he slid his finger carefully out of her, as she breathed heavily, her chest heaving into his. Without even giving her a moment to calm down, he swiftly pushed his boxers off of his waist and moved her lingerie to one side, plunging himself deep into her.

Both of them let out a moan of pleasure, this time, as Harry sank into her slowly and withdrew from her just as slow. He began to thrust into her, keeping the same pace, just to tease her. Even though he was doing a good job, (as she was now whining his name) it was also putting him through torture.

She was so tight, warm and moist around him. Each thrust into her was an indescribable pleasure. His stomach mounted with tension, as his breathing was hitched to a faster rate and Hermione continued to whine in his ear.

"Faster." She pleaded, "Please, Harry. Haarder."

Pressing hot kisses to her neck, he chuckled on her skin softly, sending shivers up Hermione's spine. "What's the magic words?" He mumbled huskily.

Hermione melted in his arms, feeling him push her even harder against the wall.

"Harry, I need you. Please." She whispered into his ear breathily, causing Harry's will power to crumble spectacularly. She slowly began rocking her hips into his and moaning softly in his ear, every second of this was breaking him, further and further until there would be nothing left of his will.

Breathing heavily, Harry began to lose any tiny fragment of sense telling him to take it slow and to continue teasing her like he was. He could no longer pretend that it wasn't extremely agonising for him too.

Another string of curses uttered from Hermione's lips and he was done for. He was a goner, as some people would like to phrase it. Completely lost in her. All of the basic elements that made up Hermione. He was sinking and he knew there was no way back. He had to ride out this wave of pleasure, sink in the sea like a stone. He had to give in.

He drown in the smell of her hair, the sexy expression plastered across her face and the devilish look in her eyes just screaming for more. The rosiness in her cheeks, the small smirk on her lips, let him know just how much she was loving this. The softness of her skin and lips - but most importantly, the way she would moan his name softly in his ear - was enough to drive him right off the deep end, alone.

Finally snapping, he gave in. Thrusting deep into her, the madness started. Quickly, without warning, his hips picked up speed. As if being controlled by a remote somewhere, he began to thrust in and out of her rapidly, their skin meeting with a small 'clapping' noise. This sudden movement was so rewarding. Hermione, gasping loudly, pushed her breasts into him further, which only gave him incentive to go faster.

Another string of curses escaped her lips, as she dragged each word out through hot breaths. "Yeesssss."

She began to bounce on him, he was going that fast. She was being pushed even harder against the wall, her back moving up and down on it, as her hips would meet his, each time he thrust in to her. His name leaving her lips frequently, Harry was now the one being pushed over the edge as he went faster, harder and deeper with each thrust.

He knew the both of them were so close. He could hear it in her moans, he could feel it in her body as her back tensed, he could even see it in the look etched across her face.

He was going to finish this. He just had to hold off a little longer.

He continued to thrust into her like a madman; in - out, in - out, up and down, up and down. He watched as her breasts bounced in time to each thrust, her back arched even further and he could see the beads of sweat trickling slowly down her glorious forehead and cheeks. Despite all of this and how arousing it was, he continued to hold off.

He thrust, and thrust, and thrust, until finally, Hermione let out a loud cry of ecstasy. She threw her head back, her hips pressed against his, her back arching as far as possible and her mouth wide open. Her body shuddered against his, as she clenched tightly around him. Even then, he didn't stop. Allowing her to ride this wave of pleasure out he thrust into her one, two, three more times when finally, he spilled himself into her and was instantly spent.

Taking a few deep breaths, she collapsed into him, her body limp and sweaty as she clung onto him lovingly. Her head resting on his shoulder, as she whispered sweet nothings in his ear. After a few moments, stood in this position, Harry's mind began to buzz. Smiling, he carried her to the bed, pulling back the covers with a free hand and placing her in it carefully.

She was like an angel of the night. Bars of moonlight spilled out from the curtains, caressing the soft plains of her already glowing skin. Her dark, luscious curls fanned out across her pillow, giving a touch of vivid darkness to the crisp, white pillow case. Her chest continued to heave with the effort of each breath, her breasts being pushed out each time. She looked exquisite and other-worldly, like she belonged in the clouds instead of on this bed, here with him. He was almost afraid that if he looked away, she would disappear.

Eventually, when she calmed herself down, her eyes claimed his. A fire still burned in those dark, velvety irises of hers, but now it was dull and tamed. Her body was spent, just as his was. She gracefully extended her long arms in his direction, reaching out for him. A coy smile set deep into her soft, full lips.

Harry awkwardly shook his head, putting one finger up to gesture that he needed a minute. A frown replaced the coy smirk and her beautiful eyebrows arched in incredulity. Turning his back on her, he began skimming the room for his boxers when he heard her call out to him softly.

"Harry, what are you doing?" She whispered through the engulfing darkness of the room. A few bars of moonlight fell upon his figure, standing a few feet away from the bed.

"Looking for my shorts." He whispered back simply. He almost felt ashamed to sleep in the same bed with this goddess and was trying to find a way to cover up.

"Harry, don't bother. Come to bed." She answered, a small smile returning to her face. Such a gentlemen...

He looked back at her, slightly shocked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." She said through a soft giggle, extending her welcoming arms once again.

Making cautious steps toward the bed, he halted beside it and waited as she moved over to make room for him. He climbed into the bed and got under the covers, laying on his side to face her.

"I love you, Harry." She whispered, leaning in as she placed a hand on his chest and a kiss on the tip of his nose.

"I love you too, Hermione." He mumbled, smiling, as he looked at the girl before him. She grinned, moving closer to him still, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his naked chest. Pushing himself onto his back, he in turn wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his embrace.

Within moments, her chest began to rise and fall just a little bit slower, her breathing patterns became rhythmic and miniscule breaths began to escape her lips softly. Her eyes fluttered closed, her face expressionless, as she snuggled up even closer to him.

God, she was beautiful when she slept. So peaceful, so still, so... serene. The image of the angel reappeared in his mind's eye and he smiled.

As he watched her fall asleep in his arms, his love for her grew. He still couldn't figure out one thing...

What did I do, to deserve her?

-------

Remember Reo and get down,

Like some other DJ, in some other town.

Who's been try'na tell me to hold tight,

But I've been waitin' this whole night.

Uuggh. Where the hell am I?

Well, it was definitely some place she wasn't used to. She had never been there before. Or perhaps it was an unfamiliar room in a familiar house. She began to get panicky, as always, when in new surroundings. Hyperventilating slightly, she began to scan the room for a glimpse of anything or anyone she knew.

'Snort..'

She whirled around, her eyes making contact with a sleeping Neville. Her mind began to race.

Surely we didn't-!

She looked down, placing her hands on her stomach.

Nope - still fully clothed. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, instantly turning them into a smile as she watched Neville sleep. Last night's events came crashing back into her head and she replayed them fuzzily, as if they were a beautiful dream.

But I've been down,

Across a road or two.

But now I've found,

The velvet sun,

That shines on me and you.

They had kissed though. Several times. More times then she could count on her fingers. This thought only made her begin to grin. She kissed Neville Longbottom. Her fingertips reached up to meet her lips and they gently touched them, her smile still intact, as she remembered the exact feel of them upon hers.

She kissed him - and it was wonderful. She didn't think any, one kiss could hold so much emotion, so much bliss. Then again, she had never kissed Neville before. Her thoughts swam as her gaze now drifted around the bedroom. His bedroom.

In the back,

Uh-ho, I can't crack,

We're on top.

It's just a shimmy and a shake,

Uh-ho, I can't fake,

We're on top, we're on top.

Painted pictures of sailboats and violet horizons were hung neatly on the creamy walls. Beautifully finished oak furniture stood proudly around the room, giving a nice touch. Red and gold curtains hung on the windows and this made Ginny chuckle gently.

You can take the boy out of Gryffindor, but not Gryffindor out of the boy.

She was sure every Gryffindor had something that reminded them of the house itself. Ginny still had her Gryffindor scarf. The same scarf that blew away in a horrible rainstorm one day. The same scarf that was recovered from one of the topmost branches of a tree on the outskirts of the forbidden forest, by the boy who was laying beside her. Well, he was no longer a boy; he was a man.

The day is breakin', we're still here.

You're body's shakin' and it's clear.

You really need it, so let go.

And let me feed it, but you know.

A lot had changed since they were teenagers. A lot of memories faded and a lot of friendships died hard. A lot of promises were broken, hearts shattered and tears shed. In the end, it only made them stronger and brought them to where they were today.

Ginny had to admit, she wouldn't change a thing in her past. For everything she went through, there was a lesson to be learned from it. Besides, she might not even be sitting in this bed - his bed - at that moment if it hadn't been for everything that happened, bringing them closer together as a result. For all she knew, he could be married to Hannah Abbott! Five children, lovely house, beautiful wizarding neighbourhood...

Her thoughts were cut short, as she came to a realisation.

What if she was holding him back? What if she was the one who kept him from that perfect life? What if she was the quicksand and he was the struggling victim?

That I've been down,

Across a road or two.

But now I've found,

The velvet sun,

That shines on me and you.

Her mind began to race with nasty thoughts. How could she have done this to him? All this time, he waited on her, gave her what she wanted, comforted her when she needed to be comforted. And all the time, she gave him nothing in return. She never thanked him for any of it. What right had she to take the life he could have, away from him?

"Ginny?" Neville murmured, awaking from his slumber. His crystal blue eyes opened and he smiled as they caught sight of Ginny sitting next to him. "Morning." He whispered, reaching for her hand and kissing it gently. His gaze was enchanting. He looked at her with a hint of surprise. He seemed to only just realise that he had not, in fact, dreamed last night up in his head and that she was not a figment of his imagination, but instead very real.

Her skin tingled and yet she felt a pang of regret. Not for herself, but for him. She regretted what she had done to him. He was so helplessly lost in his feelings for her, that he didn't see what she was doing to him.

In the back,

Uh-ho, I can't crack,

We're on top.

It's just a shimmy and a shake,

Uh-ho, I can't fake,

We're on top, we're on top.

"I - I have to go." She said off-hand manner, quickly getting out of the bed, as if she only just realised she was sitting on hot coals. Dashing gracefully around the room once on her feet, she began to grab her shoes, her purse and her coat, all the time feeling Neville's gaze upon her.

"Why?" He asked, his tone slightly disappointed. That beautiful, sparkley-eyed look he gave her was long gone, "I was going to make breakfast." He half-smiled at her and she froze to look at him one last time. Oh how that boyish smile made her melt.

"Because, I have to, Neville. I can't explain." She replied suddenly, shaking her head and snapping herself out of her trance.

We bring the bump to the grind,

Uh-ho, I don't mind,

We're on top.

It's just a shimmy and a shake,

Uh-ho, I can't fake,

We're on top, we're on top.

Getting up, Neville made his way to her and caught her wrist before she could reach for the doorknob. "Wait." He said gently. He watched as Ginny slowly turned to face him. "What's this all about?" He asked, his face etched with concern and curiosity.

"I - I'm just really sorry, Neville." She mumbled guiltily. "I'm sorry for everything." Her cheeks turned a light shade of red, her face painted into an expression that one would wear if under a large spotlight.

"But - you didn't do anything wrong." He asked, his eyebrow arching slightly, as he continued to give her that curious stare of his that seemed to probe her thoughts. She hated it when he did this, she felt like he was reading her mind.

Blinking quickly to break eye contact, she continued. "Yes I have. I've ruined everything." She spoke matter-of-factly, nodding slightly. Her twisted logic continued to clamour around in her head, like a bull in a china shop, breaking beautiful memories and ideas of the future as it went.

"Oh." Neville looked extremely put out. "You're regretting what happened last night, aren't you?" His voice was a mess with sadness and heavy disappointment.

And we don't mean to satisfy, tonight.

So get your eyes off of my pride, tonight.

'Cause I don't need to satisfy, tonight.

"No." Ginny said firmly. She didn't regret it at all. In fact, she had the best time of her life last night and she was prepared to swear in front of anyone who asked.

"Then why do you feel you've ruined everything?" Neville asked, his eyes alight with a dim hope, a hope that Ginny wouldn't crumble his heart with the words she spoke.

It's like a cigarette, in the mouth,

Or a handshake in the doorway.

I look at you, and smile,

Because I'm fine.

"Because, Neville. You don't understand. I'm quicksand." She whispered desperately, cupping his cheek with her other hand, trying to make him look her in the eye. "I'm not good enough for you. You could have any girl you wanted. A girl that doesn't have emotional issues, that hasn't just come out of a relationship that has completely broken her. A girl who's pretty and smart. But most of all: a girl that's nothing like me." She spoke softly, her words filled with hurt and insecurity. She was bearing her deepest thoughts out on her sleeve for him to gander at and waiting for him to reply was killing her.

"Ginny. I don't want a girl that's nothing like you." Neville took a deep breath, trying to form words into his head that would explain to her in the best way possible, just how much he needed her. "If you go now, I don't think I'll ever move on. I will only watch girl after girl pass me by and spend the rest of my life comparing them all to you." He answered, sincerity etched on his face. "And no one can compare to you."

And we don't mean to satisfy, tonight.

So get your eyes off of my pride, tonight.

'Cause I don't need to satisfy, tonight.

Ginny stood there, as Neville let go of her wrist. As it rested back down, by her side, she let what he had said sink in. Was she really the only girl he wanted? No guy had ever seemed to feel that way about her before. She had always made every guy she was in a relationship with her priority, where as they had made her their option.

Caring for someone was difficult, when in a situation like that. But no. This felt different, this felt right.

"Neville?" Ginny whispered softly, watching as he came in closer to her, his lips closing the gap between them.

It's like a cigarette, in the mouth,

Or a handshake in the doorway.

Within seconds, Ginny felt his lips against hers, pressing gently; the kiss soft and tender. She smiled a small smile, feeling him deepen the kiss even further as he wrapped his arms instinctively around her waist. She hummed into his mouth, tingling sensations rising in the pit of her stomach. Ever since their first kiss, they never seemed to leave her alone.

No, no. She had never felt like this. This could really be something, it could really go somewhere. Finally, it was just what she needed. A chance for a new start, a new beginning.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck loosely, finally reacting to his motions toward her, she couldn't help but let her head swim.

Oh yes, this feels right.

I look at you, and smile,

Because I'm fine, now.

('On Top' - The Killers from 'Hot Fuss')

-------

*AN: Ha, so it’s taken me awhile, but I finally got it finished! I’m actually a little happy with the way I fixed this chapter up…. I did add a few things, especially in the H/Hr love scene *grins* So I hope you liked it, all! =]

I do hope to have more of this up.. I’m already half way through the 8th chapter, so hopefully things will work out for that to be up shortly after this one.

Anyway, R&R! =]

8. Stuck In The Middle

*Disclaimer: Pffft. Yeah. I'm JK Rowling, and I'm backing H/Hr, even after all called all the H/Hr shippers "militant". Ha! Jeez, if I was Jo, I'd totally re-write the last 3 books, anyway! So no, not her, not making money of this… nothing, zilch, zero. Happy? Kthnx

*A/N: Yeah, so it’s been awhile. But I have an entire week off school, so I’m hoping to post a chapter or two more in that time ;]

This chapter has a little bit of comic relief at the end, I hope you guys find it cute =P

Read and reply =]

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Chapter 8 : Stuck In The Middle

"So maybe I'm a little under-dressed." Harry gestured to an impatient Hermione, making the tiniest gap between his index finger and his thumb.

Hermione sighed, "Honey, you look like a bum!"

Honey. Wow, that came out of nowhere. This has been going on for quite awhile, come to think of it. It's been, what? three months since we've started going out, and she's already calling me honey! That's going to take some getting used to...

Hermione blinked, seeing the weird expression Harry was giving her. She closed her eyes, trying hard not to smirk, "I'm doing it again, aren't I?" She said to him through a chuckle.

Harry chuckled also, that perfect grin of his falling into place, "Yes, dearie, you are." He chuckled some more, moving closer to her.

"Come on, we have to go in ten minutes. Can you please put something else on? I am not walking out of this house with you wearing ripped jeans and a tuxedo shirt!" Hermione protested, eyes still closed for a reason that was unknown to her.

"Hermione." Harry whispered, extremely close to her, now. "Herm, we're just going to a pub with a few of my Quidditch mates for drinks. You'll be fine." He said, knowing her so well that he knew straight away, this wasn't about him anymore, it was about her.

"I feel awkward and I look horrible and what if they don't like me?" She shrank into his arms. She never used to care about what anyone thought of her, but she knew that if she didn't make a good impression, she would get a bad review and that's never good coming from a guy's friends.

"Herm." Harry cooed, pressing a kiss to her forehead and wrapping his arms tighter around her, in an embrace. "Look, you'll be fine, okay? If you want, I'll change." He spoke softly, the two of them standing in the middle of the sitting room.

Hermione nodded into his chest, her arms now snug around his waist. "I'd prefer it if you did." She mumbled into his shirt, her voice muffled by it.

Harry chuckled, letting her go reluctantly. "Alright, alright. I give up, I'll change." He spoke in a slightly defeated manner, but smiling all the while as he retreated into his bedroom.

-------

"I still don't think they're going to like me." Hermione spoke, sighing softly, her fingers entwined with his as the two of them made their way to the oh-so-familiar local pub.

Opening the doors, they were graciously welcomed with loud music, thunderous roars of drunkenness and the usual clutter of the faithful customers of the pub. Over in a back booth, Harry spotted his friends. Smiling to them and waving slightly, he gave Hermione's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Whispering a quick, but meaningful "You'll be fine," in her ear, the two of them made their way to the booth.

"Heyyy! Here he is, guys! P-to-the-O-double-T-E-R!" A sandy-haired friend, no older than himself, cheered. The rest of the table piped up in approval.

Harry rolled his eyes, letting Hermione in first, then sitting down beside her. "Guys, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is... Willson, he's extremely mental." Harry pointed to the sandy-haired guy sitting across from her, he was the one who cheered first.

"And this is Lemmings, O'Leery, Jennings, O'Riely and Branston." He said, pointing to the people that these last names belonged to. Each man nodded their head in acknowledgment at Hermione and all she could do was smile back vacantly.

What was I THINKING?!

After introductions, they began asking questions. This was always a bad start.

"So, Hermione. How long have you known Harry?" The man with the last name O'Leery asked.

"Oh, I've known him since first year of Hogwarts." She nodded knowingly, waving at the bartender subtly for a drink. She was going to bloody-well need it.

"Wait a tick. You're... you're the girl who helped him a few years ago! You were the one we read about in the Daily Prophet!" He said enthusiastically. Everyone around the table now looked at her, as if they thought they would find a lightning bolt scar on her forehead, too.

"Yes, yes I was." She said, clearing her throat awkwardly. She began to pay attention to a drink coaster on the table, tuning out the chit-chat engulfing the table, now. She didn't want to be a part of this discussion and yet she seemed like the main attraction.

"What do you do?" Lemmings asked, taking a swig from an almost empty beer bottle.

"Oh, I work in the O.F.O.S.W. 'Organisation For Other Species Welfare'. I'm the Vice President and the Assistant Director." She said proudly, a small smug smirk on her face. She felt very important saying where she worked. Having co-found the organisation, she felt proud because of where it was today. She remembered the small office over the Pizzeria across the street, where it used to be located.

"That huuuge office building across the street from Antonio's Pizzeria?! You're the Vice President and Assistant Director of, that?!" Lemmings said in awe. He looked around at the rest of the men at the table and they all seemed to look at her with a gleam of respect in their eyes. "But, you can't be more than twenty!" He was shocked as he looked over at her face in amazement. Obviously, a young, successful business woman was unheard of.

For the first time since sitting down at that table, she smiled a genuine smile. It was nice to be appreciated.

She chuckled, "I'm Twenty-One, actually. And yes, I'm the Vice President and Assistant Director. I co-founded the place. It's been three years and we've come a long way." The clicking of high-heels could be heard over the dim. Thinking nothing of it, Hermione opened her mouth to continue on.

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" A cheery female voice spoke from behind her. It sounded familiar, too familiar for her liking. Turning around, she was about to scowl at the woman that cut her off while she was trying to speak, when she came face to face with the last person she wanted to see that night.

"No problem at all. Come, Cho. Sit, sit!" Jake O'Riely smiled, nudging everyone over in the booth so she could sit. She now sat across from Hermione, which didn't help matters.

Let. Me. At. HER! I can think of eighty-three ways in which to strangle her and about HALF of them don't even require my wand!

~*~*~*~*~

"What're you doing?" Ron asked as he entered the kitchen. Ginny sat at the island counter on a stool, right in front of him. He began busying himself, grabbing a mug, a spoon and flicking the kettle - that always seemed to have water in it - on.

"Job hunting. If I'm going to keep up with the payments of my share of the rent, I'm going to have to find one, aren't I?" She said lazily, not even looking up from the newspaper she was pouring over.

"The English Times? Why are you looking at a muggle paper?" Ron looked bewildered. He froze; his mug still in his hand and his spoon still on the counter. He stared at her from where he stood, raising an eyebrow in her direction.

"Don't give me that look!" Ginny snapped, still not looking up from the paper.

"How do you know what look I was giving you?" He asked, a subtle haughty note in his voice as he continued to bustle around the kitchen.

"Because! I can just picture it. It's that, 'I-can't-believe-you're-sinking-so-low', look!" She said, finally raising her head up to watch him rummage in the fridge. "And would you get out of there?! That's your seventh trip to the bloody fridge in the last two hours!" Ginny continued, in her nagging motherly voice.

Ron sighed heavily and closed the fridge door, milk in hand. "What makes you think I even have that look to give to you? And would you stop with the nagging?! You're as bad as mum!" He scowled over at her.

"Ron. You're my brother. I've seen every single look on your face about a million times. So I think I should know. Geez, cut me some slack! And anyway, I'm only acting like mum because you need some bloody guidance. You're a slob!" She rolled her eyes as she watched him spill some milk on himself and returned to her paper, highlighter in hand.

Pulling a rag off of the fridge handle, he wiped himself hurriedly, making his way back to the counter to face Ginny. "Why are you even looking for a muggle job? Couldn't you get a job in the wizarding world?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Ronald. You do realise that we live in a muggle part of London, right? And that paying wizard money to a muggle landlord is just stupid and an easy way to expose us? Merlin, sometimes I don't think you have a brain." She scolded, high-lighting some boring office job.

"That's what the exchange office is for, down in Diagon Alley, Ginevra," Ron cut his eyes at her in annoyance. "And for your information, I DO have a brain!" He added, as the switch on the kettle flicked off by itself, indicating that the water was boiled.

She looked up from her paper again, watching as Ron put a tea bag into the mug and then poured hot water into it straight after. "I don't have time to go to and from the exchange office every month, now do I?" She retorted, seeing yet another boring office job. High-lighting it, she saw quite an interesting ad beside it:

'Cameelia Bordeaux, is opening : Cameelia's Books & Stationary. Help Needed!'.

The date, the time and the place stood in smaller bold letters underneath this huge caption.

"Tell me, how many Cameelia Bordeaux's do you know?" She said, her eyes glued to the add.

"Um..." Ron looked at her curiously, "Why?" He asked, his voice blending with a note of sympathy, as if he was implying that she had lost it.

"Ron, just answer the damn question!" She snapped, looking up at him and making him obey with her eyes. She glared at him and he 'eeped' slightly. He would never admit it, but his sister scared him sometimes. She had a way of being extremely intimidating.

"One." He answered finally. "Just one. But you know her as well Ginny. Why do you ask?"

"And how many Cameelia Bordeaux's do you think there would be in the city of London?" She continued, as if she hadn't been interrupted with another question.

"Not many. I'd say the one we know would be it. I mean, how many other Cameelia Bordeaux's have you ever heard of?" He spoke in a voice filled with curiosity, now. "WHY do you want to know this?!" He prodded once again.

"That's what I figured. This has to be hers! But, why didn't I find out about this sooner?" She pondered, the newspaper laying forgotten, as she now began to search the kitchen for a pen and piece of paper.

Ron now leaned over, turning the paper in his direction and read the ad about the bookshop. "I never knew Cameelia wanted to open a bookshop! Hey, she was that foreign girl you used to be best friends with in your seventh year, what ever happened to that?" He asked, as she now became frantic in her search for the pen.

"Arrrgh. Accio pens!" She cried, having pulled her wand out of her pocket. All of a sudden, about thirty pens zoomed in her direction from different places. Under the fridge, on the phone table near the door, from the counter... everywhere and anywhere.

"Shit! Immobilus!"

Ginny shrank in fear against the wall of the kitchen and Ron burst into uncontrollable laughter. "You, the 'Charms Queen' finally got something wrong! Don't you remember what Professor Flitwick said in seventh year charms?! Never make the spell plural, unless you're looking for more than one object!" He laughed even more, pointing at her.

"Shut up, Ron! You sound like Hermione."

Ron shrieked indignantly. "I DO NOT!"

"Ha. See what I mean?" She added triumphantly, pulling a pen out of mid-air.

"Dammit. I do, don't I?" Ron said in defeat, he sighed heavily. "I have to stop spending time with that girl. She has permanently scarred me. Anyway, what nationality was that girl again? Spanish? German?" Ron began rambling possible nationalities off, under his breath and it began to bug Ginny.

"CAMEELIA EST FRANÇAISE! D'accord?" Ron gazed at her with a bewildered look on his face. She sighed, "Tu es très stupide, Ron." Cameelia had taught her a bit of French when they were friends. She loved speaking over him.

"Hey! No fair! Just because I can't speak French, doesn't mean you can rub it in my face!" He said, his facial expression identical to the look of a five year old boy who felt left out.

"Ron, shut up." She said dully, rolling her eyes. It was about the fifty-thousandth time she had to say it, that day. The pens continued to float, the immobilising charm still activated. Stepping away from the heap of pens, she took a small piece of paper and wrote down the address and the phone number of the new bookshop.

"What are you doing?" He asked, spotting her writing down the contents of the ad.

"You ask too many questions!" She snapped.

"You're not seriously considering applying for a job there, are you?" Ron looked at her in disbelief.

"Nooo, I'm just writing it down for my health!" Ginny looked up to give him a glare that said 'You-are-such-a-stupid-git', she then continued to write hurriedly.

"You've sank so low... sure, it's run by a witch, but it's in a muggle part of London, therefore it's for the muggle public. I really don't think this is a good -"

"Oh, get a job!"

**Translation : ('Cameelia est Française, d'accord?' = Cameelia is French, okay? & 'Tu es très stupide, Ron.' = You are very stupid, Ron.)

-------

"The NERVE of her!" Hermione stalked in the direction of their flat, after putting up with a nattering Cho for over two hours.

"Herrrm." Harry cooed, sliding his hand into hers. She began to melt slightly, he could see it in her eyes. She steadily began to slow her pace down, her shoulders relaxing and her fingers entwining with his. Sighing slightly, she gave Harry half a smile.

"I'm sorry. She just... aggravates me! SO mu -"

"Oh, Harry!" Cho called, her heels clicking across the street as she jogged to catch up.

Harry thought he distinctly saw steam billow from Hermione's ears. Her fist clenched, her back stiffened and the hand that was gripping on to his, crushed it painfully. She didn't turn around to face Cho, taking calm and deep breaths instead.

Harry however, not wanting to be rude, turned around to face Cho. "Yes?" He asked, slight impatience entangled in his short, one word answer, as he detached himself from Hermione's painful grip.

He had, had his share of Cho for one evening. She was tolerable in small doses, anything more and he was left to shudder with disgust. She was so sickeningly sweet, he thought he was going to get a cavity.

"Hey. Um, I was wondering..." She stood, picture perfect, in a Barbie doll pose, as she twirled her finger in her hair and raised her foot just a little so that her toe was digging into the pavement. She looked up at him innocently and smiled.

"What is it, Cho? Hermione and I need to be getting back." He said curtly, cutting off the pause she seemed to want to prolong. He didn't make direct eye contact for more than a few seconds, for he knew she was trying to soften him.

"Could my nephew get a chance to meet you?" She continued to smile. This little outing would be a perfect chance to get Harry alone, at least for a few a little while. "He's a huge fan of the English team and he just loves you! He's told me on countless occasions, that you're his hero." A sweet, soft giggle and she continued. "He attends a wizarding primary school in the suburbs of London."

"There's wizarding primary schools, now?" Harry asked, amazed. He had forgotten his ten-second eye contact rule. "When did they start that?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He could hear Hermione's breathing deepen even further and her heard one of her knuckles crack. She was getting angrier, he could feel it.

"Oh, it's very recent. It's actually the school's second year open. They teach the kids everything a normal primary school would, but also mix the lessons with a bit of magic, just so the kids get an introduction to it early." She continued to smile, looking up at him, her eyes finally making proper contact with his.

Oh come on, Potter. You can't refuse a cute little boy. It's not in your nature!

"Well... I don't know. I mean, what would we possibly do? And I'm a really busy person, Cho. Maybe if I just meet him for a quick minute and perhaps, take a picture with him? Would that suffice?" He asked keeping emotion void from his face and voice, trying to be as business-like as possible. He looked away from her again.

Hermione tried to hold back a smile of smugness, as she looked at Harry and then back at Cho. She knew what Cho was up to and luckily, Harry wasn't falling for it either. If it was anyone else, she knew he would jump at the chance to spend time with a fan - plus, he loved kids. But, she knew Cho just wanted to spend time with Harry and she was pretty sure Harry realised this, also.

She's not getting away with this...

"Come on! We can make a day of it! And then Gabriel can say to all of his classmates that he met Harry Potter and he'll have a picture to prove it!" Cho begged, her eyes trying to make contact with his, yet again. She would not let him refuse, she just couldn't.

"Well... we don't have anything planned for next week, Hermione, do we?" Harry looked beside him at a fuming Hermione and almost trembled when she gave him her death glare.

"No.." She said through gritted teeth. "I don't think we do..." She added, trailing off.

Hermione looked livid. She couldn't believe she was actually letting Cho get away with this! Well, after all, if she tried to speak against it, Harry would be ashamed of her for refusing to let him meet a fan. Hermione, of course, knew this was just a ploy.

"Excellent!" Cho grinned broadly. A little too broadly for Hermione's liking. She felt like she was going to be sick.

"Ugh. Harry, I'm going go back to the flat. You can finish up with Cho and follow me back." She said, her voice icy and annoyed. She gave Cho a withering look and stalked off in the direction of the flat.

Thoughts would not stop crashing in her head, as she thought of different ways to utterly destroy Cho and her silver tongue. Yes, that girl could lie her way into getting people to do her dirty work. It almost seemed as if she never suffered the consequences. Unless...

Unless, Hermione caught her in the act! Of course, she would have to keep quiet about her plans, seeing as the last time Hermione tried to catch one of his old girlfriends lying and she told Harry, he got mad at her for even accusing her of such a thing.

No, no. She would keep quiet about this. She was clever and determined. She was going to prove to Harry that she couldn't be trusted! But first, she had to find a way to get him to postpone his outing with Cho and Gabriel. Tall tales of how they had to visit family in the country flashed through her head.

"No, he'd never buy it." She muttered in frustration, as she opened the front door to the block of flats and made her way across the entrance hall and to the elevator. "And I don't want to lie to him, because then I'd be no better than her..."

Pressing the button impatiently, she waited for the doors to open, still deep in thought. She was going to find a way to distract him if it killed her! She wouldn't let Cho win, not again.

Oh this is never going to work! Damn him and his dedication to his job!

-------

The sunlight poured through the curtains. Hermione felt something warm beside her and smiled. Harry climbed into her bed in the middle of the night again. She was thinking of moving all of his stuff into her room, seeing as it was the biggest in the house.

Her eyes still closed, she felt heavy breathing on her naked shoulder, lips pressing themselves upon her skin gently, as if not to wake her.

"Morning, Harry." Hermione mumbled groggily, her eyes still closed, her back facing the sunlight.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" He spoke, his tone low and his arm wrapping itself around her stomach carefully. He was very affectionate, she loved that about him.

"No, I've been awake for a little while." She continued to smile, but then the events of last night dawned on her like a bad dream. Her eyes opened wide and she sat bolt upright, the blankets being pulled up over her chest automatically.

"What is it?" Harry asked, his eyes filled with horror. "Are we late for something? Are you late for something? Wait... you're never late for anything. What's going on!?" Harry sat upright with her, she hogged most of the blankets and they were now just covering his lap.

"Harry, did you plan that day out with Cho's nephew?" Hermione turned to him suddenly, speaking as if he hadn't asked her any questions prior to her opening her mouth.

"Yes? But it isn't until next week, why?" He asked, his face changing from horrified to confused.

Hermione got up, the blankets still around her and began to pace the room, leaving Harry with nothing covering him. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a pillow and placed it over his lap. "What's going on?" He asked, still confused.

"Nothing, I just wanted to know." She continued to pace the room, back and forth. It began to make Harry nervous, she always paced when she was deep in thought.

"Something's going on. You never pace unless you have a reason!" He watched her knowingly. "This has something to do with Cho, doesn't it?"

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. Turning around she made eye contact with Harry. "What? Her? No... not at all." She spoke calmly, then continued to pace, her brow furrowed.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked again, his eyebrow raising in suspicion. "If it does, you can tell me, Hermione."

"Well, it's not about her, really. Although, I must say, Harry. I don't trust her, not one bit." She stopped pacing and sat back down on the side of the bed, giving Harry her best subtle pouty look. She'd make Harry melt, turn him into putty!

Harry gulped. That face of hers would be the death of him. Why did he have to be completely starkers at that very moment?! It wasn't helping! He placed his hands protectively over the pillow that was covering his hem, hem... thighs and kept his eyes on Hermione.

She let the blanket fall off of her, ever so slightly, her naked chest now exposed. She slid the blanket back onto the bed, so that it was covering Harry too and leaned in, pressing kisses to his neck.

Harry's breathing became slightly erratic. He didn't know what she was doing, but he liked it! Maybe Christmas had come early this year. Visions of her wrapped in just a big red bow flashed before his mind's eye.

Ugh. No you idiot! Christmas doesn't come this time of year! Huh - wait, what? I can't think straight! Dammit, Hermione. Cover up the twins!

"Harry?" Hermione mumbled against his neck.

"Y-y-yes, Her-Herm?" He stuttered, his eyes closed and his hands sliding their way up her naked back.

"Could you, postpone this little outing? You know, give it maybe, two weeks? I was planning on taking a few days off work next week to spend some time with you." Her lips left his neck, her tongue sliding out onto his skin now. Up his neck, across his cheek and into his ear.

Oh God, she's good. Damn her, she knows my weak spots!

"I su-p-ppose I could call Cho and tell her that two weeks from now would suit me better." He mumbled and stuttered through heavy breathing.

Hermione grinned mischievously. "Thank you, honey." She slid her tongue out of his ear, pressed kisses down his jawbone and moaned slightly, meeting his lips and sliding her tongue along his bottom one teasingly. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Mmm." Harry mumbled, his eyes still closed. Then, suddenly, the kissing ceased as she slid out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe, putting it on her and tying it carefully around the waist. She left Harry sitting in the bed, stunned that she could do something so sexy and then pull out of it like nothing happened.

He was both amazed and in agony as he opened his eyes and watched her smile, wave slightly and leave the room with her bathrobe on.

Harry groaned as he heard her begin to bustle around the kitchen. She was good at doing this to him! She always had her way, no matter what!

"Will I make you some tea, dear?" She called from the kitchen moments later.

He looked under the blankets and sighed. Maybe she was a little too good.

He grabbed for his bathrobe, as he took one last look under the blankets and shook his head in dismay.

"Yeah, please do. But first, I'm going to go take a cold shower..."

-------

Animals you are,
Disposable, collapsible, and raw.
Off you go, into some other state.

I suppose,
I'll make the most of what it is I climb,
I suppose it's just the state I'm in.

Ginny held on to Neville's hand as they made their way through the streets of London. Noon was the best time to walk around. The day was in its prime.

"Oh, look! Can we go have something to eat there? It looks interesting." Ginny grinned, pointing to a small café across the street.

"Alright, if that's what you want." He smiled and the two of them crossed the street and made their way in.

It was quaint and looked very welcoming. It almost reminded Ginny of her teenage years, spent at Hogwarts. The bravest of guys would take their dates to the small café in the little village of Hogsmeade called Madam Puddifoot's. It wasn't extremely 'lovey-dovey' like the other café was, which was probably a relief to Neville.

Animals you are,
Lookin' for an answer just like me.
When we come, you're waitin' for your time.
Animals that climb,
Climblin' over you.
So off you go, off you go.

It was cozy, with cushioned chairs and nice wooden tables draped with thin white cloth. It had beautiful pictures of different places, like Rome, Paris and Madrid. It was very calm and many people were sitting at tables, engaging in hushed conversation.

As soon as Neville and Ginny found a seat near the window, a waitress came to take their order. "What would you like? The hot drink of the day is Chocolate Cappuccino and there is a special on apple tarts today."

"What would you like, Ginny?" Neville asked looking across the table.

"I'll have the hot drink of the day and an apple tart, please." Ginny shrugged. She didn't know what else to order.

"I'll have the same, please." He replied when the waitress looked at him. She nodded her head and walked away, making her way towards the doors of the kitchen.

"Hmm, this is nice." Ginny smiled, taking in her surroundings carefully.

"It is." Neville wasn't one for cafés, but this place wasn't that bad.

If you're gonna go, go now
If you're gonna go, go now
I forgot to tell you how
If you're gonna go, go now
(Oh, whoa)

The bell on the door dinged, indicating that someone had entered the place. The footsteps of the unknown person drew nearer to the table, but Neville and Ginny thought nothing of it, until they heard the person speak.

"You and me, outside, RIGHT now!" The drawling voice spoke from behind Ginny. Neville looked up and Ginny whirled around in her chair.

"Excuse me, Draco. Are you talking to me?!" She glared at him angrily. He was the last person she wanted to see today.

Ugh. What a NERVE!

"No, I'm not talking to you. I'll deal with you later. I'm talking to your pipsqueak boyfriend." He spoke arrogantly, his voice thick with intoxication. It seemed to be the only way he was, lately. Ginny couldn't remember the last time she had ever seen him completely sober. And being 'Drunk' was never something he wore well.

Leaning over the table, she whispered hurriedly to Neville. "He's drunk! Let's just leave!" She did not want to cause a scene in the middle of this lovely café. She knew they wouldn't be able to handle it. The place was too small and didn't seem spacious enough to accommodate a fist fight.

"Come on, Neville. Fight me like a -" a burp and he continued, "…man!" Draco swayed slightly on the spot, his fists clenched tightly, raised up in Neville's direction. As drunk as he was, he had a determined expression smeared across his face that just would not falter.

Animals you are,
Disposable, collapsible, and raw.
I suppose, it's just a state I'm in.
I could die, I could die,
I make the most of it,
I missed my chance by a stone's throw

Ginny looked pleadingly across the table at Neville, who didn't seem to want to flee. He looked threateningly at Draco, his fist clenched under the table, as if ready to fight, himself. Taking a last look at a scared Ginny, he made the decision to throw in the towel, finally nodding in agreement. The two of them quickly got up to leave, grabbing their belongings, as Draco began to spit ridiculous insults out at Neville.

"Come on you big chicken shit! Fight me! I bet you know I'll win!" He continued to sway slightly and Ginny and Neville safely made their way out of the café, Draco following them out.

Neville gritted his teeth, being called every name under the sun. He was starting to lose his patience. He wrapped his arm around Ginny's waist protectively, the two of them making their way down the street, until finally, Ginny couldn't take it anymore.

Letting go of Neville, she turned around and stalked straight back down the street to Draco.

If you're gonna go, go now.
If you're gonna go, go now.
If your gonna go, then how?
If you're gonna go...

"Now you listen to me, Draco." She snarled angrily at him, fixing him with a glare of rage. "I am never coming back to you. So GO away!"

"But, Ginny. I love you..." He mumbled, his drunkenness clearly evident in his appearance. He still looked like a bum; slurring his words, wearing dirty clothes. He hadn't changed one bit. She didn't quite know whether that surprised her, or not. Draco was a stubborn bloke, but she figured that losing her might bring him to his senses. Maybe she had been wrong to hold out so much hope.

"No you don't. You love the idea of having me." She said calmly, her anger ebbing away slightly. Her insides were no longer bubbling. She took a few deep and steadying breaths.

"Why are you with that coward," a hiccough, "anyway?" Draco asked, his voice entwining with a strong note of haughtiness. The way he carried himself was almost sickening to Ginny.

Suddenly, she turned red with fury and clenched her fists. "How dare you! You're the coward, Draco. A coward and a DRUNK!" And with that, she turned away from him, making to leave him alone to stand in the middle of the sidewalk with people watching him in disgust. They seemed to want to avoid him, as if he was a bad smell or some virus they didn't want to catch. But, Draco seemed to be too drunk to care.

I'm one of the animals,
Yeah I am.

"Wait a minute, come back here!" He grabbed her arm tightly and yanked her back toward him, spinning her around to face him like a rag doll. "WHAT did you say to me?"

"I SAID you're a DRUNK!" Her voice began to raise in volume, her anger beginning to bubble through to the surface. "And don't touch me!" She pulled her arm out of his grasp and saw a bruise begin to form in the marks of his fingers. He really gripped her quite hard. She stared for a moment at her lightly-flushed skin and cringed. Flashbacks of all the times he had ever put his hands on her in a threatening way began to flood her mind, over-whelming her for only a moment. She blinked and they were gone.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Ginny!" Draco raised his voice to match hers.

Neville couldn't take it; how dare he touch her like that! Stalking back towards the pair of them as they began to bicker, Neville came up behind Ginny, nudged her out of the way gently, clenched his fist, pulled it back and sank it straight into the right side of Draco's jaw.

He fell to the ground and Neville towered over him, looking down at him with a withering look in his eyes. He was tempted to continue hitting him, his rage clawing at it's boundaries somewhere deep in the pit of him stomach; aching to be released. He would not stoop to Draco's level, though. He knew, in some ways, he was the same as the man lying before him, covered in his own blood. But the difference was, Neville would never go too far. He would never let his anger engulf him, therefore, he was the better man.

I'm one of the animals,
Yeah I am.

"Leave us alone, Draco. Don't you understand? You messed up, big time. Move on." Neville said briskly, as Draco writhed on the ground clutching the side of his face, a look of agony etched upon it. "If I have to, Draco, I will hurt you." He added warningly, looking beside him at Ginny who looked back and forth between her past: Draco - and her future: Neville - uneasily.

"Please just leave this alone. I don't want either of you to fight, dammit! Draco, stop bothering me. It's over." She spoke sternly, but a slight note of sympathy entwined with her words as they left her mouth. She came closer to him and kneeled down beside him, the back of her hand gently touching his face.

"Draco, please... enough of this." She spoke softly, looking deep into his cold grey eyes. She liked to think he was capable of turning his life around, she wanted to hold out some kind of faith in him. "I don't love or trust you anymore. I've let you go. So please, Draco... let me go. Nothing good will come of pursuing this." One last stroke of her hand against his face and she sighed, getting up off of the ground and backing slowly away from him.

I'm one of the animals,
Yeah I am.

He never lost eye contact, which is what hurt her the most. She knew her words were harsh. But, it's what he needed to hear. She hoped he would find a way to turn his life around; she knew the man she had fallen in love with was still inside of him somewhere, screaming to get out.

Without another word, she walked over to Neville, placed her hand on his shoulder and gestured for them to leave. Nodding slightly, he glanced one last time at Draco and the both of them turned around, walking away from him as he lay on the ground.

Ginny didn't know when she would ever see him again, she wasn't planning on visiting him. But, she knew that he would finally sort his life out, he just had to, or it would get him killed. Either way, he knew what he had to do.

She could almost swear that as she was walking away, she heard him whisper 'I'm sorry,' almost as if it was an echo ringing in her ears. Although, she couldn't be sure.

It could have just been the wind.

I'm one of the animals...

('Animals' - Coldplay Unreleased)

-------

A few hours later, Harry sat on the couch watching day time TV. Today was one of his glorious days when he didn't have to be in for training. He trained five days a week and he was glad to get the time to relax.

Also, it was one of those rare occasions when he had the flat completely to himself. Ron was job hunting and Hermione was at work.

'Flick'

"Oh Arnie! Oh Arnie! Please don't talk to that wretched woman! She's foul, she really is!" A woman cried dramatically. She was down on her knees, holding on to the legs of the man who must be Arnie.

Ugh. He hated soap operas. Hermione loved them and would get all teary-eyed and hormonal sometimes when they came on the telly. Which is why he was always careful to quickly skip the channels he knew they were on when they were both watching TV together.

One time, he let her watch one when they were slightly younger and not in a relationship. The results were disastrous. NEVER would he let her watch one while he was around again! He knew he could be a little slow sometimes, but he wasn't stupid! Daft but not stupid, clueless but not stupid, IMMATURE but not stupid!

"Oh Cecilia! My dearest, I must go talk to her. She seems to be in a lot of trouble. I promise you, I will return, I promise you I will not be led astray!" Arnie replied reassuringly.

"Ha. Fat chance of that." Harry spoke dully. Guys were awful creatures sometimes. He just happened to be a guy. To his disposition he had this small - well, actually quite large, really - part of his brain that was always tuned in to sex, so of course, it was easier for him to be 'led astray'. Then again... when it came to Hermione, why would he dare cheat?

First of all, she was extremely fit and he loved her to death. And second, she was always one step ahead of him. She'd know he'd be cheating before he even knew it! He could already imagine the conversation they would have after his encounter with a new female.

"Harry! Don't. Even. Think about it. I saw you!" She would scold, pointing her finger threateningly in his face.

"What?! What?!" He would ask in a clueless manner, raising his hands up in frustration -- you know, as guys do.

"You, and her! Don't think I'm blind!" She would continue, babbling on angrily. She would finally sit over on the couch, crossing her legs and arms and become very guarded and irritated.

He would follow her and sit down at her side, completely facing her and staring into her eyes, using the exact opposite body language to her. He would be open and ready to confront the problem.

"What is it, Hermione? What have I done?" He would ask desperately. He hated it when she was mad with him, for whatever reason.

"You were cheating on me!" She would say sadly and quietly, but then she would turn around and let out a yell - as hormonal women do - "I KNOW IT!"

"How?" He would ask in slight horror that she would even think such a thing.

"I saw you!" She would be quiet and still, again. Then she would hit him hard on the arm, and yell, "YOU WERE UNDRESSING HER WITH YOUR EYES!"

Hmmm. See? He knew it wouldn't work in his favour.

He was about to change the channel, but then, it became slightly interesting. Arnie was gone and Cecilia was left, sitting on the couch looking extremely distraught. Just like bloody soap operas to do that! Reeling people in!

"Oh no. My love has gone to that awful woman! She will corrupt him, she will turn him against me! Soon, he will only have eyes for her! I must do something..." Cecilia then gave a huge, dramatic - AND FAKE! - sob.

He could have sworn he recognised the scenario from somewhere. Wait a minute - this was what his life was like at the moment! Well - minus the intensity of the drama and the cheesy acting, of course. Cho was quite obviously trying to get him in bed and Hermione just would not have it.

Harry sighed. He hated being like a piece of meat hung over two hungry dogs. He could just imagine being strung up - by his underpants - on some sort of flag pole or something. He could picture the two of them jumping at him, trying to grab him and bring him down toward them.

It made him slightly sick inside. He just wished he could tell Hermione that she didn't have to try so hard and that she didn't have to worry about him. He was fine, he wasn't interested in Cho. Part of the reason being, not only that he loved Hermione so much, but also the past he had with Cho. He would never forgive her for what she did to Hermione.

"I must find a way to ruin that woman's plans. She is going to destroy everything Arnie and I have!" Cecilia cried in sudden anger. Her fist balled up and she hit it on the side of the couch she was sitting on. "With every ounce of my being, I will foil her plans!"

Harry's eyes widened in sudden horror and realisation. What if Hermione was planning to do the same thing? WOW, soap operas were full of information on women. They were like, encyclopedias! Of course, things weren't this dramatic, but it was still plausible none-the-less!

Harry had to find a way to reassure Hermione that he wasn't going to give in to Cho. Hell, if Cho hadn't mentioned her little nephew Gabriel, he wouldn't have even given her the time of day. After all, he couldn't say no to a little fan, but he could perfectly well say no to her!

The dramatic music came to a close and the credits began to roll on the screen. The soap opera was over and Harry's mind was buzzing.

Hmmm, what should I do? I can't just, confront her with it... she'll deny that she's thinking such thoughts. I need a plan...

This was going to take awhile.

Dammit, relationships were hard and keeping women happy was harder! But, hands down, the hardest thing to do was to reassure them everything would be fine... it didn't help that Cho, the queen of destruction - also known as home wrecker - was after him. If he were Hermione, he'd be worried too!

Harry was in the middle of two bickering women! Cho wanted him, Hermione had him... it was as simple as that. He imagined them on either side of him, yelling angrily as if he wasn't even there. Then he imagined them in a mud wrestling ring, wearing nothing but bikinis.

Obviously, the second image was much nicer - and sexier - but both were frustrating in the end. He sighed, the mud-wrestling day dream becoming more and more vivid.

I have to stop tuning into that part of my brain...

Either way, he was in between a rock and a hard place and there was nothing he could do about it! Which really wasn't the best place to be in, unless of course his mud wrestling fantasy came true... but he doubted that would happen.

A guy can dream, can't he?

Harry grumbled under his breath. He hated being stuck in the middle.

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*A/N: Ahaha, it’s a little cheesy, I know. But it’s amusing! =]

Anyway, lemme know what you guys think! =D

More soon!